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Technology & robotics

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  • Aerospace
  • Design & manufacturing
  • Technology & robotics
  • Innovation Watch

How AI can help 3D print perfect plane parts

Finding and correcting 3D printing errors is especially tough in the aerospace sector: a part with even a 300-micron defect could be catastrophic.

Quick read

An abstract photo of a mesh, conceptualising the Internet of Things
  • Electricals & electronics
  • Technology & robotics
  • Opinion
  • Issue 96

Securing the Internet of Everything

Our IoT devices need engineers to safeguard our privacy, say Oktay Cetinkaya and Peter Novitzky.

Stylised artist's impression of an undersea cable in the foreground, with a cutaway showing the internal optical fibres, and whales depicted far in the background,
  • Electricals & electronics
  • Technology & robotics
  • Issue 96

Undersea information sharing

Undersea cables transport vast amounts of data across the world – and even detect whales and earthquakes.

  • Civil & structural
  • Technology & robotics
  • Software & computer science
  • Issue 94

3D printing a bridge with a twin

Virtual models of structures could help engineers use less material and save CO2 emissions in future construction projects – like with this 3D-printed bridge in Amsterdam.

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A scanning electron microscopy image of a spider mite crawling on a microelectromechanical system.
  • Electricals & electronics
  • Technology & robotics
  • How does that work?
  • Issue 94

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) help to make many of our everyday items work, from Air Pods to airbags.

Quick read

A computer display, whose interface can guide a robotic arm with a magnetic appendage above a model of the colon.
  • Health & medical
  • Technology & robotics
  • Innovation Watch
  • Issue 94

Perfecting pain-free colonoscopies

Researchers are developing magnetically guided robotic instruments to make colonoscopies less painful for patients.

A tablet device shows data modelling onscreen, with a hand shown exploring the data by touching the screen
  • Technology & robotics
  • Software & computer science
  • Issue 93

Using data in engineering

In engineering, data is being used in multiple ways to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and reduce unnecessary use of resources.

Quick read

  • Technology & robotics
  • How does that work?
  • Issue 93

How do drone displays work?

From London’s new year fireworks to the Tokyo 2022 Olympic opening ceremony, coordinated drone displays are creating spectacular light shows in the night skies, with clever engineering creating a system that can be flown safely and repeatedly.

Quick read

  • Technology & robotics
  • Sports & leisure
  • Innovation Watch
  • Issue 93

Bend it like a simulated avatar

The world's top free-kick-takers can curve a football in a way the goalkeeper can’t anticipate. Training to save these is no easy task. Now, Belfast startup INCISIV just might have a helping hand for goalies, with an ultra-programmable virtual reality technology.

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  • Arts & culture
  • Technology & robotics
  • Innovation Watch

How AI can unearth archaeological sites

Humans from long ago have left all kinds of marks on landscapes. An AI tool from startup ArchAI, could help find these ancient traces.

Quick read

A cartoon of a woman with a smartphone next to her showing it has recognised her face.
  • Technology & robotics
  • Software & computer science
  • Sports & leisure
  • How does that work?
  • Issue 92

Face filters

It started with face swaps, flower crowns and appended dog ears. Now, all manner of transformative sorcery is just a tap away.

Two artists, one on a ladder and one crouching, who are working on a replica of a Raphael painting next to a table of art supplies.
  • Design & manufacturing
  • Arts & culture
  • Technology & robotics
  • Issue 92

The technologies that recreate historic artworks

Did you know Churchill's wife once set a portrait of him on fire because he hated it so much? Factum Arte used modern technology to recreate it, so it lives to see another day – sorry Clementine.

To represent the importance of time to the economy, a hand holding a coin with a clock face is moving to insert it into a slot.
  • Aerospace
  • Electricals & electronics
  • Technology & robotics
  • Issue 92

Why microseconds matter

Time’s time to shine: why is ultra-precise time so important for everything from bank transactions to public transport? The NPL’s Dr Leon Lobo explains all.

Quick read

A black and white close up picture of a robotic vacuum.
  • Electricals & electronics
  • Technology & robotics
  • How does that work?
  • Issue 90

Robotic vacuum cleaners

Twenty years after the Roomba's original release, the latest generation of robotic vacuum cleaners incorporate sophisticated machine vision technology to steer clear of electrical cables, stray socks and pet poo.

  • Electricals & electronics
  • Technology & robotics
  • Profiles
  • Issue 90

An innovator who fills a vacuum

From outer space to the depths of the earth, Professor Trevor Cross FREng seeks new uses of the technologies that enabled the electronic revolution.

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A cartoon of a robot head in a speech bubble
  • Software & computer science
  • Technology & robotics
  • How does that work?
  • Issue 86

How do chatbots work?

As human interaction online gradually gives way to automated responses, chatbots must impersonate us without attempting to replicate human empathy or enthusiasm.