🔋 Hair-thin battery, Australia's 'useful' quantum computer, Six-arm bot

A team has created a thin foil-like solid-state battery featuring coatings so delicate that its final thickness is thinner than a human hair. 

They claim their innovation facilitates ultra-fast recharging, completing in approximately one minute. Moreover, the battery’s unique structure ensures a lifespan of approximately ten times longer than its conventional counterparts. For more on the tech behind this battery, check out today’s Must-Read.

🔥Today’s job of the day as featured on jobs.interestingengineering.com:

> Cybersecurity Engineer
> Electrical Engineer

🎙 New podcast  Redefining astronomy with smart telescopes

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MUST READ

🔋 Hair-thin battery that charges in a minute unveiled by ETH Zurich spin-offs

Recyclable and sustainable batteries are a prerequisite for a green energy revolution, as the rapidly increasing demand for batteries is driving up the consumption of rare raw materials like lithium.

BTRY, an ETH spinoff, has created a hair-thin solid-state battery that can significantly reduce charging times. The researchers completely avoid using liquids in the battery's components and production method.

According to the BTRY team, the main benefit of its solid-state batteries is their extreme temperature resistance. As a result, they can be employed in applications that require them to function at extremely high or low temperatures, such as sensors that identify vapor leaks or during medication delivery.

🖥️ Australia to build world’s 1st commercially ‘useful’ quantum computer

The Australian federal government and the state government of Queensland have invested nearly a billion Australian dollars (US$600 million) in quantum computing startup PsiQuantum to build the world’s first ‘useful’ quantum computer.

Although companies engaged in building quantum computers suggest that the next generation of computers will rapidly solve problems, their initial attempts to demonstrate its workings are quite far from real-world problems.

Cathy Foley, Australia’s Chief Scientist, told ABC Radio Brisbane that quantum computers would soon be a part of our everyday lives and revolutionize how we solve problems like finding routes for trucking, organizing ports, or handling logistics for the Olympics scheduled for Brisbane in 2032.

🦾 Meet Stickbug, the new six-arm pollinating bot living in greenhouses

To address the issue of endangered pollinators, particularly bees and certain types of moths, butterflies, and flies, researchers from West Virginia University developed a precision pollination robot named Stickbug.

According to the study, Stickbug is a six-armed, multi-agent, precision pollination robot that combines the accuracy of single-agent systems with swarm parallelization in greenhouses. It can easily navigate narrow rows by employing a compact holonomic Kiwi drive.

It is also equipped with a detection model and classifier that identifies targeted flowers for contact-based pollination using a felt-tipped end-effector. Each of the bot’s arms functions independently to reduce the complexities in planning and increase the effectiveness of the tasks at hand.

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HOT TOPICS OF THE DAY

SCIENCE

> A team of scientists led by Heriot-Watt University developed a new type of porous material comprising hollow, cage-like molecules that can store greenhouse gases. (More)

> Researchers at Purdue University’s College of Engineering have revealed a novel method that could expand the use of ceramics in industrial applications. It involves making them ductile. (More)

> Scientists have devised a new way of treating fracking wastewater by infecting two types of present bacteria with a special type of virus. (More)

ENERGY

> Sweden's Polestar and Israel's StoreDot have teamed up to achieve a record 10-minute EV charging time on a Polestar 5 prototype EV. (More)

> The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) explains how a team of its experts is currently working on the definition of new standards for vehicle-integrated photovoltaics. (More)

> Scientists design super-battery made with cheap, readily affordable chemical element, sodium (Na). The salt-based cell has surprisingly good energy density and charge in seconds. (More)

INNOVATION

> A Chinese company has revealed a remarkable drone that aims to save lives by fusing flotation devices and technology. It’s been dubbed the TY-3R, an Air-Water Rescue Drone system. (More)

> Chantiers de l’Atlantique, a shipbuilder with more than 150 years of experience in the industry, has collaborated with Brunvoll, a Norwegian engineering firm, to supply the world’s largest sailing ships. (More)

> Festo, the master in developing bionic flying objects, has unveiled ultra-light, delicately designed robotic bees called BionicBees. It is part of the German automation company’s Bionic Learning Network (BLN) known for developing products inspired by nature. (More)

VIDEO

> Northwestern Robotics has presented a novel way of getting robots to swarm. The method involves using image moments - various polynomials - to quickly gather robots. (More)

> Two lifeforms have merged into one organism for the first time in a billion years. The last time that happened, the world developed plant life. This time, the hope is that the organism can revolutionize agriculture. (More)

> How do flies...fly? A team at Caltech is working on breaking down fly flight mechanics. Their work may yet prove vital to future biomimetic robot design. (More)

IE QUIZ: THE RESULTS

In yesterday’s quiz, we asked, What is the missing number?

The answer is: The firs row is 17×17=289, The second row is 18×18=324
The third row is 19×19=361. So the missing number is 1

Ready for more brainy challenges? Gear up for future IE quizzes by following us on Instagram and Facebook! 

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> New observatory in Chile—the highest in the world—aims to reveal origins of planets, galaxies and more

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