Novel thermoelectric nanoantenna design for use in solar energy harvesting

In an article published in the SPIE Journal of Nanophotonics (JNP), researchers from a collaboration of three labs in Mexico demonstrate an innovative nanodevice for harvesting solar energy. The paper, "Thermoelectric efficiency optimization of nanoantennas for solar energy harvesting," reports that evolutive dipole nanoantennas (EDNs) generate a thermoelectric voltage three times larger than the classic dipole nanoantenna (CDN).

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A simple technique allows robots to recognize touch and proximity

Researchers at the University of Hertfordshire have recently proposed an easy and configurable technique that enhances a robot's ability to perceive and interact with people in its surroundings. Their technique, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, utilizes affordable Bluetooth low energy (BLE) devices. Among its many possible applications, it could enhance therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), allowing robots to act as mediators and monitor children in their surroundings.

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New tools could provide ironclad certainty that computer bugs are a thing of the past

It's bad enough losing an hour's work when your computer crashes—but in settings like healthcare and aviation, software glitches can have far more serious consequences. In one notorious case, a computer bug caused cancer patients to receive lethal overdoses from a radiation therapy machine; in more recent headlines, flawed software was blamed for airplane crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

* This article was originally published here