News by Subject Technology & Engineering

Soft materials, like skin, behave differently than hard materials when punctured. They provide an unstable resistance that is more difficult to describe and hence predict. Researchers at the University of British Columbia have answered the previously unsolved question of how the mechanics of piercing works on soft materials by studying solutions from the natural world, and have created a mechanical theory that finally predicts the critical force necessary for needle insertion.

Researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), in collaboration with French specialty materials leader Arkema, have developed a tougher, safer bicycle helmet using a combination of materials. The new helmet prototype has higher energy absorption, reducing the amount of energy transferred to a cyclist's head in the event of an accident and lowering the chances of serious injury.

The method from a research team led by Professor Horacio Espinosa could lead to more accurate predictions of how new materials behave at the atomic scale.

Exoskeletons - wearable devices used by workers on assembly lines or in warehouses to alleviate stress on their lower backs - may compete with valuable resources in the brain while people work, canceling out the physical benefits of wearing them, a new study suggests.

An international team of researchers led by Georgia Tech is combining soft scalp electronics and virtual reality in a brain-interface system, recently published in Advanced Science.

A new robotic neck brace from researchers at Columbia Engineering and their colleagues at Columbia's Department of Otolaryngology may help doctors analyze the impact of cancer treatments on the neck mobility of patients and may help guide their recovery.