Computer systems produce a lot of heat. Data centers are full of buzzing cooling fans, and even smartphones can heat up with high use. Reducing energy consumption is one of the main challenges in information technology. But there is a theoretical, temperature-dependent lower limit to cooling, as stated by Rolf Landauer in the 1960s. Jan […]
Light Connects Two Worlds on a Single Chip
For the first time, researchers of the University of Twente succeeded in connecting two parts of an electronics chip using an on-chip optical link. A light connection could be a safe way of connecting a high-power component and digital control circuitry on one chip without a direct electrical link. Until now, however, an optical link […]
Solar Fuels: Better Efficiency Using Microwires
Researchers at the University of Twente’s MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology have made significant efficiency improvements to the technology used to generate solar fuels. This involves the direct conversion of energy from sunlight into a usable fuel (in this case, hydrogen). Using only earth-abundant materials, they developed the most efficient conversion method to date. The trick […]
Fewer Malfunctions And Lower Costs Thanks To Smarter Maintenance Model
Researchers at the University of Twente have developed a mathematical model for improving the maintenance schedule for trains, rails, aircraft, self-driving cars, robots and nuclear power plants. This new model ensures greater reliability and lower costs. Dennis Guck of the UT Department of Formal Methods and Tools recently earned a PhD based on this study. Maintenance is […]
Portable Device for Early Diabetes Detection Being Developed
Researchers at the University of Twente, in cooperation with commercial parties, are developing a portable device for detecting type 1 or type 2 diabetes at an early stage. The STW Technology Foundation is funding a research proposal submitted by Sonia García Blanco of UT’s MESA+ institute. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop […]
Fast Lab-on-Chip Detects Effects of Poison
A new lab-on-a-chip system, developed by the University of Twente in The Netherlands, is capable of fast analysis of the effects of toxic substances on hemoglobin, for example. It mimicks human metabolism. The effect that toxic substances have on, for example, hemoglobin in blood, can now be tested in a fast way using a new […]
3D Brain-on-a-Chip
To study brain cell’s operation and test the effect of medication on individual cells, the conventional Petri dish with flat electrodes is not sufficient. For truly realistic studies, cells have to flourish within three-dimensional surroundings. Bart Schurink, researcher at University of Twente’s MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, has developed a sieve with 900 openings, each of […]
Interrogation Computers Work, If You Believe They Are Human Controlled
Avatars can potentially make interrogations more efficient. However, a study by psychologists based at the Institute for Innovation and Governance Studies, a University of Twente research institute, shows that they are only effective if the subjects under interrogation believe that the avatar is under human control. The study was published in Frontiers in Psychology, an open […]
Robot Spencer Accompanies First Passengers at Schiphol Airport
After three years of building and programming, the first tests using guide robot Spencer were successfully conducted at Schiphol airport this month. The test phase was completed last week. Spencer, developed in cooperation with the University of Twente, has guided KLM passengers to the right gate at Schiphol airport for the first time. The robot […]
Nano Plates as Catalysts for Solar Fuels
Solar fuels, clean fuels from sunlight, water and CO2, form an attractive way for storing solar energy in hydrogen or hydrocarbons, for example. The efficiency of this technology still needs a ‘boost’. Researcher Kasper Wenderich of the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology of the University of Twente (NL), investigated special nanoplaatjes with platinum particles on them, […]