Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a type of inverter device with greater efficiency in a smaller, lighter package - which should improve the fuel-efficiency and range of hybrid and electric vehicles. Electric and hybrid vehicles rely on inverters to ensure that enough electricity is conveyed from the battery to the motor during vehicle operation. Conventional inverters rely on components made of the semiconductor ...

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new design for harvesting body heat and converting it into electricity for use in wearable electronics. The experimental prototypes are lightweight, conform to the shape of the body, and can generate far more electricity than previous lightweight heat harvesting technologies. The researchers also identified the optimal site on the body for heat harvesting.

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the Intel Corporation have developed a way to accelerate core-to-core communication. Their advance relies on hardware to coordinate efforts between cores for multiprocessor operations. Many computer functions require multiple processors, or cores, to work together in a coordinated way. Currently, this coordination is achieved by sending and receiving software commands between cores. But th...

  Researchers from North Carolina State University and the U.S. Army Research Office have developed a way to integrate novel functional materials onto a computer chip, allowing the creation of new smart devices and systems.

Materials researchers at North Carolina State University have fine-tuned a technique that enables them to apply precisely controlled silica coatings to quantum dot nanorods in a day - up to 21 times faster than previous methods. In addition to saving time, the advance means the quantum dots are less likely to degrade, preserving their advantageous optical properties.

For solar energy to become a real power player in the energy game, solar cells need to be both inexpensive to manufacture and efficient in terms of energy they collect. That's why researchers are focusing their efforts on organic solar cells, which use non-fullerene polymers. These organic polymers are less expensive to produce and some of them, according to some findings from researchers at NC State and the Hong Kong University of Science and Te...

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a tool for detecting and measuring the polarisation of light based on a single spatial sampling of the light, rather than the multiple samples required by previous technologies. The device makes use of the unique properties of organic polymers, rather than traditional silicon, for polarisation detection and measurement.

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed the latest technique that improves the ability of computer vision technologies to better identify and separate objects in an image, a process called segmentation. Image processing and computer vision are important for multiple applications, from autonomous vehicles to detecting anomalies in medical imaging.

Researchers have developed a technique for coating polymer implants with a bioactive film that significantly increases bonding between the implant and surrounding bone in an animal model. The advance could significantly improve the success rate of such implants, which are often used in spinal surgeries. The work was done by researchers at North Carolina State University, the University of Cambridge and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

With the recent finding in Pennsylvania of a hospital patient with an E.coli infection that resists colistin, an antibiotic used as the last line of defense against multi-drug resistant bacteria, the scientific and medical communities continue to search for answers to the menace of superbugs. While common antibiotics were able to treat the patient, the major concern is the spread of an antibiotic resistance factor previously unseen in the Un...

  Researchers have developed an integrated, wearable system that monitors a user's environment, heart rate and other physical attributes with the goal of predicting and preventing asthma attacks. The researchers plan to begin testing the system on a larger subject population this summer. 

Composite metal foams (CMFs) are tough enough to turn an armour-piercing bullet into dust on impact. Given that these foams are also lighter than metal plating, the material has obvious implications for creating new types of body and vehicle armour as well as further potential uses. Afsaneh Rabiei, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, NC State, has spent years developing CMFs and investigating their unusual properties.

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Delaware have developed an algorithm that can quickly and accurately reconstruct hyperspectral images using less data. The images are created using instruments that capture hyperspectral information succinctly, and the combination of algorithm and hardware makes it possible to acquire hyperspectral images in less time and to store those images using less memory.

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed an efficient algorithm that can interpret the wheezing of patients with breathing difficulties to give medical providers information about what’s happening in the lungs. The research is part of a larger, ongoing project to develop wearable smart medical sensors for monitoring, collecting and interpreting personal health data.