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Future tech

A Chinese team has devised a solar transpiration-powered lithium extraction and storage (STLES) device that extracts and stores lithium from brine using sunlight for use in EV lithium battery packs and power connections, such as that pictured. Photo: Shutterstock

Extracting lithium from seawater is attractive but challenging. Until now?

Novel lithium extraction technique harnesses solar energy, offering an efficient alternative amid rising demand for the metal.

Novel lithium extraction technique harnesses solar energy, offering an efficient alternative amid rising demand for the metal

28 Sep 2024 - 3:11PMvideocam

Chinese scientists create energy from lotus leaves, opening door to plant power

24 Sep 2024 - 7:00PMvideocam

Chinese AI start-up hails ‘important improvement’ in OpenAI’s newest model

16 Sep 2024 - 11:39PM

China’s new 6G standards mark significant advance in setting future framework

Proposed standards intended to aid different 6G requirements, such as the need to send secure content and keep data up to date.

13 Sep 2024 - 9:03AMvideocam

New 6G standards established by China aim to enhance communications that are immersive, ultra-reliable low-latency and AI integrated. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Are we ready for the repercussions of AI? These 5 podcasts might terrify you

We take a look at the entertaining – and mildly terrifying – developments in tech in these 5 series, Shell Game, Bot Love, Syynth Sleuths and more

30 Aug 2024 - 6:45AM

Chinese scientists say they can strengthen pure gold by adding tiny holes

Nanopores added to precious metal allow it to bear higher loads and maintain plasticity with ‘no extra weight, no pollution’, team reports in Science article

15 Aug 2024 - 8:00AMvideocam

Chinese scientists’ ultra-fast chip could double the pace of electronic warfare

‘Groundbreaking’ chip technology behind analogue-to-digital converter could give military a critical edge in real combat, research team says.

30 Jul 2024 - 10:57PMvideocam

A Chinese team says it has devised path-breaking chip technology that would make radar signal detection and responses 91.46 per cent faster, nearly doubling the speed of combat. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Video | What is it like to ride in China’s AI-driven robotaxi?

Pilot service has sparked debate about the merits of the driverless transport system and concerns about job security for drivers.

29 Jul 2024 - 10:20AM

How China’s industrial supply chain may help give rise to the ‘artificial sun’

Could a recent breakthrough in nuclear fusion be the start of a new global race to dominate the ‘holy grail’ of clean energy?

17 Jul 2024 - 12:04AMvideocam

Scientists confirm moon cave that could be used to shelter future explorers

Italian-led team reported evidence of a large cave accessible from the deepest known pit on the moon, located at the Sea of Tranquility.

16 Jul 2024 - 4:11AMvideocam

Scientists have confirmed a cave on the moon and suspect there are hundreds more that could house future astronauts. Photo: AP

China doesn’t need expensive super-satellites to track US warships: scientists

Team led by Hong Jun of the Dalian Naval Academy says it has tracked US Navy carrier, cruiser and destroyer by analysing images of waves.

15 Jul 2024 - 10:49PMvideocam

Chinese researchers say they can use freely available – and free – low-res satellite imagery to uncover the positions of US Navy ships. Photo: AFP/US Navy

How a Chinese team used quantum tech to follow electrons on the superconductor trail

Scientists built a device to simulate movement of the subatomic particles – a task that defies even the best supercomputers.

12 Jul 2024 - 9:00AMvideocam

Opinion | The AI revolution: we’re either in it together or we’re in for it

We all need to adopt AI tools to achieve more with less but this change needs to be engineered with leadership, courage and passion.

28 Jun 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

Opinion | Transformative AI era must be handled with wisdom and responsibility

The advancements in the coming era of AI hold the promise of great benefits but also potential dangers which must not be ignored.

26 Jun 2024 - 4:30PMvideocam

Pedestrians pass a window of a hotel at the Davos Promenade in Davos, Switzerland, on January 15. Artificial intelligence’s great promise must be balanced with an assessment of, and preparation for, its effects in the labour market and wider society. Photo: AP

Japan plans conveyor belt that can move 25,000 drivers’ worth of freight a day

The proposed Tokyo-Osaka ‘Autoflow-Road’ transport system could carry the same amount of freight as 25,000 truck drivers every day.

26 Jun 2024 - 1:24PM

A truck pulls out of a port in Tokyo as cargo containers are loaded on and off vehicles. Photo: AFP

Inside Out | China-made AI sexbots: the next national security risk for US, EU?

The rapid emergence of AI has sparked concerns about its attendant risks, and few sectors exemplify that more than the production of sex robots.

23 Jun 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

China’s next-gen sexbots powered by AI about to hit the shelves

Future models ‘react with both movements and speech, significantly enhancing user experience by focusing on emotional connection’, producer says.

19 Jun 2024 - 5:50AMvideocam

Hong Kong to be mainland China’s showcase for more hydrogen vehicles, innovation

New plans will legalise widespread use of green energy source by next year to help city cut carbon emissions, environment minister says.

19 Jun 2024 - 12:54AM

A hydrogen-powered street washing vehicle is displayed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department at its depot in Cheung Sha Wan. Photo: Sam Tsang

Opinion | 6 reasons to stop seeing AI as a threat

Far from replacing humanity, artificial intelligence could elevate the human condition by helping us comprehend, explain and shape our world. From discovering new cures to mitigating climate change, AI-driven research can help us unlock a new era of human flourishing.

28 May 2024 - 4:47PMvideocam

The scientists making the ‘most sustainable protein’ out of thin air

Scientists at Finnish company Solar Foods have figured out how to make protein using air and electricity. If approved as a food, the sustainable product could help reduce global warming.

28 May 2024 - 11:15AM

Chinese scientists find way to mass-produce optical chips US cannot sanction

Researchers developed a technique that uses a low-cost material – lithium tantalate – that is already being used to make smartphone components.

13 May 2024 - 4:47PMvideocam

The team’s method reduces the costs of making wafers. Photo: Shutterstock

New tech, old conflict: gallium pits US priorities versus environmental impact

A project to mine gallium in a national forest would help reduce US reliance on China but it faces local opposition from conservationists.

10 May 2024 - 11:00PM

China ‘could build world’s biggest collider’ – but is it worth US$5 billion?

A top physicist is ‘confident’ Chinese scientists can build the world’s largest collider, as debate of the project continues.

6 May 2024 - 9:51PMvideocam

China touts ‘water battery’ with more energy capacity than lithium cells: study

‘Aqueous batteries with high energy density are possible, offering a development option for grid-scale energy storage, and even electric vehicles’: researchers.

4 May 2024 - 2:41PMvideocam

France and Germany sign deal on AI-powered ‘tank of the future’

The next-generation Main Ground Combat System, equipped with artificial intelligence and laser technology, has been billed as a game changer in modern warfare.

27 Apr 2024 - 2:43AMvideocam

The Main Ground Combat System will consist not just of one armoured fighting vehicle but a system of manned and unmanned vehicles. Image: French Ministry of Defence

China’s hi-tech progress reshaping global politics, study says

China’s status as a ‘near-peer competitor’ is driving efforts to limit access to key technologies such as semiconductors and counter its global influence.

25 Apr 2024 - 12:00PMvideocam

The US has been leading efforts to limit China’s access to key technologies in areas such as semiconducting. Photo: Shutterstock

Encryption shield installed to protect Chinese quantum computer from attack

Origin Wukong shield shows ‘China’s home-grown superconducting quantum computer can play both offence and defence’: computing centre head.

12 Apr 2024 - 5:00PMvideocam

Chinese scientists question ‘flaw’ in Nasa’s hypersonic aerodynamics software

Due to potential use in development of hypersonic weapons, Vulcan-CFD software is subject to export controls with distributions limited to within US.

8 Apr 2024 - 3:27PMvideocam

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Future tech

Jetpacks, flying cars, hyperloops, space tourism, quantum communication. These technologies are closer than you think, as scientists working around the world compete and cooperate on groundbreaking discoveries which will change the way we operate as a species.

last updated:

9 September, 2024