Articles
How emerging technologies work and how far they have got. Each article keeps what has been shown apart from what has only been reported or proposed, and lists its sources.
AI and autonomous agents
Computer-use AI agents: what they can and cannot do yet
Computer-use AI agents are AI models that operate a computer screen.
Neuromorphic chips: processors built around spikes
Neuromorphic chips are processors designed around a few ideas taken from the brain.
Robotics and artificial muscles
Robot surgeons: how close are machines to operating alone?
Autonomous surgical robots are machines that carry out defined steps of an operation on their own, using their own movements.
Humanoid robots: machines built in the shape of a person
Humanoid robots are machines built roughly in the shape of a person, with a head, a torso, two arms and two legs.
Warehouse picking robots: can they grab any item?
Warehouse picking robots are machines that reach into a bin or shelf, pick out one product and place it in an order container.
Advanced materials and metamaterials
How do self-healing polymers work, and what can they fix?
A self-healing polymer is built so that damage can start a repair, either with no outside help or with a small trigger such as heat.
Biotechnology and synthetic biology
Base editing: changing single letters of DNA
Our DNA is written with four letters, A, C, G and T, and a single wrong letter can contribute to an inherited disease.
Energy and storage
Enhanced geothermal systems: the engineering question beneath the headline
Enhanced geothermal systems aim to obtain useful heat where natural underground conditions are not sufficient for conventional production.
How do iron-air batteries work?
Iron-air batteries are a type of rechargeable battery designed to store electricity for days rather than hours.
How do sodium-ion batteries work, and can they replace lithium?
Most rechargeable batteries in phones, laptops and electric cars today use lithium.
Hydrogen electrolysers: read the electricity input before the output claim
An electrolyser uses energy to make hydrogen.
Perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells: why efficiency is only half the question
Stacking two different light-absorbing materials in one solar cell can, in principle, make better use of incoming sunlight.
Pumped storage: the difference between power, duration and a project announcement
Pumped storage uses water at different elevations to store energy and return it later.
How far are we from solid-state batteries in everyday UK electric cars?
The evidence behind solid-state EV batteries: working cells, vehicle trials, manufacturing barriers and what UK buyers should watch.
Thermal energy storage: why a heat battery needs a different comparison
The word battery can obscure what a storage system actually delivers.
Quantum technologies
What is a logical qubit?
A quantum computer stores information in qubits, the quantum version of the bit.
Quantum sensors: measuring the world with quantum physics
Quantum sensors use very small physical systems, such as single atoms, electron spins in a crystal or superconducting circuits, as probes.
Photonics and optical computing
Photonic computing: doing AI arithmetic with light
Photonic computing uses light, rather than electrical signals, to carry out calculations.
Neurotechnology and human augmentation
Brain-computer interfaces: reading brain signals to help people speak and control devices
A brain-computer interface, or BCI, reads electrical activity from the brain and turns it into text, speech or commands for a computer.
Retinal implants: can electronics give back some sight?
A retinal prosthesis, often called a bionic eye, is an electronic implant that stimulates the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye.
Sensors, imaging and electronic skin
Event-based cameras: sensors that only report change
An event-based camera is a vision sensor that does not record full pictures.
Climate and environment
How does direct air capture work, and how far has it got?
Direct air capture (DAC) is a group of technologies that pull carbon dioxide (CO2) out of ordinary air.
What is biochar, and does it lock carbon away?
Biochar is a charcoal-like solid made by heating plant material, such as crop residues or wood, with little or no oxygen.
Advanced manufacturing
How does metal 3D printing work, and where is it used?
Metal 3D printing, more formally metal additive manufacturing, builds a metal part one layer at a time.
Food and agriculture
How does vertical farming work?
Vertical farming grows crops indoors, under artificial light and in a controlled climate (Benke and Tomkins, 2017).
Reader guides
Energy and computing units: a reader glossary
Use this glossary when you read claims about energy, power or computing.
How to check a battery performance claim
Battery claims often rest on one number.
How to judge a technology breakthrough headline
A short checklist for reading a news story or press release about a new technology.
How to read a clinical trial result: a reader checklist
A trial result in a headline is a claim until you have checked a few basic things.
What a TRL number does and does not tell you
A Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is a single number.