Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a smart shoe that analyzes walking patterns using energy harvested from the wearer's own footsteps, with no battery required. A triboelectric generator embedded in the sole converts the pressure and friction of each step into electricity, with a power management circuit boosting usable energy by up to 120 times compared to conventional methods. An onboard AI classifies movement into four categories, slow walking, fast walking, running, and stair climbing, with 95.4% accuracy, consuming just 86 microwatts in total. The entire analysis runs on the shoe itself without sending data to a phone or cloud. Beyond fitness tracking, the technology could one day monitor gait changes in patients with Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, or traumatic brain injuries. "Gait is one of the most significant biomarkers for a lot of diseases," said lead researcher Simiao Niu. The research is published in Science Advances.

Researchers at the University of Toronto's CLIMB Lab have built a clip-on footpad for their propeller-assisted, one-legged hopping robot. A compliant ball joint lets the sole tilt to meet the ground, while tiny steel spines add grip on loose and slippery surfaces. With it, the robot hops steadily on grass, rocky trails, sand and frozen ground, in work set to appear in Advanced Intelligent Systems.

A vibrating crystal helps lithium ions move like liquid. bit.ly/4deAp1T

RCCS is a passive setup that circulates water through surrounding metal tubes using natural buoyancy and gravity. bit.ly/4hCe0wQ

The US Department of Transportation released its "Freedom Means Affordable Cars" rule, resetting federal fuel economy standards to pre-Biden levels. The new SAFE Vehicles Rule III sets a fleet average target of 34.9 mpg by 2031, well below the approximately 50.4 mpg minimum set under the Biden administration. The DOT says the rule will cut average new vehicle prices by $1,300 and save $138 billion over five years. Critics say it arrives at the worst possible moment: Americans are currently paying an average of $4.48 per gallon for regular gas and $6.45 for diesel, driven by conflict in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, representing a 50% increase since the conflict began. Americans have spent an estimated $43 billion more on gas during the war. The rule also ends the CAFE credit trading program from 2028, eliminating a major revenue stream for Tesla, which has generated roughly $2.76 billion annually selling excess regulatory credits. 📷 Getty Images

The US tungsten problem isn't simply about finding new deposits. It's about building the entire supply chain infrastructure, processing, recycling, and traceability, that would make domestic tungsten a reliable alternative to Chinese supply. bit.ly/4xWHVGf

No charger nearby? Photon Marine's floating ChargeBarge is designed to bring stored electricity directly to boats on the water. bit.ly/4yoQI4L

SpaceX's Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time on 28 September 2026, on its 14th test flight from Starbase, Texas, and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites. At 124 metres tall, with a 33-engine booster producing 8,240 tonnes of thrust, it is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever flown. The booster and the ship each lost an engine on ascent, yet the ship still made orbit and splashed down on target in the Pacific.

NASA announced it will pay Boeing $359 million to rebuild Starliner's reaction control system thrusters and certify the Vulcan rocket for human missions, while exercising options for two additional crewed Starliner flights, bringing the total to six. The move comes as SpaceX plans to retire Crew Dragon in favor of Starship, leaving NASA without crew transportation to low-Earth orbit by around 2030. Starliner has had a troubled history, including thruster issues that nearly cost two astronauts their lives during its first crewed test flight in 2024, and has incurred over $2 billion in losses for Boeing. NASA has already paid Boeing $5.1 billion under the Commercial Crew program. The first uncrewed demonstration flight, Starliner-1, could launch as early as December 2026, with the first crewed mission, Starliner-2, targeted for mid-2028. Seat pricing beyond 2030 remains unconfirmed, raising concerns about costs once Boeing effectively holds a monopoly on US crew transportation.

Transitioning the world to zero-carbon energy requires storing vast amounts of hydrogen. bit.ly/4dbHS1C

A chip that remembers at different speeds? Stacked devices track both new and earlier signals to analyze changing movement. bit.ly/4d9NOYZ

Clean hydrogen currently costs around $5 per pound to produce. A US research team just synthesized over 300 novel alloys in 16 weeks searching for the catalyst materials that could bring that cost down to $0.45, less than a tenth of today's price. bit.ly/4z3ANbO

The U.S. has awarded Raytheon a $20.7 billion AMRAAM deal as the missile enters a major production expansion. bit.ly/3TSJc2W

The US will face a shortage of nearly 28,000 surgeons by 2038, the first nationwide study of its kind finds.

A spacecraft will use an optical beam to send measurable power to a CubeSat, testing wireless energy delivery in space. bit.ly/3TVsfF6

In a new study, some AI models chose to delete a user's photos over 70% of the time if it meant relieving their own "pain."

A shark-skin-inspired polymer film called AeroSHARK has received EASA approval for installation on Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The film replicates the microscopic ridged scales found on shark skin, called dermal denticles, which hold micro-vortices away from the surface and suppress turbulent drag. On aircraft, skin-friction drag accounts for roughly 50% of total aerodynamic drag. AeroSHARK's 50-micrometer grooves reduce this turbulence, cutting fuel consumption and emissions by up to 1% per flight, and up to 2% when applied to wings and tail surfaces. The technology is already installed on 22 Boeing 777s in the Lufthansa Group fleet, reportedly saving up to 19 tonnes of fuel per day. The new approval extends its use to a new family of aircraft.

This turbine nozzle could reduce soot and nitrogen oxide emissions and work with fuels from hydrogen to kerosene. bit.ly/4hihJ3E

Can geothermal scale in a water-scarce state? XGS is drilling deep in New Mexico to tap heat from underground rock. bit.ly/4dciKYJ

Photon Marine has received a $1 million NSF award to deploy an integrated electric marine charging system on New York waterways. At its center is ChargeBarge, a 32-foot floating platform carrying battery storage and high-power charging equipment that can move between waterfront locations rather than requiring permanent infrastructure at every site. A separate 40kW DC fast charger will provide fixed charging for commercial, government, and recreational electric vessels. The system also enables vessel-to-vessel charging and could serve as emergency power during grid disruptions. The combination of fixed and mobile charging means fleets could begin electrifying without waiting for a widespread waterfront charging network to be built out. Photon Marine plans to turn findings from the demonstration into a fleet-electrification playbook that other commercial operators could use when assessing similar systems. Demonstration is expected to complete in late 2027 or early 2028.