Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin company has completed a successful spaceflight test in West Texas (shown). The New Shepard vehicle rose to a height of 58 miles, four miles short of space, before landing.
Robots clean rivers and sort waste, monitor ecosystems, and inspect renewable-energy infrastructure. But even the greenest robot has an environmental footprint.
EPFL engineers have designed acoustic cavities that convert sound waves into thrust, propelling small robots and ultralight aerial vehicles without on-board actuators or electronics.