A group of Chinese roboticists has developed a compact and dexterous robot hand, capable of a broad range of actions but also robust enough to withstand significant impact forces. Their creation will continue to function, even in some of the most unpredictable and unstructured environments, say researchers from the Harbin University of Technology. Engineering robots…
Chinese researchers claim to have created silk up to 70% stronger than that produced by spiders and other silkworms. According to the team of scientists, their “artificial super silk” is not only resilient but also safe for use in many industries, including textiles and medicine. Silk has been cultivated in China since the Neolithic era,…
Chinese automotive manufacturer, Xpeng, has just debuted its latest creation in Dubai: a flying car. The AeroHT X2, the two-seater, vertical take-off creation is Xpeng’s vision for the future of personal and public transport. The X2 is classified as an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle (eVTOL) and is in Dubai as part of the…
Car rental firm, Sixt, is discussing the purchase of 100 000 electric vehicles (EVs) from Chinese car firm BYD. The news comes off the heels of BYD’s European expansion. Sixt joins a slew of car hire companies looking to electrify their fleets by the end of the decade. Sixt, a German-based mobility service provider which…
Chinese scientists have successfully tested a new engine for the long-awaited, heavy-lift Long March 9 rocket. Called TF-79, the engine was developed by the Beijing Astronautics Experiment Institute of Technology (BAEIT) for China’s crewed moon missions and possibly interplanetary expeditions. TF-79’s development period suffered early setbacks but, after addressing the length and capacity of each…
A group of Chinese scientists claims to have found a method to significantly cut the cost of commercial hypersonic travel. First picked up by the South China Morning Post, researchers claim an air-breathing engine, fuelled by a mixture of ethylene and ultra-fine coal powder, can create explosive shock waves that travel six times faster than…
The first road test for magnetic levitation (maglev) vehicles has been conducted by engineers representing China’s Southwest Jiaotong University. First reported by the state-run news agency, Xinhua Daily, the university research unit raised a near 2.8-tonne sedan 25 millimetres off the ground and propelled the vehicle down a test track by way of electromagnets. China…
China is preparing to certify its answer to Boeing and Airbus this month. The C919 commercial airliner, developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) has already received orders from several domestic airlines and has been described as the realisation of “a Chinese dream”. FlightRadar24, a real-time flight tracking service, identified two C919s landing…
A Chinese research team claims to have developed nanogenerators capable of harvesting power from the ocean’s waves via static electricity. Harnessing energy from waves is not an entirely novel concept. In fact, scientists have toyed with the notion for centuries. In 1799, a Parisian engineer called Girard filed what most scholars believe to be the…
In a world-first, China has approved the production and use of an inhalable Covid-19 vaccine. Created by Tianjin-based CanSino Biologics, the breathable mist has received the green light for use as a primary and booster shot from several countries and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The globe has battled the spread of the virus for…