Here's the latest updates in technology you need to know about

Resource-sharing boosts robotic resilience - EPFL

Teamwork makes the robot dream work

Engineers at EPFL have demonstrated a modular robot that becomes more resilient as it gains more modules by sharing critical resources across its body. Led by the Reconfigurable Robotics Laboratory, the team built an origami-inspired robot called Mori3 and tested a new "local resource sharing" approach that pools power, sensing, and wireless communication between connected units. The team says full sharing of all key resources reversed the usual reliability drop seen in multi-module robots. Such robots could help in disaster response, inspection, and maintenance in hazardous as well as collapsed buildings and tunnels.

A brick that's easier on the planet

PIC/ISTOCK

Scientists at the University of Sharjah say they have developed eco-friendly construction bricks made from UAE desert sand, offering a potential alternative to carbon-intensive Portland cement, which accounts for a significant share of global CO2 emissions. Tests reported in the Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering found the bricks resistance to sulfate attack, a common in marine environments.