research & development

In years past, the go-to tools for researchers were specific to their field, whether it was a telescope or a microscope. Increasingly, it's computers and big data sets.

The White House today announced a $200 million big-data initiative to create tools to improve scientific research by making sense of the huge amounts of data now available. The programs are needed to improve the technologies for getting insight from complex and large sets of digital data, according to the White House.

"The initiative we are launching today promises to transform our ability to use Big Data for scientific discovery, … Read more

There's no whining about these dandelions; they may some day be used as a substitute for synthetic rubber in interior car products such as cupholders, floor mats, and interior trim.

Researchers at Ford and Ohio State University are growing a certain species of dandelion at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) to test it out as a source of sustainable material.

"We're always looking for new sustainable materials to use in our vehicles that have a smaller carbon footprint to produce and can be grown locally," said Angela Harris, Ford research engineer. "Synthetic … Read more

HTC is looking to expand its R&D efforts on wireless research through a new office opening in North Carolina next year.

The smartphone maker said today it plans to lease a new R&D office in Durham, N.C., during the first quarter of 2011.

The site will kick off with a staff of around 45 people who'll conduct research into multiple areas of wireless technology, according to HTC, which plans to expand the facility further during the new year and beyond.

The Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina is known for its Research Triangle Park, home … Read more

China will soon overtake Japan as the world's second heaviest spender on research and development, according to a report from the Battelle Memorial Institute.

A nonprofit group that conducts scientific research, Battelle published its findings today as part of an article in its R&D Magazine. The article and its full supplementary report (PDF) looked at global R&D spending in general and across six specific segments--Information Technology, Electronics, Life Sciences, Aerospace/Defense/Security, Energy, and Advanced Materials.

Next year, China is expected to spend $153.7 billion on R&D, a big jump from $141.… Read more

FORT HOOD, Texas--Soldiers and civilian contractors braved the heat here this week for the first Robotics Rodeo to view and interact with a long lineup of robot systems and to give feedback on which ones could potentially find a place in the U.S. Army's robo stable.

Despite the hundreds of military robots that show up in concept or as prototypes on company Web sites and corporate reports, humans still do the fighting on the ground and it's likely to stay that way for a while. However, there's a growing niche for "the dirty, the dull, … Read more

FORT HOOD, Texas--John Deere, a household name in the Lone Star state, is hoping the brand will carry over into the market for military unmanned runabouts.

At the Robotics Rodeo taking place this week here at this massive Army post, the company is demonstrating its R-Gator standalone, autonomous mule, which is based on its M-Gator model already in the field. Applications include reconnaissance, patrol, hauling supplies (up to 1,400 lbs.), casualty evacuation, and the "marsupial" capability--namely the ferrying and remote deployment of smaller, specialized robots. (PDF)

The unit uses John Deere's NavCom technology, GPS, and … Read more

Longtime tech mainstay IBM has announced the creation of a Cambridge, Mass.-based research center for the development of "social software," from consumer Web apps to enterprise communication tools. At its launch, researchers from Dow Jones and Thomson Reuters' health care division have agreed to be "corporate residents" in the facility.

The IBM Center for Social Software, according to a release, will take on the lofty task of "creat(ing) a new type of collaborative environment to tackle some of the toughest questions about social software, identify new business models, help discover next-generation Web 2.… Read more

A California company has introduced a 25-watt mobile fuel cell system designed to power a ruggedized laptop computer for up to 14 hours at a time using a single 250cc cartridge.

The XX25, as it is called, internally generates fuel cell-ready hydrogen from a highly concentrated methanol solution, providing power to a field computer and communications equipment at weight savings of up to 65 percent, according to Livermore, Calif.-based UltraCell.

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that use hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, and continue to produce it as long as the fuel lasts. This is not only ecologically … Read more

CNET News.com sister site Silicon.com went to the HP Labs facility in Bristol, England, to see what the researchers have been up to.

Check out CNET News.com's photo gallery for a glimpse of HP's emerging tech for its Snapfish photo site, its Mscapes location application, and even its stab at quantum computing.