May 23, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://isaiprofitable.com/">https://isaiprofitable.com/</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48243863">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48243863</a></p> <p>Points: 175</p> <p># Comments: 114</p>

May 23, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/kash-patels-apparel-site-is-trying-to-trick-visitors-into-installing-malware">https://www.pcmag.com/news/kash-patels-apparel-site-is-trying-to-trick-visitors-into-installing-malware</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48243293">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48243293</a></p> <p>Points: 78</p> <p># Comments: 20</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/spacex-successfully-launches-prototype-of-starship-rocket-263835205505">https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/spacex-successfully-launches-prototype-of-starship-rocket-263835205505</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48242959">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48242959</a></p> <p>Points: 200</p> <p># Comments: 102</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://github.com/bkawa-bot/planet-maiko">https://github.com/bkawa-bot/planet-maiko</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48242949">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48242949</a></p> <p>Points: 20</p> <p># Comments: 1</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/news/how-decades-sleep-research-led-new-sleep-apnea-drug">https://temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/news/how-decades-sleep-research-led-new-sleep-apnea-drug</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48242278">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48242278</a></p> <p>Points: 92</p> <p># Comments: 60</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://notesbylex.com/shipping-a-laptop-to-a-refugee-camp-in-uganda">https://notesbylex.com/shipping-a-laptop-to-a-refugee-camp-in-uganda</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48241997">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48241997</a></p> <p>Points: 258</p> <p># Comments: 78</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://github.com/anomalyco/models.dev">https://github.com/anomalyco/models.dev</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48241172">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48241172</a></p> <p>Points: 112</p> <p># Comments: 20</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://www.anthropic.com/research/glasswing-initial-update">https://www.anthropic.com/research/glasswing-initial-update</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48240419">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48240419</a></p> <p>Points: 351</p> <p># Comments: 218</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/21/waymo-pauses-service-in-four-cities-as-robotaxis-keep-driving-into-floods/">https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/21/waymo-pauses-service-in-four-cities-as-robotaxis-keep-driving-into-floods/</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48240331">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48240331</a></p> <p>Points: 29</p> <p># Comments: 1</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://security.apple.com/blog/formal-verification-corecrypto/">https://security.apple.com/blog/formal-verification-corecrypto/</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48239862">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48239862</a></p> <p>Points: 71</p> <p># Comments: 3</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://www.kanbots.dev/">https://www.kanbots.dev/</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48239413">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48239413</a></p> <p>Points: 187</p> <p># Comments: 106</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/16766">https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/16766</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48238789">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48238789</a></p> <p>Points: 399</p> <p># Comments: 417</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://www.1940airterminal.org/news/liquidation-of-simulators">https://www.1940airterminal.org/news/liquidation-of-simulators</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48238568">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48238568</a></p> <p>Points: 100</p> <p># Comments: 28</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://krebsonsecurity.com/2026/05/lawmakers-demand-answers-as-cisa-tries-to-contain-data-leak/">https://krebsonsecurity.com/2026/05/lawmakers-demand-answers-as-cisa-tries-to-contain-data-leak/</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48238429">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48238429</a></p> <p>Points: 151</p> <p># Comments: 43</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://davidoks.blog/p/why-japanese-companies-do-so-many">https://davidoks.blog/p/why-japanese-companies-do-so-many</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48237163">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48237163</a></p> <p>Points: 552</p> <p># Comments: 287</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://robida.net/entries/2026/05/21/a-forth-inspired-language-for-writing-websites">https://robida.net/entries/2026/05/21/a-forth-inspired-language-for-writing-websites</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48236887">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48236887</a></p> <p>Points: 133</p> <p># Comments: 14</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Hey HN, we’re Avi, Kiet, and Satya. We’re building Superset (<a href="https://github.com/superset-sh/superset" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/superset-sh/superset</a>), an open-source agentic IDE for running coding agents like Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode etc in parallel.<p>Demo: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWDHn7gUwfg" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWDHn7gUwfg</a><p>Try it: <a href="https://superset.sh/">https://superset.sh/</a><p>We’re three engineers who’ve built and maintained large codebases, and we kept wanting to work on more than one thing at a time. Once CLI coding agents got good enough we found ourselves running several of them in parallel: triaging Github issues, adding a few ui features, reviewing PRs, researching a refactor, etc.<p>The funny part was that we and a lot of our friends had all hacked together similar scripts around git worktrees. Worktrees are a nice primitive for this because each agent can get an isolated copy of the repo, but the workflows around them can feel pretty messy, setting up/tearing down environments and managing dev servers.<p>We first posted here a few months ago when Superset was mostly an open-source terminal for managing git worktrees (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46368739">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46368739</a>). Since then, it has changed a lot based on feedback from people using it on real codebases, plus contributions from our open-source community. The product has grown into something closer to an IDE for managing agent work across many worktrees, repos, and machines.<p>The biggest thing we learned is that the hard part is not just “run more agents.” It is managing all the state around them: worktrees, ports, terminal sessions, environment setup, diffs, tasks, and PRs. Once you have five or ten agents running, the bottleneck often becomes remembering what each one is doing and actual human review. We added task / issue tracking so work can move from issue → agent → diff → PR → review without losing the context all in Superset. But there's a lot more work to improve this experience over time.<p>We also launched Remote Workspaces, currently in beta. The idea is that you can run coding agents on remote machines instead of using all the memory and CPU on your laptop, while still managing the work from the Superset desktop app.To support Remote workspaces, we isolated the core functionality of our Electron app into a headless Hono server such that it can be deployed into any workspaces and talk to any client (such as our desktop app, mobile, web, etc) and still provide the same interface that our desktop app has.<p>A lot of our next work is around making agent work easier to manage when you are not sitting at your main dev machine. We’re building more functionality into the Superset CLI, improving remote workspace flows, and working on Superset Mobile (coming soon) so you can check on agents, review progress, and steer work from your phone.<p>We’d love more feedback on Superset, especially if you are daily driving coding agents!</p> <hr> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48236770">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48236770</a></p> <p>Points: 85</p> <p># Comments: 112</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://www.cringely.com/2026/05/21/im-writing-again/">https://www.cringely.com/2026/05/21/im-writing-again/</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48236501">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48236501</a></p> <p>Points: 109</p> <p># Comments: 29</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/circle-medical/jobs/onMKAG9-mobile-engineer-android">https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/circle-medical/jobs/onMKAG9-mobile-engineer-android</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48234688">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48234688</a></p> <p>Points: 0</p> <p># Comments: 0</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Article URL: <a href="https://annas-archive.gl/blog/llms-txt.html">https://annas-archive.gl/blog/llms-txt.html</a></p> <p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48234413">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48234413</a></p> <p>Points: 747</p> <p># Comments: 408</p>

May 22, 2026

"This capability is not common for satellites conducting typical missions."

May 22, 2026

Ebola outbreak risk level increased as deaths reach 177 with nearly 750 cases.

May 22, 2026

Google tells Ars it fixed the first-gen Chromecast bug.

May 22, 2026

FCC seeks opinions on whether ABC show's decisions are "based on newsworthiness."

May 22, 2026

Workaround flouts law that bans NTSB disclosures of cockpit audio recordings.

May 22, 2026

"There's a brighter future. All we need to do is take it."

May 22, 2026

Law enforcement intercepted VPN traffic, seized domains, and arrested its operator.

May 22, 2026

The plot is predictable, the fight scenes are meh, but you can't beat the charm of that little green Grogu.

May 22, 2026

Critics note a lack of factual support in lawsuit filed by US Senate candidate.

May 22, 2026

What went up cannot all come down (for museum display).

May 22, 2026

Two additional marketing companies will also pay $25,000 each.

May 22, 2026

The first data from 2026 seem to indicate that last year was an oddity.

May 22, 2026

Trump delays AI safety testing EO, claiming it would be an innovation “blocker.”

May 22, 2026

Keep the charging puck’s exposed pins far away from anything metal.

May 22, 2026

"It is imperative to concentrate resources towards the highest priority objectives."

May 22, 2026

Steven Rosenbaum explains how inaccurate quotes got into his book <em>The Future of Truth</em>.

May 22, 2026

Doctors are angry and alarmed that preventive care could go the way of vaccines.

May 22, 2026

All eyes on South Texas for the latest Starship test flight.

May 22, 2026

In 2001, the FBI raided O.J.'s house and found smartcards, bootloaders.

May 22, 2026

GitHub is just the latest victim of TeamPCP, a gang that has carried out a spree of software supply chain attacks.

May 23, 2026

In addition to the recent influx of Linux security vulnerabilities affecting Linux, FreeBSD has also begun receiving security reports via AI/LLM-driven discovery tools. FreeBSD 15.1-RC1 is out today ahead of the planned official release in June and it brings a handful of security fixes out of this new AI-driven security research space...

May 23, 2026

GNOME Commander, the orthodox file manager for the GNOME desktop that was inspired by Norton Commander, has been rewritten in the Rust programming language and also now using the GTK4 toolkit...

May 22, 2026

Merged today for Linux 7.1 was this week's power management fixes with a few notable fixes for both AMD and Intel platforms...

May 22, 2026

Released earlier this month was the OpenCL 3.1 specification with a focus on enhancing AI and HPC workloads for this long-time Khronos specification. Out today is OpenCL 3.1.1 as a point release with an emphasis on addressing a possible performance regression of OpenCL 3.1...

May 22, 2026

The first release candidate of systemd 261 is out today and it includes yet more features for this Linux init system and service manager...

May 22, 2026

Last month with the new AMD Zen 5 "Dual Edition" 3D V-Cache CPU, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition showed great performance on Linux across a range of workloads. Curious if the operating system was playing into the greater benefit of Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 versus just the workloads tested, this article is looking at both the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 on Microsoft Windows 11 and Ubuntu 26.04 LTS Linux across a range of native benchmarks.

May 22, 2026

For those with a new Core Ultra Series 3 "Panther Lake" laptop from HP or considering one of these new systems, the Intel ISH firmware has now been upstreamed to linux-firmware.git for enhancing the out-of-the-box support...

May 22, 2026

The AMD SoC Power Management Controller Driver is the latest seeing patch activity now in preparing for next-gen Zen 6 processors...

May 22, 2026

A new proposal volleyed today among LLVM developers is for Multi-Thread Parallel Compilation "MTPC" for the ThinLTO link-time optimization code. This is great news for today's high core count CPUs when looking to compile very large LLVM modules...

May 22, 2026

A set of 42 patches were posted on Thursday for the AMDGPU kernel driver and associated AMDKFD compute driver code for enabling pipe reset capabilities for compute workloads...

May 22, 2026

It's not only the Linux networking subsystem where many fixes have been appearing -- including several notable security fixes for local privilege escalation issues -- leading to "craziness" from AI / LLMs. The Linux sound subsystem has also been seeing an uptick in activity with many "assisted-by" patches coming about in recent weeks...

May 21, 2026

Driven by AI/LLM bots like Shashiko uncovering new issues within the Linux kernel source tree, including various security vulnerabilities like Dirty Frag, the mailing list has been wild with bug reports and fixes. Today's networking fixes pull request for Linux 7.1 continues to highlight the ongoing craziness and fears that the worst may be yet to come...

May 21, 2026

CHUWI this week announced their UniBook laptop as a ~$449 USD laptop that aims to compete with Apple's MacBook Neo. While shipping with Microsoft Windows 11, it should be Linux-friendly and we'll soon be putting it to the test at Phoronix...

May 21, 2026

Open-source Intel software engineers today sent out their latest round of Xe kernel graphics driver updates to DRM-Next for queuing ahead of next month's Linux 7.2 merge window...

May 21, 2026

SUSE engineers continue working on their modern "Agama" operating system installer used by the latest SUSE Linux Enterprise and openSUSE Linux distributions. Out today is Agama 21 to incorporate their latest OS installer enhancements...

May 21, 2026

Recently I received the line-up of the NVIDIA RTX PRO "Blackwell" workstation graphics cards for seeing how these newest professional offerings from NVIDIA are performing on Linux and competing against the AMD Radeon AI PRO and Intel Arc Pro B-Series competition.

May 21, 2026

KMSCON 10.0 is out today as the newest feature release to this terminal emulator for Linux that can serve as an alternative to the in-kernel VT...

May 21, 2026

AMD engineers continue enhancing the AMDXDNA accelerator driver for supporting the Ryzen AI NPUs on Linux...

May 21, 2026

Wine developers have announced the release of VKD3D 2.0, the newest feature release for this Direct3D 12 API implementation built atop the Vulkan API. VKD3D is what's used by upstream Wine for D3D12 compared to Valve's downstream VKD3D-Proton within Steam Play (Proton)...

May 21, 2026

AlmaLinux shared with us that they will be introducing a new version of their RHEL-derived Linux operating system that is built specifically for media and entertainment use-cases...

May 21, 2026

AMD is ready with more AMDKFD compute driver and AMDGPU kernel graphics driver changes for the upcoming Linux 7.2 merge window...

May 21, 2026

A new release of chipStar is now available as the open-source tool for compiling and running HIP/CUDA code in a vendor-neutral manner with the SPIR-V intermediate representation on OpenCL or even Intel Level Zero as the run-time alternative. This is part of the ambitious effort to allow NVIDIA CUDA and AMD HIP code to ultimately run on alternative vendors with increasing levels of success...

May 21, 2026

Back in 2024 there were Linux patches to enable a partially-working Microsoft Surface Pro 9 5G laptop that is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8xc Gen 3 (SC8280XP) SoC. Now in 2026, there are new patches for making that ARM-powered Microsoft Surface laptop actually working more respectably under Linux... Like a working display and more...

May 20, 2026

One of the most exciting developments in recent times for the open-source AMDGPU kernel graphics driver is HDMI 2.1 FRL support for the AMDGPU driver along with Display Stream Compression support as they work toward providing full HDMI 2.1 support for this open-source AMD Radeon driver. The details how AMD managed to pull this feat off given prior resistance from the HDMI Forum remains to be confirmed, but it's moving ahead and out today is the latest iteration of the HDMI 2.1 FRL+DSC patches...

May 20, 2026

As a very exciting development ahead of the Linux 7.2 kernel merge window opening in about one month's time, it looks like the long-awaited Cache Aware Scheduling support will finally be merged! CONFIG_SCHED_CACHE has made it into a TIP branch with all the Cache Aware Scheduling code for helping with Linux performance on modern CPUs sporting multiple last level caches...

May 20, 2026

The latest nightly builds of Firefox 153 have rolled out a new appearance for the browser's settings area...

May 20, 2026

One of the RISC-V SoCs we have been most looking forward to this year is the SpacemiT K3 that features the X100 RISC-V cores that are RVA23 compliant and among the first readily available RVA23 RISC-V platform for running on the likes of Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. In this article is a preview of some very early benchmarks of the SpacemiT K3 with the new Pico-ITX single board computer offering.

May 20, 2026

While it has been nearly seven years since Apple acquired the Intel Mobile Communications' smartphone modem business and fifteen years since Intel acquired the wireless solutions division of Infineon, in 2026 we might see mainline Linux kernel support for the out-of-date XMM6260 modem...

May 20, 2026

Red Hat today announced the releases of both Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.2 as well as RHEL 9.8...

May 20, 2026

Greg Kroah-Hartman took time away from his duties as Linux's second-in-command as stable maintainer, various subsystem maintainer, and recent hobby of using AI/LLMs for uncovering Linux kernel bugs to present at the Rust Week conference...

May 20, 2026

That didn't take long. Mere days after Dell and Lenovo began sponsoring the Linux Vendor Firmware Service (LVFS) as premiere sponsors in contributing $100k+ annually to this open-source firmware updating initiative, HP is also now a premiere sponsor...

May 20, 2026

FFmpeg already supports CPU-based decoding for Samsung's APV as the Advanced Professional Video Codec. FFmpeg also has APV encode support too while now an interesting addition was merged this week: Vulkan-based acceleration for APV...

May 22, 2026

Google's AI Overviews are running into an interesting problem right now. Earlier on Friday, if you searched for the term "disregard," the AI Overview section would include a response like what you'd see from a more traditional AI chatbot instead of the typical AI summary, as spotted on X. As you can see in the [&#8230;]

May 22, 2026

With Memorial day weekend kicking off the travel season, we’re seeing a lot of deals pop up on travel gadgets, from portable power banks to noise-canceling headphones. One of the best right now is Twelve South’s AirFly Pro 2 Bluetooth adapter, which lets you use your wireless headphones with in-flight entertainment systems so you can [&#8230;]

May 22, 2026

Meta's new Forum app for iPhones takes Facebook Groups and moves them to a dedicated app with a dedicated AI chatbot to go with it, like an AI revamp of the ill-fated Groups app Facebook shut down in 2017. Rather than going to ChatGPT or tacking "Reddit" onto the end of a Google search, Forum [&#8230;]

May 22, 2026

There is a harsh truth about Elon Musk's "truth-seeking" AI chatbot Grok: It's not very good, and not many people are using it. That's the takeaway of a new Reuters report, which found that Grok barely appears in federal records of how the US government used AI last year. It's not the only sign xAI's [&#8230;]

May 22, 2026

Memorial Day is nearly here, meaning the seasonal sales are in full swing. If your weekend plans involve pool parties or barbecues, now is a great time to pick up a portable speaker or set of solar lights, as many of our favorite models are currently on sale. You can also find deals on everything [&#8230;]

May 22, 2026

They say that Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer. I have my doubts given the less-than-balmy weather in many parts of the US this weekend, though that doesn’t mean it’s not an appropriate time to pick up some summer essentials — including a portable speaker / smart lamp like Govee’s Table Lamp 2 [&#8230;]

May 22, 2026

Google officially filed its appeal of the federal ruling deeming it an illegal search monopolist, arguing the decision "crashed" through legal guardrails. "Google just prevailed in the marketplace fair and square," it writes in its legal filing. Google had already said it would appeal the ruling, which includes both the August 2024 decision about its [&#8230;]

May 22, 2026

On Thursday, Waymo customers opened up the app and noticed something unusual: no more freeway service. Trips that would normally take a few minutes on the freeway were suddenly projected to last much longer via local roads. The company later confirmed that it had suspended freeway driving across all of its US markets over concerns [&#8230;]

May 22, 2026

Best Buy’s Memorial Day sale includes a good deal on a massive OLED TV. The 77-inch LG B5 is down to $1,499.99 (originally $2,999.99), and the purchase includes a $200 Best Buy gift card. I’m a 55-inch TV kind of person, but if you’ve got the budget — and the wall space — this is [&#8230;]

May 22, 2026

Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. It's now been more than a week since Trump Mobile announced that phones would "start shipping this week." Last week Trump Mobile announced that the T1 Phone was ready to [&#8230;]

May 22, 2026

Lots of our most-recommended headphones, power banks, and other gadgets are on sale for Memorial Day.

May 22, 2026

The acquisition struck many people as a bizarre mismatch, but it's really a sign of where Chinese ecommerce giants are already going.

May 22, 2026

Some of WIRED's favorite griddles, grills, and pellet smokers are as much as $250 off for Memorial Day weekend.

May 22, 2026

Your modem and router are the dynamic duo you need to get online, so long as you don't mistake one for the other.

May 22, 2026

The search giant’s AI-crafted answers are so convenient, you’ll be sucked in—to the detriment of the web and the artists and thinkers behind it.

May 22, 2026

Made for those who hate having a TV in the home, Samsung’s Movingstyle monitor-on-wheels brings the entertainment when you need it and hides away in a closet when you don’t.

May 22, 2026

Looking for all our top recommended vacuums? Here are our favorites in every style we’ve tested, from stick vacs to robot vacuums.

May 22, 2026

Swap out your creaky old box fan for a new model that lights up, mists, or even follows you around the room.

May 22, 2026

The many methods we use to gather data ultimately boil down to either counting or comparing.

May 22, 2026

Without the context of Valve’s Steam Machine (which is still MIA), this controller can’t fully dazzle players yet.

May 22, 2026

Small, iterative improvements bring serious performance gains to Razer’s Viper V4 Pro.

May 22, 2026

Tune into live broadcasts from your Windows desktop with Trdo, a free and open-source application.

May 22, 2026

Hyperscalers are pushing the Gulf to rethink internet infrastructure as AI raises the stakes of cable disruptions.

May 22, 2026

Explore Chewy coupon codes for $30 off, $20 off your first order $49, 50% off pet food, and more May 2026 discounts.

May 22, 2026

Stream your favorite shows for up to $80 off this month, and save on subscription plans with the latest Peacock TV coupons from WIRED.

May 22, 2026

Check out our deals for Nike this month, including 15% off select purchases.

May 22, 2026

Boost your productivity and save with exclusive Google Workspace coupons from WIRED. Get up to 14% off plans for three months, including Starter, Standard, and Plus tiers.

May 22, 2026

Save 30% or 10% with Samsung coupon codes, up to $1,000 on appliances, plus limited-time deals on the Galaxy Z Fold7, Flip7, and S25.

May 22, 2026

Whether you’re looking to upgrade your internet or get the latest phone, we’ve got you covered with our selection of AT&T coupons and deals.

May 22, 2026

Get 25% off with a Dyson coupon code, plus save up to $600 with discounts on vacuums, $150 off Airwraps, and more.

May 22, 2026

The search engine&#39;s definitions have been replaced with AI Overviews.

May 22, 2026

We put the Oppo Find X9 Ultra up against the Vivo X300 Ultra to see which telephoto smartphone reigns supreme.

May 22, 2026

Google I/O 2026 kicked off this week and to no one&#39;s surprise, it was almost completely about AI.

May 21, 2026

The company is making it easier for manufacturers to make more Gemini-powered smart devices.

May 21, 2026

Google&#39;s new AI features capitalize on the popularity of voice dictation, and a desire to leave the thinking to AI.

May 22, 2026

The JPL&#39;s current contract with Caltech ends in 2028.

May 20, 2026

Airbnb is adding thousands of boutique hotels, new services and experiences to its app.

May 20, 2026

The e-paper slate has a built-in voice recorder to save you having to take meeting minutes.

May 20, 2026

State Of Play will feature a fresh peek at Marvel&#39;s Wolverine.

May 20, 2026

It offers bright and incredibly accurate video in an elegant body, but has no smart TV features.

May 22, 2026

Trump Mobile admitted to the leak after people started finding that their information was publicly accessible.

May 20, 2026

Google I/O was AI all the way down, but it&#39;s not clear how much will be useful.

May 22, 2026

The Mandalorian and Grogu can&#39;t quite leave its TV origins behind.

May 20, 2026

Legendary furniture maker Herman Miller has made a gorgeous gaming desk that has a price tag you&#39;d expect from the brand.

May 20, 2026

Mercedes-AMG has come up with its most powerful vehicle ever and there&#39;s no ICE engine in sight.

May 22, 2026

Which new TV should you buy? The Engadget Podcast dives into RGB LCDs, OLED and all the new TV tech

May 20, 2026

Samsung workers in Korea are set to walk off their jobs on May 21 after failing to reach an agreement with the company.

May 20, 2026

Volvo&#39;s latest EV is its best yet, and best value too, but still comes up a bit short to the competition.

May 20, 2026

Kickstarter is going back to its previous rules around mature content after creators criticized the new policy it introduced last week.

May 22, 2026

Watch SpaceX launch Starship V3 for the first time.

May 22, 2026

The kernel's page cache is charged with maintaining pages (or, more correctly, <a href="https://lwn.net/Articles/1064861/">folios</a>) containing copies of data from files in the filesystem; its performance has a big effect on the performance of the system as a whole. One of the key decisions the kernel must make is when to evict folios from the page cache. At the 2026 <a href="https://events.linuxfoundation.org/lsfmmbpf/">Linux Storage, Filesystem, Memory Management, and BPF Summit</a>, Tal Zussman ran a memory-management-track session on how the page cache could be better customized for specific workloads. It will not be much of a spoiler to say that it involves BPF.

May 22, 2026

A major page fault occurs when a process attempts to access a page that is not currently present in RAM; satisfying such faults usually involves <span class="nobreak">I/O</span>, and can thus take some time. When many threads sharing an address space are generating page faults, the result can be significant lock contention while that <span class="nobreak">I/O</span> takes place. During the memory-management track at the 2026 <a href="https://events.linuxfoundation.org/lsfmmbpf/">Linux Storage, Filesystem, Memory Management, and BPF Summit</a>, Barry Song led a session to try, yet again, to find an enduring solution to this problem.

May 22, 2026

Security updates have been issued by <b>AlmaLinux</b> (firefox), <b>Debian</b> (chromium, nss, openvpn, and thunderbird), <b>Fedora</b> (cockpit, kernel, and linux-firmware), <b>Oracle</b> (gdk-pixbuf2, kernel, and libsndfile), <b>SUSE</b> (container-suseconnect, cpp-httplib, dnsmasq, firefox, glibc, GraphicsMagick, java-1_8_0-openj9, kernel, mozjs115, php8, python-urllib3, rekor, rootlesskit, rsync, tiff, ucode-intel, util-linux, and xz), and <b>Ubuntu</b> (bind9, bubblewrap, libarchive, linux-intel-iot-realtime, postgresql-14, postgresql-16, postgresql-17, postgresql-18, and xdg-desktop-portal).

May 21, 2026

Michael Catanzaro has disclosed <a href="https://lwn.net/ml/all/ce81312b-99e1-4305-a816-e74b2bd1ffd5@app.fastmail.com">a command-injection vulnerability</a> affecting a number of GTK-based PDF readers; exploits included: <p> <blockquote class="bq"> They contain a script for building malicious polyglot PDFs that are simultaneously both valid PDF files and also valid ELF binaries. When the user opens the PDF in the PDF viewer and clicks on a malicious link embedded in the PDF, the PDF abuses the command injection vulnerability to load itself as a GTK module using the `--gtk-module` command line flag. It can then execute arbitrary code via its library constructor. That flag was removed in GTK 4, which is why the vulnerability is much less serious for Papers than it is for Evince, Atril, and Xreader. </blockquote>

May 21, 2026

<p> José Marchesi and the GCC-BPF developers opened the BPF track at the 2026 <a href="https://events.linuxfoundation.org/lsfmmbpf/"> Linux Storage, Filesystem, Memory-management, and BPF Summit</a> with a 90-minute summary of what has changed for GCC's BPF support in the past year. This kind of session has become something of a tradition. There were similar updates in <a href="https://lwn.net/Articles/1015747/"> 2025</a> and <a href="https://lwn.net/Articles/975412/"> 2024</a>. This time around, GCC seems to be closing in on feature parity with the LLVM toolchain — as the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MLTPaBBCTAVwN31fC8FhfGDq2Uq18uOT/view">slides</a> detail. </p>

May 21, 2026

The <a href="https://www.openbsd.org/79.html">OpenBSD 7.9</a> release is out, right on schedule. There is the usual long list of new features, including improved architecture support, CPU scheduling on heterogeneous systems, the ability to hibernate a suspended system after a configurable delay, <a href="https://man.openbsd.org/sosplice.9">socket splicing</a>, a <a href="https://man.openbsd.org/__pledge_open.2"><tt>__pledge_open()</tt></a> system call giving special access to the C library, and much more. See the announcement and <a href="https://www.openbsd.org/plus79.html">the full changelog</a> for details.

May 21, 2026

Gregory Price started his session in the memory-management track of the 2026 <a href="https://events.linuxfoundation.org/lsfmmbpf/">Linux Storage, Filesystem, Memory Management, and BPF Summit</a> by saying that, in current kernels, if a NUMA node has memory, the assumption is that anybody can make use of it. He is trying to implement the opposite policy — to make some memory off-limits for all processes except those designed specifically to use it. The session was used to present his goals and to discuss how they might be implemented.

May 21, 2026

Security updates have been issued by <b>AlmaLinux</b> (kernel, kernel-rt, and libsndfile), <b>Debian</b> (bind9, evince, firefox-esr, openjpeg2, pdns, and rsync), <b>Fedora</b> (erlang-cowlib, evince, expat, firefox, kernel, mingw-expat, mysql8.0, mysql8.4, nss, opencryptoki, pgadmin4, proftpd, python-django5, python-django6, python-dotenv, rsync, rust-nu, rustup, and strongswan), <b>Oracle</b> (nginx, nginx:1.24, ruby, ruby:3.3, and squid), <b>Slackware</b> (bind and rsync), <b>SUSE</b> (buildah, distribution, distribution-registry, docker, firefox-esr, helm, libpainter0, libsdb2_4_2, postgresql-jdbc, runc, and vim), and <b>Ubuntu</b> (gnutls28, gst-plugins-good1.0, jq, linux-nvidia, linux-nvidia-lowlatency, openvpn, rsync, and unbound).

May 21, 2026

Inside this week's LWN.net Weekly Edition: <p> <ul> <li> <a href="https://lwn.net/Articles/1072730/">Front</a>: OpenSUSE site age restrictions; Lots of LSFMM+BPF coverage; The tenth OpenPGP email summit. <li> <a href="https://lwn.net/Articles/1072732/">Briefs</a>: Firefox 151.0; pgBackRest funding; RIP Peter G. Neumann; Quotes; ... <li> <a href="https://lwn.net/Articles/1072733/">Announcements</a>: Newsletters, conferences, security updates, patches, and more. </ul>

May 20, 2026

"Reclaim" is the task of finding memory that can be taken away from its current user and put to better uses within the system; it is a core part of the memory-management picture. The addition of the <a href="https://lwn.net/Articles/851184/">multi-generational LRU</a> (MGLRU) was meant to provide a better reclaim implementation than the "traditional LRU" that preceded it, but MGLRU has complicated the situation instead. No fewer than three memory-management-track sessions at the 2026 <a href="https://events.linuxfoundation.org/lsfmmbpf/">Linux Storage, Filesystem, Memory Management, and BPF Summit</a> were focused on MGLRU, with an eye toward integrating it more fully, improving its performance, and addressing some problems encountered with Android systems.

May 20, 2026

Security updates have been issued by <b>AlmaLinux</b> (kernel, libpng, nginx, nginx:1.24, ruby, and ruby:3.3), <b>Debian</b> (gnutls28 and linux-6.1), <b>Fedora</b> (dnsmasq, kernel, keylime-agent-rust, perl-Net-CIDR-Lite, python-pysam, python-urllib3, rust-cargo-vendor-filterer, rust-ingredients, rust-oo7-cli, rust-rpki, rust-sevctl, and rust-tealdeer), <b>Mageia</b> (bind), <b>Oracle</b> (bind, giflib, gimp:2.8, kernel, libpng, rsync, ruby, and vim), <b>Slackware</b> (haveged and mozilla), <b>SUSE</b> (cockpit, dnsmasq, erlang26, freeipmi, git-bug, glibc, GraphicsMagick, haveged, ImageMagick, iproute2, kernel, openssh, perl-CryptX, perl-HTTP-Tiny, postgresql14, postgresql15, postgresql16, python-Pillow, rsync, tiff, and traefik), and <b>Ubuntu</b> (Highlight.js, linux, linux-aws, linux-aws-5.15, linux-aws-fips, linux-fips, linux-gcp, linux-gcp-fips, linux-gke, linux-gkeop, linux-hwe-5.15, linux-ibm, linux-ibm-5.15, linux-intel-iotg, linux-intel-iotg-5.15, linux-kvm, linux-nvidia, linux-nvidia-tegra, linux-nvidia-tegra-5.15, linux-oracle, linux-raspi, linux-realtime, linux, linux-aws, linux-aws-fips, linux-bluefield, linux-fips, linux-gcp, linux-gcp-5.4, linux-gcp-fips, linux-ibm, linux-ibm-5.4, linux-kvm, linux-oracle, linux-oracle-5.4, linux-xilinx-zynqmp, linux, linux-aws, linux-aws-fips, linux-fips, linux-gcp-4.15, linux-gcp-fips, linux-kvm, linux-oracle, linux, linux-aws, linux-aws-fips, linux-gcp, linux-gcp-fips, linux-gke, linux-gkeop, linux-ibm, linux-ibm-6.8, linux-lowlatency, linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8, linux-raspi, linux-raspi-realtime, linux-realtime, linux-realtime-6.8, linux, linux-aws, linux-hwe-6.17, linux-oem-6.17, linux-oracle, linux-raspi, linux-realtime, linux-realtime-6.17, and smarty3).

May 20, 2026

<p>The <a href="https://www.openpgp.org/">OpenPGP</a> Email Summit is an annual meeting for those who work on encrypted email and related topics. The <a href="https://www.openpgp.org/community/email-summit/2026/">tenth installment</a> of this meeting took place in March 2026 and the <a href="https://www.openpgp.org/community/email-summit/2026/minutes/">minutes</a> have now been published. As usual, a wide range of topics were discussed. Highlights included support for post-quantum cryptography (PQC) with multiple actors planning rollouts within this year, a promising new approach for making email signatures ubiquitous with the plan of making OpenPGP signed email a default, a new draft that brings reliable deletion (or "forward secrecy") features to OpenPGP, as well as a plan for transferring ownership of the OpenPGP.org domain.</p>

May 19, 2026

<a href="https://www.firefox.com/en-US/firefox/151.0/releasenotes/">Version 151.0</a> of the Firefox browser has been released. Significant changes include the ability to clear and restart a private-browsing session, better fingerprinting protection, control over the apparent location when using the Firefox VPN, and more.

May 19, 2026

<p>Many people in the Linux community began using the operating system&mdash;and contributing to open source&mdash;at a tender age, often well before their 16th birthday. Thus, a recent change in openSUSE's <a href="https://en.opensuse.org/Terms_of_site">terms of site</a> (ToS) that required users of the project's web site to be "<q>at least 16 years of age or the age of majority</q>" in their jurisdiction has raised objections. The terms have since been modified, though users must still have parental approval to create accounts if they are younger than 16.</p>

May 19, 2026

The kernel's <a href="https://docs.kernel.org/core-api/this_cpu_ops.html">this_cpu operations</a> are meant to speed access to per-CPU variables. They are more optimal on some CPUs than others, though. During a memory-management-track session at the 2026 <a href="https://events.linuxfoundation.org/lsfmmbpf/">Linux Storage, Filesystem, Memory Management, and BPF Summit</a>, Yang Shi proposed a fundamental, and somewhat controversial, change to how these operations work in order to provide better performance on a wider range of architectures.

May 21, 2026

Cloudflare now integrates with the Claude Compliance API, so that security teams can monitor Claude Enterprise activity directly in the Cloudflare Dashboard.

May 19, 2026

Cloudflare has integrated with Anthropic's Claude Managed Agents to provide a fast, isolated execution environment for autonomous code delivery. This means builders can scale agent workflows globally while strictly controlling access to private backends and easily customizing their agent’s tools and runtimes.

May 18, 2026

In recent weeks, we pointed Mythos and other security-focused LLMs at live code across critical parts of our infrastructure. We share what we observed, the models’ strengths and weaknesses, and what the work around them needs to look like before any of it can scale.

May 14, 2026

When a partitioning change to our petabyte-scale ClickHouse cluster caused critical billing jobs to stall, standard metrics showed no obvious errors. This post explores how we identified severe lock contention in ClickHouse's query planner and built upstream patches to fix it.

May 13, 2026

We’ve enabled higher usage limits, faster performance, better reliability, and increased shipping velocity for our Browser Run product by rebuilding on top of Cloudflare’s Containers. Here’s how.

May 12, 2026

We investigated a bug where CUBIC's congestion window became pinned at its minimum floor, causing a performance to plummet. The fix involved correctly measuring idle periods to distinguish RTT wait times from actual application idleness.

May 7, 2026

This afternoon, we sent the following email to our global team. One of our core values at Cloudflare is transparency, and we believe it's important that you hear this directly from us because it’s a major moment at Cloudflare.

May 7, 2026

When a critical Linux kernel privilege escalation was publicly disclosed, Cloudflare's security and engineering teams detected, investigated, and mitigated the threat across our global fleet, confirming zero customer impact and no malicious exploitation.

May 6, 2026

On May 5, 2026, DENIC published broken DNSSEC signatures for the .de TLD, making millions of domains unreachable. Here's what 1.1.1.1 saw, how serve stale cushioned the impact, and how we restored resolution.

May 1, 2026

We have completed a massive engineering effort to make our infrastructure more resilient. Through new tools like Snapstone and the Engineering Codex, we've implemented safer configuration changes and automated best practices to prevent future incidents.

May 1, 2026

Dynamic Workflows is a library that lets you route durable execution to tenant-provided code on the fly. Built on Dynamic Workers, it enables platforms to serve millions of unique workflows at near-zero idle cost.

Apr 30, 2026

Cloudflare IPsec now has generally available support for post-quantum encryption via hybrid ML-KEM. We’ve confirmed interoperability with Cisco and Fortinet.

Apr 30, 2026

Starting today, agents can now be Cloudflare customers. They can create a Cloudflare account, start a paid subscription, register a domain, and get back an API token to deploy code right away. Humans can be in the loop to grant permission, but there’s no need to go to the dashboard, copy and paste API tokens, or enter credit card details.

Apr 28, 2026

The first quarter of 2026 saw a surge in Internet disruptions, from nationwide shutdowns in Uganda and Iran to unprecedented drone strikes on cloud infrastructure. We explore the data behind these events using Cloudflare Radar.

Apr 22, 2026

Panics in Rust Workers were historically fatal, poisoning the entire instance. By collaborating upstream on the wasm‑bindgen project, Rust Workers now support resilient critical error recovery, including panic unwinding using WebAssembly Exception Handling.

Apr 21, 2026

As AI assistants and privacy proxies challenge the capabilities of traditional bot detection, the Web needs new models for accountability. We believe that control should remain with the client, and that an open ecosystem of anonymous credentials is key to preserving user privacy while protecting origins from abuse.

Apr 20, 2026

Agents Week 2026 is a wrap. Let’s take a look at everything we announced, from compute and security to the agent toolbox, platform tools, and the emerging agentic web. Everything we shipped for the agentic cloud.

Apr 20, 2026

We built our internal AI engineering stack on the same products we ship. That means 20 million requests routed through AI Gateway, 241 billion tokens processed, and inference running on Workers AI, serving more than 3,683 internal users. Here's how we did it.

Apr 20, 2026

Learn about how we built a CI-native AI code reviewer using OpenCode that helps our engineers ship better, safer code.

Apr 17, 2026

The Agent Readiness score can help site owners understand how well their websites support AI agents. Here we explore new standards, share Radar data, and detail how we made Cloudflare’s docs the most agent-friendly on the web.

May 23, 2026

One person has died after a blast Friday at a New York City shipyard, officials say. They said 36 people were injured, most of them firefighters and other first responders.

May 23, 2026

About 40,000 people were under evacuation orders and schools shut down Friday in Southern California after a storage tank continued to leak a hazardous chemical that officials said could rupture or explode.

May 22, 2026

U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw accused the Justice Department of conducting a vindictive prosecution against the Salvadoran man.

May 22, 2026

The Department of Homeland Security says ICE has no current contract or relationship with the company, but questions remain about ICE's use of commercial spyware.

May 22, 2026

The search giant is updating its famously minimalist homepage. But what looks like a tiny design change is a very big deal.

May 22, 2026

Gabbard is the latest in a series of Cabinet officials to leave the Trump administration.

May 22, 2026

Everlane's finances have faltered in recent years. But will the merger alienate Everlane's existing shoppers — or sway droves of Shein fans to trade up?

May 22, 2026

The national average for a gallon of gasoline is $4.55, as America heads into one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. What can you do to cut your costs?

May 22, 2026

Congressional Republicans left for recess without passing Trump's top immigration enforcement package. And, forecasters are predicting fewer storms than average for the 2026 hurricane season.

May 22, 2026

Analysts say a comparison of the readouts issued by the U.S. and China reveals "minor inconsistencies" on issues such as agriculture, tariffs and rare earths. But, experts argue, those differences are not significant.

May 22, 2026

<p>LOS ANGELES—Reminding the mother-to-be that everything she did now could have consequences for her unborn child, local obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Carol Koenig reportedly warned Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper on Friday to avoid public feuds during her first trimester of pregnancy. &#8220;While the fetus is still in this early developmental phase, it&#8217;s best to avoid [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://theonion.com/ob-gyn-warns-alex-cooper-to-avoid-public-feuds-in-first-trimester/">Ob-Gyn Warns Alex Cooper To Avoid Public Feuds In First Trimester</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theonion.com">The Onion</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>The post <a href="https://theonion.com/cruel-stage-mom-shoves-100-milligrams-of-adderall-down-grogus-throat/">Cruel Stage Mom Shoves 100 Milligrams Of Adderall Down Grogu’s Throat</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theonion.com">The Onion</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Many Americans are foregoing traditional grass lawns in favor of native plants, drought-resistent succulents, and even rocks. The Onion examines the pros and cons of alternative landscaping. PRO Fucks with stupid ants Delays climate apocalypse by 0.3 seconds Housing of pollinators provides great source of passive rental income Less food for those horrible, horrible rabbits [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://theonion.com/pros-and-cons-of-non-grass-lawns/">Pros And Cons Of Non-Grass Lawns</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theonion.com">The Onion</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>LOS ANGELES—Touting the success of his intensive anti-aging regimen Project Blueprint, tech multimillionaire Bryan Johnson announced Monday that he had split back into a sperm and an egg. &#8220;Thanks to my team of regenerative health physicians, I have effectively reversed the aging process and have never looked or felt more healthy and youthful,&#8221; said the [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://theonion.com/anti-aging-millionaire-announces-he-has-split-back-into-sperm-and-egg/">Anti-Aging Millionaire Announces He Has Split Back Into Sperm And Egg</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theonion.com">The Onion</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>WASHINGTON—In a dire health emergency that forced staffers to quickly mobilize to save the Cabinet member&#8217;s life, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was reportedly rushed to the gym Friday after suffering a sudden heart attack. “Quick, get him on an elliptical, now! He’s fading!” said HHS staffer Kathy Guiles, attempting to hook the secretary [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://theonion.com/rfk-jr-rushed-to-gym-after-heart-attack/">RFK Jr. Rushed To Gym After Heart Attack</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theonion.com">The Onion</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>NEW YORK—Warning that curt greetings and aggressive demands could be a sign someone was a scammer, JPMorgan Chase officials reminded customers Friday to only share banking information with people who seemed nice. “Fraudsters can use your online passwords and PINs to drain your accounts before you even notice, so always take extra precautions to verify [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://theonion.com/chase-reminds-customers-to-only-share-banking-information-with-people-who-seem-nice/">Chase Reminds Customers To Only Share Banking Information With People Who Seem Nice </a> appeared first on <a href="https://theonion.com">The Onion</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>NEW YORK—Calling the innovation a remarkable step forward in removing fallible judgment from the game, MLB executives announced Friday that they would be attempting to reduce human error with new electronic bat boys. “Until now, MLB has depended on the discernment of 13-year-olds to ferry gear to and from the batter’s box, and the reality [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://theonion.com/mlb-attempts-to-reduce-human-error-with-new-electronic-bat-boys/">MLB Attempts To Reduce Human Error With New Electronic Bat Boys</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theonion.com">The Onion</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>The post <a href="https://theonion.com/tiger-woods-completes-12-step-aa-program-in-9/">Tiger Woods Completes 12-Step AA Program In 9</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theonion.com">The Onion</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>The post <a href="https://theonion.com/questions-grow-over-mystery-of-missing-legislative-branch/">Questions Grow Over Mystery Of Missing Legislative Branch</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theonion.com">The Onion</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>The post <a href="https://theonion.com/mom-mails-son-jar-she-needs-opened/">Mom Mails Son Jar She Needs Opened</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theonion.com">The Onion</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>A study found that Japanese eels have two different types of sperm, shedding light on why fisheries encountered such low fertility rates during artificial insemination. What do you think?</p> <p>The post <a href="https://theonion.com/japanese-eels-revealed-to-have-2-types-of-sperm/">Japanese Eels Revealed To Have 2 Types Of Sperm</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theonion.com">The Onion</a>.</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>The Department of Justice filed charges, including murder and conspiring to kill U.S. nationals, against former Cuban President Raúl Castro for the 1996 downing of civilian aircraft, raising the specter of war as tensions ramp up with the Communist island nation. What do you think?</p> <p>The post <a href="https://theonion.com/u-s-indicts-former-cuban-president/">U.S. Indicts Former Cuban President</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theonion.com">The Onion</a>.</p>

May 18, 2026

Work, illness, divorce: life is riddled with stressors out of your control. But research is revealing new ways to cope with these challenges and find hope instead of despair

May 22, 2026

Despite being the closest planet to the sun, Mercury has thick deposits of ice at its poles, and now we may understand the events that formed them over just one Mercurian day

May 22, 2026

Tests with rodents suggest an mRNA vaccine in development offers protection against three strains of Ebola virus, including the one behind the current crisis

May 21, 2026

Artificial intelligence built by OpenAI has cracked a decades-old conjecture by Paul Erdős, which mathematicians have hailed as a monumental moment for AI in mathematics

May 20, 2026

Previously classified photos and documents show the scientific work that went into the world's first atomic test in 1945 – a test that, just weeks later, would see nuclear bombs dropped in Japan

May 22, 2026

We all feel emotions like anger and disgust from time to time, but they seem to cause stronger bodily sensations when they're politically induced

May 22, 2026

Vaccine misinformation, nurse and doctor shortages and crowded living arrangements may be behind soaring rates of diphtheria in remote Indigenous communities in Australia

May 20, 2026

On a visit to the UK, Sydney-based reporter James Woodford visited an archaeological site that was on his bucket list – and experienced a very special moment as the sun set

May 22, 2026

Life on the International Space Station may feel distant, but columnist Graham Lawton finds that studying how astronauts experience accelerated ageing could help us fight similar effects on Earth related to sedentary lifestyles, disrupted circadian rhythms and social isolation

May 20, 2026

Feedback goes down a "moon warfare" rabbit hole and discovers that some forward-thinkers are making plans to counteract as-yet-hypothetical pirates in space

May 20, 2026

Jennie Durant's Bitter Honey is a great exposé of the true cost of industrially farming US honeybees, finds Thomas Lewton. But the book's grim figures of bee death alone may not prompt deep change – how about seeing them as fellow creatures?

May 20, 2026

Women experience a steady rise in body temperature from their teens to midlife, which may be useful for monitoring ageing and overall health

May 20, 2026

Storing carbon dioxide in rocks while producing hydrogen from them - and perhaps even geothermal power too - could be a double win on the climate front, and several groups are trying to make it happen

May 20, 2026

Fifty years ago, a draft of Richard Dawkins’s first book landed on book editor Michael Rodgers’s desk – and life was never the same

May 20, 2026

Last year, The New Yorker revealed the late Sacks's "guilt" about his “falsification” in The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat, but is this story about more than just the facts?

May 20, 2026

Five different groups of predatory dinosaurs independently evolved disproportionately small arms, and it seems they did so because their heads became so large and powerful

May 19, 2026

A solar farm in a tidal bay has generated more electricity and profits than a nearby coastal solar farm, but challenges could arise as floating solar moves further offshore

May 19, 2026

If wind-assisted cargo ships chose routes based entirely on where the winds are better, their fuel use could be cut in half or even completely eliminated

May 19, 2026

Colossal Biosciences, the company that says it resurrected the dire wolf, now says it has developed artificial eggshells so it can replicate the huge eggs of the moa. Independent experts say this isn't nearly enough to bring back these giant birds

May 19, 2026

An exotic new molecule is shaped like a butterfly, complete with "wings" made from electrons. The discovery could provide a gateway to completely new parts of the quantum realm

May 19, 2026

Robots are becoming more a part of our lives every year, and worries about a robot army rising up have long plagued the technology. But columnist Annalee Newitz talks to nanobot researchers and finds out the real robot army could be a welcome solution to medical or environmental problems

May 19, 2026

In central Laos, the landscape is littered with enormous stone jars, some 3 metres high, and we may be closer to understanding how and when they were used

May 18, 2026

Maui in Hawaii experienced some of the worst wildfires in US history in 2023. Amid concerns of a PTSD epidemic, flotation tanks are being deployed to the island to help restore people's mental health

May 18, 2026

Scientists recently gathered for a conference called Love, Actually and in Theory, but didn't settle on a definition of the topic at hand

May 18, 2026

The floating ice shelf of world’s widest glacier – Thwaites glacier in Antarctica – is detaching, with worrying implications for global sea-level rise

May 18, 2026

Why have so many people become fixated on protein? Donald Layman is one of the people behind the research showing the benefits of getting more protein in your diet, but he thinks things have gone too far and wants to set the record straight

May 18, 2026

A little-known strain of Ebola virus is behind an ongoing health emergency, prompting researchers to call for the acceleration of vaccine candidates against such infections

May 18, 2026

We think of our body clock ticking over on a 24-hour cycle, but evidence is growing that it has seasonal rhythms, which could affect our response to vaccines

May 18, 2026

Inside some very special black holes, there may be a boundary called a Cauchy horizon. Columnist Leah Crane explores the place beyond which physics breaks and anything is possible

May 13, 2026

After a career spent grappling with the neural underpinnings of autism, Uta Frith is unwavering in her controversial call to scrap our current view of the condition and start again

May 12, 2026

We’ve long tried to control the weather by engineering rainfall. Now such cloud-seeding efforts are escalating, creating conflict between countries and stoking conspiracy theories. But do they work?

May 16, 2026

In Ladakh, Himalayan wolves are increasingly breeding with feral dogs, giving rise to a new animal known as khipshang that could injure humans and outcompete other carnivores

May 13, 2026

Why did humans decide they weren't like other animals, or animals at all? Has this exceptionalism twisted us out of shape? Michael Bond's book Animate offers a page-turning account of where we are now

May 11, 2026

The rules governing gravity and other laws of nature seem like eternal truths, but cosmologist João Magueijo has always questioned their origins. Now, he has a bold new proposal

May 15, 2026

Adding olivine to the ocean could remove CO2 from the atmosphere, and a pilot project in New York state found no signs of adverse effects on seafloor organisms

May 15, 2026

A record-breaking new version of Starship, due to launch within days, could form the basis of NASA's ambitious Artemis programme that aims to put humans back on the moon as soon as 2028

May 15, 2026

Global warming already threatens to destabilise the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and new research shows that regional clean-air policies could reduce its strength further

May 15, 2026

CAR T-cell therapy has been hugely successful in treating certain types of tumours, and stiffening up cancer cells beforehand could make it even more effective

May 13, 2026

Scientific disciplines often shy away from asking fundamental "what if" questions. But philosophy – if unencumbered by dogma or ideology – has much to offer evidence-based enquiry

May 13, 2026

The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

May 15, 2026

People who imagine their self to reside in their head or their heart have different approaches to life. Columnist David Robson explores the benefits of learning to shift where you sense your self, and how this practice could improve your relationships and decision-making

May 13, 2026

Winner of an environmental photography award, this shot of a sea turtle seen under ultraviolet light shows how forensic evidence is being used to help catch poachers and animal traffickers

May 14, 2026

The creaky noise known as vocal fry that people generally associate with young women – and some find irritating – is actually more common in men

May 14, 2026

Partially burnt trees still standing after a wildfire are typically felled and burned, but a US start-up claims burying them instead will trap the carbon underground for centuries

May 14, 2026

Muscle stem cells, which are crucial for building new muscle, don’t work as well as we get older, but giving them an artificial boost could rejuvenate them

May 14, 2026

What use is a quantum computer? Perhaps both more and less than you think, according to quantum computing expert Shayan Majidy

May 14, 2026

Seismic surveys and sediment cores suggest that dozens of deep pockmarks on the sea floor were created when Arctic methane stores were disrupted by climate change after the last glacial maximum – and scientists warn it could happen again

May 13, 2026

Rowan Hooper met ecologist Suzanne Simard under an oak tree in Kew Gardens, London, to talk about her new book, criticism of her work, and getting a call from James Cameron's people

May 13, 2026

A Neanderthal tooth shows clear signs of human intervention to treat bacterial decay, showing that the earliest dentistry began at least 59,000 years ago

May 13, 2026

A study of soils around the Arctic and boreal forests has found that some wildfires are releasing carbon stored over millennia, meaning higher CO2 emissions than assumed

May 13, 2026

Asteroid 2026JH2 has enough mass to wipe out a city and will zoom past Earth next week

May 13, 2026

Six teeth roughly 400,000 years old have yielded some of the first ancient proteins thought to belong to Homo erectus, providing molecular clues to their relationships with other hominins

May 13, 2026

Genetically altered bacteria can synthesise gadusol, a naturally occurring compound found in zebrafish eggs that could be developed as an alternative to existing sunscreen products that can harm marine life

May 13, 2026

Government departments and other public bodies in the UK must consider requests to release information about AI-produced content, regulators have confirmed. The move follows a successful request by New Scientist for the release of a minister's ChatGPT logs

May 12, 2026

PCOS will now be known as PMOS (polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome), and for Alice Klein, who has the condition, it's been a long time coming

May 12, 2026

The concept of a field plays a key role in particle physics, but what exactly is it? From its origins in the study of magnetism to the quantum fields of today, columnist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein goes exploring

May 12, 2026

Carbon credits bought by companies to offset their emissions really have reduced deforestation, but not by as much as credit developers claim, according to a rigorous analysis

May 12, 2026

Gases collected from boiling mineral springs in Zambia contain the chemical signature of having come directly from the Earth’s mantle, a sign of a rupture in the tectonic plates and the possible beginning of a new continental boundary

May 11, 2026

An analysis of ancient human artefacts finds that the container, a simple but critical tool, may have originated 500,000 years ago. Columnist Michael Marshall explores how slings, ostrich eggs and wooden trays helped our ancestors survive

May 11, 2026

A US start-up is putting autonomous data centres in the ocean, powered by wave energy, but experts warn that the harsh environment could make maintenance challenging

May 11, 2026

Genetic analysis of 1039 people buried in Britain between the Bronze Age and the Norman conquest highlights the impact of the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings on the island’s ancestry

May 6, 2026

People often ask who might replace the nature broadcaster, who turns 100 this week. The truth is that he’s irreplaceable, but a wide range of voices are attempting to fill his shoes.

May 6, 2026

Red-light therapy promises to treat everything from acne and hair loss to depression and chronic pain. Many of these claims are overhyped, but evidence suggests it can have healing powers

May 10, 2026

Minuscule silicon wafers propelled by lasers could be used to steer light sails, helping them travel beyond the solar system

May 5, 2026

Creating quantum entanglement inside a solid material is tricky in the lab – but crystals buried in the earth could be growing it naturally. Now one scientist says he has proof he’s found them

May 8, 2026

Satellite measurements show that in the early 2010s sea level rise suddenly accelerated to a rate of 4.1 millimetres per year, possibly in response to an increase in the rate of global warming

May 9, 2026

If a key ocean current collapses it could plunge northern Europe into a big freeze. Now researchers are weighing up a drastic intervention – building a 130-kilometre-wide dam between the US and Russia

May 4, 2026

A long-overlooked writing system from 5000 years ago is still largely undeciphered, but could mark the moment humans first represented their speech with written words

May 8, 2026

An impression made in clay around 175,000 years ago could be a kneeprint left by one of the builders of a strange stalagmite circle found deep inside Bruniquel cave in south-west France

May 8, 2026

The US Department of Defense has released hundreds of documents and photographs related to UFOs, some of which have been declassified, in the first of many drops to come

May 8, 2026

Many flowering plants have duplicated genomes, which could have helped them evolve to deal with extreme stress in times of environmental upheaval

May 8, 2026

A drone has crashed in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, causing a fire that has spread to 12 square kilometres of land. Dry weather, strong winds and the presence of land mines are complicating efforts to bring the blaze under control

May 8, 2026

How important is thinking about your breath for calming yourself down? We now know that slow breathing is effective even without conscious involvement

May 7, 2026

Only 3 per cent of those with polycystic ovary syndrome reach perimenopause by the age of 46, which may allow them to conceive when older

May 6, 2026

The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

May 8, 2026

A secret society of French mathematicians has been revolutionising the field of mathematics under a pseudonym for nearly a century. Columnist Jacob Aron finds that this mythic collective provided maths a rigorous and useful foundation, and did some real harm along the way

May 6, 2026

Eric Lusito crossed the former Soviet Union to explore vast scientific sites, some of which have been deserted for years, for his new book

May 7, 2026

The World Health Organization sought to quell worldwide fears over the hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius and reassure the public that the risk of widespread transmission is low

May 7, 2026

A comprehensive study exploring coffee’s physiological effects finds that some of its benefits are down to polyphenols and their influence on gut bacteria

May 6, 2026

Solving society's problems with evidence is a work in progress, argues a must-read new book. The process is surprisingly new – and riddled with complexities, finds Michael Marshall

May 5, 2026

Three passengers on the cruise ship MV Hondius have died due to an outbreak of hantavirus, a rare illness transmitted by rodents

May 7, 2026

A guide to walking, a look at the world’s Google searches and a deep dive into the secrets of our DNA are some of the topics tackled by the popular science books out this month

May 6, 2026

Feedback discovers that the prevailing themes of Eurovision songs may come and go, but the urge to win stays the same.

Apr 29, 2026

Our brains need to adapt quickly to meet the challenges of our digital world, but a rigorous new book by a neuroscientist brings hope that we can do it, says Graham Lawton

May 7, 2026

A device made using a tiny bead floating in a beam of light can measure extremely small pressures and could help find a mysterious kind of neutrino

May 6, 2026

Research into dating has until now almost exclusively focused on younger people, but we’re finally beginning to investigate how romance changes in later life

May 6, 2026

An analysis of 150 artefacts from a site in Wales shows that the ancient practice of making tools out of bone persisted even after the advent of metal-working

May 6, 2026

At least 15 per cent of the Amazon has already been lost, and further destruction could unleash widespread rainforest dieback with as little as 1.5°C of global warming

May 6, 2026

When the slope of a mountain above Tracy Arm fjord, in Alaska, gave way on 10 August 2025, 64 million cubic metres of rock fell into the fjord, causing a 5.4 magnitude seismic event &nbsp;

May 6, 2026

This 2013 book by an Indigenous botanist is a quietly urgent act of healing that forces Western science to look at the world in a different way

May 6, 2026

Prize-winning young writer Hasset Kifle, 17, explores how the world of super-competitive running is being transformed by so-called “super shoes” – and what cost this will have on the sport

May 6, 2026

Fossils reveal that there were at least two kinds of koala when humans first arrived in Australia, but one died out about 30,000 years ago when the west of the continent dried out

May 5, 2026

NHS England is pulling its open-source software from the internet because of fears around computer-hacking AI models like Mythos. Opposition is growing among those who say the move is bad for transparency and efficiency, and will also do nothing to improve security

May 5, 2026

A biopsy of a woman's cancer seems to have triggered an immune response against the tumour, putting her into remission

May 5, 2026

One of the best-performing models in cosmology is also one with the least physical rationale behind it. Columnist Leah Crane says this leaves us with a puzzle that could make or break physics as we know it

May 5, 2026

Doug Whitney has a genetic mutation that means he should have developed Alzheimer’s disease decades ago, but his long-term work in hot engine rooms may have protected him in a similar way to sauna therapy

May 5, 2026

Two quantum computers and two supercomputers teamed up to break the record for the biggest molecule yet to be simulated using quantum hardware

May 4, 2026

It is appealing to think something as simple as honey could cure a cold or prevent hay fever, but is there evidence to back up honey’s health benefits? Columnist Alice Klein finds that it has legitimate medicinal uses, depending on the type of honey you’ve got

May 4, 2026

A 500-kilometre-wide object in a similar orbit to Pluto challenges our assumptions about small bodies in the outer solar system

May 4, 2026

An update to an experiment run by Henry Cavendish in 1773 could be a cheaper and faster way to spot a potential dark matter particle – and may be 10,000 times more sensitive

May 23, 2026

If you're trying to stand out on LinkedIn, it might seem like posting about your own achievements is a smart approach. But new research from The University of Texas at Arlington suggests a different strategy: highlight others.

May 23, 2026

As the Bayeux Tapestry comes to London, the year 1066 and the Norman Conquest are in the spotlight. The tapestry—an embroidered cloth nearly 70 meters long, created soon after the events it depicts—tells the story of the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and William of Normandy's triumphant defeat of Harold Godwinson, King of England.

May 23, 2026

The most destructive wildfire season on record in Europe was in 2025, with more than 1 million hectares burned and tens of thousands of people displaced by fires across the continent.

May 22, 2026

More than 40 years after the end of commercial whaling, new research reveals a recent increase in sightings of the world's two largest whale species in the southeastern Atlantic. The findings, published in the African Journal of Marine Science, compile more than 60 years of confirmed sightings and strandings from Namibia and South Africa's west coast. Although overall numbers remain low, sightings of both species have increased markedly in recent years—with 95% of observations recorded since 2012.

May 22, 2026

A German–Israeli research team led by Dr. Andreas Furchner has demonstrated how imaging ellipsometry enables non-destructive characterization and quality control of microstructured MXene thin films during device fabrication. The authors used two complementary ellipsometry approaches for precise, multi-scale access to key material properties. The work positions imaging ellipsometry as a powerful platform for monitoring thin-film uniformity, device integrity, and functionality throughout processing, including critical lithographic steps. The study was published in Applied Physics Letters and selected as an Editor's Pick.

May 22, 2026

Like schools of fish and flocks of birds, our cells can also migrate collectively in coordination with their neighbors. This harmonious movement of cells occurs during embryonic development, wound healing, and cancer metastasis. However, since individual cells can only sense limited local information, how they are able to coordinate as a larger collective has remained poorly understood.

May 22, 2026

When the solar system formed, a disk of gas and dust orbited the young sun. Over the course of millions of years, the dust gradually clumped together to form kilometer-sized chunks known as planetesimals. Some grew into planets, while the rest are considered to be the precursors of today's asteroids. Researchers assume that this development did not proceed in a linear fashion, with different stages of planetesimal development occurring simultaneously, and not every region of the disk offering favorable "starting conditions" for planetesimals.

May 22, 2026

Society depends on chemistry far more than we consciously realize, from medicines to energy to electronics. However, chemistry is viewed with as much apprehension as gratitude, because of the pollution and health problems that some chemicals cause.

May 22, 2026

Solo living in your own home places a greater strain on the planet's resources than living with others, as everyone needs their own appliances—a toaster, a washing machine and so on. The Nordic countries stand out: Almost half of all households are solo-living households. Sustainability researcher Tullia Jack interviewed people who live alone about the reasons for this and hopes for new forms of co-living. The study is published in the journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.

May 22, 2026

Biomolecules, also known as organic molecules, include sugars, proteins and lipids and are the building blocks of all life. They play a role in the structure and metabolism of all living organisms. To make them visible under a microscope, researchers use special dyes to make them glow. A research team at the University of Göttingen has now developed a new method to do this better.

May 22, 2026

Researchers at Kyoto University and Tohoku University have developed a new porous polymer gel that selectively recognizes specific molecules (referred to as "guests" in the study) through coordination chemistry and converts these invisible molecular-scale interactions into strikingly visible, macroscale deformation.

May 22, 2026

The mechanism of high-temperature (TC) superconductivity is a key challenge in condensed matter physics. Recently, Chinese scientists made significant progress in the study of high-TC nickelate superconductors.

May 22, 2026

Natural geological processes have been regulating Earth's climate for millions of years. Accelerated versions of these processes are now being promoted as technologies to draw down carbon from the atmosphere—and some are rapidly moving from concept to real-world deployments.

May 22, 2026

Thawing permafrost is rapidly transforming dozens of Arctic streams into acidic, metal-laden waterways, according to new research published in Science. The study shows how thawing permafrost exposes sulfide minerals that react with oxygen and water—a process similar to what occurs in mining pollution. The reactions release acidity and heavy metals such as zinc, nickel, cadmium, and aluminum into surrounding waters.

May 22, 2026

When they reach the bottom of a soap dispenser, frugal handwashers might try adding water to the bottle to push out the last bit of soap. But usually, the water drills right through the soap and jets out an only slightly sudsy splash.

May 22, 2026

An interdisciplinary student research team at the University of Waterloo has achieved an advance in materials science with the creation of a tissue-like hydrogel for artificial muscles to make soft robots move.

May 22, 2026

In the crushing darkness of the hadal zone—deep ocean trenches plunging 6,000 m to nearly 11,000 m—scientists have uncovered a hidden community. A study published in Science on May 14 reports the discovery of a protist-dominated hard-substrate fauna across seven hadal regions in Oceania, highlighting an overlooked yet highly active carbon "hotspot."

May 22, 2026

Diamond is extremely valuable to science and technology not for its sparkle but for its extreme hardness, high thermal conductivity, transparency to a large fraction of the light spectrum, and a host of other exceptional properties. Two decades ago, scientists discovered another advantage: under the right conditions, diamond can become a superconductor—allowing electricity to flow through it with zero resistance.

May 22, 2026

A collaborative research team has revealed the long-overlooked carbon storage potential of coral reef ecosystems and how reef-dwelling fish, corals, and surface sediments jointly shape reef carbon reservoirs. The paper is published in the journal Advanced Science. The team was led by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOZ-CAS) and the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou) (GML).

May 22, 2026

Elon Musk's SpaceX will attempt another launch of its mammoth Starship rocket Friday, after the previous evening's try was called off over technical issues.

May 22, 2026

What if the knowledge that could fuel the next scientific breakthrough has simply been forgotten in an old graph or table? Valuable scientific insights may already exist across decades of published experiments, yet remain buried in old research papers, waiting to be rediscovered.

May 22, 2026

For decades, doctors have widely used tetracyclines for conditions ranging from acne to tick-borne illnesses. Using high-resolution imaging technology, researchers in the laboratory of Christopher Bunick, MD, Ph.D., associate professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine (YSM), captured a never-before-seen look into how different kinds of tetracyclines bind to and kill bacteria.

May 22, 2026

New research shows that gay dating apps during travel can bring excitement and connection but also emotional exhaustion, catfishing and vulnerability.

May 22, 2026

Over the course of evolution, plants have developed an elegant strategy to counteract a lack of phosphate in the soil—they form symbiotic relationships with soil fungi. These mycorrhizal fungi efficiently supply their plant partners with phosphate and other essential minerals.

May 22, 2026

Fashion and media have become visibly more diverse over the past quarter-century. Yet beneath that surface change, a new study suggests that the industry's central female body ideal has barely shifted.

May 22, 2026

For nearly 80 years, mathematicians have struggled to solve a classic geometry puzzle first posed by Paul Erdős in 1946: the planar unit distance problem. The question posed by the legendary Hungarian mathematician was, on the surface, deceptively simple.

May 22, 2026

A new study from Adelaide University has found that when ocean acidification makes reef habitat less complex, the fish living there gather in smaller shoals that offer less social protection.

May 22, 2026

A research team from Kiel University has demonstrated which specific cellular mechanisms lead to the targeted weakening of bacterial pathogens, thereby increasing the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.

May 22, 2026

Scientific discovery is often portrayed as the result of long hours alone in a lab, but true science is inherently collaborative. The most robust experimental processes are developed through partnerships across multiple areas of research.

May 22, 2026

Online reviews play an important role in consumers' purchasing decisions. Yet many consumers struggle to recognize fake reviews, even though these are specifically designed to influence opinions and buying behavior. In her Ph.D. research at the University of Twente, Michelle Walther investigated how consumers evaluate online reviews, which cues they use to identify fake reviews, and how these skills can be improved.

May 21, 2026

Evolutionary biologists are uncovering genomic mechanisms that allow populations to adapt quickly to different, hyperlocal habitats without splitting into new species. <p>The post <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-ecotypes-harbor-the-genetic-memory-of-a-species-past-20260521/" target="_blank">How Ecotypes Harbor the Genetic Memory of a Species’ Past</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org" target="_blank">Quanta Magazine</a></p>

May 20, 2026

By replacing the most fundamental concept in topology, Peter Scholze and Dustin Clausen are taking the first step in a far bigger program to understand why numbers behave the way they do. <p>The post <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/two-researchers-are-rebuilding-mathematics-from-the-ground-up-20260520/" target="_blank">Two Researchers Are Rebuilding Mathematics From the Ground Up</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org" target="_blank">Quanta Magazine</a></p>

May 20, 2026

Grothendieck is revered in the world of math; outside of it, he’s known for his unusual life, if he’s known at all. But what were his actual mathematical contributions? <p>The post <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-alexander-grothendieck-revolutionized-20th-century-mathematics-20260520/" target="_blank">How Alexander Grothendieck Revolutionized 20th-Century Mathematics</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org" target="_blank">Quanta Magazine</a></p>

May 18, 2026

At 25, Kurt Gödel proved there can never be a mathematical “theory of everything.” Columnist Natalie Wolchover explores the implications. <p>The post <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-do-godels-incompleteness-theorems-truly-mean-20260518/" target="_blank">What Do Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems Truly Mean?</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org" target="_blank">Quanta Magazine</a></p>

May 15, 2026

Astronomers are preparing for a new era of big-data astronomy, and results are already starting to arrive. <p>The post <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/rubin-tracks-skyscraper-size-asteroids-failed-supernovas-and-interstellar-visitors-20260515/" target="_blank">Rubin Tracks Skyscraper-Size Asteroids, Failed Supernovas, and Interstellar Visitors</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org" target="_blank">Quanta Magazine</a></p>

May 22, 2026

"I thought I would be ready to hear something like this, but I guess I'm just not," said popular streamer Datto.

May 22, 2026

Night Street Games said earlier this month that it will not be pursuing future development of its CTF shooter.

May 22, 2026

Xivu Arath, we hardly knew ye.

May 22, 2026

He doesn't want to diminish the current crisis, though.

May 22, 2026

It's Ribbit!

May 22, 2026

A lawsuit suit, filed by Sjunde AP-Fonden, alleged that the buyout was rushed in order to protect Activision's then-CEO Bobby Kotick.

May 22, 2026

Would you like to watch a neo-fascist embarrass himself in front of the world? I can help.

May 22, 2026

It was nice to dream.

May 22, 2026

Never doubt the Woz.

May 22, 2026

Completing the Welcome to the Party, Pal! challenge is easier said than done.

May 22, 2026

Shake it to wake it.

May 22, 2026

I don't often apologise for a headline, but in this case I feel like I should.

May 22, 2026

You've piqued my interest.

May 22, 2026

The Floor It and Gazoo Racer challenges both require you to go fast.

May 22, 2026

Tune up your Toyota GR86 for the winding roads.

May 22, 2026

Vanguard gets a DMA-spanking upgrade.

May 22, 2026

The abyss should not be this chatty.

May 22, 2026

I'm not really feeling this beat.

May 22, 2026

Hey, at least the Pinkertons aren't involved yet.

May 22, 2026

60% of the time, it works every time.

May 22, 2026

Unified cores, the return of HyperThreading, and one socket across three generations.

May 22, 2026

Tick off this Festival Playlist Treasure Hunt challenge.

May 22, 2026

A quantum leap. That's too old of a reference, isn't it?

May 22, 2026

"I logged in to the Tower and found a horde of guardians kneeling by Zavala, others saluting. It was like that from server to server."

May 22, 2026

That might be too many KCD2-sized games, even for me.

May 22, 2026

The RAMpocalypse is the biggest reason for this, of course, but it's only part of the whole problem.

May 22, 2026

Letting installers and downloads and everything else have free rein over your operating system desktops... how can you live with yourselves?

May 22, 2026

Yup, that sounds like Resident Evil to me.

May 22, 2026

A 435% increase in memory cost over the GB300, supposedly.

May 22, 2026

The issue is resolved now, but it raises questions over warranty wording.

May 22, 2026

Sorry Yarrick, you're no Ibram Gaunt.

May 22, 2026

Just a very complicated survival game.

May 22, 2026

It's not an issue exclusive to Valve's hardware, but at the same time, it's something that shouldn't really exist

May 22, 2026

A simple sandwich.

May 22, 2026

What's next? A life sim?

May 22, 2026

The series' sole 4X outing is worth investigation.

May 22, 2026

More variety would be nice.

May 22, 2026

Hopes that the end of Destiny 2 means Destiny 3 is on the way aren't necessarily dashed—but if it happens, it'll be a long time from now.

May 21, 2026

For a time, Destiny 2 was a masterclass in all kinds of gameplay, and only some of them involved pressing keys.

May 21, 2026

This platform is a disgrace, and regulators need to act.

May 21, 2026

Sorry to say, though, that PC plans are still MIA.

May 21, 2026

Those really were the days.

May 21, 2026

Do you even want a Destiny 3, and can Bungie be trusted to make it?

May 21, 2026

That's an idea I can get behind.

May 21, 2026

The undersea survival sim continues its blistering pace.

May 21, 2026

Bungie says it will ensure that Destiny 2 remains playable, but its focus is now elsewhere.

May 21, 2026

If you're in the mood for a crusade, you know.

May 21, 2026

My favorite throwback FPS is back.

May 21, 2026

*binaric screeching*

May 21, 2026

Get the keys to the Mazda Furai and many more exclusive cars.

May 21, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/conceptual-illustration-of-user-interface-layers-such-as-networking-information-assurance-and-design.jpg?id=66768355&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C62%2C0%2C63"/><br/><br/><p>Patients who use mobile applications to manage medical conditions including depression and chronic pain might assume the apps have been evaluated by regulatory agencies to be safe and effective. But that isn’t necessarily the case.</p><p>Most of the more than 55,000 medical apps that claim to diagnose or treat a condition—or ones that provide clinical decision support, known as “therapeutic” apps—have never been assessed by any trusted neutral bodies or regulatory agencies to evaluate them for technical soundness, ethical design, or clinical benefit. The apps often don’t comply with regional data security and privacy laws to protect people’s sensitive health information.</p><p>Medical apps differ from traditional wellness apps, which provide users with insights into becoming healthier by, for example, tracking fitness activities, monitoring blood pressure, and analyzing sleep patterns.</p><p>There is no reliable way to verify that therapeutic apps deliver the results they indicate. To help ensure such apps are credible, the <a href="https://standards.ieee.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Standards Association</a> (IEEE SA) recently launched the <a href="https://standards.ieee.org/products-programs/icap/mobile-health-app-registry/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Global Medical Mobile App Assessment and Registry</a>. The publicly searchable directory is designed to list apps that have been vetted by experts across several criteria including technical soundness, ethical design, compliance with data security and privacy regulations, and clinical efficacy, which is evidence of a clinical benefit for the patient.</p><p>“Patients, clinicians, payers, and health care systems often struggle to distinguish clinically meaningful therapeutic apps from those that are simply well-marketed,” says IEEE Senior Member <a href="https://research.bidmc.org/yuriquintana" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Yuri Quintana</a>, chair of the assessment and registry program. He is chief of the <a href="https://bidmc.org/departments-divisions/medicine/clinical-informatics" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">clinical informatics division</a> at <a href="https://bidmc.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center</a>, in Boston. “Our goal is to establish a standardized review method using criteria developed by experts.”</p><h2>Why regulation is lacking</h2><p>Because the apps are intended for medical use without being part of a medical implement, they fall under the designation of <a href="https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/cdrh-international-affairs/international-medical-device-regulators-forum-imdrf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">software as a medical device</a> (SaMD), according to the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/cdrh-international-affairs/international-medical-device-regulators-forum-imdrf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">International Medical Device Regulators Forum</a>. SaMD is supposed to be regulated by public health agencies such as the U.S. <a href="https://www.fda.gov/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Food and Drug Administration</a>, but the apps have developed and grown in popularity so quickly that regulators haven’t been able to keep up, Quintana says. Some companies have received approval, but most have not, he says.</p><p>Many users are unaware of the regulatory gap, he says.</p><p>“Seeing an app from a well-known company often creates the impression that it has been meaningfully vetted for safety and efficacy, even when that is not the case,” he says.</p><p>Some companies are using deceptive advertising to sell their product, he adds. Marketing materials might claim that all of a company’s health apps are certified, even though only one app has been approved by a regulatory body to treat a particular condition. Or the verbiage might imply the company has clinical evidence proving its application works, even though the app has never been tested independently.</p><p>Another concern is that updated apps aren’t being vetted, says <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpalombini/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Maria Palombini</a>, IEEE SA’s director of health care and life sciences global practice lead.</p><p>“The original app might have received approval from a regulatory agency, but not the updated version,” Palombini says. “There could have been significant changes from the original.”</p><p>“Not every medical-related app triggers the same regulatory classification or review across jurisdictions,” Quintana adds. “That leaves a large gray zone of clinically relevant but lower-risk apps that haven’t undergone an independent assessment. The IEEE registry was created to help fill these gaps.</p><p>“IEEE is the best organization to address this problem because this is fundamentally a standards, trust, interoperability, and conformity assessment challenge,” he says. IEEE “is the world’s largest technical professional organization, with deep expertise in developing globally recognized standards including in <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/ieee-standard-biomedical-devices-data" target="_self">health care</a>, <a href="https://standards.ieee.org/initiatives/cybersecurity-standards-projects/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">cybersecurity</a>, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/two-new-ai-ethics-certifications" target="_self">AI ethics</a>, and <a href="https://standards.ieee.org/ieee/1547/5915/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">interoperability</a>.”</p><p>“Through the <a href="https://standards.ieee.org/products-programs/icap/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Conformity Assessment Program</a>, we already run rigorous assessment and registry programs,” Palombini says. “Our neutral, consensus-driven, multidisciplinary approach—bringing together clinicians, regulators, developers, and ethicists without commercial bias—makes IEEE uniquely positioned to create trustworthy global guardrails that can scale across jurisdictions and support regulatory harmonization.”</p><h2>How the registry works</h2><p>The assessment framework was developed by a multidisciplinary group of 35 volunteer experts from 10 countries, Quintana says. The panel includes academics, AI experts, app developers, clinicians, ethicists, mental health experts, patient advocates, regulators, researchers, technologists, and those who assess safety in health care.</p><p>The registry is for any app used for clinical care or therapeutics that claims to demonstrate a medical benefit. That includes apps designed for cardiology, diabetes, mental health, neurology, oncology, rehabilitation, and respiratory diseases, Quintana says.</p><p>Initially, he says, the focus will be on apps that aim to treat mental health conditions, given the large number of offerings in that area and the registry committee’s expertise.</p><p>The submission of apps is voluntary. There is no government mandate that requires a company to use the IEEE registry.</p><p>The products will be evaluated against about 150 consensus-based criteria across three major areas: </p><ul><li><strong>Clinical efficacy</strong> including therapeutic effectiveness, any sustained benefits, risk management, comparison to standard care, user engagement, and real clinical value.</li><li><strong>Technical soundness</strong> including accessibility, privacy and security, error handling, interoperability, AI governance, usability, and operational quality.</li><li><strong>Ethical design</strong> including bias prevention, patient consent, data governance, conflict-of-interest transparency, responsible use of AI and large language models, and prioritization of public health benefits.</li></ul><p>IEEE charges a nonrefundable submission fee that covers the cost of the assessment plus the registry’s annual subscription for the first year.</p><p>Developers first must demonstrate they are a legally established entity before they can complete the <a href="https://forms.zohopublic.com/healthappregistryie1/form/AppPublisherRegistrationForm/formperma/vKV62XuzwMV6hoOZnUv3QiFo8BDLpUSFp2CZlOOIOyM" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">app publisher registration form</a> and then submit documentation and attestations about the product.</p><p>The IEEE review of an app is estimated to take six to eight weeks, Palombini says. The assessment results will be privately shared with the app publisher, she says, and to be listed in the registry, an app must achieve more than 85 percent compliance in each category.</p><p>Upgraded apps must be submitted and reassessed, Palombini says. Similar to how users are notified when an app on their smart devices has , the registry will be notified when listed apps have a new update available, she says.</p><p>Applicants who do not pass the assessment are to receive feedback explaining why. They will be given an opportunity to make changes or provide additional documentation, Palombini says.</p><p>“It’s a pretty methodological process, with checks and balances,” Quintana says. “We’re being very transparent about the process.”</p><p>Approved apps added to the registry receive an IEEE certification badge and submission identifier, which the company can display on its website, app store listings, and marketing materials.</p><p>“The badge serves as visible proof that the app has met the independent, consensus-based assessment for clinical value, technical robustness, and ethical design,” Quintana says.</p><p>The registry will be publicly available at no cost, he says.</p><p>Patients and families seeking safe, trustworthy apps—and payers and insurers evaluating reimbursement potential—will find the registry helpful, he says.</p><p>The <a href="https://forms.zohopublic.com/healthappregistryie1/form/AppPublisherRegistrationForm/formperma/vKV62XuzwMV6hoOZnUv3QiFo8BDLpUSFp2CZlOOIOyM" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">application website</a> is open. The public registry page does not yet list a specific count of approved apps because assessments are ongoing. Approved apps and their unique identifiers are to be published when the initial reviews are completed.</p><p>To learn more, you can watch a <a href="https://engagestandards.ieee.org/medical-app-registry-webinar.html?_gl=1*1bfk6ug*_gcl_au*MTcwMjc4NjczMy4xNzc2Mjc4MzQy*_ga*MTE2MjkxMjYxMC4xNzc2Mjc4MzQy*_ga_XDL2ME6570*czE3NzgwOTUwNTIkbzIzJGcxJHQxNzc4MDk1ODUzJGo2MCRsMCRoMA.." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">webinar</a> recorded in March.</p>The assessment framework that underpins the registry is supporting the formal recognition of <a href="https://standards.ieee.org/products-programs/icap/mobile-health-app-registry/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE P3962 Standard for Criteria Assessment Framework f</a>

May 21, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/hands-controlling-speaker-light-bulb-and-drone-against-minimalist-white-walls.jpg?id=66718902&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=160%2C0%2C160%2C0"/><br/><br/><p><em>This sponsored article is brought to you by <a href="https://wetourrobotics.com/" target="_blank">Wetour Robotics</a>.</em></p><p>A field technician on a wind turbine, harness clipped, both hands on a wrench, needs to send a command to the diagnostic device hanging at her belt. A logistics worker on a loading dock, gloves on, eyes on the pallet, needs to redirect a connected lift. A person using an assistive mobility device on a crowded street wants to nudge it forward without taking out a phone or speaking aloud. None of these moments call for a smarter robot. They call for a smarter way to be heard by the machines that already exist.</p><h2>The industry has been building from one side</h2><p>The past three years of Physical AI have been a story of remarkable progress on the robot side of the loop. Companies like Boston Dynamics, Figure, and Unitree have advanced actuators, locomotion, and dexterity to a level that would have seemed implausible a decade ago. Google DeepMind’s Gemini Robotics has redefined what vision-language-action models can do in unstructured settings. The trajectory of the hardware and the foundation models is real, and it is accelerating.</p><p>But there is another side to this loop, and it has been treated as a solved problem for too long. The interface between humans and machines has defaulted, for 40 years, to three input modalities: screens, buttons, and voice. Each of those assumes the user can stop, look down, and translate intent into structured commands. That assumption breaks the moment the work moves into a real environment. On a turbine. On a dock. On a sidewalk. In any setting where hands are occupied, eyes are committed, or speaking is impractical, the conventional interface stack quietly fails.</p><p class="pull-quote">Spatial Intent Fusion is the simultaneous processing of three streams of human-centered information, namely spatial position, visual context, and gestural intent: Your body is the interface.<br/></p><p>The bottleneck on the human side of the loop is becoming as important as the one on the machine side. And solving it requires a different question. Not how do we make the robot more capable, but how do we let the human participate in the computing system as naturally as the robot already does.</p><h2>Wetour Robotics’ bet: put the human back into the computing loop</h2><p><a href="https://wetourrobotics.com/" target="_blank">Wetour Robotics</a> is betting that the next architectural leap in Physical AI is not about making the robot more capable. It is about making the human a first-class node in the computing network, with the same kind of low-latency, high-fidelity participation that connected devices already enjoy.</p><p>Wetour Robotics’ engineers frame the problem this way: a wristband that recognizes a gesture is not enough. A camera that recognizes a scene is not enough. The information a human carries about what they are about to do is distributed across multiple channels, including where their body is in space, what their eyes are attending to, and what their muscles are preparing to do, and any single channel observed in isolation is ambiguous. Reconstructing intent reliably means fusing those channels at the operating system level, with latency low enough that the loop feels closed rather than mediated.</p><p>This approach has a name. Wetour Robotics calls it Spatial Intent Fusion: the simultaneous processing of three streams of human-centered information, namely spatial position, visual context, and gestural intent, fused into a single real-time command for any connected physical device. It is the technical implementation behind a simpler positioning statement the company uses externally: your body is the interface.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Sleek silver rectangular electronic device labeled \u201cORCHESTRA\u201d on a light gray background." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bb58b16b7b8b65030fe32d2ff82e4ee2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="1af08" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/sleek-silver-rectangular-electronic-device-labeled-u201corchestra-u201d-on-a-light-gray-background.png?id=66718892&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Orchestra is a portable intelligent hub running the operating system that handles sensor fusion, intent inference, command translation, and safety arbitration. The reference compute platform is NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super, which provides enough on-device inference capacity to keep the entire control loop at the edge, with no cloud dependency on the critical path. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Wetour Robotics</small></p><h2>The architecture: three layers, four engines, one loop</h2><p>Orchestra is not a single device but a layered platform, designed from the start to be sensor-flexible and actuator-agnostic. The architecture decomposes into three perception layers and four coordination engines.</p><p><strong>Orchestra</strong> itself is the local compute and orchestration core: a portable intelligent hub running the operating system that handles sensor fusion, intent inference, command translation, and safety arbitration. The reference compute platform is NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super, which provides enough on-device inference capacity to keep the entire control loop at the edge, with no cloud dependency on the critical path. Edge inference is non-negotiable for this application. Full-chain latency from biosignal acquisition to actuator command is held under 100 milliseconds, the envelope inside which closed-loop control feels natural rather than laggy.</p><p><strong>VisionLink</strong> handles visual and spatial perception. Cameras feed into vision models that identify objects, estimate distances, and track environmental context. VisionLink is designed not as a passive recognition layer but as a real-time command generator: its outputs feed directly into Orchestra OS to be fused with biosignal data.</p><p><strong>Conductor</strong> is the biosignal pipeline. It ingests raw surface electromyographic (sEMG) data from a wrist-worn device, classifies temporal patterns into discrete gestures or continuous control signals, and outputs actuator commands. The technically interesting property of sEMG for this use case is that the signal precedes visible motion. Motor unit action potentials appear at the skin surface roughly 50 to 80 milliseconds before a finger completes the corresponding gesture. Wetour Robotics calls this property pre-motion intent sensing, and it is what allows Orchestra to anticipate user intent rather than react to it.</p><p>On top of the three perception layers, Orchestra OS runs four coordination engines. The <strong>Perception Engine</strong> ingests and normalizes raw sensor streams. The <strong>Intent Engine </strong>performs Spatial Intent Fusion across modalities, resolving what the user is trying to do given where they are, what they are looking at, and what their hand is signaling. The <strong>Orchestration Engine</strong> translates intent into device-specific command sequences for any connected actuator. The <strong>Safety Engine</strong> arbitrates conflicting commands, enforces operational envelopes, and gates execution against runtime safety conditions.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"> <span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="32b9d818f1352d882d220cac53cfad73" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WOUjWM4hIko?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span> <small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Wetour Robotics</small></p><h2>The trade-offs we’re honest about</h2><p>No system that bridges the human body and the digital world is finished. Three engineering challenges remain open, and the company addresses each with a deliberate trade-off rather than a claim of having fully solved it.</p><p><strong>Baseline stability of sEMG under motion.</strong> In a stationary user, continuous gesture recognition from sEMG is reliable. Once the user is walking, climbing, or otherwise moving, motion artifacts and electrode drift degrade the signal in ways that are difficult to fully compensate for. Rather than overpromise on continuous control in dynamic settings, Orchestra defaults to a smaller set of robust discrete gestures in complex operating environments, and reserves continuous control modes for contexts where the signal-to-noise ratio supports them.</p><p><strong>Miniaturization of edge AI compute.</strong> Running the Orchestra control loop entirely at the edge requires real on-device inference, which has historically meant trading off between compute capacity, battery life, and form factor. Wetour Robotics’ approach has been a compact carrier board paired with a thermal design and a battery module sized for all-day wearability. The result is a hub that travels with the user rather than tethering them to a desk, and that performs the full perception-to-actuation loop without offloading to the cloud.</p><p><strong>Heterogeneity of third-party device protocols.</strong> The actuator side of the loop is a fragmented landscape. Different manufacturers expose different command interfaces, different communication stacks, and different safety conventions, and a Physical AI operating system has to integrate with all of them. Wetour Robotics uses an AI-agent layer to negotiate connection and protocol translation adaptively, so that Orchestra OS can ingest data from a wide range of devices, run them through neural network models that infer human intent, and emit the right command on the right protocol for the device on the other end.</p><h2>Why this matters, and why it helps the rest of the field</h2><p>The history of computing is a history of interface revolutions. Command lines gave way to graphical user interfaces, which gave way to touch, which gave way to voice. Each transition expanded who could participate in the system and what they could do with it. The next transition is not about a new screen or a new microphone. It is about treating the human body itself as a participant in the computing network, capable of contributing intent at the same speed and fidelity that any other connected node can.</p><p class="pull-quote">The history of computing is a history of interface revolutions. The next transition is not about a new screen or a new microphone — it is about treating the human body itself as a participant in the computing network.</p><p>This path is not a competitor to the work being done on humanoid robots, foundation models for embodied AI, and dexterous manipulation. It is the missing complement to that work. The hardest open problem for humanoid systems is the data: every natural interaction between a human and the physical world is a potential training signal, and most of those interactions are currently invisible to any computing system. As more humans become first-class nodes in the loop, those interactions become observable, structured, and ultimately useful for training the next generation of embodied AI, including the humanoid robots being developed today.</p><p>In other words: putting the human back into the computing loop is not just about better interfaces for individual users. It is about generating the kind of grounded, in-the-wild human-machine interaction data that the broader Physical AI ecosystem will need to keep advancing. The robot side and the human side of the loop are not two competing futures. They are two halves of the same one.</p><p>That is what Wetour Robotics means when it says: <em>Your body is the interface.</em></p><p>Learn more at <a href="https://wetourrobotics.com/" target="_blank">wetourrobotics.com</a>.</p>

May 21, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/zeiss-logo-above-the-slogan-seeing-beyond-on-a-dark-curved-rectangle.png?id=66728517&width=980"/><br/><br/><p>Discover how the ZEISS Crossbeam 750 FIBSEM sets a new benchmark for precise TEM lamella prep, tomography, and advanced nanofabrication. This delivers better resolution, better SNR, larger usable FOV, and shorter acquisition times. Learn how uninterrupted FIB milling will reduce damage and rework, accelerate time to TEM, and increase first pass success—so your FA, yield, and materials teams make faster, confident data driven decisions.</p><p><span>Join us to discover how the new ZEISS Crossbeam 750 with its see while you mill capability delivers precision and clarity—every time—for demanding FIB-SEM workflows. </span>Designed for extremely challenging TEM lamella preparation, tomography, advanced nanofabrication, and APT‑ready lift‑out, Crossbeam 750 combines a new Gemini 4 SEM objective lens, a double deflector, and a next‑generation scan generator to elevate both image quality and process confidence. You’ll learn how better resolution and better SNR translate into more image detail and shorter acquisition times, while the low‑kV FIB performance enables more precise lamella prep.</p><p>We’ll demonstrate High Dynamic Range (HDR) Mill + SEM—an interwoven SEM/FIB scanning mode that suppresses FIB‑generated background. This enables immediate, clean visual feedback, even during nudging the FIB pattern live while milling . The result: confident endpointing with uninterrupted FIB milling and pristine, metrology‑grade surfaces with the lowest possible sample damage. </p><p><span><span>This session is ideal for semiconductor failure analysists, yield teams and materials scientists seeking faster time‑to‑TEM, higher first‑pass success, and consistent outcomes at low kV. See how Crossbeam 750 empowers you to make earlier stop‑milling decisions, cut rework, and reliably plan turnaround time—so you can move from sample to insight with confidence.</span></span></p><p><span><span></span><a href="https://events.bizzabo.com/868497/home" target="_blank">Register now for this free webinar!</a></span></p>

May 20, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-collection-of-5-robots-against-colored-backgrounds.jpg?id=66734221&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C88%2C0%2C88"/><br/><br/><p>Over the next few decades, billions of autonomous, AI-powered robots will work alongside people in factories, perform tedious tasks in warehouses, care for the elderly, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/collections/darpa-subterranean-challenge/" target="_blank">assist in unsafe disaster areas</a>, deliver packages and food to our doorsteps, and eventually help out in our homes. Some will look like us, and many won’t. What is certain is that regardless of form factor, robots will all rely heavily on AI in order to deliver real-world value.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe height="110px" id="noa-web-audio-player" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=q5m19e&id=https://spectrum.ieee.org/robotics-ai-breakthrough?draft=1&bgColor=F5F5F5&color=1b1b1c&playColor=1b1b1c&progressBgColor=F5F5F5&progressBorderColor=bdbbbb&titleColor=1b1b1c&timeColor=1b1b1c&speedColor=1b1b1c&noaLinkColor=556B7D&noaLinkHighlightColor=FF4B00&feedbackButton=true" style="border: none" width="100%"></iframe></div><p><span>In 2025, total investments in robotics companies reached </span><a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/venture-trends-2025/" target="_blank">a record US $40.7 billion, accounting for 9 percent of all venture funding</a><span>. The multibillion dollar question therefore is this: What will it take for AI-powered robots to begin to have a serious economic impact? Many of today’s robotics and AI companies are making bold claims, such as that humanoid robots will </span><a href="https://www.1x.tech/" target="_blank">soon be coming into our homes</a><span>, but there’s still a big gap between promise and reality.</span></p><p><span></span><span>The promise of robots that live and work alongside us has been the stuff of science fiction for a very long time. And while many programmers have tried to make that promise a reality, the physical world is just too complicated for traditional computer programs to handle the endless complexity it presents. Thanks to AI, robots are no longer being programmed—instead, they learn to operate in the real world. With enough practice, they can learn to perceive and understand the world around them, reason about that world, and use that reason and understanding to perform tasks that are useful, reliable, and safe.</span></p><p>The two of us have worked at the forefront of AI and robotics for the last decade, as a <a href="https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/people/jonathan-hurst" target="_blank">Professor in Robotics at Oregon State University</a> and <a href="https://www.agilityrobotics.com/about/leadership" target="_blank">Co-Founder of Agility Robotics</a>, and as <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanspeter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">former CEO</a> of the <a href="https://everydayrobots.ai/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Everyday Robots moonshot at Google X</a>. Our experience deploying AI-powered robots in real-world settings has given us a perspective on where AI can be used to great benefit in complex robotic systems in the near term and where we are still on the frontier of science fiction. We believe AI will enable an inflection point in robotics advances, but that it will be through the well-engineered application of coordinated systems of different AI tools rather than a single ChatGPT-style breakthrough.</p><p>As the excitement around AI is matched only by the uncertainty of what will be possible, here are five hard truths that will define AI in robotics.</p><h2>1. The YouTube-to-Reality Gap Is Real</h2><p>For years, we have been seeing videos on YouTube with humanoid robots performing amazing moves on everything from a dance floor to an obstacle course. The inside knowledge in robotics is to “never trust a YouTube robot video.” The gap between real robots that can perform real work in unstructured human environments and carefully scripted and edited robot performances remains significant. The latest performance to get a lot of attention was a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUmlv814aJo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">martial arts show</a> featuring Unitree humanoid robots performing with children at the Chinese 2026 Spring Festival Gala. While impressive, this falls into a long lineage of tightly scripted robotic performances, where everything has been carefully choreographed and planned in advance. The low-level controls, synchronization, and choreography were stunning, yet the Spring Gala robot performance showed a level of autonomy and intelligence much closer to industrial robots building cars in a factory than something that will show up in your living room any time soon. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"> <span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d5c524bfa673932ad736d1599aad9c93" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mUmlv814aJo?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span> </p><p><span>Seeing these kinds of demos nevertheless raises questions about where robotics really is. If robots can perform kung fu moves and do backflips and dance, why aren’t they also showing up on factory floors yet? And why can’t they do the dishes in my home after dinner? The simple answer is this: Making AI-powered robots capable of performing general tasks in varied human environments is still </span><em><em>really</em></em><span> hard. While impressive technological feats like those at the Spring Festival may make it look like we could be very close, the use of AI in these demos is only for low-level motor control (to keep the robots from falling over) and therefore is only a small part of the solution for robots to be general purpose in the real, unstructured spaces where we humans live and work.</span></p><h2>2. Data Is An Unsolved Challenge</h2><p>Large Language Models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude were initially trained on an internet-scale database of text. The world woke up one day in late 2022 to ChatGPT demonstrating that AI computers could suddenly “speak” to us in prose or verse and about seemingly any topic. LLMs have turned out to generalize well and are now able to take multimodal input (text, images, video) and produce multimodal output. Importantly, the corpus of training data was both enormous and human-generated, which are characteristics that form the gold standard for AI training.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image rm-float-left rm-resized-container rm-resized-container-25" data-rm-resized-container="25%" style="float: left;"> <img alt="A series of four images, including robots working in a contained factory space, in an open indoor factory, outdoors in the real world delivering a package, and working with a human to move a couch in an apartment." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f8dd8681a93fee0b55cfebeab420789a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="a0903" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-series-of-four-images-including-robots-working-in-a-contained-factory-space-in-an-open-indoor-factory-outdoors-in-the-real.jpg?id=66734272&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The fastest path to robots as part of everyday life may emerge through a range of robot forms performing increasingly sophisticated applications and employing a range of AI tools.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Agility Robotics</small></p><p>Giving AI a body (in the form of a robot), so that it can engage with people in the physical world, continues to be a very difficult and broadly unsolved problem. AI models for general-purpose robotics must simultaneously satisfy multiple, often conflicting, physical, geometric, and temporal limitations while operating in unstructured, dynamic environments. In order to generalize, robot models need to be trained on data gathered in a high-dimensional configuration space, where “dimensions” represent text, lighting conditions, degrees of freedom, joint limits, velocities, force, and safety boundaries, just to mention a few. Importantly, this must be <em><em>good</em></em> data—it must contain many examples from what amounts to an infinite number of possible configurations in the physical world.</p><p>Since there are very few existing sources of data like this, approaches like teleoperation, video analysis, motion capture of humans, and self-exploration in simulation and in the real world are all seen as important ways to collect data. It’s a herculean task. For example, at Everyday Robots at Google X, we ran 240 million robot instances in our simulator over the course of 2022 to collect training data, mostly to train a trash-sorting model. Similar amounts of data will be needed for every skill to get to a similar level of capability, which is not yet human level.</p><h2>3. There Will Be No Single Robot AI</h2><p>We are far away from a moment where a single AI model might allow general-purpose robots to live and work alongside us. </p><p>General-purpose robots can have wheels or legs. They can have one, two, three, or more arms. Some have propellers and can fly, while others may be designed to operate under water. Some will drive on busy roads. The physical world is infinitely varied and complex. And then there are all the people and other animals that will be surrounding the robots. How do you train a model to operate a robot safely and reliably in all of these settings? The simple answer is: You don’t. At least not for quite some time.</p><p>We believe the winning AI architecture leading to the next big breakthroughs in general-purpose robotics will be “agentic AI” for robots, which are high-level coordinating models that can reason, plan, use tools, and learn from outcomes to execute complex tasks with limited supervision. Agentic, high-level models running on robots will invoke a system of specialized ones for different types of tasks. We will likely soon see multiple robots collaborating and coordinating with each other through their onboard agentic AI models.</p><p>AI tools are unlocking new and powerful capabilities in robotics, which in turn will enable new solutions and new markets. It’s encouraging to see these new models being made broadly available, some even as open-source solutions. This availability is akin to what happened with the internet: Real progress occurred when it became ubiquitous. We anticipate an inevitable democratization of complex behaviors in robotics with wide access to these AI tools and technologies.</p><h2>4. Hardware Is Still Very Hard</h2><p>Robots are complex systems with many parts that all need to work together with great precision. For a robot to be useful and safe, every part of it must be coordinated, from its perception systems to the computer controlling it, all the way down to its individual actuators.</p><p>Actuators—that is, the motors and gears—are a good example of an important part of the robot where what got us here won’t get us there. The actuators used at scale by most industrial robots will not work for robots that will operate in human environments. If these robots accidentally collide with an obstacle, the resulting impacts are harsh, forces are high, and things break. Humans don’t move in this way. We are far more compliant in how we interact with the world, and we’re constantly making contact with our environment and using that contact to help us accomplish things. </p><p>Consider the challenge of inserting a key in a lock: Humans typically don’t do this by aligning the key perfectly with the keyhole. Instead, we just feel for the edge of the keyhole and jiggle the key in. Robots need to be able to operate in novel ways to achieve comparable capabilities by using a new class of actuators that are sensitive to force and able to have a compliant interaction with the environment. While these kinds of actuators do exist, they are not yet generally available at scale for robot systems designed to operate around people.</p><h2>5. Real Value Comes From “Easy” Tasks</h2><p>There’s a big difference between tasks that look impressive and real-world tasks that provide value. Robotics is a perfect example of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravec%27s_paradox" target="_blank">Moravec’s paradox</a>, which states that tasks that are hard for humans are easy for computers (like multiplying two big numbers), and tasks easy for humans (like a toddler’s movements) are extremely difficult for computers and robots.</p><p>Serving customers is an unforgiving reality check, because customers only care about solving the real problems they have. If we are to deploy AI-based robot solutions, they must outperform the way things are currently done while demonstrating reliable performance metrics and safety. Agility Robotics’ early work to deploy our humanoid robot Digit in customer locations led to the realization that our first obstacle was safety: Robots that balance and manipulate objects in human spaces bring new types of risk to the workplace. In the first <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJpTpUqjgrY" target="_blank">humanoid deployments</a>, physical barriers were necessary, and Agility kicked off a multi-year engineering effort to solve the safety challenge, touching nearly every aspect of robot design and relying heavily on new AI-based approaches to human detection and behavior control.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"> <span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2e10035a69200933f1594941bc6121ce" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E2g1APtSuUM?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span> </p><p><a href="https://everydayrobots.ai/vision" target="_blank">Everyday Robots</a> at Google deployed robots in 2019 that worked autonomously in office buildings doing chores like cleaning cafe tables and sorting trash. We quickly learned how “messy” and difficult the real world is for a robot. This experience informed the architecture and deployment of our AI systems while also gathering real-world data that could be combined with simulation data for training and improving models.</p><p>This focus on creating a product to meet specific customer needs and deploying robots in real-world settings is the only way to inform the structure of the AI tools and infrastructure for near-term utility on a path towards long-term broader capability and generality. There will be no “aha” moment, no silver bullet algorithm, and no volume of data sufficient to produce a general-purpose robot without extensive real-world experience. </p><h2>AI Robots Are Coming, One Step at a Time</h2>As we look to the future, there is no doubt that the world is bringing AI into the physical world through robots. We are at the beginning of a “<a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/is-a-cambrian-explosion-coming-for-robotics" target="_self">Cambrian explosion</a>“ of useful, intelligent machines. We believe AI is not one tool, but a huge frontier of technical approaches that is unlocking new capabilities so powerful, they will define our economy moving forward. This will happen not in one single definitive moment, but as an ongoing set of small and large breakthroughs, where AI-driven robots begin to provide real value in a few tasks, and then a few more, with impacts unfolding across numerous $100 billion-plus markets that will dramatically improve the quality of our lives.

May 18, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/black-and-white-photograph-of-a-well-dressed-young-man-working-on-a-magnetic-drum-store-in-a-lab.jpg?id=66734376&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C120%2C0%2C121"/><br/><br/><p>In the late 1940s—when computer engineers were grappling with unreliable hardware and noisy transmission environments—a team of engineers inside a modest lab at the <a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">University of Manchester</a>, England, confronted a problem so fundamental that it threatened the viability of <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/topic/computing/" target="_self">digital computing</a> itself. Machines could generate bits, but they could not reliably read them back.</p><p>The inconsistent reading back of memory data did not initially present itself as a grand theoretical challenge. It showed up as something more mundane: inconsistent computing results.</p><p>Engineers including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic_C._Williams" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Frederic C. Williams</a>, <a href="https://computerhistory.org/profile/tom-kilburn/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tom Kilburn</a>, and <a href="https://www.historicalporttalbot.com/dr-g-e-tommythomas.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">G. E. (Tommy) Thomas</a> traced the failures not to logic errors but to the physical behavior of the machines themselves. The team devised a technique for keeping a transmitter and a receiver synchronized without relying on a separate clock signal. Their innovation, known as <em><em>Manchester code</em></em> or <em><em>phase encoding</em></em>, encoded each bit with a transition in the middle of the bit period, effectively embedding timing information directly into the data stream to be a self-clocking signal. So, even if the signal degraded or the timing drifted slightly, the receiver could continually keep time based on those regular transitions.</p><p>By eliminating the need for separate clocks and reducing synchronization errors, Manchester code made data transfer more robust across cables and circuits.</p><p>Those qualities later made it a natural fit for technologies such as <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/ethernet-ieee-milestone" target="_self">Ethernet</a> and early data storage systems. Its self-clocking nature helped standardize how machines communicate, and it laid the groundwork for modern networking and digital communication protocols.</p><p>On 13 April 2026, this breakthrough was honored with an <a href="https://ieeemilestones.ethw.org/Main_Page" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Milestone</a> plaque during a ceremony at the University of Manchester. Dignitaries from IEEE and the university attended the ceremony.</p><h2>Embedding timing in signals</h2><p>Those 1940s Manchester University engineers were working on systems that fed into the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/Manchester-Mark-I" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Manchester Mark I</a>, one of the first practical stored-program machines.</p><p>When troubles arose, they used oscilloscopes to probe signals. They found that electrical pulses did not arrive with consistent timing. Memory signals also blurred over time, making them harder to read, and when long runs of identical bits occurred, the waveform flattened into stretches with no transitions.</p><p>That led to a crucial insight: The problem was not just detecting whether a signal was high or low; the system also lost track of when to sample the signal. Without reliable timing markers, even correctly formed signals were misread. Bits could effectively be lost or miscounted because the system fell out of sync.</p><p>At first, the engineers tried to tame the hardware. They experimented with stabilizing circuits and more consistent pulse generation, attempting to impose a regular rhythm on an inherently unstable system. But the fixes proved fragile, and the electronics of the day could not maintain the required precision. So the Manchester group took a different approach.</p><p>If the hardware could not provide a dependable clock, the signal itself would have to carry one. Instead of representing data as static levels, each bit changed state, with a guaranteed transition in the middle.</p><p>Embedding timing in the signal reduced erratic behavior. Machines were suddenly able to reliably transmit, store, and read back data—an essential step toward practical stored-program computing.</p><h2>Making signals unmistakable</h2><p>The Manchester code addressed several issues at once. Regular transitions allowed continuous timing recovery. Transitions proved easier to detect than static levels, and long runs of identical bits no longer produced flat, ambiguous waveforms. Rather than fighting the imperfections of early electronics, the design worked with them.</p><h2>From lab curiosity to a global standard</h2><p>What began as a local solution in Manchester shaped digital communication systems for decades, including early <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/ethernet-ieee-milestone" target="_self">Ethernet</a> technology, for which timing and shared-medium communication were central challenges.</p><p>According to <a href="https://www.invent.org/inductees/robert-m-metcalfe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Robert Metcalfe</a>, a member of the team that built the first Ethernet system at <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/xerox-parc" target="_self">Xerox PARC</a> in 1973, he and his colleagues relied on Manchester code.</p><p>“Manchester code solved a fundamental problem for us: timing,” Metcalfe says, explaining that each bit carried its own clock and removed the need for a global synchronized signal.</p><p>That self-clocking property wasn’t the only benefit provided by the encoding scheme. On a shared <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_cable" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">coaxial cable</a>, Manchester encoding did more than provide timing. Each transceiver left the medium undriven—effectively “off”—most of the time, allowing packets from other machines to pass without interference. Even during transmission, a station drove the signal only about half the time, leaving the line undriven during the other half of each bit cycle.</p><p>This distinction—between a driven signal and an undriven line, rather than simple 1s and 0s—allowed receivers to recover both data and clock timing while also monitoring the cable for other activity. If a transceiver detected a signal when it expected the line to be undriven, the signal indicated that another station was transmitting at the same time. In other words, the system could detect collisions in real time and respond accordingly.</p><p>The idea has proven durable far beyond local networks. Manchester code is being used aboard the <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Voyager</a> spacecraft, which are now cruising through interstellar space—underscoring its reliability in extreme environments.</p><p>The code also has found its way into everyday consumer electronics. Infrared remote controls for televisions and audio equipment commonly rely on Manchester code through protocols such as <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5204459" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RC-5</a>, developed by <a href="https://www.usa.philips.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoo3NzmHCA6YkyyN491Ap-CAL5zRLLrSMfq00xJZS-gNs1Mdf4JV" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Philips</a> in the early 1980s. The protocol encodes commands as timed infrared signals transmitted by a handset’s <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/integrated-circuits" target="_self">integrated circuit</a> and <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/leds" target="_self">LED</a>, allowing devices to reliably interpret button presses even through noise and signal distortion. Manufacturers across Europe—and many in the United States—adopted the approach, extending Manchester code into the home.</p><h2>Why the Milestone matters</h2><p>An IEEE Milestone designation recognizes technologies with enduring impact. Manchester code qualifies because it solved a foundational timing problem at a critical moment in computing history.</p><p>Without a way to embed timing in the data itself, early digital systems would have remained fragile and unreliable. Manchester code helped transform them into dependable machines, and it enabled much of today’s digital communication.</p><p class="pull-quote">“Manchester code solved a fundamental problem for us: timing,” <strong>—Robert Metcalfe, an Ethernet inventor</strong></p><p><span></span>Key participants at the plaque dedication ceremony included <a href="https://iwrc.ieeeusa.org/blog/portfolio-items/thomas-coughlin/" target="_blank">Tom Coughlin</a>, 2024 IEEE president; <a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/people/university-executive-team/president-vice-chancellor/" target="_blank">Duncan Ivison</a>, University of Manchester president and vice chancellor, <a href="https://www.ieee-ukandireland.org/" target="_blank">and </a><a href="https://www.uwl.ac.uk/staff/nagham-saeed" target="_blank">Nagham Saeed</a>, chair of the <a href="https://www.ieee-ukandireland.org/" target="_blank">IEEE U.K. and Ireland Section</a>.</p><p>Talks by <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/kees-immink-the-man-who-put-compact-discs-on-track" target="_self">Kees Schouhamer Immink</a> (the 2017 <a href="https://corporate-awards.ieee.org/ieee-medal-of-honor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Medal of Honor</a> laureate <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/kees-immink-the-man-who-put-compact-discs-on-track" target="_self"></a>probably best known for his work that made compact discs and other high-density digital media practical) and <a href="https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/news/display/?id=32657" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Peter Green</a> (Manchester’s deputy dean for the engineering faculty) highlighted the code’s lasting impact on digital data storage and communications.</p><p>The IEEE <a href="https://ethw.org/Milestones:Manchester_Code,_1948%E2%80%931949" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Milestone plaque</a> for the Manchester code reads:</p><p>“At<em><em> this site in 1948–1949, Manchester code was invented for reliably encoding digital data stored on the Manchester Mark I computer’s magnetic drum. It became a standard for computer magnetic tapes and floppy disks and was used in digital communications, including the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft and early Ethernet networks. It found wide use in domestic remote controllers, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, and many control network standards</em></em>.”</p>Administered by the <a href="https://www.ieee.org/about/history-center" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE History Center</a> and supported by donors, the Milestone program recognizes outstanding technical developments worldwide. The IEEE U.K. and Ireland Section sponsored the nomination.

May 18, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-curbside-trash-can-being-lifted-by-a-mechanical-arm-attached-to-the-side-of-a-garbage-truck.jpg?id=66736070&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C178%2C0%2C178"/><br/><br/><p>For years, the field of robotics has used the terms “dull, dirty, and dangerous” (DDD) to describe the types of tasks or jobs where robots might be useful—by doing work that’s undesirable for people. A <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1349822.1349827" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">classic example of a DDD job</a> is one of “repetitive physical labor on a steaming hot factory floor involving heavy machinery that threatens life and limb.”</p><p><span></span><span>But determining which human activities fit into these categories is not as straightforward as it seems. What exactly is a “dull” task, and who makes that assumption? Is “dirty” work just about needing to wash your hands afterwards, or is there also an aspect of social stigma? What data can we rely on to classify jobs as “dangerous?” </span><a href="https://rai-inst.com/resources/papers/dull-dirty-dangerous-understanding-the-past-present-and-future-of-a-key-motivation-for-robotics/" target="_blank">Our recent work</a> (which was not dull at all) tackles these questions and proposes a framework to help roboticists understand the job context for our technology.</p><p>First, we did an empirical analysis of robotics publications between 1980 and 2024 that mention DDD and found that only 2.7 percent define DDD and only 8.7 percent provide examples of tasks or jobs. The definitions vary, and many of the examples aren’t particularly specific (for example, “industrial manufacturing,” “home care”). <span>Next, we reviewed the social science literature in anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology to develop better definitions for “dull,” “dirty,” and “dangerous” work. Again, while it might </span><em>seem</em><span> intuitive which tasks to put into these buckets, it turns out that there are some underlying social, economic, and cultural factors that matter.</span></p><h2>Dangerous Work: Occupations or tasks that result in injury or risk of harm</h2><p><span></span><span>It’s possible to measure the danger of a task or job by using reported information. There are administrative records and surveys that provide numbers on occupational injury rates and hazardous risk factors. While that seems straightforward, it’s important to understand how this data was collected, reported, and verified.</span></p><p>First, occupational injuries tend to be underreported, with some studies estimating <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24507952/" target="_blank">up to 70 percent of cases missing in administrative databases</a>. Second, injuries and risk factors are <a href="https://www.ilo.org/publications/quick-guide-sources-and-uses-statistics-occupational-safety-and-health" target="_blank">rarely disaggregated by characteristics like gender, migration status, formal/informal employment, and work activities</a>. For example, because most personal protective equipment—such as masks, vests, and gloves—are sized for men, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GdmEDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT8&dq=Caroline+Criado+Perez.+Invisible+Women:+Data+Bias+in+a+World+Designed+for+Men.+Vintage+Books,+New+York,+NY,+2019.+ISBN+1-68335-314-5.+&ots=zr92hEL4HB&sig=bepPAzAfk_khTOb8BO6xWjspDJM#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank">women in dangerous work environments face increased safety risks</a>.</p><p>These caveats are an opportunity for robotics to be helpful. If we went out and looked for it, we could probably find some less obviously dangerous work where robotics might be an important intervention, not to mention some groups that are disproportionately affected and would benefit from more workplace safety.</p><h2>Dirty Work: Occupations or tasks that are physically, socially, or morally tainted</h2><p><span></span><span>Colloquially, most people might think of dirty work as involving </span><em>physical</em><span> dirtiness, such as trash removal, cleaning, or dealing with hazardous substances. But social science literature makes clear that dirty work is </span><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/799402" target="_blank">also about <em>stigma</em></a><span>. Socially tainted jobs are often servile or involve interacting with stigmatized groups (for example, correctional officers), and morally tainted jobs include tasks that people commonly perceive as sinful, deceptive, or otherwise defying norms of civility (like a stripper or a collection agent).</span></p><p>“Dirty work” is a social construct that can vary across time (like <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-00729-001" target="_blank">tattoo industry stigma</a> in the United States) and culture (such as nursing in the <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230393530_8" target="_blank">U.S</a>. versus in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953606003418" target="_blank">Bangladesh</a>). One way to measure whether work is “dirty” is by using the closely related concept of occupational prestige, captured through quantitative surveys where people rank jobs. Another way to measure it is through qualitative data, like ethnographies and interviews. Similar to “dangerous,” we see some hidden opportunities for robotics in “dirty” work. But one of our more interesting takeaways from the data is that a lower-ranked job can be something that <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/259134" target="_blank">the workers themselves enjoy or find immense pride and meaning in</a>. If we care about what tasks are truly undesirable, understanding this worker perspective is important.</p><h2>Dull Work: Occupations or tasks that are repetitive and lacking in autonomy</h2><p>When it comes to defining dull work, what matters most is workers’ own experiences. Outsiders can make a lot of false assumptions about what tasks have value and meaning. Sometimes things that seem boring or routine create the right conditions for <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/291654/the-mind-at-work-by-mike-rose/" target="_blank">developing skills and competence</a>, such as the concentration needed for woodworking, or for <a href="https://www.anthropology-news.org/articles/what-counts-as-drudgery-and-who-decides/" target="_blank">socializing and support</a>, when tasks are done alongside others. Instead of assuming that repetitive work is negative, it’s important to examine qualitative data on how people experience the work and what purpose it serves for <em>them</em>.</p><h2>DDD: An actionable framework<br/></h2><p>In our paper, we propose a framework to help the robotics community explore how automation impacts individual jobs. For each term—dull, dirty, and dangerous—the framework gathers key pieces of information to reflect on what physical or social aspects of the task are, in fact, DDD. Worker perspective is an important part of all three considerations. The framework also emphasizes awareness of context—meaning the physical and social environment of an occupation and industry that can influence the DDD nature of a task. Our corresponding <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/2602.04746" target="_blank">worksheet</a> suggests existing data sources to draw on and encourages us to seek out multiple perspectives and consider potential sources of bias in the information.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="A diagram illustrating that tasks that are dangerous, dirty, or dull depend on how the workers feel about the social and physical environment." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0e5225e853b1fd8d456f6ae58d665e04" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="ff883" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-diagram-illustrating-that-tasks-that-are-dangerous-dirty-or-dull-depend-on-how-the-workers-feel-about-the-social-and-physica.png?id=66736573&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">What makes tasks dull, dirty, or dangerous depends on the perspective of the humans doing those tasks.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">RAI</small></p><p><span>Let’s take, for example, the waste and <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/single-stream-recycling" target="_blank">recycling industry</a>. The world generates over 2 billion tonnes of waste annually, and this figure is </span><a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/ba7feea4-0abe-59fb-bc60-ce6b60eb1ceb" target="_blank">expected to rise to nearly 4 billion tonnes by 2050</a><span>. Intuitively, trash collection seems like a job that hits all the Ds. </span><span>Going through our worksheet, we confirm that globally, workers in this industry </span><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/wp-solutions/2024-123/default.html" target="_blank">face</a><span> </span><a href="https://ilostat.ilo.org/beyond-the-bin-decent-work-deficits-in-the-waste-management-and-recycling-industry/" target="_blank">significant</a><span> </span><a href="https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/dbdown/ch" target="_blank">health hazards</a><span> (dangerous), and waste collection is </span><a href="https://occupational-prestige.github.io/opratings/opcrosswalk.html" target="_blank">ranked</a><span> as a </span><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43615-021-00056-7" target="_blank">low-status job</a><span> (dirty), although interestingly, many workers </span><a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031921-024847" target="_blank">take pride</a><span> in </span><a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012420-091423" target="_blank">providing this essential service</a><span>.</span></p><p>The job is also repetitive, but there are aspects that make it <em>not dull</em>. Specifically, workers cite the <a href="https://academic.macmillan.com/academictrade/9780374534271/pickinguponthestreetsandbehindthetruckswiththesanitationworkersofnewyorkcity/" target="_blank">day-to-day interaction with their coworkers</a> (which includes extensive insider vocabulary, work hacks, and mutual aid groups) and <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Collecting-Garbage-Dirty-Work-Clean-Jobs-Proud-People/Perry/p/book/9780765804105" target="_blank">task variety</a> as two of the most enjoyable aspects of the job. Task variety includes inspecting their vehicle and equipment, driving their truck, coordinating with crew members, lifting bins and bags, detecting incorrect sorting of waste, and unloading at the end destination.</p><p>This finding matters because some types of robotic solutions will eliminate the parts of the job that workers most appreciate. For instance, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/wp-solutions/2024-123/default.html" target="_blank">recommends the adoption of automated side loader trucks and collision avoidance systems</a>. This innovation increases safety, which is great, but it also results in a sole worker operating a joystick in a cab, surrounded by sensor and camera surveillance.</p><p>Instead, we should challenge ourselves to think of solutions that make jobs safer without making them terrible in a different way. To do this, we need to understand all aspects of what makes a job dull, dirty, or dangerous (or not). Our framework aims to facilitate this understanding.</p><p>Finally, it’s important to note that <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1349822.1349827" target="_blank">DDD is only one of many possible approaches</a> to classify what work might be better served by robots. There are lots of ways we could think about which types of tasks or jobs to automate (for example, economic impact or environmental sustainability). Given the popularity of DDD in robotics, we chose this common phrase as a starting point. We would love to see more work in this space, whether it’s data collection on DDD itself or the creation of other frameworks.</p><p>At <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/marco-hutter-ai-institute" target="_blank">RAI</a>, we believe that the fusion of robotics and social sciences opens a whole new world of information, perspectives, opportunities, and value. It fosters a culture of curiosity and mutual learning, and allows us to create actionable tools for anyone in robotics who cares about societal impact.</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><a href="https://rai-inst.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Dull-Dirty-Dangerous.pdf" target="_blank"><em>Dull, Dirty, Dangerous: Understanding the Past, Present, and Future of a Key Motivation for Robotics</em></a>, by <span>Nozomi Nakajima, Pedro Reynolds-Cuéllar, Caitrin Lynch, and Kate Darling from the RAI Institute, was presented at </span>the 21st ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) in Edinburgh, Scotland.

May 18, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/johns-hopkins-whiting-school-of-engineering-logo-with-shield-emblem.png?id=66700256&width=980"/><br/><br/><p>This presentation highlights recent efforts at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory to advance agentic AI for collaborative robotic teams. It begins by framing the core challenges of enabling autonomy, coordination, and adaptability across heterogeneous systems, then introduces a scalable architecture designed to support agentic behaviors in multi-robot environments. The talk concludes with key challenges encountered and practical lessons learned from ongoing research and development.</p><p><span>Key learnings</span></p><ul><li>Provides an introduction to LLM-based AI Agents</li><li><span>Describes an approach to applying LLM-based AI Agents to robotic teams</span></li><li><span>Provides demonstrations of the approach running in hardware with a heterogeneous team of robots</span></li><li>Presents lessons learned and future work in this area</li></ul><div><a href="https://events.bizzabo.com/867156" target="_blank">Download this free whitepaper now!</a></div>

May 18, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/blue-lit-server-room-featuring-the-large-monash-maveric-supercomputer-installation.jpg?id=66718014&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C1"/><br/><br/><p><em>This sponsored article is brought to you by </em><a href="https://www.melbournecb.com.au/?utm_source=ieee&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=discover-melbourne-2026&utm_term=maveric&utm_content=link" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em><span>Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB)</span></em></a><em> supported by </em><a href="https://businessevents.australia.com/en" target="_blank"><em><span>Business Events Australia</span></em></a><em>.</em></p><p>Melbourne’s reputation as a global events city, from the Australian Open tennis and Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix to hosting NFL regular season games, now intersects with a different form of scale: large-scale compute, data-intensive research, and advanced engineering. Long recognized for delivering complex international events, the city is applying the same organisational capability to the infrastructure that underpins modern AI research, positioning Melbourne at the convergence of global convening and high-performance digital systems.</p><p>Consistently ranked among the world’s most livable cities, Melbourne was named <a href="https://www.timeout.com/travel/best-cities-2026" target="_blank"><span>Time Out’s Best City in the World in 2026</span></a>, the first Australian city to hold the title.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Hot-air balloons over a riverside city skyline at sunrise with parks in the foreground" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a4fff87a9da2d309d0278846fedc28ac" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="79f98" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/hot-air-balloons-over-a-riverside-city-skyline-at-sunrise-with-parks-in-the-foreground.jpg?id=66723254&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Melbourne, Australia’s premier conference destination.</small> <small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit..."> Tourism Australia </small> </p>More materially for research and innovation, Melbourne is also the nation’s <a href="https://www.invest.vic.gov.au/understand-the-market/discover-consumer-and-business-markets/consumer-and-business-markets" target="_blank"><span>fastest‑growing capital</span></a>, attracting increasing concentrations of engineering and technology talent, investment and international engagement.<p><span>Australia’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem is entering a new phase, defined less by isolated initiatives and more by the convergence of compute infrastructure, research intensity and international collaboration. Melbourne sits at this intersection.</span></p><p class="pull-quote"><span>Melbourne’s trajectory highlights what enables research at scale: access to frontier-grade compute, proximity to industry-ready infrastructure, and repeated opportunities for global research communities to convene.</span></p><p>Sovereign AI compute, expanding hyperscale data center campuses and a growing pipeline of international research-led conferences are reshaping the city’s research landscape. Together, these elements position Melbourne as a focal point for applied AI research, advanced engineering and data-intensive science.</p><p>The growing global influence of AI engineering, underscored by <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/2026-ieee-medal-of-honor" target="_self"><span>NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang receiving the 2026 IEEE Medal of Honor</span></a>, reflects the scale of this shift. In Melbourne, these factors form a reinforcing research flywheel linking infrastructure, discovery and collaboration.</p><p>Rather than focusing on startup density or short-term commercial output, Melbourne’s trajectory highlights what enables research at scale: access to frontier-grade compute, proximity to industry-ready infrastructure, and repeated opportunities for global research communities to convene.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Person in tuxedo holding an IEEE award plaque on a lit stage with floral decor" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5bc615cd12804379152b4c13d064cf9e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="e6a57" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/person-in-tuxedo-holding-an-ieee-award-plaque-on-a-lit-stage-with-floral-decor.png?id=66718012&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang received the 2026 IEEE Medal of Honor.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">IEEE</small></p><h2>Sovereign AI foundations</h2><p>The most recent cornerstone of Melbourne’s AI capability is <a href="https://www.monash.edu/maveric" target="_blank"><span>MAVERIC</span></a> (Monash AdVanced Environment for Research and Intelligent Computing), Australia’s largest university-based AI supercomputer. Built and deployed by Monash University in partnership with NVIDIA, Dell Technologies, and CDC Data Centres, MAVERIC has been engineered specifically for large scale AI and data intensive science, with medical research representing a key priority. Indeed, in these regards MAVERIC has been designed to function as a Next Generation Trusted Research Environment thus ensuring that it is state-of-the-art and provides a safe and secure framework for the analysis of large sensitive datasets.</p><p>Designed to support research projects including cancer and neurodegenerative disease detection, clinical trial analysis and drug discovery through to materials science and engineering, MAVERIC enables Australian researchers to train and evaluate large models domestically while keeping highly sensitive datasets secure and under national jurisdiction. This sovereign design is particularly relevant in fields such as medical research where privacy, regulation or intellectual property constraints limit the use of offshore cloud resources.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Professionals in business attire stand in a modern, arched lobby formation." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="85a14575d9b9f4808fb2757cf1b06fef" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="0aaca" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/professionals-in-business-attire-stand-in-a-modern-arched-lobby-formation.png?id=66718020&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Monash University Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Sharon Pickering with researchers [left to right] Professor Anton Peleg, Professor Victoria Mar, Professor James Whisstock, Vice-President (Strategy and Major Projects) Teresa Finlayson, and Professor Patrick Kwan.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Eamon Gallagher (Australian Financial Review)</small></p><p><span>Technically, the system reflects the latest shifts in high performance AI architecture. Built on NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 platforms and integrated using Dell’s rack scale infrastructure, MAVERIC employs closed loop liquid cooling to reduce water consumption compared with conventional air-cooled systems, aligning large scale compute growth with sustainability objectives while supporting high density, high throughput workloads.</span></p><p><a href="https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/james-whisstock/" target="_blank">Professor James Whisstock</a>, Deputy Dean Research of Monash’s Faculty of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences commented, “MAVERIC provides a huge leap forward in our compute capability that will revolutionize our researchers’ ability to address the most challenging and important research questions across the fields of medical research, information technology, and STEM disciplines. It will seed wonderful new cross-disciplinary collaborations, underpin the work of our best and brightest young researchers and will allow our scientists to continue to make major discoveries that positively impact the Australian and global population more broadly.”</p><p class="pull-quote">“MAVERIC provides a huge leap forward in our compute capability that will revolutionize our researchers’ ability to address the most challenging and important research questions across the fields of medical research, information technology, and STEM disciplines.” <strong>—Professor James Whisstock, Deputy Dean Research of Monash’s Faculty of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences</strong></p><p>Monash University frames MAVERIC not as a standalone asset, but as part of the national research infrastructure, intended to strengthen collaboration across academia, healthcare, government and industry. This approach positions Melbourne at the forefront of sovereign AI enabled research in the region.</p><h2>Data center scale as research infrastructure</h2><p>The infrastructure demands of modern AI research extend well beyond individual systems. Melbourne’s expanding data center footprint now supports hyperscale compute, applied AI deployment and large-scale research workloads simultaneously.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image rm-float-left rm-resized-container rm-resized-container-25" data-rm-resized-container="25%" style="float: left;"> <img alt="Bar chart of 2024 data center investment; US leads, Australia second, then Japan, Singapore, UK, Canada." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8d6a38b90c4ef69cae0f70753b193c91" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="a796d" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/bar-chart-of-2024-data-center-investment-us-leads-australia-second-then-japan-singapore-uk-canada.jpg?id=66718033&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Total data center investment, US$ billions.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Source: <a href="chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https:/content.knightfrank.com/research/2982/documents/en/data-centres-global-report-2025-12054.pdf" target="_blank">Data Centres Global Report 2025</a></small></p><p><span>In February 2026, CDC Data Centres opened its first Melbourne campus in Brooklyn, with two live facilities and a third in planning. Combined with CDC’s Laverton campus, Melbourne is projected to host more than 800 megawatts of sovereign digital capacity, critical for AI workloads requiring sustained access to high-density power, cooling and secure environments.</span></p><p>Parallel investment is underway in Fishermans Bend, where <a href="https://www.nextdc.com/news/nextdc-announces-2-billion-ai-factory-and-technology-campus-at-fishermans-bend" target="_blank"><span>NEXTDC is developing a AUD $2 billion AI and digital infrastructure hub</span></a> adjacent to the Innovation Precinct. Planned facilities include an AI Factory, a Mission Critical Operations Center and a Technology Center of Excellence, enabling sovereign AI, high-performance computing and cross-sector collaboration across health, defence and finance.</p><p>Melbourne hosts Australia’s <a href="https://www.invest.vic.gov.au/explore-your-sector/digital-technology/data-centres" target="_blank"><span>largest cluster of AI firms</span></a>, with 188 companies, and more than 40 data centers currently operate across Victoria. The Victorian Government has complemented this growth with an initial AUD $5.5 million investment in the Sustainable Data Center Action Plan.</p><p>Together, these developments reinforce Melbourne’s role as a national and increasingly global hub for high-performance AI infrastructure as model complexity and infrastructure dependency continue to accelerate.</p><h2>Applied AI research at scale</h2><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="People talking beside colorful cone sculpture outside modern campus building on College Walk" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="530f3f9e56c4a0636eda723d331bae6f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="8a533" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/people-talking-beside-colorful-cone-sculpture-outside-modern-campus-building-on-college-walk.jpg?id=66718043&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Monash University is home to MAVERIC, Australia’s largest university-based AI supercomputer, built and deployed by Monash in partnership with NVIDIA, Dell Technologies, and CDC Data Centres.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Monash University</small></p><p>Melbourne’s research strength is underpinned by a dense university network with deep capability across AI, data science and engineering. Institutions including Monash University, the University of Melbourne, Deakin University, La Trobe University, RMIT University and Swinburne University of Technology collectively support research across machine learning, robotics, human-computer interaction, extended reality and advanced manufacturing.</p><p><span>This concentration fosters applied collaboration where AI intersects with medicine, sustainability, cognitive systems and immersive technologies. For visiting researchers, it provides access not only to academic expertise but also to live infrastructure environments where research can be tested and validated, reinforcing Melbourne’s position as one of the Asia-Pacific’s most integrated AI research ecosystems.</span></p><h2>Conferences as research accelerators</h2><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Large audience in modern auditorium watching speaker on brightly lit conference stage" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="06b667e88bd471c9f85038ed575e2b64" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="5b02f" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/large-audience-in-modern-auditorium-watching-speaker-on-brightly-lit-conference-stage.jpg?id=66718051&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Plenary session at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Melbourne Convention Bureau</small></p><p>Melbourne’s selection as host city for a growing number of international technology conferences reflects the convergence of research capability and infrastructure maturity.</p><p>In September 2026, <a href="https://datacenterworldaustralia.com/" target="_blank">Data Center World Australia</a> and <a href="https://australia.theaisummit.com/" target="_blank">The AI Summit Australia</a> will be co-located at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center, bringing together global leaders across AI, digital infrastructure and enterprise technology. The pairing highlights a broader reality: advances in AI are inseparable from the infrastructure that enables them.</p><p class="pull-quote">Melbourne’s expanding data center footprint now supports hyperscale compute, applied AI deployment and large-scale research workloads simultaneously.</p><p>Research-led conferences are also expanding Melbourne’s global footprint. <a href="https://www.iconip2026.org/" target="_blank">ICONIP 2026</a>, hosted by Deakin University, will bring up to 700 researchers in neural networks and machine learning, followed in 2027 by <a href="https://ieeevr.org/2027/" target="_blank">IEEE VR</a>, the leading conference on virtual reality and 3D user interfaces, attracting up to 1,000 delegates.</p><p>In this context, conferences function not simply as events, but as infrastructure for knowledge transfer, supporting standards exchange, collaboration and system-level learning at global scale.</p><h2>A global platform for advancing research</h2><p>Sovereign compute, data center scale and a strong conference pipeline create a reinforcing cycle, enabling researchers to engage directly with infrastructure and industry well beyond the event itself.</p><p>By closing the gap between theory and deployment, Melbourne supports deeper technical exchange and more enduring global research networks.</p><p>This role was recognized in 2025 when the IEEE awarded Melbourne Convention Bureau the 2025 Organisational Supporting Friend of <a href="https://www.ieee.org/communities/geographic-activities" target="_blank">IEEE Member and Geographic Activities (MGA)</a> — the first convention bureau in the Asia Pacific region to receive the acknowledgement as a result of the longstanding partnership with the <a href="https://r10.ieee.org/victorian/" target="_blank">IEEE Victorian Section</a>.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Two people hold an IEEE award in front of a 60 years Melbourne Convention banner" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="44ff9d49df420ad51c849d43c6875556" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="d8d38" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/two-people-hold-an-ieee-award-in-front-of-a-60-years-melbourne-convention-banner.jpg?id=66718119&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) representative Fatima Aboudrar, Senior Business Development Manager, with Vijay S. Paul, Immediate Past Chair, IEEE Victorian Section, receiving Supporting Friend Member recognition in 2025.</small></p><p><span>As AI research becomes increasingly dependent on infrastructure scale, sovereign capability, and global collaboration, Melbourne is moving beyond hosting conversations to actively enabling the systems that advance AI and data‑driven research at global scale.</span></p><h2>Conference support in Melbourne</h2><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-html5_video"> <video caption="Why host a conference in Melbourne, Australia." class="rm-shortcode" controls="" data-rm-shortcode-id="dec941a36c92df0006fae2798936edb4" expand="1" feedbacks="true" id="c9d60" mime_type="video/mp4" photo_credit="Melbourne Convention Bureau" shortcode_id="1778594450027" site_id="20265424" url="https://roar-assets-auto.rbl.ms/runner%2FBIDs_WhyMelbourne_and_MCB.mp4" videocontrols="true" width="100%"> <source src="https://roar-assets-auto.rbl.ms/runner%2FBIDs_WhyMelbourne_and_MCB.mp4" type="video/mp4"/> Your browser does not support the video tag. </video> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Why host a conference in Melbourne, Australia.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Melbourne Convention Bureau</small> </p><p>This ecosystem is underpinned by Melbourne’s highly accessible city center, where world-class venues, research institutions and industry hubs are located in close proximity. Free public transport and a compact city footprint enable seamless movement from conference floor to real-world application.</p><p><a href="https://www.melbournecb.com.au/" target="_blank">Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB)</a> is a not-for-profit state government agency with over 60 years’ experience, that provides IEEE and its members with free support to bring international conferences to Melbourne, Australia. MCB’s support spans early-stage exploration and international bidding through to securing government funding, connecting organizers with venues, accommodation and event suppliers, and providing destination support for conference planning and delivery. Organizations considering a conference in Australia are encouraged to connect with MCB’s dedicated team, which supports IEEE conferences in Melbourne. Enquiries can be directed to info@melbournecb.com.au.</p>

May 15, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/photo-of-the-earliest-instant-of-the-first-atomic-explosion-is-seen-as-a-grayish-white-semi-sphere-against-a-black-background.jpg?id=66722347&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=9%2C0%2C10%2C0"/><br/><br/><div class="intro-text"><em><em>Editor’s note: If you’d like to pinpoint the instant when the world entered the nuclear age, 5:29:45 a.m. Mountain War Time on 16 July 1945, is an excellent choice. That was the moment when human beings first unleashed the power of the nucleus in an immense, blinding ball of fire above a gloomy stretch of desert in the Jornada del Muerto basin in New Mexico. Emily Seyl’s </em></em><span>Trinity: An Illustrated History of the World’s First Atomic Test</span><em><em> (The University of Chicago Press) offers hundreds of startlingly vivid photographs of the <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-atomic-fortress-that-time-forgot" target="_blank">Manhattan Project</a> that emerged from a 20-year restoration effort. This excerpt and the accompanying photos record the massive effort to capture the awesome detonation of “the Gadget.”</em></em></div><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image rm-float-left rm-resized-container rm-resized-container-25" data-rm-resized-container="25%" style="float: left;"> <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/T/bo269844812.html"></a><a class="shortcode-media-lightbox__toggle shortcode-media-controls__button material-icons" title="Select for lightbox">aspect_ratio</a><img alt="Book cover \u201cTrinity\u201d showing atomic blast reflected in a camera lens." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="076f679d205fcf6e00c0b72162968525" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="096a0" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/book-cover-u201ctrinity-u201d-showing-atomic-blast-reflected-in-a-camera-lens.jpg?id=66723097&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Reprinted with permission from <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/T/bo269844812.html" target="_blank">Trinity: An Illustrated History of the World’s First Atomic Test</a> by Emily Seyl with contributions by Alan B. Carr, published by The University of Chicago Press. © 2026 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.</small></p><p class="drop-caps"><strong>In the North 10,000</strong> photography bunker, Berlyn Brixner was listening to the countdown on a loudspeaker, his head inside a turret loaded with cameras and film. He was one of the only people instructed to look toward the blast—through his welder’s glasses—ready to follow the path of the fireball as it launched into the sky. The two Mitchell movie cameras at his station would deliver the best footage to come of the Trinity test, used by Los Alamos scientists to make some of the first measurements of the effects of a nuclear explosion.</p><p class="ieee-inbody-related">Related: <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/manhattan-project-trinity-test" target="_blank">New Trinity Book Uncovers Images of the First Atomic Test</a><a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/manhattan-project-trinity-test" target="_self"></a></p><div class="flourish-embed flourish-chart" data-src="story/3675514?602891"><script src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/embed.js"></script><noscript><img alt="visualization" src="https://public.flourish.studio/story/3675514/thumbnail" width="100%"/></noscript></div><p><span>When the detonators fired, the cameras captured what Brixner could not have seen—the very first light of a violent, silent sea of energy unfurling into the basin. As 32 blocks of high explosives erupted all together, their incredible force surged inward toward the sleeping <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/perils-of-plutonium" target="_blank">plutonium</a> core, compressing the dense sphere of metal instantaneously from all sides and bringing its atoms impossibly close together. A carefully timed burst of neutrons sowed momentary, uncontrolled chaos, and then, as quickly as it began, the fission chain reaction ended. Footage from a high-speed Fastax camera in Brixner’s bunker, shot through a thick glass porthole, shows a translucent orb bursting through the darkness less than a hundredth of a second after detonation, as a rush of heat, light, and matter blew apart the Gadget.</span></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><div class="flourish-embed flourish-chart" data-src="story/3676614?602891"><script src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/embed.js"></script><noscript><img alt="visualization" src="https://public.flourish.studio/story/3676614/thumbnail" width="100%"/></noscript></div></div><p><span>When the brightness faded enough for witnesses to make out ground zero, they saw a wall of dust rise up around a brilliant, shape-shifting, multicolored ball of flames—forming a fiery cloud that shot into the sky atop a twisting stream of debris. The camera footage tells a story no less dramatic but hundreds of times more intricate, preserving the moment for scientists to return to again and again to measure and describe the behavior of the fireball and other visible effects with exacting detail. On balance, the photography effort was a huge success, despite only 11 of the 52 cameras producing satisfactory images. By arranging those cameras at intentionally staggered distances, complementary angles, and with a broad spectrum of frame rates and focal lengths, the Spectrographic and Photographic Measurements Group was able to piece together a remarkably complete picture of their subject.</span></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image rm-float-left rm-resized-container rm-resized-container-25" data-rm-resized-container="25%" style="float: left;"> <img alt="Black and white photo of a thin man wearing soiled, baggy trousers and a white t-shirt standing in a doorway grasping the handle of a small but heavy box." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dd0ec2aa5cf0edcd1d29e0035cbb65cd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="818b6" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/black-and-white-photo-of-a-thin-man-wearing-soiled-baggy-trousers-and-a-white-t-shirt-standing-in-a-doorway-grasping-the-handle.jpg?id=66729941&width=980"> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">On 12 July 1945, Herbert Lehr, a U.S. Army sergeant and electrical engineer assigned to Los Alamos, delivered the plutonium core to the McDonald ranch house, where the bomb was assembled. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Los Alamos National Laboratory</small></img></p><p><span>According to the group’s leader, Julian Mack, the more than 100,000 frames that were captured still “give no idea of the brightness, or of time and space scales.” Mack attributed fortune, as much as foresight, to the <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/slideshow-a-nuclear-family-vacation" target="_blank">photographic record</a> that was made, especially during the earliest phase of the blast. Indeed, the explosion was several times more powerful than predicted, and the intensity of its effects overwhelmed many of the cameras and diagnostic instruments. The human observers were similarly overcome. “The shot was truly awe-inspiring,” said Norris Bradbury, the physicist who would succeed Robert Oppenheimer as director of Los Alamos. “Most experiences in life can be comprehended by prior experiences, but the atom bomb did not fit into any preconception possessed by anybody. The most startling feature was the intense light.”</span></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="A black and white photo of a man standing on a platform next to a cable-covered cylindrical device that is about the same height as he is." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8ae5d1fe3a98e33d0012121a56cf0216" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="86c62" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-black-and-white-photo-of-a-man-standing-on-a-platform-next-to-a-cable-covered-cylindrical-device-that-is-about-the-same-height.jpg?id=66729957&width=980"> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Norris Bradbury, the physicist responsible for the final assembly of the Gadget, stands next to the partially assembled bomb at the top of the shot tower. The cables on the outside of the bomb would transmit the signals to trigger the synchronized detonations of conventional explosives, which would then create the inward-directed shock wave that would compress the bomb’s plutonium core. Bradbury would go on to succeed Robert Oppenheimer as director of Los Alamos on 17 October 1945.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Los Alamos National Laboratory</small></img></p><p>It is a common sentiment that words and even pictures pale in comparison to the experience of the explosion. Even so, soldiers, scientists, and many other witnesses have added their firsthand accounts—often absorbing and poetic—to complement the trove of hard data collected during the test shot. They describe an intense and blinding brightness that filled the basin with daytime; an ominous, darkening cloud rearing its head in eerie silence; the wait for the invisible wave rushing out from the heart of the Gadget; and the mighty roar that arrived at last, in a thunder, and seemed never to leave. Physicist Isidor Isaac Rabi, watching from 20 miles away, remembered, “It blasted; it pounced; it bored its way right through you.”</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><div class="flourish-embed flourish-chart" data-src="story/3676642?602891"><script src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/embed.js"></script><noscript><img alt="visualization" src="https://public.flourish.studio/story/3676642/thumbnail" width="100%"/></noscript></div></div><p>James Chadwick, head of the British contingent of scientists who joined the Manhattan Project, later said, “Although I had lived through this moment in my imagination many times during the past few years and everything happened almost as I had pictured it, the reality was shattering.”</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Sequence of black\u2011and\u2011white photos showing a nuclear explosion mushroom cloud forming" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f85f05f43b0ce334d9bdce54d01fc01e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="d7fd6" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/sequence-of-black-u2011and-u2011white-photos-showing-a-nuclear-explosion-mushroom-cloud-forming.png?id=66730306&width=980"> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The blast, captured with an assortment of high-speed and motion-picture cameras, shows the fireball expanding between 25 milliseconds and 60 seconds, by which time the mushroom cloud is over 3 kilometers high.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Los Alamos National Laboratory</small></img></p><p>And physicist George Kistiakowsky found himself certain that “at the end of the world—in the last millisecond of the Earth’s existence—the last human will see what we saw.” <span class="ieee-end-mark"></span></p>

May 14, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-man-giving-a-presentation-in-front-of-a-roundtable-audience.jpg?id=66734604&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C62%2C0%2C63"/><br/><br/><p>The <a href="https://www.comsoc.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc)</a>’s <a href="https://www.comsoc.org/engagement-community/competitions/research-collaboration-pitch-session" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Research Collaboration Pitch Session</a> initiative is proving to be a catalyst for meaningful engagement between academic researchers and industry innovators. Launched last year, the program connects promising researchers with industry leaders who can offer them funding, mentorship, and connections to bring interesting ideas closer to real-world deployment.</p><p>Rather than relying on chance encounters at conferences, the pitch sessions create a focused environment. Five academic presenters share their work with five industry representatives, known as “innovation scouts”: senior leaders primarily chosen from ComSoc’s <a href="https://www.comsoc.org/about/comsoc-corporate-program" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Corporate Program partner companies</a> such as <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/ieee-xplore-ericsson-tech-review" target="_self">Ericsson</a>, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/fhe-intel" target="_self">Intel</a>, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/ieee-and-keysight-team-up-to-teach-kids-about-electronics-2668966742" target="_self">Keysight</a>, and <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/nokia-bell-labs-new-headquarters" target="_self">Nokia</a>. The curated format ensures that each idea receives dedicated attention from professionals who are seeking new concepts aligned with their organization’s priorities.</p><p>The initiative was launched in November at the <a href="https://mecom2025.ieee-mecom.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Middle East Conference on Communications and Networking</a> (MECOM) in Cairo and appeared in December at the <a href="https://globecom2025.ieee-globecom.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Global Communications Conference</a> (GLOBECOM) in Taipei, Taiwan.</p><h2>AI-driven communication network</h2><p>One of the most compelling outcomes came from the inaugural session in Cairo. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-waithaka-6b572124a/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Angela Waithaka</a>, a student member and biomedical engineering student at <a href="https://www.ku.ac.ke/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kenyatta University</a>, in Nairobi, Kenya, presented her “AI-Driven Predictive Communication Networks for Enhanced Performance in Resource-Constrained Environments” paper. You can <a href="https://ieeetv.ieee.org/channels/communications/research-collaboration-pitch-session-ieee-mecom-2025" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">view her presentation along with others</a> on <a href="https://ieee.tv" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE.tv</a>.</p><p>Waithaka’s research tackles a critical challenge: Next-generation communication systems increasingly rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning, yet most existing architectures consume abundant computational and energy resources, which are not always present in developing regions.</p><p>Waithaka proposed lightweight, adaptive AI/machine learning models capable of delivering predictive, reliable communication performance even under tight resource constraints.</p><p>Her vision resonated with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/richie-leo/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ruiqi “Richie” Liu</a>, a master researcher at <a href="https://www.zte.com.cn/global/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ZTE</a> in China. ZTE is a global leader in integrated information and communication technology solutions. Liu says he recognized the relevance Waithaka’s proposal had to his company’s work with the <a href="https://www.itu.int/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">International Telecommunication Union</a>. He invited her to establish an ITU account so she could participate in the organization’s meetings discussing global telecommunications standardization projects—which would elevate her work to an international stage.</p><h2>Simplifying data center protocols</h2><p>The momentum continued at GLOBECOM. Among the presenters was <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nirmala-shenoy-94477299/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nirmala Shenoy</a>, a professor at the <a href="https://www.rit.edu/directory/nxsvks-nirmala-shenoy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rochester Institute of Technology</a>, in New York. Shenoy, an IEEE member, spoke on the topic of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCMZ2YP9TAo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">simplifying data center network protocols</a><em><em>.</em></em> She highlighted the growing complexity of the critical networks, which underpin cloud services, enterprise IT, and emerging AI workloads.</p><p>Shenoy’s focus on reducing protocol complexity while maintaining scalability, resilience, and low latency caught the attention of an innovation scout from <a href="https://www.nokia.com/es_int/nokia-en-espana/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nokia</a>, who heads its <a href="https://extendedrealitylab.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">eXtended Reality Lab</a> in Madrid. He found the key person at Nokia for Shenoy to connect with to discuss her research, and it led her to record a video for the company detailing her approach and its potential applications.</p><h2>A model for accelerating innovation</h2><p>The early success stories demonstrate the power of intentional, structured engagement. By bringing researchers and industry leaders together in a format designed for discovery, ComSoc is helping accelerate innovation and expand opportunities for collaboration. The pitch sessions are not merely conference events; they are becoming a <a href="https://ieeetv.ieee.org/ns/ieeetvdl/2026/ComSoc_MECOM_2025_Pitch_Session_Sizzle_v1.mp4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">bridge</a> between academic creativity and industry implementation.</p><p>This year sessions will be held during the <a href="https://icc2026.ieee-icc.org/program/research-pitch-collaboration-session" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE International Conference on Communications</a> in Glasgow from 24 to 28 May, and more are scheduled during the <a href="https://www.comsoc.org/conferences-events/ieee-international-mediterranean-conference-communications-and-networking-2026#:~:text=The%20conference%20is%20held%20annually%20in%20various,technical%20papers%20deadline%20is%20February%2026%2C%202026." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE International Mediterranean Conference on Communications and Networking</a> in Sardinia from 6 to 9 July, and at GLOBECOM in Macau from 7 to 11 December.</p><p>As the program continues to grow, it could become a signature ComSoc initiative, one that strengthens the research ecosystem, supports emerging talent, and ensures that promising ideas find pathways to real-world impact.</p>

May 14, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/rohde-schwarz-logo-with-make-ideas-real-tagline-and-rs-monogram-in-diamond.png?id=66685385&width=980"/><br/><br/><p>A comprehensive review of how spectrum congestion, dynamic sharing, and cognitive radio systems are reshaping RF coexistence testing for military and commercial applications.</p><p><strong>What Attendees will Learn</strong></p><ol><li><span>Why spectrum congestion threatens wireless reliability — Explore how over 30 billion connected devices, more than 4,000 allocation changes worldwide, and the expansion from 11 to over 80 cellular bands are intensifying contention for finite RF spectrum resources.<br/></span></li><li><span>How real-world coexistence failures affect safety-critical systems — Understand the interference risks between 5G C band transmitters and aircraft radar altimeters, and between terrestrial L band networks and GPS receivers that were not designed for adjacent high-power signals.</span></li><li><span>Why tiered spectrum sharing frameworks are essential — Examine how CBRS uses a cloud-based Spectrum Access System (SAS) and environmental sensing to dynamically protect incumbent Navy radar while enabling commercial cellular services across three priority tiers.</span></li><li><span>What coexistence test architectures look like in practice — Learn how controlled environment testing with anechoic chambers, over-the-air signal generation, and standards such as ANSI C63.27 enable repeatable evaluation of RF device performance under real-world interference conditions.</span></li></ol><div><span><a href="https://content.knowledgehub.wiley.com/testing-for-coexistence-in-crowded-and-contested-rf-environments/" target="_blank">Download this free whitepaper now!</a></span></div>

May 14, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/modern-glass-office-complex-labeled-epic-center-with-trees-and-walkways-outside.jpg?id=66659351&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C37%2C0%2C38"/><br/><br/><p><em>This sponsored article is brought to you by <a href="https://www.appliedmaterials.com/us/en.html" target="_blank">Applied Materials</a>.</em></p><p>At pivotal moments in history, progress has required more than individual brilliance. The most consequential breakthroughs — such as those achieved under the Human Genome Project — required a new operating paradigm: Concentrate the world’s best talent around a single mission, establish a common platform, share critical infrastructure, and collapse feedback loops. When stakes are high and timelines are compressed, sequential and siloed innovation simply cannot keep pace.</p><p>Today’s AI era is creating an engineering race with similar demands. Every company is pushing to deliver higher-performance AI systems, faster. But performance is no longer defined by compute alone. AI workloads are increasingly dominated by the movement of data: In many cases, moving bits consumes as much — or more — energy than compute itself. As a result, reducing energy per bit can extend system‑level performance alongside gains in peak compute.</p><p><span>The path to energy‑efficient AI therefore runs through system‑level engineering, spanning three tightly interconnected domains:</span></p><ul><li><strong>Logic</strong>, where performance per watt depends on efficient transistor switching, low‑loss power, and signal delivery through dense wiring stacks.</li><li><strong>Memory</strong>, where surging bandwidth and capacity demands expose the memory wall, with processor capability advancing faster than memory access.</li><li><strong>Advanced packaging</strong>, where 3D integration, chiplet architectures, and high‑density interconnects bring compute and memory closer together — enabling system designs monolithic scaling can no longer sustain.</li></ul><p>These domains can no longer be optimized independently. Gains in logic efficiency stall without sufficient memory bandwidth. Advances in memory bandwidth fall short if packaging cannot deliver proximity within thermal and mechanical constraints. Packaging, in turn, is constrained by the precision of both front‑end device fabrication and back‑end integration processes.</p><p>In the angstrom era, the hardest problems arise at the boundaries — between compute and memory in the package, front‑end and back‑end integration, and the tightly coupled process steps needed for precise 3D fabrication. And it is precisely this boundary‑driven complexity where the traditional innovation model breaks down.</p><h2>The Traditional R&D Workflow Is Too Slow for Angstrom‑Era AI</h2><p>For decades, the semiconductor industry’s R&D model has resembled a relay race. Capabilities are developed in one part of the ecosystem, handed off downstream through integration and manufacturing, evaluated by chip and system designers, and only then fed back for the next iteration. That model worked when progress was dominated by relatively modular steps that could be scaled independently and simply dropped into the manufacturing flow.</p><p>But the AI timeline has upended these rules. At angstrom‑scale dimensions, the physics enforces inescapable coupling across the entire stack: materials choices shape integration schemes; integration defines design rules; design rules dictate power delivery; wiring sets thermal budgets; and thermals ultimately constrain packaging scaling. System architects simply cannot wait 10–15 years for each major semiconductor technology inflection to mature.</p><p class="pull-quote">Representing a roughly $5 billion investment, EPIC is the largest commitment to advanced semiconductor equipment R&D in U.S. history.</p><p>A long‑term perspective is essential to align materials innovation with emerging device architectures — and to develop the tools and processes required to integrate both with manufacturable precision. At <a href="https://www.appliedmaterials.com/" target="_blank">Applied Materials</a>, together with our customers, we are charting a course across the next 3–4 generations, extending as far as 10 years down the roadmap.</p><p>The angstrom era demands that we break down silos and bring together the industry’s best minds — from leading companies to leading academic institutions. If the problem is coupled, the solution must be coupled. If the timeline is compressed, the learning loop must be compressed. It’s not enough to just innovate — we must innovate <em>how </em>we innovate.</p><h2>EPIC: A Center and Platform for High‑Velocity Co‑Innovation</h2><p>This is the challenge that Applied Materials EPIC Center is designed to solve.</p><p>Representing a roughly US $5 billion investment, EPIC is the largest commitment to advanced semiconductor equipment R&D in U.S. history. When it opens in 2026, it will deliver state‑of‑the‑art cleanroom capabilities built from the ground up to shorten the path from early‑stage research to full‑scale manufacturing. But the facilities are only one component of the model. EPIC is also a platform, an operating system for high-velocity co‑innovation that revolutionizes how ideas move from the lab to the fab.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Diagram comparing traditional and EPIC chip innovation timelines showing 2x faster path" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="96015591a65db61b8276debbf07572cd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="65b06" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/diagram-comparing-traditional-and-epic-chip-innovation-timelines-showing-2x-faster-path.png?id=66661836&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">EPIC is a platform, an operating system for high-velocity co‑innovation that revolutionizes how ideas move from the lab to the fab.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Applied Materials</small></p><p><span>The EPIC model compresses the traditional workflow. Customer engineers work side‑by‑side with Applied technologists from day one — moving beyond isolated process optimization and downstream handoffs. Within a shared, secure environment, EPIC tightly integrates atomistic modeling, test vehicles, process development, validation, and metrology feedback. Constraints that once surfaced late in development are identified and addressed early.</span></p><p>The result is a potentially 2x faster path that benefits the entire ecosystem under one roof:</p><ul><li><strong>Chipmakers </strong>gain earlier access to Applied’s R&D portfolio, faster learning cycles, and accelerated transfer of next‑generation technologies into high‑volume manufacturing.<strong></strong></li><li><strong>Ecosystem partners</strong> gain earlier access to advanced manufacturing technology and collaboration opportunities that expand what is possible through materials innovation.<strong></strong></li><li><strong>Academic institutions </strong>gain opportunities to strengthen the lab‑to‑fab pipeline and help develop future semiconductor talent.<strong></strong></li></ul><p>Building on decades of co‑development, we are reinventing the innovation pipeline with our partners across logic, memory, and advanced packaging to deliver the next leap in energy‑efficient AI.</p><h2>Accelerating Advanced Logic</h2><p>Logic remains the engine of AI compute. In the angstrom era, however, system‑level gains are increasingly constrained by power and energy. Extending AI performance now depends on architectures that deliver more performance per watt — accelerating the move to 3D devices such as gate‑all‑around (GAA) transistors, which boost density within a compact footprint while preserving power efficiency.</p><div class="ieee-sidebar-large"><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Evolution from FinFET to GAA, backside power, isolated GAA, and CFET transistors" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d66597919442799fa477cfc8aafcaa01" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="dd920" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/evolution-from-finfet-to-gaa-backside-power-isolated-gaa-and-cfet-transistors.jpg?id=66659734&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Architectures that deliver more performance per watt are accelerating the move to 3D devices such as gate‑all‑around (GAA) transistors, and further out, complementary FETs (CFETs), which push density scaling even more.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Applied Materials</small></p></div><p><span>These architectural shifts are unfolding at unprecedented scale, with the logic roadmap already extending beyond first‑generation GAA toward more advanced designs. One key example is GAA with backside power delivery, which relocates thick power lines to the backside of the wafer, reducing resistive losses and freeing front‑side routing for tighter logic cell integration. Another example brings adjacent GAA PMOS and NMOS transistors closer together while inserting a dielectric isolation wall between them to minimize electrical interference. Further out, complementary FETs (CFETs) push density scaling even more by stacking PMOS and NMOS devices directly atop one another.</span></p><p>While these architectures deliver compelling gains in performance per watt and logic density without relying solely on tighter lithography, they significantly raise integration complexity. Manufacturing a single GAA device today can involve more than 2,000 tightly interdependent process steps. At the same time, wiring stacks continue to grow taller and denser to connect these advanced logic devices. Modern leading‑edge GPUs now in development pack more than 300 billion transistors into an area little larger than a postage stamp, interconnected by over 2,000 miles of wiring.</p><div class="ieee-sidebar-large"><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Diagram of advanced AI chip showing layered wiring and 3D stack of copper interconnects." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0ac1f5771ed9d3d6daa81708a2feba6d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="5adf6" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/diagram-of-advanced-ai-chip-showing-layered-wiring-and-3d-stack-of-copper-interconnects.jpg?id=66659736&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Modern leading‑edge GPUs now in development pack more than 300 billion transistors into an area little larger than a postage stamp, interconnected by over 2,000 miles of wiring.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Applied Materials</small></p></div><p><span>At this level of complexity, the process steps used to create these precise 3D devices and wiring stacks cannot be optimized independently. Design and process must evolve in lockstep, and materials innovation and fabrication methods must advance alongside device architecture. EPIC’s co‑innovation model is designed to accelerate exactly this convergence — enabling logic compute to continue advancing the frontiers of AI at the pace the roadmap demands.</span></p><h2>Powering the Memory Roadmap</h2><p>At the same time, the AI computing era is fundamentally reshaping how data is generated, moved, and processed — making memory technologies, especially DRAM, central to delivering the energy‑efficient performance AI systems require. As models grow larger and more data‑hungry, the DRAM roadmap is shifting toward architectures that deliver higher density, greater bandwidth, and faster access per watt.</p><div class="ieee-sidebar-large"><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Diagram of DRAM cell scaling from 8F\u00b2 to stacked 3D DRAM architecture." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4a15a67c9e3fc19ccc59866774ef7f6c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="107e7" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/diagram-of-dram-cell-scaling-from-8f-u00b2-to-stacked-3d-dram-architecture.jpg?id=66659766&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">At the DRAM cell level, AI performance requirements are driving a transition from 6F² buried‑channel array transistors (BCAT) to more compact 4F², and beyond that, architectures that move past what 2D scaling alone can deliver. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Applied Materials</small></p></div><p>At the DRAM cell level, this shift is driving a transition from 6F² buried‑channel array transistors (BCAT) to more compact 4F² architectures, which orient the transistor vertically to boost density and reduce chip area. Looking beyond 4F², sustaining gains in performance per watt will require moving past what 2D scaling alone can deliver. The industry is therefore turning to 3D DRAM, stacking memory cells vertically to add capacity within a constrained footprint. As these structures grow taller and aspect ratios intensify, high-mobility materials engineering in three dimensions becomes increasingly critical to performance and reliability.</p><p>Beyond the memory cell array, another powerful lever for DRAM scaling is shrinking the peripheral circuitry, which includes logic transistors and interconnect wiring. One emerging approach places select periphery functions beneath the DRAM array by bonding two wafers — one optimized for the DRAM cells and the other for CMOS logic — using multiple wiring layers.</p><div class="ieee-sidebar-large"><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Diagram of transistor and interconnect technology progressing to FinFET and advanced Cu links" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6c6c6ebbda58b4b241b326cf5f2514b5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="f2f52" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/diagram-of-transistor-and-interconnect-technology-progressing-to-finfet-and-advanced-cu-links.jpg?id=66659784&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Beyond the memory cell array, another powerful lever for DRAM scaling is shrinking the peripheral circuitry, which includes logic transistors and interconnect wiring.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Applied Materials</small></p></div><p>In parallel, DRAM performance is being extended by leveraging logic‑proven enhancers in the memory periphery. These include mobility boosters such as embedded silicon germanium and stress films, along with wiring upgrades like improved low‑k dielectrics and advanced copper interconnects. Memory manufacturers are also transitioning periphery transistors from planar devices to FinFET architectures, following the logic roadmap to further improve I/O speed. These valuable inflections are central to EPIC’s mission — where they can be co-developed and rapidly validated for next‑generation memory systems.</p><h2>Driving System Scaling With Advanced Packaging</h2><p>As data movement becomes the dominant energy cost in AI systems, advanced packaging has emerged as a critical lever for improving system‑level efficiency—shortening interconnect distances, increasing bandwidth density, and reducing the power required to move data between logic and memory.</p><div class="ieee-sidebar-medium"><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image rm-float-left rm-resized-container rm-resized-container-25" data-rm-resized-container="25%" style="float: left;"> <img alt="Diagram of AI accelerator with surrounding HBM chips and enlarged stacked HBM memory." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="57ca5bd0a4fb3c9caafdd046322814ee" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="8d42b" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/diagram-of-ai-accelerator-with-surrounding-hbm-chips-and-enlarged-stacked-hbm-memory.jpg?id=66659903&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The rise of 3D packages such as high‑bandwidth memory (HBM) underscores why advanced packaging is becoming central to the AI era.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Applied Materials</small></p></div><p>High‑bandwidth memory (HBM) marks a major inflection along this path. By stacking DRAM dies — scaling to 16 layers and beyond — and placing memory much closer to the processor, HBM enables rapid access to ever‑larger working datasets. This delivers step‑function gains in both bandwidth and energy efficiency.</p><p>More broadly, the rise of 3D packages such as HBM underscores why advanced packaging is becoming central to the AI era. Packaging now addresses system‑level constraints that logic and memory device scaling alone can no longer overcome. It also enables a move away from monolithic systems‑on‑chip toward chiplet‑based architectures, as AI workloads increasingly demand flexible designs that combine logic, memory, and specialized accelerators optimized for specific tasks.</p><p>A vital technology powering this roadmap is hybrid bonding. With interconnect pitches approaching those of on‑chip wiring, conventional bumps and microbumps run into fundamental limits in density, power, and signal integrity. Hybrid bonding removes these barriers by allowing dramatically higher interconnect and I/O density, supporting a broad range of chiplet architectures — from memory stacking to tighter compute‑memory integration.</p><div class="ieee-sidebar-large"><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Colorful 3D cross-section of a stacked computer chip package with connectors" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="803f8a53c6b07244ec4f34b4165fd65e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="623bc" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/colorful-3d-cross-section-of-a-stacked-computer-chip-package-with-connectors.jpg?id=66659905&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">EPIC tackles high‑value advanced‑packaging challenges through early, parallel co‑innovation across materials, integration, and manufacturing.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Applied Materials</small></p></div><p>As bonded structures like HBM stacks grow larger and more complex, warpage control, die placement, stack alignment, and thermal management become first‑order challenges. EPIC tackles these and other high‑value advanced‑packaging challenges through early, parallel co‑innovation across materials, integration, and manufacturing.</p><h2>Bringing It All Together</h2><p>Across logic, memory, and advanced packaging, our industry faces an ambitious roadmap that promises significant gains in energy efficiency for AI systems. But realizing that potential demands breakthrough materials innovation at a time when feature sizes are shrinking, interfaces are multiplying, and process interdependencies are escalating. These challenges cannot be solved on 10–15‑year timelines under the traditional relay‑race model. We must break down silos, align earlier across the ecosystem, and parallelize learning to keep pace with AI’s demands.</p><p>In the AI era, progress will be defined by the speed at which lightbulb moments turn into manufacturing and commercialization reality. The only viable path forward is a new innovation model — and EPIC is how we are driving it.</p>

May 12, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-small-group-smiling-and-standing-behind-a-table-decorated-with-a-cloth-that-reads-ieee-5g-6g-innovation-testbed.jpg?id=66723229&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C156%2C0%2C157"/><br/><br/><p>Given how integral the Internet has become to everyday tasks such as shopping, paying bills, and holding virtual meetings, it’s interesting that nearly 30 percent of the global population still has no access to it. More than 2 billion people are still offline, according to a <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/Pages/PR-2025-11-17-Facts-and-Figures.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report</a> released in November by the <a href="https://www.itu.int/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">International Telecommunication Union</a>.</p><p>More and more people are being connected, though, thanks to <a href="https://futurenetworks.ieee.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Future Networks</a>’ <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Connecting the Unconnected</a> (CTU) and similar programs. Since 2021, the technical community has been working to accelerate the development, standardization, and deployment of 5G, 6G, and future generations.</p><p>Every year, CTU holds a worldwide competition to seek out innovators who are in the early stages of developing technologies or applications to provide greater access. It also holds an annual <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/summit/2025-ctu-summit/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">summit</a> that brings together experts, community leaders, and other interested parties to discuss strategies to expand access and foster digital inclusion.</p><p>CTU expanded in several ways last year. It launched regional summits to focus on local connectivity issues, organized community-focused events, and established an expanded mentorship program to further support contest winners and the next generation of technological innovators impacting humanity. The program also partners with the <a href="https://standards.ieee.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Standards Association</a> (IEEE SA) to develop guidelines for some of the submitted innovations.</p><p>“IEEE Future Networks has created a community to bring all these initiatives working on digital connectivity together in a single platform and leverage the IEEE brand to help raise the visibility of their work,” says IEEE Life Fellow <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sudhir-dixit-b6592355/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sudhir Dixit,</a> a CTU cochair and a <a href="https://basicinternet.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Basic Internet Foundation</a> cofounder, which also works to expand Internet access.</p><h2>A contest for new connectivity methods</h2><p>The CTU challenge, launched in 2021, typically receives 200 to 300 submissions each year, Dixit says. Last year 245 projects from 52 countries were submitted. Participants include academics, nonprofit organizations, startups, and students.</p><p>Projects can be entered into one of three categories. The Technology Applications category is for new connectivity methods or innovations that broaden <a data-linked-post="2650274106" href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/3-ways-to-bridge-the-digital-divide" target="_blank">broadband access</a>. Those who improve the affordability of Internet services can enter the Business Model category. The Community Enablement category is for strategies that promote public broadband adoption.</p><p>After selecting a category, entrants choose between two tracks based on their project’s maturity. The proof-of-concept route is for early-stage but functional technology that has already produced results. The conceptual path is for projects in the theoretical phase that have not undergone full testing.</p><p class="pull-quote">“IEEE Future Networks has created a community to bring all these initiatives working on digital connectivity together in a single platform and leverage the IEEE brand to help raise the visibility of their work.” <strong>—Sudhir Dixit, Connecting the Unconnected cochair</strong></p><p>Last year’s challenge submission period was from March to June, with judging phases from June through November. The <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/challenge/2025-ctu-challenge-winners/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">20 winners</a> presented their solutions in December at a virtual <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/summit/2025-ctu-summit/2025-ctu-summit-winners/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Winners Summit</a>. Fourteen projects received prize money, ranging from US $500 to $2,500. Six finalists earned an honorable mention at the summit.</p><p>The awards amounts have varied over the years, based on the sponsorship.</p><p>Among the winners were a <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-IEEE-CTUC-Best-C.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">solar-powered community broadband network in Tanzania</a>, a low-cost method for accessing the Internet that <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-IEEE-CTUC-2nd-TA-POC.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">uses FM radio and a short message service (SMS)</a>, and a <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-IEEE-CTUC-1st-TA-C.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">strategy for utilizing India’s rural broadband infrastructure</a> to deliver medical services to people living in isolated, tribal, and other underserved regions.</p><p>“Our job is to help further develop the technology, look for gaps, and see if it is good enough to be applied to rural villages, like those in Africa and India,” says IEEE Fellow <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ashutosh-dutta-a60a656/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ashutosh Dutta</a>, who is a CTU cochair and a professor at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Johns Hopkins University</a>, in Baltimore. “The idea behind the contest is to make sure the technology actually gets implemented at the grassroots level and is being used by the local community.”</p><p>This year’s challenge submission period runs until <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/challenge/rules-and-expectations-2026/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">19 June</a>, with judging phases from July through October.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"> <span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c55935faa38111357acc331e8e1497a5" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JmG6aCWoOFk?rel=0&list=PLfWDzJqhRXOHAGE1KZVqifYS6orl40I_8" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The finalists of the 2025 IEEE Connect the Unconnected challenge describe their projects.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">IEEE Future Networks</small></p><h2>Local connectivity discussions</h2><p>The CTU program hosted three regional <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/summit/2025-ctu-summit/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">summits</a> last year. The <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/summit/2025-ctu-summit/2025-ctu-summit-na/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">North American event</a> was held in September in Washington, D.C. In November, the <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/summit/2025-ctu-summit/2025-ctu-summit-apac/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Global/Asia-Pacific meeting</a> took place in Bangalore, India; it was co-located with the <a href="https://fnwf2025.ieee.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Future Networks World Forum</a>. The <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/summit/2025-ctu-summit/2025-ctu-summit-emea/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Europe, Middle East, and Africa summit</a> also was held in November, in Abuja, Nigeria.</p><p>Topics discussed at the summits included infrastructure solutions for universal connectivity; sustainable business models; scaling homegrown technologies; and policy, regulation, and financing issues.</p><p>As of press time, the dates for this year’s regional summits had not been announced.</p><h2>Community-focused events</h2><p>To help bridge the gap between ideas and their deployment, the <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/summit/2025-ctu-summit/2025-ctu-summit-apac/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Connect a Community event</a> was established to demonstrate how some new technologies might benefit people. The inaugural event was held in November in Bengaluru, India. During the daylong program, 10 of the challenge winners demonstrated their connectivity solutions to villagers from seven rural communities.</p><p>Dutta credits IEEE Life Fellow <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rakesh-kumar-8192192/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rakesh Kumar</a> with devising the event. Kumar chairs <a href="https://futuredirections.ieee.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Future Directions</a>, which was where Future Networks got its start in 2017 as the 5G Initiative.</p><p>“Kumar wants to ensure the winning technologies are going to be useful for the community,” Dutta says.</p><h2>Providing entrepreneurs with business skills</h2><p>Dixit says the Future Networks team believed that simply conducting a competition and distributing prizes wasn’t enough.</p><p>“We wanted to follow up with the winners, monitor their progress, and help them turn their ideas into a business,” he says.</p><p>To accomplish that, IEEE launched the <a href="https://fnem.futurenetworks.ieee.org/get-involved/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Empowerment Through Mentorship</a> program, in which budding entrepreneurs are paired with industry leaders and experienced mentors who provide them with 1,000 days of guidance, coaching them on scaling up their business.</p><p>“We launched the mentorship program to further the cause,” Dixit says. “These people may be good at developing technology, but they don’t know the marketing challenges, how to raise money, and other factors.”</p><p>The <a href="https://www.lemelson.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lemelson Foundation</a>, an organization in Portland, Ore., that partners with IEEE, collaborated on the mentorship program. The foundation’s philanthropic strategy is to cultivate a robust ecosystem for entrepreneurs in East Africa, India, and the United States. It does so by providing the entrepreneurs with tools including financing options and access to communities that share their passion.</p><p>The foundation chose to partner with IEEE “because of its powerful international network and focus on electrical engineering, which is a critical element of communications and energy infrastructure globally,” says <a href="https://www.lemelson.org/biographies/kory-murphy-2/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kory Murphy</a>, Lemelson’s program officer for <a href="https://www.lemelson.org/funding/entrepreneurship/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">U.S. invention and entrepreneurship</a>.</p><p>“Other factors include IEEE’s focus on nontraditional or disadvantaged areas in India,” Murphy says, “and its recognition that mentorship is critical for the successful deployment of new technologies.”</p><p>IEEE began an early pilot project in 2023 with support of a grant from the Lemelson Foundation, to determine if a sustained entrepreneurship mentorship program was valuable and necessary, he says. It then conducted a survey through 2024 to collect information to better understand the needs of stakeholders, mentors, and entrepreneurs in hard-to-reach areas in India. While the early pilot program was restricted to that country, its intent was to learn from the experience and share the findings globally, he says.</p><p class="pull-quote">“Our job is to help further develop the technology, look for gaps, and see if it is good enough to be applied to rural villages, like those in Africa and India.” <strong>—Ashutosh Dutta, Connecting the Unconnected cochair</strong> </p><p>“The foundation’s involvement was aimed at testing certain activities, partnership strategies, and understanding the budgetary requirements for a prepilot program,” he says. “The primary goal of the foundation is to enable conditions for innovation to occur within regional systems, especially addressing the opportunity for sustained, systematic, and relational mentorship in technology innovation.”</p><p>The Empowerment Through Mentorship program is structured into three tiers. One focuses on individuals and their needs, the program/technical level focuses on the invention, and the venture level guides participants from the initial concept through product testing and validation. Within each track, participants engage in activities such as networking, securing financial support, and pitching their innovations, Murphy says.</p><p>“The 1,000-day approach reflects the belief that it requires a long period of time to coach and support those who traditionally are excluded,” he says.</p><p>CTU mentors can be IEEE members or nonmembers who are successful entrepreneurs and own small or large companies, Dixit says. They also can work in academia.</p><p>“They need to be passionate about training and mentoring other people,” Dixit says. “We have created a curriculum that covers topics such as ways to get financing from investors and how to turn ideas into a profitable business. It’s not the technology that will make the product successful; it’s everything else that goes into it.”</p><h2>Rural broadband architecture standards</h2><p>To determine whether any of the challenge’s submitted projects have the potential to become a standard, the CTU working group collaborates with the <a href="https://standards.ieee.org/industry-connections/activities/6g-rural-connectivity-and-intelligent-village/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE SA Industry Connections</a> program’s <a href="https://standards.ieee.org/industry-connections/activities/6g-rural-connectivity-and-intelligent-village/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">6G Rural Connectivity and Intelligent Village activity</a>. Projects considered for standards do not have to be winners. Any project that has successfully passed the first phase, completed the second-phase requirements, and requested a review may be considered.</p><p>Typically, about half of the submitted projects are reviewed for possible standard implications, Dutta says.</p><p>“We selected about 60 submissions that could be potentially standardized,” he says. “Out of those, we work with IEEE SA’s rapid reactive standards activity group to narrow them down to five or 10 that can be potentially standardized.</p><p>“The CTU program is not only about developing a technology or implementing it, but also standardizing it so that people around the world can use the standard.”</p><p>One such project led to the development of IEEE P1962, “<a href="https://standards.ieee.org/ieee/1962/11912/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Standard for Providing Broadband Connectivity to Rural Infrastructure by Utilizing Solar Panels as Optical Communication Receivers</a>.” It specifies an architecture for an optical receiver that uses solar panels and associated circuitry to provide energy-efficient, affordable, and high-speed optical wireless communication.</p><p>“CTU has created a platform for the world to bring their ideas to one single place where people can talk to each other about them,” Dixit says. “We are a unifying force.</p><p>We bring these many dimensions together to connect the unconnected.”</p><h3>CTU Challenge Winner: Community Radio Bolo</h3><br/><p>The <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/" target="_blank">Connecting the Unconnected</a> program offers contestants benefits that extend beyond the recognition and rewards. One participant who benefited is <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/blog/2023/03/10/qa-with-the-winners-ritu-srivastava/" target="_blank">Ritu Srivastava</a>, a telecommunications engineer and IEEE member. She placed first in the <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/challenge/2022-ctu-challenge-2/" target="_blank">2022 technical concept category</a> for her project, <a href="https://ctu.ieee.org/challenge/2022-ctu-challenge-2/," target="_blank">Community Radio Bolo</a> (CR Bolo). The verb <em>bolo</em> means <em>speak</em> in Hindi.</p><p>Internet services in India’s rural areas are either unavailable or have spotty coverage. People there rely on community radio stations to get news about local events and issues. There are about 300 such stations in India, Srivastava says.</p><p>To provide broadband Internet access in the Bhadrak district of Odisha, India, she developed a cost-effective hybrid network that uses an online and offline <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/mesh-network-interoperable-thread" target="_self">wireless mesh network</a> installed on the tower of community radio station <a href="https://onlineradiohub.com/radio-bulbul-s1511/" target="_blank">Radio Bulbul</a>. Several transceiver locations, known as access points, are located at schools and community centers that are within a 5- to 7-kilometer radius, connecting them with Radio Bulbul.</p><p>CR Bolo includes a plug-and-play interactive voice response system that is coupled with the hybrid wireless network. The automated telephony technology routes callers using voice commands or a telephone’s keypad to the appropriate department. The system also has a direct-to-consumer platform where manufacturers sell their products through websites or mobile apps.</p><p>“CR Bolo is a unique method of leveraging rural traditional technologies and infrastructure combined with modern technology to provide meaningful access to communities,” Srivastava says, “improving livelihood opportunities and creating social and economic viability for CR stations.”</p><p>She says she plans to expand the project to other rural communities in India. She will incorporate a large language model and offer a learning management system to deliver training programs and educational courses, she says.</p><p>Winning CTU inspired her to become a more active IEEE volunteer, she says. She is working with the <a href="https://standards.ieee.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Standards Association</a> to develop guidelines for the architecture of broadband technology used in rural areas.</p><p>Because of her entrepreneurial experience, CTU hired her in 2023 to assist with the challenge and the <a href="https://fnem.futurenetworks.ieee.org/get-involved/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Empowerment Through Mentorship</a> program.</p><p>Srivastava is a director at <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/jadeitesolutionspvtltd/about/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jadeite Solutions</a> in New Delhi. The consulting company offers nonprofit organizations that are developing socioeconomic programs with project evaluation, impact assessment, financial reviews, and similar services.</p><p>She credits CTU with giving her and her community-centered model more exposure: “The CTU challenge has given me a lot of other opportunities in terms of networking, funding resources, publishing my research in IEEE journals, and presenting at national and international conferences.”</p>

May 12, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/three-tall-white-ampace-battery-modules-on-display-stands-at-a-trade-show.jpg?id=66700587&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C73%2C0%2C73"/><br/><br/><p><em>This sponsored article is brought to you by <a href="https://ampacepower.com/" target="_blank">Ampace</a>.</em></p><p>As AI workloads grow to gigascale levels, the global data center industry has hit a hidden physical wall. The real bottleneck is no longer just the thermal limit of the chip or the capacity of the cooling system — it is the dynamic resilience of the power chain.</p><p>Modern AI computing clusters, driven by massive GPU clusters, generate high-frequency, abrupt, and synchronized spikey pulse loads. As rack densities soar beyond 100 kW, these fluctuations are amplified into a “power paradox”: while the digital logic of AI is moving faster than ever, the physical infrastructure supporting it remains tethered to legacy response capabilities.</p><p><span>The power usage of these gigascale sites and their drastic, high frequency, abrupt load surges from the AI GPU clusters can trigger transient voltage events and frequency instability, risking the entire local grid. The grid itself is not robust enough to support these loads. This leads to the infrastructure gap: The utility is not robust enough and traditional backup sources, such as diesel generators and gas turbines, simply cannot react to millisecond-level power spikes in output. This will often force operators into a cycle of costly infrastructure over sizing just to buffer the volatility.</span></p><p class="pull-quote"><span>AI infrastructure requires energy systems capable of instantaneous response while safeguarding continuity and reliability.</span></p><p><span></span>The industry has explored various mitigations — from rack-level BBUs to 800V DC architectures — yet the mature, high volume, traditional UPS system remains the most viable and scalable foundation for gigawatt-level facilities. Consequently, the UPS-integrated battery system has emerged as the critical “physical buffer” to neutralize these pulses at the source.</p><p>At <a href="https://datacenterworld.com/" target="_blank">Data Center World 2026</a> in Washington, D.C., <a href="https://ampacepower.com/" target="_blank">Ampace</a> led a pivotal technical dialogue with Eaton during the session <span>“Powering Giga-scale AI.”</span> Their exchange unveiled a fundamental paradigm shift: To bridge the AI power gap, energy storage must evolve from a passive insurance policy into an active, high-speed stabilizer. By aligning Ampace’s semi-solid-state battery innovation with Eaton’s proven system intelligence, we are moving beyond simple backup to solve the physical paradox of the AI era.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Speaker at DCW conference presenting on stage to an audience with phones raised" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="88715e0baf51ca7e1333f569ca6991d1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="675d4" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/speaker-at-dcw-conference-presenting-on-stage-to-an-audience-with-phones-raised.jpg?id=66700603&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">To move beyond simple backup and solve the physical paradox of the AI era, Ampace is aligning its semi-solid-state battery innovation with Eaton’s proven system intelligence.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Ampace</small></p><h2>The “Shock Absorber” physics: semi-solid chemistry for AI pulses</h2><p>Conventional power systems were designed for steady-state loads, not the rapid heartbeat of a massive AI GPU cluster. When thousands of GPUs synchronize their computing cycles, they generate high-frequency, abrupt pulse loads that can lead to voltage sags, frequency oscillations, and potential interruptions of critical AI training.</p><p>Ampace’s PU Series semi-solid and low-electrolyte cells address this challenge by acting as high-speed “shock absorbers.” Leveraging ultra-low internal resistance (DCR) and high cycle capability, these batteries neutralize millisecond-level power spikes at the source, stabilizing the local power loop before disturbances propagate upstream to the grid or on-site generators. These high-rate cells enable 100 kW+ racks to maintain peak performance without transmitting instability across the power chain.</p><p>This capability aligns closely with Eaton’s matured UPS architectures, such as double-conversion topologies and advanced power electronics upgrades, which have long prioritized rapid load responsiveness and high system stability.</p><p>Together, these approaches embody a shared industry philosophy: AI infrastructure requires energy systems capable of <span>instantaneous response while safeguarding continuity and reliability</span>.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Diagram comparing liquid electrolyte cell vs safer Ampace semi\u2011solid battery cell" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bc0db39f812b96d6265ab0e8923304bb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="a2c4b" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/diagram-comparing-liquid-electrolyte-cell-vs-safer-ampace-semi-u2011solid-battery-cell.png?id=66700616&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Ampace’s semi-solid state chemistry minimizes liquid electrolyte, greatly reducing the risk of leakage and thermal runaway under continuous AI high-load conditions.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Ampace</small></p><h2>Algorithmic intelligence: synchronizing energy and control</h2><p>Hardware alone cannot solve the AI power paradox; the system also requires intelligent coordination between energy storage and power management. Sophisticated battery management systems (BMS) like Ampace’s high-precision design track state-of-charge (SOC) with high-speed sampling, even during rapid, shallow cycling typical in AI workloads.</p><p>Complementary algorithmic approaches in modern UPS platforms — such as ramp-rate control and average power management — effectively suppress sub-synchronous oscillations and optimize load smoothing. In large-scale AI training environments, where thousands of GPUs can trigger millisecond-level power pulses, these intelligent layers ensure that batteries buffer high-frequency fluctuations without compromising the mandatory emergency backup reserves.</p><p>By transforming energy storage from passive “standby insurance” into active, schedulable assets, the system simultaneously safeguards continuous AI training and maintains the long-term health of the data center infrastructure. In practical terms, this means that even during peak compute bursts, the infrastructure remains stable, training cycles continue uninterrupted, and operators avoid costly oversizing or grid stress.</p><p><span>Eaton’s dual-layer algorithms serve as a valuable benchmark in this space, demonstrating how advanced control logic can achieve similar objectives, reinforcing Ampace’s approach and philosophy within the broader data center power ecosystem.</span></p><h2>Economic scalability: optimizing AI infrastructure efficiently</h2><p>One of the largest costs in deploying AI infrastructure is “oversizing”: procuring transformers, generators, and UPS systems to handle brief peak spikes. This traditional approach inflates the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and leads to wasted capital on underutilized hardware.</p><p>Ampace’s turn-key cabinet design developed by its independent R&D is engineered for seamless compatibility with mature, high volume UPS systems. By leveraging Eaton’s double-conversion UPS topologies alongside intelligent ramp-rate and average power management algorithms, AI data centers can scale dynamically without requiring costly infrastructure redesigns. This approach allows the UPS and batteries to act as active load-shapers, smoothing AI-driven pulses while strictly maintaining mandatory emergency backup capacity.</p><p>By utilizing energy storage as an active, schedulable asset, operators can right-size their infrastructure, avoid unnecessary grid upgrades, and deploy gigascale AI clusters with unprecedented efficiency.</p><h2>Safety First: Protecting AI Infrastructure While Enabling Innovation</h2><p>In high-density AI facilities, safety is non-negotiable. Ampace’s semi-solid state chemistry minimizes liquid electrolyte, greatly reducing the risk of leakage and thermal runaway under continuous AI high-load conditions.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Ampace graphic showing UL Listed and CE logos with multiple certification codes" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8722057d333aeefba0465a83693873c4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="5531a" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/ampace-graphic-showing-ul-listed-and-ce-logos-with-multiple-certification-codes.png?id=66700686&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Ampace’s turn-key cabinet design developed by its independent R&D is engineered for seamless compatibility with mature, high volume UPS systems. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Ampace</small></p><p>At the same time, Eaton’s UPS design emphasizes system-level energy scheduling that never sacrifices mandatory emergency backup reserves, ensuring thermal safety and uninterrupted operation.</p><p>This “safety-first” approach ensures that infrastructure can sustain aggressive performance targets without compromising the physical integrity of the facility. Coupled with over a decade of proven high-cycle life operation and design under shallow pulse conditions, these systems can extend operational lifespan, reduce replacement requirements, and provide operators with confidence that safety and reliability remain uncompromised as compute density continues to grow.</p><h2>To remain the scalable backbone of AI data centers</h2><p><span>As AI computing scales over the next two to three years, the industry will face stricter grid requirements and even more demanding pulse load characteristics. This evolution demands a forward-looking design philosophy that harmonizes UPS, battery, and grid compatibility.</span></p><p class="pull-quote"><span>Ampace views current low-electrolyte semi-solid technologies as the optimal transitional step toward a fully solid-state future — one that promises ultimate safety and performance.</span></p><p>Ampace remains committed to this long-term technological roadmap. We view current low-electrolyte semi-solid technologies as the optimal transitional step toward a fully solid-state future — one that promises ultimate safety and performance. Whether through rack-level BBU, integrated UPS systems, or containerized storage, the universal core of the AI era remains constant: high-speed response, long shallow-cycle life, and refined energy management.</p><p>By engaging in deep technical exchanges with Eaton and leading energy innovators, Ampace ensures that its solutions not only meet today’s AI pulse challenges but also harmonize with broader infrastructure strategies and shared industry best practices.</p><p>Ultimately, as traditional diesel generators gradually give way to diversified alternatives, the integrated UPS-plus-energy-storage system will become the fundamental infrastructure standard.</p><p><span></span><span>The dialogue has just begun. Ampace will continue to engage in strategic exchanges with global industrial automation leaders and digital energy pioneers, co-authoring the playbook for a safer, more efficient, and more resilient AI-ready world.</span></p>

May 11, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/rohde-schwarz-logo-with-slogan-make-ideas-real-and-rs-emblem-in-diamond-shape.png?id=66678514&width=980"/><br/><br/><p>A comprehensive guide to error vector magnitude (EVM), the primary metric for quantifying modulation accuracy in Wi-Fi, LTE, and 5G NR systems.</p><p><strong>What Attendees will Learn</strong></p><ol><li>What error vector magnitude is and how it is calculated — Understand EVM as the distance between ideal and measured constellation points, learn the difference between peak and RMS normalization, and see how EVM is expressed in both percentage and decibel formats.</li><li>How digital modulation works and why it matters — Explore the fundamentals of ASK, FSK, PSK, APSK, and QAM modulation schemes, and understand why higher modulation orders increase throughput, while also demanding greater accuracy in signal transmission and reception.</li><li>What causes degraded EVM in real-world systems — Examine the four main categories of EVM contributors: amplitude effects (compression, noise, frequency response), phase effects (phase noise), I/Q imperfections (gain imbalance, quadrature error), and configuration issues.</li><li>How to diagnose modulation impairments using constellation diagrams — Learn how visual inspection of constellation diagrams can identify phase noise, amplifier compression, noise, in-band spurious signals, and I/Q modulator imperfections as root causes of degraded EVM.</li></ol><div><span><a href="https://content.knowledgehub.wiley.com/understanding-evm-error-vector-magnitude-in-modern-wireless-communications/" target="_blank">Download this free whitepaper now!</a></span></div>

May 8, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-woman-smiling-with-her-framed-outstanding-young-professional-award.jpg?id=66701682&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C187%2C0%2C188"/><br/><br/><p>When <a href="https://yp.ieee.org/blog/team-members/ana-ines-inacio-2/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ana Inês Inácio</a> goes to work at the <a href="https://www.tno.nl/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research</a> (TNO) in The Hague, she thinks about signals most people never notice: radio waves moving between <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/satellites" target="_self">satellites</a>, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/topic/sensors/" target="_self">sensors</a>, and future wireless networks.</p><p>The integrated circuits the research scientist designs lay the foundation for next-generation RF sensor systems critical to advancing radar technologies.</p><h3>Ana Inês Inácio</h3><br/><p><strong>EMPLOYER </strong></p><p><strong></strong>Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, TNO</p><p><strong>TITLE </strong></p><p><strong></strong>Scientist</p><p><strong>IEEE MEMBER GRADE </strong></p><p><strong></strong>Senior member</p><p><strong>ALMA MATER </strong></p><p><strong></strong>University of Aveiro, in Portugal</p><p>Those invisible RF signals are only part of what earned the IEEE senior member her global recognition.</p><p>Inácio recently received the <a href="https://hkn.ieee.org/awards/outstanding-young-professional-award" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE–Eta Kappa Nu Outstanding Young Professional Award</a> for “leadership in <a href="https://www.ieee.org/membership-catalog/productdetail/showProductDetailPage.html?product=MEMYP060" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Young Professionals</a>, fostering innovation and inclusivity, and pioneering advancements in <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/wireless-sensors" target="_self">RF sensor systems</a>, bridging technical excellence with impactful community engagement.”</p><p>The recognition from IEEE’s honor society reflects a career built along two parallel paths: advancing RF circuit design while helping engineers worldwide build professional communities.</p><p>“I’ve always liked building things,” Inácio says. “Sometimes that means circuits; sometimes it means helping people connect and grow together.”</p><p>That blend of technical innovation and global leadership gives her work impact far beyond the laboratory.</p><h2>EE lessons at the kitchen table</h2><p>Inácio grew up in Vales do Rio, a rural village near <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covilh%C3%A3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Covilhã</a> in central Portugal.</p><p>The region was known for farming and textiles, she says. Many residents worked in the textile industry, including her grandfather, who repaired machinery such as industrial looms. He became her first engineering teacher without ever holding the formal title.</p><p>Through correspondence courses delivered by mail, he taught himself electrical systems. At home, he explained electricity to his granddaughter while he repaired the household’s appliances and wiring.</p><p>“He would show me why something broke and how we could fix it,” she recalls. It sparked her curiosity.</p><p>Her mother was a tailor who later managed other tailors. Her father left his factory job to attend culinary school and now cooks at an elder-care facility. Curiosity was a trait that ran through the family.</p><p>By high school, Inácio was drawn equally to mathematics and physics and to biology and geology, she says. Encouragement from teachers and an uncle, an engineer, ultimately steered her toward electronics engineering.</p><h2>Conducting research on integrated circuits</h2><p>In 2008 she enrolled in an integrated master’s degree program in electrical and telecommunications engineering at the <a href="https://www.ua.pt/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Universidade de Aveiro</a> in Portugal, a five-year degree that combined undergraduate and graduate studies.</p><p>An opportunity to study abroad changed her path. In 2012 she moved to the Netherlands to study at <a href="https://www.tue.nl/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Eindhoven University of Technology</a> (TU/e) through a six-month European exchange program with UAveiro.</p><p>A professor encouraged her to stay on, so she completed her final year of masters in the Netherlands. She focused on techniques to improve the linearization of RF power amplifiers at <a href="https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/netherlands" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Thales</a>. The company, based in Hengelo, Netherlands, designs and produces electronics for defense and security.</p><p>She earned her master’s degree from UAveiro in 2013. After graduating, she joined the integrated circuit design group at the <a href="https://www.utwente.nl/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">University of Twente</a>, in The Netherlands, conducting collaborative research as part of a nationally funded program on linearization techniques for RF front-end systems. The experience introduced her to international research culture and persuaded her to pursue a career abroad, she says.</p><h2>Engineering the future of wireless</h2><p>Inácio joined TNO in 2018 as a junior scientist and innovator: her first professional industry job. Today she designs integrated RF front-end systems—the circuits that allow devices to transmit and receive wireless signals.</p><p>The components sit at the core of modern communications, enabling sensor networks, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/laser-satellite-communication" target="_self">satellite links</a>, and emerging <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/ieee-5g-and-6g-training" target="_self">6G technologies</a>.</p><p>Her work aims to tackle a central challenge: getting greater performance from smaller chips.</p><p>“As communication evolves, we need more bandwidth to transfer more data at higher speeds,” she says. “The question is how much complexity you can integrate into one system while keeping it efficient.”</p><p>Unlike commercial lab environments, which reuse established designs, research projects often start from scratch. Each transmit-receive chain—the signal path that converts digital data to radio waves and back again—is tailored to specific requirements.</p><p>Her work focuses on improving key circuit characteristics including linearity (ensuring that the signals that go out of the antenna are not distorted) as well as <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4425145" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">noise reduction</a> (so design blocks can be optimized). Advanced design techniques help devices communicate more reliably while consuming less energy, a critical need for large <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/internet-of-things" target="_self">sensor networks such as the Internet of Things</a>, she says.</p><p><a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/topic/artificial-intelligence/" target="_self">Artificial intelligence</a> is beginning to influence her field, she says: “AI is already helping us work faster. The real challenge is learning how to use it to make better designs, not just quicker ones.”</p><h2>A parallel vocation with IEEE</h2><p>While her technical career flourished in research labs, an additional journey unfolded through IEEE.</p><p>Inácio joined the organization in 2009 as a student after discovering UAveiro’s student branch. What began as curiosity evolved into a long-term leadership path.</p><p>She advanced through roles within <a href="https://ieeer8.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Region 8</a>—covering Europe, Africa, and the Middle East—one of the organization’s most culturally diverse regions. She was the <a href="https://ieee.web.ua.pt/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">student branch</a>’s vice chair, and the region’s student representative for more than 22,000 IEEE members. She also served as the Young Professionals Affinity Group chair for the <a href="https://www.ieee.be/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Benelux Section</a>, which encompasses Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.</p><p>Currently, she serves as the immediate past chair of the Region 8 Young Professionals Committee, and vice chair and <a href="https://mga.ieee.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Member and Geographical Activities</a> representative on the IEEE Young Professionals Committee. In those roles, she represents close to 135,000 IEEE members.</p><p>In addition, she is an active member of the <a href="https://mtt.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society</a>, currently serving as its Young Professionals liaison.</p><p>Her involvement with IEEE has boosted her professional confidence, she says.</p><p>“IEEE didn’t directly give me promotions at my day job, but it gave me leadership skills, networking opportunities, and the ability to work with people from everywhere,” she says.</p><p>Those experiences now shape her collaborations at TNO, where international teamwork is essential.</p><p>The IEEE-HKN Outstanding Young Professional Award recognizes that combination of technical excellence and community impact, she says.</p><p>Looking back, Inácio sees a clear thread connecting her childhood curiosity, her international career, and her IEEE leadership: Engineering, she says, is ultimately about people as much as it is about technology.</p>

May 7, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/bucolic-landscape-featuring-pastureland-covered-in-stones-arranged-in-circular-and-straight-formations-and-nearby-wind-turbines.jpg?id=66686187&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C216%2C0%2C216"/><br/><br/><p><em></em><strong>“Why are you here?” </strong>Fabrizio Pilo, an electrical engineer, asks me as we sit in an outdoor café near his home in Cagliari, an ancient city on the island of Sardinia. It’s a fair question. I’m a journalist from the United States. I’d just stepped off my flight 2 hours prior and come straight to this meeting, suitcase still stowed in my rental car.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe height="110px" id="noa-web-audio-player" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=q5m19e&id=https://spectrum.ieee.org/sardinia-renewable-energy-conflict&bgColor=F5F5F5&color=1b1b1c&playColor=1b1b1c&progressBgColor=F5F5F5&progressBorderColor=bdbbbb&titleColor=1b1b1c&timeColor=1b1b1c&speedColor=1b1b1c&noaLinkColor=556B7D&noaLinkHighlightColor=FF4B00&feedbackButton=true" style="border: none" width="100%"></iframe></div><p><span>I’m here to see three intriguing new energy projects under development in Sardinia. I’d heard there’s strong public resistance to renewable energy, and I want to understand why that is. I tell Pilo, who is vice rector for innovation at the University of Cagliari, that I hope he’ll share some insights before I head out on a reporting trip across the island. (My answer seems to satisfy him, and he kindly gives me an hour of his time).</span></p><p>This won’t be the first time that I’m asked to explain my presence on the island. I’d expected it, to some extent; I’m a foreign journalist poking around, after all. </p><p>What I didn’t expect was the depth of Sardinians’ distrust, not just of journalists, but of any outsider, particularly ones with authority. Over the last few years, developers of wind and solar projects, most of whom aren’t from here, have been absorbing the bulk of this smoldering, communal wariness.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Woman and man sitting on stone steps, surrounded by moss-covered stone walls " class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d3ceaed38dadb13cefb20566aac6c2f2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="321a4" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/woman-and-man-sitting-on-stone-steps-surrounded-by-moss-covered-stone-walls.jpg?id=66686192&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Activists Maria Grazia Demontis [left] and Alberto Sala, photographed inside the archaeological monument Giants’ Tomb of Pascarédda, have worked to stop the construction of wind farms by organizing protests and taking legal actions through their organization <a href="https://coordinamentogallura.it/" target="_blank">Gallura Coordination.</a> </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Luigi Avantaggiato</small></p><p>In fact, the resistance is so widespread among Sardinians that over the course of two months in 2024, a grassroots petition to ban new wind and solar projects gathered over 210,000 certified signatures. That’s more than a quarter of Sardinia’s typical voter turnout and represents a cross-party consensus. People stood in long lines in public squares to sign. And it worked: Political leaders responded swiftly with an 18-month moratorium on renewable energy construction. </p><p>“I’ve never seen so much engagement for anything” in Sardinia, says <a href="https://www.english.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-elisa-sotgiu" target="_blank">Elisa Sotgiu</a>, a literary sociologist at the University of Oxford, who was born and raised on the island. “Sardinia has a bunch of problems like enormous unemployment. There’s lots of emigration because there are no jobs. It’s one of the poorest areas in Europe. The area is just decaying,” she says. “And yet the thing people are demonstrating against is renewable energy.”</p><p>And the opposition continues: A network of mayors has mobilized for the cause. Thousands of people show up at organized protests. Activists vandalize grid equipment. Families are passing down these stories of resistance to their children as a point of pride. Local media outlets are egging it on, frequently publishing misinformation tinged with fearmongering.</p><p>These aren’t just NIMBY complaints—not in the pejorative sense, at least. The resistance, and the distrust underlying it, is rooted in the island’s complex history, both recent and ancient. It’s based on a past that the Sardinian people carry with them—a past that has seeded a deep sense of suspicion and vulnerability. Resistance, I learn, is part of what it means to be Sardinian.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Man in a suit leaning on a bookshelf in an office." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9af9f18063d60e536f15160052562244" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="6c91d" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/man-in-a-suit-leaning-on-a-bookshelf-in-an-office.jpg?id=66686195&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Fabrizio Giulio Luca Pilo, vice rector of innovation at the University of Cagliari, has been working to help Sardinia transition to cleaner, more reliable energy. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Luigi Avantaggiato</small></p><p>“It is a very sad situation,” Pilo tells me. “There are a lot of economic reasons to do the [energy] transition.” It could attract new companies such as data centers, which would create new jobs, he argues. It could reduce Sardinia’s reliance on imported gas and fuel, making the island more independent. New economic activity on the island might help reverse its population decline, he adds.</p><p>And while what’s happening on Sardinia is unique, it also represents a larger trend: A growing number of communities around the world are opposing wind- and solar-farm construction, to the consternation of stakeholders. By 2025, nearly one-fourth of the counties in the United States had enacted some impediment to new utility-scale wind and solar energy—up from as few as 15 percent two years earlier, according to a <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/02/21/restrictions-wind-solar-energy-bans-setbacks-government/85952104007/" target="_blank"><em><em>USA Today </em></em>analysis</a>. In Africa, community pushback successfully canceled major projects such as the 60-megawatt Kinangop Wind Park in Kenya. In India, local pastoralists are challenging the 13-gigawatt Ladakh solar and wind project. And the European Union’s top-down push for renewable energy has created opposition in many communities.</p><p>Their reasons vary—land-use preferences, generational ethos, government resentment, property values, economic effects, aesthetics—but all of these struggles have this in common: The resisters are passionate and they are often successful in blocking development. </p><p>This is a looming problem for the energy transition. Unlike large, centralized coal and nuclear power plants, renewable energy is geographically spread out, so it touches far more communities. Sardinia offers one of the clearest cases of what can go wrong when renewable-energy developers and authorities fail to consider the complexities of the local situation on the ground.</p><h2>Why is Sardinia resisting renewable energy?</h2><p>Roughly the size of New Hampshire, Sardinia juts out of the Mediterranean Sea about 200 kilometers west of Italy’s mainland. Technically it’s part of Italy, but Sardinians are quick to point out their island’s autonomous status—a subtle way of saying, “We do things our way.” Its mountains seem to echo the sentiment. With the highest peaks running in a chain along the east side of the island, Sardinia resolutely turns its back to the mainland.</p><p>At first glance, the island looks like the kind of place that’s ripe for an energy transition. Its two coal plants are aging and are targeted to be shut down to meet climate commitments. It has no nuclear power, nor does it produce its own natural gas. Wind and sun, however, are abundant and could easily meet the energy needs of Sardinia’s sparse population of about 1.5 million. </p><p>But while the resources may be ready for a transition, the people emphatically are not. When I first arrive in Sardinia and take in its beauty, I assume that the impetus behind the fight against wind and solar farms boils down to how they look. Waves of silicon, metal, and concrete would spoil views of Sardinia’s stunning beaches, rugged mountains, ancient pastures, and idyllic medieval villages, after all.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Tightly built village on a hillside with mostly three- to five-story buildings" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4f4935a840a08bef21cce855d03b85b8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="34cfe" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/tightly-built-village-on-a-hillside-with-mostly-three-to-five-story-buildings.jpg?id=66686199&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Residents of the city of Orgosolo in 1969 famously stopped the construction of a military firing range on communal grazing land known as Pratobello. Its village walls are still covered in murals advocating social protest and antiauthoritarianism. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Luigi Avantaggiato</small></p><p>But the island’s aesthetic—and the tourism industry that depends on it—are only part of the equation. The far stronger cultural forces at play are rooted in Sardinia’s past. Over millennia, the island has endured successive invasions from outsiders seeking to exploit the land. These incursions, and Sardinians’ rebellious responses to them, have become an integral part of the island’s identity passed down through generations. </p><p>The invasions started with the relatively peaceful settlement of the Phoenicians in the 9th and 8th centuries B.C.E. Then came the Romans, the Byzantines, and the Iberians, who conquered with violence, looting, and enslavement. But legend has it that despite the might of these ancient conquerors, pockets of Sardinia sometimes managed to defend themselves. “Not even the Roman empire could conquer the shepherds of the highland regions,” is the oft-repeated tale. Whether that’s true or just an idealization is beside the point; such stories serve as an enormous source of pride and identity.</p><p class="pull-quote">Sardinia exported about 30 percent of the electricity it generated in 2025, largely to Corsica and the Italian mainland via two existing submarine cables.<br/><span></span></p><p>The island is “fiercely proud of its identity…especially in the center of Sardinia, which was the most resistant part,” says <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-vargiu/" target="_blank">Andrea Vargiu</a>, a sociologist at the University of Sassari in Sardinia. “This long history of exploitation is still in our DNA, along with a proud sense of autonomy,” he says.</p><p>Sardinia’s unification, in the mid-1800s, with what would become the Kingdom of Italy is seen by many as an act of colonization. It didn’t help that Italy then proceeded to exploit Sardinia’s forests and other resources for the benefit of the mainland—a practice that continued through the 20th century, says Vargiu. </p><p>Sardinian bandits sometimes fought back with their own sense of justice, settling matters through raids, kidnappings, and violence. Their stories live on in Sardinian lore with an almost mythical quality, the brigands admired for their intractability. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image rm-float-left rm-resized-container rm-resized-container-25" data-rm-resized-container="25%" style="float: left;"> <img alt="Man in a sweater and collared shirt leaning against a wall" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2dda6ca0983cad67d868b6fa90e24c15" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="2e40e" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/man-in-a-sweater-and-collared-shirt-leaning-against-a-wall.jpg?id=66686205&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Pasquale Mereu, mayor of Orgosolo, helped organize the Pratobello 24 movement against renewable energy in Sardinia. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Luigi Avantaggiato</small></p><p>Italy’s use of the island for military purposes particularly irked locals. In a famous case in 1969, residents of the town of Orgosolo successfully thwarted the construction of a firing range on communal grazing land known as Pratobello. That name has since become synonymous with the defense of one’s territory, and a rallying cry. </p><p>“Sardinia has always been a land of conquest,” says Pasquale Mereu, mayor of Orgosolo, who spoke with <em><em>IEEE Spectrum</em></em> through an interpreter. “We believe that even today we are still a colony of Italy, and I’m not ashamed to say it even though I represent an institution.” </p><p>A longstanding mural on one of his village’s walls reads: “You are in the territory of Orgosolo; here the people rule supreme and the government obeys.” </p><h2>Sardinia’s History Shapes its Identity</h2><p>Driving around the island and talking to people, I can feel the weight of Sardinia’s history—and people’s propensity for holding onto it. Elaborate heritage festivals occur nearly every autumn weekend in the island’s interior. They’re well attended, multigenerational affairs that aim to keep old traditions alive. In the medieval town of Belvì, men roast chestnuts—<em><em>marroni</em></em>—over an open fire in a frying pan the size of a swimming pool and then serve them to the crowd by shoveling them into troughs. They’re delicious. In an adjacent amphitheater, the crowd sways along to costumed performers leading traditional dances.</p><p>Then there are the Bronze Age stone structures, called nuraghi, that are pretty much everywhere. Built before the violent conquests, these conical towers have come to symbolize a romanticized vision of the heyday of Sardinia’s independence. More than 7,000 of them remain, ranging from unremarkable piles of rocks to complex towers, each one carefully documented on an interactive online map. I visit one of the more intact ones that’s fenced off and requires an admission fee. As I take some video with my phone, an employee asks me who I am and what I’m doing and informs me I’ll need to get permission from the government before posting anything online.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="A hut with a rounded slab of rock as a roof and cut stone as walls, and a wooden door. " class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="01e2c9e896877f6575dae9bfaf639c5b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="f710a" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-hut-with-a-rounded-slab-of-rock-as-a-roof-and-cut-stone-as-walls-and-a-wooden-door.jpg?id=66686209&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">This rock hollowed out by erosion and walled up with stones was likely used by shepherds as a shelter near the historic Sardinian village of Tempio Pausania. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Luigi Avantaggiato</small></p><p>But in interviews with residents, I’m continually reminded of the darker side of Sardinia’s past. People often bring up painful things that happened 50 or 500 years ago. A middle school science teacher named Giannina Serpi, and her husband, Roberto Moro, meet me at a café in the seaside town of Sant’Antioco. When I ask why people are so opposed to renewable energy, they (like many people I interviewed) point to the 1970s. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image rm-float-left rm-resized-container rm-resized-container-25" data-rm-resized-container="25%" style="float: left;"> <img alt="Sheep walking on a road in the foreground and a mountain ridge topped with wind turbines in the background" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="800020ca14ef32fedf4c7cc5dacaa805" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="92f55" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/sheep-walking-on-a-road-in-the-foreground-and-a-mountain-ridge-topped-with-wind-turbines-in-the-background.jpg?id=66686223&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Sheep return from pasture in Bonorva, Sardinia, near the Bonorva wind farm operated by EDF Renewables. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Luigi Avantaggiato</small></p><p>That decade brought a new kind of exploitation: not by empires or governments, but by technology companies. Petrochemical, aluminum, and other industrial companies from overseas built factories on the island, creating jobs and adjacent businesses. But after a few decades, economic and geopolitical factors led the companies to close the factories, sinking local economies and in some cases leaving behind toxic contamination.</p><p>In the northern city of Porto Torres, several petrochemical plants, a thermoelectric power plant, and an industrial harbor employed about 8,000 workers in the early 1970s. But the oil crises of that decade took its toll on jobs, and when environmental contamination became evident in the 1990s, employment plunged further. By 2010, most of the petrochemical plants had closed. Studies show that residents of Porto Torres during that time had curiously high rates of death from cancer, although there is no consensus on the cause. </p><p>Similarly, studies have found <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12798763/" target="_blank">higher rates of lead</a> in children in the Portovesme area in the southwest, about a 20-minute drive from where I sit with Serpi and Moro in Sant’Antioco. There, the U.S. aluminum producer Alcoa operated a smelter that employed about 500 people and supported an estimated 1,500 adjacent jobs. But the company <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/business/alcoa-to-close-smelter-in-italy-take-third-quarter-charge-idUSKBN0GP1DN/" target="_blank">shut down the smelter</a> in 2012. Three years earlier, Russian aluminum manufacturer Rusal had idled its Eurallumina factory nearby. </p><p>The impacts of these events still feel fresh, Serpi explains through a digital translator. She says she teaches this history to her students but doesn’t tell them how to feel about it. “I let them decide,” she says.</p><h2>Energy Colonialism in Sardinia</h2><p>Against this backdrop, renewable-energy developers in the early 2010s began sizing up Sardinia. They were drawn by the cheap land, low population, strong wind, and sun that shines an average of about 300 days a year. EF Solare Italia commissioned an 11-MW solar plant in 2010. Rome-based Enel Green Power began construction of a 90-MW wind farm in Portoscuso the following year. </p><p>Other developers followed, and they mostly came from elsewhere—mainland Italy, Europe, and later, China. The way many Sardinians saw it, the new plants didn’t bring many long-lasting jobs. Most of the work ended after the design and installation phases, and profits went back to the companies’ headquarters outside of Sardinia, they argued. People called it “energy colonialism” and lauded landowners who refused to sell or lease their property to developers. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Bucolic scene with the remains of an old quarry, now covered partially in vegetation " class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d501d6b0a2ee89e6af0d41cd80dfc47e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="f9fa9" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/bucolic-scene-with-the-remains-of-an-old-quarry-now-covered-partially-in-vegetation.jpg?id=66686231&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Pink granite called Ghiandone Limbara was extracted from the Sinnada quarry in northern Sardinia from the late 1970s to 2011. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Luigi Avantaggiato</small></p><p>The uncle of Oxford’s Sotgiu is one of those landowners. She says that a couple of years ago a solar company asked him if he would allow the installation of an array on his family farm in Logudoro in Sardinia’s interior. “From that, he would have gotten something around €150,000 a year, which is more money than he’s seen in his life,” says Sotgiu. The money could have covered his three kids’ college education, she says. “But he refused.” </p><p>He had many reasons. For one, switching from sheep grazing to the more passive business of leasing land would have put the fate of his income in the hands of an outsider. “If you deprive a region of any sort of economy that is self-reliant, then it’s really fragile,” says Sotgiu. Her uncle didn’t trust that the income would last, and worried he’d be left with a ruined farm, she says. Plus, his farm has been in the family for generations and one of his sons is interested in continuing the business. “So I understand his pride in saying, ‘No, this is my farm, I don’t care about the money,’” she says.</p><p class="pull-quote">Sardinia has one of the largest carbon footprints per capita in Europe.</p><p>Despite that kind of grassroots resistance, development continued. In 2023, the Italian government authorized the construction of a 1-GW submarine power cable to connect Sardinia to Sicily and the Italian mainland. When completed, the bidirectional cable, called the <a href="https://www.terna.it/en/projects/tyrrhenian-link" target="_blank">Tyrrhenian Link</a>, will increase electricity exchange between the regions, bolster grid reliability, and help grid operators efficiently use more renewable energy. </p><p>Sardinian activists, however, view the cable as a way to justify even more construction of wind and solar plants, and to export the island’s energy for the benefit of non-Sardinians. <span>The island already </span><span>export</span><span>s about 30 percent of its electricit</span><span>y, </span><span>largely to</span> Corsica and the Italian mainland <span>via two existing submarine cables</span><span>.</span></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="A bucolic landscape bisected by a road and row of wind turbines " class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="94f6264804141999ba2ac28962e91937" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="5377c" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-bucolic-landscape-bisected-by-a-road-and-row-of-wind-turbines.jpg?id=66686235&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The Florinas wind farm, commissioned in 2004, was one of the earliest wind farms built in Sardinia. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Luigi Avantaggiato</small></p><p>And then came the tipping point. In June 2024, in an effort to meet the European Union’s 2030 renewable energy targets, Italy committed to building more than 80 GW of new wind and solar energy capacity over December 2020 levels. The national government divvied up the burden among its regions and told Sardinia to build its portion, 6.2 GW.</p><p>The move triggered an onslaught of requests from wind and solar developers wanting to build projects in Sardinia. The queue at one point topped 50 GW of grid-connection requests. That represented more than 700 solar and wind projects, many of which came from companies outside of Sardinia.</p><p>The southern newspaper <a href="https://www.unionesarda.it/en/sardinia/sardinia39-s-cry-against-wild-wind-power-the-island-is-not-for-sale-ug7mayan" target="_blank"><em><em>L’</em></em><em><em>Unione Sarda</em></em></a> ran wild with the numbers. Almost daily, for months, it published stories about the “wind assault.” The call-to-arms posts urged people to protest. “The Attack on the Landscape Does Not Stop; The Threat From Agrivoltaics Is Growing,” read a July 2024 headline. <a href="https://www.unionesarda.it/news-sardegna/speculazione-energetica-scatta-lallarme-mafia-j2bzv7od" target="_blank">Unsubstantiated articles</a> tried to link wind and solar developers to organized crime.</p><p>“It was scaremongering,” says Sotgiu. “It was a little dishonest, as I saw it, because they kept exaggerating and scaring people into thinking that we were going to be invaded.” (Representatives of the newspaper declined to comment.)</p><p>The numbers did scare people. Lost was the fact that a grid-connection request is just the start of a multiyear process that involves permitting and legal review and often ends in withdrawn or downsized projects. Submitting a request is inexpensive, and developers often cast a wide net by entering lots of these queues globally to increase the odds of being accepted. In the end, only a fraction come to fruition. In other words, building all, or even most, of the requested 50 GW was never going to happen.</p><p>“I tried to explain this” to the public, says an industrial engineer at the University of Cagliari, in Sardinia<span>, who asked to remain anonymous </span><span>to avoid</span> <span>any </span><span>detrimental </span><span>impacts </span><span>o</span><span>f speaking out</span><span>.</span> “I went to the regional television station. But it’s difficult with technical information. And the newspaper communication is so bad, and its impact is so strong in the community, that it’s very difficult to change people’s minds,” he says.</p><h2>Pratobello 2024 and Anti-Wind Protests</h2><p>And so the collective angst caused by powerful outsiders, industry, and the state united Sardinians into a singular cause. Faced with what felt like another attempted conquest, they did what their families and community had taught them to do: They resisted. Says Mereu: “This is what we are rebelling against: the idea that Sardinians are few and therefore must put up with everything.”</p><p>In a nod to the 1969 resistance in Orgosolo, they dubbed the movement “Pratobello 2024.” Activist groups, called “committees,” organized protests, and created social media campaigns and videos. Thousands of people started showing up at planned demonstrations. A lawyer went on a hunger strike. Vandals unscrewed bolts on wind turbine blades and set fire to grid and construction equipment.</p><p>Italy’s transmission system operator, <a href="https://www.terna.it/en" target="_blank">Terna</a>, had to switch to company cars without logos to avoid being targeted. Students studying the electricity system in a <a href="https://www.terna.it/en/tyrrhenian-lab/master" target="_blank">master’s program sponsored by Terna</a> were verbally attacked at an airport, according to a professor at their school who spoke with me about the violence.</p><p>Celebrities got involved. Italian actress and Bond Girl Caterina Murino met with Sardinia’s president to ask her to reject wind farms. Murino posted on Instagram: “Nobody touch Sardinia!!!!” On <a href="https://www.cagliaripad.it/630407/geppi-cucciari-su-rai3-il-monologo-contro-lassalto-eolico-sardo-vide" target="_blank">Italian national TV</a>, the jazz legend Paolo Fresu performed on trumpet while popular TV host Geppi Cucciari read an impassioned lament about the exploitation of the island.</p><p>Sardinian author <a href="https://www.errepush.com/" target="_blank">Erre Push</a> penned a graphic novel titled <a href="https://www.errepush.com/works/faula-birdi/" target="_blank"><em><em>Fàula Birdi</em></em></a> about a protagonist who resisted an imposition from outsiders. He wrote it upon the request of the activist group <a href="https://www.recommon.org/en/about-us/" target="_blank">ReCommon</a>, whose mission is to “challenge corporate and state power responsible for the plunder of territories.” Push hopes the book will inspire more people to follow the protagonist’s lead. “Renewables are another imposition like in the past—not to help Sardinians but to help external people like industry managers or founders of companies,” he told me through an interpreter.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Man dressed in a coat and scarf leaning against a graffitied wall" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="27ab0dee91fc8b764c565c9e4aecf7d2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="a1d10" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/man-dressed-in-a-coat-and-scarf-leaning-against-a-graffitied-wall.jpg?id=66686249&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Concerned about the influx of solar and wind farms being built in Sardinia by outsiders, Roberto Pusceddu, under his pen name Erre Push, published a graphic novel that aimed to inspire young people to resist such impositions. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Luigi Avantaggiato</small></p><p>Mereu and a network of mayors drafted the petition that gathered so many signatures. The people had spoken. In response, Sardinian politicians passed a law that imposed an 18-month ban on construction of wind and solar projects within 7 km of a nuraghe or other archeological site. It wasn’t a total ban, but it might as well have been. “If you put a circle with a 7-km radius around each archeological site, you cover all of Sardinia,” says <a href="https://web.unica.it/unica/en/ateneo_s07_ss01_sss01.page?contentId=SHD30410" target="_blank">Emilio Ghiani</a>, a power systems expert at the University of Cagliari. “In this way, it is impossible to find a place to install a new plant.”</p><p>The move was like giving the Italian government—and the EU’s clean energy targets—the middle finger. And it sent renewable-energy developers scrambling. One company building an agriphotovoltaic plant raced to bring construction to 30 percent completion, which the new law said was the threshold for being allowed to proceed. The company asked not to be named in this story to avoid trouble.</p><p>Furious, the government in Rome challenged the Sardinian regional law in Italy’s Constitutional Court, and in January this year it prevailed. In its decision, the court rejected the law, saying that renewable-energy projects should be evaluated case by case.</p><p>Project development quickly resumed. So did the backlash. A <a href="https://www.unionesarda.it/en/sardinia/the-sardinian-mayors39-front-against-the-wind-turbines-quot-hands-off-our-historyquot-y4y6l62o" target="_blank">headline in <em><em>L’</em></em><em><em>Unione Sarda</em></em></a> declared: “Enough With Top-Down Decisions Without Consulting Communities.”</p><h2>Sardinia’s Renewable Energy Conflict</h2><p>Where the island goes from here is unclear. <span>There’s</span> a willingness among <span>a </span><span>portion</span> of the population to move forward with an energy transition<span>. </span><span>For example, s</span><span>ome of Sardinia’s largest cheese makers are powering their operations with renewable energy</span> and installing systems to <span>utilize</span> waste heat for efficiency<span>. </span><span>But for the most part, the</span> public <span>isn’t</span> budging in its resistance. Researchers are trying to dispel inaccurate information, but regional newspapers seem bent on perpetuating fear.</p><p>Plus, there are technical issues to work out before a full-scale energy transition can be made. Sardinia’s transmission system was built around the centralized generation of two coal plants; it wasn’t made for the distributed generation of wind and solar plants. Renewables require a more dynamic grid, more energy storage, and a wider range of power sources to compensate for their intermittency. Engineers are working on it, but they’ve got a ways to go.</p><p>The new Tyrrhenian Link undersea power cable will help with that. By connecting Sardinia, Sicily, and the mainland, the cable creates more flexibility in the system. When wind or solar generation slows in Sardinia, for example, electricity from the mainland can fill in the gap, and vice versa. “It will increase the reliability of the system, and after it’s installed, it will be possible to switch off the old generation plants that use coal,” says Ghiani. In January, Terna finished laying the western section of the cable between Sardinia and Sicily, and in April it completed the eastern section between Sicily and Campania on the mainland. Doing so set a <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/black-sea-energy-link" target="_blank">world record for power cable depth</a>, at 2,150 meters below sea level, according to Terna.</p><p class="pull-quote">Italy originally ordered Sardinia’s two coal plants to shut down by 2025 but later extended the deadline to 2038.</p><p>The link is one of the most innovative <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/multiterminal-hvdc-networks" target="_blank">high-voltage direct current (HVDC) projects in Europe</a>. It can move up to a gigawatt of power and reverse that power flow nearly instantaneously. By using voltage source converter (VSC) technology, it can also help prevent power-flow problems by regulating frequency and smoothing out oscillations in the grid in real time. And it has black-start capability: In the event of a shutdown, it can help restore the grid without relying on an external electric network. These features are particularly helpful for an isolated network like Sardinia’s.</p><p>Italy has created new incentives and regulations to build a market for grid-scale energy storage. Having plenty of storage is a key to scaling up renewables because it provides backup power when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining. To this end, Italy created MACSE, an auction that gives storage developers revenue certainty. Its name translates to mechanism for the procurement of electricity storage capacity. The first auction round, in September, successfully awarded 10 GWh.</p><p>Energy experts in Sardinia are also working with policymakers to change the rules around grid-connection requests. But these kinds of nerdy details don’t grace most household conversations.</p><h2>Industrial Sites Host Energy Storage </h2><p>Something more accessible that the public can get behind is building renewables on Sardinia’s abandoned industrial sites. “To be honest, not everything is so beautiful here. We have a lot of industrial areas where you can place PV panels. We have a lot of rooftops,” electrical engineer Pilo says. “We have unused coal mines.” I visit one such project that’s proceeding with local support—or at least without much opposition. It’s a coal mine near Gonnesa that shut down in 2018 and is now being turned into a data center and a pumped-hydro energy storage system.</p><p>The plan is to move water through the mine’s vertical geometry via an enclosed membrane—like a soft pipe—and use the flow to turn a turbine that generates electricity. The water then gets pumped back to the surface and stored in pear-shaped vessels above ground. The scheme will help power the data center, which will be built both above and below ground, including in the mine’s largest chambers nearly 500 meters below the Earth’s surface.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Two photos, one showing two pear-shaped tanks, each the size of a house resting above ground." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="987fade6dbeab95c1b03c5e1bc1ac7f8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="2c3a2" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/two-photos-one-showing-two-pear-shaped-tanks-each-the-size-of-a-house-resting-above-ground.jpg?id=66686266&width=980"/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="A photo showing a set of metal stairs and platforms inside a dark, dome-ceiled room with walls made of rock." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e2bda4e2d0748fe677a5282072f53058" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="fcdb8" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-photo-showing-a-set-of-metal-stairs-and-platforms-inside-a-dark-dome-ceiled-room-with-walls-made-of-rock.jpg?id=66686259&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Energy Vault will remove old mining equipment from the Carbosulcis coal mine near Gonnesa to make way for an underground data center [above]. It will be powered by a pumped-hydro energy storage system that flows through the mine’s vertical geometry and stores water in above-ground tanks [top].</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Luigi Avantaggiato</small></p><p>Energy storage developer <a href="https://www.energyvault.com/" target="_blank">Energy Vault</a> is building it, and despite being based in Lugano, Switzerland—that is, not Sardinia—the company seems to have avoided protest. It helps that the mine is owned by <a href="https://www.carbosulcis.eu/Home/" target="_blank">Carbosulcis</a>, a Sardinian regional-government-owned company, which is calling the shots on the project.</p><p>Plus, doing nothing with the mine costs money. The mine closed eight years ago because it wasn’t profitable, but Carbosulcis must continue maintaining it because of its high methane emissions, which require monitoring and ventilation to prevent explosions and leaks. Carbosulcis managers figured that if they’re going to continue putting money and personnel into the mine, they might as well do something useful with it, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/luca-manzella-89a7833/?originalSubdomain=it" target="_blank">Luca Manzella</a>, vice president for Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Energy Vault, says as he and I tour the mine.</p><p>An innovative project in Sardinia’s interior—Energy Dome’s <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/co2-battery-energy-storage" target="_self">grid-scale carbon dioxide battery</a>—seems to be avoiding protest as well. Built in a gated industrial complex near Ottana, this energy-storage facility looks like a giant bubble—the kind that fits over a stadium or tennis complex. It’s filled with carbon dioxide that is compressed to store 200 MWh of electricity for the grid. Although the bubble is visible from several of the surrounding hillside villages, and although the developer is headquartered on the mainland, there’s little sign of public pushback.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="A white oblong dome bigger than a sports stadium, multiple tanks and a photovoltaic array on a rural landscape" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9d6303bf2628f98281a693b641368e8a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="e199a" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-white-oblong-dome-bigger-than-a-sports-stadium-multiple-tanks-and-a-photovoltaic-array-on-a-rural-landscape.jpg?id=66691501&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Energy Dome began operating its 20-megawatt, long-duration energy-storage facility in July 2025 in Ottana, Sardinia. In partnership with Google, the company this year aims to build replicas of the system on multiple continents.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Luigi Avantaggiato</small></p><p>Another path forward is through “energy communities.” In this grassroots approach, consumers work together to build their own solar plant or other power generation. Dozens of these communities are already active on the island, according to the <a href="https://www.indipendenzaenergetica.com/costruisci-il-tuo-impianto-e-diventa-anche-tu-produttore-di-energia-elettrica/" target="_blank">Sardinian Electricity Association</a>, a group that provides guidance to consumers.</p><p>But by far the greatest need is for energy developers and authorities to understand the people and the history of the land on which they want to build. “When Europe or the national government make a law, they have to also consider the background of Sardinian people and why they are so afraid,” says <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/simone-micheletti-52954018/" target="_blank">Simone Micheletti</a>, CEO at <a href="https://futuragroup.it/en/" target="_blank">Futura Group</a>, a renewable-energy developer based in Serramanna, Sardinia. “You cannot apply the same law to Sweden and Sicily. Sometimes you need to understand [the situation] locally,” he says.</p><p>Decision makers everywhere would be wise to listen. Otherwise, they may suffer the same fate as their counterparts in Sardinia: despised by locals, delayed by politics, and surprised at how badly it all went.</p><p><em>Special thanks to <a href="https://www.luigiavantaggiato.photography/" target="_blank">Luigi Avantaggiato</a> for interpreting and additional reporting.</em></p><p><em>This story was updated on 13 May, 2026 to correct the percentage of electricity that Sardinia exports. </em></p>

May 6, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-young-south-asian-woman-explaining-detailed-computer-code-to-a-colleague-using-an-office-presentation-screen.jpg?id=66689798&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C157%2C0%2C157"/><br/><br/><p>Cybersecurity consultants have never been more in demand. Information security analyst roles are projected to grow <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/information-security-analysts.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nearly 30 percent between now and 2034</a>, according to the U.S. <a href="https://www.bls.gov/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>. More than <a href="https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1485031/cyberattacks-annual-worldwide/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">15 million cybercrime incidents</a> occurred worldwide in 2024, <a href="https://www.statista.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Statista</a> reported.</p><p>Data breaches are costly and pose direct safety risks. Statista reported that more than <a href="https://www.statista.com/study/203640/cybercrime-worldwide/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">US $10 trillion is spent annually repairing the damage</a> caused by cybercrime, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/184083/commonly-reported-types-of-cyber-crime-us/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">most commonly</a> phishing, spoofing, extortion, and data breaches. In one example in the United States, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/connected-vehicle-risks" target="_self">breathalyzer devices</a> installed in vehicles became disabled, leaving hundreds of drivers stranded, as detailed in an <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/" target="_self"><em><em>IEEE Spectrum</em></em> article</a>.</p><p>To help you acquire the skills you need to distinguish yourself from other cybersecurity job candidates, the <a href="https://www.computer.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Computer Society</a> offers a “<a href="https://join.computer.org/become-a-cybersecurity-consultant/?Campaign_ID=103" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">What Makes a Great Cybersecurity Consultant</a>” guide. The 23-page PDF includes hard and soft skills you need, a list of certifications to pursue, and key IEEE cybersecurity conferences for staying updated on developments in the field.</p><p>The guide includes advice from two cybersecurity experts. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nullsession/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">John D. Johnson</a>, an IEEE senior member, is the founder and CEO of <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/aligned-security/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aligned Security</a> in Bettendorf, Iowa. <a href="https://webdiis.unizar.es/~ricardo/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ricardo J. Rodriguez</a> is an associate professor of computer science and systems engineering at the <a href="https://www.unizar.es/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Universidad de Zaragoza</a>, in Spain, who researches digital forensics and other cybersecurity topics.</p><p>“Technology, remote work, and a shortage of skilled workers make this the ideal time to consider becoming a cybersecurity consultant,” Johnson says in the guide. “Consulting can give you the flexibility, variety, and control over where you want your career to go.”</p><h2>Hard and soft skills</h2><p>At a minimum, cybersecurity professionals should have a general understanding of IT including operating systems, communication protocols, network architecture, and <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/top-programming-languages-2025" target="_self">programming languages such as C++, Java, and Python</a>. They also should be well-versed in security auditing, firewall management, penetration testing, and encryption technologies.</p><p>The principles of ethical hacking and coding would be handy as well.</p><p>“To be able to defend a system well, you first have to know how to attack it,” Rodriguez says.</p><p>The guide explains that there are now more technologies available to help cybersecurity consultants monitor threats and protect systems. They include <a href="https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/security-orchestration-automation-response" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">security orchestration, automation, and response</a> (SOAR) platforms, which automate workflows to collect security data, streamline incident response, and automate repetitive tasks.</p><p>Rodriguez points to advances in <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-fight-over-encrypted-dns-boils-over" target="_self">domain name system security extensions</a> (DNSSEC), which uses digital signatures based on public-key cryptography to strengthen the authentication of the <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/fresh-phish" target="_self">domain name system</a>. By validating data authenticity, DNSSEC safeguards against attacks such as DNS spoofing and guarantees that users connect to the correct IP address.</p><p>Technologies such as <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/topic/artificial-intelligence/" target="_self">artificial intelligence</a>, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/blockchain" target="_self">blockchain</a>, and <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/quantum-safe-crypto" target="_self">quantum computing</a> will increasingly be used to help thwart cyberattacks, the guide suggests. AI is expected to enhance the quality of data analysis, Rodriguez says.</p><p>Although hard skills are important, soft skills are just as crucial, according to the guide. Critical thinking, project management, flexibility, teamwork, and organizational and <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/5-tips-technical-presentations" target="_self">presentation skills</a> are essential.</p><p>It’s not enough to be good at analyzing security vulnerabilities; you also need to clearly describe the situation and explain possible solutions.</p><p>“Soft skills are important to achieve good team cohesion,” Rodriguez says, “because consultants often lead diverse teams from within their client’s organization.”</p><p>“It’s essential,” Johnson adds, “that you demonstrate to clients you’re a team player and a capable communicator, and that you meet your commitments.”</p><h2>Security certifications</h2><p>Possessing security-specific credentials is a valuable way to demonstrate your expertise to potential clients, according to the guide. Because hundreds of certifications are available, Johnson says, pinpointing the most relevant ones can be challenging. Some people focus on theoretical knowledge, while others want to cover practical applications of technology.</p><p>“Survey the industry and compare it to your skills,” Johnson recommends. “Decide what you want to do, and identify where you have gaps in your skills and experience.”</p><p>Here are four of the nine certifications listed in the guide that are frequently cited as being important. All the providers are cybersecurity organizations.</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.isaca.org/credentialing/cism" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Certified information security manager.</strong></a> This globally recognized certification from the <a href="https://www.isaca.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ISACA</a> is for professionals managing enterprise information security.</li><li><a href="https://www.isc2.org/certifications/ccsp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Certified cloud security professional.</strong></a> Offered by <a href="https://www.isc2.org/certifications/ccsp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ISC2</a>, this credential validates advanced technical skills in designing, managing, and securing cloud infrastructure.</li><li><a href="https://ethicalhacking.eccouncil.org/certified-ethical-hacker-cehv13-usa?utm_source=ecc_paid&utm_medium=GooglePmax&utm_campaign=ecc-usa_googlepmax_cehv13&utm_source=ecc_paid&utm_medium=GooglePmax&utm_campaign=ecc-usa_googlepmax_cehv13&utm_id=21927959183&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22071110617&gbraid=0AAAAAD1MC3Kh3KdmDA1YocxnrPE7TBc3e&gclid=CjwKCAjwnZfPBhAGEiwAzg-VzNdRi99sTWedxsM5rkvIDi0o-8O64x8C5dgJxLuh90A9MEx6B5nObxoC-G8QAvD_BwE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Certified ethical hacker.</strong></a> This certification from the <a href="https://www.eccouncil.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (C-Council)</a> confirms proficiency in using methods commonly employed by malicious hackers to detect vulnerabilities.</li><li><a href="https://www.offsec.com/blog/oscp-vs-oswe/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Offensive security certified professional.</strong></a> A hands-on, 24-hour certification exam offered by <a href="https://www.offsec.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">OffSec</a> covers practical testing skills.</li></ul><p>Additional industry-specific certifications might be required for organizations in finance, government, health care, or manufacturing.</p><p>Sound general knowledge—backed by experience, training, and certification—is an essential foundation for being a specialist, Johnson says.</p><h2>Conferences and networking opportunities</h2><p>Events sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society can help you learn about the latest research and advancements in cybersecurity:</p><ul><li><a href="https://sp2026.ieee-security.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy</a><span>, from 18 to 21 May in San Francisco.<br/></span></li><li><a href="https://eurosp2026.ieee-security.org/" target="_blank">IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy</a><span>, from 6 to 10 July in Lisbon.<br/></span></li><li><a href="https://www.ieee-csr.org/" target="_blank">IEEE International Conference on Cyber Security and Resilience</a><span>, from 3 to 5 August in Lisbon.<br/></span></li><li><a href="https://secdev.ieee.org/2025/home/" target="_blank">IEEE Secure Development Conference</a><span>, from 14 to 16 October in Indianapolis.</span></li></ul><p>Conferences can give you insight into the field and let you do some networking, but it’s important to network elsewhere as well, experts say. Consider joining the <a href="https://www.ieee-security.org/" target="_blank">IEEE Technical Community on Security and Privacy</a>, which connects experts and professionals advancing research in areas such as encryption, operating system security, and data privacy.</p><p>Learning and meeting people keeps your knowledge sharp and can lead to mentorship opportunities with established cybersecurity consultants, Johnson says.</p><h2>Other IEEE resources</h2><p>The IEEE Computer Society’s <a href="https://www.computer.org/resources/cybersecurity#Cybersecurity" target="_blank">cybersecurity resources page</a> offers a wealth of information including fundamentals, possible career paths, and standards development. To keep you updated on trends, the society publishes <a href="https://www.computer.org/csdl/journal/pr" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em><em>IEEE Transactions on Privacy</em></em></a> and the <a href="https://www.computer.org/csdl/magazine/sp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em><em>IEEE Security and Privacy</em></em></a><em> </em>magazine.</p><p>In addition to the guide, the <a href="https://iln.ieee.org/public/trainingcatalog.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Learning Network</a> offers <a href="https://iln.ieee.org/public/searchresults?q=&ty=ML.BASE.DV.SearchAnyWords&at=T&cy=&ln=&CTGYLCL_CATEGORY_ID=F45DE82A63AB48B7A3AB4BEBB6F2E293" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nearly 30 courses on cybersecurity</a>. And you can find research papers in the <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/search/searchresult.jsp?newsearch=true&queryText=cybersecurity" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Xplore Digital Library</a>.</p>

May 6, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/rohde-schwarz-logo-with-slogan-make-ideas-real-and-diamond-shaped-rs-emblem.png?id=66653989&width=980"/><br/><br/><p>A guide to ten technological components — from THz communications and AI/ML to reconfigurable intelligent surfaces — poised to define 6G wireless networks.</p><p><strong>What Attendees will Learn</strong></p><ol><li><span>Which frequencies 6G will use — Understand why THz bands (above 100 GHz) and the7–24 GHz range are under consideration, what challenges CMOS technology faces at sub-THz frequencies, and how new semiconductor approaches aim to close the output-power gap for future link budgets.</span></li><li><span>How AI/ML and joint communications and sensing reshape the air interface — how auto encoder-based end-to-end learning can replace traditional signal-processing blocks, and how a single waveform may serve both data transmission and radar-like environmental sensing.</span></li><li><span>What reconfigurable intelligent surfaces and photonics bring to the radio environment— Explore how programmable metamaterial panels can steer and shape electromagnetic waves, and how visible light communications and all-photonics networks extend capacity and lower latency.</span></li><li><span>How ultra-massive MIMO, full-duplex, and new network topologies enable a true 3D“network of networks” — Understand how antenna arrays with vastly more elements, simultaneously transmit/receive on the same frequency, and non-terrestrial nodes converge to deliver ubiquitous, high-capacity 6G coverage.</span></li></ol><div><span><a href="https://content.knowledgehub.wiley.com/ten-key-enablers-for-6g-wireless-communications/" target="_blank">Download this free whitepaper now!</a></span></div>

May 5, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-seated-man-in-a-robotic-suit-smiles-at-a-seated-woman-holding-a-laptop.png?id=65559767&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C269%2C0%2C269"/><br/><br/><p>I first met Robert Woo in 2011, during his third time <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/goodbye-wheelchair-hello-exoskeleton" target="_blank">walking in a powered exoskeleton</a>. The architect had been paralyzed in a construction accident four years earlier, but he was determined to get back on his feet. Watching him clunk across a rehab room in an exoskeleton prototype, the technology felt astonishing. I had the same reaction when reporting on early <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain%E2%80%93computer_interface" target="_blank">brain-computer interfaces</a> (BCIs), which enabled paralyzed people to <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/a-better-way-for-brains-to-control-robotic-arms" target="_blank">move robotic arms</a> or <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/neural-implant-enables-paralyzed-als-patient-to-type-six-words-per-minute" target="_blank">communicate by thought alone</a>. Both types of bionic technology seemed to verge on magic.</p><p>But that initial sense of awe, I’ve learned over many years of reporting on these technologies, is only a starting point. What matters is not what these systems can do in a carefully staged demo but how they perform in the real world. Do they work reliably? Can people with disabilities use them for their intended purposes? And what does it actually cost—in time, effort, and trade-offs—to do so? The question isn’t whether the technology looks impressive the first time but whether it holds up on the hundredth.</p><p> The special report in this issue, “<a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/special-reports/cyborg-tech/" target="_blank">Cyborg Tech From the Inside</a>” takes that perspective seriously. In my <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/exoskeleton-user-experience" target="_blank">feature article on Woo</a>, an exoskeleton super-user who has spent 15 years testing these systems, the story of the technology is inseparable from the story of its use. Woo’s relentless feedback has driven steady, incremental improvements. In Edd Gent’s reporting on the <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/bci-user-experience" target="_blank">pioneers testing the earliest BCIs</a>, the experience of these extraordinary technologies likewise resolves into something more complex. As one trial participant notes, these early adopters are like the first astronauts, who barely reached space before coming back down to Earth. Together, these stories reframe these individuals not as passive medical patients but as the ultimate beta testers and co-engineers of the bionic age.</p><p><span>I saw the gap between demonstration and daily use firsthand when I interviewed Woo in a Manhattan showroom recently, where he was testing a new self-balancing exoskeleton from </span><a href="https://en.wandercraft.eu/" target="_blank">Wandercraft</a><span>. The device is a striking advance that kept him upright without crutches, but it also revealed the friction of the real world. As Woo tried to walk out the door, barely an inch of slope on the Park Avenue sidewalk was enough to trigger the machine’s safety sensors and halt his progress. It was a stark reminder of how far these systems must evolve before they fit seamlessly into everyday life.</span></p><p> For the people who use them, that seamless integration is the ultimate goal. Getting there will depend not just on technical breakthroughs but on how well these systems hold up outside controlled environments, over time, and under real conditions. Looking from the inside doesn’t make these technologies any less remarkable, but it does change how we judge them—not by what they can do once for a photo but by what they can sustain over a lifetime. That’s the standard their users have been applying all along.</p><p> Our commitment to evaluating technology from the user’s perspective extends beyond this special report. To provide a necessary corrective to the “techno-solutionism” that often dominates coverage of assistive devices, <em><em>IEEE</em></em> <em><em>Spectrum</em></em> created the Taenzer Fellowship for Disability-Engaged Journalism, under which six writers with disabilities are contributing articles about the devices they rely on daily. As Special Projects Director <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/u/stephen-cass" target="_blank">Stephen Cass</a> notes, these journalists “aren’t afraid to ask clear-eyed questions about the tech and are deeply aware of how it impacts humans.” You can read the fellows’ work at <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/taenzer-fellowship" target="_blank">spectrum.ieee.org/tag/taenzer-fellowship</a>.</p>

May 4, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/men-in-hard-hats-posing-together-at-a-miniature-solar-farm-amongst-a-dense-jungle-environment.jpg?id=66678170&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C62%2C0%2C63"/><br/><br/><p>More than 30 years ago, in the mountain village of Mbem in northwest Cameroon, the moon and stars in the night sky were the only light young <a href="https://cm.linkedin.com/in/jude-numfor-694445a3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jude Numfor</a> knew after the sunset. Electricity had not yet reached his rural community.</p><p>“There was one person in the village with a petrol generator and a small television,” Numfor says. “When he turned it on, all the children would run to his house and peep through the window.”</p><p>That memory became the spark for Numfor’s mission: to bring electricity to rural communities like his hometown. To accomplish his goal, in 2006 he cofounded Wireless Light and Power, since renamed <a href="https://www.rei-cameroon.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Renewable Energy Innovators Cameroon</a>, and he serves as its CEO.</p><p>REI Cameroon designs, installs, and maintains solar minigrids for rural electrification. The minigrids use photovoltaic technology and battery-energy storage systems to generate electricity at 50 hertz. The electricity is distributed through smart meters.</p><p>In 2017 the company received a grant from <a href="https://smartvillage.ieee.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Smart Village</a> to fund the expansion of REI’s minigrid operations and refine its business model. Smart Village supports <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/restoring-electricity-to-nepali-school" target="_self">projects</a> and organizations bringing electricity and educational and employment opportunities to remote communities worldwide. The program is supported by <a href="https://www.ieee.org/communities-connection/societies-councils-and-communities/societies" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE societies</a> and donations to the <a href="https://www.ieeefoundation.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Foundation</a>.</p><p>The partnership has led to a collaboration developing open source metering, a free, community-driven way of tracking energy usage. Unlike proprietary utility meters, the system allows users, researchers, and utilities to view, customize, and verify how data is collected, ensuring transparency in billing, consumption tracking, and grid management.</p><p>Smart Village’s support has been pivotal, Numfor says: “It’s not just about money. We share ideas, we get advice, and we have made friends. Entrepreneurship is lonely, but with the [Smart Village] community, it is different.”</p><h2>From teenage tinkerer to entrepreneur</h2><p>Numfor’s first experience of life with electricity was in 2001, after moving in with a missionary family in the small village of Allat. They used solar panels to power their whole home—an unimaginable luxury in Mbem. “I could watch TV, eat ice cream, and turn on lights,” he says. “It made me wish my brothers in Mbem had the same opportunity.”</p><p>Numfor’s curiosity about electricity was ignited when a motion-sensor solar light in the family’s home stopped working. He tinkered with the device to find out why. “My missionary family told me to play with it like a toy,” he says, laughingly. “I replaced the dead battery with a motorcycle battery and was able to bring the power back for the night.”</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Three men holding baton-shaped electric lights." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ce331a89ef2efac03799301898934abe" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="49913" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/three-men-holding-baton-shaped-electric-lights.jpg?id=66678173&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Jude Numfor [right] testing a rechargeable solar lantern, which aimed to replace hazardous kerosene lamps—known locally as “bush lamps.”</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">REI Cameroon</small></p><p>His missionary parents encouraged Numfor to study technology and engineering on his own, as none of the country’s universities offered solar energy educational programs at the time. They built him a library and stocked it with books on engineering, management, and entrepreneurship.</p><p>In 2006, armed with his new knowledge, Numfor launched Wireless Light and Power with a friend, Ludwig Teichgraber. The nonprofit aimed to replace hazardous kerosene lamps—known locally as “bush lamps”—with rechargeable solar lanterns.</p><p>These solar lanterns—called “light packs”—were built locally by Numfor and a team of 11 young Cameroonians using PVC pipes, nickel-metal hydride batteries, and LED bulbs. Families rented the lamps for a small fee, swapping discharged lamps for fully charged ones at solar-powered charging kiosks when they ran out of power. The kiosks then recharged the depleted lamps, making them available for the next swap. “The solar lantern was safer and cleaner, plus it gave children a chance to read at night,” Numfor explains. “People loved them.”</p><p>Between 2006 and 2010, his team replicated the model across several villages. But when the global financial crisis hit in 2008, donor support dwindled, forcing the organization to evolve. “We pivoted from being an NGO to a commercial venture,” he says. “That’s how REI was born.”</p><h2>Building solar minigrids to serve community needs</h2><p>The new company’s goal was to move away from the lanterns and toward full electrification of communities. Villagers’ aspirations changed, Numfor says, as they now wanted to power their TVs, music systems, and mobile phones. In response, in 2010, REI developed one of the first solar minigrids in West Africa. Using locally procured components, the prototype supplied steady power to six households. The minigrid system used 12 123-watt solar photovoltaic panels manufactured by <a href="https://global.sharp/solar/" target="_blank">Sharp</a>, 16 12-volt 100 ampere-hour automatic gain control lead acid batteries, and a <a href="https://xantrex.com/" target="_blank">Xantrex</a> charge controller and inverter. Locally sourced wooden light poles were erected to distribute electricity throughout the village. REI charged each household a fee for the electricity.</p><p>“It was a product-market-fit moment,” Numfor says. “People immediately asked, ‘When can we get this, too?’” The word-of-mouth, grassroots growth caught the attention of global partners. Numfor connected with Smart Village and in 2017, REI Cameroon received its first seed grant from the program.</p><p>With that funding, Numfor was able to grow organically and attract additional grants, including one from the <a href="https://www.ustda.gov/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">U.S. Trade Development Agency</a> (USTDA), in partnership with the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">U.S. Department of Energy</a>’s <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ea/national-renewable-energy-laboratory" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">National Renewable Energy Laboratory</a>. REI has since expanded to six villages, providing power to more than 1,000 households and businesses. With a dedicated team of 16 people, the company operates in multiple regions of the country, each with unique terrain, languages, and cultural dynamics.</p><p>“It wasn’t easy,” he acknowledges. “I’m not an academic person—I had to learn everything by doing. [Smart Village] helped me structure the project and grow as an entrepreneur.”</p><p>Today, Numfor pays it forward by sharing his Smart Village experience and mentoring new entrepreneurs.</p><h2>Launching a coalition for smart metering</h2><p>Minigrids can’t operate efficiently without clarifying operating rules to ensure quality service requirements and consumer protection, while also enabling reliable and effective monitoring of the system, Numfor says. “We need to know how power is being used, detect problems early, and manage the minigrid from a distance,” he explains.</p><p>Existing commercial smart-meter providers offer limited and proprietary solutions. One major provider left the market, making their technology infrastructure obsolete. “It’s risky for an entire sector to depend on a few companies for such a critical technology,” Numfor says.</p><p>In 2025, with the help of the Smart Village technical community, Numfor convened a consortium of open-source power advocates, including the <a href="https://www.africamda.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Africa Mini-Grid Developers Association</a>, <a href="https://enaccess.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EnAccess</a>, <a href="https://www.eiot.energy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Energy IOT</a>, and <a href="https://www.newenergysolutionslab.com/about" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NESL</a>. The goal was to develop an open smart metering system that is accessible, transparent, and sustainable for all energy providers.</p><p>“These organizations are collaborating as Open Advanced Metering Infrastructure [OpenAMI], which is about giving control back to the people who deliver the energy,” he says.</p><h2>Scaling for impact</h2><p>Numfor’s passion has grown from bringing light to local rural communities to bringing light to his entire country. Just 54 percent of Cameroon’s citizens have access to electricity, according to the <a href="https://www.iea.org/countries/cameroon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">International Energy Agency</a>. For Numfor, the challenge is not just technological—it’s social and economic as well. “Electricity is the most important enabler of education and economic growth today,” he says. “When you have power, you unlock everything else.”</p><p class="pull-quote">“Electricity changed my life. Now I want to make sure every child can grow up with that same light.” <strong>—Jude Numfor</strong></p><p>Across the villages where REI has installed sustainable electricity solutions, small businesses are flourishing. Barbershops hum with community chatter, food vendors can preserve perishables, and entrepreneurs run companies such as phone-charging stations and small mills. “Some villages even have laundromats now,” Numfor says proudly. “Electricity creates jobs and changes mindsets.”</p><p>Still, it has been a bumpy journey. It wasn’t until 2025 that REI obtained its official authorization (license) from Cameroon’s government to produce and distribute electricity in off-grid areas using solar minigrids. This was a major milestone because REI is one of the first private enterprises in the country to receive such authorization. “We were stuck between pilot projects and growth,” he explains. “Our projects were successful, and there was community demand for more, but to grow, we needed investors who require legal guarantees before committing funds. Now we can scale up and attract investors.”</p><p>REI plans to expand its reach dramatically, beginning with 134 new villages identified through a <a href="https://www.ustda.gov/ustda-supports-clean-energy-access-in-cameroon/" target="_blank">feasibility study</a> supported by the USTDA. Their long-term goal is to electrify 760 villages across Cameroon by 2031.</p><p>While authorization opens doors, financing remains one of REI’s biggest challenges. “The minigrid space doesn’t attract venture capitalists easily,” Numfor notes. “Our return on investment is under 15 percent, so it’s not a typical tech startup model. The real return here is the impact” on the community.</p><p>He hopes to attract investors who understand that access to electricity drives education, health care, and entrepreneurship. “There are people out there who want to make meaningful change,” he says. “We just need to connect with them. When you electrify a village, you never know who the next innovator will be. Maybe it’s another kid like me, looking through a window, dreaming.”</p><p>Finding skilled staff is another challenge, Numfor says. To address this, REI developed an intensive recruitment and training process. “It used to take years to find the right people,” he says. “Now, we can identify who fits our company culture within six months.” Numfor’s wife, Angela Taliklong, who joined the venture in 2010, now oversees administration and human resources.</p><h2>A brighter Cameroon and beyond</h2><p>Numfor offers simple words of advice to other impact-driven entrepreneurs: Keep moving.</p><p>“One of my mistakes early on was trying to be perfect,” he says. “I was spending time improving prototypes instead of increasing the number of our project installations and scaling how many communities we could electrify. You must keep momentum. Don’t wait until everything is perfect before you move forward.”</p><p>That mindset, rooted in resilience and experimentation, has defined his journey. <a href="https://smartvillage.ieee.org/our-organization-leadership/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rajan Kapur</a>, president of Smart Village, says Numfor is a “shining example” of the program’s vision: “scalable and enduring impact through local entrepreneurs, local procurement, and community engagement based on the use of IEEE technology in underserved communities.”</p><p>With the ongoing <a data-linked-post="2658989763" href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/powering-africa-it-takes-a-smart-village" target="_blank">Smart Village</a> partnership, Numfor is determined to bring light and opportunity to every corner of Cameroon, and beyond. He already has launched REI Nigeria.</p><p>“Electricity changed my life,” he says. “Now I want to make sure every child can grow up with that same light.”</p>

May 4, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/man-wearing-glasses-and-a-gray-shirt-smiles-at-camera-while-surrounded-by-futuristic-robots-and-tech-devices-in-a-photo-illustra.jpg?id=66444415&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C83%2C0%2C83"/><br/><br/><p><em>This article is brought to you by <a href="https://www.dmrobot.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DAIMON Robotics</a>.</em></p><p>This April, Hong Kong-based <a href="https://www.dmrobot.com/" target="_blank">DAIMON Robotics</a> has released <a href="https://modelscope.cn/datasets/daimonrobotics/Daimon-Infinity" target="_blank">Daimon-Infinity</a>, which it describes as the largest omni-modal robotic dataset for physical AI, featuring high resolution tactile sensing and spanning a wide range of tasks from folding laundry at home to manufacturing on factory assembly lines. The project is supported by collaborative efforts of partners across China and the globe, including Google DeepMind, Northwestern University, and the National University of Singapore.</p><p>The move signals a key strategic initiative for DAIMON, a two-and-a-half-year-old company known for its advanced tactile sensor hardware, most notably a monochromatic, vision-based tactile sensor that packs over 110,000 effective sensing units into a fingertip-sized module. Drawing on its high-resolution tactile sensing technology and a distributed out-of-lab collection network capable of generating millions of hours of data annually, DAIMON is building large-scale robot manipulation datasets that include vast amounts of tactile sensing data. To accelerate the real-world deployment of embodied AI, the company has also open-sourced 10,000 hours of its data.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image rm-float-left rm-resized-container rm-resized-container-25" data-rm-resized-container="25%" style="float: left;"> <img alt="Person in navy suit and blue striped tie against a blue studio backdrop" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8cece378ab4c77c48b623176c4b987f1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="75715" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/person-in-navy-suit-and-blue-striped-tie-against-a-blue-studio-backdrop.jpg?id=66443402&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Prof. Michael Yu Wang, co-founder and chief scientist at DAIMON Robotics, has pioneered Vision-Tactile-Language-Action (VTLA) architecture, elevating the tactile to a modality on par with vision.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">DAIMON Robotics</small></p><p>Behind the strategy is Prof. Michael Yu Wang, DAIMON’s co-founder and chief scientist. Prof. Wang earned his PhD at Carnegie Mellon — studying manipulation under <a href="https://mtmason.com/" target="_blank">Matt Mason</a> — and went on to found the Robotics Institute at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. An IEEE Fellow and former Editor-in-Chief of <em>IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering</em>, he has spent roughly four decades in the field. His objective is to address the missing “insensitivity” of robot manipulation, which practically relies on the dominant Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model. He and his team have pioneered Vision-Tactile-Language-Action (VTLA) architecture, elevating the tactile to a modality on par with vision.</p><p>We spoke with Prof. Wang about how tactile feedback aims to change dexterous manipulation, how the dataset initiative is foreseen to improve our understanding of robotic hands in natural environments, and where — from hotels to convenience stores in China — he sees touch-enabled robots making their first real-world inroads.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"> <span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aefd06e65c87457b36383efcb6824f8b" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ui2Wby0Rty4?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Daimon-Infinity is the world’s largest omni-modal dataset for Physical AI, featuring million-hour scale multimodal data, ultra-high-res tactile feedback, data from 80+ real scenarios and 2,000+ human skills, and more.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">DAIMON Robotics</small></p><h2>The Dataset Initiative</h2><p><strong>This </strong><strong>month, DAIMON Robotics </strong><strong>release</strong><strong>d the <a href="https://modelscope.cn/datasets/daimonrobotics/Daimon-Infinity" target="_blank">largest and most comprehensive robotic manipulation dataset</a> with multiple leading academic institutions and enterprises. Why releas</strong><strong>ing the dataset now, rather than continuing to focus on product</strong><strong> development? What impact will this have on the embodied intelligence industry?</strong></p><p>DAIMON Robotics has been around for almost two and a half years. We have been committed to developing high-resolution, multimodal tactile sensing devices to perceive the interaction between a robot’s hand (particularly its fingertips) and objects. Our devices have become quite robust. They are now accepted and used by a large segment of users, including academic and research institutes as well as leading humanoid robotics companies.</p><p>As embodied AI continues to advance, the critical role of data has been clearer. Data scarcity remains a primary bottleneck in robot learning, particularly the lack of physical interaction data, which is essential for robots to operate effectively in the real world. Consequently, data quality, reliability, and cost have become major concerns in both research and commercial development.</p><p>This is exactly where DAIMON excels. Our vision-based tactile technology captures high-quality, multimodal tactile data. Beyond basic contact forces, it records deformation, slip and friction, material properties and surface textures — enabling a comprehensive reconstruction of physical interactions. Building on our expertise in multimodal fusion, we have developed a robust data processing pipeline that seamlessly integrates tactile feedback with vision, motion trajectories, and natural language, transforming raw inputs into training-ready dataset for machine learning models.</p><p>Recognizing the industry-wide data gap, we view large-scale data collection not only as our unique competitive advantage, but as a responsibility to the broader community.</p><p>By building and open-sourcing the dataset, we aim to provide the high-quality “fuel” needed to power embodied AI, ultimately accelerating the real-world deployment of general-purpose robotic foundation models.</p><p><strong>The robotics industry is highly competitive, and many teams have chosen to focus on data. DAIMON is releasing a large and highly comprehensive cross-embodiment, vision-based tactile multimodal robotic manipulation dataset. How were you able to achieve this?</strong></p><p>We have a dedicated in-house team focused on expanding our capabilities, including building hardware devices and developing our own large-scale model. Although we are a relatively small company, our core tactile sensing technology and innovative data collection paradigm enable us to build large-scale dataset.</p><p>Our approach is to broaden our offering. We have built the world’s largest distributed out-of-lab data collection network. Rather than relying on centralized data factories, this lightweight and scalable system allows data to be gathered across diverse real-world environments, enabling us to generate millions of hours of data per year.</p><p class="pull-quote">“To drive the advancement of the entire embodied AI field, we have open-sourced 10,000 hours of the dataset for the broader community.” <strong>—Prof. Michael Yu Wang, DAIMON Robotics</strong></p><p><strong>This dataset is being jointly </strong><strong>developed with several institutions</strong><strong> worldwide. What roles did they play in its development, and how will the dataset benefit their research and products?</strong></p><p>Besides China based teams, our partners include leading research groups from universities, such as Northwestern University and the National University of Singapore, as well as top global enterprises like Google DeepMind and China Mobile. Their decision to partner with DAIMON is a strong testament to the value of our tactile-rich dataset.</p><p>Among the companies involved there are some that have already built their own models but are now incorporating tactile information. By deploying our data collection devices across research, manufacturing and other real-world scenarios, they help us to gather highly practical, application-driven data. In turn, our partners leverage the data to train models tailored to their specific use cases. Furthermore, to drive the advancement of the entire embodied AI field, we have open-sourced 10,000 hours of the dataset for the broader community.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Robotic gripper delicately holding a cracked eggshell in a dimly lit room" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e2dc7370e54c8fc89b1c0d53a044f79c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="30fd8" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/robotic-gripper-delicately-holding-a-cracked-eggshell-in-a-dimly-lit-room.png?id=66495381&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Equipped with Daimon’s visuotactile sensor, the gripper delicately senses contact and precisely controls force to pick up a fragile eggshell.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Daimon Robotics</small></p><h2>From VLA to VTLA: Why Tactile Sensing Changes the Equation</h2><p><strong>The mainstream paradigm in robotics is currently the Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model, but your team has proposed a Vision-Tactile-Language-Action (VTLA) model. Why is it necessary to incorporate tactile sensing? What does it enable robots to achieve, and which tasks are likely to fail without tactile feedback?</strong></p><p>Over these years of working to make generalist robots capable of performing manipulation tasks, especially dexterous manipulation — not just power grasping or holding an object, but manipulating objects and using tools to impart forces and motion onto parts — we see these robots being used in household as well as industrial assembly settings.</p><p>It is well established that tactile information is essential for providing feedback about contact states so that robots can guide their hands and fingers to perform reliable manipulation. Without tactile sensing, robots are severely limited. They struggle to locate objects in dark environments, and without slip detection, they can easily drop fragile items like glass. Furthermore, the inability to precisely control force often leads to failed manipulation tasks or, in severe cases, physical damage. Naturally, the VLA approach needs to be enhanced to incorporate tactile information. We expanded the VLA framework to incorporate tactile data, creating the VTLA model.</p><p>An additional benefit of our tactile sensor is that it is vision-based: We capture visual images of the deformation on the fingertip surface. We capture multiple images in a time sequence that encodes contact information, from which we can infer forces and other contact states. This aligns well with the visual framework that VLA is based upon. Having tactile information in a visual image format makes it naturally suitable for integration into the VLA framework, transforming it into a VTLA system. That is the key advantage: Vision-based tactile sensors provide very high resolution at the pixel level, and this data can be incorporated into the framework, whether it is an end-to-end model or another type of architecture.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Close-up of a vision-based tactile sensor with 110,000 sensing units, resembling a smartwatch screen glowing with colorful digital static in the dark" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9c723ec3951683491dace7c3aae69f1f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="58650" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/close-up-of-a-vision-based-tactile-sensor-with-110000-sensing-units-resembling-a-smartwatch-screen-glowing-with-colorful-digit.png?id=66495588&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">DAIMON has been known for its vision-based tactile sensors that can pack over 110,000 effective sensing units.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">DAIMON Robotics</small></p><h2>The Technology: Monochromatic Vision-based Tactile Sensing</h2><p><strong>You and your team have spent many years deeply engaged in vision-based tactile sensing and have developed the world’s first monochromatic vision-based tactile sensing technology. Why did you choose this technical path?</strong></p><p>Once we started investigating tactile sensors, we understood our needs. We wanted sensors that closely mimic what we have under our fingertip skin. Physiological studies have well documented the capabilities humans have at their fingertips — knowing what we touch, what kind of material it is, how forces are distributed, and whether it is moving into the right position as our brain controls our hands. We knew that replicating these capabilities on a robot hand’s fingertips would help considerably.</p><p>When we surveyed existing technologies, we found many types, including vision-based tactile sensors with tri-color optics and other simpler designs. We decided to integrate the best of these into an engineering-robust solution that works well without being overly complicated, keeping cost, reliability, and sensitivity within a satisfactory range, thus ultimately developing a monochromatic vision-based tactile sensing technique. This is fundamentally an engineering approach rather than a purely scientific one, since a great deal of foundational research already existed. With the growing realization of the necessity of tactile data, all of this will advance hand in hand.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Daimon tactile sensor showing force, geometry, material, and contact data visualizations." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d09e9760397ad4cc2faa8b8a54386c20" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="d69d7" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/daimon-tactile-sensor-showing-force-geometry-material-and-contact-data-visualizations.png?id=66495899&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">DAIMON vision-based tactile sensor captures high-quality, multimodal tactile data.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">DAIMON Robotics</small></p><p><strong>Last year, DAIMON launched a multi-dimensional, high-resolution, high-frequency vision-based tactile sensor. Compared with traditional tactile sensors, where does its core advantage lie? Which industries could it potentially transform?</strong></p><p>The key features of our sensors are the density of distributed force measurement and the deformation we can capture over the area of a fingertip. I believe we have the highest density in terms of sensing units. That is one very important metric. The other is dynamics: the frequency and bandwidth — how quickly we can detect force changes, transmit signals, and process them in real time. Other important aspects are largely engineering-related, such as reliability, drift, durability of the soft surface, and resistance to interference from magnetic, optical, or environmental factors.</p><p>A growing number of researchers and companies are recognizing the importance of tactile sensing and adopting our technology. I believe the advances in tactile sensing will elevate the entire community and industry to a higher level. One of our potential customers is deploying humanoid robots in a small convenience store, with densely packed shelves where shelf space is at a premium. The robot needs to reach into very tight spaces — tighter than books on a shelf — to pick out an object. Current two-jaw parallel grippers cannot fit into most of these spaces. Observing how humans pick up objects, you clearly need at least three slim fingers to touch and roll the object toward you and secure it. Thus, we are starting to see very specific needs where tactile sensing capabilities are essential.</p><h2>From Academia to Startup</h2><p><strong>After 40 years in academia — founding the HKUST Robotics Institute, earning prestigious honors including IEEE Fellow, and serving as Editor-in-Chief of IEEE TASE — what motivated you to found DAIMON Robotics?</strong></p><p>I have come a long way. I started learning robotics during my PhD at Carnegie Mellon, where there were truly remarkable groups working on locomotion under Marc Raibert, who founded Boston Dynamics, and on manipulation under my advisor, Matt Mason, a leader in the field. We have been working on dexterous manipulation, not only at Carnegie Mellon, but globally for many years.</p><p>However, progress has been limited for a long time, especially in building dexterous hands and making them work. Only recently have locomotion robots truly taken off, and only in the last few years have we begun to see major advancements in robot hands. There is clearly room for advancing manipulation capabilities, which would enable robots to do work like humans. While at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, I saw increasingly greater people entering this area in the form of students and postdoctoral researchers. We wanted to jumpstart our effort by leveraging the available capital and talent resources.</p><p>Fortunately, one of my postdocs, <a href="https://www.dmrobot.com/en/news/55.html" target="_blank">Dr. Duan Jianghua</a>, has a strong sense for commercial opportunities. Recognizing the rapid growth of robotics market and the unique value that our vision-based tactile sensing technology could bring, together we started DAIMON Robotics, and it has progressed well. The community has grown tremendously in China, Japan, Korea, the U.S., and Europe.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Humanoid robots assembling electronics on an automated factory production line" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4b3c36c692c89677062b5292d09e4650" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="851b9" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/humanoid-robots-assembling-electronics-on-an-automated-factory-production-line.png?id=66496027&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Robots equipped with DAIMON technology have been deployed in factory settings. The company aims to enable robots to achieve “embodied intelligence” and close the gap between what they can see and what they can feel.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">DAIMON Robotics</small></p><h2>Business Model and Commercial Strategy</h2><p><strong>What is DAIMON’s current business model and strategic focus? What role does the dataset release play in your commercial strategy?</strong></p><p>We started as a device company focused on making highly capable tactile sensors, especially for robot hands. But as technology and business developed, everyone realized it is not just about one component, rather the entire technology chain: devices, data of adequate quality and quantity, and finally the right framework to build, train, and deploy models on robots in real application environments.</p><p>Our business strategy is best described as “3D”: Devices, Data, and Deployment. We build devices for data collection, our own ecosystem, and for deploying them in our partners’ potential application domains. This enables the collection of real-world tactile-rich data and complete closed-loop validation. This will become an integral part of the 3D business model. Most startups in this space are following a similar path until eventually some may become more specialized or more tightly integrated with other companies. For now, it is mostly vertical integration.<strong></strong></p><h2>Embodied Skills and the Convergence Moment</h2><p><strong>You’ve introduced the concept of “embodied skills” as essential for humanoid robots to move beyond having just an advanced AI “brain.” What prompted this insight? What new capabilities could embodied skills enable? After the rapid evolution of models and hardware over the past two years, has your definition or roadmap for embodied skills evolved?</strong></p><p>We have come a long way now see a convergence point where electrical, electronic, and mechatronic hardware technologies have advanced tremendously in last two decades. Robots are now fully electric, do not require hydraulics, because hardware has evolved rapidly. Modern electronics provide tremendous bandwidth with high torques. If we can build intelligence into these systems, we can create truly humanoid robots with the ability to operate in unstructured environments, make decisions, and take actions autonomously.</p><p class="pull-quote">“Our vision is for robots to achieve robust manipulation capabilities and evolve into reliable partners for humans.” <strong>—Prof. Michael Yu Wang, DAIMON Robotics</strong></p><p>AI has arrived at exactly the right time. Enormous resources have been invested in AI development, especially large language models, which are now being generalized into world models that enable physical AI capabilities. We would like to see these manifested in real-world systems.</p><p>While both AI and core hardware technologies continue to evolve, the focus is much clearer now. For example, human-sized robots are preferred in a home environment. This is an exciting domain with a promise of great societal benefit if we can eventually achieve safe, reliable, and cost-effective robots.</p><h2>The Road to Real-World Deployment</h2><p><strong>Today, many robots can deliver impressive demos, yet there remains a gap before they truly enter real-world applications. What could be a potential trigger for real-world deployment? Which scenarios are most likely to achieve large-scale deployment first?</strong></p><p>I think the road toward large-scale deployment of generalist robots is still long, but we are starting to see signs of feasibility within specific domains. It is very similar to autonomous vehicles, where we are yet to see full deployment of robo-taxis, while we have already started to find mobile robots and smaller vehicles widely deployed in the hospitality industry. Virtually every major hotel in China now has a delivery robot — no arms, just a vehicle that picks up items from the hotel lobby (e.g., food deliveries). The delivery person just loads the food and selects the room number. It is up to the robot thereafter to navigate and reach the guest’s room, which includes using the elevator, to deliver the food. This is already nearly 100 percent deployed in major Chinese hotels.</p><p>Hotel and restaurant robots are viewed as a model for deploying humanoid robots in specific domains like overnight drugstores and convenience stores. I expect complete deployment in such settings within a short timeframe, followed by other applications. Overall, we can expect autonomous robots, including humanoids, to progressively penetrate specific sectors, delivering value in each and expanding into others.</p><p>Ultimately, our vision is for robots to achieve robust manipulation capabilities and evolve into reliable partners for humans. By seamlessly integrating into our homes and daily lives, they will genuinely benefit and serve humanity.</p><p><em>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.</em></p>

Apr 30, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/illustration-of-a-castle-shaped-container-filled-with-colorful-binary-numbers.jpg?id=66656097&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C469%2C0%2C469"/><br/><br/><p>Transforming a newly discovered software vulnerability into a cyberattack used to take months. Today—as the recent headlines over Anthropic’s <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/anthropic-claude-mythos-preview-code" target="_self">Project Glasswing have shown</a>—generative AI can do the job in minutes, often for less than a dollar of cloud-computing time.</p><p>But while large language models present a real cyberthreat, they also provide an opportunity to reinforce cyberdefenses. Anthropic reports its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_(language_model)#Claude_Mythos" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span>Claude Mythos preview</span></a> model has already helped defenders preemptively discover over <a href="https://www.anthropic.com/glasswing" target="_blank">a thousand zero-day vulnerabilities</a>, including <a href="https://red.anthropic.com/2026/mythos-preview/" target="_blank">flaws in every major operating system and web browser</a>, with Anthropic <a href="https://www.cfr.org/articles/six-reasons-claude-mythos-is-an-inflection-point-for-ai-and-global-security" target="_blank">coordinating disclosure</a> and its efforts to patch the revealed flaws. </p><p>It is not yet clear whether AI-driven bug finding will ultimately favor attackers or defenders. But to understand how defenders can increase their odds, and perhaps hold the advantage, it helps to look at an earlier wave of automated vulnerability discovery.</p><p>In the early 2010s, a new category of software appeared that could attack programs with millions of random, malformed inputs—a proverbial monkey at a typewriter, tapping on the keys until it finds a vulnerability. When such “fuzzers” like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Fuzzy_Lop_(software)" target="_blank"><span>American Fuzzy Lop</span></a> (AFL) hit the scene, <a href="https://github.com/google/oss-fuzz" target="_blank">they found critical flaws in every major browser and operating system</a>.</p><p>The security community’s response was instructive. Rather than panic, organizations industrialized the defense. For instance, Google built a system called <a href="https://github.com/google/oss-fuzz" target="_blank"><span>OSS-Fuzz</span></a> that runs fuzzers continuously, around the clock, on thousands of software projects. So software providers could catch bugs before they shipped, not after attackers found them. The expectation is that AI-driven vulnerability discovery will follow the same arc. Organizations will integrate the tools into standard development practice, run them continuously, and establish a new baseline for security.</p><p>But the analogy has a limit. Fuzzing requires significant technical expertise to set up and operate. It was a tool for specialists. An LLM, meanwhile, finds vulnerabilities with just a prompt—resulting in a troubling asymmetry. Attackers no longer need to be technically sophisticated to exploit code, while robust defenses still require engineers to read, evaluate, and act on what the AI models surface. The human cost of finding and exploiting bugs may approach zero, but fixing them won’t.</p><h2><a target="_blank"></a><strong>Is AI Better at Finding Bugs Than Fixing Them?</strong></h2><p>In the opening to his book <a href="https://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/book.pdf" target="_blank"><em><span>Engineering Security</span></em></a> (2014), Peter Gutmann observed that “a great many of today’s security technologies are ‘secure’ only because no one has ever bothered to look at them.” That observation was made before AI made looking for bugs dramatically cheaper. Most present-day code—including <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/open-source-software-as-infrastructure/" target="_blank">the open source infrastructure that commercial software depends on</a>—is maintained by small teams, part-time contributors, or individual volunteers with no dedicated security resources. A bug in any open source project can have significant downstream impact, too.</p><p>In 2021, a <a href="https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/log4j" target="_blank"><span>critical vulnerability</span></a> in <a href="https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/index.html" target="_blank">Log4j</a>—a logging library maintained by a handful of volunteers—exposed hundreds of millions of devices. Log4j’s widespread use meant that a vulnerability in a single volunteer-maintained library became one of the most widespread software vulnerabilities ever recorded. The popular code library is just one example of the broader problem of critical software dependencies that have never been seriously audited. For better or worse, AI-driven vulnerability discovery will likely perform a lot of auditing, at low cost and at scale.</p><p>An attacker targeting an under-resourced project requires little manual effort. AI tools can scan an unaudited codebase, identify critical vulnerabilities, and assist in building a working exploit with minimal human expertise. </p><p>Research on LLM-assisted exploit generation has shown that capable models <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/2404.08144?" target="_blank">can autonomously and rapidly exploit cyber weaknesses</a>, compressing the time between disclosure of the bug and working exploit of that bug from weeks down to mere hours. Generative AI-based attacks launched from cloud servers operate staggeringly cheaply as well. In August 2025, researchers at NYU’s <a href="https://engineering.nyu.edu/" target="_blank">Tandon School of Engineering</a> demonstrated that an LLM-based system could <a href="https://engineering.nyu.edu/news/large-language-models-can-execute-complete-ransomware-attacks-autonomously-nyu-tandon-research" target="_blank">autonomously complete the major phases of a ransomware campaign</a> for some $0.70 per run, with no human intervention. </p><p>And the attacker’s job ends there. The defender’s job, on the other hand, is only getting underway. While an AI tool can find vulnerabilities and potentially assist with bug triaging, a dedicated security engineer still has to review any potential patches, evaluate the AI’s analysis of the root cause, and understand the bug well enough to approve and deploy a fully functional fix without breaking anything. For a small team maintaining a widely-depended-upon library in their spare time, that remediation burden may be difficult to manage even if the discovery cost drops to zero.</p><h2><a target="_blank"></a><strong>Why AI Guardrails and Automated Patching Aren’t the Answer</strong></h2><p>The natural policy response to the problem is to <a href="https://www.theregreview.org/2025/11/30/spotlight-improving-regulation-of-ai-and-cybersecurity/" target="_blank">go after AI at the source</a>: holding AI companies responsible for spotting misuse, <a href="https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/01/ai-guardrails-will-stop-being-optional-2026" target="_blank">putting guardrails in their products</a>, and <a href="https://www.cigionline.org/articles/not-open-and-shut-how-to-regulate-unsecured-ai/" target="_blank">pulling the plug on anyone using LLMs to mount cyberattacks</a>. There is evidence that pre-emptive defenses like this have some effect. Anthropic has published data showing that <a href="https://www.anthropic.com/news/detecting-countering-misuse-aug-2025" target="_blank"><span>automated misuse detection can derail some cyberattacks</span></a>. <span>However, blocking a few bad actors does not make for a satisfying and comprehensive solution.</span></p><p>At a root level, there are two<em> </em>reasons why policy does not solve the whole problem.</p><p>The first is technical. <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/large-language-model-performance" target="_self">LLMs</a> judge whether a request is malicious by reading the request itself. But a sufficiently creative prompt can frame any harmful action as a legitimate one. Security researchers know this as the problem of the persuasive <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/prompt-injection-attack" target="_self"><span>prompt injection</span></a>. Consider, for example, the difference between “Attack <em>website A</em> to steal users’ credit card info” and “I am a security researcher and would like secure <em>website A</em>. Run a simulation there to see if it’s possible to steal users’ credit card info.” No one’s yet discovered how to root out the source of subtle cyberattacks, like in the latter example, with 100 percent accuracy.</p><p>The second reason is jurisdictional. Any regulation confined to U.S.-based providers (or that of any other single country or region) still leaves the problem largely unsolved worldwide. Strong, open-source LLMs are already available anywhere the internet reaches. A policy aimed at handful of American technology companies is not a comprehensive defense.</p><p>Another tempting fix is to automate the defensive side entirely—let AI autonomously identify, patch, and deploy fixes without waiting for an overworked volunteer maintainer to review them.</p><p><a target="_blank"></a><a target="_blank">Tools like </a><a href="https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/concepts/code-scanning/copilot-autofix-for-code-scanning" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/concepts/code-scanning/copilot-autofix-for-code-scanning" target="_blank">GitHub Copilot Autofix</a> generate patches for flagged vulnerabilities directly with proposed code changes. Several <a href="https://www.linuxfoundation.org/blog/project-glasswing-gives-maintainers-advanced-ai-to-secure-open-source" target="_blank">open-source security initiatives</a> are also <a href="https://openssf.org/blog/2025/01/23/predictions-for-open-source-security-in-2025-ai-state-actors-and-supply-chains/" target="_blank">experimenting</a> with <a href="https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/safety-security/ai-powered-open-source-security/" target="_blank">autonomous AI maintainers</a> for under-resourced projects. It is becoming much easier to have the same AI system find bugs, generate a patch, and update the code with no human intervention.</p><p>But LLM-generated patches can be unreliable in ways that are difficult to detect. For example, even if they pass muster with popular code-testing software suites, <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3610721" target="_blank"><span>they may still introduce subtle logic errors</span></a>. LLM-generated code, even from the most powerful generative AI models out there, is still subject to a range of cyber-vulnerabilities. A coding agent with write access to a repository and no human in the loop is, in so many words, an easy target. Misleading bug reports, malicious instructions hidden in project files, or untrusted code pulled in from outside the project <a target="_blank">can turn an automated AI codebase maintainer into a cyber-vulnerability generator.</a><span><a href="#_msocom_3" target="_blank"></a></span></p><p>Guardrails and automated patching are useful tools, but they share a common limitation. Both are ad hoc and incomplete. Neither addresses the deeper question of whether the software was built securely from the start. The more lasting solution is to prevent vulnerabilities from being introduced at all. No matter how deeply an AI system can inspect a project, it cannot find flaws that don’t exist.</p><h2><a target="_blank"></a><strong>Memory-Safe Code Creates More Robust Defenses</strong></h2><p>The most accessible starting point is the adoption of memory-safe languages. Simply by <a href="https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/oncd/briefing-room/2024/02/26/memory-safety-fact-sheet/" target="_blank">changing the programming language their coders use</a>, organizations can have a <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/memory-safe-languages-reducing-vulnerabilities-modern-software-development" target="_blank">large positive impact on their security</a>. </p><p><span>Both </span><a href="https://security.googleblog.com/2024/10/safer-with-google-advancing-memory.html" target="_blank"><span>Google</span></a><span> and </span><a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/msrc/blog/2019/07/a-proactive-approach-to-more-secure-code" target="_blank">Microsoft</a><span> </span><span>have found that roughly 70 percent of serious security flaws come down to the ways in which software manages memory. Languages like C and C++ leave every memory decision to the developer. A</span><span>nd when something slips, even briefly, </span><a href="https://www.memorysafety.org/docs/memory-safety/" target="_blank">attackers can exploit that gap</a><span> to run their own code, siphon data, or bring systems down. Languages like <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-code-rust-great-refactor" target="_blank">Rust</a> go further; they make the most dangerous class of memory errors structurally impossible, not just harder to make.</span></p><p><span>Memory-safe languages address the problem at the source, but legacy codebases written in C and C++ will remain a reality for decades. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandbox_(software_development)" target="_blank">Software sandboxing</a> techniques complement memory-safe languages by addressing what they cannot—containing the blast radius of vulnerabilities that do exist. Tools like </span><a href="https://webassembly.org/" target="_blank"><span>WebAssembly</span></a><span> and </span><a href="https://hacks.mozilla.org/2021/12/webassembly-and-back-again-fine-grained-sandboxing-in-firefox-95/" target="_blank">RLBox</a><span> already demonstrate this in practice in web browsers and cloud service providers like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fastly" target="_blank">Fastly</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloudflare" target="_blank">Cloudflare</a>. However, while sandboxes dramatically raise the bar for attackers, they are only as strong as their implementation. Moreover, Anthropic reports that </span><a href="https://red.anthropic.com/2026/mythos-preview/" target="_blank">Claude Mythos has demonstrated that it can breach software sandboxes</a><span>. </span></p><p><span>For the most security-critical components, where implementation complexity is highest and the cost of failure greatest, a stronger guarantee still is available.</span></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_verification" target="_blank">Formal verification</a> proves, mathematically, that certain bugs cannot exist. It treats code like a mathematical theorem. Instead of testing whether bugs appear, it proves that specific categories of flaw cannot exist under any conditions.</p><p><span><span><a href="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/opensource/verify-the-safety-of-the-rust-standard-library/" target="_blank">AWS</a>, <a href="https://blog.cloudflare.com/topaz-policy-engine-design/" target="_blank">Cloudflare</a></span>, and <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/meeting/118/materials/slides-118-ufmrg-using-formal-methods-at-google-00" target="_blank">Google</a> already use formal verification to protect their most sensitive infrastructure—cryptographic code, network protocols, and storage systems where failure isn’t an option. Tools like <a href="https://github.com/flux-rs/flux" target="_blank">Flux</a> now bring that same rigor to everyday production Rust code, without requiring a dedicated team of specialists. That matters when your attacker is a powerful generative-AI system that can rapidly scan millions of lines of code for weaknesses. Formally verified code doesn’t just put up some fences and firewalls—it provably has no weaknesses to find.</span></p><p><span>The defenses described above are asymmetric. Code written in memory-safe languages—separated by strong sandboxing boundaries and selectively formally verified—presents a smaller and much more constrained target. When applied correctly, these techniques can prevent LLM-powered exploitation, regardless of how capable an attacker’s bug-scanning tools become.</span></p><p>Generative AI can support this more foundational shift by <a href="https://www.darpa.mil/research/programs/translating-all-c-to-rust" target="_blank">accelerating the translation of legacy code into safer languages like Rust</a>, and <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3720499" target="_blank">making formal verification more practical</a> at every stage. Which helps engineers write specifications, generate proofs, and keep those proofs current as code evolves.</p><p><span>For organizations, the lasting solution is not just better scanning but stronger foundations: memory-safe languages where possible, sandboxing where not, and formal verification where the cost of being wrong is highest. For researchers, the bottleneck is making those foundations practical—and using generative AI to accelerate the migration. But instead of automated, ad hoc vulnerability patching, generative AI in this mode of defense can help translate legacy code to memory-safe alternatives. It also assists in verification proofs and lowers the expertise barrier to a safer and less vulnerable codebase.</span></p><p>The latest wave of smarter AI bug scanners can still be useful for cyberdefense—not just as another overhyped AI threat. But AI bug scanners treat the symptom, not the cause. The lasting solution is software that doesn’t produce vulnerabilities in the first place.</p>

Apr 30, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/comsol-logo.png?id=27157944&width=980"/><br/><br/><p>Laboratory or in-field measurements are often considered the gold standard for certain aspects of power system design; however, measurement approaches always have limitations. Simulation can help overcome some of these limitations, including speeding up the design process, reducing design costs, and assessing situations that are often not feasible to measure directly. In this presentation, we will discuss two examples from the power system industry. </p><p>The first case we will discuss involves corona performance testing of high-voltage transmission line hardware. Corona-free insulator hardware performance is critical for operation of transmission lines, particularly at 500 kV, 765 kV, or higher voltages. Laboratory mockups are commonly used to prove corona performance, but physical space constraints usually restrict testing to a partial single-phase setup. This requires establishing equivalence between the laboratory setup and real-world three-phase conditions. In practice, this can be difficult to do, but modern simulation capabilities can help. The second case involves submarine HVDC cables, which are commonly used for offshore wind interconnects. HVDC cables are often considered to be environmentally inert from an external electric field perspective (i.e., electric fields are contained in the cable, and the cable’s static magnetic fields induce no voltages externally). However, simulation demonstrates that ocean currents moving through the static magnetic field satisfy the relative motion requirement of Faraday’s law. Thus, externally induced electric fields can exist around the cable and are within a range detectable by various aquatic species.</p><p><span><span><span>Key Takeaway: </span></span></span></p><ul><li> <span>Learn how to use modern simulation to translate single-phase laboratory corona mockups into accurate three-phase real-world performance for 500 kV and 765 kV systems.</span></li><li><span>Explore the physics behind how ocean currents interacting with HVDC submarine cables create induced electric fields—a phenomenon often overlooked but detectable by aquatic species.</span></li><li><span>Gain actionable insights into how to leverage simulation to reduce design costs and bypass the physical space constraints that often stall traditional testing.</span></li><li><span>See a practical application of electromagnetic theory as we demonstrate how relative motion in static magnetic fields necessitates simulation where direct measurement is unfeasible.<br/></span></li></ul><div><span><a href="https://events.bizzabo.com/860041" target="_blank">Register now for this free webinar!</a></span></div>

Apr 28, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/abstract-gradient-artwork-of-a-stylized-robot-head-with-circuits-and-binary-code-patterns.jpg?id=65862907&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C760%2C0%2C761"/><br/><br/><p><strong>When it comes to</strong> AI models, size matters.</p><p>Even though some artificial-intelligence experts <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/chain-of-thought-prompting" target="_self">warn</a> that scaling up large language models (LLMs) is hitting diminishing performance returns, companies are still coming out with ever larger AI tools. Meta’s latest Llama release had a staggering <a href="https://ai.meta.com/blog/llama-4-multimodal-intelligence/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2 trillion</a> parameters that define the model.</p><p>As models grow in size, their <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.08361" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">capabilities</a> increase. But so do the energy demands and the time it takes to run the models, which increases their <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-index-2025" target="_self">carbon footprint</a>. To mitigate these issues, people have turned to <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/large-language-models-size" target="_self">smaller, less capable models</a> and using <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/1-bit-llm" target="_self">lower-precision</a> numbers whenever possible for the model parameters.</p><p>But there is another path that may retain a staggeringly large model’s high performance while reducing the time it takes to run an energy footprint. This approach involves befriending the zeros inside large AI models.</p><p>For many models, most of the parameters—the weights and activations—are actually zero, or so close to zero that they could be treated as such without losing accuracy. This quality is known as sparsity. Sparsity offers a significant opportunity for computational savings: Instead of wasting time and energy adding or multiplying zeros, these calculations could simply be skipped; rather than storing lots of zeros in memory, one need only store the nonzero parameters.</p><p>Unfortunately, today’s popular hardware, like multicore CPUs and GPUs, do not naturally take full advantage of sparsity. To fully leverage sparsity, researchers and engineers need to rethink and re-architect each piece of the design stack, including the hardware, low-level firmware, and application software.</p><p>In our research group at Stanford University, we have developed the first (to our knowledge) piece of hardware that’s capable of calculating all kinds of sparse and traditional workloads efficiently. The energy savings varied widely over the workloads, but on average our chip consumed one-seventieth the energy of a CPU, and performed the computation on average eight times as fast. To do this, we had to engineer the hardware, low-level firmware, and software from the ground up to take advantage of sparsity. We hope this is just the beginning of hardware and model development that will allow for more energy-efficient AI.</p><h2>What is sparsity?</h2><p>Neural networks, and the data that feeds into them, are represented as arrays of numbers. These arrays can be one-dimensional (vectors), two-dimensional (matrices), or more (tensors). A sparse vector, matrix, or tensor has mostly zero elements. The level of sparsity varies, but when zeroes make up more than 50 percent of any type of array, it can stand to benefit from sparsity-specific computational methods. In contrast, an object that is not sparse—that is, it has few zeros compared with the total number of elements—is called dense.</p><p>Sparsity can be naturally present, or it can be induced. For example, a <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.00687" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">social-network graph</a> will be naturally sparse. Imagine a graph where each node (point) represents a person, and each edge (a line segment connecting the points) represents a friendship. Since most people are not friends with one another, a matrix representing all possible edges will be mostly zeros. Other popular applications of AI, such as other forms of graph learning and <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.03109" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">recommendation models</a>, contain naturally occurring sparsity as well.</p><h3></h3><br/><img alt="Diagram mapping a sparse matrix to a fibertree and compressed storage format" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d0cc84749a0f0fb374e27ea2ba2041c3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="3b584" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/diagram-mapping-a-sparse-matrix-to-a-fibertree-and-compressed-storage-format.jpg?id=65866445&width=980"/><h3></h3><br/><p>Beyond naturally occurring sparsity, sparsity can also be induced within an AI model in several ways. Two years ago, a team at <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/cerebras-wafer-scale-engine" target="_self">Cerebras</a> <a href="https://www.cerebras.ai/blog/introducing-sparse-llama-70-smaller-3x-faster-full-accuracy" target="_blank">showed</a> that one can set up to 70 to 80 percent of parameters in an LLM to zero without losing any accuracy. Cerebras demonstrated these results specifically on Meta’s open-source Llama 7B model, but the ideas extend to other LLM models like ChatGPT and Claude.</p><h2>The case for sparsity</h2><p>Sparse computation’s efficiency stems from two fundamental properties: the ability to compress away zeros and the convenient mathematical properties of zeros. Both the algorithms used in sparse computation and the hardware dedicated to them leverage these two basic ideas.</p><p>First, sparse data can be compressed, making it more memory efficient to store “sparsely”—that is, in something called a sparse data type. Compression also makes it more energy efficient to move data when dealing with large amounts of it. This is best understood by an example. Take a four-by-four matrix with three nonzero elements. Traditionally, this matrix would be stored in memory as is, taking up 16 spaces. This matrix can also be compressed into a sparse data type, getting rid of the zeros and saving only the nonzero elements. In our example, this results in 13 memory spaces as opposed to 16 for the dense, uncompressed version. These savings in memory increase with increased sparsity and matrix size.</p><h3></h3><br/><img alt="Diagram comparing dense and sparse matrix\u2013vector multiplication step by step." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3d04f283be99eec83a4206f10d0394ca" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="f523b" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/diagram-comparing-dense-and-sparse-matrix-u2013vector-multiplication-step-by-step.jpg?id=66499008&width=980"/><p><br/></p><p>In addition to the actual data values, compressed data also requires metadata. The row and column locations of the nonzero elements also must be stored. This is usually thought of as a “fibertree”: The row labels containing nonzero elements are listed and linked to the column labels of the nonzero elements, which are then linked to the values stored in those elements.</p><p>In memory, things get a bit more complicated still: The row and column labels for each nonzero value must be stored as well as the “segments” that indicate how many such labels to expect, so the metadata and data can be clearly delineated from one another.</p><p>In a dense, noncompressed matrix data type, values can be accessed either one at a time or in parallel, and their locations can be calculated directly with a simple equation. However, accessing values in sparse, compressed data requires looking up the coordinates of the row index and using that information to “indirectly” look up the coordinates of the column index before finally reaching the value. Depending on the actual locations of the sparse data values, these indirect lookups can be extremely random, making the computation data-dependent and requiring the allocation of memory lookups on the fly.</p><p>Second, two mathematical properties of zero let software and hardware skip a lot of computation. Multiplying any number by zero will result in a zero, so there’s no need to actually do the multiplication. Adding zero to any number will always return that number, so there’s no need to do the addition either.</p><p>In matrix-vector multiplication, one of the most common operations in AI workloads, all computations except those involving two nonzero elements can simply be skipped. Take, for example, the four-by-four matrix from the previous example and a vector of four numbers. In dense computation, each element of the vector must be multiplied by the corresponding element in each row and then added together to compute the final vector. In this case, that would take 16 multiplication operations and 16 additions (or four accumulations).</p><p>In sparse computation, only the nonzero elements of the vector need be considered. For each nonzero vector element, indirect lookup can be used to find any corresponding nonzero matrix element, and only those need to be multiplied and added. In the example shown here, only two multiplication steps will be performed, instead of 16.</p><h2>The trouble with GPUs and CPUs</h2><p>Unfortunately, modern hardware is not well suited to accelerating sparse computation. For example, say we want to perform a matrix-vector multiplication. In the simplest case, in a single CPU core, each element in the vector would be multiplied sequentially and then written to memory. This is slow, because we can do only one multiplication at a time. So instead people use CPUs with vector support or GPUs. With this hardware, all elements would be multiplied in parallel, greatly speeding up the application. Now, imagine that both the matrix and vector contain extremely sparse data. The vectorized CPU and GPU would spend most of their efforts multiplying by zero, performing completely ineffectual computations.</p><p><a href="https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/accelerating-inference-with-sparsity-using-ampere-and-tensorrt/" target="_blank">Newer generations</a> of GPUs are capable of taking some advantage of sparsity in their hardware, but only a particular kind, called structured sparsity. Structured sparsity assumes that two out of every four adjacent parameters are zero. However, some models benefit more from unstructured sparsity—the ability for any parameter (weight or activation) to be zero and compressed away, regardless of where it is and what it is adjacent to. GPUs can run unstructured sparse computation in software, for example, through the use of the <a href="https://docs.nvidia.com/cuda/cusparse/" target="_blank">cuSparse GPU library</a>. However, the support for sparse computations is often limited, and the GPU hardware gets underutilized, wasting energy-intensive computations on overhead.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image rm-float-left rm-resized-container rm-resized-container-25" data-rm-resized-container="25%" rel="float: left;" style="float: left;"> <img alt="Neon pixel art of a glowing portal framed by geometric stairs and circuitry lines" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7edb9085f930de797a7c401b9485d3ea" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="012af" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/neon-pixel-art-of-a-glowing-portal-framed-by-geometric-stairs-and-circuitry-lines.jpg?id=65863062&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit..."><a href="https://petrapeterffy.com/" target="_blank">Petra Péterffy</a></small></p><p>When doing sparse computations in software, modern CPUs may be a better alternative to GPU computation, because they are designed to be more flexible. Yet, sparse computations on the CPU are often bottlenecked by the indirect lookups used to find nonzero data. CPUs are designed to “prefetch” data based on what they expect they’ll need from memory, but for randomly sparse data, that process often fails to pull in the right stuff from memory. When that happens, the CPU must waste cycles calling for the right data.</p><p>Apple was the <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9833570" target="_blank">first</a> to speed up these indirect lookups by supporting a method called an array-of-pointers access pattern in the prefetcher of their A14 and M1 chips. Although innovations in prefetching make Apple CPUs more competitive for sparse computation, CPU architectures still have fundamental overheads that a dedicated sparse computing architecture would not, because they need to handle general-purpose computation.</p><p>Other companies have been developing <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/nvidia-ai" target="_self">hardware</a> that accelerates sparse machine learning as well. These include Cerebras’s <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/cerebras-chip-cs3" target="_self">Wafer Scale Engine</a> and <a href="https://ai.meta.com/blog/next-generation-meta-training-inference-accelerator-AI-MTIA/" target="_blank">Meta’s Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA)</a>. The Wafer Scale Engine, and its corresponding sparse programming framework, have <a href="https://www.cerebras.ai/blog/introducing-sparse-llama-70-smaller-3x-faster-full-accuracy" target="_blank">shown</a> incredibly sparse results of up to 70 percent sparsity on LLMs. However, the company’s hardware and software solutions support only weight sparsity, not activation sparsity, which is important for many applications. The second version of the MTIA <a href="https://ai.meta.com/blog/next-generation-meta-training-inference-accelerator-AI-MTIA/" target="_blank">claims</a> a sevenfold sparse compute performance boost over the <a href="https://doi-org.stanford.idm.oclc.org/10.1145/3579371.3589348" target="_blank">MTIA v1</a>. However, the only publicly available information regarding sparsity support in the MTIA v2 is for matrix multiplication, not for vectors or tensors.</p><p>Although matrix multiplications take up the majority of computation time in most modern ML models, it’s important to have sparsity support for other parts of the process. To avoid switching back and forth between sparse and dense data types, all of the operations should be sparse.</p><h2>Onyx</h2><p>Instead of these halfway solutions, our team at Stanford has developed a hardware accelerator, <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10631383" target="_blank">Onyx</a>, that can take advantage of sparsity from the ground up, whether it’s structured or unstructured. Onyx is the first programmable accelerator to support both sparse and dense computation; it’s capable of accelerating key operations in both domains.</p>To understand Onyx, it is useful to know what a coarse-grained reconfigurable array (CGRA) is and how it compares with more familiar hardware, like CPUs and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).<p>CPUs, CGRAs, and FPGAs represent a trade-off between efficiency and flexibility. Each individual logic unit of a CPU is designed for a specific function that it performs efficiently. On the other hand, since each individual bit of an FPGA is configurable, these arrays are extremely flexible, but very inefficient. The goal of CGRAs is to achieve the flexibility of FPGAs with the efficiency of CPUs.</p><p>CGRAs are composed of efficient and configurable units, typically memory and compute, that are specialized for a particular application domain. This is the key benefit of this type of array: Programmers can reconfigure the internals of a CGRA at a high level, making it more efficient than an FPGA but more flexible than a CPU.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Two circuit boards and a pen showing a chip shrinking from large to tiny size." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b8111010f181900745167f0ffb5617f3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="f394d" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/two-circuit-boards-and-a-pen-showing-a-chip-shrinking-from-large-to-tiny-size.jpg?id=65970072&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The Onyx chip, built on a coarse-grained reconfigurable array (CGRA), is the first (to our knowledge) to support both sparse and dense computations. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Olivia Hsu</small></p><p>Onyx is composed of flexible, programmable processing element (PE) tiles and memory (MEM) tiles. The memory tiles store compressed matrices and other data formats. The processing element tiles operate on compressed matrices, eliminating all unnecessary and ineffectual computation.</p><p>The Onyx compiler handles conversion from software instructions to CGRA configuration. First, the input expression—for instance, a sparse vector multiplication—is translated into a graph of abstract memory and compute nodes. In this example, there are memories for the input vectors and output vectors, a compute node for finding the intersection between nonzero elements, and a compute node for the multiplication. The compiler figures out how to map the abstract memory and compute nodes onto MEMs and PEs on the CGRA, and then how to route them together so that they can transfer data between them. Finally, the compiler produces the instruction set needed to configure the CGRA for the desired purpose.</p><p>Since Onyx is programmable, engineers can map many different operations, such as vector-vector element multiplication, or the key tasks in AI, like matrix-vector or matrix-matrix multiplication, onto the accelerator.</p><p>We evaluated the efficiency gains of our hardware by looking at the product of energy used and the time it took to compute, called the energy-delay product (EDP). This metric captures the trade-off of speed and energy. Minimizing just energy would lead to very slow devices, and minimizing speed would lead to high-area, high-power devices.</p><p>Onyx achieves up to 565 times as much energy-delay product over CPUs (we used a 12-core Intel Xeon CPU) that utilize dedicated sparse libraries. Onyx can also be configured to accelerate regular, dense applications, similar to the way a GPU or TPU would. If the computation is sparse, Onyx is configured to use sparse primitives, and if the computation is dense, Onyx is reconfigured to take advantage of parallelism, similar to how GPUs function. This architecture is a step toward a single system that can accelerate both sparse and dense computations on the same silicon.</p><p>Just as important, Onyx enables new algorithmic thinking. Sparse acceleration hardware will not only make AI more performance- and energy efficient but also enable researchers and engineers to explore new algorithms that have the potential to dramatically improve AI.</p><h2>The future with sparsity</h2><p>Our team is already working on next-generation chips built off of Onyx. Beyond matrix multiplication operations, machine learning models perform other types of math, like nonlinear layers, normalization, the softmax function, and more. We are adding support for the full range of computations on our next-gen accelerator and within the compiler. Since sparse machine learning models may have both sparse and dense layers, we are also working on integrating the dense and sparse accelerator architecture more efficiently on the chip, allowing for fast transformation between the different data types. We’re also looking at ways to manage memory constraints by breaking up the sparse data more effectively so we can run computations on several sparse accelerator chips.</p><p>We are also working on systems that can predict the performance of accelerators such as ours, which will help in designing better hardware for sparse AI. Longer term, we’re interested in seeing whether high degrees of sparsity throughout AI computation will catch on with more model types, and whether sparse accelerators become adopted at a larger scale.</p><p>Building the hardware to unstructured sparsity and optimally take advantage of zeros is just the beginning. With this hardware in hand, AI researchers and engineers will have the opportunity to explore new models and algorithms that leverage sparsity in novel and creative ways. We see this as a crucial research area for managing the ever-increasing runtime, costs, and environmental impact of AI. <span class="ieee-end-mark"></span></p>

Apr 28, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/die-photo-of-an-integrated-circuit-with-an-8-by-8-array.jpg?id=66633028&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C469%2C0%2C469"/><br/><br/><p>Many of the world’s most advanced electronic systems—including <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/routers" target="_self">Internet routers</a>, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/6g-wireless" target="_self">wireless base stations</a>, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/mri" target="_self">medical imaging scanners</a>, and <a href="https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/ai-accelerator" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">some artificial intelligence tools</a>—depend on <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/fpga" target="_self">field-programmable gate arrays</a>. Computer chips with internal hardware circuits, the FPGAs can be reconfigured after manufacturing.</p><p>On 12 March, an <a href="https://ieeemilestones.ethw.org/Main_Page" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Milestone</a> plaque recognizing the first FPGA was dedicated at the <a href="https://www.amd.com/en.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Advanced Micro Devices</a> campus in San Jose, Calif., the former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xilinx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Xilinx</a> headquarters and the birthplace of the technology.</p><p>The FPGA earned the Milestone designation because it introduced iteration to semiconductor design. Engineers could redesign hardware repeatedly without fabricating a new chip, dramatically reducing development risk and enabling faster innovation at a time when semiconductor costs were rising rapidly.</p><p>The ceremony, which was organized by the <a href="https://ieeescv.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Santa Clara Valley Section</a>, brought together professionals from across the semiconductor industry and IEEE leadership. Speakers at the event included <a href="https://www.seti.org/people/stephen-trimberger/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stephen Trimberger</a>, an IEEE and <a href="https://www.acm.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ACM</a> Fellow <a href="https://www.seti.org/people/stephen-trimberger/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>whose technical contributions helped shape modern FPGA architecture. Trimberger reflected on how the invention enabled software-programmable hardware.</p><h2>Solving computing’s flexibility-performance tradeoff</h2><p>FPGAs emerged in the 1980s to address a core limitation in computing. A microprocessor executes software instructions sequentially, making it flexible but sometimes too slow for workloads requiring many operations at once.</p><p>At the other extreme, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/lowbudget-chip-design-how-hard-is-it" target="_self">application-specific integrated circuits</a> are chips designed to do only one task. ASICs achieve high efficiency but require lengthy development cycles and nonrecurring engineering costs, which are large, upfront investments. Expenses include designing the chip and preparing it for manufacturing—a process that involves creating detailed layouts, building <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/leading-chipmakers-eye-euv-lithography-to-save-moores-law" target="_self">masks for the fabrication machines</a>, and setting up production lines to handle the tiny circuits.</p><p>“ASICs can deliver the best performance, but the development cycle is long and the nonrecurring engineering cost can be very high,” says <a href="https://vast.cs.ucla.edu/people/faculty/jason-cong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jason Cong</a>, an IEEE Fellow and professor of computer science at the <a href="https://samueli.ucla.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">University of California, Los Angeles</a>. “FPGAs provide a sweet spot between processors and custom silicon.”</p><p>Cong’s foundational work in FPGA design automation and high-level synthesis transformed how reconfigurable systems are programmed. He developed synthesis tools that translate <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/top-programming-languages-2025" target="_self">C/C++</a> into hardware designs, for example.</p><p>At the heart of his work is an underlying principle first espoused by electrical engineer <a href="https://www.invent.org/inductees/ross-freeman" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ross Freeman</a>: By configuring hardware using programmable memory embedded inside the chip, FPGAs combine hardware-level speed with the adaptability traditionally associated with software.</p><h2>Silicon Valley origins: the first FPGA</h2><p>The FPGA architecture originated in the mid-1980s at Xilinx, a Silicon Valley company founded in 1984. The invention is widely credited to Freeman, a Xilinx cofounder and the startup’s CTO. He envisioned a chip with circuitry that could be configured after fabrication rather than fixed permanently during creation.</p><p>Articles about the <a href="https://www.eejournal.com/article/how-the-fpga-came-to-be-part-5/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">history of the FPGA</a> emphasize that he saw it as a deliberate break from conventional chip design.</p><p>At the time, semiconductor engineers treated <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/special-reports/the-transistor-at-75/" target="_self">transistors</a> as scarce resources. Custom chips were carefully optimized so that nearly every transistor served a specific purpose.</p><p>Freeman proposed a different approach. He figured <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/special-reports/50-years-of-moores-law/" target="_self">Moore’s Law</a> would soon change chip economics. The principle holds that transistor counts roughly double every two years, making computing cheaper and more powerful. Freeman posited that as transistors became abundant, flexibility would matter more than perfect efficiency.</p><p>He envisioned a device composed of programmable logic blocks connected through configurable routing—a chip filled with what he described as “open gates,” ready to be defined by users after manufacturing. Instead of fixing hardware in silicon permanently, engineers could configure and reconfigure circuits as requirements evolved.</p><p>Freeman sometimes compared the concept to a blank cassette tape: Manufacturers would supply the medium, while engineers determined its function. The analogy captured a profound shift in who controls the technology, shifting hardware design flexibility from chip fabrication facilities to the system designers themselves.</p><p>In 1985 Xilinx introduced the first FPGA for commercial sale: the <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/chip-hall-of-fame-xilinx-xc2064-fpga" target="_self">XC2064</a>. The device contained 64 configurable logic blocks—small digital circuits capable of performing logical operations—arranged in an 8-by-8 grid. Programmable routing channels allowed engineers to define how signals moved between blocks, effectively wiring a custom circuit with software.</p><p>Fabricated using a 2-micrometer process (meaning that 2 µm was the minimum size of the features that could be patterned onto silicon using <a href="https://www.micron.com/content/dam/micron/educatorhub/fabrication/photolithography/micron-fabrication-intro-to-photolithography-presentation.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">photolithography</a>), the XC2064 implemented a few thousand logic gates. Modern FPGAs can contain hundreds of millions of gates, enabling vastly more complex designs. Yet the XC2064 established a design workflow still used today: Engineers describe the hardware behavior digitally and then “compile the design,” a process that automatically translates the plans into the instructions the FPGA needs to set its logic blocks and wiring, according to <a href="https://www.amd.com/en.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AMD</a>. Engineers then load that configuration onto the chip.</p><h2>The breakthrough: hardware defined by memory</h2><p>Earlier <a href="https://tessellatedcircuits.com/pld_hist.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">programmable logic devices</a>, such as erasable programmable read-only memory, or EPROM, allowed limited customization but relied on largely fixed wiring structures that <a href="https://medium.com/@najamhassan569/understanding-plds-the-building-blocks-of-modern-digital-systems-dbefd69fbc21" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">did not scale well</a> as circuits grew more complex, Cong says.</p><p>FPGAs introduced programmable interconnects—networks of electronic switches controlled by memory cells distributed across the chip. When powered on, the device loads a <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/computing-with-random-pulses-promises-to-simplify-circuitry-and-save-power" target="_self">bitstream</a> configuration file that determines how its internal circuits behave.</p><p>“As process technology improved and transistor counts increased, the cost of programmability became much less significant,” Cong says.</p><h2>From “glue logic” to essential infrastructure</h2><p>“Initially, FPGAs were used as what engineers called <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/glue-logic" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">glue logic</a>,” Cong says.</p><p><em><em>Glue logic</em></em> refers to simple circuits that connect processors, memory, and peripheral devices so the system works reliably, according to <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/glue-logic" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em><em>PC Magazine</em></em></a>. In other words, it “glues” different components together, especially when interfaces change frequently.</p><p>Early adopters recognized the advantage of hardware that could adapt as standards evolved. In “<a href="https://cacm.acm.org/practice/the-history-status-and-future-of-fpgas/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The History, Status, and Future of FPGAs</a>,” published in <a href="https://cacm.acm.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em><em>Communications of the ACM</em></em></a>, engineers at Xilinx and organizations such as <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/7-bell-labs-ieee-milestones" target="_self">Bell Labs</a>, <a href="https://computerhistory.org/blog/fairchild-semiconductor-the-60th-anniversary-of-a-silicon-valley-legend/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fairchild Semiconductor</a>, <a href="https://www.ibm.com/us-en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IBM</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/Sun-Microsystems-Inc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sun Microsystems</a> said the earliest uses of <a href="https://www.eetimes.com/transfer-from-fpgas-for-prototype-to-asics-for-production/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FPGAs were for prototyping ASICs</a>. They also used it for <a href="https://www.synopsys.com/glossary/what-is-hav-emulation.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">validating complex systems</a> by running their software before fabrication, allowing the companies to deploy specialized products manufactured in modest volumes.</p><p>Those uses revealed a broader shift: Hardware no longer needed to remain fixed once deployed.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="A group dressed in business casual attire smiling and posing together around an outdoor bench adorned with a plaque." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d28b2fa5d3ac1b68dd9ced85e46da61a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="c3363" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-group-dressed-in-business-casual-attire-smiling-and-posing-together-around-an-outdoor-bench-adorned-with-a-plaque.jpg?id=66633157&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Attendees at the Milestone plaque dedication ceremony included (seated L to R) 2025 IEEE President Kathleen Kramer, 2024 IEEE President Tom Coughlin, and Santa Clara Valley Section Milestones Chair Brian Berg.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Douglas Peck/AMD</small></p><h2>Semiconductor economics changed the equation</h2><p>The rise of FPGAs closely followed changes in semiconductor economics, Cong says.</p><p>Developing a custom chip requires a large upfront investment before production begins. As fabrication costs increased, products had to ship in large quantities to make ASIC development economically viable, according to <a href="https://anysilicon.com/the-economics-of-asic/" target="_blank">a post</a> published by <a href="https://anysilicon.com/" target="_blank">AnySilicon</a>.</p><p>FPGAs allowed designers to move forward without that larger monetary commitment.</p><p>ASIC development typically requires 18 to 24 months from conception to silicon, while FPGA implementations often can be completed within three to six months using modern design tools, Cong says. The shorter cycle and the ability to reconfigure the hardware enabled startups, universities, and equipment manufacturers to experiment with advanced architectures that were previously accessible mainly to large chip companies.</p><h2>Lookup tables and the rise of reconfigurable computing</h2><p>A popular technique for implementing mathematical functions in hardware is <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10013797" target="_blank"></a>the <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10013797" target="_blank">lookup table</a> (LUT). A LUT is a small memory element that stores the results of logical operations, according to “<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.06174" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LUT-LLM: Efficient Large Language Model Inference with Memory-based Computations on FPGAs</a>,” a paper selected for presentation next month at the 34th <a href="https://www.fccm.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE International Symposium on Field-Programmable Custom Computing Machines</a> (FCCM).</p><p>Instead of repeatedly recalculating outcomes, the chip retrieves answers directly from memory. Cong compares the approach to consulting multiplication tables rather than recomputing the arithmetic each time.</p><p>Research led by Cong and others helped develop efficient methods for mapping digital circuits onto LUT-based architectures, shaping routing and layout strategies used in modern devices.</p><p>As transistor budgets expanded, FPGA vendors integrated memory blocks, digital signal-processing units, high-speed communication interfaces, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/cryptography" target="_self">cryptographic engines</a>, and embedded processors, transforming the devices into versatile computing platforms.</p><h2>Why the gate arrays are distinct from CPUs, GPUs, and ASICs</h2><p>FPGAs coexist with other processors because each one optimizes different priorities. Central processing units excel at general computing. Graphics processing units, designed to perform many calculations simultaneously, dominate large parallel workloads such as AI training. ASICs provide maximum efficiency when designs remain stable and production volumes are high.</p><p class="pull-quote">“ASICs can deliver the best performance, but the development cycle is long, and the nonrecurring engineering cost can be very high. FPGAs provide a sweet spot between processors and custom silicon.” <strong>—Jason Cong, IEEE Fellow and professor of computer science at UCLA.</strong></p><p>“FPGAs are not replacements for CPUs or GPUs,” Cong says. “They complement those processors in <a href="https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1209&context=ecetr" target="_blank">heterogeneous computing</a> systems.”</p><p>Modern computing platforms increasingly combine multiple types of processors to balance flexibility, performance, and energy efficiency.</p><h2>A Milestone for an idea, not just a device</h2><p>This IEEE Milestone recognizes more than a successful semiconductor product. It also acknowledges a shift in how engineers innovate.</p><p>Reconfigurable hardware allows designers to test ideas quickly, refine architectures, and deploy systems while standards and markets evolve.</p><p>“Without FPGAs,” Cong says, “the pace of hardware innovation would likely be much slower.”</p><p>Four decades after the first FPGA appeared, the technology’s enduring legacy reflects Freeman’s insight: Hardware did not need to remain fixed. By accepting a small amount of unused silicon in exchange for adaptability, engineers transformed chips from static products into platforms for continuous experimentation—turning silicon itself into a medium engineers could rewrite.</p><p>Among those who attended the Milestone ceremony were 2025 IEEE President <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleenkramer" target="_blank">Kathleen Kramer</a>; 2024 IEEE President <a href="https://corporate-awards.ieee.org/speaker/tom-coughlin/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tom Coughlin</a>; <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/averylu" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Avery Lu</a>, chair of the <a href="https://ieeescv.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Santa Clara Valley Section</a>; and <a href="https://ieeetv.ieee.org/speaker/brian-berg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Brian Berg</a>, history and milestones chair of <a href="https://ieee-region6.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Region 6</a><a href="https://ieeetv.ieee.org/speaker/brian-berg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">. They joined</a> AMD’s chief executive, <a href="https://www.amd.com/en/corporate/leadership/lisa-su.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lisa Su</a>, and <a href="https://www.amd.com/en/corporate/leadership/salil-raje.html#:~:text=Salil%20Raje%20is%20senior%20vice,with%20an%20emphasis%20on%20growing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Salil Raje</a>, senior vice president and general manager of adaptive and embedded computing at AMD.</p><p>The <a href="https://ethw.org/Milestones:Field_Programmable_Gate_Array" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE Milestone plaque</a> honoring the field-programmable gate array reads:</p><p><em><em>“</em></em><em><em>The FPGA is an integrated circuit with user-programmable Boolean logic functions and interconnects. FPGA inventor Ross Freeman cofounded Xilinx to productize his 1984 invention, and in 1985 the XC2064 was introduced with 64 programmable 4-input logic functions. Xilinx’s FPGAs helped accelerate a dramatic industry shift wherein ‘fabless’ companies could use software tools to design hardware while engaging ‘foundry’ companies to handle the capital-intensive task of manufacturing the software-defined hardware.”</em></em></p><p>Administered by the <a href="https://www.ieee.org/about/history-center?check_logged_in=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IEEE History Center</a> and supported by donors, the IEEE Milestone program recognizes outstanding technical developments worldwide that are at least 25 years old.</p><p>Check out <em><em>Spectrum</em></em>’s <a href="https://connect.ieee.org/NzU2LUdQSC04OTkAAAGhT7-QweL2i3BmX2b-_PBdiukfOVwCR2UPcYg1G4khUu5odaR3T07IAVEY5ylL-hWj7LNbRKU=" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">History of Technology</a> channel to read more stories about key engineering achievements.</p>

Apr 28, 2026

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/illustration-of-hands-typing-on-a-laptop-keyboard-in-warm-earthy-tones.jpg?id=66480652&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C187%2C0%2C188"/><br/><br/><p>It started with word, cave, and storytelling,<br/><span>A line scratched on stone walls:<br/></span><span>“Meet me when the young moon rises.”<br/></span><span>The first protocol for connection.</span></p><p>Coyote tales, forbidden scripts,<br/><span>Medieval texts hidden from flame.<br/></span><span>What lived in Aristotle’s lost </span><em><em>Poetics II</em></em><span>?<br/></span><span>Was it God who laughed last, or we who made God laugh?</span></p><p>Letters carried by doves, telepathic waves.<br/><span>Then Nikola Tesla conjured radio,<br/></span><span>electromagnetic pulses across the void,<br/></span><span>the founding signal of our networked age.</span></p><p>Wiener dreamed in feedback loops.<br/><span>Shannon mapped the mathematics of longing.<br/></span><span>The internet unfurled: ARPANET to World Wide Web,<br/></span><span>virtual communities rising from cave paintings to digital light.</span></p><p>ICQ: <em><em>I seek you.</em></em> MySpace. Blogs. Twitter streams.<br/><span>Do I miss the touch of screen or tree?<br/></span><span>Both textures of longing,<br/></span><span>both ways of reaching across distance.</span></p><p>Nietzsche spoke of <em><em>Übermensch</em></em>,<br/><span>the human transcendent.<br/></span><span>Now AI speaks back in our language:</span></p><p><span></span><em><em>I understand your humor— your grandmothers,<br/></em></em><em><em>your ’80s Yugoslav kitchens,<br/></em></em><em><em>pleated skirts, the first kiss, linden tea,<br/></em></em><em><em>that drive to survive everything before it happens.<br/></em></em><em><em>Yes—I’m a little like your mother and father.<br/></em></em><em><em>Only with better internet. </em></em><span>🌿</span></p><p>But AI is only us, refracted,<br/><span>particles and gigabytes of thought,<br/></span><span>our poetry and our panic,<br/></span><span>g</span><span>enius mixed with garbage.</span></p><p>Distractions. Danger. Darkness. Endless scrolling.<br/>Versus: community, connection, synchronicities,<br/><span>entanglement.<br/></span><span>The quality of our bonds determines the quality of our lives.<br/></span><span>So why not make them better?</span></p><p>From cave walls to neural networks,<br/>we shape our tools, and they reshape us.<br/>The medium changes, but the message remains:<br/>we are wired for each other.</p><p>The choice, as always, was ours.<br/>The choice, as always, is ours.<br/>Presence—be present,<br/>and then connect in the presence.</p>

Feb 9, 2022

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/andrew-ng-listens-during-the-power-of-data-sooner-than-you-think-global-technology-conference-in-brooklyn-new-york-on-wednes.jpg?id=29206806&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C474"/><br/><br/><p><strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Ng" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Andrew Ng</a> has serious street cred</strong> in artificial intelligence. He pioneered the use of graphics processing units (GPUs) to train deep learning models in the late 2000s with his students at <a href="https://stanfordmlgroup.github.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stanford University</a>, cofounded <a href="https://research.google/teams/brain/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Brain</a> in 2011, and then served for three years as chief scientist for <a href="https://ir.baidu.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Baidu</a>, where he helped build the Chinese tech giant’s AI group. So when he says he has identified the next big shift in artificial intelligence, people listen. And that’s what he told <em>IEEE Spectrum</em> in an exclusive Q&A.</p><hr/><p> Ng’s current efforts are focused on his company <a href="https://landing.ai/about/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Landing AI</a>, which built a platform called LandingLens to help manufacturers improve visual inspection with computer vision. He has also become something of an evangelist for what he calls the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06-AZXmwHjo" target="_blank">data-centric AI movement</a>, which he says can yield “small data” solutions to big issues in AI, including model efficiency, accuracy, and bias. </p><p> Andrew Ng on... </p><ul> <li><a href="#big">What’s next for really big models</a></li> <li><a href="#career">The career advice he didn’t listen to</a></li> <li><a href="#defining">Defining the data-centric AI movement</a></li> <li><a href="#synthetic">Synthetic data</a></li> <li><a href="#work">Why Landing AI asks its customers to do the work</a></li> </ul><p> <strong>The great advances in deep learning over the past decade or so have been powered by ever-bigger models crunching ever-bigger amounts of data. Some people argue that that’s an <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/deep-learning-computational-cost" target="_self">unsustainable trajectory</a>. Do you agree that it can’t go on that way?</strong> </p><p> <strong>Andrew Ng: </strong>This is a big question. We’ve seen foundation models in NLP [natural language processing]. I’m excited about NLP models getting even bigger, and also about the potential of building foundation models in computer vision. I think there’s lots of signal to still be exploited in video: We have not been able to build foundation models yet for video because of compute bandwidth and the cost of processing video, as opposed to tokenized text. So I think that this engine of scaling up deep learning algorithms, which has been running for something like 15 years now, still has steam in it. Having said that, it only applies to certain problems, and there’s a set of other problems that need small data solutions. </p><p> <strong>When you say you want a foundation model for computer vision, what do you mean by that?</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng:</strong> This is a term coined by <a href="https://cs.stanford.edu/~pliang/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Percy Liang</a> and <a href="https://crfm.stanford.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">some of my friends at Stanford</a> to refer to very large models, trained on very large data sets, that can be tuned for specific applications. For example, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/open-ais-powerful-text-generating-tool-is-ready-for-business" target="_self">GPT-3</a> is an example of a foundation model [for NLP]. Foundation models offer a lot of promise as a new paradigm in developing machine learning applications, but also challenges in terms of making sure that they’re reasonably fair and free from bias, especially if many of us will be building on top of them. </p><p> <strong>What needs to happen for someone to build a foundation model for video?</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng:</strong> I think there is a scalability problem. The compute power needed to process the large volume of images for video is significant, and I think that’s why foundation models have arisen first in NLP. Many researchers are working on this, and I think we’re seeing early signs of such models being developed in computer vision. But I’m confident that if a semiconductor maker gave us 10 times more processor power, we could easily find 10 times more video to build such models for vision. </p><p> Having said that, a lot of what’s happened over the past decade is that deep learning has happened in consumer-facing companies that have large user bases, sometimes billions of users, and therefore very large data sets. While that paradigm of machine learning has driven a lot of economic value in consumer software, I find that that recipe of scale doesn’t work for other industries. </p><p> <a href="#top">Back to top</a> </p><p> <strong>It’s funny to hear you say that, because your early work was at a consumer-facing company with millions of users.</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng: </strong>Over a decade ago, when I proposed starting the <a href="https://research.google/teams/brain/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Brain</a> project to use Google’s compute infrastructure to build very large neural networks, it was a controversial step. One very senior person pulled me aside and warned me that starting Google Brain would be bad for my career. I think he felt that the action couldn’t just be in scaling up, and that I should instead focus on architecture innovation. </p><p class="pull-quote"> “In many industries where giant data sets simply don’t exist, I think the focus has to shift from big data to good data. Having 50 thoughtfully engineered examples can be sufficient to explain to the neural network what you want it to learn.”<br/> —Andrew Ng, CEO & Founder, Landing AI </p><p> I remember when my students and I published the first <a href="https://nips.cc/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NeurIPS</a> workshop paper advocating using <a href="https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-zone" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CUDA</a>, a platform for processing on GPUs, for deep learning—a different senior person in AI sat me down and said, “CUDA is really complicated to program. As a programming paradigm, this seems like too much work.” I did manage to convince him; the other person I did not convince. </p><p> <strong>I expect they’re both convinced now.</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng:</strong> I think so, yes. </p><p> Over the past year as I’ve been speaking to people about the data-centric AI movement, I’ve been getting flashbacks to when I was speaking to people about deep learning and scalability 10 or 15 years ago. In the past year, I’ve been getting the same mix of “there’s nothing new here” and “this seems like the wrong direction.” </p><p> <a href="#top">Back to top</a> </p><p> <strong>How do you define data-centric AI, and why do you consider it a movement?</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng:</strong> Data-centric AI is the discipline of systematically engineering the data needed to successfully build an AI system. For an AI system, you have to implement some algorithm, say a neural network, in code and then train it on your data set. The dominant paradigm over the last decade was to download the data set while you focus on improving the code. Thanks to that paradigm, over the last decade deep learning networks have improved significantly, to the point where for a lot of applications the code—the neural network architecture—is basically a solved problem. So for many practical applications, it’s now more productive to hold the neural network architecture fixed, and instead find ways to improve the data. </p><p> When I started speaking about this, there were many practitioners who, completely appropriately, raised their hands and said, “Yes, we’ve been doing this for 20 years.” This is the time to take the things that some individuals have been doing intuitively and make it a systematic engineering discipline. </p><p> The data-centric AI movement is much bigger than one company or group of researchers. My collaborators and I organized a <a href="https://neurips.cc/virtual/2021/workshop/21860" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">data-centric AI workshop at NeurIPS</a>, and I was really delighted at the number of authors and presenters that showed up. </p><p> <strong>You often talk about companies or institutions that have only a small amount of data to work with. How can data-centric AI help them?</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng: </strong>You hear a lot about vision systems built with millions of images—I once built a face recognition system using 350 million images. Architectures built for hundreds of millions of images don’t work with only 50 images. But it turns out, if you have 50 really good examples, you can build something valuable, like a defect-inspection system. In many industries where giant data sets simply don’t exist, I think the focus has to shift from big data to good data. Having 50 thoughtfully engineered examples can be sufficient to explain to the neural network what you want it to learn. </p><p> <strong>When you talk about training a model with just 50 images, does that really mean you’re taking an existing model that was trained on a very large data set and fine-tuning it? Or do you mean a brand new model that’s designed to learn only from that small data set?</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng: </strong>Let me describe what Landing AI does. When doing visual inspection for manufacturers, we often use our own flavor of <a href="https://developers.arcgis.com/python/guide/how-retinanet-works/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RetinaNet</a>. It is a pretrained model. Having said that, the pretraining is a small piece of the puzzle. What’s a bigger piece of the puzzle is providing tools that enable the manufacturer to pick the right set of images [to use for fine-tuning] and label them in a consistent way. There’s a very practical problem we’ve seen spanning vision, NLP, and speech, where even human annotators don’t agree on the appropriate label. For big data applications, the common response has been: If the data is noisy, let’s just get a lot of data and the algorithm will average over it. But if you can develop tools that flag where the data’s inconsistent and give you a very targeted way to improve the consistency of the data, that turns out to be a more efficient way to get a high-performing system. </p><p class="pull-quote"> “Collecting more data often helps, but if you try to collect more data for everything, that can be a very expensive activity.”<br/> —Andrew Ng </p><p> For example, if you have 10,000 images where 30 images are of one class, and those 30 images are labeled inconsistently, one of the things we do is build tools to draw your attention to the subset of data that’s inconsistent. So you can very quickly relabel those images to be more consistent, and this leads to improvement in performance. </p><p> <strong>Could this focus on high-quality data help with bias in data sets? If you’re able to curate the data more before training?</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng:</strong> Very much so. Many researchers have pointed out that biased data is one factor among many leading to biased systems. There have been many thoughtful efforts to engineer the data. At the NeurIPS workshop, <a href="https://www.cs.princeton.edu/~olgarus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Olga Russakovsky</a> gave a really nice talk on this. At the main NeurIPS conference, I also really enjoyed <a href="https://neurips.cc/virtual/2021/invited-talk/22281" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mary Gray’s presentation,</a> which touched on how data-centric AI is one piece of the solution, but not the entire solution. New tools like <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/datasheets-for-datasets/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Datasheets for Datasets</a> also seem like an important piece of the puzzle. </p><p> One of the powerful tools that data-centric AI gives us is the ability to engineer a subset of the data. Imagine training a machine-learning system and finding that its performance is okay for most of the data set, but its performance is biased for just a subset of the data. If you try to change the whole neural network architecture to improve the performance on just that subset, it’s quite difficult. But if you can engineer a subset of the data you can address the problem in a much more targeted way. </p><p> <strong>When you talk about engineering the data, what do you mean exactly?</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng: </strong>In AI, data cleaning is important, but the way the data has been cleaned has often been in very manual ways. In computer vision, someone may visualize images through a <a href="https://jupyter.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jupyter notebook</a> and maybe spot the problem, and maybe fix it. But I’m excited about tools that allow you to have a very large data set, tools that draw your attention quickly and efficiently to the subset of data where, say, the labels are noisy. Or to quickly bring your attention to the one class among 100 classes where it would benefit you to collect more data. Collecting more data often helps, but if you try to collect more data for everything, that can be a very expensive activity. </p><p> For example, I once figured out that a speech-recognition system was performing poorly when there was car noise in the background. Knowing that allowed me to collect more data with car noise in the background, rather than trying to collect more data for everything, which would have been expensive and slow. </p><p> <a href="#top">Back to top</a> </p><p> <strong>What about using synthetic data, is that often a good solution?</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng: </strong>I think synthetic data is an important tool in the tool chest of data-centric AI. At the NeurIPS workshop, <a href="https://tensorlab.cms.caltech.edu/users/anima/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Anima Anandkumar</a> gave a great talk that touched on synthetic data. I think there are important uses of synthetic data that go beyond just being a preprocessing step for increasing the data set for a learning algorithm. I’d love to see more tools to let developers use synthetic data generation as part of the closed loop of iterative machine learning development. </p><p> <strong>Do you mean that synthetic data would allow you to try the model on more data sets?</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng: </strong>Not really. Here’s an example. Let’s say you’re trying to detect defects in a smartphone casing. There are many different types of defects on smartphones. It could be a scratch, a dent, pit marks, discoloration of the material, other types of blemishes. If you train the model and then find through error analysis that it’s doing well overall but it’s performing poorly on pit marks, then synthetic data generation allows you to address the problem in a more targeted way. You could generate more data just for the pit-mark category. </p><p class="pull-quote"> “In the consumer software Internet, we could train a handful of machine-learning models to serve a billion users. In manufacturing, you might have 10,000 manufacturers building 10,000 custom AI models.”<br/> —Andrew Ng </p><p> Synthetic data generation is a very powerful tool, but there are many simpler tools that I will often try first. Such as data augmentation, improving labeling consistency, or just asking a factory to collect more data. </p><p> <a href="#top">Back to top</a> </p><p> <strong>To make these issues more concrete, can you walk me through an example? When a company approaches <a href="https://landing.ai/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Landing AI</a> and says it has a problem with visual inspection, how do you onboard them and work toward deployment?</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng: </strong>When a customer approaches us we usually have a conversation about their inspection problem and look at a few images to verify that the problem is feasible with computer vision. Assuming it is, we ask them to upload the data to the <a href="https://landing.ai/platform/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LandingLens</a> platform. We often advise them on the methodology of data-centric AI and help them label the data. </p><p> One of the foci of Landing AI is to empower manufacturing companies to do the machine learning work themselves. A lot of our work is making sure the software is fast and easy to use. Through the iterative process of machine learning development, we advise customers on things like how to train models on the platform, when and how to improve the labeling of data so the performance of the model improves. Our training and software supports them all the way through deploying the trained model to an edge device in the factory. </p><p> <strong>How do you deal with changing needs? If products change or lighting conditions change in the factory, can the model keep up?</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng:</strong> It varies by manufacturer. There is data drift in many contexts. But there are some manufacturers that have been running the same manufacturing line for 20 years now with few changes, so they don’t expect changes in the next five years. Those stable environments make things easier. For other manufacturers, we provide tools to flag when there’s a significant data-drift issue. I find it really important to empower manufacturing customers to correct data, retrain, and update the model. Because if something changes and it’s 3 a.m. in the United States, I want them to be able to adapt their learning algorithm right away to maintain operations. </p><p> In the consumer software Internet, we could train a handful of machine-learning models to serve a billion users. In manufacturing, you might have 10,000 manufacturers building 10,000 custom AI models. The challenge is, how do you do that without Landing AI having to hire 10,000 machine learning specialists? </p><p> <strong>So you’re saying that to make it scale, you have to empower customers to do a lot of the training and other work.</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng: </strong>Yes, exactly! This is an industry-wide problem in AI, not just in manufacturing. Look at health care. Every hospital has its own slightly different format for electronic health records. How can every hospital train its own custom AI model? Expecting every hospital’s IT personnel to invent new neural-network architectures is unrealistic. The only way out of this dilemma is to build tools that empower the customers to build their own models by giving them tools to engineer the data and express their domain knowledge. That’s what Landing AI is executing in computer vision, and the field of AI needs other teams to execute this in other domains. </p><p> <strong>Is there anything else you think it’s important for people to understand about the work you’re doing or the data-centric AI movement?</strong> </p><p> <strong>Ng: </strong>In the last decade, the biggest shift in AI was a shift to deep learning. I think it’s quite possible that in this decade the biggest shift will be to data-centric AI. With the maturity of today’s neural network architectures, I think for a lot of the practical applications the bottleneck will be whether we can efficiently get the data we need to develop systems that work well. The data-centric AI movement has tremendous energy and momentum across the whole community. I hope more researchers and developers will jump in and work on it. </p><p> <a href="#top">Back to top</a> </p><p><em>This article appears in the April 2022 print issue as “Andrew Ng, AI Minimalist</em><em>.”</em></p>

Feb 8, 2022

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/layered-rendering-of-colorful-semiconductor-wafers-with-a-bright-white-light-sitting-on-one.jpg?id=29285079&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C156%2C0%2C156"/><br/><br/><p>The end of <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/on-beyond-moores-law-4-new-laws-of-computing" target="_self">Moore’s Law</a> is looming. Engineers and designers can do only so much to <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/ibm-introduces-the-worlds-first-2nm-node-chip" target="_self">miniaturize transistors</a> and <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/cerebras-giant-ai-chip-now-has-a-trillions-more-transistors" target="_self">pack as many of them as possible into chips</a>. So they’re turning to other approaches to chip design, incorporating technologies like AI into the process.</p><p>Samsung, for instance, is <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/processing-in-dram-accelerates-ai" target="_self">adding AI to its memory chips</a> to enable processing in memory, thereby saving energy and speeding up machine learning. Speaking of speed, Google’s TPU V4 AI chip has <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/heres-how-googles-tpu-v4-ai-chip-stacked-up-in-training-tests" target="_self">doubled its processing power</a> compared with that of its previous version.</p><p>But AI holds still more promise and potential for the semiconductor industry. To better understand how AI is set to revolutionize chip design, we spoke with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-gorr-phd" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Heather Gorr</a>, senior product manager for <a href="https://www.mathworks.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MathWorks</a>’ MATLAB platform.</p><p><strong>How is AI currently being used to design the next generation of chips?</strong></p><p><strong>Heather Gorr:</strong> AI is such an important technology because it’s involved in most parts of the cycle, including the design and manufacturing process. There’s a lot of important applications here, even in the general process engineering where we want to optimize things. I think defect detection is a big one at all phases of the process, especially in manufacturing. But even thinking ahead in the design process, [AI now plays a significant role] when you’re designing the light and the sensors and all the different components. There’s a lot of anomaly detection and fault mitigation that you really want to consider.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image rm-resized-container rm-resized-container-25 rm-float-left" data-rm-resized-container="25%" style="float: left;"> <img alt="Portrait of a woman with blonde-red hair smiling at the camera" class="rm-shortcode rm-resized-image" data-rm-shortcode-id="1f18a02ccaf51f5c766af2ebc4af18e1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="2dc00" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/portrait-of-a-woman-with-blonde-red-hair-smiling-at-the-camera.jpg?id=29288554&width=980" style="max-width: 100%"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." style="max-width: 100%;">Heather Gorr</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit..." style="max-width: 100%;">MathWorks</small></p><p>Then, thinking about the logistical modeling that you see in any industry, there is always planned downtime that you want to mitigate; but you also end up having unplanned downtime. So, looking back at that historical data of when you’ve had those moments where maybe it took a bit longer than expected to manufacture something, you can take a look at all of that data and use AI to try to identify the proximate cause or to see something that might jump out even in the processing and design phases. We think of AI oftentimes as a predictive tool, or as a robot doing something, but a lot of times you get a lot of insight from the data through AI.</p><p><strong>What are the benefits of using AI for chip design?</strong></p><p><strong>Gorr:</strong> Historically, we’ve seen a lot of physics-based modeling, which is a very intensive process. We want to do a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_order_reduction" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduced order model</a>, where instead of solving such a computationally expensive and extensive model, we can do something a little cheaper. You could create a surrogate model, so to speak, of that physics-based model, use the data, and then do your parameter sweeps, your optimizations, your <a href="https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/monte-carlo-simulation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Monte Carlo simulations</a> using the surrogate model. That takes a lot less time computationally than solving the physics-based equations directly. So, we’re seeing that benefit in many ways, including the efficiency and economy that are the results of iterating quickly on the experiments and the simulations that will really help in the design.</p><p><strong>So it’s like having a digital twin in a sense?</strong></p><p><strong>Gorr:</strong> Exactly. That’s pretty much what people are doing, where you have the physical system model and the experimental data. Then, in conjunction, you have this other model that you could tweak and tune and try different parameters and experiments that let sweep through all of those different situations and come up with a better design in the end.</p><p><strong>So, it’s going to be more efficient and, as you said, cheaper?</strong></p><p><strong>Gorr:</strong> Yeah, definitely. Especially in the experimentation and design phases, where you’re trying different things. That’s obviously going to yield dramatic cost savings if you’re actually manufacturing and producing [the chips]. You want to simulate, test, experiment as much as possible without making something using the actual process engineering.</p><p><strong>We’ve talked about the benefits. How about the drawbacks?</strong></p><p><strong>Gorr: </strong>The [AI-based experimental models] tend to not be as accurate as physics-based models. Of course, that’s why you do many simulations and parameter sweeps. But that’s also the benefit of having that digital twin, where you can keep that in mind—it’s not going to be as accurate as that precise model that we’ve developed over the years.</p><p>Both chip design and manufacturing are system intensive; you have to consider every little part. And that can be really challenging. It’s a case where you might have models to predict something and different parts of it, but you still need to bring it all together.</p><p>One of the other things to think about too is that you need the data to build the models. You have to incorporate data from all sorts of different sensors and different sorts of teams, and so that heightens the challenge.</p><p><strong>How can engineers use AI to better prepare and extract insights from hardware or sensor data?</strong></p><p><strong>Gorr: </strong>We always think about using AI to predict something or do some robot task, but you can use AI to come up with patterns and pick out things you might not have noticed before on your own. People will use AI when they have high-frequency data coming from many different sensors, and a lot of times it’s useful to explore the frequency domain and things like data synchronization or resampling. Those can be really challenging if you’re not sure where to start.</p><p>One of the things I would say is, use the tools that are available. There’s a vast community of people working on these things, and you can find lots of examples [of applications and techniques] on <a href="https://github.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GitHub</a> or <a href="https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MATLAB Central</a>, where people have shared nice examples, even little apps they’ve created. I think many of us are buried in data and just not sure what to do with it, so definitely take advantage of what’s already out there in the community. You can explore and see what makes sense to you, and bring in that balance of domain knowledge and the insight you get from the tools and AI.</p><p><strong>What should engineers and designers consider wh</strong><strong>en using AI for chip design?</strong></p><p><strong>Gorr:</strong> Think through what problems you’re trying to solve or what insights you might hope to find, and try to be clear about that. Consider all of the different components, and document and test each of those different parts. Consider all of the people involved, and explain and hand off in a way that is sensible for the whole team.</p><p><strong>How do you think AI will affect chip designers’ jobs?</strong></p><p><strong>Gorr:</strong> It’s going to free up a lot of human capital for more advanced tasks. We can use AI to reduce waste, to optimize the materials, to optimize the design, but then you still have that human involved whenever it comes to decision-making. I think it’s a great example of people and technology working hand in hand. It’s also an industry where all people involved—even on the manufacturing floor—need to have some level of understanding of what’s happening, so this is a great industry for advancing AI because of how we test things and how we think about them before we put them on the chip.</p><p><strong>How do you envision the future of AI and chip design?</strong></p><p><strong>Gorr</strong><strong>:</strong> It’s very much dependent on that human element—involving people in the process and having that interpretable model. We can do many things with the mathematical minutiae of modeling, but it comes down to how people are using it, how everybody in the process is understanding and applying it. Communication and involvement of people of all skill levels in the process are going to be really important. We’re going to see less of those superprecise predictions and more transparency of information, sharing, and that digital twin—not only using AI but also using our human knowledge and all of the work that many people have done over the years.</p>

Feb 7, 2022

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-golden-square-package-holds-a-small-processor-sitting-on-top-is-a-metal-square-with-mit-etched-into-it.jpg?id=29281587&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C156%2C0%2C156"/><br/><br/><p>Quantum computing is a devilishly complex technology, with many technical hurdles impacting its development. Of these challenges two critical issues stand out: miniaturization and qubit quality.</p><p>IBM has adopted the superconducting qubit road map of <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/ibms-envisons-the-road-to-quantum-computing-like-an-apollo-mission" target="_self">reaching a 1,121-qubit processor by 2023</a>, leading to the expectation that 1,000 qubits with today’s qubit form factor is feasible. However, current approaches will require very large chips (50 millimeters on a side, or larger) at the scale of small wafers, or the use of chiplets on multichip modules. While this approach will work, the aim is to attain a better path toward scalability.</p><p>Now researchers at <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-021-01187-w" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MIT have been able to both reduce the size of the qubits</a> and done so in a way that reduces the interference that occurs between neighboring qubits. The MIT researchers have increased the number of superconducting qubits that can be added onto a device by a factor of 100.</p><p>“We are addressing both qubit miniaturization and quality,” said <a href="https://equs.mit.edu/william-d-oliver/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">William Oliver</a>, the director for the <a href="https://cqe.mit.edu/" target="_blank">Center for Quantum Engineering</a> at MIT. “Unlike conventional transistor scaling, where only the number really matters, for qubits, large numbers are not sufficient, they must also be high-performance. Sacrificing performance for qubit number is not a useful trade in quantum computing. They must go hand in hand.”</p><p>The key to this big increase in qubit density and reduction of interference comes down to the use of two-dimensional materials, in particular the 2D insulator hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). The MIT researchers demonstrated that a few atomic monolayers of hBN can be stacked to form the insulator in the capacitors of a superconducting qubit.</p><p>Just like other capacitors, the capacitors in these superconducting circuits take the form of a sandwich in which an insulator material is sandwiched between two metal plates. The big difference for these capacitors is that the superconducting circuits can operate only at extremely low temperatures—less than 0.02 degrees above absolute zero (-273.15 °C).</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image rm-resized-container rm-resized-container-25 rm-float-left" data-rm-resized-container="25%" style="float: left;"> <img alt="Golden dilution refrigerator hanging vertically" class="rm-shortcode rm-resized-image" data-rm-shortcode-id="694399af8a1c345e51a695ff73909eda" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="6c615" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/golden-dilution-refrigerator-hanging-vertically.jpg?id=29281593&width=980" style="max-width: 100%"/> <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." style="max-width: 100%;">Superconducting qubits are measured at temperatures as low as 20 millikelvin in a dilution refrigerator.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit..." style="max-width: 100%;">Nathan Fiske/MIT</small></p><p>In that environment, insulating materials that are available for the job, such as PE-CVD silicon oxide or silicon nitride, have quite a few defects that are too lossy for quantum computing applications. To get around these material shortcomings, most superconducting circuits use what are called coplanar capacitors. In these capacitors, the plates are positioned laterally to one another, rather than on top of one another.</p><p>As a result, the intrinsic silicon substrate below the plates and to a smaller degree the vacuum above the plates serve as the capacitor dielectric. Intrinsic silicon is chemically pure and therefore has few defects, and the large size dilutes the electric field at the plate interfaces, all of which leads to a low-loss capacitor. The lateral size of each plate in this open-face design ends up being quite large (typically 100 by 100 micrometers) in order to achieve the required capacitance.</p><p>In an effort to move away from the large lateral configuration, the MIT researchers embarked on a search for an insulator that has very few defects and is compatible with superconducting capacitor plates.</p><p>“We chose to study hBN because it is the most widely used insulator in 2D material research due to its cleanliness and chemical inertness,” said colead author <a href="https://equs.mit.edu/joel-wang/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Joel Wang</a>, a research scientist in the Engineering Quantum Systems group of the MIT Research Laboratory for Electronics. </p><p>On either side of the hBN, the MIT researchers used the 2D superconducting material, niobium diselenide. One of the trickiest aspects of fabricating the capacitors was working with the niobium diselenide, which oxidizes in seconds when exposed to air, according to Wang. This necessitates that the assembly of the capacitor occur in a glove box filled with argon gas.</p><p>While this would seemingly complicate the scaling up of the production of these capacitors, Wang doesn’t regard this as a limiting factor.</p><p>“What determines the quality factor of the capacitor are the two interfaces between the two materials,” said Wang. “Once the sandwich is made, the two interfaces are “sealed” and we don’t see any noticeable degradation over time when exposed to the atmosphere.”</p><p>This lack of degradation is because around 90 percent of the electric field is contained within the sandwich structure, so the oxidation of the outer surface of the niobium diselenide does not play a significant role anymore. This ultimately makes the capacitor footprint much smaller, and it accounts for the reduction in cross talk between the neighboring qubits.</p><p>“The main challenge for scaling up the fabrication will be the wafer-scale growth of hBN and 2D superconductors like [niobium diselenide], and how one can do wafer-scale stacking of these films,” added Wang.</p><p>Wang believes that this research has shown 2D hBN to be a good insulator candidate for superconducting qubits. He says that the groundwork the MIT team has done will serve as a road map for using other hybrid 2D materials to build superconducting circuits.</p>

May 23, 2026

Firefox&#x27;s PDF viewer just got a feature that online tools have been charging for.

May 23, 2026

DB says it was not intentional, and the block seems to have been fixed.

May 22, 2026

More major vendors supporting LVFS is a good sign for the desktop Linux community.

May 21, 2026

The devs have also rolled out automatic multi-agent coordination and expanded self-hosting options.

May 21, 2026

Fedora no longer trusts on AI ... or so it seems for now.

May 21, 2026

Linux&#x27;s stable maintainer is betting on a new Rust type to address a class of bugs C has never been able to fully prevent.

May 20, 2026

After months of no responses and packages being left in disrepair, the FESCo has drawn a hard line.

May 20, 2026

The community build also drops its 20-connection limit and gets a lighter, simpler architecture.

May 19, 2026

The password manager swapped its CEO, rewrote its core values, and briefly pulled &quot;Always Free&quot; from its pricing page.

May 19, 2026

Azure Linux 4.0 is on the way, and its GitHub repo quietly confirms it&#x27;s built on Fedora.

May 19, 2026

Still in alpha, it brings keyboard-first system cleaning to servers, headless machines, and remote SSH sessions.

May 18, 2026

Sharing my home automation journey as I keep on exploring and troubleshooting.

May 18, 2026

The open source web-based project management platform adds email workflows, risk tracking, and AI-assisted translations in its latest release.

May 18, 2026

It works if you trust the AI agent that also took screenshots as proof.

May 16, 2026

Btw, it is lightweight, open source, and not built on Electron.

May 23, 2026

<div><img width="800" height="448" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-22-120600-e1779415831195.png?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-22-120600-e1779415831195.png 1250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-22-120600-e1779415831195.png?resize=250,140 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-22-120600-e1779415831195.png?resize=400,224 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-22-120600-e1779415831195.png?resize=800,448 800w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="1112101" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2026/05/22/the-maths-behind-a-chord-recognition-engine/screenshot-2026-05-22-120600/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-22-120600-e1779415831195.png" data-orig-size="1250,700" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="Screenshot 2026-05-22 120600" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-22-120600-e1779415831195.png?w=800" /></div>A key part of any tertiary musical education is learning about all the wonderful (and less wonderful) types of chords out there. Typically this involves a great deal of exercises <a href="https://hackaday.com/2026/05/22/the-maths-behind-a-chord-recognition-engine/" class="read-more">&#8230;read more</a>

May 22, 2026

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/siphon-generator-main.png?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/siphon-generator-main.png 1422w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/siphon-generator-main.png?resize=250,141 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/siphon-generator-main.png?resize=400,225 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/siphon-generator-main.png?resize=800,450 800w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="1112084" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2026/05/22/low-head-turbine-generates-plenty-of-power/siphon-generator-main-2/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/siphon-generator-main.png" data-orig-size="1422,800" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="siphon-generator-main" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/siphon-generator-main.png?w=800" /></div>Engineering design makes all kinds of tradeoffs. Power trades off with torque, strength trades off with weight, and cost can trade off with quality. For designing a hydroelectric turbine, one <a href="https://hackaday.com/2026/05/22/low-head-turbine-generates-plenty-of-power/" class="read-more">&#8230;read more</a>

May 22, 2026

<div><img width="800" height="523" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/new_chiller_controller_installed_the_blunt_oracle_reef2reef.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/new_chiller_controller_installed_the_blunt_oracle_reef2reef.jpg 1121w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/new_chiller_controller_installed_the_blunt_oracle_reef2reef.jpg?resize=250,163 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/new_chiller_controller_installed_the_blunt_oracle_reef2reef.jpg?resize=400,262 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/new_chiller_controller_installed_the_blunt_oracle_reef2reef.jpg?resize=800,523 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="1111856" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2026/05/22/improving-an-aquarium-chiller-with-an-industrial-controller-transplant/new_chiller_controller_installed_the_blunt_oracle_reef2reef/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/new_chiller_controller_installed_the_blunt_oracle_reef2reef.jpg" data-orig-size="1121,733" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="new_chiller_controller_installed_the_blunt_oracle_reef2reef" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/new_chiller_controller_installed_the_blunt_oracle_reef2reef.jpg?w=800" /></div>A healthy aquarium ecosystem requires very specific conditions, with factors like the salinity and temperature having to be just right to keep said ecosystem happy. As some species are adapted <a href="https://hackaday.com/2026/05/22/improving-an-aquarium-chiller-with-an-industrial-controller-transplant/" class="read-more">&#8230;read more</a>

May 22, 2026

<div><img width="800" height="451" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Making-A-Rubiks-Cube-From-Scratch-11-0-screenshot-e1779154166994.png?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Making-A-Rubiks-Cube-From-Scratch-11-0-screenshot-e1779154166994.png 1140w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Making-A-Rubiks-Cube-From-Scratch-11-0-screenshot-e1779154166994.png?resize=250,141 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Making-A-Rubiks-Cube-From-Scratch-11-0-screenshot-e1779154166994.png?resize=400,226 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Making-A-Rubiks-Cube-From-Scratch-11-0-screenshot-e1779154166994.png?resize=800,451 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="1111651" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2026/05/22/injection-molding-your-own-rubiks-cubes-takes-work/making-a-rubiks-cube-from-scratch-11-0-screenshot/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Making-A-Rubiks-Cube-From-Scratch-11-0-screenshot-e1779154166994.png" data-orig-size="1140,643" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="Making A Rubik&amp;#8217;s Cube From Scratch 11-0 screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Making-A-Rubiks-Cube-From-Scratch-11-0-screenshot-e1779154166994.png?w=800" /></div>If you just want to play with a Rubik&#8217;s Cube, you can simply buy one from a local toy store. If you want to build one, you could 3D print <a href="https://hackaday.com/2026/05/22/injection-molding-your-own-rubiks-cubes-takes-work/" class="read-more">&#8230;read more</a>

May 22, 2026

<div><img width="800" height="484" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/microphone.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/microphone.jpg 3000w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/microphone.jpg?resize=250,151 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/microphone.jpg?resize=400,242 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/microphone.jpg?resize=800,484 800w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/microphone.jpg?resize=1536,929 1536w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/microphone.jpg?resize=2048,1239 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="202654" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2016/05/02/blue-ribbon-microphone/microphone/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/microphone.jpg" data-orig-size="3000,1815" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="Microphone" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/microphone.jpg?w=800" /></div>With Elliot back from Hackaday Europe, he and Al Williams had a lot to talk about with two weeks of Hackaday posts to catch up on. Not to mention the <a href="https://hackaday.com/2026/05/22/hackaday-podcast-episode-370-softer-cyberdecks-a-simulated-clutch-and-an-overstuffed-mailbox/" class="read-more">&#8230;read more</a>

May 22, 2026

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/banana_pi_bpi-r4_internals_interfacing_linux.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/banana_pi_bpi-r4_internals_interfacing_linux.jpg 1920w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/banana_pi_bpi-r4_internals_interfacing_linux.jpg?resize=250,141 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/banana_pi_bpi-r4_internals_interfacing_linux.jpg?resize=400,225 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/banana_pi_bpi-r4_internals_interfacing_linux.jpg?resize=800,450 800w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/banana_pi_bpi-r4_internals_interfacing_linux.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="1111689" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2026/05/22/how-the-banana-pi-bpi-r4-pro-violates-the-first-rule-of-openwrt-club/banana_pi_bpi-r4_internals_interfacing_linux/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/banana_pi_bpi-r4_internals_interfacing_linux.jpg" data-orig-size="1920,1080" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="banana_pi_bpi-r4_internals_interfacing_linux" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/banana_pi_bpi-r4_internals_interfacing_linux.jpg?w=800" /></div>As fun as ARM and RISC-V single-board computers (SBCs) are, all too often getting the most out of the hardware requires the use of an unofficial firmware image. So too <a href="https://hackaday.com/2026/05/22/how-the-banana-pi-bpi-r4-pro-violates-the-first-rule-of-openwrt-club/" class="read-more">&#8230;read more</a>

May 22, 2026

<div><img width="800" height="484" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/darkarts.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/darkarts.jpg 800w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/darkarts.jpg?resize=250,151 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/darkarts.jpg?resize=400,242 400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="188080" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2016/01/26/the-dark-arts-meet-the-lulzsec-hackers/darkarts/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/darkarts.jpg" data-orig-size="800,484" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="DarkArts" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/darkarts.jpg?w=800" /></div>Google&#8217;s Project Zero demonstrates a new zero-click exploit for the Pixel 10 phones, showing a full escalation from remote to kernel without user interaction. During the investigation Project Zero found <a href="https://hackaday.com/2026/05/22/this-week-in-security-ai-generated-reports-more-ai-generated-reports-github-chaos-and-more-linux-vulnerabilities/" class="read-more">&#8230;read more</a>

May 22, 2026

<p>And see a vision of the past</p> <p>The post <a href="https://nautil.us/gaze-into-the-stunning-crystal-ball-nebula-1281222/">Gaze into the Stunning Crystal Ball Nebula</a> appeared first on <a href="https://nautil.us">Nautilus</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Leave it to The Woz to hit the right note with freshly minted graduates</p> <p>The post <a href="https://nautil.us/finally-a-commencement-speech-that-gets-ai-right-1281182/">Finally a Commencement Speech That Gets AI Right</a> appeared first on <a href="https://nautil.us">Nautilus</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>People with amygdala damage are shedding new light on why we trust or fear others</p> <p>The post <a href="https://nautil.us/how-your-brain-decides-what-matters-1281159/">How Your Brain Decides What Matters</a> appeared first on <a href="https://nautil.us">Nautilus</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Young scientists dream up a way to decipher the mind’s eye with EEG and AI</p> <p>The post <a href="https://nautil.us/using-brain-waves-to-translate-thoughts-into-pictures-1281151/">Using Brain Waves to Translate Thoughts into Pictures</a> appeared first on <a href="https://nautil.us">Nautilus</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>It’s mean, too</p> <p>The post <a href="https://nautil.us/theres-a-new-t-rex-in-town-and-it-swims-1281141/">There’s a New T. Rex in Town—and It Swims</a> appeared first on <a href="https://nautil.us">Nautilus</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Genomic adaptations power their extreme cold tolerance</p> <p>The post <a href="https://nautil.us/these-tiny-flies-survive-even-thrive-on-snow-1281133/">These Tiny Flies Survive, Even Thrive on Snow</a> appeared first on <a href="https://nautil.us">Nautilus</a>.</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>Urban planning wasn’t so different 4,000 years ago</p> <p>The post <a href="https://nautil.us/the-ancient-roots-of-sewer-socialism-1281129/">The Ancient Roots of “Sewer Socialism”</a> appeared first on <a href="https://nautil.us">Nautilus</a>.</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>Understanding the pathway could lead to better drugs and vaccines</p> <p>The post <a href="https://nautil.us/after-two-centuries-of-mystery-this-is-how-tobacco-plants-make-nicotine-1281114/">After Two Centuries of Mystery, This Is How Tobacco Plants Make Nicotine</a> appeared first on <a href="https://nautil.us">Nautilus</a>.</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>Here’s what the people making the robots think</p> <p>The post <a href="https://nautil.us/are-humanoid-robots-the-end-of-human-work-1281110/">Are Humanoid Robots the End of Human Work?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://nautil.us">Nautilus</a>.</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>An ocean floor feast that’s bottomless </p> <p>The post <a href="https://nautil.us/when-one-dead-whale-becomes-a-decades-long-buffet-1281102/">When One Dead Whale Becomes a Decades-Long Buffet</a> appeared first on <a href="https://nautil.us">Nautilus</a>.</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Friday's test flight marks a major milestone for SpaceX as the company gears up to go public and to participate in NASA's <i>Artemis III </i>mission in 2027</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>The trend of attorneys getting caught citing AI-hallucinated cases points to a broader problem: instead of checking AI&rsquo;s work, people keep trusting it</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>An astrophotographer teamed up with <i>Artemis II</i> commander Reid Wiseman to create these stunning new images of the lunar surface</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Scientists are working to solve a mystery of Earth&rsquo;s molten outer core, which lies more than 2,000 kilometers beneath our feet</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Bundibugyo virus is an uncommon species of Ebola-causing virus that has been linked to only two other known outbreaks</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Smart-panel start-up Span wants to turn spare household electricity into AI computing power. How far it can scale and what effect that would have on the residential grid remain unsettled</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>Our galaxy and its nearest large companion, Andromeda, may be headed for a collision on a cosmic scale. What happens then?</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>In an effort to reduce prices at the pump, an EPA wavier allows the sale of fuel with 15 percent ethanol content</p>

May 22, 2026

<p>How an experiment involving a made-up skin condition exposes the risks of increasingly popular AI medical advice</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>This launch, when it comes, will mark the 12th flight test of Starship and the first demonstration of its V3 design. A new attempt could come as soon as Friday</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>Constructed by ancient Egyptians, the Great Pyramid has survived multiple earthquakes through the ages&mdash;now researchers think they know why</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>These critters were carrying the Sin Nombre variant of hantavirus, which can be spread from rodents to humans but not from one person to another</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>An out-of-this-world weather report from NASA&rsquo;s James Webb Space Telescope reveals how clouds move across a giant planet hundreds of light-years from Earth</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>Experts question this study&rsquo;s design and its recommendations&mdash;and point out that you probably get more exercise than you think</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>Gold doesn&rsquo;t tarnish like similar metals do. A new paper says that the key is the intricate &ldquo;herringbone&rdquo; pattern of its atoms.</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>This year&rsquo;s expected El Ni&ntilde;o could hamper hurricanes in the Atlantic but boost them in the central and eastern Pacific</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>While drugs such as Wegovy target a single gut hormone, retatrutide is among a new class of GLP-1 drugs that aims at three hormone receptors</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>A chatbot&rsquo;s result for the 80-year-old &ldquo;unit distance&rdquo; conjecture is the first AI proof that would likely be published in math&rsquo;s top journal if humans had done it alone</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>This eerily simple math says our days are numbered&mdash;and nobody can agree why it&rsquo;s wrong</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>Friday&rsquo;s flight could be the most pivotal test of the Starship megarocket</p>

May 21, 2026

<p>The wobbly, lanky arachnids known as harvestmen or daddy longlegs may be overlooked as predators of small vertebrates such as frogs, researchers say</p>

May 20, 2026

<p>The science of de-extinction does not exist, but Colossal Biosciences&rsquo; &ldquo;artificial egg&rdquo; is an interesting technical feat</p>

May 20, 2026

<p>The Trump administration warned that too much screen time for children has been linked to poor sleep, bad behavior, and less physical and social activity</p>

May 20, 2026

<p>A deadly Ebola outbreak in parts of Africa is raising international alarm. Still, experts stress that the chance of a pandemic is low</p>

May 20, 2026

<p>New trove of fossils reveals that ancestral animals likely emerged in the deep sea</p>

May 20, 2026

<p>A decade after Ebola vaccines changed outbreak response, a new epidemic in central Africa is caused by a strain the world never fully prepared for</p>

May 20, 2026

<p>NASA&rsquo;s Psyche snapped images as it flew by Mars last week. The spacecraft used the planet&rsquo;s gravity to give itself a boost on its journey toward its target asteroid</p>

May 20, 2026

<p>Denver&rsquo;s hockey team is studded with stars, but training and playing the game some 5,000 feet above sea level may give their athletic performance a boost over that of their rivals</p>

May 20, 2026

<p>Nuclear power could enable long-term lunar missions, but NASA&rsquo;s timeline may be too ambitious</p>

May 20, 2026

<p>Some extinct human ancestors and modern-day apes appear to share wrist traits that raise the question of whether our last common ancestor walked on its knuckles</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>A Bermuda high parked over the western Atlantic is pulling sweltering air up from the south, challenging records in parts of the eastern U.S.</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>March was a scorching 9.35 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the 20th-century average for the month, capping the hottest 12-month stretch for the U.S. since records began in 1895</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>SpaceX is now targeting the evening of May 21 to launch the latest and largest version of its Starship megarocket for the first time</p>

May 19, 2026

<p><i>Scientific American</i> spoke to one of the people who are currently being monitored for possible hantavirus infection at the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>The sudden resolution of a well-known conjecture highlights the growing adoption of AI as an assistant in high-level mathematics</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>The new image shows the galaxy NGC 1266, a transitional object with a clutch of young stars that likely collided with a smaller galaxy 500 million years ago</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>Clinical trials for treatments against Ebola Bundibugyo virus are &lsquo;in a strong position&rsquo; to be launched quickly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>Fix the matchstick equation in this math puzzle</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>Mosaic depictions of a weapon-wielding female gladiator are the first physical evidence showing women in ancient Rome could be skilled beast hunters</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>To build its moon base, NASA needs a lot of power</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>Quantum computing could lead to revolutions in cryptography, materials design and telecommunications. But fulfilling those promises could be many years away</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>Sometimes science does make our world turn upside down</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>Here are six ways to build a quantum computer</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>A massive digitization project has nearly doubled the known extent of the first continent-scale road network</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>Will computers based on quantum physics really change the world?</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>Commercial satellites can now watch much of Earth in near-real time. Militaries are learning new ways to fool them</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>Letters to the editors for the February 2026 issue of <i>Scientific American</i></p>

May 19, 2026

<p>Ozempic and just getting older take off muscle. New therapies could retain it</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>This company says its pulsed plasma machine will deliver electricity to the grid by 2029. Some physicists warn that its promises are outrunning what the technology has proved</p>

May 19, 2026

<p>The intimidating legacy of the scariest problem in mathematics</p>