Tag: Science

The skies may have rained on this year’s big climate summit in Belém, Brazil, but engineers have invented plenty of exciting climate tech this year worth celebrating. Here are some of the year’s top IEEE Spectrum climate technology stories:1. Device Uses Wind to Create Ammonia Out of Thin Air

SummaryJoby Aviation is realizing Uber’s original “Elevate” dream, moving electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft from science fiction toward commercial reality.By 2026, Joby aims to inaugurate the world’s first integrated air taxi network—in Dubai—leveraging aggressive local infrastructure investment to bypass Western bureaucratic hurdles.The plan includes “vertiports” at strategic hubs like Dubai International Airport, creating the essential physical and digital ecosystem required for reliable point-to-point urban flight.While facing a cautious FAA in th

In 2025, many of IEEE Spectrum‘s top consumer electronics stories were about about creating the experience you want with technology. Open-source software offered more customization for laptops and displays, devices with less distracting design received recognition with a new certification, and smart glasses manufacturers forged paths to figure out what users really want in the wearable tech. Other stories highlighted the fascinating fundamental tech in our smartphones, like how your new iPhone stays cool and the potential for its camera to gather information beyond what the human eye can see. And we considered the effects of U.S. tariffs from the Trump administration.We�

SummaryIn data-center terms, scaling out involves linking computers, while scaling up packs more GPUs into a computer, challenging copper’s physical limits.Copper cables face a phenomenon at high data rates at high data rates that necessitate wider wires and more power, complicating a data center’s dense connections.Point2 and AttoTude propose radio-based cables, offering longer reach, lower power consumption, and narrower cables than copper, without the cost and complexity of optics.Startups aim to directly integrate radio cables with GPUs, easing cooling needs and enhancing data-center efficiency.

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion.ICRA 2026: 1–5 June 2026, VIENNAEnjoy today’s videos! Happy Holidays from Boston Dynamics!

Rarely a week went by in 2025 without some newsworthy development related to rare earth elements, magnets, and electric motors. IEEE Spectrum was on top of the big ones, starting with the production of industrial quantities of the rare-earth oxides of neodymium and praseodymium at the Mountain Pass mine and processing facilities in California’s Mojave desert.Between 1965 and the mid 1980s, the Mountain Pass mine produced as much as 70 percent of the world’s annual supply of rare earths, which are used in nearly all powerful permanent magnets. But following a string of reversals and environmental mishaps, the facil

“AI is not going to take your job. The person who uses AI is going to take your job.”This is an idea that has become a refrain for, among others, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has publicly made the prediction several times since October 2023. Meanwhile, other AI developers and stalwarts say the technology will eliminate countless entry-level jobs. These predictions have come at the same time as reports of layoffs at c

This year, AI continued looming large in the software world. But more than before, people are wrestling with both its amazing capabilities and its striking shortcomings. New research has found that AI agents are doubling the length of task they can do every seven months—an astounding rate of exponential growth. But the quality of their work still suffers, clocking in at about a 50 percent success rate on the hardest tasks. Chatbots are assisting coders and even coding autonomously, but this may not help solve the biggest and costliest IT failures, which stem from managerial failures that have remained constant for the past twenty years or more.AI’s energy demands continue to be a major concern. To try to alleviate the situation, a startup

In the early 2000s, mesh networks were on the verge of being everywhere and connecting everything. Daisy-chaining many devices like beads on a string would “accommodate hundreds or thousands of nodes” and provide “low, up-front cost, easy network maintenance, robustness, and reliable service coverage,” according to mesh-networking forecasts from 2004 and 2005, respectively.But it would take over two decades to get there. During that time, a range of mesh

Achieve reliable hermetic sealing for millimeter-scale microbatteries using dual-seal epoxy adhesive methods that maximize energy density while preventing electrolyte leakage and moisture ingress. What Attendees will Learn“Seal smart, not complex” -- Dual-seal approach combines epoxy adhesives with gaskets for optimal hermeticity.2mm breakthrough -- Successfully demonstrated microbatteries operating at 120°C with 22-hour continuous performance.Energy density maximized -- Surface-area-to-volume optimization maintains high Wh/L and Wh/kg ratios.Proven materials -- Epoxy adhesives with Kapton/neoprene gaskets deliver chemical resistance and low permeability.