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News and features about the latest technology, engineering, and science advances including electronics, computing, energy, biomedical, robotics and more.

Transforming Data Science With NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition

23 March 2026 @ 1:00 pm

This is a sponsored article brought to you by PNY Technologies.In today’s data-driven world, data scientists face mounting challenges in preparing, scaling, and processing massive datasets. Traditional CPU-based systems are no longer sufficient to meet the demands of modern AI and analytics workflows. NVIDIA RTX PROTM 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition offers a transformative solution, delivering accelerated computing per

Why Thermal Metrology Must Evolve for Next-Generation Semiconductors

23 March 2026 @ 10:00 am

An in-depth examination of how rising power density, 3D integration, and novel materials are outpacing legacy thermal measurement — and what advanced metrology must deliver.What Attendees will LearnWhy heat is now the dominant constraint on semiconductor scaling — Explore how heterogeneous integration, 3D stacking, and AI-driven power density have shifted the primary bottleneck from lithography to thermal management, with heat flux projections exceeding 1,000 W/cm² for next-generation accelerators.How extreme material properties are redefining thermal design requirements —Understand the measurement challenges posed by nanoscale thin films where bulk assumptions fail, engineered ultra-high-conductivity materials (diamond, BAs, BNNTs), and devices op

What Happens If AI Makes Things Too Easy for Us?

22 March 2026 @ 1:00 pm

Most people who regularly use AI tools would say they’re making their lives easier. The technology promises to streamline and take over tasks both professionally and personally—whether that’s summarizing documents, drafting deliverables, generating code, or even offering emotional support. But researchers are concerned AI is making some tasks too easy, and that this will come with unexpected costs.In a commentary titled Against Frictionless AI, published in Communications Psychology on 24 February, psychologists from the University of Toronto discuss what might be lost when A

Video Friday: Humanoid Learns Tennis Skills Playing Humans

21 March 2026 @ 4:30 pm

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, VIENNASummer School on Multi-Robot Systems: 29 July–4 August 2026, PRAGUEEnjoy today’s videos! Human athletes demonstrate versatile and h

AI Aims for Autonomous Wheelchair Navigation

20 March 2026 @ 6:49 pm

Wheelchair users with severe disabilities can often navigate tight spaces better than most robotic systems can. A wave of new smart-wheelchair research, including findings presented in Anaheim, Calif., earlier this month, is now testing whether AI-powered systems can, or should, fully close this gap.Christian Mandel—senior researcher at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Bremen, Germany—co-led a research team together with his colleague Serge A

IEEE Partners With Academia to Create Microcredential Programs

20 March 2026 @ 6:00 pm

The rapid ascent of artificial intelligence and semiconductor manufacturing has created a paradox: Industries are booming yet they face a critical shortage of skilled workers. Demand for data center technicians, fabrication facility workers, and similar positions is growing. There aren’t enough candidates with the right skill sets to fill the in-demand jobs.Although those technical roles are

Nigerian Firms Embrace Kit-Based EV Assembly for Cost Savings

19 March 2026 @ 2:45 pm

A growing number of Nigerian companies are turning to kit-based assembly to bring electric vehicles to market in Africa. Lagos-based Saglev Micromobility Nigeria recently partnered with Dongfeng Motor Corporation, in Wuhan, China, to assemble 18-seat electric passenger vans from imported kits.Kit-based assembly allows Nigerian firms to reduce costs, create jobs, and develop local technical expertise—key steps toward expanding EV access. Fully assembled and imported EVs face high tariffs that put them out of reach for many African consumers, whereas kit-based approaches make electric mobility more affordable

How Your Virtual Twin Could One Day Save Your Life

19 March 2026 @ 12:00 pm

One morning in May 2019, a cardiac surgeon stepped into the operating room at Boston Children’s Hospital more prepared than ever before to perform a high-risk procedure to rebuild a child’s heart. The surgeon was experienced, but he had an additional advantage: He had already performed the procedure on this child dozens of times—virtually. He knew exactly what to do before the first cut was made. Even more important, he knew which strategies would provide the best possible outcome for the child whose life was in his hands.How was this possible? Over the prior weeks, the hospital’s surgical and cardio-engineering teams had come together to build a fully functioning model of the child�

Overcoming Core Engineering Barriers in Humanoid Robotics Development

19 March 2026 @ 10:00 am

A technical examination of the sensing, motion control, power, and thermal challenges facing humanoid robotics engineers — with component-level design strategies for real-world deployment.What Attendees will LearnWhy motion control remains the hardest unsolved problem — Explore the modelling complexity, real-time feedback requirements, and sensor fusion demands of maintaining stable bipedal locomotion across dynamic environments.How sensing architectures enable perception and safety — Understand the role of inertial measurement units, force/torque feedback, and tactile sensing in achieving reliable human-robot interaction and collision avoidance.What power and thermal constraints mean for system design — Examine the trade-offs

ENIAC, the First General-Purpose Digital Computer, Turns 80

18 March 2026 @ 6:00 pm

Happy 80th anniversary, ENIAC! The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, the first large-scale, general-purpose, programmable electronic digital computer, helped shape our world.On 15 February 1946, ENIAC—developed in the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia—was publicly demonstrated for the first time. Althou