spectrum.ieee.org

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 7.0/10 (1 vote cast)

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

How to Stay Ahead of AI as an Early-Career Engineer

25 December 2025 @ 5:00 pm

“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

The Top 8 Computing Stories of 2025

25 December 2025 @ 2:00 pm

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

Hermetic Sealing Solutions for High-Performance Miniaturized Battery Systems

24 December 2025 @ 5:55 pm

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.

IEEE’s Role in ABET Accreditation Explained

24 December 2025 @ 4:00 pm

There is a misconception among some that IEEE accredits engineering programs in the United States, but that is the responsibility of ABET.The global, nonprofit agency accredits academic programs leading to degrees in specific disciplines. It does not accredit the institution, school, college, department, facilities, courses, or faculty—only specific academic programs.IEEE and other professional organizations help evaluate programs for ABET, but they do not have the authority to accredit programs themselves.There are 34 organizations, including IEEE, that are ABET members and as

The Top 6 Robotics Stories of 2025

24 December 2025 @ 2:00 pm

Usually, I start off these annual highlights posts by saying that it was the best year ever for robotics. But this year, I’m not so sure. At the end of 2024, it really seemed like AI and humanoid robots were poised to make a transformative amount of progress towards some sort of practicality. While it’s certainly true that progress has been made, it’s hard to rationalize what’s actually happened in 2025 with the amount of money and hype that has suffused robotics over the course of the year. And for better or worse, humanoids are overshadowing everything else, raising questions about what will happen if the companies building them ultimately do not succeed.We’ll be going into 2026 with both o

Drones Compete to Spot and Extinguish Brushfires

24 December 2025 @ 1:00 pm

To the untrained eye, it did not look like a particularly complicated mission. A large black quadcopter drone, more than two meters spanning the propeller tips, sat parked on the grass. Nestled between the legs of its landing gear was a red balloon filled with water. Not far away, on a concrete pad, a stack of wood pallets was ablaze, the flames whipping around in a heavy wind. A student at the University of Maryland (UMD) would fly the Alta X drone all of about 25 meters to the fire. There it would drop the water balloon to

The Top 5 Transportation Stories for 2025

23 December 2025 @ 2:00 pm

IEEE Spectrum’s transportation coverage this year covered breakthroughs in electric vehicles, batteries, charging, automation, aviation, maritime tech and more. Readers followed the race to rebuild U.S. magnet manufacturing, rethink EV-charging architecture, and reinvent automotive software. They tracked China’s sprint toward five-minute charging, the rise of high-power home chargers, and the push to automate airports. Our most-read stories also explored next-generation navigation, zero-carbon shipping fuels, record-size electric v

Next-Level Quantum Computers Will Almost Be Useful

23 December 2025 @ 1:00 pm

SummaryQuantum computing aims for error correction by 2026, with Microsoft, Atom Computing, and QuEra leading efforts to deliver small, error-corrected machines.Neutral atoms offer maneuverability and parallelism, enabling error correction and a plausible path to scaling up.Industry perspectives vary on quantum progress, with IBM focusing on immediate use cases instead of rushing to error-correction.Challenges remain in speed and commercial viability, but advancements in error correction mark significant progress.The goal of the quantum-computing industry is to build a powerful, f

IEEE Summit Yields Better Equipped STEM Educators

22 December 2025 @ 7:00 pm

The annual IEEE STEM Summit, held this year on 23 and 24 October, brought together preuniversity educators, IEEE volunteers, and STEM enthusiasts to discuss ways to spark children’s interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.The free virtual summit attracted nearly 1,000 attendees from more than 100 countries. Participants engaged in keynote discussions, networking sessions, and presentations designed to address the most pressing challenges in STEM education. Speakers addressed building a sustainable future, as well as harnessing the power of artificial intelligence in classrooms.Why a STEM summit?The event was organized and hosted by the

The Top 7 Telecommunications Stories of 2025

22 December 2025 @ 2:00 pm

The telecom networks originally built to carry phone calls and packets of data are in the midst of a dramatic shift. The past year saw early steps toward networks becoming a more integrated data fabric that can measure the world, process and sense collaboratively, and even stretch into outer space.The following list of key IEEE Spectrum telecom news stories from 2025 underscore the evolution the connected (and wireless) world is today going through. A larger story is emerging, in other words, of how networks are turning into instruments and engines rather than just passive pipes.And if there’s a clear starting point to watch this shift happening, it’s in the early thinking around 6G.1.