ENGGtalks Newsroom

24 Nov 23

Butterfly-Eyed Sensors Capture UV Images

Computer & Information Technology

The compound eyes of an insect are structurally very different from that of a human—almost a separate category of organ altogether from the more familiar ocular arrangement of lens, cornea, iris, and retina. For instance, Papillio xuthus, the Asian Swallowtail Butterfly, can see wavelengths of light in the ultraviolet spectrum,…

24 Nov 23

When it comes to startups, little Luxembourg packs a big punch

Computer & Information Technology

Sandwiched between Germany, France, and Belgium, the tiny country of Luxembourg is one of Europe’s smallest, but also its wealthiest — its residents enjoy the second-highest per capita income in the world. Key to this success is its thriving financial services sector which has helped draw several big names to…

24 Nov 23

He quit a GenAI leader in protest. Now he wants to create fairer systems for artists

Computer & Information Technology

Ed Newton-Rex had reached a breaking point. As the vice president of audio at Stability AI, the 36-year-old was at the vanguard of a revolution in computational creativity. But there was growing unease about the movement’s strategy. Stability was becoming an emerging powerhouse in generative AI. The London-based startup owns…

23 Nov 23

This robotic digger could construct the buildings of the future

Computer & Information Technology

Construction is a tough job, and in Europe there is a chronic shortage of workers to build the homes, schools, and roads we use every single day. So why not get a robot to do the hard work so we don’t have to? That’s exactly what researchers at ETH Zurich’s…

23 Nov 23

AI Sharpens Rainfall Estimates from Satellites

Aerospace & Aeronautical

This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore. Weather satellites can track every movement of a storm from orbit. However, the algorithms that analyze satellite readings currently don’t estimate precipitation levels as well as the algorithms that have been fed ground-based radar…

23 Nov 23

It’s time to tackle our growing digital carbon footprint

Computer & Information Technology

As the minutes ticked by, the paper-dunking sound of files hitting the digital bin became oddly satisfying. As I hunted through the dusty corners of my laptop looking for unneeded documents, duplicate photos, and, the ultimate treasure, an old video file, I got a rush seeing the storage space bar…

23 Nov 23

How Google’s data centers help Europe meet its sustainability goals

Computer & Information Technology

This fall, Google put on a Data Center Sustainability Tour, visiting our local neighbors, students, academia, startups and entrepreneurs in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, G…

22 Nov 23

How Google’s accelerators help startups and developers grow

Computer & Information Technology

For the first time, we’re sharing the growth accelerator alumni have experienced with the inaugural Accelerator Impact Report.

22 Nov 23

UK’s quantum plans could ‘unlock billions — and a geopolitical advantage’

Computer & Information Technology

The UK’s new quantum computing missions have been praised as “visionary” and “exciting” plans that can reap financial and geopolitical benefits. The five long-term moonshots were launched today by the British government. The first aims to build quantum computers that can run 1 trillion operations by 2035. Another with a…

22 Nov 23

What to Do When the Ghost in the Machine Is You

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Limor Fried is the founder of Adafruit, a leading electronics manufacturer for makers. The open-source microcontroller driver libraries she writes to interface with devices such as sensors and displays often become de facto standards and are found in many code repositories. Recently, Fried began experimenting with ChatGPT to generate drivers…