ENGGtalks Newsroom

02 Aug 23

New Form of Silicon Targets Quantum Computing

Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Some of the most promising quantum computers have to date involved exotic materials and systems—including superconducting materials cooled to near-absolute zero and floating ions and atoms held in electric fields and laser traps. Yet familiar old silicon would be decidedly more scalable and convenient if only there were reliable ways…

02 Aug 23

Infrastructure investment to see supermarket trucks fuelled by hydrogen

Civil, Structural & Architecture, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Hydrogen is expected to become more popular in medium- to heavy-duty vehicles; unlike their electric counterparts, the refuelling process represents a similar time commitment and experience to existing petrol and diesel vehicles. Although the technology is vastly different, hydrogen refuelling stations can operate in a similar way to the status…

02 Aug 23

UK chipmaker Arm targets $60B-plus valuation for September IPO

Computer & Information Technology

British chip maker Arm is targeting an initial public offering (IPO) at a valuation of between $60bn and $70bn as early as September, amid surging demand for semiconductors for cloud computing, AI, and EV applications. The roadshow is scheduled to start the first week of September with pricing for the…

02 Aug 23

A new fund for women creating AI startups in Asia Pacific

Computer & Information Technology

The Google for Startups Women Founders Fund will provide equity-free funding and Google support to women-led AI startups in India, Japan and Korea.

02 Aug 23

Andrew Leland on Assistive Tech for the Blind

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Seeing his words on the printed page is a big deal to Andrew Leland—as it is to all writers. But the sight of his thoughts in written form is much more precious to him than to most scribes. Leland is gradually losing his vision due to a congenital condition called…

01 Aug 23

New DeepMind AI model can control robotic actions it was never trained to do

Computer & Information Technology

Google DeepMind has a new AI model that can direct robotic tasks it was never trained to perform. Named RT-2, the model learns from web and robotics data. It then turns this information into simple instructions for machines. In tests, the model was asked to take actions never seen in…

01 Aug 23

The Solar Cell Discovery Machine

Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

With the aid of crystals known as perovskites, solar cells are increasingly breaking records in how well they convert sunlight to electricity. Now a new automated system could make those records fall even faster. North Carolina State University’s RoboMapper can analyze how well perovskites might perform in solar cells, using…

01 Aug 23

Europe’s ‘dark universe’ telescope returns first images of deep space

Computer & Information Technology

Europe’s new space telescope Euclid has returned its first sparkling images of deep space, in a “tantalising glimpse” of what is to come. The images are not only mesmerising, but they also show that all the telescope’s instruments are running smoothly. This must come as a major relief to scientists…

01 Aug 23

AI-Assisted Pathology Ready For Mainstream

Computer & Information Technology

Laboratory scientists and clinical pathologists currently spend hours in darkened rooms analyzing and testing tissue and fluids of patients for evidence of disease. Unlike blood tests, which are performed using automated analyzers, pathology samples are subject to time-consuming manual microscopy. Digital pathology, which uses a computer-controlled microscope to scan and…

01 Aug 23

Can we regulate AI without stifling innovation? Here’s what experts think

Computer & Information Technology

Whether it’s excitement, confusion, apprehension, or outright pessimism, everyone feels something about AI. So it was no surprise that AI technology was one of the main talking points at The Next Web Conference 2023. In the wake of the EU Parliament’s decision to usher in the EU AI Act, the…