Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation

Unitree Demos New $16k Robot

August 30, 2024
Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

At ICRA 2024, Spectrum editor Evan Ackerman sat down with Unitree founder and CEO Xingxing Wang and Tony Yang, VP of Business Development, to talk about the company’s newest humanoid, the G1 model. Smaller, more flexible, and elegant, the G1 robot is designed for general use in service and industry,…

August 30, 2024
Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

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@40: 23–26 September 2024, ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDSIROS 2024: 14–18 October 2024, ABU…

August 29, 2024
Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

In the 1960s and 1970s, NASA spent a lot of time thinking about whether toroidal (donut-shaped) fuel tanks were the way to go with its spacecraft. Toroidal tanks have a bunch of potential advantages over conventional spherical fuel tanks. For example, you can fit nearly 40% more volume within a…

August 28, 2024
Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation

Thirty-five years ago, a misguided AIDS activist developed a piece of malware that encrypted a computer’s filenames—and asked for US $189 to obtain the key that unlocked an afflicted system. This “AIDS Trojan” holds the dubious distinction of being the world’s first piece of ransomware. In the intervening decades the…

August 27, 2024
Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation

China launched its first batch of satellites for its Qianfan megaconstellation earlier this month. It now has 18 satellites in orbit, but much more will be needed to build out this network of nearly 14,000 satellites.Qianfan—”thousands sails” in Chinese and also referred to as Spacesail or G60—is a project run…

August 27, 2024
Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation

Communicating through water is hard. The physics of the medium means it’s usually more difficult to communicate with submarines and sensors in the ocean than it is to send a signal to the moon’s Sea of Tranquility.Most underwater communication is thus sent with sound waves. Acoustic signals, while slower than…

August 27, 2024
Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation

Citizen science, where volunteers with or without scientific training contribute to science-based projects, energizes thousands of ongoing operations world-wide. Volunteers might report bird sightings to track biodiversity or use their personal computers to help classify galaxies. Few of these efforts are directly related to emergency situations. But the Safecast citizen…

26 Aug 24

Testing Power Amplifiers Application Note

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Metallurgy & Material Science

Power amplifiers, whether designed for high-powered venues, personal headphone use, or integrated chips in handheld devices, pose unique testing challenges due to their need to deliver significant current and voltage to loads. This paper discusses the specific considerations required to achieve meaningful test results, including the limitations of power supply…

August 26, 2024
Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation

Few devices are as crucial to people’s everyday lives as their household appliances. Electrical engineer Erika Cruz says it’s her mission to make sure they operate smoothly. Cruz helps design washing machines and dryers for Whirlpool, the multinational appliance manufacturer. Erika Cruz Employer: Whirlpool Occupation: Associate electrical engineer Education:Bachelor’s degree…

August 26, 2024
Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Metallurgy & Material Science

Dramatically more sensitive motion sensors could help ships keep track of their positions at sea, even in rough weather or when a military opponent jams GPS signals. However, these advanced sensors are typically lab-scale in size. Now researchers have developed a new laser system to help make these sensors fit…

Unitree Demos New $16k Robot

Video Friday: Robots Solving Table Tennis

Robot Metalsmiths Are Resurrecting Toroidal Tanks for NASA

Ransomware-as-a-Service Is Changing Extortion Efforts

Can China Challenge SpaceX’s Starlink?

A New Wave of Underwater Comms Is Coming

Citizen Scientists Track Radiation in Ukraine’s War Zones

Testing Power Amplifiers Application Note

Erika Cruz Keeps Whirlpool’s Machines Spinning

New Laser Could Cram GPS Alternative Into a Shoebox

Google won two major awards at MWC Barcelona 2025.

Expanding AI Overviews and introducing AI Mode

This MRI Can Run on Batteries

The Tiny Star Explosions Powering Moore’s Law