In 1999 Bill Gates penned a moving tribute to the Wright brothers. He credited their winged invention as “the World Wide Web of that era,” one that shifted the world into a global perspective. So it’s only fitting that Microsoft later became the force behind Flight Simulator. And, like the Wrights’ original Flyer, the game’s […]
On 4 September 2018, someone known only as Rabono bought an angry cartoon cat named Dragon for 600 ether—an amount of Ethereum cryptocurrency worth about US $170,000 at the time, or $745,000 at the cryptocurrency’s value in July 2022. It was by far the highest transaction yet for a nonfungible token (NFT), the then-new concept […]
After having cardiovascular surgery, many patients require a temporary pacemaker to help stabilize their heart rate. The device consists of a pulse generator, one or more insulated wires, and an electrode at the end of each wire. The pulse generator—a metal case that contains electronic circuitry with a small computer and a battery—regulates the impulses […]
The race to build the metaverse is on—but first, developers need the tools to do it. Unreal Engine 5, released on 5 April, is among the leaders. Its creator, Epic Games, is best known for its megahit game Fortnite, but the company’s engine expertise has deep roots. The engine spun off from the 1998 shooter […]
You may have heard that Facebook is owned by a company that is no longer called Facebook but, instead, Meta (officially Meta Platforms). CEO Mark Zuckerberg detailed the name change in a CGI-laden presentation that spanned an hour and 17 minutes. The metaverse, he says, is what’s next for the Internet. “The next platform and […]
Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We’ll also be posting a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months; here’s what we have so far (send us your events!): ICRA 2022 – May 23-27, 2022 – Philadelphia, PA, USA As […]
Blockchain technology has the ability to change a number of industries. Although it is commonly referred to when speaking of cryptocurrencies, blockchain also can affect the supply chain, health care, the Internet of Things, and more. According to MarketsandMarkets, blockchain technology and services are estimated to reach US $67.4 billion by 2026. Already this year […]
This is a sponsored article brought to you by National Instruments (NI). While 5G networks continue their rollout around the world, researchers and engineers are already looking ahead to a new generation of mobile networks, dubbed 6G. One of the key elements for 6G networks will be to move beyond the millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum […]
Microsoft’s Windows 11 is awesome. It also abandons millions of users. The latest version of Microsoft’s 36-year-old operating system began its rollout on 5 October 2021. Some eligible devices may not receive it until mid-2022. Still, there’s a chance your PC will have the update by the time you read this. If you have a […]
This is a sponsored article brought to you by Exida. It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. Just over 20 years ago, two men who met on opposite sides of a product safety certification process ended up proving this maxim once again. Back in the late 1990s, Dr. William Goble, a development […]