Over the last 20 or so years, contributing editor Robert N. “Bob” Charette has written about some of the thorniest issues facing the planet at large and engineers in particular. For IEEE Spectrum, he’s dug into software reliability and maintenance, the so-called STEM crisis, and the automation paradox, examining those complex topics through the eyes […]
Update 14 Oct. 2022: The “Kindle” of license plates—Reviver’s connected, digital RPlate—is now legal for use by any California car-owner, following a 10,000-car pilot that started in 2018. The California Motor Vehicle Digital Number Plates bill that California Governor Gavin Newsom signed this month authorizes digital replacements for conventional license plates, stickers, tabs, and registration […]
The founders of Steradian Semiconductors saw a technology gap in the marketplace and used their know-how to fill it. Before launching the fabless semiconductor startup in 2016, the founders were working at well-known technology companies designing chipsets for mass-market radio technologies including Bluetooth, GPS, LTE cellular, and wireless LAN. They discovered that radars could be […]
Electric vehicles are gaining in popularity around the world, especially with the high cost of fuel. But some of the current EV models aren’t a good fit for owners who can’t wait around for hours for their batteries to charge, such as taxi drivers, delivery people, and ride-hailing services. One startup trying to solve this […]
Adam Grosser wants to improve transportationof people, goods, and energy. That’s why the chairman and managing partner of the early-stage venture capital fund UP Partners is investing in several mobility projects. They include Beta Technologies’ electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) urban transportation aircraft, Quincus’s operating system for supply-chain and logistics providers, and Teleo’s teleoperation platform for mining, […]
Today, the phrase “big tech” typically resonates negatively. It conjures up disturbing aspects of social media and the rise of megacorporations that seem beyond the reach of the law. And yet decades ago, big tech was typically associated with the glamor of motion: of speed, of power, and the thrill of exploring new frontiers. Two […]
Advancing automated driving systems (ADS) technology found in autonomous vehicles can save lives and prevent injuries, reduce costs associated with car accidents, lessen traffic, and cut down on the environmental impact of vehicles. But to encourage consumer acceptance, developing industry-wide safety guidelines is key. That’s why the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) worked with the […]
Something strange is happening in the Ferrari SF90. With a silly-sounding 1,000 metric horsepower under my right foot, the SF90 should be sliding sideways through this devilish stretch of the Pista di Fiorano test track. Especially since I’m straining to keep pace with Raffaele de Simone just ahead, the Ferrari test driver who routinely sets […]
The heart of any electric motor consists of a rotor that revolves around a stationary part, called a stator. The stator, traditionally made of iron, tends to be heavy. Stator iron accounts for about two-thirds of the weight of a conventional motor. To lighten the stator, some people proposed making it out of a printed […]
“Lord how this world improves as we grow older,” reads the caption for a panel in the ” March of Intellect,” part of a series of colored etchings published between 1825 and 1829. The artist, William Heath (1794–1840), shows many futuristic contraptions, including a four-wheeled steam-powered horse called Velocity, a suspension bridge from Cape Town […]