Monday, December 23, 2024

The Top 10 Climate Tech Stories of 2024




In 2024, technologies to combat climate change soared above the clouds in electricity-generating kites, traveled the oceans sequestering carbon, and permeated the earth to power agritech in a new way. If these don’t ring a bell, fret not! We’ve gathered our top 10 climate tech stories of the past year here for you to explore.

Climate tech is a rapidly advancing interdisciplinary field—we here at IEEE Spectrum are excited to see what stories about these technologies we’ll be writing about for you in 2025.

1. How to EMP-Proof a Building

A photo of a smiling woman with an image of the sun behind her. Stuart Bradford

Those breathtaking views of the aurora borealis this year were a harbinger of dangerous electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) from solar storms. EMPs can destroy electronic systems and overload power grids, causing blackouts. They aren’t just generated by solar activity; human attackers could also generate EMPs, for example by detonating a nuclear weapon high in the atmosphere. Fortunately, researchers like Yilu Liu, who’s at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, are working on the problem. In a Q&A with IEEE SpectrumIEEE Spectrum, she explains the dangers of EMPs and how her lab is working on designing buildings that protect sensitive equipment inside.

2. Flying Kites Deliver Container-Size Power Generation

A large blue shipping container with a string attached to a floating device, and a car being charged from the container Kitepower

In remote or inaccessible locations, where a wind turbine just isn’t feasible, there is a new option for renewable energy generation: Kites. Kitepower, based in the Netherlands, is working to implement an electricity-generating kite system, called the Hawk. As the wind pulls on their kites’ ground tether, it generates a force that is converted into electrical power. The 60-square-meter kites can fly as high as 350 meters (over twice the height of a wind turbine) to catch stronger and steadier winds. The kites come with a 400-kilowatt-hour battery, and the entire system fits into a standard shipping container. Kitepower hopes to send the Hawk to remote communities that currently rely on diesel generators, providing them with a cleaner source of power that takes up much less space than a wind turbine.

3. Heat Pumps Take on Cold Climates

a warehouse room covered in ice Trane Technologies

Historically, heat pumps have struggled to function in the cold, with most operating at a reduced capacity around 4 °C, and failing at about -15 °C. But now, with improvements in their compressors, heat-pump manufacturers say they have the technology to heat homes just as efficiently in bitter cold as they do in milder winter temperatures. Heat pumps work by moving and compressing fluids that have a very low boiling point. The compressor is the element that increases the fluid-turned-vapors’ temperature and pressure, so improvements in the compressor’s motor speed and timing of injecting more vapor have made heat pumps more efficient in colder temperatures. The U.S. Department of Energy in partnership with Natural Resources Canada is hosting the Cold-Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge, where eight heap pump manufacturers are testing their heat pumps, with a goal of performing at maximum capacity—even at -15 °C.

4. Agricultural IoT System Sends Power Through the Soil

An agricultural field with tech set up Tennessee Tech University

Smart agriculture IoT devices help farmers understand the big picture idea of what is going on all over their land by measuring GPS coordinates, moisture levels, temperatures, acidity, nutrients, and more. The problem is supplying enough power to those scattered sensors. But what if we used something that already connects all of the devices? That’s right—the soil. Researchers at Tennessee Technological University designed a method of transmitting power through the ground. The researchers’ 2-acre test network transmitted power at 60 hertz, expending only 0.1 kilowatt-hour per day. If they had paid retail rates for that power, it would have cost them just over a penny a day.

5. Ebb Carbon Plans Ocean Geoengineering Plant

overhead view of map of a shoreline with different colored lines and different colored boxes Ebb Carbon

Ebb Carbon is a California-based startup poised to start removing hundreds of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air. Their carbon dioxide removal plant in Port Angeles, Washington, called Project Macoma, will use an electrochemical process to split seawater into acidic and basic portions. The acidic stream will be neutralized or shipped out, and the basic stream will be released into the ocean. There, it will mix with carbon dioxide to create bicarbonate, a stable way to store carbon. As the project captures and stores CO2 from the ocean, the ocean would be able to draw more CO2 from the air. Although many ocean scientists are skeptical of marine geoengineering projects like this one, The U.S. Department of Energy has developed a US $100 million Carbon Shot program that will fund carbon dioxide removal and storage, including in ocean reservoirs.

6. A Clean, Green Way to Recycle Solar Panels

Three piles of material, a junction box with wires, and a piece of a metal frame on a blue solar panel. Luigi Avantaggiato

Millions of tonnes of solar panels will reach the end of their lives in 2025. They contain silicon, silver, and copper—materials that are very valuable but hard to extract from the hardware. The best current processes for solar panel recycling can recover 90 percent of these metals, but they are expensive and often use toxic chemicals. Startup 9-Tech has a recycling process that recovers up to 90 percent of the materials without using toxic chemicals or releasing pollutants into the environment. Workers at 9-Tech’s pilot factory manually remove the aluminum frame, junction box, and tempered glass from the solar panels. Then the remaining materials are fed into a furnace at 400 °C, and emerging pollutants are captured with a filter. A series of sieves separates the glass and silicon, then the silicon is sent to an acid bath where ultrasonic waves split it from its attached silver. The process is expensive, but the materials recovered are high quality, which should help to offset the cost, says the startup founders.

7. Powering Planes With Microwaves Is Not the Craziest Idea

An illustration of a plane with an array of red lines meeting it McKibillo

If we want to fully decarbonize the aviation industry, we’re going to have to think outside of the box. Ian McKay presents a possible future where we use stadium-sized microwave arrays to beam up power to antennae on airplanes. These microwaves could pass through clouds and not harm passengers, though they would heat up the air considerably, possibly damaging nearby birds. Though nothing like this has ever been attempted, technological improvements suggest this may be possible, including a CalTech startup that intends to use phased arrays to beam solar power from satellites to Earth. Even with huge technological barriers and possible regulatory issues, this thought experiment is worth considering, because less-fanciful options for decarbonizing aviation have their own problems.

8. Climeworks Captures Double the CO2 for Half the Energy

A rendering of Climeworks new direct-air capture technology. Climeworks

Climeworks, a Zurich-based company, says its new direct-air capture (DAC) technology will remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide by the end of the decade. Their latest facility will eventually pull 36,000 tonnes of CO2 out of the air each year. Their new DAC technology relies on a new sorbent (the material that absorbs CO2) with a geometry that has been modified to expose more surface area to the air, capturing twice as much CO2. The new design will modify their collector units’ structure from three-tiered racks to a cube-like design, with four walls of collectors surrounding a central shaft. These will be used in the Project Cypress DAC Hub, a project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to create the first one-million-tonne carbon dioxide removal hub in the United States.

9. Femtosecond Lasers Solve Solar Panels’ Recycling Issue

A technical illustration shows a femtosecond laser represented by a red light moving over a horizontal bars spanning a solar panel. Alfred Hicks/NREL

Solar panels are built to last. In order to withstand harsh weather, changing temperatures, and the wear and tear of decades of use, they need a tight seal on their photovoltaic materials. Most manufacturers create this seal by adding sticky polymer layers between the glass panes. But these polymers become incredibly difficult to remove at the end of a solar panel’s life. Researchers at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab have found a way to meld the glass without a polymer, melting it together with femtosecond lasers. This intense beam of photons changes the optical absorption of the glass, generating a small plasma of ionized glass atoms which melt the glass sheets together. This new method creates solar panels that last longer and are easier to recycle.

10. Cool(ing) Ideas for Tropical Data Centers

front facade of a building with white and blue stripes on it and text on top STDCT at NUS

Data centers are energy guzzlers, especially in warmer climates. But researchers in Singapore are now testing ways to cool them sustainably. A collaboration of over 20 tech companies, universities, and government agencies are working together on the Sustainable Tropical Data Centre Testbed. They are testing a new StatePoint Liquid Cooling system, where a hydrophobic microporous membrane creates a liquid-to-air heat exchanger that chills water. This system is more effective in hot and humid environments as it produces cold water instead of cold air. The researchers will also test a prototype desiccant-coated heat and mass exchanger, coated in a desiccant material that absorbs water vapor from the air passing over it, drying out the air to dehumidify the data center. In the future, they hope to bring these energy-saving technologies to tropical data centers all over the globe.
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Health care giant Ascension says 5.6 million patients affected in cyberattack


Health care company Ascension lost sensitive data for nearly 5.6 million individuals in a cyberattack that was attributed to a notorious ransomware gang, according to documents filed with the attorney general of Maine.

Ascension owns 140 hospitals and scores of assisted living facilities. In May, the organization was hit with an attack that caused mass disruptions as staff was forced to move to manual processes that caused errors, delayed or lost lab results, and diversions of ambulances to other hospitals. Ascension managed to restore most services by mid-June. At the time, the company said the attackers had stolen protected health information and personally identifiable information for an undisclosed number of people.

Investigation concluded

A filing Ascension made earlier in December revealed that nearly 5.6 million people were affected by the breach. Data stolen depended on the particular person but included individuals' names and medical information (e.g., medical record numbers, dates of service, types of lab tests, or procedure codes), payment information (e.g., credit card information or bank account numbers), insurance information (e.g., Medicaid/Medicare ID, policy number, or insurance claim), government
identification (e.g., Social Security numbers, tax identification numbers, driver’s license numbers, or passport numbers), and other personal information (such as date of birth or address).

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Sunday, December 22, 2024

The Top 10 Biomedical Stories of 2024




In 2024, biomedical technology really got to our heads—or more specifically, our eyes and brains. Some of Spectrum’s most popular articles this year were about technology assisting our vision, with stories of retinal implants and smart contact lenses drawing your eye. You dug deep into non-invasive tech to hasten sleep and preserve brain function for people with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as an imaging probe to aid highly invasive brain surgeries.

But it wasn’t all in our heads. This year, you also read about assistive exosuits and low-cost MRI machines, as well as a DNA data drive promising a new way to save vast amounts of information.

As we wait to see how new technology will augment our senses or improve our health in 2025, take a minute to look back at the past year’s biggest stories. Read on to see Spectrum’s top biomedical articles of 2024.

1. Exosuit Muscle Control Steps Closer to Reality

Two people work on a skull with a device attached to it. Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering

Assistive frames called exosuits can help people in physical therapy and rehabilitation move their body. The devices work by moving a user’s muscles via electrical pulses, but that stimulation can quickly tire out the user. Researchers in South Korea and Switzerland are offering a potential solution: an electrostatic clutch system. In the system, sleeves are placed around joints and normally flexible, but can rapidly stiffen to support the body between movements without additional stimulation. The technology, called “Synapsuit,” is being prototyped by the Korea Electronics Technology Institute.

2. Bionic Eye Gets a New Lease on Life

A photograph of a retina with blood vessels. A yellow patch is located close to the center of the retina. Pixium

In 2022, contributor Mark Harris detailed how blind users of a retinal implant made by California biotech company Second Sight were left with unsupported devices when the manufacturer went out of business. That story came close to repeating when French biotech company Pixium Vision ran out of money in November 2023—until, that is, impressive trial data arrived earlier this year, and the company was acquired by Science, a startup run by one of Neuralink’s cofounders.

3. Noise Cancellation for Your Brain

woman sleeping in bed with black headband looking wearable on her forehead Elemind

Startup Elemind’s $349 headband promises to get you to sleep faster. The company’s first product, which began preorders this year, tracks brain waves with electrocephalography (EEG) sensors, then tweaks them with sound waves delivered via bone conduction. Spectrum’s esteemed former editor Tekla Perry briefly tested out the headband, though in less-than-ideal conditions. “It wasn’t the time or place to try for sound sleep, but I—and the others in the room—noted that after 2 minutes I was yawning like crazy.”

4. Neuralink’s Blindsight Device is Likely to Disappoint

A pixelated illustration of an eye. The Neuralink logo is in the center. Getty Images

Elon Musk has made bold claims about the coming capabilities of Neuralink Blindsight, his company’s visual prosthesis aiming to restore vision in people who have lost sight in both eyes. The device was designated a breakthrough device by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September—but experts told Spectrum it likely won’t live up to Musk’s hype.

5. Apps Put a Psychiatrist in Your Pocket

Illustration of a person holding a phone, with many bubbles floating around them. Greg Mably

For people with mental health conditions like bipolar disorder, it’s important to keep an eye on their mood. Smartphone apps may be able to do just that, providing objective insight about our inner state from data collected without any user input. Unlike traditional mood-tracking apps and logs, these apps quietly gather data in the background about a user’s behavior. But, while promising, they face challenges, including privacy concerns and a need for rigorous clinical validation.

6. “Snake-like” Probe Images Arteries from Within

Three medical staffers stand in front of monitors showing imaging that is very clear and crisp. St. Michael’s Foundation

When treating aneurysms and strokes, neurosurgeons typically have to make do with blurry images. But that may soon change, thanks to a new fiber-optic imaging probe. The probe winds through the maze of brain arteries, capturing high-resolution images of the brain to guide surgeons. “Whereas before … clinicians had a satellite-like view of the brain’s vasculature network, now they have a Google Street View-like perspective,” writes contributor Elie Dolgin. The probe has been tested in clinical trials at two hospitals in Toronto and Buenos Aires, and a startup is aiming to bring the technology to market.

7. MRI Sheds Its Shielding and Superconducting Magnets

A series of MRI brain scans Getty Images

Current MRI scanners are expensive and require powerful magnets and a lot of energy to power. With the machines typically only found in specialized hospital centers, MRIs are inaccessible for more than two-thirds of the global population. But a new, simplified full-body MRI scanner works at a fraction of the cost and 1,800 watts, compared to 25 kilowatts or more. The machine uses AI to match the image quality of traditional MRI scanners with much less powerful magnets.

8. Sensory Stimulation Detoxifies the Alzheimer’s Brain

A colored microscope image of an animal brain with many dots lit within. Tsai Laboratory/MIT Picower Institute

Early clinical trials are beginning to show evidence that stimulating the brain at certain frequencies could benefit people living with Alzheimer’s disease. According to a team of researchers at MIT, sound and light oscillations at 40-hertz active a neural-cleansing process that helps remove beta-amyloid, the protein that clumps together in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s. The non-invasive therapy is currently being tested in randomized trials, and research will likely continue for the next few years, though some companies are already offering “wellness” products that deliver gamma frequency light or sound stimulation.

9. The Quest for a DNA Data Drive

An illustration of intersecting bands of red and blue with rows of emojis in between. Edmon de Haro

Our data is piling up quickly. In fact, it’s growing faster than our storage capability will be able to handle in just a few years. That’s why some organizations are taking steps toward building a DNA drive to store the deluge of data, in place of magnetic tape and disk drives. With each DNA base (A, T, G, and C) acting as a bit, DNA offers much better storage density; according to one estimate, all 120 zettabytes of information on the Internet could be stored in a volume of DNA the size of a sugar cube. Now, researchers seek ways to efficiently read and write large volumes of DNA data.

10. Blink to Generate Power for Smart Contact Lenses

A fake eye with an eyelid and metal objects ringing the iris. Erfan Pourshaban

Smart contact lenses could have various consumer and medical uses—measuring glucose levels, delivering medication for ocular disease, or even acting as a display for augmented reality. But how do you power a device sitting on one of the most sensitive parts of the human body? Researchers at the University of Utah created a hybrid energy-generation unit that draws energy from light and tears: While the eyes are open, tiny, flexible solar cells made from silicon capture light from the sun and artificial sources. Then, literally in the blink of an eye, a second system acts like a metal-air battery, with electrolytes in tears serving as a biofuel. The combination allows for continuous power generation and supplies enough energy for smart contacts.

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Friday, December 20, 2024

Video Friday: Happy Holidays!




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 2025: 19–23 May 2025, ATLANTA, GA

Enjoy today’s videos!

At the FZI, it’s not just work for our robots, they join our festivities, too. Our shy robot Spot stumbled into this year’s FZI Winter Market …, a cheerful event for robots and humans alike. Will he find his place? We certainly hope so, because Feuerzangenbowle tastes much better after clinking glasses with your hot-oil-drinking friends.

[ FZI ]

Thanks, Georg!

The Fraunhofer IOSB Autonomous Robotic Systems Research Group wishes you a Merry Christmas filled with joy, peace, and robotic wonders!

[ Fraunhofer IOSB ]

Thanks, Janko!

There’s some thrilling action in this Christmas video from the PUT Mobile Robotics Laboratory, and the trick to put the lights on the tree is particularly clever. Enjoy!

[ PUT MRL ]

Thanks, Dominik!

The Norlab wishes you a Merry Christmas!

[ Northern Robotics Laboratory ]

The Learning Systems and Robotics Lab has made a couple of robot holiday videos based on the research that they’re doing:

[ Crowd Navigation ]


[ Learning with Contacts ]

Thanks, Sepehr!

Robots on a gift mission: Christmas greetings from the DFKI Robotics Innovation Center!

[ DFKI ]

Happy Holidays from Clearpath Robotics! Our workshop has been bustling lately with lots of exciting projects and integrations just in time for the holidays! The TurtleBot 4 elves helped load up the sleigh with plenty of presents to go around. Rudolph the Husky A300 made the trek through the snow so our Ridgeback friend with a manipulator arm and gripper could receive its gift.

[ Clearpath Robotics ]

2024 has been an eventful year for us at PAL Robotics, filled with milestones and memories. As the festive season approaches, we want to take a moment to say a heartfelt THANK YOU for being part of our journey!

[ PAL Robotics ]

Thanks, RugilÄ—!

In Santa’s shop, so bright and neat, A robot marched on metal feet. With tinsel arms and bolts so tight, It trimmed the tree all through the night. It hummed a carol, beeped with cheer, “Processing joy—it’s Christmas here!” But when it tried to dance with grace, It tangled lights around its face. “Error detected!” it spun around, Then tripped and tumbled to the ground. The elves all laughed, “You’ve done your part—A clumsy bot, but with a heart!” The ArtiMinds team would like to thank all partners and customers for an exciting 2024. We wish you and your families a Merry Christmas, joyful holidays and a Happy New Year - stay healthy.

[ ArtiMinds ]

Thanks to FANUC CRX collaborative robots, Santa and his elves can enjoy the holiday season knowing the work is getting done for the big night.

[ FANUC ]

Perhaps not technically a holiday video, until you consider how all that stuff you ordered online is actually getting to you.

[ Agility Robotics ]

Happy Holidays from Quanser, our best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a happy 2025!

[ Quanser ]

Season’s Greetings from the team at Kawasaki Robotics USA! This season, we’re building blocks of memories filled with endless joy, and assembling our good wishes for a happy, healthy, prosperous new year. May the upcoming year be filled with opportunities and successes. From our team to yours, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season surrounded by loved ones and filled with joy and laughter.

[ Kawasaki Robotics ]

The robotics students at Queen’s University’s Ingenuity Labs Research Institute put together a 4K Holiday Robotics Lab Fireplace video, and unlike most fireplace videos, stuff actually happens in this one.

[ Ingenuity Labs ]

Thanks, Joshua!

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12 days of OpenAI: The Ars Technica recap


Over the past 12 business days, OpenAI has announced a new product or demoed an AI feature every weekday, calling the PR event "12 days of OpenAI." We've covered some of the major announcements, but we thought a look at each announcement might be useful for people seeking a comprehensive look at each day's developments.

The timing and rapid pace of these announcements—particularly in light of Google's competing releases—illustrates the intensifying competition in AI development. What might normally have been spread across months was compressed into just 12 business days, giving users and developers a lot to process as they head into 2025.

Humorously, we asked ChatGPT what it thought about the whole series of announcements, and it was skeptical that the event even took place. "The rapid-fire announcements over 12 days seem plausible," wrote ChatGPT-4o, "But might strain credibility without a clearer explanation of how OpenAI managed such an intense release schedule, especially given the complexity of the features."

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OpenAI announces o3 and o3-mini, its next simulated reasoning models


On Friday, during Day 12 of its "12 days of OpenAI," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced its latest AI "reasoning" models, o3 and o3-mini, which build upon the o1 models launched earlier this year. The company is not releasing them yet but will make these models available for public safety testing and research access today.

The models use what OpenAI calls "private chain of thought," where the model pauses to examine its internal dialog and plan ahead before responding, which you might call "simulated reasoning" (SR)—a form of AI that goes beyond basic large language models (LLMs).

The company named the model family "o3" instead of "o2" to avoid potential trademark conflicts with British telecom provider O2, according to The Information. During Friday's livestream, Altman acknowledged his company's naming foibles, saying, "In the grand tradition of OpenAI being really, truly bad at names, it'll be called o3."

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The AI war between Google and OpenAI has never been more heated


Over the past month, we've seen a rapid cadence of notable AI-related announcements and releases from both Google and OpenAI, and it's been making the AI community's head spin. It has also poured fuel on the fire of the OpenAI-Google rivalry, an accelerating game of one-upmanship taking place unusually close to the Christmas holiday.

"How are people surviving with the firehose of AI updates that are coming out," wrote one user on X last Friday, which is still a hotbed of AI-related conversation. "in the last <24 hours we got gemini flash 2.0 and chatGPT with screenshare, deep research, pika 2, sora, chatGPT projects, anthropic clio, wtf it never ends."

Rumors travel quickly in the AI world, and people in the AI industry had been expecting OpenAI to ship some major products in December. Once OpenAI announced "12 days of OpenAI" earlier this month, Google jumped into gear and seemingly decided to try to one-up its rival on several counts. So far, the strategy appears to be working, but it's coming at the cost of the rest of the world being able to absorb the implications of the new releases.

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The Top 10 Climate Tech Stories of 2024

In 2024, technologies to combat climate change soared above the clouds in electricity-generating kites, traveled the oceans sequestering...