This story is part of our Top Tech 2025 special report. Methane Measurements for the Masses All Illustrations: Greg Mably From high above us, satellites track devastating emissions of the greenhouse gases that will alter our climate. So far, their data has been private, shared only with companies or governments. MethaneSAT is changing that. Launched… Continue reading 9 Intriguing Engineering Feats for 2025
Author: IEEE_Spectrum
The Top 10 Transportation Stories of 2024
IEEE Spectrum‘s transportation coverage drew just under half a million visitors in 2024. Readers came to learn the latest news about advances in electric vehicles and battery technology, sustainable energy alternatives, transit infrastructure and logistics, and AI and emerging risks. One of our more popular articles reported on an issue at the intersection of technology… Continue reading The Top 10 Transportation Stories of 2024
The Man Behind Hydrail
IEEE Life Senior Member H. Stan Thompson has lived a couple of professional lives. For decades, he was a planning engineer and futurist at Bellsouth Telecommunications, which was formed from the merger of two Regional Bell Operating Companies around the time AT&T (“Ma Bell”) was forced to break up in 1984. When he retired in… Continue reading The Man Behind Hydrail
Enthusiasm Grows for Curbside EV Charging
For city denizens who’d love to buy an electric vehicle—but live in buildings with no driveway or garage—the lack of practical charging options remains a daunting barrier. For charging companies, pricey urban real estate and prohibitive installation costs can make DC chargers a non-starter. Voltpost is among companies who see curbside charging as the solution… Continue reading Enthusiasm Grows for Curbside EV Charging
Why It’s Time to Get Optimistic About Self-Driving Cars
Editor’s note: A version of this article originally appeared in the author’s newsletter, Exponential View. When people ask me to describe my work, I say I take a critical look at exponential technologies—which I define as technologies that follow an exponential growth curve. I’m the founder of the research group Exponential View, and my mission… Continue reading Why It’s Time to Get Optimistic About Self-Driving Cars
Sionic Energy Unveils 100-Percent Silicon Anode Battery
While the world is waiting—and waiting—for the giant leap to solid-state batteries, a nimble step to silicon anode cells is well underway. That transitional stage includes a key ingredient made in the U.S., not China. Sionic Energy today announced a robust battery that replaces graphite entirely, with a 100 percent silicon anode—versus the roughly five… Continue reading Sionic Energy Unveils 100-Percent Silicon Anode Battery
Ultra-Wideband Wireless Simplifies EV Batteries
A new ultra-wideband wireless system that collects data from batteries could help boost the range of electric vehicles and simplify their development and assembly. Electric vehicles collect a lot of data from their batteries, such as information about their voltage and temperature, in order “to ensure the proper operation of the battery pack and prevent… Continue reading Ultra-Wideband Wireless Simplifies EV Batteries
Trump’s Second Term Will Change AI, Energy, and More
U.S. presidential administrations tend to have big impacts on tech around the world. So it should be taken as a given that when Donald Trump returns to the White House in January, his second administration will do the same. Perhaps more than usual, even, as he staffs his cabinet with people closely linked to the… Continue reading Trump’s Second Term Will Change AI, Energy, and More
AI Dash Cams Give Wake-Up Calls to Drowsy Drivers
Increasingly, vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems are looking not only at the road but also at the driver. And for good reason. These systems can, paradoxically, make driving less safe as drivers engage in more risky behaviors behind the wheel under the mistaken belief that electronic equipment will compensate for lack of caution. Attempting… Continue reading AI Dash Cams Give Wake-Up Calls to Drowsy Drivers
Oilstainlab Creates the First Gas-or-Electric Car
Some performance-car buyers can’t imagine a world without internal-combustion engines. Others want to rush headlong into the EV revolution. Car designers and twin brothers Nikita and Iliya Bridan have a uniquely ambitious approach: Why not have both? Their Oilstainlab HF-11 seems aimed at wealthy buyers who can’t decide between, say, a gas-swilling Ferrari Daytona SP3… Continue reading Oilstainlab Creates the First Gas-or-Electric Car