Matt Hamblen

Drone delivery pilot projects have been underway for years in US cities and abroad. Now, engineers are making steady progress toward wider rollouts. | Some communities complain about privacy from delivery drones, but the applications are expanding as companies pile on

Everybody has heard about GenAI on smartphones, like the new Apple Intelligence on new iPhone 16s or the previous Live Translate on Samsung Galaxy S24s. | Average iPhone price is $1,042, compared to average Android smartphone price of $295

The latest US CHIPS Act proposed grant focuses on digital twin technology, an older scheme that has seen renewed value with the advent of accelerator chips like Nvidia’s Blackwell and AMD’s MI350 s | CHIPS for America proposed $285 million to Semiconductor Research Corp., a consortium, to establish SMART USA to focus on digital twins for semiconductor designs.

Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris differ completely over the impact of the US CHIPS Act, but their positions on free trade and tariffs affecting chips and electronics are not a | Trump wants a tariff on chips from Taiwan and attacks the CHIPS Act. Harris applauds the Act’s grants and tax incentives and is expected to continue Biden trade policies

AI compute demands on data centers have catapulted to so much that hyperscalers want to use nuclear power to create electricity.  While expanding the available supply of electricity is their b | Onsemi engineer describes how important chip design and materials are for data center efficiency, even if only incremental

If you take Elon Musk at his word about anything, you have made a mistake.  | Elon Musk showed a Cybercab prototype on roadways at a Burbank movie studio lot, suggesting safety that others question. Is Musk more a futurist than we realized?

Intel launched new Intel Core Ultra 200S processors for AI PC desktops on Thursday with a focus on gamers, saying the chips will “usher in the first enthusiast desktop AI PCs.” | Core Ultra 200S is designed for desktops with AI PC functions, while a mobile Core Ultra is coming in 1Q25.

Second of two parts | With less stress from noise and pollutants, Thomas Built electric school buses are one of the ways N. Carolina promotes clean energy

Updated Friday  with statement from Sibelco and updated stats | Spruce Pine and Asheville in North Carolina were devastated by floods, but one quartz mine operator said damage did not hit its main operations and sees no supply disruption even as the town's economy depends upon it.

Hurricane Helene ravaged a small town in North Carolina where high-purity quartz is mined and processed that is vital for the manufacture of silicon for integrated circuits. | Flooding in small western North Carolina town of Spruce Pine could impair production of quartz at Sibelco mine