The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) -- the United Nations agency for digital technologies -- strengthens its collaboration with the academic community, engaging a select group of professors, scholars and researchers for insights on emerging technology trends worldwide.

A team at the University of Florida has developed a new kind of computer chip that uses light with electricity to perform one of the most power-intensive parts of artificial intelligence — image recognition and similar pattern-finding tasks. Using light dramatically cuts the power needed to perform these tasks, with efficiency 10 or even 100 times that of current chips performing the same calculations. Using this approach could help rein in the enormous demand for electricity that is straining power grids while enabling higher performance AI models and systems.

Salamanders and chameleons, despite evolving in different habitats, use the same “slingshot” tongue mechanism powered by ordinary tissues, tendons and bone. This biological design could be scaled for human applications, from biomedical devices that clear blood clots to large-scale tools for disaster recovery or space exploration. The findings underscore how nature’s solutions can guide technological innovation.

New power-efficient, lens-based semiconductor chips could help rein in the enormous power draw of AI systems.

How can we make our homes more energy-efficient and resilient to renewable energy fluctuations? A new study in Engineering presents a smart control framework for residential energy systems, combining advanced prediction and flexible control to optimize energy use and reduce costs. Discover how this innovative approach could transform home energy management.