Communications

Everybody wants a faster internet connection, and now engineers in Japan have shattered the record for data transmission. The team managed to transmit more than 20 times the global internet traffic per second through a single optical fiber.

Sure, they're from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but words and phrases from Star Wars have taken on a life of their own in modern English. For the first time, a study reveals how deep-rooted offerings like "to the dark side" truly are.

Implants and tiny machines could eventually help treat disease or monitor activity, but communication is tricky. Now scientists at EPFL have developed a system whereby devices can communicate by releasing molecules into a patient’s bloodstream.

A new study has shown, for the first time, what many of us have long felt: grammar mistakes can trigger negative physical reactions, including one that stems from the part of our sympathetic nervous system that initiates the fight or flight response.

NASA will soon demonstrate a laser-based communication system between ground facilities and the International Space Station. The technology will boost data transmission speeds by 10 to 100 times, potentially opening a new standard in deep space comms.

"This is really the most incredible thing I've ever seen," said podcast host Lex Fridman, interviewing Mark Zuckerberg in VR using Meta's stunning new photorealistic avatars, coming soon to Quest, so lifelike that they "cross the uncanny valley."

While 5G feels pretty new and flashy, the industry is already making preparations for the next generation. LG Electronics and the Fraunhofer Institute have now conducted a test that set a new distance record for data transmission using 6G technology.

When NASA's Psyche probe launches in October on its mission to a metal asteroid as much as 309 million miles (497 million km) from Earth, it will be carrying a new laser communications system that promises to revolutionize deep space missions.

While there’s a lot of debate over how much AI will impact different industries, perhaps one job you won’t mind it taking is note-taking and transcribing. Enter the Plaud Note, which records phone calls and employs ChatGPT as a PA for your audio.

Love it or hate it, but the way humans modify their speech when they communicate with their young offspring, commonly known as "baby talk," has now been recorded among bottlenose dolphin mothers. It's the first time it's been heard, too.

With autonomous vehicles already rolling on public roads, researchers from the University of Nottingham in the UK have used a camouflaged driver to look at how pedestrians react to visual cues from oncoming cars without a human at the wheel.

Terran Orbit has demonstrated a record-breaking 200-gigabit orbital data link that finally allows high-bandwidth data transfer from space to Earth. It'll replace antique, low-bandwidth X-band radio technology that's currently a critical bottleneck.