Author Archives: George Leopold

George Leopold

George Leopold has written about science and technology for more than 30 years, focusing on electronics and aerospace technology. He previously served as executive editor of Electronic Engineering Times. Leopold is the author of "Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom" (Purdue University Press, 2016).

China Unveils Its First 7nm Chip

January 22nd, 2021 Comments Off

Shanghai Tianshu Zhixin Semiconductor Co. is claiming China’s first 7-nanometer chip, described as a leading-edge, general-purpose cloud computing chip based on a proprietary GPU architecture. Dubbed “Big Island” GPGPU, the data center processor is described as a neural network ...

Google’s AI Ethics Flap Widens

January 21st, 2021 Comments Off

Google’s AI ethics mess continues to spread, with reports this week that the company is investigating a second AI ethicist for scanning company files in search of examples of discriminatory treatment of ousted Google researcher Timnit Gebru. Gebru was ...

Edge AI Startup Kneron Attracts New Investors

January 20th, 2021 Comments Off

Kneron Inc., the AI startup specializing in “on-device” edge inferencing applications, has raised additional funding in the form of investments by Taiwanese manufacturing powerhouses Foxconn and Winbond. San Diego-based Kneron said Tuesday (Jan. 20) it will work with Foxconn ...

AI-Based Cyber Defenses Secure Drones From Zero-Day Attacks

January 19th, 2021 Comments Off

Vulnerable to hacking, drones are getting another layer of defense via an AI-based cybersecurity approach that promises to shield the flying edge devices from zero-day attacks. SparkCognition, an industrial AI specialist, said this week the SkyGrid unit it formed ...

FDA Proposing New Rules as AI Software Is Evolving into Medical Devices

January 15th, 2021 Comments Off

An AI and machine learning “action plan” released this week by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would advance the agency’s monitoring of AI-based medical software which is increasing being seen as virtual medical devices. The proposed regulatory ...

Google, Nokia Partnering to Create Cloud-Native 5G Wireless Services for the Edge

January 14th, 2021 Comments Off

Google Cloud and Nokia will collaborate to help telecom carriers upgrade core network infrastructure with cloud-native 5G wireless services. The capabilities could be used to extend 5G bandwidth to the network edge. The partners said Thursday (Jan. 14) the ...

AI, Quantum Patents Soared in 2020

January 13th, 2021 Comments Off

Machine learning was among the fastest growing technologies in terms of U.S. patent grants during 2020, an annual survey reveals. AI and machine learning ranked fourth in a list of patent applications and awards, followed closely by advances in ...

Intel to Ramp Up ‘Ice Lake’ Chip Production

January 12th, 2021 Comments Off

Intel Corp. used this week’s virtual CES 2021 event to reassert its dominance of the data center with the formal roll out of its next-generation server chip, the 10nm Xeon Scalable processor that targets AI and HPC workloads. The ...

Acacia, Cisco Trade Claims in Merger Fight

January 11th, 2021 Comments Off

A dispute over Chinese regulatory approval of its acquisition of Acacia Communications Inc. prompted Cisco Systems to seek a court order compelling the optical component maker to move ahead with the $2.8 billion transaction. Acacia said Monday (Jan. 11) ...

Syntiant Aims New AI Chip at ‘Always-On’ Edge

January 8th, 2021 Comments Off

Addressing power constraints for “always-on” edge devices, the latest neural processor from Syntiant Corp. is designed to run multiple applications simultaneously while limiting energy budgets. The custom AI silicon startup said this week its second-generation neural decision processor is ...