Apple Watch blood sugar tracking remains unconfirmed. Here's the latest on the timeline, patents, technical challenges, and what Apple Watch can do now.
Engineers at Boeing demonstrated a key quantum protocol during ground testing of the payload for the Q4S mission, ahead of its launch scheduled in 2027. Boeing’s self-funded Q4S missions are critical in realizing a space-based quantum network in the future.
The recent growth in interest for quantum computing and sensors has also pushed demand for quantum networks, where information can be shared with high security and reliability. For any network to work, information needs to be routed efficiently.
While this has been successfully done for quantum networks using fiber-optic cables, transmission losses become significantly higher as the networks scale from regional to national scales. For data transmission over hundreds of miles, free-space optical channels are much more efficient than fiber-optic cables, prompting the need for a space-based quantum network.
Scientists are therefore working to develop these networks, and Boeing’s Q4S mission is one such project.
What is Q4S mission?
Boeing is making a major move towards developing a quantum space network through its Q4S mission.
“Quantum networking has the potential to transform how information is shared, timed and protected across global systems, but only if it can work outside the lab, under real mission constraints,” said Lane Ballard, Boeing chief technology officer, in a statement. “Q4S is about taking an important quantum capability and proving it on mission-ready hardware.”
As part of the project, the mission will spend a year in orbit to test quantum networking hardware in the harsh environment of space. During these tests, the mission will demonstrate entanglement swapping, the foundational mechanism that enables quantum links to extend beyond point-to-point connections.
What is entanglement swapping?
Quantum entanglement swapping relies on quantum teleportation, where a quantum state of a particle can be transferred to another without physically moving the particle. In entanglement swapping, teleportation occurs between entangled photon pairs, resulting in a shared state between the particles, even though they have never interacted.
Quantum entanglement swapping is the basis for quantum repeaters, which are crucial for scaling quantum networks. For Boeing to build a scalable quantum network, it needs to first demonstrate entanglement swapping between photons, without loss or degradation of quantum data.
Demonstrating this in space will be challenging, since quantum states are delicate and entanglement can be disrupted by factors such as environmental temperature and radiation.
“One of the hardest parts of quantum networking is maintaining strong performance while working within the size, weight and power limits of a spacecraft,” added Lowell in the statement.
In their recent tests, Boeing engineers demonstrated quantum entanglement swapping in a space-qualified Q4S payload ahead of its launch to orbit. The results are comparable to peer-reviewed experiements, operating within the strict Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) constraints of a compact satellite.
“These test results show that we can produce high-fidelity swaps on a payload engineered for space, not just for a controlled lab bench,” concluded Lowell. “That is a meaningful step toward practical quantum networks.”
The Q4S mission is scheduled for launch in 2027. Following the one year data gathering in orbit, Boeing plans to share its technical results for peer-review.
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Following the pandemic, the federal government is spending $150 million on new technology to ensure clean indoor air. Here’s what scientists are pursuing.
The squawks of macaws, the smell of wet earth after rain and a swirl of colors will transport visitors from a Los Angeles museum to the heart of the Amazon rainforest—or rather, an AI version of it.
Moving beyond conventional, screen-based digital interfaces, an engineering team at the University of Adelaide has developed an innovative wearable device that maps personal data directly onto physical sensations.
The functional prototype, named ThermoPhy, utilizes a localized combination of micro-heating hardware and 3D-printed physical indicators to allow wearers to literally feel complex datasets.
Developed at the university’s Australian Research Centre for Interactive and Virtual Environments (IVE), the platform explores a new paradigm in data visualization by prioritizing private tactile responses over traditional visual graphs.
Modern health and wellness tracking apps typically generate complex dashboards filled with abstract numerical charts that can feel cold and disconnected from human experience.
By utilizing “data humanism“—a design philosophy that makes raw information more relatable and narrative-driven—the ThermoPhy project aims to cultivate a more empathetic, embodied relationship with personal telemetry. The hardware achieves this by taking sensitive or emotionally charged metrics and converting them into distinct, carefully calibrated thermal zones across a user’s hand.
Integrating micro-heating elements with tactile tokens
The physical layout of the ThermoPhy glove relies on two distinct feedback loops: thermal stimulation and tangible structural tokens. Integrated into the internal lining of the glove’s fingers are arrays of miniature electronic heating elements.
These micro-resistors are wired to a central microcontroller capable of modulating temperatures precisely to deliver subtle, gradated sensations of warmth to the wearer’s fingertips.
On the exterior surface of the glove, researchers mounted attachable 3D-printed tokens engineered to resemble miniature physical bar charts, line graphs, and heatmaps. By merging these physical shapes with variable thermal signals, the device can simultaneously convey multi-layered datasets.
For instance, a user tracking their sleep architecture can feel the physical height of a 3D bar to measure total sleep duration, while the internal heating elements concurrently warm up or cool down to signal their psychological mood or stress level upon waking.
Isolating private telemetry and simulating crowd comfort
A primary technical advantage of using thermal feedback over traditional visual or auditory alerts is its inherent privacy. Because thermal energy transfers via direct conduction, only the person physically wearing the glove can perceive the shifting temperature profiles.
This makes the system uniquely suited for displaying sensitive, human-centered metrics—such as biometric anxiety tracking, mood fluctuations, and personal wellness logs—out of the prying eyes of external onlookers or surrounding screens.
In one practical testing scenario, researchers mapped the glove’s thermal engine to environmental crowding and ambient comfort indices. As a user simulated navigating a heavily congested space, the glove’s internal temperature scaled upward proportionally.
Higher physical temperatures were programmed to represent acute levels of environmental discomfort or heightened situational stress, translating abstract density calculations into an immediate, intuitive physiological warning system.
Designing for radical affordability and future AR tracking
Beyond individual self-tracking, the research team notes that the device holds significant potential for cultivating interpersonal empathy. Because the software architecture allows data profiles to be shared across a network, one user can equip the glove to directly experience the real-time stress, biometric fatigue, or psychological state of another person, providing a completely non-verbal platform for shared storytelling and emotional communication.
A standout feature of the ThermoPhy prototype is its extreme cost efficiency. While medical-grade haptic garments often cost thousands of dollars to manufacture, the Adelaide engineering team constructed their prototype using off-the-shelf electronic parts and raw components totaling just $19.68 USD.
Moving forward, the research team plans to conduct extensive user-group testing to catalog exactly how humans interpret varying degrees of thermal feedback over extended periods.
Additionally, the team is working on software patches to integrate the haptic glove directly into emerging augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) simulation suites, laying the groundwork for immersive, screen-free computing environments.
Helios, a US-based quantum computer, demonstrated 99.9975% fidelity in one-qubit operations, while maintaining 99.921% for two-qubit operations. This is the highest fidelity for any commercial quantum computer in the industry, paving the way for a future with fault-tolerant quantum computers.
Considered to be the next frontier of computing, the race to build reliable quantum computers is on. Research institutes and national laboratories in countries like the US, UK and China are engaged in building the necessary support for quantum computer startups to build the future of computing.
The superior computing capacities of quantum computers arise from quantum bits or qubits, which can store multiple values between 0 and 1 at once. However, the same qubits are also easily disturbed, introducing errors into computations.
Scientists are therefore working to develop fault-tolerant computers that deliver high fidelity, i.e., a measure of how close the quantum operation is to the value of the expected operation.
Helios’ highest fidelity
Quantinuum’s Helios is a 98-qubit quantum computer with 50 logical qubits. Built using trapped-ion qubits, the system also integrates photonics, allowing data transfer at the speed of light through the microscopic optical channels.
This system design has dual benefits. It helps reduce risks to quantum computing data while significantly decreasing its power consumption. Helios’ power consumption is as little as 40 kW, even though it is equipped with the world’s fastest GPUs.
In a recent paper, Quantinuum confirmed record fidelity for its one-qubit and two-qubit operations, reaching a record of sorts when it comes to two-qubit fidelity in the quantum computing industry. Helios is the company’s most reliable quantum computer to date and is available for commercial usage as a cloud-based service.
Yet, Quantinuum has a long way to go before quantum computers like Helios and its successors become mainstream, and it is working with the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to develop fault-tolerant computers.
Role of SNL
As a premier engineering laboratory in the US, SNL has been tasked with assessing opportunities and threats for technologies such as quantum computing. For over two decades, the national laboratory has leveraged its expertise and engineering capacities to build and share quantum devices on various platforms.
SNL’s partnership with Quantinuum too is part of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, which was formed after Sandia researchers developed technologies in integrated photonics for trapped-ion quantum computers.
Although Quantinuum is headquartered in Colorado, its research and development campus is in New Mexico, near SNL. The National Laboratory continues to help Quantinuum design and test new components that will be incorporated into future versions of the quantum computer.
For instance, SNL researchers developed a new benchmarking methodology that can measure the performance of mid-circuit measurements, non-destructive readout operations that help in correcting quantum computing errors.
“We evaluate every aspect of quantum computer performance with our commercial partners to accelerate the advent of quantum supercomputing,” said Robin Blume-Kohout, a researcher at SNL who was involved in the work.
By working with different companies and helping them solve issues will help quantum computers tackle unsolved scientific problems, Blume-Kohout added.
Divergent Technologies has unveiled a new industrial metal 3D printer and announced a major manufacturing expansion in Southern California, moves that the company says will significantly increase production capacity for defense and commercial customers.
The California-based manufacturer introduced the Monolith One, a large-format metal additive manufacturing system developed specifically for high-volume production. At the same time, the company revealed plans for a new 430,000-square-foot facility in Long Beach, California, where dozens of the machines will support future manufacturing programs.
Built for production
Unlike many metal 3D printers designed primarily for prototyping, Monolith One targets continuous industrial manufacturing. The machine stands more than eight meters tall and incorporates 12 high-powered lasers that deliver a combined 24 kilowatts of output.
Divergent designed the system over a 28-month period using lessons learned from more than a decade of additive manufacturing operations. The company developed the printer exclusively for use within its own manufacturing ecosystem rather than for commercial sale.
The machine supports a wide range of industrial alloys, including aluminum, steel, titanium, and nickel-based materials. It also offers a larger build chamber than many existing systems, allowing engineers to manufacture bigger and more complex structures in a single print.
According to Divergent, the printer can roughly double production throughput compared with current-generation equipment. The system also incorporates automated powder handling, thermal management controls, and optical monitoring technologies designed to improve consistency and reduce downtime.
Chief Technology Officer Brian Erhartic said the company built the printer specifically to improve manufacturing efficiency and quality. He added that integrating the machine directly into Divergent’s production platform helped unlock higher performance across multiple stages of manufacturing.
Factory expansion plans
Divergent currently operates six Monolith One printers at its headquarters in Torrance, California. The company plans to install an additional 64 systems at its new Long Beach facility over the next two years.
Divergent’s second factory in Long Beach, CA. Credit – Divergent Technologies, Inc.
Once fully operational, the site will support production of tens of thousands of munition airframes annually. It will also have the capacity to manufacture hundreds of thousands of critical metal components for aerospace and defense programs.
The expansion comes as defense contractors seek faster production methods and more resilient domestic supply chains. Traditional manufacturing processes often require lengthy lead times for complex hardware, particularly in aerospace applications.
Divergent says its software-driven manufacturing approach reduces those timelines from months to weeks or even days in some cases. The company supplies structures and components for several major defense and aerospace organizations, including Lockheed Martin, RTX, and CoAspire.
Chief Executive Officer Lukas Czinger said the new printer reflects years of operational experience gained from delivering production hardware to both defense and commercial customers. He noted that the company manufactures the systems domestically and sources key components through a U.S.-based supply chain.
As production ramps up at the Long Beach facility, Divergent expects the new manufacturing capacity to support growing demand for mission-critical hardware while strengthening domestic industrial capabilities.
A new class of ultrathin polymer membranes, dubbed Polymers of Locked Intrinsic Microporosity (PLIMs), has been developed through a global research collaboration.
These membranes can separate complex hydrocarbon mixtures (like crude oil), potentially transforming the energy-intensive refining process.
Modifying membrane structure
Every single day, standard crude oil refining uses the thermal distillation method. This process boils oil to separate it into useful fractions like gasoline, plastics, and jet fuel. It works well, but it carries an environmental price tag. It consumes a high amount of energy.
Now, a team of international researchers has created a workaround that could take the heat out of the equation entirely.
The Polymers of Locked Intrinsic Microporosity (PLIMs) are ultrathin membranes that can filter out complex hydrocarbon mixtures at a microscopic level without needing a heat source.
“Membranes can, in principle, do the same job as distillation or evaporation, using far less energy,” explained Andrew Livingston, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Vice President Research and Innovation at Queen Mary University of London, and CEO of Exactmer.
“The problem has been finding materials that are both fast and selective when exposed to real hydrocarbon mixtures,” the lead researcher added.
The study introduces a novel fabrication method that injects a crosslinking agent during membrane formation to create highly efficient separating layers. It combines two features that have eluded scientists for decades: extreme molecular selectivity and incredibly fast transport speeds.
Testing of membrane
Membranes promise a cleaner, low-energy alternative to massive boilers. In this concept, rather than boiling the liquid, it is run through a molecular sieve that catches specific molecules based on their size.
In practice, organic liquids like crude oil ruined everything.
The team focused on highly porous polymers, materials possessing an internal structure like a sub-nanometer sponge. However, these materials have a flaw. When exposed to harsh hydrocarbons, it swells. As the polymer expands, the tiny pores dilate, allowing larger molecules to slip through. The filter becomes useless.
To fix this, the team altered the fabrication process and introduced an in situ crosslinking agent directly into the polymer film during its formation.
“The key was stabilizing the structure before the polymer had a chance to swell,” said Dr Zhiwei Jiang. “This preserves the tiny pores that make molecular separation possible, while still allowing hydrocarbons to flow through very quickly.”
When the researchers tested the membranes against real Arabian Extra Light crude oil, the results defied standard expectations. The PLIM system successfully stripped out 99.8% of heavy hydrocarbons (those with more than 15 carbon atoms). It also slashed corrosive sulfur compounds by 93%.
This is a massive victory for refineries, as sulfur frequently degrades downstream equipment and catalysts.
The membrane performed just as well on lighter refinery streams, such as virgin naphtha. It sorted out smaller molecules destined for fuel upgrading from heavier components used to manufacture everyday plastics. It did all this while operating at flow rates comparable to those of commercial water desalination systems.
Moreover, this team designed the material with mass manufacturing in mind from day one.
Using standard roll-to-roll processing, PLIM sheets were manufactured over a meter wide. These sheets were wrapped into spiral-wound modules, the exact shape used in existing industrial filtration plants worldwide.
The membranes also proved they have stamina, running continuously for 30 days without a drop in performance.
The results were published in the journal Science on June 18.
A new class of ultrathin polymer membranes, dubbed Polymers of Locked Intrinsic Microporosity (PLIMs), has been developed through a global research collaboration.
Scientists have developed a practical way to make ultra-black coatings to meet demand for trendy, luxury vehicles in China. The coating, described in a paper published in Matter & Light, is made up of a composite of carbon black pigment and carbon nanotubes. The resulting color is a deep jet black that also meets automotive standards, opening the door for car manufacturers to develop distinguished, high-end models in darker-than-ever hues.
Researchers have developed a new kind of lidar system that simultaneously measures the location, speed and material properties of objects in a scene. This type of information could be useful for applications such as robotics, autonomous driving and remote sensing.
The long-running effort to move driverless shuttles from closed corporate campuses and isolated testing facilities into live, mixed-traffic public infrastructure is taking a decisive step forward.
On June 24, 2026, a fully automated robot bus line operating in the city of Tampere, Finland, will officially transition to driverless operation, completely removing the physical safety driver from the vehicle.
While autonomous shuttles have routinely been deployed in highly restricted pilot environments globally, this European rollout represents a key milestone: integrating an autonomous, Level 4-capable mass transit asset directly into a commercially active municipal public transportation network alongside standard passenger vehicles.
To establish the mathematical and operational safety profiles required to permanently remove the human operator from the cabin, the platform underwent an intensive, real-world data-collection phase.
The autonomous shuttle has been operating daily within active public traffic lanes since late last year, logging extensive operational miles with a passive onboard safety driver to map system responses, sensor reliability, and complex environmental edge cases.
Sensor fusion and emergency braking architecture
Operating a mass transit passenger vehicle without any manual physical overrides requires a highly redundant sensor architecture capable of instantaneous spatial awareness.
The automated shuttle utilizes an advanced sensor fusion array that combines multiple overlapping modalities, including high-definition optical cameras, radar, and precision LiDAR scanners. These onboard peripherals continuously map a 360-degree digital field around the vehicle’s chassis, identifying dynamic obstacles such as pedestrians, cyclists, and adjacent motor vehicles.
The vehicle operates on a strictly digitized, predetermined virtual route guide. The integrated artificial intelligence navigation engine processes spatial data streams in real time, calculating clearances at a capped velocity of 25 km/h (approximately 15.5 mph).
If a pedestrian intersects the vehicle’s safe stopping distance, or if the sensor fusion matrix identifies a situational anomaly, the central processing unit triggers an automated braking sequence. This specialized subsystem bypasses remote network latency, allowing the vehicle to execute high-g emergency stops autonomously and instantaneously to mitigate collision risks.
Low-latency remote monitoring and teleoperation control
The elimination of the onboard crew does not mean the vehicle operates in total isolation; instead, the physical driver is replaced by an advanced, low-latency remote monitoring and teleoperation framework. Professional fleet dispatchers manage the autonomous shuttles in real time from a centralized operations command center.
The vehicle maintains an active, unbroken broadband communication link with this hub, transmitting live telemetry data alongside a continuous, high-definition audio and video feed capturing both internal passenger compartment activity and external road conditions.
In the event of an operational deadlock—such as an illegally parked delivery truck permanently blocking a lane or an unmapped construction zone—the remote operator can intervene directly via the teleoperation link.
To ensure robust passenger safety and clear communication during these automated transits, the vehicle’s interior features an integrated emergency call subsystem. This hardware provides passengers with an on-demand, instant audio-visual link to a human controller, ensuring continuous oversight even if the cloud-based driving stack encounters an unprecedented software edge case.
Cabin structural safety and fleet optimization
Adapting mass transit for fully driverless configurations requires subtle changes to standard cabin safety protocols. Because the vehicle lacks an onboard operator to visually enforce safety rules or cushion against abrupt automated emergency stops, the structural layout demands specific commuter compliance.
The autonomous shuttle accommodates a maximum payload of exactly 12 passengers and includes dedicated, structurally reinforced space to securely anchor strollers.
For passive safety containment, the onboard system mandates that all passengers remain fully seated and securely buckled into integrated seatbelts throughout the duration of the transit loop.
From a user-experience standpoint, the vehicle integrates seamlessly with standard municipal ticketing systems; passengers interact with a localized automated validator mounted directly beside the entry doors.
SpaceX might be stealing the spotlight right now with its blockbuster stock market debut, but things are moving just as fast over at Tesla.
The technical specifications of Tesla’s autonomous Cybercab have reportedly been leaked from its official U.S. Environmental Protection Agency certification documents.
The regulatory filing, certified on May 26, 2026, confirms several of Tesla’s design goals while revealing a few mechanical surprises regarding the robotaxi’s drivetrain and overall mass.
In February, Tesla announced that production of the upcoming two-seater Cybercab had begun. The company’s official X account shared a photo showcasing the first robotaxi rolling off the assembly line at Gigafactory Texas. However, not many details were disclosed back then.
The Cybercab serves as Tesla’s purpose-built, fully autonomous vehicle designed exclusively for Robotaxi service. The two-seater achieves an unusually light overall mass for an electric vehicle by eliminating driver controls such as a steering wheel or pedals.
According to EPA filings, Tesla has built an EV that weighs a mere 3,113 pounds. This puts the vehicle’s weight roughly 700 pounds below the lightest Tesla Model 3 configuration.
As it is so light, it doesn’t need a massive, heavy battery. It runs on a compact 48-kWh pack and a single front-mounted 219-horsepower motor.
According to The Verge, the Tesla Cybercab is poised to become one of the most efficient electric vehicles ever certified, boasting a 165-watt-hour-per-mile (Wh/mi) rating that yields an expected real-world range of 290 to 300 miles after EPA adjustments.
This hyper-efficiency allows the robotaxi to travel roughly six miles on a single kilowatt-hour (kWh) of power — outperforming standard EVs that typically get only three to four miles per kWh.
Way behind Waymo
Yet, for all its technical brilliance, the Cybercab remains stuck.
Musk confidently promised investors last summer that autonomous ride-hailing would cover half the U.S. population by the end of the year. It didn’t happen. The service remains locked down to just three Texas cities: Austin, Dallas, and Houston.
The fleet itself is microscopic. Tesla currently holds permits for just 42 unsupervised Model Y robotaxis in Texas, and only 14 of those are actively driving without a human safety monitor behind the wheel.
Meanwhile, Alphabet’s Waymo is utterly dominating the asphalt. Waymo operates a rapidly scaling fleet of over 3,000 driverless vehicles across 11 major U.S. cities.
Tesla fans often point to safety data as a benefit. The company has logged only 18 automated driving crashes with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) compared to Waymo’s 697. However, experts say that it is simply a game of numbers. If you barely have any cars on the road, you barely have any crashes.
The pieces are moving behind the scenes, though. Tesla has quietly filed municipal plans to build dedicated “robocar” car washes and automated charging stations in Las Vegas and Austin. The infrastructure is coming. The engineering is certified. Now, Tesla just has to prove it can actually scale the service before its competitors leave it in the dust.
The technical specifications of Tesla’s autonomous Cybercab have reportedly been leaked from its official U.S. Environmental Protection Agency certification documents.
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