Covering Scientific & Technical AI | Wednesday, July 8, 2026
The Environmental Cost of Data Snooping
While much has been made of the privacy implications of the NSA's data profiling project, PRISM, there are also ecological impacts to consider. Full article
ORNL Stores Four Times the Energy with a Battery Breakthrough
<img style="float: left;" src="http://www.ornl.gov/adm/partnerships/success_stories/photos/Nanda-battery-cell-assem.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="63" border="0" />Cars and buildings aren't the only things that stand to benefit from energy efficiency; batteries too need to be able to store large quantities of energy in a way that is safe and environmentally friendly. Full article
For Automakers, Black Boxes Could Unleash a Torrent of Big Data
<img style="float: left;" src="http://media2.hpcwire.com/dmr/bigdataroad.png" alt="" width="95" height="63" border="0" />A growing trend that started in Italy might mean big changes for automotive insurance that could actually put a smile on drivers' faces when it comes time to pay the bills. Now, insurance premiums with some providers will be based on driver safety behavior that's gathered through ... Full article
BT Aims for Net Positive Impact
It's not enough to just limit the harm on the environment, we need to have a net positive impact. This is the message behind BT's Net Good program.  Full article
Tesla Demos Automated 90-Second Battery Swap
<img style="float: left;" src="http://media2.hpcwire.com/dmr/teslacharger.png" alt="" width="95" height="144" border="0" />When electric cars first began pulling onto our roads, the high cost of the eco-friendly vehicles was the greatest barrier to wider adoption, but based on a special event hosted at Tesla's Southern California design studio Thursday, the question of EV charging seems to have gone from ... Full article
GE Looks to Hadoop for the Industrial Internet
<img style="float: left;" src="http://media2.hpcwire.com/dmr/hadoopge.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="71" border="0" />With a name as big as “The Industrial Internet,” it shouldn't come as a surprise that implementing the waste-reducing, machine-optimizing network will require much more than a factory full of sensors. While we've already learned about the operational dashboards, what's been missing thus far is the analytics ... Full article
Datapipe Launches Green HPC Cloud Node
Managed services and infrastructure provider Datapipe has launched its greenest and most high performance solution yet – in Iceland – in partnership with Verne Global.  Full article
Additive Manufacturing Leader Stratasys to Acquire MakerBot
<img style="float: left;" src="http://media2.hpcwire.com/dmr/stratasysmakerbot.png" alt="" width="95" height="58" border="0" />In the rapidly growing world of additive manufacturing, there are two names that continue to stand out: on the industrial side sits Stratasys, while the startup MakerBot has quickly become synonymous with desktop 3D printing. But on Wednesday, a $403 million stock deal could bring the biggest ... Full article
GreenBytes Cuts Data Down to Size
As data growth continues its exponential climb, companies are looking for ways of reducing the storage burden. Why not start by eliminating the duplicates?  Full article
Top Predictions from the American Chemical Manufacturing Summit
<img style="float: left;" src="http://media2.hpcwire.com/dmr/acms.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="63" border="0" />Tuesday marked the opening day of the 2013 American Chemical Manufacturing Summit, bringing players from the agrochemical sector to pharmaceuticals to discuss the state of the industry. And while many of the keynotes, panels and workshops catered to unique challenges faced by chemical manufacturers, a number of ... Full article
The State of E-Waste Exports
A new report from the United States International Trade Commission concludes most e-waste stays state-side.  Full article
Robots Take the Keys at Ford’s New Test Track
<img style="float: left;" src="http://media2.hpcwire.com/dmr/fordtruckrobot.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="63" border="0" />When it comes to testing a new line of trucks, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that automakers such as Ford aren’t afraid to be tough on their latest models. But separating the pounding the trucks can take from the test driver can get a bit tricky, ... Full article
Data Megaliths
Companies are building both corporate campuses and datacenters at record rates. Hardly a day goes by without an announcement of a new big site. While much has been made of the efficiency of consolidation, these sprawling mega-datacenters do raise some environmental concerns. Full article
GE Turns to Makers to Bring 3D Printing to Aerospace
<img style="float: left;" src="http://media2.hpcwire.com/dmr/TwoBrackets.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="68" border="0" />At 30,000 feet, equipment failure is simply not an option, which is part of why additive manufacturing has been a bit slow to catch on in the aerospace industry. But according to Michael Idelchik, vice president of GE’s advanced technologies research, GE Aviation is still looking for ... Full article
Arctic Facebook Datacenter Goes Live
Facebook's newest datacenter in Luleå, Sweden, on the edge of the Arctic Circle, went live this week. Full article
3D Printer Section Appears on Amazon
<img style="float: left;" src="http://media2.hpcwire.com/dmr/amazon.png" alt="" width="95" height="28" border="0" />Last month’s news of 3D printers entering brick-and-mortar Staples stores may have represented a major step in mainstream commercialization of additive manufacturing tools, but in what is perhaps an even bigger step, online retail giant Amazon recently added a dedicated section of its site to 3D printers ... Full article
Is Automation to Blame for Our Economic Woes?
<img style="float: left;" src="http://media2.hpcwire.com/dmr/kukaautomation.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="71" border="0" />Despite reassurances of automation professionals throughout the industry, some experts simply aren't convinced that technological advancements in robotics and automation aren't negatively impacting U.S. employment rates, which is what Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee of the MIT Sloan School of Management have been arguing over the past ... Full article
Study Quantifies Cloud’s Energy-Savings Potential
There is mounting evidence that the cloud is a green cloud. A new study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Northwestern illustrates the dramatic results of mass cloud migration. Full article
Experts Chime in on the Future of Global Manufacturing
<img style="float: left;" src="http://media2.hpcwire.com/dmr/800px-Eli_Lilly_global_manufacturing_plants.png" alt="" width="95" height="42" border="0" />In the wake of the economic downturn, reshoring efforts and increased emphasis on STEM, there’s plenty of uncertainty about where global manufacturing is headed in the next several years. Helping to give us a better sense of this trajectory is a group of thought leaders who have ... Full article
Simulations Sail into the Shipyard
<img style="float: left;" src="http://media2.hpcwire.com/dmr/shipbuilding.JPG" alt="" width="95" height="71" border="0" />As far as modeling and simulation are concerned, nautical transportation isn’t one of the first things to come to mind. Still, it presents a unique use case for computer-integrated manufacturing, as the focus of the modeling and simulation is on the construction process itself. By coordinating the ... Full article