Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new cooling technology that could significantly improve the energy efficiency of data centers and high-powered electronics. The technology features a specially engineered fiber membrane that passively removes heat through evaporation. It offers a promising alternative to traditional cooling systems like fans, heat sinks and liquid pumps. It could also reduce the water use associated with many current cooling systems.

The advance is detailed in a paper published on June 13 in the journal Joule.

As artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing continue to expand, the demand for data processing—and the heat it generates—is skyrocketing. Currently, cooling accounts for up to 40% of a data center’s total energy use. If trends continue, global energy use for cooling could more than double by 2030.

Critical zero-click AI vulnerability EchoLeak exposed sensitive Microsoft 365 Copilot data; Microsoft patched it to prevent data leaks.

A dance crew of four-legged robots from Boston Dynamics appeared on “America’s Got Talent” to perform a synchronized routine to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.”

Their performance was impressive enough to earn four “yes” votes from the judges — but one of the five robots experienced some stage fright, perhaps, and shut down in the middle of the routine. But the show must go on, so nevertheless, the four other robots persisted.

“Can I be honest with you?” judge Simon Cowell asked at the conclusion of their performance. “I don’t mean this in a cruel way. It was weirdly better that one of them died… because it showed how difficult this was.”

Humanoid robotics company Figure showed off its Figure 02 robot using a sophisticated visual language system to sort packages.

Daniel Sokolovsky, the co-founder and CEO of Warp, told TechCrunch that Warp is always looking for ways to make shipping more efficient for its customers, which include enterprises like Walmart, Gopuff, and HelloFresh. With the advancements in AI, the company thought there could be more opportunities to automate.

Warp can’t automate the long-haul trucking or short-range delivery aspects of the supply chain, Sokolovsky said, so it’s working on what it can potentially change: the workflows inside its warehouses.

Warp started by installing cameras into its test warehouse in Los Angeles and used computer vision to turn that data into a virtual warehouse to start experimenting.

The startup, backed by prominent European tech founders, aims to tackle a looming industrial labor shortage.