Tim Hornyak

When Sony’s robot dog, Aibo, was first launched in 1999, it was hailed as revolutionary and the first of its kind, promising to usher in a new industry of intelligent mobile machines for the home. But its success was far from certain. Legged robots were still in their infancy, and the idea of making an interactive walking robot for the consumer market was extraordinarily ambitious. Beyond the technical challenges, Sony also had to solve a

3 min read Electronics inconspicuously attached to transparent conductive layers enable a window to double as a 5G cellular antenna. Since 5G began its rollout in 2018 or 2019, fifth-generation wireless networks have spread across the globe to cover hundreds of millions of users. But while it offers lower latency than precursor networks, 5G also requires more base stations. To avoid installing unsightly equipment on more and more shared spaces, Japanese companies are developing transparent

3 min read Getty Images The proliferation of IoT technology has made chatterboxes out of everyday hardware and new gadgets too, but it comes with a downside: the more devices sharing the airwaves the more trouble they have communicating. The nearly 30 billion connected devices expected by 2030 will be operating using different wireless standards while sharing the same frequency bands, potentially interfering with one another. To overcome this, researchers in Japan say they have

3 min read Researchers used a Cessna to simulate an aerial 5G base station providing backhaul links to a handful of ground stations. NTT Docomo Skies over Tokyo are thick with air traffic these days amid an influx of international tourists. But one plane recently helped revive the dream of airborne Internet access for all. Researchers in Japan announced on 28 May that they have successfully tested 5G communications equipment in the 38 gigahertz band