The Last, Best Hope for the Stand-Alone Pocket Camera
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CHINA’S UNHACKABLE NEW LIFE FOR NOWHERE HOW THE WEB NETWORK MOORE’S LAW TO GO BUT UP GOT SOCIAL Spreading the reach Getting serious about An e-motorcycle It started with dial-up of quantum encryption EUV lithography takes on Pikes Peak bulletin boards P. 11 P. 28 P. 48 P. 54 FOR THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDER | 11.16 The Last, Best Hope How smart for the algorithms let this Stand-alone little gizmo Pocket compete with a high-end Camera DSLR P. 34 11.Cover.inkjet.NA [P].indd 1 10/18/16 9:41 AM Make the Connection Find the simple way through complex EM systems with CST STUDIO SUITE Components don’t exist in electromagnetic If you’re more interested in filters, couplers, Components don’t exist in electromagnetic If you’re more interested in filters, couplers, isolation. They influence their neighbors’ planar and multilayer structures, we’ve a isolation. They influence their neighbors’ planar and multilayer structures, we’ve a performance. 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You Choose CST STUDIO SUITE – can read about how CST technology is Complete Technology for 3D EM. can read about how CST technology is Complete Technology for 3D EM. used to simulate antenna performance at used to simulate antenna performance at www.cst.com/antenna. www.cst.com/antenna. CST – COMPUTER SIMULATION TECHNOLOGY | www.cst.com | [email protected] CST – COMPUTER SIMULATION TECHNOLOGY | www.cst.com | [email protected] 11a.Cov2.NA [P].indd 2 10/11/16 10:09 AM FEATURES_11.16 48 28 34 42 54 The Molten A Pocket Can Solar Social Media’s RUN SILENT, Tin Solution Camera With Save the Dial-Up Roots Many Eyes Grid? RUN STEEP Chipmakers eye EUV Even before the lithography as a way Web, ordinary people The collection of cheap Smarter solar inverters The goal? Get to the top of a moun- to keep Moore’s Law were regularly on track. plastic lenses from Light can work in concert to socializing online. tain in Colorado faster than any other By Rachel Courtland creates high- quality stabilize the power grid. By Kevin Driscoll two-wheeled vehicle ever has. images. Here’s how. By Benjamin By Rajiv Laroia Kroposki By PhiliP E. Ross O n the cover Photograph for IEEE Spectrum by Sue Tallon PHOTOGRAPH BY Corey Davis/Randels Media Group SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG | NORTH AMERICAN | NOV 2016 | 01 11.Contents.NA.indd 1 10/14/16 8:53 AM SMART DEVICES REQUIRE SMARTER AUTOMATED TEST SYSTEMS The old approach to automated test isn’t scaling, but you already knew that. Look at your balance sheet. To test smart devices, you need a smarter test system built on a platform of NI PXI, LabVIEW, and TestStand. More than 35,000 companies deploy NI technology to lower their cost of test—what are you waiting for? Prepare for the future at ni.com/smarter-test NI PXI, LabVIEW, and TestStand ©2016 National Instruments. All rights reserved. LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, ni.com, and NI TestStand are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 25611 25611_AT_Ad_8x11.indd 1 4/11/16 12:21 PM 11a.p2.NA [P].indd 2 10/7/16 1:00 PM DEPARTMENTS_01.13DEPARTMENTS_11.16 102111 Online News Resources Opinion Spectrum.ieee.org China’s Great Quantum Link A DIY Lego Controller T he Invisible Technology Video: This Water-Jet Cutter The 2,000-kilometer Beijing– Use a Raspberry Pi as a Software is ubiquitous, which Slices Through Anything Shanghai project pushes the low-cost—and powerful— is why there will never be Startup Wazer introduced the first limits for “unhackable” links. upgrade for Lego creations. another software billionaire. desktop water-jet cutter with a By Rachel Courtland By Diomidis Spinellis By G. Pascal Zachary Kickstarter campaign, bringing this form of computer numerical 13 A griculture Drones Are 23 S tartups: Cypher Wants 04 Back Story control cutting technology out of Finally Cleared for Takeoff Machines to Hear You Better 06 Contributors the factory and into DIY workshops. 14 F our Steps to Dust-Size 24 Geek Life: Atari’s Early Days 26 N umbers Don’t Lie: We Watch it saw a Rolex in half, cut a Neural Implants 25 Review: Solar Chargers in Humans Are the Undisputed steak into the shape of the United 16 Breaking the Multicore Bottleneck the Himalayas Superstars of Sweating States, and carve a dragon out of 18 The Big Picture: Sea Drone 76 Past Forward: The Pen’s 27 Reflections: What’s Constant glass: http://spectrum.ieee.org/ Sails Without Sailors Atomic Age About Electrical Engineering? waterjetcutter1116 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Tech Insider / Webinars The Institute Available at spectrum.ieee.org/webinar Available at theinstitute.ieee.org Analyzing HF & LF RadHaz Scenarios With 3D EM Simulation—3 November BRAIN INITIATIVE There’s been a surge of activity around the world to Creative Statistics—4 November develop tools and applications to help the brain function better. IEEE has Realizing New Potentials in Miniature Subsea Robotics—8 November formed its own initiative to advance brain research and neurotechnology EMC Simulation for Space Applications With CST STUDIO SUITE— development through workshops, standards, and partnerships with 10 November academia, government, and industry. Transformer Simulation—17 November Antenna Analysis and Design With Characteristic Mode Analysis— WESTON METERS Weston Electrical Instrument Co. introduced the first 22 November portable and direct-reading current and voltage meters in the late 1880s. This breakthrough was recently honored with an IEEE Milestone. MA STER BOND RESOURCE LIBRARY PINELLIS; WAZER PINELLIS; http://spectrum.ieee.org/static/master-bond-resource-library S Hundreds of groups around the world held events on 4 October IEEE DAY IS IS D NEW PRODUCT RELEASE LIBRARY to mark the annual celebration, which commemorates the founding of one of http://spectrum.ieee.org/static/new-product-release-library IEEE’s predecessor societies. LAMY; DIOMI LAMY; A IEEE SPECTRUM (ISSN 0018-9235) is published monthly by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. All rights reserved. © 2016 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., 3 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5997, U.S.A. Volume No. 53, issue No. 11, North American edition. The editorial content of IEEE Spectrum magazine does not represent official positions of the IEEE or its organizational units. Canadian Post International Publications Mail (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 40013087. 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SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG | NORTH AMERICAN | NOV 2016 | 03 11.Contents.NA.indd 3 10/14/16 8:53 AM BACK STORY_ EDITOR IN CHIEF Susan Hassler, [email protected] EXECUTIVE EDITOR Glenn Zorpette, [email protected] EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, DIGITAL Harry Goldstein, [email protected] MANAGING EDITOR Elizabeth A. Bretz, [email protected] SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Mark Montgomery, [email protected] SENIOR EDITORS Stephen Cass (Resources), [email protected] Erico Guizzo (Digital), [email protected] Jean Kumagai, [email protected] Samuel K. Moore (News), [email protected] Tekla S. Perry, [email protected] Philip E. Ross, [email protected] David Schneider, [email protected] DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR Brandon Palacio, [email protected] PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR Randi Klett, [email protected] AssOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Erik Vrielink, [email protected] PHOTOGRAPHY AssISTANT Yuki Mizuma, [email protected] SENIOR AssOCIATE EDITORS The Startup Around the Corner Rachel Courtland, [email protected] Eliza Strickland, [email protected] AssOCIATE EDITORS Celia Gorman (Multimedia), [email protected] enior editor tekla S. Perry haS been drawn to the Willie D. Jones (News), [email protected] Silicon Valley startup Light like a moth to…well, a light. Her first Amy Nordrum, [email protected] VID EO PRODUCER Kristen Clark, [email protected] glimmer was a mention of Light in a 2014 report of venture in- SENIOR COPY EDITOR Joseph N. Levine, [email protected] C OPY EDITOR Michele Kogon, [email protected] vesting; the company had closed a US $9.7 million funding round.