Mind Chip Helps Blind Folks See
Elon Musk says his firm Neuralink is aiming to revive partial sight to completely blind sufferers in 2026. The corporate plans to check its latest and strongest implant, Blindsight, in people early this yr. The chip can be wirelessly linked to an exterior video digital camera and implanted into the mind’s visible cortex. Bypassing the eyes, it’s designed to generate the notion of imaginative and prescient based mostly on what the digital camera captures, even for folks born blind. The ensuing imaginative and prescient can be low decision in early checks however will hopefully get higher over time, Musk says, although some specialists fear he’s overpromising on the standard of the brain-computer interface.
Foldable iPhones Arrive
It’s just like the Nineteen Nineties another time! You’ll quickly be capable to punctuate your offended conversations by slamming your iPhone shut. Apple plans to carry a foldable model of its telephone to market in late 2026, aiming not simply to meet up with the competitors however enhance on some longstanding points with current fashionable foldable telephones. The iPhone Fold, because it’s known as, can have an inside hinge mechanism that results in a much less seen crease within the show, the corporate claims. The system is anticipated to price a minimum of US $2,000—that’s $800 greater than some 2025 base iPhone costs. The telephone should compete with robust rivals which have already cultivated mannequin loyalty, like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold sequence.
Double Rendezvous in Deep Area
In July 2026, a Chinese language sample-return mission is anticipated to rendezvous with 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, a near-Earth asteroid. The mission, known as Tianwen-2, will even use devices that embody a number of spectrometers and cameras, a magnetometer, and a mud analyzer to gather knowledge concerning the asteroid. After greater than six months of examine, Tianwen-2 will go away the asteroid and drop the collected pattern all the way down to Earth earlier than heading off to research 311P/PanSTARRS, a sophisticated celestial object that’s half asteroid and half comet.
Sending People Again to the Moon
In one other big leap for mankind, the primary crewed mission to the moon since 1972 is scheduled to launch in April 2026. The 10-day flight will usher in NASA’s efforts to have a sustained human presence on the moon by testing {hardware} and techniques for future lunar exploration. This would be the first time a crew assesses the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft for human use. Whereas the astronauts received’t really land on the moon, they are going to get as shut as 7,400 kilometers from its floor and spend time investigating how near-lunar area journey impacts their well being.
An AI Supercomputer the Dimension of a Metropolis
Meta is spending its solution to AI excellence, specialists say. The corporate plans to take its first “AI supercluster” on-line in 2026, consuming as a lot as 1 gigawatt of energy. Prometheus, because it’s known as, is on a website close to Columbus, Ohio, with a footprint that approaches the dimensions of Manhattan. However it’s simply a part of a wider mission that may price Meta a whole lot of billions of {dollars}, in response to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Along with Prometheus, Meta is growing a fair bigger knowledge middle, Hyperion, that may be capable to scale as much as 5 gigawatts and is anticipated to be operational in 2028.
Mining the Moon and Mars
How can missions to Mars refuel on the pink planet? Blue Origin means that its in situ resource-utilization system, known as Blue Alchemist, could possibly be the reply. The corporate plans to run an autonomous demonstration of the system in a simulated lunar surroundings this yr, demonstrating the way it makes use of electrical present to extract breathable oxygen and invaluable metals from regolith with out additionally releasing poisonous chemical compounds or carbon emissions. Blue Origin claims that Blue Alchemist may facilitate lunar and Martian settlements, each for people and robots. It may additionally assist make deep-space exploration potential by utilizing asteroids, the corporate says.
Who Wants Tritium?
By the tip of the yr, we could possibly be one step nearer to business fusion vitality. The primary-ever mission to exhibit the deuterium-tritium gas cycle—essentially the most viable path to sensible fusion vitality—plans to be operational by late 2026. Unity-2 will run via your entire D-T gas course of, together with discharge, purification, and resupply, to ascertain that tritium recycling is a enough technique to supply fusion vitality. It can even be a testbed for associated expertise—members of trade will be capable to stress-test their fusion-related improvements with Unity-2 and push them up the expertise readiness scale.
A Self-Driving Automobile of Your Personal
You might quickly see privately owned fully self-driven automobiles on the highway, as automotive startup Tensor plans to launch its SAE Stage 4 automobile to shoppers within the second half of 2026. This degree of autonomy signifies that the automobile comes geared up with instruments for management, together with a steering wheel, fuel pedal, and brake, however can safely journey and not using a particular person within the driver’s seat. Though some driverless taxi providers, comparable to Waymo, operate at Stage 4, Tensor’s product would probably be the primary personal automobile at this degree of self-sufficiency. Tensor’s chief enterprise officer means that riders may even watch Netflix or do work whereas on the highway within the firm’s automobiles.
Deciding the Way forward for Chipmaking
2026 could possibly be a monumental yr for the way forward for chips. Intel introduced that it plans to determine whether or not it would pursue its superior 14A chipmaking course of this yr. The corporate’s chief monetary officer says that Intel will pursue 14A manufacturing capability provided that sufficient exterior clients decide to utilizing the method. Stepping away from 14A would sign that Intel is forgoing efforts to compete with TSMC and Samsung for chip-technology management.
Social Media Adverts Totally Created by AI
Quickly, an algorithm will decide not solely what adverts you see on social media, but additionally what’s in them. Meta plans to completely automate advert creation and supply on its platforms by the tip of 2026, placing each step of the method within the “fingers” of AI. Although there are already some AI instruments built-in into the corporate’s advert platform, Meta needs to do extra. It’s growing a method for any model to current solely a product and finances to an AI instrument, which is able to then create a complete advert (together with textual content, pictures, and video), decide the customers to focus on, and supply enterprise options.
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