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History of Technology

A look back at key moments in the history of cyberspace, electronics, and the space age
CareersTopicMagazineTypeFeatureHistory of TechnologyMay 2023Telecommunications

Meet Mr. Internet: Vint Cerf

Even after 50 years, he’s still extending and evangelizing the Internet

12 min read
Meet Mr. Internet: Vint Cerf
A person with long hair wearing white VR googles with a tube connected to the nose area against a white background
Consumer ElectronicsTopicTypeHistory of TechnologyNews

Smellovision Gets a Refresh

VR olfactory generators are just the latest scent across 150 years of aromatic tech history

6 min read
A photo of an antique contraption having glass disks, a wooden base, and supporting wires.
History of TechnologyTopicMagazineArticleTypeJune 2023

James Wimshurst’s Electrostatic Immortality

Little is known about the man, but his iconic generators live on

4 min read
Historical photo of seven smiling men, sitting on a lawn in front of a tree and a white school building with many windows.
History of TechnologyTopicArtificial IntelligenceTypeGuest Article

The Meeting of the Minds That Launched AI

There’s more to this group photo from a 1956 AI workshop than you’d think

6 min read
man speaking to a group of people in front of a screen that says "SRI parc" and in smaller letters "A fusion of innovation icons"
History of TechnologyTopicTypeComputingNews

Xerox Donates Legendary PARC Research Center

The lab that pioneered personal computing will become part of SRI International

3 min read

Robotics News in your inbox

Subscribe to IEEE Spectrum’s Robotics News.
A photo of a dented metal object encased in a tan outer coating.
History of TechnologyTopicAerospaceMagazineArticleTypeMay 2023

Skylab: The Space Station That Fell on Australia

Repaired during one of the riskiest missions ever, it orbited for 6 years

6 min read
A black and white photo of a young man sitting in front of a CRT screen that has lines and numbers on it.
History of TechnologyTopicTypeComputingGuest Article

The Tremendous VR and CG Systems—of the 1960s

And how computer graphics pioneer Ivan Sutherland helped instigate it all

9 min read

Black History Month

Acknowledging and honoring the contributions of Black inventors and engineers
See the full collection →
Woman in a red jacket over a black dress standing in a hallway.
CareersTopicMagazineTypeSpectrum CollectionsProfileFebruary 2023

Overcoming Systemic Racism Through System Engineering

Photograph of James West holding the smart stethoscope.
BiomedicalTopicTypeSpectrum CollectionsNews

From the Segregated South to Bell Labs to the AI Frontier

Mrs. Katherine G. Johnson at Work at NASA Langley
The InstituteTopic2019ArticleTypeSpectrum CollectionsSpecial Reports

Katherine Johnson, the Hidden Figures Mathematician Who Got Astronaut John Glenn Into Space

The Woods Building following the Tulsa Massacre in 1921.
CareersTopicTypeSpectrum CollectionsNews

How Violence and Segregation Destroyed African American Innovation

Photo of an electric hot combs from the 1920s.
History of TechnologyTopic2019TypeArticleSpectrum Collections

How the Electric Hot Comb Became an Entrepreneurial Tool

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An abstract illustration of particles and waveforms.
History of TechnologyTopicTypeComputingNews

Quantum Technology’s Unsung Heroes

A new wide-ranging book brings overlooked histories into the limelight

7 min read
A dollhouse-size model house and tower made of painted metal. The tower has a long rod protruding from its top.
History of TechnologyTopicMagazineArticleTypeApril 2023

Tiny Exploding Houses Promoted 18th-Century Lightning Rods

Zapping gunpowder with an electric spark made a compelling demo

6 min read
This photograph of the exhibition floor shows a large number of people moving about and visiting booths set up by IBM and Sony, among many other companies.
History of TechnologyTopicMagazineTypeFeatureComputingMay 2023

The Do-or-Die Moments That Determined the Fate of the Internet

A handful of demos shaped today’s networked world

10 min read

Journal Watch

The latest engineering and computer science advances in context from IEEE Spectrum and the Xplore Digital Library
BiomedicalTopicTypeComputingNews

IoT Sentinels Poised for Cardio Emergencies

2 min read
illustration of a heart and pulse with a silhouette of a person's shoulders on a black background
RoboticsTopicTypeNews

MIT Multirobot Mapping Sets New “Gold Standard”

2 min read
A photograph showing eight small wheeled yellow robots with sensors on them along with a graphic showing a map created by those robots.
AerospaceTopicTypeComputingNews

Cybersecurity Gaps Could Put Astronauts at Grave Risk

5 min read
a person wearing an astronaut suit while looking out over black and white rocky terrain with crescent of Earth in the background
AerospaceTopicTypeNewsTelecommunications

This Alternative Could Stay on Target if GPS Fails

4 min read
round earth with satellite pathways going around
Consumer ElectronicsTopicTypeHistory of TechnologyNews

Smellovision Gets a Refresh

6 min read
A person with long hair wearing white VR googles with a tube connected to the nose area against a white background
EnergyTopicTypeTransportationNews

New Anodes Help Lithium-ion Batteries Charge Faster

3 min read
A micrograph shows a cross-section of the laser-patterned anode.
TransportationTopicMagazineEnergyTypeFeatureHistory of TechnologyApril 2023

False Starts: The Story of Vehicle-to-Grid Power

A 2001 experiment proved electric cars could feed the grid. So why hasn’t V2G taken off?

12 min read
Photo-illustration of GM EV1 electric cars being charged and connected to the power grid.
A screenshot of a bitmapped and mostly grayscale computer desktop with text in multiple windows and a cartoon of a leprechaun.
History of TechnologyTopicMagazineArticleTypeMarch 2023

Smalltalk Blew Steve Jobs’s Mind

Its graphical user interface inspired change at Apple’s core

1 min read
A black and white photo of a vertical computer display and keyboard and mouse on a desk, with the computer itself under the desk.
History of TechnologyTopicMagazineTypeFeatureMarch 2023

50 Years Later, We’re Still Living in the Xerox Alto’s World

The Alto transformed computing. And the changes stuck

12 min read
How to Achieve Open, AI Native 6G Networks
TelecommunicationsWebinar

How to Achieve Open, AI Native 6G Networks

Thursday, 29 June 2023, 2pm ET

black and white image of two men standing underneath a large con-shaped structure outdoors
History of TechnologyTopicTypeNewsTelecommunications

Saving the Big Bang (Antenna)

The historic horn that discovered the cosmic microwave background faces an uncertain future

3 min read
A photo of a cathode-ray tube television set housed in clear plastic.
History of TechnologyTopicMagazineArticleTypeFebruary 2023

RCA’s Lucite Phantom Teleceiver Introduced the Idea of TV

In 1939, RCA had to convince people they wanted television

5 min read
A retro desktop computer with the Apple logo and name Lisa sits next to a computer mouse on a green background.
History of TechnologyTopicTypeComputingAnalysis

The Lisa Was Apple’s Best Failure

Its GUI, mouse, and software greatly influenced the Macintosh

6 min read
black and white image of a man in a suit standing next to a large x-ray machine
The InstituteTopicArticleTypeHistory of Technology

How This Record Company Engineer Invented the CT Scanner

The machine, made to image the human brain, won him a Nobel Prize

4 min read
Optimize Battery Pack Design via Simulation
EnergyWebinar

Optimize Battery Pack Design via Simulation

Now available on-demand

A glowing lightbulb tips off the end of a stepped block.
History of TechnologyTopicTypeNews

Disruption, Disrupted

New research shows decline in disruptive concepts since the mid-20th century

3 min read
A grouped image of 3 IEEE Spectrum covers.
History of TechnologyTopicMagazineTypeOpinionJanuary 2023

To Look Forward, Sometimes You Have to Look Back

Technologies decades in the making finally get their star turn in 2023

3 min read
History of TechnologyTopicMagazineTypeFeatureFebruary 2023

Who Really Invented the Thumb Drive?

Thumb drive, USB drive, memory stick: Whatever you call it, it’s the brainchild of an unsung Singapore inventor

11 min read
Three monolithic thumb drives stand in a white landscape with blue sky and clouds behind them.