Research: OpenAI agents scanned a UN data hub 16K+ times between April and the end of June, and circumvented a filter that was blocking their requests for data (@bobmcmillan / Wall Street Journal) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed ORCA — the Open Radar Code Architecture — a free, open-source software framework that turns commercially available software-defined radios into functioning radar systems for environmental science, without requiring users to have a radar engineering background. The problem ORCA solves is a well-known frustration in radar research: every new student joining a lab typically spends up to a year rebuilding the same basic control code from scratch before any actual science can begin. "Every new student is just recreating the wheel over and over," said assistant professor Nicole Bienert. With ORCA, researchers buy a software-defined radio — now available for a few thousand dollars compared to hundreds of thousands for traditional radar systems — attach off-the-shelf antennas and cables, download the code, and have a functioning radar. Current applications include measuring glacier ice thickness in the Arctic, determining water content within trees, and studying ice sheet base conditions. The platform has grown through monthly meetings and online forums with participants from multiple universities across continents, and researchers can contribute their own code via GitHub. The initiative aims to make radar accessible to geophysicists, ecologists, and other scientists who have environmental questions but lack the technical background to build radar systems from scratch.

Researchers from @ORNL, @IonQ_Inc, @nvidia and @UTKnoxville, are exploring how generative #AI# can automatically design quantum circuits, cutting out a time-consuming trial-and-error tuning process. ⤵️ #IEEEQuantumWeek#

Research|Optics: CIOE Takeaway - 2026 Orders Extend into 2027, Supply Determines Who Delivers First The clearest takeaway from this year’s CIOE is that 1.6T orders and production schedules now extend into 2027. Demand is growing rapidly, and the availability of DSPs, lasers and PCBs will determine the pace of deliveries and vendor market share. Zhongji InnoLight (InnoLight), Eoptolink, Coherent and Lumentum have all entered volume production of 1.6T products, supported by the strongest customer bases and most secure supply chains. For second-tier vendors such as Cambridge Industries Group (CIG), Linktel and Source Photonics, growth will come first from higher 800G shipments, followed by the introduction of 1.6T products. Adoption of near-packaged optics (NPO) is broadening, creating additional demand for high-power light sources, fiber arrays and connectors. Demand is also taking shape for 2028: Rubin Ultra, TPU v9 and Chinese supernodes already incorporate optical interconnects into their designs. Held in Shenzhen on 9–11 September, the show recorded nearly 190,000 visits over three days, up 32% year on year and a record for CIOE. The halls were packed, visitors queued to see samples at popular booths, and many exhibitors posted recruitment notices. One exhibitor said that, having booked late, it could secure only a small booth. Detailed Report

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