For over 100 years, Proceedings of the IEEE has been the leading journal for engineers looking for in-depth tutorial, survey, and review coverage of the technical developments that shape our world. Offering practical, fully referenced articles, Proceedings of the IEEE serves as a bridge to help readers understand important technologies in the areas of electrical engineering and computer science. To learn more and start your subscription today, visit ieee.org/proceedings-subscribe

Advancing information and communication technologies (ICT) enable the implementation of better solutions that increase the efficiency and quality of the systems in almost every aspect of life, including the urban environment. ICT enables the creation of smart environments by utilizing intelligent parking systems, advanced waste management, and energy-efficient infrastructure to enhance the quality of life of its citizens. At the same time, such enhancements cause less harm to the environment and increase energy efficiency. Unfortunately, the large geographies and complex structures of cities pose challenges in developing new ICT projects.

Canada has a strong presence in space robotics, and Mission SpaceWalker (MSW) is a group of ambitious young women who are leaning into Canadian robotics excellence through their investigation of how electroadhesive (EA) robots behave in reduced gravity, all while introducing a new testing procedure for rovers and adhesive space robotics. As an undergraduate student team at the University of Alberta, MSW has been chosen to fly their payload as part of the Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Challenge (CAN-RGX) organized by Students for the Exploration and Development of Space Canada (SEDS-Canada), the National Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Space Agency. The annual competition is open nationwide to university students, soliciting participating groups to create a payload to be tested onboard a parabolic flight. The experiment will consist of an automated system contained within a Pelican case, featuring a mechanical design that will obtain footage of two robots on conductive and nonconductive surfaces. It will log data from onboard sensors to provide insight into the performance of the EA pads on both surfaces. The payload is expected to be flown on a parabolic flight during the CAN-RGX campaign in the 2023 calendar year.

This article presents a computational tool to calculate some parameters of hydroelectric plants, focusing mainly on microhydroelectric generation; it also evaluates the energy potential of small hydro plants. This computational tool was developed using MATLAB, and it presents a graphical interface that makes it user friendly. The computer program and related knowledge are easy to understand and apply; because the equations implemented are very simple, the tool is not computationally demanding. In fact, although it was developed and designed to help teach undergraduate electrical engineering students attending on classes hydroelectric generation, this tool can be used to estimate the hydroelectric generation potential of a site, which is the first step before starting a hydro plant project.

The emerging technologies that may shape the future of our society are highlighted each year in reports from well-known organizations for technology and entrepreneurship. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">IEEE Potentials</i> occasionally covers topics including those emerging technologies, presenting to its readers the opportunities, threats, and trends accompanying them. Examples of emerging technologies are the Internet of Things (IoT), presented in a past theme issue, and robotics, which will be covered in a forthcoming issue.

When we first think of failure, we often go to our own personal stories. Sometimes, however, those failures are brought into the public view. As a reminder that even famous companies are made up of fallible people, the following are some short case studies of epic product failures. For now, we’ll focus on products and services because they’re easier to relate to. You might have even held them in your hand and thought to yourself, “This thing is dumb,” or “I would not make that same mistake.”

It is currently estimated that approximately 55&#x0025; of the world population lives in urban centers (World Bank, 2020). This is partly caused by phenomena such as the migration of people from rural areas toward cities. A direct consequence of this situation is the increase in solid waste (SW) generation.