physical AI

Researchers are combining artificial intelligence with physics-based models to push imaging beyond what cameras can directly capture, from reconstructing hidden scenes to automatically colorizing anime footage. In a new Q&A, experts explain how machine learning can fill in missing visual information while physical laws keep the results grounded, pointing toward faster, cheaper imaging tools for science and media alike.

Nvidia is reportedly pursuing glass substrate packaging for its AI chips, a manufacturing shift that could improve performance and density as conventional materials hit physical limits. The move could reshape how advanced semiconductors are packaged and give Nvidia an edge in the race to power large AI systems, though details of timing and partners remain unclear.

Rystad Energy warns that surging power demand from data centers, driven by AI and cloud computing growth, is colliding with the limits of electricity grids and generation capacity. The firm's message is blunt: no amount of investment or scheduling can outrun the physical constraints on power supply, and grid bottlenecks will increasingly shape where and how fast data centers can be built.

AMD is acquiring a startup outside its core chipmaking business in an all-stock deal valued at $8.2 billion, a move driven by CEO Lisa Su's push into physical AI, technology that connects artificial intelligence to robots, sensors and real-world systems. The deal signals AMD's ambition to compete beyond traditional semiconductors as demand for AI applied to hardware and machines accelerates across the industry.

Bloomberg Tech reports that AMD has acquired World Labs, the spatial-intelligence startup founded by AI researcher Fei-Fei Li, in a deal valued at $8.2 billion. The move signals AMD's push beyond chips into AI systems that understand 3D space and the physical world, a technology many see as a possible stepping stone toward more general artificial intelligence and advances in robotics.

Analysis in the medical device industry examines how regulators must adapt as AI moves beyond software and into surgical robots that physically operate on patients. The piece argues that existing approval frameworks, built for diagnostic tools and imaging, may not be suited to autonomous or semi-autonomous systems whose behaviour can change after deployment, raising questions about oversight, accountability and post-market monitoring.

Tech workers in San Francisco connected ChatGPT to a Toyota Corolla and had it navigate a parking lot using an off-the-shelf language model with no prior driving training. Only one model managed to complete the course. The experiment is drawing attention for showing both the potential and the limits of using general-purpose AI for real-world control tasks.

Real estate services firm JLL argues that physical AI — robots and intelligent machines working in buildings — is set to become the sector's next major transformation, following earlier waves of digitalisation and smart-building technology. The claim points to automation reshaping how properties are managed, operated and valued, though the company has released few details beyond the headline assertion.