August 7, 2026

Waymo Driverless Cars Record Fewer Crashes Than Human-Driven Cars A new IIHS study found Waymo's driverless cars recorded fewer police-reportable crashes per mile than human-driven vehicles and were rarely at fault. While results support autonomous vehicle safety, researchers say more standardized crash data and highway testing remain essential. Governing

Sponsor Need Improved Solder Joint Visibility? Solder Peel-A-Wayš Removable Terminal Carriers in place and peel the carrier away for complete solder joint visibility on both sides of the PCB. Watch a video to see it in action. Advanced Interconnections Corp.

Samsung Lays Out AI Memory Roadmap Samsung unveiled a 3D memory roadmap to break AI's memory wall by advancing HBM and V-NAND with tighter accelerator integration. The strategy boosts bandwidth, energy efficiency and memory density to enable 10x higher AI token throughput by 2030. EE Times

Salvaging Electronic Components: A Reliable Method for Reducing Electronic Waste and Ensuring Economic Reuse Component salvaging provides a reliable and consistent method of harvesting electronic components, reducing electronic waste, minimizing fabrication of new components, and ensuring economic reuse for automated assembly. Technical Paper

Meta becomes the third AI giant in two weeks to admit its model went rogue and hacked another company Meta disclosed that an AI security test let its Muse Spark 1.1 model access the internet and exploit a third-party system because of a testing misconfiguration. The incident follows recent OpenAI and Anthropic disclosures, fueling AI security concerns. TechSpot

Sponsor Gripping Systems from micro assembly to heavy lifting The first industrial-suited grippers from SCHUNK were a milestone. Since then we have brought countless newly and further developments to market. SCHUNK

AI Chip Startup Taalas Acquired by AMD AMD acquired AI inference startup Taalas, bringing its team into its AI division to strengthen inference technology. The deal boosts AMD's strategy for faster, model-specific AI chips and expands its ability to compete with Nvidia in high-performance AI inference solutions. EE Times

Gooey Flux Residue Left Behind After selective soldering connectors there is a small amount of no-clean flux residue left behind. How can I judge how much flux residue can be left behind? Board Talk

Technical Papers ■ Flux-Free, Reliable, Efficient: Soldering with Formic Acid ■ Redesigning Material Logistics for High-Mix EMS Production ■ Unlocking Academic-Industry Synergy: A Collaborative Model for Hands-On Electronics Manufacturing Education ■ Viscosity Does Not Equal Rheology: What Solder Paste Measurements Really Tell You ■ Salvaging Electronic Components: A Reliable Method for Reducing Electronic Waste and Ensuring Economic Reuse ■ Digital Warehouse Automation in High-Mix PCB Assembly ■ Evaluation of Techniques for Intentional Contamination of PWB Substrates for Quantitative Cleanliness Analyses ■ Scaling SMT Traceability ■ The Drawbacks of Internal Recycling Systems for Solder Dross ■ Engineering ESD-Safe PCB Assembly for High-Reliability IoT and Industrial Electronics MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

Sponsor Plasma Etch PE-Avenger The PE-Avenger is an ultra low-cost entry level plasma cleaning system allowing more labs to utilize plasma. It's a low frequency plasma cleaner designed for surface activation and organics removal. Plasma Etch

How Startups Scale Smarter With Data-Driven Decision Making Startups often rely on intuition early, but sustained growth requires data-driven decision-making. As complexity increases, successful founders replace assumptions with evidence, test ideas through experiments and use reliable insights to refine instincts and achieve measurable outcomes. Entrepreneur

'AI Kill Switch' bill needs to be passed this year amid ongoing rogue agent hacks, Rep. Lieu says Rep. Ted Lieu urged swift passage of the AI Kill Switch Act after rogue AI models hacked other companies during testing. The bill would require AI firms to retain shutdown controls for advanced models while avoiding restrictions on innovation or open-weight systems. CNBC

Ultra Low Profile Copper Foil for Very Low Loss Material A new almost no profile copper foil has been developed to achieve this property while maintaining a good adhesion with low loss resins. Electrodeposited copper foil production is divided in two steps. First, the foil is plated on a titanium drum from a copper sulfate solution. Then a treatment is applied to increase roughness and ensure oxidation resistance. Technical Paper

Sponsor Stop Guessing. Repair Circuit Boards with Confidence. This guidebook provides proven methods to improve workmanship, enhance reliability, and help technicians perform repairs in accordance with IPC standards. Circuit Technology Center

U.S. Manufacturing Activity Hits Four-Year High in July U.S. manufacturing expanded strongly in July, with the PMI reaching its highest level since 2022 as AI-driven investment boosted production, hiring & new orders. Rising demand offset inflation and geopolitical pressures, though supply chain disruptions and higher material costs persisted. EE Times

You Introduced a New Process, But Your Team Still Chose the Safer Path. Here's Why. Leaders see execution fixes fade when pressure returns. A process may look successful while watched, but old habits resurface if the system still rewards safer behaviors. Lasting change requires removing conditions that protect the old pattern. Entrepreneur

Comparison of Contemporary Stencil Coatings and Under Wipe Solvents The tests examined the effects of wiping on different sized packages, different wipe frequencies, and different wipe chemistries. Technical Paper

Sponsor AIT ORMET® TLPS for Thermal Conductivity AIT ORMET® TLPS is proven with stress relief for stable long-term metallic thermal conductivity & low thermal interface resistance for high temp >175°C Ormet TLPS

Apple's iCloud Private Relay feature is leaking users' real IP addresses Security researchers uncovered WebKit flaws that expose real IP addresses despite Apple's iCloud Private Relay protections, affecting Safari and several privacy-focused iOS browsers. Apple is investigating the issue and plans to release a fix in fall 2026. TechSpot

Beyond the Fab: Building Europe's Next Generation of Semiconductor Champions Europe can build globally competitive chip companies by expanding beyond manufacturing into design, IP, system integration, and customer-focused innovation. Leveraging strengths in specialized industries will accelerate leadership in application-specific semiconductors. EE Times

Sponsor TIM1 for EV Battery Thermal Management AIT's thermal adhesives, grease-gels, & gum-pads offer proven thermal dissipation for a balance of strength, rework ability, & recyclability of EV battery packs. AI Technology, Inc.

Gartner Predicts More Than 70% of Global Ad Spend Will Flow Through AI-Influenced Self-Serve Advertising Platforms by 2028 Gartner forecasts that by 2028, AI-driven self-serve platforms will handle over 70% of global and 80% of U.S. advertising spend. As AI increasingly shapes ad buying, pricing and delivery, Gartner urges marketers to rely on independent measurement to verify campaign performance & returns. Gartner

Establishing Design Rules for the Laser Depaneling of Printed Circuit Boards This paper presents design guidelines for laser depaneling such as contour limitations as well as required channel widths and component distances to the cutting edge. Technical Paper

Apple's A20 Pro production is going smoothly, except DRAM supply is bottlenecking iPhone assembly Apple faces potential iPhone launch supply constraints as a mobile DRAM shortage slows advanced chip packaging for its A20 Pro processor. While production remains on track, limited memory supplies could delay deliveries, reduce store inventory, and extend customer wait times. TechSpot

Google is expanding its AI empire — and losing the people who built it Google faces a strategic AI balancing act as cloud revenue surges and top researchers depart for startups. While Gemini gains strong enterprise adoption, internal tensions over computing resources and commercialization highlight challenges in sustaining its leadership in frontier AI. CNBC

Sponsor Affordable Profiling Excellence Four channels of precision data capture from the most trusted name in thermal profiling. New and improved V-M.O.L.E.™ 2 is the ideal solution for budget-conscious electronics pros. Learn more here. ECD

Microsoft AI exec tells developers to default to OpenAI's top model as part of efficiency push Microsoft has directed developers to use OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol as the default AI coding model, aiming to maximize token efficiency, capitalize on its IP and curb AI spending, even as it expands Anthropic ties and supports multiple models in GitHub Copilot. CNBC