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Big Picture presents technology through the lens of photographers.
Every month, IEEE Spectrum selects the most stunning technological images recently captured by photographers around the world. We choose images that reflect important achievements, trends, or simply catch the eye. We post all images on our website and one also appears in our monthly print publication.
Enjoy the latest images and if you have any suggestions leave a comment below.
Restoration of the power plant
This beautifully appointed room is the recently refurbished Control Room A at Battersea Power Station in London. For half a century, the power center controlled the flow of electricity that met a fifth of London’s electricity demand. The hub was decommissioned in 1983. It has now been restored to its original 1930s Art Deco splendor. The painstaking restoration, with historic details including sensors engineers relied on when the station was fully functional and a glass lift that would give visitors panoramic views of the London skyline, took decades.
James Parsons
Augmented Reality Contacts
In March 2022, IEEE Spectrum Senior Editor Thecla S. Perry took a look at the world with the latest version of Mojo Vision augmented reality contact lenses. She didn’t put the lens in her eye because the company hadn’t completed safety testing of the prototype yet. However, she has seen enough to confirm that Mojo Vision’s engineers have made some exciting progress. These included a 14,000ppi monochrome microLED display, eye tracking using an accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer, and onboard power using medical grade microbatteries. By June, the team was confident they had fixed all remaining security issues—so much so that Mojo Vision CEO Drew Perkins [shown here] experienced a pair of high-tech Mojo lenses for myself.
MOJO VISION
Hearing with light
The cochlear implant is an impressive feat of engineering. Figuring out how to use electrical current pulses to stimulate the cochlear nerve, which relays auditory information to the brain, has been a major achievement. But according to users, implants still leave a lot to be desired. That’s why a group of researchers from institutes across Europe are trying to give implants a whole new sound. Instead of manipulating electrons to stimulate the cochlear nerve, they invented a new version that does it with photons. The beams of light can be controlled with a level of specificity that helps address the main complaints of cochlear implant users, including voices that sound flat and robotic, lacking the subtle intonations that help convey things like sarcasm. The implant captures some of the dynamics of the music that was lost in transmission. And it promises to solve the cocktail party problem where background noise, including other conversations, overwhelms the signal representing the speaker’s voice.
Lakshay Kurana and Daniel Keppeler
All-weather battery
Even before the introduction of the General Motors EV1 in 1996, it was clear that if we were ever going to replace fossil fuel vehicles with electric vehicles, we would need batteries that recharged reliably in both hot and cold climates. . When it comes to electric vehicle engines, we’ve come a long way since lead-acid chemistry was still used to power electric starters and interior electronics. Now, a team of researchers at the University of California San Diego says they have developed a new lithium battery electrolyte chemistry that won’t freeze at temperatures as low as -100°C. And because the dibutyl ether solvent in the new electrolyte binds weakly to the lithium ions in solution, these ions move easily and create a strong current even on the coldest winter mornings. What’s more, dibutyl ether is resistant to evaporation and side reactions that can lead to irreversible decomposition of the electrolyte when the battery is exposed to high temperatures on hot summer days.
David Baio / UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering