Researchers at EPFL’s MicroBioRobotic Systems laboratory have built ultralight flying machines that carry no motors, batteries, or electronics. Hollow cavities printed into their structures turn ordinary sound waves into focused jets of air. Those jets provide the thrust that lifts the devices off a surface and keeps them aloft.

The idea begins with a classic physics demonstration: blow across the mouth of a bottle and watch the air trapped within begin to vibrate. When you strike the correct pitch, the vibration intensifies sufficiently to generate a distinct tone. The phenomenon is known as Helmholtz resonance. A team of EPFL researchers applied the same method to form small polymer cavities. When they did, they discovered that the resonance causes air to be forced out one end of the cavity far more powerfully than it is sucked back in the other, resulting in a continuous jet of air that gently but persistently nudges the entire construction in a specific direction.

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Everything, from the micro flying objects to the larger versions, is constructed using additive manufacturing, which is essentially a fancy word for 3D printing, and the tiny ones, like the larger counterparts, were created using two-photon polymerization. This is a highly high-resolution method that allows you to create structures that are only a few millimeters wide and weigh next to nothing, simply a few micrograms. As a result, the finished items have a lot of empty space and very little actual material.

Two different designs have already gone to the skies. The first one resembles a little rocket, with three chambers directed directly down toward the ground. When an ultrasonic field of 40 kilohertz is concentrated on the object, each cavity spits forth a jet of air, and presto!The entire contraption begins to ascend like a small rocket. The thing weighs 150 micrograms and has enough power to hover at nearly a five-to-one thrust-to-weight ratio. In certain lab testing, the device was able to climb a few millimeters into the air before settling into a steady hover with an upward force that properly matched its weight.

The second design adds a variation to the same basic concept. This one has thin blades linked to its chambers. Each resonator is positioned at the base of a curved blade and points rearward. When the matching ultrasonic frequency is detected, the jets begin spinning the entire assembly at a pace of more than 13,000 revolutions per minute. The rotating blades, like those on a helicopter rotor, provide aerodynamic lift, allowing it to stay afloat. In fact, this form of the gadget is slightly more reliable at remaining steady and level because the rotating mass itself is sufficient to prevent tilting.

The control system is also really neat. The concept is that separate cavities can be set to various frequencies. Changing the frequency of the sound input is sufficient to activate only the chosen set of resonators, allowing you to utilize the same external speaker or ultrasonic array to propel, turn, or even stop the item. When the crew tested several of their boats at centimeter scale, they used auditory tones. In one boat, a resonator was utilized to propel it forward and some side-mounted resonators to steer it. All the operator had to do to steer the boat was switch the frequencies, and it would turn around in response. In some later tests, the boats even carried their own little transducers and batteries along for the ride, allowing them to follow programd paths without any external assistance.

One of the most brilliant aspects of this technology is that it operates almost completely silently. Because the only moving parts are the air molecules themselves, the machines make barely a sound when powered by ultrasound, and even when they don’t, the jets themselves make almost no noise at all, at least not enough for human ears to detect.
[Source]

AMD has raised $4.75bn in its biggest ever US dollar bond offering, sold in four tranches with maturities from three to ten years. It held $13.1bn in cash against $3.2bn of debt at the end of June, and has committed up to $5bn to Anthropic.

AMD has raised $4.75bn in the largest dollar bond sale it has ever done. The notes went out in four tranches with maturities from three to ten years, and demand was strong enough that the longest tranche priced about a quarter of a percentage point tighter than first indicated, at 0.9 points over Treasuries.

The company was not short of money. At the end of June it held $13.1bn in cash and short-term investments against $3.2bn of debt, which is an unusually clean balance sheet for a chipmaker at this scale.

What it has taken on is a commitment to a customer. In July AMD agreed to invest up to $5bn in Anthropic, alongside a partnership to deploy as much as two gigawatts of its Instinct MI450 chips to run Claude.

AMD has not connected the two. The filing says proceeds are for general corporate purposes, possibly including debt repayment, and the company has $875mn of bonds maturing next month.

The sizes are still hard to look past. The raise is $4.75bn and the Anthropic commitment is up to $5bn.

Either way it fits the shape the AI trade has taken, in which suppliers fund the customers who buy from them. Google has been running the same circular playbook with Anthropic, and Nvidia has gone further still, discussing guarantees over OpenAI’s data centre debt.

The underlying business is not imaginary. Analysts expect AMD revenue to climb 47% this year to more than $51bn, helped by the Anthropic agreement and a separate deal with Microsoft.

The borrowing is part of something much bigger. Big Tech’s AI debt has passed $350bn, and investment-grade issuers are now a routine part of that total rather than an exception.

Six banks ran the deal, among them JPMorgan, Citigroup and Bank of America. AMD last visited the investment-grade market in March 2025, when it raised $1.5bn, so this is more than three times that in 17 months.

A spokesperson said the company is “committed to maintaining its strong financial balance sheet,” which by any conventional measure it has. The interesting question is what a chipmaker holding $13bn in cash wants another $4.75bn for.

LG will unveil a bipedal humanoid robot in the first quarter of 2027, built on Nvidia’s Jetson Thor processor, Isaac GR00T foundation model and Halos safety system. The two signed the agreement at Nvidia’s Santa Clara headquarters on 13 August.

LG will show a bipedal humanoid robot in the first quarter of next year. The company signed an agreement with Nvidia at its Santa Clara headquarters on 13 August, with LG Corp chairman Kwang Mo Koo and Jensen Huang both present.

Nvidia is supplying the thinking parts. The robot runs Jetson Thor for onboard processing and motion control, uses the Isaac GR00T foundation model, and carries Halos, which Nvidia describes as the first full-stack safety framework built for robots.

LG is supplying the body, and that is the argument for why an appliance company belongs in this race. Actuators and sensors come from LG Electronics and LG Innotek, batteries from LG Energy Solution, so most of the bill of materials stays inside the group.

Something arrives before the humanoid does. LG will put CLOiD, its wheel-based robot, onto the production line at its washing machine plant in Tennessee by the end of 2026, feeding results into a data operation built on LG CNS’s PhysicalWorks platform that generates synthetic training sets alongside real ones.

The compute comes after. An AI factory reference site on Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform is due in the first half of 2027, followed by an 80 megawatt facility at Cheonan in South Korea by the first half of 2028, with Nvidia’s DRIVE Hyperion platform going into LG’s vehicle work.

None of this makes LG special to Nvidia, which is the point. Nvidia is not backing a winner in humanoids, it is selling the same stack to every contender, and has already signed up Japan’s robotics establishment for its open world models.

It has been widening the roster deliberately. Nvidia has been courting manufacturers beyond China’s Unitree, which has been outselling Tesla on humanoids.

LG is not even alone at home. Samsung has set up a CEO-led robotics division chasing the same market, and Hyundai owns Boston Dynamics.

The safety layer is the part worth watching. Humanoids sharing floor space with people is the liability question the industry has never answered, and Huang framed the whole partnership around it, calling the opportunity of physical AI giving every machine the ability to “understand the real world, reason and act safely.”

Everything else here is dated 2027 or 2028. The only machine going to work this year is a robot on wheels in Tennessee.

software

Dealing with machine-made bug backlog makes it hard to find a moment to deliver promised subscription service

Microsoft has blamed extra work created by AI bug-finders for the delayed release of a major Cumulative Update to Exchange Server Subscription Edition (SE).

Redmond’s Exchange team made that admission last Thursday in a post titled “Where is Exchange SE CU1 anyway?” that reveals the software giant is “getting questions from our customers on when they can expect us to release Exchange SE Cumulative Update 1 (CU1).”

“After all, in the past we mentioned that it would be released by the end of the first half of calendar year 2026, later updated to ‘second half of 2026’. What is the deal? Where is CU1?”

For those of you who came in late, Exchange SE is the subscription version of Microsoft’s email server, and a Cumulative Update (CU) is a new version of the package that includes all recent bug fixes, plus other changes such as new features or removing deprecated code. Microsoft publishes CUs once or twice a year. Some users prefer applying CUs to applying every patch.

As Exchange SE is a subscription product, not getting CU in a timely fashion isn’t a great example of why pay-as-you-go software is a great idea.

Microsoft explained delays to the arrival of CU1 by referring to the fact that “Over the last few months, various Microsoft execs made statements explaining how Microsoft is leveraging a variety of AI tools to help find vulnerabilities in our products.”

The post says the Exchange development team is “working through reported issues – which includes validation that they are real security issues, reproducing, fixing, testing for regressions / issues after fixes are deployed and releasing updates monthly.”

Redmond’s missive also points to Microsoft’s pledge to “prioritize security above all else” as a reason for delays. A reminder: Microsoft adopted that stance after flaws in Exchange led to an attack on Exchange by suspected Chinese operatives, earning it a tongue-lashing from the US government.

The Exchange team says that while trying to stay on top of bugs, it is also working on CU1.

“We are regularly rolling our monthly security payload into our internal CU1 build and plan to release Exchange SE CU1 as soon as we get a reasonable stable point and have a month without pressing security payload.”

The Exchange team has adopted that stance because it doesn’t want to publish CU1 and then find it needs to replace it with another that includes new security updates.

“That would create double the update work for many organization administrators,” the post explains. “Even internally, trying to ensure that two major releases (Security Update and a CU) get appropriately tested so we can ensure high quality and nothing falls through the cracks would be very challenging as CU1 must be all inclusive of everything that we released since the RTM.”

Exchange admins will likely appreciate the fact that Microsoft doesn’t want to burden them with two major updates to implement. They may also wonder when Microsoft will find a month in which there is no “pressing security payload” that takes priority over CU1.

Microsoft’s post offers little certainty because it concludes: “In short: Exchange SE CU1 is coming; we do not have a date to give you. But we did not forget about it.”

Nor, it seems, did Microsoft plan for how AI-powered bug-finding would impact product development teams. ®

Have you ever had four religious experiences in a weekend? OK, that might be hyperbole, but if you had the weekend I just had at Audio Advice Live in Raleigh, then you can relate. Disregarding audiophiles’ apparent love of Steely Dan, I was enthralled and impressed time after time at what I was hearing.

Just about every audiophile adjacent brand (and some more budget friendly enthusiast ones) was there showing off its best stereo speakers. Bowers & Wilkins showcased its flagship 801 D5 , Focal had its all-in-one active Diva Alta Utopia, Klipsch went back to one of its original speaker designs with the Klipschorn, and JBL had its new Summit Series on display including the almost flagship K-2 (the flagship Everest model didn’t make it to the show).

All in all, it was an exciting time to get acquainted with these speakers. Of course, some of them cost the equivalent of a small house in the Midwest, but that’s the deal when a team of audio engineers put their best ear forward.

1. Bowers & Wilkins 801 D5

In this week’s Sunday Reboot, Apple employs weird delay tactics for its Epic lawsuit filing. Meanwhile, Epic still doesn’t think Apple’s proposals go far enough.

Sunday Reboot is a weekly column covering some of the lighter stories within the Apple reality distortion field from the past seven days. All to get the next week underway with a good first step.

Playing courts for time

I have been covering the Apple-Epic lawsuit saga for about half of my tenure here at AppleInsider. It’s a source of news that, despite its regularity, doesn’t seem to be scraping the bottom of the barrel quite yet.

In the last week, there were a series of updates that are interesting, if not entirely groundbreaking. Specifically, delays, availability, and fees.

Let’s start with delays, because they can make a big impact in a legal case.

Back in May, Apple and Epic agreed on a pre-court schedule for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. It was a schedule set so that Apple and Epic could negotiate new commission rates for app transactions handled outside of the App Store, referred to as “linked-out purchases.”

At the time, it was outlined that Apple would have 45 days to file a “proffer,” namely a good-faith offer of evidence, testimony, and other elements to the court. This would propose commission rates for purchases, including why they were set at specific levels, in a neat 30-page document.

After that, Apple would hand Epic all non-privileged documents about the decision-making process and a privilege log, within ten days. Within five days of that, Apple and Epic would then meet up to discuss the privilege log, and to determine what documents would go under third-party review.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney

The schedule then continues with Epic filing its own response to Apple’s proffer, again in a 30-page document. That has a timeline of within 60 days of Apple’s proffer filing or Apple’s completion of document production, whichever happens last.

It’s still not over, as the schedule then has another 30-day period for Apple to respond to Epic’s response, with a 15-page limit. At that point, the court holds a status conference to determine what happens next.

The continuing game of litigious table tennis was supposed to hit that first 45-day proffer deadline this week, and it did. Except Apple asked for a stay on it on Tuesday, to delay things further.

The court decided Apple had more than enough time, so it gave the legal team just 24 hours to come up with something. On Wednesday, Apple then got another 24 hours approved.

Tim Sweeney, the CEO and founder of Epic Games, took the news in his stride. And by that, I mean gleefully taking to X.

He mused if Apple would honestly document the costs for human reviewer time in the proposal. Or if not, if Apple will “fabricate outlandish new notions of cost previously unknown to mankind.”

It seems that a second 24-hour period was enough for Apple to finally submit something on Thursday.

It is truly astounding that a major company like Apple and its well-paid legal team would ask for a long stay after a 45-day deadline for a 30 page document’s creation.

But at the same time, it seems weird that it would get what amounts to 48 hours of extra time to work on the project, and it managed to hand something in.

We don’t know why the delay was requested, nor what was stopping Apple from actually filing the proffer on time. But it has the feel of an attempt to deliberately push back as some sort of high-level legal strategy.

Courtroom-based foot-dragging, if you will.

At least, that would be the better way of viewing it. At worst, it could’ve been someone procrastinating on the 30-page book report about the most niche topic imaginable, and then rushed to put it together at the last minute.

Has anyone told a court “the dog ate their filing” before?

Fee cuts, but they’re never enough

The actual point of the filing is for Apple to detail its proposed external commission rates. The original proposal of 27% versus the 30% App Store commission was no bueno, and Apple had to do more.

The new proposal is much better for developers, in that the percentages are far lower:

• 15% for standard apps that would face the usual 30% App Store fee
• 10% for subscription renewals as well as the Video Partner Program, the News Partner Program, and the Mini Apps Partner Program
• 5% for Small Business Program apps

So, on the good side, those fees are lower so developers should earn a tiny bit more revenue. On the bad side, at least to Epic, those fees are still too high.

In an X post, Epic’s Newsroom feed said that even these concessions are “far outside the bounds of the Ninth Circuit’s guidance on permissible fees.”

An image from an Epic Games video mocking Apple’s 1984 ad – Image Credit: Epic Games

It’s good that Epic still has an opinion, but it doesn’t say how much those fees should be just yet. I get the feeling that the closer to 0%, the better, when it comes to Epic’s preferred fee level.

Alas, we won’t know exactly how much until Epic files its reply. That’s going to take another 60 days at most.

Unless there are more attempts to delay filings in the court.

There’s no chance of that happening. Surely

Last week’s Sunday Reboot talked about OpenAI’s hardware leak and an astoundingly cheap “Ted Lasso” promotion.

The short answer is probably not, but it depends on how you use your device.

Modern Android protects your device from threats automatically

Eza_Nanda/Shutterstock

The biggest mobile risks are ones that an antivirus can’t protect you from

Peace-loving/Shutterstock

Where a third-party Android antivirus might occasionally make sense

Maor_Winetrob/Shutterstock

Is an Android antivirus really necessary?

Karlis Dambrans/Shutterstock

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle has a real mix of topics, and might be a tough one. If you’re struggling with the puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group hint: Flip it!

Green group hint: Git ‘er done.

Blue group hint: Gimme the ball!

Purple group hint: The Silver and Black.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Words heard during a coin toss.

Green group: Determined.

Blue group: ____ pass, in basketball.

Purple group: Raiders in the Hall of Fame.

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is words heard during a coin toss.

The four answers are defer, heads, receive and tails.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is determined.

The four answers are dogged, driven, intent and tenacious.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ pass, in basketball.

The four answers are bounce, chest, outlet and pocket.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Raiders in the Hall of Fame.

The four answers are Branch, Casper, Guy and Shell.

CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She’s been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She’s Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.

See full bio

• DARPA wants hypersonic missiles capable of surviving increasingly sophisticated enemy air defenses
• The new program seeks major gains in range, speed, and survivability
• Russia’s Zircon gives Washington an existing hypersonic cruise missile benchmark

The Pentagon is pursuing a new hypersonic cruise missile concept designed to survive increasingly capable enemy air defense networks.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Next Generation Hypersonic Cruise Missile (NGHCM) program wants contractors to design a hypersonic scramjet cruise missile capable of evading enemy interceptors.