Most Read: Tesla Self-Driving Taxi: What to Expect From Cybercab Announcement; Brain Chip Allows Mind Control of Digital Devices

Here are the most-read stories on IoT World Today this week.

Tesla Self-Driving Taxi: What to Expect From Cybercab Announcement

The countdown is well and truly on for the automotive world’s most hotly anticipated new vehicle of 2024.

On Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. PT in Warner Bros’ Discovery Studio in Burbank, California, Tesla will present its long-awaited self-driving taxi, the so-called Cybercab.

Since the unveiling was announced in April by CEO Elon Musk, speculation has been feverish about what might be in store.

Surprisingly, even though the reveal was pushed back to October from its original August date, there is still little concrete known about what Musk might show. Indeed in a business as slickly choreographed and PR savvy as the auto industry, it’s most unusual for an event such as this to be shrouded in quite so much mystery.

Of course, that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from going into overdrive as D-Day approaches. So what do we know for sure about what Tesla has planned?

Find out what we know so far

Brain Chip Allows Mind Control of Digital Devices

Brain-computer interface (BCI) company Synchron has successfully tested its brain implant on six participants over a 12-month trial period. The device, called the Stentrode BCI, allows the subjects to control digital devices with their minds.  

Related:Tesla Self-Driving Taxi: What to Expect From Cybercab Announcement

The Stentrode is implanted in a blood vessel on the surface of the motor cortex of the brain through the jugular vein via a minimally invasive endovascular procedure. 

Once implanted, the device detects and wirelessly transmits motor intent out of the brain. The technology allows severely paralyzed people to control personal devices with hands-free point-and-click.

Synchron recently announced it implanted the device on the brain of a man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to allow him to control an Amazon Alexa with his mind. 

Discover how the device helps restore independence

Robot Installations Top 500,000 a Year; China Dominates

More than 4 million robotic units have been recorded as operating in factories worldwide, an increase of 10% from last year, according to the World Robotics 2024 Report. 

The annual study compiled by the International Federation of Robotics listed 4,281,585 robots at work globally, with annual installations exceeding 500,000 units for the third consecutive year. 

Last year comprised the second highest installations volume globally (541,000), 2% lower than the overall record (552,946) in 2022. 

By region, 70% of all newly deployed robots in 2023 were installed in Asia, 17% in Europe and 10% in the Americas.

Related:Brain Chip Allows Mind Control of Digital Devices

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Air Taxi Vertiport Parking Getting Set for Dubai

Vertiport developer Skyports Infrastructure has signed a deal with Parkin Company, a Dubai-based provider of paid public parking facilities, to provide parking facilities for vertiports.

The parking facilities would support the expansion of air taxi services in Dubai across the Skyports Dubai network.

The memorandum of understanding the two companies signed gives Parkin the exclusive rights to operate and manage paid public services across Dubai with the shared goal of developing an advanced air mobility (AAM) across the country.

“As the exclusive provider of vertiport infrastructure in Dubai, our partnership with Parkin brings together two companies with highly complementary assets and operations,” said Duncan Walker, CEO of Skyports Infrastructure.

Find out more about the plans

Quantum Computers Shown to Outperform Classical Computers

A team from Google Quantum AI has shown that today’s noisy, intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computers can perform a benchmark calculation that would take a classical computer years to calculate.

The research, published in Nature, used the random circuit sampling benchmark, one of the hardest benchmarks that can be performed on a quantum computer today.

These findings suggest that quantum computers have the potential to outperform classical computers for certain tasks, even with the current levels of noise. This is a significant step toward developing practical applications for quantum computers.

The research, using Google’s 67-qubit Sycamore quantum chip, demonstrated the existence of a "stable computationally complex phase" that is reachable with current quantum processors.

Get more insight into the research