MIT Technology Review April 2, 2019 Untether, based in Toronto, Canada, has developed a prototype inference chip which is akin to a chip that runs on a device like a smartphone or a camera. It can transfer data between different parts of the chip 1,000 times more quickly than a conventional AI chip. It uses “near-memory computing” to reduce the physical distance between memory and the processing tasks, which speeds up data transfer and lowers power consumption…read more.
High-capacity transmission over multi-core fiber link with 19-core optical amplifier
Eurekalert April 8, 2019 The successful development of Space-Division-Multiplexing (SDM) amplifiers is crucial for commercial realization of SDM technologies. Researchers in Japan developed a 19-core Erbium-doped-fiber amplifier utilizing cladding-pumping technology in order to share electrical power between the large number of spatial channels. The amplifier was integrated into a transmission test bed of for a record transmission demonstration. Fully decoded optical data transmission of 715 Tb/s was achieved over 2,009 km using coded polarization division multiplexed (PDM) -16 quadrature-amplitude modulation (QAM) of 345 carriers over the C and L band in a re-circulating transmission loop. The research enables development of […]
Engineers develop novel techniques to trick object detection systems
Science Daily April 4, 2019 To understand and document vulnerabilities in deep and machine-learning algorithms, researchers at the Southwestern Research Institute have developed patterns when worn or mounted on a vehicle, cause the algorithms in the camera to either misclassify or mislocate objects, creating a vulnerability. Malicious parties could place these patterns near roadways, potentially creating chaos for vehicles equipped with object detectors. The researchers call these patterns ‘perception invariant’ adversarial examples because they don’t need to cover the entire object or be parallel to the camera to trick the algorithm. The algorithms can misclassify the object as long as […]
Copper-based alternative for next-generation electronics
Science Daily April 1, 2019 In the existing techniques for the preparation of copper nanoparticles, impurities can be removed via extremely high temperatures hence those prepared at room temperature could not solidify into usable parts. Researchers in Japan have synthesised copper nanoparticles with the ability to solidify at much lower temperatures, remain pure; they altered the structure of the copper nanoparticles and rendered them more stable so that they do not degrade at low temperatures. With the new technique copper nanoparticle-based materials can be utilized in various types of on-demand flexible and wearable devices which can be fabricated easily via […]
Climate panel disbanded by Trump, now regrouped, releases its report
Science Daily April 4, 2019 With support from the Earth Institute at Columbia University, New York State and the American Meteorological Society, the Independent Advisory Committee on Applied Climate Assessment released a report that calls for the creation of the Science to Climate Action Network (SCAN) which is independent of the federal government and comprises experts from civil society and state, local, and tribal settings. By providing hubs for businesses, communities and academics to work together on practical challenges, the network is designed to produce guidance for using science to update infrastructure and building codes, reduce wildfire risk, manage flooding, […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of April 5, 2019
01. A Swiss cheese-like material’ that can solve equations 02. Tiny optical elements could one day replace traditional refractive lenses 03. Ferromagnetic nanoparticle systems show promise for ultrahigh-speed spintronics 04. A direct current (DC) remote cloak to hide arbitrary objects 05. Engineering for high-speed devices 06. Researchers find that the sun’s magnetic field is ten times stronger than previously believed 07. How to ice-proof the next generation of aircraft 08. A billion people will be newly exposed to diseases like dengue fever as world temperatures rise 09. ‘Biological bandage’ could help heal wounds 10. DARPA Seeks to Make Scalable On-Chip […]
Tiny optical elements could one day replace traditional refractive lenses
Eurekalert March 28, 2019 Metalenses are currently limited by their static and their complex and expensive fabrication and for imaging operations such as zooming and focusing. Most metalenses cannot adjust their focal spots without physical motion as the building blocks of these lenses are made of hard materials that cannot change shape once fabricated. Researchers at Northwestern University built a flat and versatile lens out of an array of cylindrical silver nanoparticles and a layer of polymer patterned into blocks on top of the metal array. By simply controlling the arrangement of the polymer patterns, the nanoparticle array could direct […]
‘A Swiss cheese-like material’ that can solve equations
University of Pennsylvania March 21, 2019 Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have introduced a metamaterial platform capable of solving an arbitrary wave as the input function to an equation associated with a prescribed integral operator. The solution of such an equation is generated as a complex-valued output electromagnetic field. They demonstrated their technique at microwave frequencies through solving a generic integral equation and using a set of waveguides as the input and output to the designed metastructures. The research provides a route to develop chip-based analog optical computers and computing elements…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Researchers find that the sun’s magnetic field is ten times stronger than previously believed
Phys.org March 29, 2019 An international team of researchers (UK, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Sweden, Georgia, Germany) analyzed the solar flare which erupted near the surface of the sun on 10 September 2017. The analysis showed that the coronal magnetic field strengths was as high as 350 Gauss at heights up to 25 Mm above the solar limb. These measurements are substantially higher than several previous estimates and may have considerable implications for our current understanding of the extended solar atmosphere…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
How to ice-proof the next generation of aircraft
Science Daily April 1, 2019 To prevent ice formation on aircraft during flight, current systems utilize the heat generated by burning fuel, but these high-temperature, fuel-dependent systems cannot be used on the proposed all-electric, temperature-sensitive materials of next-generation aircraft. An international team of researchers (China, USA – Iowa State University) has shown that equipment important in controlling landing and takeoff can double-up to control icing based on plasma acutators. When high voltage is applied across electrodes most is converted into heat and the rest is converted into an induced flow or ionic wind over the actuator, so the plasma actuator […]