MIT technology Review March 5, 2019 Triton malware came to light in 2017 when hackers took over the safety instrumented systems of a petrochemical plant in Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, a flaw in the code gave the hackers away before they could do any harm. The malware has not been deconstructed and the hacking group’s identity has not been established with certainty. The hackers behind Triton had tested elements of the code used during the intrusion to make it harder for antivirus programs to detect. Researchers are still digging into the malware’s origins. Experts are urging companies to revisit all their […]
Researchers develop ‘acoustic metamaterial’ that cancels sound
Phys.org March 7, 2019 Based on the premise that metamaterial needs to be shaped in such a way that it sends incoming sounds back to where they came from, researchers at Boston University calculated the dimensions and specifications that the metamaterial would need to have in order to interfere with the transmitted sound waves. Using the calculation they created a structure made of plastic that could silence sound from a loudspeaker. In tests they found that 94 percent of the sound emanating from the loudspeaker was imperceptible to the human ear. The shape of acoustic-silencing metamaterials is also completely customizable. […]
‘Meta-mirror’ reflects sound waves in any direction
Science Daily March 7, 2019 To break the law of reflection with sound waves, an international team of researchers (Finland, USA – Duke University) designed a meta-mirror out of plastic with precisely etched channels on the surface of the metamaterial. Between the meta-mirror’s shape and the depth of its channels, the interference pattern results in the sound wave reflecting in a desired direction without any of its energy being absorbed or scattered in an unwanted direction. In demonstration the device reflected a soundwave traveling directly toward it at 3,000 Hertz and perfectly reflects it at an angle of 70 degrees. […]
Listening to quantum radio
Science Daily March 8, 2019 It becomes increasingly difficult to detect long-wavelength single photons because of thermal fluctuations in the background. Researchers in the Netherlands used a superconducting qubit to directly observe the quantization of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields stored in a photonic microresonator. They were then able to manipulate the quantum state of the radio-frequency field, forming one- and two-photon Fock states within the microresonator, and analyze how the system interacts dynamically with its environment. Extending circuit quantum electrodynamics approach could be used for fundamental studies in quantum thermodynamics and find practical application in imaging…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Future Communication Satellite
Next Big Future March 5, 2019 The European Space Agency projected the shift from Geosynchronous satellites to medium and low earth orbit satellite constellations. This will drive large changes in the technologies that are used as well as the numbers of satellites, business models and changes to the economics of the satellite business. These satellites are only visible from within a small area (about 1000 km radius) beneath the satellite as it passes overhead. A large number of satellites are needed if the mission requires uninterrupted connectivity. Low earth orbiting satellites are less expensive to launch into orbit than geostationary […]
Einstein ‘puzzle’ solved as missing page emerges
Phys.org. March 6, 2019 The handwritten page, part of an eight-page appendix to a 1930 paper on the Nobel winner’s efforts towards a unified field theory, was discovered among the 110-page trove the university’s Albert Einstein archives received some two weeks ago. This article was one of many in Einstein’s attempts to unify the forces of nature into one, single theory and he devoted the last 30 years of his life to this effort. The eight-page appendix of the 1930 unified theory paper had never been published, though researchers had copies, this one page was missing in the copies…read more.
Efficiency boost for robot submarines
Phys.org March 8, 2019 Control algorithms for AUVs are not necessarily optimized for distance nor energy consumption. Researchers in China have designed an improved energy-aware and self-adaptive deployment method for a group of AUVs taking on collaborative tasks. Taking into account the movement priority of AUVs and the initial deployment scheme a self-adaptive deployment strategy is presented for redeploying the AUVs when the available energy of some AUVs has fallen below a certain threshold. Simulation results showed that the method decreases energy consumption by about 30%. than its traditional counterpart and it can redeploy AUVs adaptively and rapidly…read more. TECHNICAL […]
Combs of light for molecules
Nanowerk March 7, 2019 Researchers in Germany review the developments and prospects in the emerging and quickly advancing field of atomic and molecular broadband spectroscopy with frequency combs. The past decade has witnessed remarkable progress in laser frequency comb generators dedicated to broadband spectroscopy, especially in the molecular-fingerprint mid-infrared (2–20 µm) region and the ultraviolet range (<400 nm). Existing spectrometers and spectrometric techniques have been adapted and improved to make the most of such sources (mode-locked lasers, nonlinear frequency conversion, microresonators, electro-optic modulators, semi-conductor lasers etc.), while entirely new comb-enabled approaches and instruments have been explored…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
China’s masses of data give it an edge in AI—but they may not forever
MIT Technology Review March 5, 2019 How can the US outcompete China when the latter has far more people and the former cares more about data privacy? Is it, in other words, just a lost cause for the US to try to “win”? According to the President of MIT, state of the art changes with research. In other words, data may not always be king. Given that our brains themselves do not require a lot of data to learn, the better we come to understand its processes, the more closely we will be able to mimic it in new types […]
China’s Huawei has big ambitions to weaken the US grip on AI leadership
MIT Technology Review March 4, 2019 Huawei plans to increase its investments in AI and integrate it throughout the company to “build a full-stack AI portfolio.” Officials from the company said last year that it planned to more than double annual R&D spending to between $15 billion and $20 billion. This could catapult the company to between fifth and second place in worldwide spending on R&D. According to its website, some 80,000 employees, or 45% of Huawei’s workforce, are involved in R&D. But Huawei is struggling to convince the Western world that it can be trusted. The company faces accusations […]