Phys.org March 1, 2019 Researchers in Switzerland used double-slit experiment to show that correlations indicate how well one can predict, for instance, the oscillatory phase of one light wave if one knows the phase of the other wave. Even if both phases are noisy they can still do so in a more or less synchronized fashion. They have demonstrated that correlations exist between pairs of light waves, which means that the number of those correlations does not increase linearly with the number of light waves, but roughly quadratically. In principle, therefore, it should be possible to transmit six bits of […]
Tag Archives: S&T Switzerland
How does the brain learn by talking to itself?
Medical Express January 2, 2019 Researchers in Switzerland previously showed that synaptic learning mechanisms in the brain’s cortex are dependent on feedback from deeper brain regions. They have now deciphered how this feedback gates synaptic strengthening by switching particular inhibitory neurons on and off. They have identified which neurons are involved in this mechanism in mouse. They will test their results in “real life” to check whether the inhibiting neurons will behave as predicted when a mouse needs to learn new sensory information or when it discovers new aspects in its tactile environment. The findings might be relevant for unsupervised […]
New Foldable Drone Flies Through Narrow Holes in Rescue Missions
Science Daily December 12, 2018 Researchers in Switzerland propose a novel, simpler, yet effective morphing design for quadrotors consisting of a frame with four independently rotating arms that fold around the main frame. To guarantee stable flight at all times, they exploit an optimal control strategy that adapts on the fly to the drone morphology. Using a fully autonomous quadrotor relying solely on onboard visual-inertial sensors and compute, they demonstrated the versatility of the proposed adaptive morphology in different tasks, such as negotiation of narrow gaps, close inspection of vertical surfaces, and object grasping and transportation…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Getting rid of sweat at the push of a button
Phys.org November 19, 2018 Using HYDRO_BOT technology developed by researchers in Switzerland, a company has developed a ski jacket that removes sweat from the inner clothing and transports it out of the jacket eliminating the moisture trapped in the inner clothing. This ensures the body spend minimal energy to stay warm. The jacket is easy to switch on and off using the integrated control unit or the iPhone & Android app. HYDRO_BOT technology consists of three layers: a membrane of billions of pores per square meter surrounded by an electrically conductive fabric. By means of a small electrical impulse, the […]
Bursting the clouds for better communication
Phys.org October 18, 2018 Researchers in Switzerland have developed a laser that heats the air over 1,500 degrees Celsius and produces a shock wave to expel the suspended water droplets sideways. This creates a hole a few centimetres wide over the entire thickness of the cloud. The laser beam should be kept on the cloud and the laser that contains the information should be sent at the same time. It then slips into the hole through the cloud and allows the data to be transferred. This “laser cleaner” is currently being tested on artificial clouds that are 50 cm thick […]
Searching for errors in the quantum world
Science Daily September 18, 2018 Many scientists dream of combining quantum mechanics with the theory of relativity to form a coherent worldview. As actually experiments are not possible, researchers in Switzerland propose a thought experiment to investigate the question whether quantum theory can, in principle, have universal validity. The idea is that, if the answer was yes, it must be possible to employ quantum theory to model complex systems that include agents which are themselves using quantum theory. Analysing the experiment under this presumption, they found that one agent, upon observing a particular measurement outcome, must conclude that another agent […]
Machine learning technique reconstructs images passing through a multimode fiber
Science Daily August 9, 2018 Researchers in Switzerland used deep neural networks (DNNs) to classify and reconstruct the input images from the intensity of the speckle patterns that result after the inputs are propagated through multimode fiber. They demonstrated this result for fibers up to 1 km long by training the DNNs with a database of 16,000 handwritten digits. Better recognition accuracy was obtained when the DNNs were trained to first reconstruct the input and then classify based on the recovered image. They reported remarkable robustness against environmental instabilities and tolerance to deviations of the input pattern from the patterns […]
An elastic fiber filled with electrodes set to revolutionize smart clothes
Science Daily May 25, 2018 Using thermal drawing researchers in Switzerland created hundreds‐of‐meters long multimaterial optical and electronic fibers and devices that can sustain up to 500% elastic deformation before recovering their initial shape. The fibers can detect even the slightest pressure and strain that makes them perfect for applications in smart clothing and prostheses, and for creating artificial nerves for robots… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Easing uncertainty: How Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle can be relaxed
Science Daily April 2, 2018 Researchers in Switzerland used sequences of multiple periodic position and momentum measurements to demonstrate that varying the period controls whether one measurement disturbs the state of the following one. At specific values of the period, they found that such measurements can avoid disturbance, whereas other choices produce strong disturbance. Modular position and momentum measurement are central components of several proposals for quantum computing and precision-measurement protocols that exploit periodic functions of position and momentum to escape Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. The research provides a fundamental ingredient — measurement — for such applications, thus bringing them closer […]
A ski jacket that actively gets rid of sweat
Science Daily January 29, 2018 Researchers in Switzerland have developed a technology called Hydro-bot based on osmosis. To ensure that liquid is actively transported from the inside to the outside by means of electro-osmosis, a polymer membrane with a thickness of 20 micrometers is used, which is coated on both sides with a noble metal by means of plasma coating. A voltage of around 1.5 volts is applied to accelerate the process. When the voltage is applied, salt ions and the liquid surrounding them migrate through tiny pores in the membrane to the outside. The membrane is equipped with a […]