tag: EPFL

System Bits: May 5
By Ann Mutschler - 05 May, 2015 - Comments: 0

Fight counterfeiting with fingerprint chips Given that no two human fingerprints are exactly alike, an MIT spinout uses random variations in silicon chips as authentication identifiers for consumer products. Silicon chips are similar as manufacturing processes cause microscopic variations in chips that are unpredictable, permanent, and effectively impossible to clone. MIT spinout Verayo ... » read more

System Bits: March 10
By Ann Mutschler - 10 Mar, 2015 - Comments: 0

Surviving entanglement breakdown Researchers at MIT have discovered that preserving the fragile quantum property known as entanglement isn’t necessary to reap benefits. By way of background, the MIT team reminded that the promise of quantum information processing, i.e., solving problems that classical computers can’t, as well as perfectly secure communication depends on a phenomenon cal... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Dec. 30
By Ann Mutschler - 30 Dec, 2014 - Comments: 0

Crafting ultrathin color coatings Harvard University researchers have developed a technique that coats a metallic object with an extremely thin layer of semiconductor, just a few nanometers thick. And while the semiconductor is a steely gray color, the object ends up shining in vibrant hues because the coating exploits interference effects in the thin films. Carefully tuned in the laboratory, ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Nov. 18
By Ann Mutschler - 18 Nov, 2014 - Comments: 0

A lighter, cheaper radio wave device Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin reported that they have achieved a milestone in modern wireless and cellular telecommunications through the creation of a radically smaller, more efficient radio wave circulator that could be used in cellphones and other wireless devices. The researchers said the circulator has the potential to double the ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Sept. 9
By Ann Mutschler - 09 Sep, 2014 - Comments: 0

Harvesting power from air A centuries-old clock built for a king is the inspiration for a group of University of Washington computer scientists and electrical engineers who hope to harvest power from the air. The clock, powered by changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure, was invented in the early 17th century by a Dutch builder. Three centuries later, Swiss engineer Jean Leon Reutter b... » read more

Smartphones Show Their Weaknesses
By Ann Mutschler - 04 Sep, 2014 - Comments: 0

According to researchers at the University of Michigan, a weakness believed to exist in Android, Windows and iOS operating systems could be used to obtain personal information from unsuspecting users. This hack was demonstrated in an Android phone and was successful between 82 and 92% of the time on six of seven popular apps that were tested. Gmail, CHASE Bank and H&R Block were among those ... » read more

System Bits: Aug. 12
By Ann Mutschler - 12 Aug, 2014 - Comments: 0

Wearable, continuous disease monitoring A new wearable vapor sensor being developed at the University of Michigan could one day offer continuous disease monitoring for patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, anemia or lung disease, according to researchers there. The new sensor, which can detect airborne chemicals either exhaled or released through the skin, would likely be the first w... » read more

Rethinking Encryption
By Ann Mutschler - 07 Jul, 2014 - Comments: 0

With security experts working around the clock to beat the hackers, because the hackers are doing the very same thing to beat the security experts, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that researchers at European university EPFL have cracked a so-called “unassailable encryption algorithm” in just two hours. It turns out, a protocol based on allegedly tamper-proof “discrete... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: June 24
By Ann Mutschler - 24 Jun, 2014 - Comments: 0

Solar-cell efficiency in one step Rice University scientists have created a single-step process for producing highly efficient materials that let the maximum amount of sunlight reach a solar cell. The Rice lab of chemist Andrew Barron found a simple way to etch nanoscale spikes into silicon that allows more than 99 percent of sunlight to reach the cells’ active elements, where it can be t... » read more

System Bits: June 10
By Ann Mutschler - 10 Jun, 2014 - Comments: 0

Graphene for dummies EPFL researchers have developed a “how-to” manual for making the most efficient optical graphene circuits possible that facilitates and accelerates technological development in this future field. Graphene holds great promise as the basis for new chips that are faster, better-performing and more compact. For example, graphene makes it possible to design systems that ... » read more

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