System Bits: Feb. 11


Modeling computer vision on human vision University of Michigan scientists used digital foveation technology to render images that are more comprehensible to machine vision systems, while also reducing energy consumption by 80%. The effect is achieved by manipulating a camera’s firmware. “It'll make new things and things that were infeasible before, practical,” Professor Robert Dick s... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 29


Thermal lithography Using a technique called thermal scanning probe lithography, New York University (NYU) and others have reported a breakthrough in fabricating 2D semiconductors. With the technology, researchers have devised metal electrodes with vanishing Schottky barriers on 2D semiconductors based on molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂). Thermal scanning probe lithography, sometimes called t-... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 8


Atom interferometry NASA and AOSense have demonstrated a prototype quantum sensor that uses a measurement technique called atom interferometry. The technology could one day enable more accurate gravitational measurements, climate-monitoring missions in space and other applications. Originally developed in the 1980s, atom interferometry is like today’s optical interferometry. Used in sc... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Oct. 30


World’s smallest gyroscope The California Institute of Technology has developed the world's smallest optical gyroscope. The gyroscope is 500 times smaller than current devices, but it can detect phase shifts that are 30 times smaller than today’s systems. [caption id="attachment_24139584" align="alignleft" width="300"] The new optical gyroscope—shown here with grains of rice—is 5... » read more

System Bits: Oct. 23


Adapting machine learning for use in scientific research To better tailor machine learning for effective use in scientific research, the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a collaborative grant to a group of researchers, including UC Santa Barbara mathematician Paul Atzberger, to establish a new data science research center. According to UCSB, the Physics-Informed Learning Machines for M... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Oct. 16


On-chip modulator Researchers at Harvard SEAS and Nokia Bell Labs boosted shrunk down an important component of optoelectronics with an on-chip modulator that is 100 times smaller and 20 times more efficient than current lithium niobite (LN) modulators. Lithium niobate modulators form the basis of modern telecommunications, converting electronic data to optical information in fiber optic ca... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Sept. 25


Simulating quarks and gluons The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is simulating sub-atomic particles on the world’s most powerful supercomputer. The system is simulating these particles at speeds over 70 times faster than the predecessor. More specifically, Oak Ridge is simulating quarks and gluons on the recently-announced Summit supercomputer. In simple terms,... » read more

System Bits: Aug. 7


ML leverages existing hospital patient data to detect trouble Focusing on emergency and critical care patients, a University of Michigan spinout, Fifth Eye, has developed a system that combines a machine learning algorithm with signal processing to monitor the autonomic nervous system of hospital patients and interprets the data every two minutes, which can sometimes be almost two days faster ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: July 16


Levitating metrology The Instituto de Ciencias Físicas UNAM has developed a new contaminant detection technique. It uses sound waves to levitate droplets of water for sampling purposes. Researchers use a technique called laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The technique analyzes heavy metals in levitating drops of water, according to The Optical Society (OSA) journal Optics Letter... » read more

Blazing-Fast Performance


When it comes to raw performance, there's nothing like a supercomputer. Until recently, though, most of this was simply bragging rights about whose supercomputer was faster. A trillion calculations (petaflop), more or less, doesn't mean that much outside of scientific circles. What's changing is that companies and governments now can utilize these blazing fast machines across a wider swath o... » read more

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