Technology eliminates optical-electronic conversions, holds promise for revolutionizing edge intelligence. Researchers have demonstrated a new intelligent photonic sensing-computing chip that can process, transmit and reconstruct images of a scene within nanoseconds. This advance opens the door to extremely high-speed image processing that could benefit edge intelligence for machine vision applications such as autonomous driving, industrial inspection and robotic vision. Edge computing, which performs intensive computing tasks like image processing and analysis on local devices, is evolving into edge intelligence by…

An international team of scientists has developed a novel way to experimentally produce plasma ‘fireballs’ on Earth. Black holes and neutron stars are among the densest known objects in the universe. Within and around these extreme astrophysical environments exist plasmas, the fourth fundamental state of matter alongside solids, liquids, and gases. Specifically, the plasmas at these extreme conditions are known as relativistic electron-positron pair plasmas because they comprise a collection of electrons and positrons—all flying around at nearly the speed…

UC Riverside-led research has potential to unlock terahertz processing power. An international team led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, has made a significant breakthrough in how to enable and exploit ultra-fast spin behavior in ferromagnets. The research, published in Physical Review Letters and highlighted as an editors’ suggestion, paves the way for ultra-high frequency applications. Today’s smartphones and computers operate at gigahertz frequencies, a measure of how fast they operate, with scientists working to make them even faster. The…

Using NASA’s first two-way, end-to-end laser relay system, pictures and videos of cherished pets flew through space over laser communications links at a rate of 1.2 gigabits per second — faster than most home internet speeds. NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Christina Koch, and Kjell Lindgren, along with other agency employees, submitted photos and videos of their pets to take a trip to and from the International Space Station. The transmissions allowed NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) program to showcase the power…

DFKI and University of Duisburg-Essen test fine motor skills in weightlessness. Fine motor tasks under space conditions are particularly challenging and must first be trained on Earth. Scientists from the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) are investigating whether a robotic exoskeleton that can simulate weightlessness is suitable for astronautical training. The team now had the opportunity to participate in the 42nd DLR Parabolic Flight Campaign in Bordeaux, France, to compare the effects…

Researchers demonstrate a programmable approach to fabricating optical qubits in silicon for large-scale manufacturing. Quantum computers have the potential to solve complex problems in human health, drug discovery, and artificial intelligence millions of times faster than some of the world’s fastest supercomputers. A network of quantum computers could advance these discoveries even faster. But before that can happen, the computer industry will need a reliable way to string together billions of qubits – or quantum bits – with atomic precision….

Deep connections in the nano world… In relationships, sharing closer spaces naturally deepens the connection as bonds form and strengthen through increasing shared memories. This principle applies not only to human interactions but also to engineering. Recently, an intriguing study was published demonstrating the use of quantum dots to create metasurfaces, enabling two objects to exist in the same space. Professor Junsuk Rho from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Chemical Engineering, and the Department of Electrical Engineering,…

Lasers have revolutionized the world since the 60’s and are now indispensable in modern applications, from cutting-edge surgery and precise manufacturing to data transmission across optical fibers. But as the need for laser-based applications grows, so do challenges. For example, there is a growing market for fiber lasers, which are currently used in industrial cutting, welding, and marking applications. Fiber lasers use an optical fiber doped with rare-earth elements (erbium, ytterbium, neodymium etc) as their optical gain source (the part…

Physicists at TU Graz have calculated how suitable molecules can be stimulated by infrared light pulses to form tiny magnetic fields. If this is also successful in experiments, the principle could be used in quantum computer circuits. Schematic representation of a metal phthalocyanine molecule that is set into two vibrations (red and blue), creating a rotating electric dipole moment (green) in the molecular plane and thus a magnetic field. Credit: Wilhelmer/Diez/Krondorfer/Hauser – TU Graz When molecules are irradiated with infrared…

How can virtual reality (VR) be experienced haptically, i.e., through the sense of touch? This is one of the fundamental questions that modern VR research is investigating. Computer scientist André Zenner, who is based in Saarbrücken, Germany, has come a significant step closer to answering this question in his doctoral thesis – by inventing new devices and developing software-based techniques inspired by human perception. He has now been awarded the prestigious “Best Dissertation Award” at the world’s leading VR conference….

The road to innovative operation scenarios for fusion power plants. Fusion energy is that released when two light nuclei combine to form a single heavier one (nuclear fusion reaction). Fusion energy-based power generation (fusion power plant) uses the energy generated when deuterium and tritium combine to form helium. A nuclear fusion reaction does not produce carbon dioxide. In addition, since it is possible to extract deuterium and tritium from the sea water, fusion energy is regarded as a sustainable energy…

A study by the University of Bonn gives novel insight into properties which are often difficult to observe. Thousands of particles of light can merge into a type of “super photon” under suitable conditions. Physicists call such a state a photon Bose-Einstein condensate. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now shown that this exotic quantum state obeys a fundamental theorem of physics. This finding now allows one to measure properties of photon Bose-Einstein condensates which are usually difficult to…

A rare exoplanet that should have been stripped down to bare rock by its nearby host star’s intense radiation somehow grew a puffy atmosphere instead—the latest in a string of discoveries forcing scientists to rethink theories about how planets age and die in extreme environments. Nicknamed “Phoenix” for its ability to survive its red giant star’s radiant energy, the newly discovered planet illustrates the vast diversity of solar systems and the complexity of planetary evolution—especially at the end of stars’…

Astronauts driving a vehicle around the landscape of the Moon must not only face dangers related to zero gravity and falling into craters, but also the problem of extreme fluctuations in temperature. The lunar environment oscillates between blistering highs of 127°C (260°F) and frigid lows of -173°C (-280°F). Future missions to explore the Moon will need reliable machines that can function under these harsh conditions. This led a team from Nagoya University in Japan to invent a heat-switch device that…

Calcium oxide is a cheap, chalky chemical compound commonly used in the manufacturing of cement, plaster, paper, and steel. But the material may soon have a more high-tech application. UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering researchers and their collaborator in Sweden have used theoretical and computational approaches to discover how tiny, lone atoms of bismuth embedded within solid calcium oxide can act as qubits — the building blocks of quantum computers and quantum communication devices. These qubits are described today in Nature…

Due to the complex structures of microporous crystals known as MOFs, reliable simulations of their properties have been difficult until now. Machine learning provides the solution. Hydrogen storage, heat conduction, gas storage, CO2 and water sequestration – metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have extraordinary properties due to their unique structure in the form of microporous crystals, which have a very large surface area despite their small size. This makes them extremely interesting for research and practical applications. However, MOFs are very complex…