Tag: IT

Lighting and air-conditioning can be controlled using a ring. Now, a design studio in Amsterdam has devised a piece of jewellery that enhances digital security. Still a concept, the ring is used for verifying personal contacts. Initially, an integrated infrared-light scanner captures the blood flow through users’ finger veins. This information is converted into a personal code and stored...

New magnetic molecules could increase hard-drives’ storage capacity. But when it comes to storage density, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Cue the Viennese inventors of the world’s smallest QR-code, its individual pixels measuring a miniscule 49 nanometres in size. The pixels were carved into a thin ceramic layer using ion beams, and the code itself (1.98 square...

A simple system could protect cars from unauthorised entry. Log-ins, passwords and, most recently, passkeys, do the same job for email or other online accounts. Service provider logs record access, also recognising devices and IP-addresses. But experienced hackers with knowledge of this private information can use this to mask their own details during login to falsify records. Staying undetected...

A new method of calculation prevents location data from being exposed. Digitalisation means more and more data is being generated. Now, an international research team from England and Australia has developed a new magnetic molecule to improve storage capacity. The team sandwiched the rare earth element dysprosium between two nitrogen atoms. A hard drive made up of such molecules...

Light can provide an energy-saving training method for smart IT systems. Now, a Minneapolis-based startup has shown how it can also cool high-performance data centres and AI systems. The team’s cold plate for processors contains layers of gallium arsenide. In pure and crystalline form, this semiconductor material cools down when stimulated by a laser-light pulse. More than that, the...

A simple ring-system enables smart control of electric switches. Smart home devices, which monitor activities based on noise, can be beneficial for health reasons. For older people living alone, for example. Still, integrated microphones are always listening, and when they recognise voices or snatches of conversation it impacts users’ privacy. Enter a university team which has developed a new...

Printed circuit boards and mushrooms make an uncommon pair. Now, an international research team led from Glasgow has likewise taken nature as its inspiration, developing a semiconductor component for use in machine vision systems. The team’s prototype field-effect transistor recognises colours. Built on a glass substrate, it combines gold electrodes and light-sensitive hydrocarbon molecules with a layer of honey...

Cars could be protected from theft by a safe-like coding system. Anyone who works in public places would welcome the chance to leave their laptop unattended. To use the toilet for instance. Research shows that worldwide around 10% of laptops are stolen. Enter a US startup and its easy-to-install solution. A mounting arm is taped to the underside of...