Telecommunications
Magnetic nano-droplet discovery presents telecom opportunity
March 20, 2013 5:06 pm | News | CommentsA team that includes researchers from Sweden has successfully created a magnetic soliton, a spin torque-generated nano-droplet that could lead to technological innovation in such areas as mobile telecommunications. This construct was first theorized 35 years ago and scientists have long believed that they exist in magnetic environments, but until now they had never been observed
NASA’s first laser communication system ready for launch
March 15, 2013 10:33 am | by Dewayne Washington, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center | News | CommentsThe space terminal for the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD), NASA's first high-data-rate laser communication system, was recently integrated onto the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. LLCD will demonstrate laser communications from lunar orbit to Earth at six times the rate of the best modern-day advanced radio communication systems.
New NIST time code to boost reception for radio-controlled clocks
March 8, 2013 3:31 pm | News | CommentsNIST is changing the way it broadcasts time signals that synchronize radio-controlled "atomic" clocks and watches to official U.S. time. This new time broadcast protocol will not only improve the performance of new radio-controlled clocks and watches, but will encourage the development of new timekeeping products that were not practical with the old broadcast system because of local interference.
New device electrically steers and focuses terahertz waves
January 29, 2013 7:53 am | News | CommentsResearchers in Japan and Germany have recently demonstrated a device that can focus and steer terahertz beams electrically. Based on an array of metal cantilevers which can be micromechanically actuated by electrostatic forces, the device can create tunable gratings that may be crucial in future terahertz wavelength communication systems.
Module sends wireless data at much higher speeds
October 1, 2012 5:34 am | News | CommentsDigital cameras and camcorders deliver high resolution film sequences that are several gigabytes in size. These can take several minutes to transfer wirelessly to your home computer via Bluetooth. A researcher in Germany has come up with a speedier alternative: a “multi-gigabit communication module” that is six times faster than a USB cable.
New 'ATM' takes old phones and gives back green
September 17, 2012 10:09 am | News | CommentsDeveloped by a company in San Diego, a new automated system that lets consumers trade in cell phones and mobile devices for reimbursement or recycling relies artificial intelliigence and sophisticated machine vision diagnostics. The building blocks for the ecoATM have existed for many years, but none, until now, have been applied to the particular problem of consumer recycling.
U.S. research and development most prevalent in small number of regions
September 13, 2012 4:29 am | News | CommentsAccording to data from a 2008 Business R&D and Innovation Survey by the National Science Foundation, businesses perform the lion's share of their R&D activity in just a small number of geographic areas, particularly the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland area and the New York-Newark-Bridgeport area.
Quantum physics at a distance
September 6, 2012 6:57 am | News | CommentsPhysicists at the University of Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences have achieved quantum teleportation over a record distance of 143 km. The experiment is a major step towards satellite-based quantum communication.
Nanoresonators might improve cell phone performance
August 30, 2012 12:56 pm | by Emil Venere | News | CommentsBecause of the proliferation of mobile wireless devices, there is not enough radio spectrum to account for everybody's needs. To counter the problem, industry is trying to build systems that operate with more sharply defined channels so that more of them can fit within the available bandwidth. At Purdue University, the recent invention of nanoelectromechanical resonators may provide the solution.
How to feed data-hungry mobile devices
August 23, 2012 6:13 am | News | CommentsResearchers from Rice University unveiled a new multi-antenna technology that could help wireless providers keep pace with the voracious demands of data-hungry smartphones and tablets. The technology aims to dramatically increase network capacity by allowing cell towers to simultaneously beam signals to more than a dozen customers on the same frequency.
Wireless power for the price of a penny
August 10, 2012 4:08 am | News | CommentsResearchers in Korea have created what they call a rectenna—a combination of an antenna and a rectifier—which converts alternating current into direct current. For a price of just one penny per unit the device can be placed onto objects such as price tags, logos, and signage so that we can read product information on our smartphones with one simple swipe.
Emergency communications technology progresses to field test
August 9, 2012 9:20 am | by Diane Stirling | News | CommentsNew technology under development by Syracuse University, Virginia Tech, and the Rochester Institute of Technology is designed to help public emergency response communication devices remain in contact with each other even if cell towers and Internet networks go down during a natural or manmade disaster. The system, Intelligent Deployable Augmented Wireless Gateway (iDAWG), will soon be tested in the field.
Major step taken towards “unbreakable” message exchange
August 3, 2012 8:42 am | News | CommentsQuantum key distribution is not a new phenomenon and has been in commercial use for several years to secure communication networks. Recently, however, single particles of light, also known as photons, have been produced and implemented into a wireless QKD link, transmitting 40 cm through the air.
Upgrading the Internet for the mobile age
August 2, 2012 10:23 am | News | CommentsWhen it comes to delivering data to users, the Web still works brilliantly. But for other functions such as allowing users to move between wireless networks or companies to shift traffic among servers, engineers are forced to implement increasingly cumbersome tweaks. A team of Princeton University researchers has released a plan to cut through that tangle and provide a simple solution to many of the problems involved with the Internet's growing pains.
Networcsim hoping to broaden wireless revolution
July 30, 2012 3:50 am | News | CommentsA Tennessee company has licensed award-winning software from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) that will help industries install wireless networks more cost-effectively in challenging environments such as mines, offshore drilling platforms and factory floors. Networcsim signed an agreement today to license the Radio Channel Simulator software, which won an R&D 100 Award this month.
R & D 100 Winners Seek Success with Partners
July 27, 2012 8:43 am | by R&D Editors | Articles | CommentsR&D laboratories take on challenges of terrorism, energy, and communications in the new millennium.
Dancing robot does more than just “shimi” to the beat
June 26, 2012 12:15 pm | by Jason Maderer and Liz Klipp | News | CommentsShimi, a musical companion developed by Georgia Tech’s Center for Music Technology, recommends songs, dances to the beat and keeps the music pumping based on listener feedback. Powered by an Android phone, the robot is also app-based, meaning it can perform other functions, such as face recognition, based on the type of software programmed for it.
'No-sleep energy bugs' drain smartphone batteries
June 14, 2012 4:20 am | News | CommentsResearchers have proposed a method to automatically detect a new class of software glitches in smartphones called "no-sleep energy bugs," which can entirely drain batteries while the phones are not in use.
Mobile technology to fix hand pumps in Africa
June 11, 2012 6:24 am | News | CommentsThousands of families affected by the ongoing drought in East Africa are set to benefit from improved water supplies thanks to innovative mobile technology designed by Oxford University.
Cars to avoid crashes by talking to each other
June 10, 2012 12:32 pm | by Joan Lowy, Associated Press | News | CommentsVehicle-to-vehicle communication, or V2V, will hit roads in the United States this summer. THe government is launching a yearlong, real-world test involving nearly 3,000 cars, trucks, and buses in Ann Arbor, Mich. The vehicles will be equipped to continuously communicate over wireless networks, exchanging information on location, direction and speed 10 times a second. Eventually, more advanced versions of the systems may take control of a car to prevent an accident.
BLE RF test solution speeds development of devices
May 31, 2012 9:59 am | News | CommentsAgilent Technologies Inc. announced its Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) test solution on the N4010A wireless connectivity test set was verified by Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) for use with TI's integrated circuits in Bluetooth Smart and Smart-Ready devices.
Cell network security holes revealed
May 21, 2012 7:59 am | News | CommentsPopular firewall technology designed to boost security on cellular networks can backfire, unwittingly revealing data that could help a hacker break into Facebook and Twitter accounts, a new study from the University of Michigan shows. The researchers also developed an Android app that tells phone users when they're on a vulnerable network.
Technology convergence may widen the digital divide
May 17, 2012 5:35 am | News | CommentsTechnology is helping communication companies merge telephone, television, and Internet services, but a push to deregulate may leave some customers on the wrong side of the digital divide during this convergence, according to a Penn State University telecommunications researcher.
Study: Texting ups truthfulness
May 16, 2012 12:06 pm | News | CommentsText messaging is a surprisingly good way to get candid responses to sensitive questions, according to a new study to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.
Rover on the move after surviving Martian winter
May 10, 2012 6:28 pm | News | CommentsAfter spending nearly five months conducting experiments in one spot, the NASA rover moved for the first time this week, rolling off the rock outcrop where it hunkered down for the Martian winter. Engineers will check its power supply before directing it north to study dust and bedrock.
