Showing posts with label ubiquitous intelligence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ubiquitous intelligence. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Free Thermodynamic Lunch


There is a lot of extra energy lying around; you call almost call it free energy, and we are getting better at picking up all these scraps. And what are we doing with it? Making everything intelligent.

Battery-free, light-powered pacemaker may improve quality of life for heart disease patients
Oct 2022, phys.org

Wireless, battery-free pacemaker could be implanted with a less invasive procedure using a new digitally manufactured mesh design that encompasses the entire heart that works with optogenetics, which means it uses light instead of electrical signals. 

via Gutruf Lab at University of Arizona: Jokubas Ausra et al, Wireless, fully implantable cardiac stimulation and recording with on-device computation for closed-loop pacing and defibrillation, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq7469


High-performance and compact vibration energy harvester created for self-charging wearable devices
Nov 2022, phys.org

Microelectromechanical system piezoelectric vibration energy harvester that can amplify power generated from impulsive vibrations, such as from a human walking.

via  Osaka Metropolitan University: Sengsavang Aphayvong et al, Enhanced performance on piezoelectric MEMS vibration energy harvester by dynamic magnifier under impulsive force, Applied Physics Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1063/5.0116838


Harvesting big energy from small movement
Jan 2023, phys.org

It's made of alternating tiny fibers 100 times thinner than a human hair, one made of ethylene-vinyl acetate, and one of polylactic acid.

Wherever there is any movement around the layers of the fibers, electricity is generated from the friction between each layer.

"We can make around 400 times more electricity from motion than was previously possible from these materials."

via University of Melbourne: Artis Linarts et al, Electrospinning Triboelectric Laminates: A Pathway for Scaling Energy Harvesters, Small (2023). DOI: 10.1002/smll.202205563


Harvesting energy from moving trains
Jan 2023, phys.org

After several years of design review, CVeSS researchers created a new kind of tie that replaces the conventional wooden variety and is equipped to generate power. Their high-tech tie, placed underneath the rail, is topped with a heavy metal bar mounted on a spring creating electricity, which can then be stored in a battery.

"For every wheel of the train that goes by, we are harvesting 15 to 20 watts of power," said Ahmadian. "If we have a long train with maybe 200 railcars, that's 800 wheels, making 1.6 kilowatts. Once we have stored that energy, we are able to use it to make the tracks more intelligent by embedding sensors in them."

via Virginia Tech Center for Vehicle Systems and Safety and Railway Technologies Laboratory: Yu Pan et al, A half-wave electromagnetic energy-harvesting tie towards safe and intelligent rail transportation, Applied Energy (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.118844


Device transmits radio waves with almost no power—without violating the laws of physics
Jan 2023, phys.org via The Conversation

What we showed is that a powered signal source is not needed. Instead, random thermal noise, present in all electrically conductive materials because of the heat-driven motion of electrons, can take the place of the signal driving the antenna.

It seems like it violate the second law of thermodynamics. But the resolution of this seeming paradox is that the receiver in our system is powered and acts like a refrigerator. Nearly all of the power consumption happens at a base station that does not have constraints on energy use.

via University of Washington: Zerina Kapetanovic et al, Communication by means of modulated Johnson noise, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2201337119

Image credit: Kilonova Gamma Ray Burst GRB 211211A, artist impression. Aaron M Geller, Northwestern CIERA and IT Research Computing Services. 2022

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Friday, December 16, 2022

Wearing the Future


Encrypted, one-touch, human-machine interface technology unveils user physiology
Sep 2022, phys.org

"Cryptographic bio-human machine interface," or CB-HMI, uses thin hydrogel-coated chemical sensors to collect and detect particular circulating molecules on the skin through natural perspiration.

via UCLA and Stanford: Shuyu Lin et al, A touch-based multimodal and cryptographic bio-human–machine interface, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2201937119



First electronic skin with a mesh structure for long-term attachment with no discomfort
Oct 2022, phys.org

World's first nanomesh-structured electronic skin device (organic field-effect transistor) that can measure and process bio-signals for a prolonged period.

via Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology: Gihyeok Gwon et al, An All‐Nanofiber‐Based Substrate‐Less, Extremely Conformal, and Breathable Organic Field Effect Transistor for Biomedical Applications, Advanced Functional Materials (2022). DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202204645


Standalone sweat sensor provides immediate readout
Oct 2022, phys.org

Fully-integrated soft skin patch includes all the essential components that are required for wearable sensors: two integrated batteries, a microcontroller, sensors, the circuit, and a stretchable non-light-emitting display called electrochromic display.

via University of California San Diego: Lu Yin et al, A stretchable epidermal sweat sensing platform with an integrated printed battery and electrochromic display, Nature Electronics (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-022-00843-6


A high-resolution, wearable electrotactile rendering device that virtualizes the sense of touch
Oct 2022, phys.org

Wearable tactile rendering system can mimic the sensation of touch with high spatial resolution and a rapid response rate.

High-frequency alternating stimulation strategy lowering the operating voltage under 30 V allows it to be non-invasive, but also they used a novel super-resolution strategy that can render tactile sensation at locations between physical electrodes, instead of only at the electrode locations.

via City University of Hong Kong and Tencent's Robotics X Laboratory: Weikang Lin et al, Super-resolution wearable electrotactile rendering system, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abp8738

AI Art - Enveloper - 2022

Printable circuits that can work on fabric, plastic and even fruit
Oct 2022, phys.org

Method of creating liquid metal circuitry using a desktop laser printer that could place the electronics onto many types of surfaces.

via Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tianjin University, China: Rui Guo et al, Thermal Transfer-Enabled Rapid Printing of Liquid Metal Circuits on Multiple Substrates, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c08743


Skin-like electronics could monitor your health continuously
Nov 2022, phys.org

Wearables became skin at some point.

via Argonne National Laboratory: Shilei Dai et al, Intrinsically stretchable neuromorphic devices for on-body processing of health data with artificial intelligence, Matter (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2022.07.016


Researchers eye embroidery as low-cost solution for making wearable electronics
Nov 2022, phys.org

Embroidering power-generating yarns onto fabric has allowed researchers to embed a self-powered, numerical touch-pad and movement sensors into clothing. 

via North Carolina State University: Yu Chen et al, Flexible, durable, and washable triboelectric yarn and embroidery for self-powered sensing and human-machine interaction, Nano Energy (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2022.107929


A self-powered ingestible sensor opens new avenues for gut research
Dec 2022, phys.org

Wearables vs ingestibles:

Battery-free, pill-shaped ingestible biosensing system designed to provide continuous monitoring in the intestinal environment.

via University of California San Diego: Ernesto De la Paz et al, A self-powered ingestible wireless biosensing system for real-time in situ monitoring of gastrointestinal tract metabolites, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35074-y


Compliant and conductive carbon nanomaterial for on-skin electronics
Nov 2022, phys.org

Carbon nanomaterial called hydrogen-substituted graphdiyne (HsGDY) coupled with a single-crystal copper catalyst provides an inherent softness and flexibility that is ideal for on-skin applications.

via King Abdullah University of Science and Technology: Yichen Cai et al, Graphdiyne-Based Nanofilms for Compliant On-Skin Sensing, ACS Nano (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c06169

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Thursday, September 22, 2022

The Weird Computer Revolution


Materials science is moving beyond the "perimeter of ignorance" faster than we can keep up with it. And definitely faster than architects, civil engineers, industrial designers, etc. can keep up with it. Materials scientists, and even computer scientists in overlapping fields, are finding lots of "completely unexpected" things that defy our understanding of how matter behaves. 

Combine that with the "weird computer" revolution that happens when the matter itself becomes programmable, and the future gets hard to imagine. (Maybe less hard to imagine is the resulting human health and ecological disasters that will happen, kind of like how the industrial revolution created climate change).

A world where every molecule is itself a computer - The farthest I can get when thinking about this is Stanislav Lem's Solaris (1961) where the planet itself was not only alive but conscious, and trying to communicate with humans.



Shape-shifting worm blob model could inspire future robot swarms
Oct 2021, phys.org

'Entangled active matter collectives' are a hot topic in robotics and materials science...

via Georgia Tech: Chantal Nguyen et al, Emergent Collective Locomotion in an Active Polymer Model of Entangled Worm Blobs, Frontiers in Physics (2021). DOI: 10.3389/fphy.2021.734499


Physicists make square droplets and liquid lattices
Sep 2021, phys.org

Completely unexpected:

In their work, the team used combinations of oils with different dielectric constants and conductivities, then subjected the liquids to an electric field.

As well as being disrupted by the electric field, the liquids were confined into a thin, nearly two-dimensional sheet. This combination led to the oils reshaping into various completely unexpected droplets and patterns.

The droplets in the experiment could be made into squares and hexagons with straight sides, which is almost impossible in nature, where small bubbles and droplets tend to form spheres. The two liquids could be also made to form into interconnected lattices: grid patterns that occur regularly in solid materials but are unheard of in liquid mixtures. 

via Aalto University Department of Applied Physics in the Active Matter: Diversity of non-equilibrium patterns and emergence of activity in confined electrohydrodynamically driven liquids, Science Advances (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abh1642


The next generation of robots will be shape-shifters
Mar 2022, phys.org

It is hoped that active matter will lead to a new generation of machines whose function will come from the bottom up. So, instead of being governed by a central controller (the way today's robotic arms are controlled in factories), these new machines would be made from many individual active units that cooperate to determine the machine's movement and function. This is akin to the workings of our own biological tissues, such as the fibers in heart muscle.

via University of Bath: Jack Binysh et al, Active elastocapillarity in soft solids with negative surface tension, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abk3079


Self-sensing artificial muscle based on liquid crystal elastomer and low-melting point alloys
May 2022, phys.org

Inspired by the coupled behavior of muscles, bones, and nerve systems of mammals and other living organisms to create a multifunctional artificial muscle in the lab.

via Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Jiaotong University, China: Haoran Liu et al, Shape-programmable, deformation-locking, and self-sensing artificial muscle based on liquid crystal elastomer and low–melting point alloy, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn5722


Ancient art of kirigami meets AI for better materials design
Apr 2022. phys.org

via Argonne National Laboratory: Pankaj Rajak et al, Autonomous reinforcement learning agent for stretchable kirigami design of 2D materials, npj Computational Materials (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41524-021-00572-y

And: Pankaj Rajak et al, Autonomous reinforcement learning agent for chemical vapor deposition synthesis of quantum materials, npj Computational Materials (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41524-021-00535-3


A new approach to tackle optimization problems using Boltzmann machines
Apr 2022, phys.org

"Optimization problem" is codeword for 1. slime mold computers, 2. quantum computers, and 3. weird computers in general, like crystals, dust, liquid photons, BECs, you name it, and because the optimization problem, also known as the traveling salesman problem, and which is related to random walks, or the drunkard's walk, is a type of problem that classical computers are really bad at, but quantum computers, slime mold, etc are really good at. 

Restricted Boltzmann machines (RBMs) are generative neural networks. They speak the language of big data and show you the patterns in it. 

RBMs rely on binary activations, circumventing the direct matrix-vector multiplications that are typically the most computationally demanding for deep learning networks. 

"Our algorithm functions by using the basic principles of digital logic in a new way," Patel explained. "Usually, digital gates only function in the forward direction, but by using probabilistic graphical models and machine learning, we have shown ways of operating them in reverse. 
Using this principle, we design our probabilistic digital circuits in a way that can solve the forward problem ("Is this set of inputs a valid solution?" or "What is 191 x 223?"), but because the system is reversible, it can also answer the much harder reverse problem ("What are all the sets of inputs that produce a valid solution?" and "What are A and B such that A x B = 42593?" )."

via University of California Berkeley: Saavan Patel et al, Logically synthesized and hardware-accelerated restricted Boltzmann machines for combinatorial optimization and integer factorization, Nature Electronics (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-022-00714-0


A new age of 2.5D materials
May 2022, phys.org

Scientists are exploring new ways to artificially stack two-dimensional (2D) materials, introducing so-called 2.5D materials with unique physical properties. 

They're made using chemical vapor deposition, and they're made out of graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, and transition metal dichalcogenides.

via Kyushu University: Hiroki Ago et al, Science of 2.5 dimensional materials: paradigm shift of materials science toward future social innovation, Science and Technology of Advanced Materials (2022). DOI: 10.1080/14686996.2022.2062576


Mathematicians suggest liquid crystals could be used to create building blocks for a new kind of computer
Aug 2022, phys.org

The orientations of LCD molecules could be manipulated using an electric field and perform calculations similar to the way they are done with standard logic gates. The researchers note that, in their approach, calculations would appear as ripples moving through the crystal.

via MIT: Žiga Kos et al, Nematic bits and universal logic gates, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abp8371


New programmable materials can sense their own movements
Aug 2022, phys.org

"Sensorizing structures"

Method for 3D printing materials with tunable mechanical properties from incorporated networks of air-filled channels, and which can sense how they are moving and interacting with the environment. 

Also "architected materials" have customizable mechanical properties based solely on its geometry.

via MIT: Fluidic innervation sensorizes structures from a single build material, Science Advances (2022). science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abq4385


Researchers engineer novel material capable of 'thinking'
Aug 2022, phys.org

"We discovered how to use mathematics and kinematics in mechanical-electrical networks." 

The researchers were stuck, until they rediscovered a 1938 paper published by Claude E. Shannon, who described a way to create an integrated circuit by constructing mechanical-electrical switching networks that follow the laws of Boolean mathematics.

The material is made from conductive and non-conductive rubber materials that sense and react to how forces are applied to them.

via Pennsylvania State University: Ryan Harne, Mechanical integrated circuit materials, Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05004-5.

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Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Skin So Soft


AKA Wearable Skin Asks What's My Retronym

New 'fabric' converts motion into electricity
Jun 2022, phys.org

In a proof-of-concept experiment reported in the scientific journal Advanced Materials in April, the NTU Singapore team showed that tapping on a 3cm by 4cm piece of the new fabric generated enough electrical energy to light up 100 LEDs (capable of 2.34 watts per square meter).

The electricity-generating fabric is an energy harvesting device that turns vibrations produced from the smallest body movements in everyday life into electricity either when pressed or squashed (piezoelectricity), or when in friction with other materials (triboelectric effect).

This stretchable electrode made by screenprinting an "ink" comprising silver and styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) is then attached to a piece of nanofibre fabric made of poly(vinylidene fluoride)-co-hexafluoropropylene (PVDFHPF), and lead-free perovskites.

Very new meaning to Rainwater Harvesting:
The team recently developed a type of film that could potentially be mounted on roofs or walls to harness the energy produced from wind or raindrops falling onto the film.

via Nanyang Technological University: Feng Jiang et al, Stretchable, Breathable, and Stable Lead‐Free Perovskite/Polymer Nanofiber Composite for Hybrid Triboelectric and Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting, Advanced Materials (2022). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202200042

Image credit: interband collective excitations in twisted bilayer graphene, Matteo Ceccanti, 2021 [link] 


Artificial skin gives robots sense of touch and beyond
Jun 2022, phys.org

This new skin technology is part of a robotic platform that integrates the artificial skin with a robotic arm and sensors that attach to human skin. A machine-learning system that interfaces the two allows the human user to control the robot with their own movements while receiving feedback through their own skin.

Called the M-Bot:

Gelatinous hydrogel makes robot fingertips a lot more like our own, and are embedded with sensors to detect the world around it. These sensors are literally printed onto the skin in the same way that an inkjet printer applies text to a sheet of paper.

Some applications:

"Graphene impregnated with platinum detects the explosive TNT very quickly and selectively. For a virus, we are printing carbon nanotubes, which have very high surface area, and attaching antibodies for the virus to them. This is all mass producible and scalable."

via California Institute of Technology: You Yu et al, All-printed soft human-machine interface for robotic physicochemical sensing, Science Robotics (2022). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.abn0495


Artificial skin capable of feeling pain could lead to new generation of touch-sensitive robots
Jun 2022, phys.org

Artificial skin with a new type of processing system based on "synaptic transistors," which mimics the brain's neural pathways in order to learn to react to external stimuli.

Data from the electronic skin sensors is usually sent to a computer to be processed and interpreted, but that data is too big, introducing delays.

The Glasgow team uses the human peripheral nervous system as inspiration with artificial synapses on a circuit built into the skin that process stimuli at the point of contact, reducing it to only the vital information before it is sent to the brain. 

The team used the varying output of that voltage spike to teach the skin appropriate responses to simulated pain, which would trigger the robot hand to react. By setting a threshold of input voltage to cause a reaction, the team could make the robot hand recoil from a sharp jab in the center of its palm.

via University of Glasgow: Fengyuan Liu et al, Printed Synaptic Transistors based Electronic Skin for Robots to Feel and Learn, Science Robotics (2022). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.abl7286.

Intel's new Core i9-11980HK leads the 11th-gen laptop CPU lineup

Scientists develop novel pain-perception biomimetic skin enabled by strain-perception-strengthening effect
Jun 2022, phys.org

Proposed strain-perception-strengthening (SPS) enabled biomimetic soft skin, which realizes the dynamic transformation from tactile to pain perception.

Elastic and conductive film (ECF), composed of elastomeric thin-film and assembled graphene nanosheets with an interlocked structural interface.

Pufferfish-inspired.

via Chinese Academy of Sciences Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering: Peng Xiao et al, Biomimetic Skins Enable Strain‐Perception‐Strengthening Soft Morphing, Advanced Functional Materials (2022). DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202201812


Researchers develop a wearable textile exomuscle
Jun 2022, phys.org

The Myoshirt: a soft, wearable exomuscle for the upper body

via ETH Zurich: Anna-Maria Georgarakis et al, A textile exomuscle that assists the shoulder during functional movements for everyday life, Nature Machine Intelligence (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s42256-022-00495-3


Rubbery camouflage skin exhibits smart and stretchy behaviors
Jun 2022, phys.org

Artificially intelligent bioelectronic skin devices that mimics both the elasticity and the neurologic functions of cephalopod skin, with potential applications for neurorobotics, skin prosthetics, artificial organs and more.  

"Although several artificial camouflage skin devices have been recently developed, they lack critical noncentralized neuromorphic processing and cognition capabilities, and materials with such capabilities lack robust mechanical properties," Yu said. "Our recently developed soft synaptic devices have achieved brain-inspired computing and artificial nervous systems that are sensitive to touch and light that retain these neuromorphic functions when biaxially stretched."  

The Future: Where every molecule computes, and every desire an algorithm (long live the mass transference device).

via Pennsylvania State University: Hyunseok Shim et al, Artificial neuromorphic cognitive skins based on distributed biaxially stretchable elastomeric synaptic transistors, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2204852119


Personal health trackers may include smart face mask, other wearables
Jun 2022, phys.org

Metallic conductor called MoO2 for a bioelectronic facemask.

via University of Missouri: Zhilu Ye et al, A Breathable, Reusable, and Zero-Power Smart Face Mask for Wireless Cough and Mask-Wearing Monitoring, ACS Nano (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c11041

And: Ganggang Zhao et al, Laser-scribed conductive, photoactive transition metal oxide on soft elastomers for Janus on-skin electronics and soft actuators, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abp9734


Future robots could 'see' using new type of electronic skin
Jul 2022, phys.org

The breakthrough development involves a newly-developed method of printing microscale semiconductors made from gallium arsenide onto a flexible plastic surface, and which could provide future robots with an electronic skin capable of "seeing" light beyond the range of human vision.

via University of Glasgow: Ayoub Zumeit et al, Printed GaAs Microstructures‐Based Flexible High‐Performance Broadband Photodetectors, Advanced Materials Technologies (2022). DOI: 10.1002/admt.202200772


Hearing better with skin than ears: Research team develops a sound-sensing skin-attachable acoustic sensor
Jul 2022, phys.org

"auditory electronic skin"

Microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS)-based microphone structure using polymer materials, a quarter of a fingernail in size and thickness of a few hundred micrometers. The microphone can be attached to large surface areas of the body or even on the finger.

The research team plans to create auditory electronic skin by integrating it with skin-attachable pressure and temperature sensors, flexible displays, and others.

via Pohang University of Science & Technology: Siyoung Lee et al, A High‐Fidelity Skin‐Attachable Acoustic Sensor for Realizing Auditory Electronic Skin, Advanced Materials (2022). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202109545


Artificial skin sweats on command
Jul 2022, phys.org

Sweats on command.

via Eindhoven University of Technology: Yuanyuan Zhan et al, Light‐ and Field‐Controlled Diffusion, Ejection, Flow and Collection of Liquid at a Nanoporous Liquid Crystal Membrane, Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2022). DOI: 10.1002/anie.202207468


Stretchy computing device feels like skin—but analyzes health data with brain-mimicking artificial intelligence
Aug 2022, phys.org

Rather than work like a typical computer, the chip — called a neuromorphic computing chip — functions more like a human brain, able to both store and analyze data in an integrated way.

via University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering: Shilei Dai et al, Intrinsically stretchable neuromorphic devices for on-body processing of health data with artificial intelligence, Matter (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2022.07.016


Researchers engineer biofilm capable of producing long-term, continuous electricity from your sweat
Aug 2022, phys.org

Biofilm that harvests the energy in evaporation and converts it to electricity.

That's because this biofilm—a thin sheet of bacterial cells about the thickness of a sheet of paper—is produced naturally by an engineered version of the bacteria Geobacter sulfurreducens. G. sulfurreducens is known to produce electricity and has been used previously in "microbial batteries" to power electrical devices. But such batteries require that G. sulfurreducens is properly cared for and fed a constant diet. By contrast, this new biofilm, which can supply as much, if not more, energy than a comparably sized battery, works, and works continuously, because it is dead. And because it's dead, it doesn't need to be fed.

It makes energy from the moisture on your skin. Since the surface of our skin is constantly moist with sweat, the biofilm can "plug-in" and convert the energy locked in evaporation into enough energy to power small devices.

via University of Massachusetts Amherst: Xiaomeng Liu et al, Microbial biofilms for electricity generation from water evaporation and power to wearables, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32105-6


Wearable technology measures mental activity through the skin
Aug 2022, phys.org

Measures mental activity using electrodermal activity — an electrical phenomenon of the skin that is influenced by brain activity related to emotional status.

The overarching goal—a Multimodal Intelligent Noninvasive brain state Decoder for Wearable AdapTive Closed-loop arcHitectures, or MINDWATCH.

via NYU Tandon School of Engineering: Rafiul Amin et al, Physiological characterization of electrodermal activity enables scalable near real-time autonomic nervous system activation inference, PLOS Computational Biology (2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010275


Engineers fabricate a chip-free, wireless, electronic 'skin'
Aug 2022, phys.org

Conforms to the skin like electronic Scotch tape, using a film of piezoelectric gallium nitride paired with a conducting layer of gold.

The device was sensitive enough to vibrate in response to a person's heartbeat, as well as the salt in their sweat, and that the material's vibrations generated an electrical signal that could be read by a nearby receiver to wirelessly transmit sensing information, without the need for a chip or battery.

via MIT: Yeongin Kim et al, Chip-less wireless electronic skins by remote epitaxial freestanding compound semiconductors, Science (2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abn7325.


A flexible device that harvests thermal energy to power wearable electronics
Aug 2022, phys.org

First-of-its kind flexible, wearable thermoelectric device that converts body heat to electricity. 

via University of Washington: Youngshang Han et al, Printing Liquid Metal Elastomer Composites for High‐Performance Stretchable Thermoelectric Generators, Advanced Energy Materials (2022). DOI: 10.1002/aenm.202201413


Self-charging, ultra-thin device that generates electricity from air moisture
Aug 2022, phys.org

Moisture-driven electricity generation (MEG) device containing two regions of different properties to perpetually maintain a difference in water content across the regions to generate electricity and allow for electrical output for hundreds of hours.

The device is a thin layer of commercially available fabric made of wood pulp and polyester and coated with carbon nanoparticles.

via National University of Singapore: Yaoxin Zhang et al, An Asymmetric Hygroscopic Structure for Moisture‐Driven Hygro‐Ionic Electricity Generation and Storage, Advanced Materials (2022). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202201228


A wearable textile-based pneumatic energy harvesting system for assistive robotics
Aug 2022, phys.org

Engineers have built a handy extra limb able to grasp objects and go, powered only by compressed air.

(Similar to, but not the same as, the "dead spider" robot approach)

via Rice University: Rachel A. Shveda et al, A wearable textile-based pneumatic energy harvesting system for assistive robotics, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo2418


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Thursday, August 11, 2022

Greatest Retronym in History


When it comes to AI, can we ditch the datasets?
Mar 2022, phys.org

Synthetic fucking data. They're making synthetic data to train the robots. And that makes us analog data. Me and you, our faces, our fingerprints, our gaits, gestures, voices (and most especially our consumer behaviors), are analog, starting now.

First there was the acoustic guitar, then dairy milk ffs. Hopefully, when we finally cede control to the omnibot envelope, we don't go the way of the flip-phone. 

via MIT: Paper: Generative models as a data source for multiview representation learning. openreview.net/pdf?id=qhAeZjs7dCL


Physiological signals could be the key to 'emotionally intelligent' AI, scientists say
Apr 2022, phys.org

You got any more of that analog data?
They're coming for your sweat, your biodata. You are the training set for the artificial humans of the future. 

via Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology JAIST: Shun Katada et al, Effects of Physiological Signals in Different Types of Multimodal Sentiment Estimation, IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing (2022). DOI: 10.1109/TAFFC.2022.3155604

Image credit: Jared Michael

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Tuesday, March 29, 2022

I Am the Robot Now


AKA Human Skin Is a Conductible Material
Image credit: Peepo, iStock, 2021

The amount of research being done in the field of wearables and ambient energy harvesting is staggering.


A novel approach to wirelessly power wearable devices
Jun 2021, phys.org

It's like a microscope for energy -- all of the sudden, the "waste energy" from our appliances and devices, in electromagnetic form, is powering tiny ubiquitous smart particles all around us.

Their technology enables a single device, such as a mobile phone placed in the pocket, to wirelessly power other wearable devices on a user's body, using the human body as a medium for power transmission.

A user just needs to place the transmitter on a single power source, such as the smart watch on a user's wrist, while multiple receivers can be placed anywhere on the person's body. The system then harnesses energy from the source to power multiple wearables on the user's body via a process termed as body-coupled power transmission. In this way, the user will only need to charge one device, and the rest of the gadgets that are worn can simultaneously be powered up from that single source. The team's experiments showed that their system allows a single power source that is fully charged to power up to 10 wearable devices on the body, for a duration of over 10 hours.
As a complementary source of power, the NUS team also looked into harvesting energy from the environment. Their research found that typical office and home environments have parasitic electromagnetic (EM) waves that people are exposed to all the time, for instance, from a running laptop. The team's novel receiver scavenges the EM waves from the ambient environment, and through a process referred to as body-coupled powering, the human body is able to harvest this energy to power the wearable devices, regardless of their locations around the body.

via National University of Singapore: Jiamin Li et al, Body-coupled power transmission and energy harvesting, Nature Electronics (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-021-00592-y


A new material made from carbon nanotubes can generate electricity by scavenging energy from its environment
Jun 2021, phys.org

Electrochemistry without wires. This is an organic solvent that generates a current via alcohol oxidation. The catch? The nanotubes are coated in "Teflon-like" material. Gonna have to fix that part (PFAS).

via Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Albert Tianxiang Liu et al, Solvent-induced electrochemistry at an electrically asymmetric carbon Janus particle, Nature Communications (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23038-7


Using starch and baking soda to harvest mechanical energy
Jun 2021, phys.org

via Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology: Sugato Hajra et al, A Green Metal–Organic Framework‐Cyclodextrin MOF: A Novel Multifunctional Material Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Highly Efficient Mechanical Energy Harvesting, Advanced Functional Materials (2021). DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202101829


Skin in the game: Transformative approach uses the human body to recharge smartwatches
Jul 2021, phys.org

via University of Massachusetts Amherst: Noor Mohammed et al, ShaZam, Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies (2021). DOI: 10.1145/3463505


Conductive seams, when strategically placed in clothing, can accurately track body motion
Jul 2021, phys.org

via University of Bath: Olivia Ruston et al, More than it Seams: Garment Stitching in Wearable e-Textiles, Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2021 (2021). DOI: 10.1145/3461778.3462103


First-ever transient pacemaker harmlessly dissolves in body
Jul 2021, phys.org

via Northwestern University: Fully implantable and bioresorbable cardiac pacemakers without leads or batteries, Nature Biotechnology (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41587-021-00948-x


Sweat-proof 'smart skin' takes reliable vitals, even during workouts and spicy meals
Jul 2021, phys.org

Writes itself now:

The patch is patterned with artificial sweat ducts, similar to pores in human skin, that the researchers etched through the material's ultrathin layers. The pores perforate the patch in a kirigami-like pattern, similar to that of the Japanese paper-cutting art. The design ensures that sweat can escape through the patch, preventing skin irritation and damage to embedded sensors.

via Massachusetts Institute of Technology: H. Yeon el al., "Long-term reliable physical health monitoring by sweat pore–inspired perforated electronic skins," Science Advances (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg8459


Microfiber-based metafabric provides daytime radiative cooling
Jul 2021, phys.org

Sooner than we think, we will be wearing today's equivalent of a space suit in order to go outside, on Earth:

The final design added titanium dioxide powder to polymer fibers to make them reflective, and adding polylactic acid to allow the material to emit mid-infrared radiation. The researchers created a fabric using a weaving technique that allowed air to circulate. The researchers tested their material by using it to create a vest. One side of the vest was made of cotton, the other with the material they had developed. A volunteer wore the vest outside in the sun for an hour. Measurements of his skin temperature showed it to be almost 5 degrees Celsius cooler on the new material side. The researchers also note that in addition to reducing heat, clothes made of their material would be biodegradable.

via: Shaoning Zeng et al, Hierarchical-morphology metafabric for scalable passive daytime radiative cooling, Science (2021). DOI: 10.1126/science.abi5484


New chemistry enables using existing technology to print stretchable, bendable circuits on artificial skin
Jul 2021, phys.org

In a new study, the group describes how they have printed stretchable-yet-durable integrated circuits on rubbery, skin-like materials, using the same equipment designed to make solid silicon chips — an accomplishment that could ease the transition to commercialization by switching foundries that today make rigid circuits to producing stretchable ones.

via Stanford University: Yu-Qing Zheng et al, Monolithic optical microlithography of high-density elastic circuits, Science (2021). DOI: 10.1126/science.abh3551

Nanoscopic Schematic by Ella Maru Studio

New nanotech will enable a 'healthy' electric current production inside the human body
Jul 2021, phys.org

For example, a device made from this material may replace a battery that supplies energy to implants like pacemakers, though it should be replaced from time to time. Body movements—like heartbeats, jaw movements, bowel movements, or any other movement that occurs in the body on a regular basis—will charge the device with electricity, which will continuously activate the implant."

via Tel-Aviv University: Santu Bera et al, Molecular engineering of piezoelectricity in collagen-mimicking peptide assemblies, Nature Communications (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22895-6


Detecting an unprecedented range of potentially harmful airborne compounds
Aug 2021, phys.org

Usually, if you want to sample for VOCs, you first have to know which VOC you're looking for. You think there's some diacetyl exposure? Then you dose your sampler with a chemical that latches onto diacetyl. But what if we don't know? You're in luck! This new approach uses nanopores of silica; they are so small that they use van der Waals forces, typically really weak forces, to capture any VOCs that float by. Then they can heat up the sensor and re-volatalize whatever got trapped there, and sniff it through a GCMS.

via American Chemical Society: Nanoporous materials for measuring environmental VOC exposures, ACS Fall 2021.


Indoor lighting creates power for rechargeable devices, sensors
Aug 2021, phys.org

Since there is usually plenty of indoor ambient light from different sources, a ceiling light in an office environment would be enough to charge any of the mini modules that were tested, making them all viable as power sources for indoor batteries and sensors.

via American Institute of Physics: https://horizons.aip.org/energystorage-conversion/


Revolutionary Self-Aware Materials Build the Foundation for Living Structures
Oct 2021, scitechdaily.com

A metamaterial system that acts as its own sensor, recording and relaying important information about the pressure and stresses on its structure, fusing advanced metamaterial and energy harvesting technologies at multiscale. With built-in triboelectric nanogenerator mechanism; a smart-stint that monitors bloodflow and restricts vessel size accordingly, or just a smart-bridge that can communicate areas of weakness by sensing pressure.

As I write this, it sounds to me like the bridge can be conscious, because it can feel. So in the distant future, we won't be able to just knock down a house, because it will have feelings. Design for Dissassembly then, maybe?

via University of Pittsburg's Intelligent Structural Monitoring and Response Testing (iSMaRT) Lab: “Multifunctional meta-tribomaterial nanogenerators for energy harvesting and active sensing” by Kaveh Barri, Pengcheng Jiao, Qianyun Zhang, Jun Chen, Zhong Lin Wang and Amir H. Alavi, 16 April 2021, Nano Energy. DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2021.106074


Engineers develop process that turns ordinary clothing into biosensors
Nov 2021, phys.org

Gold and silver nanocomposite-based biostable and biocompatible electronic textile for wearable electromyographic biosensors.

via University of Utah: Taehwan Lim et al, Gold and silver nanocomposite-based biostable and biocompatible electronic textile for wearable electromyographic biosensors, APL Materials (2021). DOI: 10.1063/5.0058617


Form fit: Device wraps around hot surfaces, turns wasted heat to electricity
Jan 2022, phys.org

via Pennsylvania State University: Wenjie Li et al, Conformal High-Power-Density Half-Heusler Thermoelectric Modules: A Pathway toward Practical Power Generators, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c16117


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Sunday, March 13, 2022

Quantum Heartbeat Encryption


AKA - Diamonds Are For Growing

Image credit: Random twists between layers of crystalline sheets - Neuroncollective dotcom, Daniel Spacek, Pavel Jirak, Chalmers University - 2021 [link]

Rounding up some common topics here, a meditation on the future of computing and ubiquitous intelligence -- quantum lasers, liquid crystals, optical lattices, photon traps, nanosandwiches; it's hard to keep track -- 


The modern world is fast becoming a wireless, infrared world
June 2020, phys.org

Steerable, narrow infrared beams sending large amounts of data to individual user devices sounds like a solution to the limits of radio-based wifi: Optical wireless communications, which use optical wavelengths over a wide spectral range from a few hundred nanometers to a few micrometers that includes visible and infrared radiation. Ton Koonen and researchers at the Institute for Photonic Integration are designing prototype systems with a capacity of more than two thousand times that of current shared WiFi systems. 

via Eindhoven University of Technology, Institute for Photonic Integration: Ton Koonen et al. Ultra-high-capacity wireless communication by means of steered narrow optical beams, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences (2020). DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2019.0192


Researchers trap electrons to create elusive crystal
Nov 2020, phys.org

Cornell researchers stacked two-dimensional semiconductors [monolayers of tungsten disulfide (WS2) and tungsten diselenide (WSe2)] to create a moiré superlattice structure that traps electrons in a repeating pattern, ultimately forming the long-hypothesized Wigner crystal.

via Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering, and the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science: Yang Xu et al. Correlated insulating states at fractional fillings of moiré superlattices, Nature (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2868-6


Diamonds are not just for jewelry anymore
Dec 2020, phys.org

When it comes to the semiconductor industry, silicon has reigned as king in the electronics field, but it is coming to the end of its physical limits.

To more effectively power the electrical grid, locomotives and even electric cars, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are turning to diamond as an ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor.

Diamond has been shown to have superior carrier mobility, break down electric field and thermal conductivity, the most important properties to power electronic devices. It became especially desirable after the development of a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process for growth of high-quality single crystals.

via Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: P. Grivickas et al. Carrier recombination and diffusion in high-purity diamond after electron irradiation and annealing, Applied Physics Letters (2020). DOI: 10.1063/5.0028363


Advent of the 3-D diamond valleytronic transistor
Feb 2021, phys.org

Not many people are aware of it, but diamond is actually a wide-bandgap semiconductor with many extremely good properties, such as high thermal conductivity, high breakdown field, high carrier mobilities and chemical inertness. These properties, together with the possibility to synthesize high-purity, single-crystalline diamond make it a very interesting material and a candidate for use in power electronics. The low impurity concentration achieved when fabricating diamond, together with its rigid lattice, cause it to exhibit a uniquely low scattering rate, especially at low temperatures. For this reason, electrons tend to remain in a defined valley and it is then possible to observe valley-polarized electron ensembles, which we have previously proven to exist.

via Uppsala university, Sweden, and Element Six, U.K.: Nattakarn Suntornwipat et al., "A Valleytronic Diamond Transistor: Electrostatic Control of Valley Currents and Charge-State Manipulation of NV Centers", Nano Letters 21, (1), 868-874 (2021), dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c04712

Image credit: Soliton spectral interference patterns - Moritz B. Heindl University of Bayreuth - 2021

Scientists create liquid crystals that look a lot like their solid counterparts
Feb 2021, phys.org

May one day lead to new types of smart windows and television or computer displays that can bend and control light.

via University of Colorado at Boulder: Wensink, H.H. et al. Thermally reconfigurable monoclinic nematic colloidal fluids. Nature 590, 268–274 (2021). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03249-0


Using new quantum computing architectures to create time crystals
Nov 2021, phys.org

Just time crystals

via University of California - Berkeley: J. Randall et al, Many-body-localized discrete time crystal with a programmable spin-based quantum simulator, Science (2021). DOI: 10.1126/science.abk0603

A. Kyprianidis et al, Observation of a prethermal discrete time crystal, Science (2021). DOI: 10.1126/science.abg8102

Norman Y. Yao et al, Time crystals in periodically driven systems, Physics Today (2018). DOI: 10.1063/PT.3.4020


Fluorescent nanodiamonds successfully injected into living cells
Mar 2021, phys.org

"Biocampatible" they say.
And for diagnostic purposes.

via Lund University: Elke Hebisch et al. Nanostraw‐Assisted Cellular Injection of Fluorescent Nanodiamonds via Direct Membrane Opening, Small (2021). DOI: 10.1002/smll.202006421

Image credit: Quantum Computer - MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab - 2022

New invention keeps qubits of light stable at room temperature
June 2021, phys.org

Room temperature is always good.
"Right now, we produce the qubits of light at a low rate, one photon per second, while cooled systems can produce millions in the same amount of time. But we believe there are important advantages to this new technology and that we can overcome this challenge in time," Eugene concludes.

via University of Copenhagen: Karsten B. Dideriksen et al, Room-temperature single-photon source with near-millisecond built-in memory, Nature Communications (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24033-8


Team develops quantum simulator with 256 qubits, largest of its kind ever created
Jul 2021, phys.org

"Optical tweezer beams"

via Harvard: Sepehr Ebadi et al, Quantum phases of matter on a 256-atom programmable quantum simulator, Nature (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03582-4


Optical levitation of glass nanosphere enables quantum control
Jul 2021, phys.org

Researchers at ETH Zurich have trapped a tiny sphere measuring a hundred nanometres using light and slowed down its motion to the lowest quantum mechanical state. This technique could help researchers to study quantum effects in macroscopic objects and build extremely sensitive sensors.

via ETH Zurich: Felix Tebbenjohanns et al, Quantum control of a nanoparticle optically levitated in cryogenic free space, Nature (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03617-w


Quantum laser turns energy loss into gain
Jul 2021, phys.org

Laser system that generates highly interactive quantum particles at room temperature. 

via The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology: Hyun Gyu Song et al, Room-temperature polaritonic non-Hermitian system with single microcavity, Nature Photonics (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41566-021-00820-z


Chinese achieve new milestone with 56 qubit computer
Jul 2021, phys.org

2D programable computer called Zuchongzhi

via University of Science and Technology of China: Strong quantum computational advantage using a superconducting quantum processor, arXiv:2106.14734 [quant-ph] arxiv.org/abs/2106.14734


Implementing a 46-node quantum metropolitan area network
Oct 2021, phys.org

Cool and everything, but this part stands out -- 

To join the network, a new user first had to send a heartbeat frame from their QKD (quantum key distribution) device to the key management server for authentication to then cue the device to generate keys. 

via Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale and Department of Modern Physics, University of Science and Technology of China: Teng-Yun Chen et al, Implementation of a 46-node quantum metropolitan area network, npj Quantum Information (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41534-021-00474-3

And: Sebastian Nauerth et al, Air-to-ground quantum communication, Nature Photonics (2013). DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2013.46


Two Chinese teams claim to have reached primacy with quantum computers
Oct 2021, phys.org

56 cubits

via Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the University of Science and Technology of China: Han-Sen Zhong et al, Phase-Programmable Gaussian Boson Sampling Using Stimulated Squeezed Light, Physical Review Letters (2021). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.180502


A potential hangup for quantum computing - Cosmic rays
Dec 2021, Ars Technica

It makes error correction not work, which makes quantum computers not work. 

via University of California, Santa Barbara, and Google Quantum AI: Resolving catastrophic error bursts from cosmic rays in large arrays of superconducting qubits. Nature Physics, 2021. DOI: 10.1038/s41567-021-01432-8 


Tiny probes could sail to outer planets with the help of low-power lasers
Feb 2022, phys.org

Just space lasers -- I saw this on Sir Isaac Arthur's show, and it's become the default no-brainer when I try to imagine what space travel will be like. Why carry your fuel with you when you can keep it right here on Earth?

via American Chemical Society: Ho-Ting Tung et al, Low-Power Laser Sailing for Fast-Transit Space Flight, Nano Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c04188


Researchers set record by preserving quantum states for more than 5 seconds
Feb 2022, phys.org

via U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago: Christopher P. Anderson et al, Five-second coherence of a single spin with single-shot readout in silicon carbide, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm5912


Researchers show how to make a 'computer' out of liquid crystals
Mar 2022, phys.org

Liquid crystals (yes, like LCD screens) are weird because their molecules are ordered like in a diamond crystal, yet they move around. So they have this property -- "the ordered regions bump up against each other and their orientations don't quite match, creating what scientists call "topological defects."

Scientists think these defects can carry information. And it looks like they're right -- they can create "the elementary building blocks of a circuit—gates, amplifiers, and conductors".

via University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Argonne National Laboratory: Rui Zhang et al, Logic operations with active topological defects, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg9060

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