Electric cars have many merits: They are quieter and require less maintenance than cars with internal combustion engines. A network of smartly located charging stations covering the entire Harz region is bound to make electric cars a regional feature. Continue Reading »
Remote central locking is among the most convenient aspects of modern motoring. Transmission of the radio signal that activates the system is not particularly secure, however. A new encryption technique increases security without draining the key’s battery.
Most drivers love the convenience of remote central locking — the car doors are locked or unlocked just by pressing a button on the key. These systems are not particularly secure, however, as a potential car thief can, for example, use an antenna to eavesdrop on the radio signal and create a second key from the captured data on a computer. The reason for this weakness in security is that the algorithms which encrypt the signals sent from the key to the vehicle are not strong enough. Their code was broken about two years ago. Continue Reading »
Self-propagating worms are malicious computer programs, which, after being released, can spread throughout networks without human control, stealing or erasing hard drive data, interfering with pre-installed programs and slowing, even crashing, home and work computers. Now a new code, or algorithm, created by Penn State researchers targets the “stealthiest” of these worms, containing them before an outbreak can occur. Continue Reading »
An innovative computational technique that draws on statistics, imaging and other disciplines has the capability to detect errors in sensitive technological systems ranging from satellites to weather instruments.
The patented technique, known as the Intelligent Outlier Detection Algorithm, or IODA, is described this month in the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology. Continue Reading »
Microelectronic chips used to take pressure readings are very delicate. A new technology has been developed that makes pressure sensors more robust, enabling them to continue operating normally at temperatures up to 250 degrees Celsius.
The drill bit gradually burrows deeper into the earth, working its way through the rock. Meanwhile, dozens of sensors are busily engaged in tasks such as taking pressure readings and evaluating porosity. The conditions they face are extreme, with the sensors being required to withstand high temperatures and pressures as well as shocks and vibrations. The sensors send the data to the surface to help geologists with work such as searching for oil deposits. Continue Reading »
Since the time of the earliest humans, people have attempted to understand the natural environment. We have observed our surroundings and searched for explanations for natural phenomena. Yet despite our persistence over thousands of years, many basic questions remain to be answered. Although we understand core processes such as photosynthesis, we do not have a full understanding of issues such as how plants maximize their photosynthetic capacity. Continue Reading »
A new study co-written by a University of Illinois expert in math education suggests that incorporating technology in high school-level geometry classes not only makes the teaching of concepts such as congruency easier, it also empowers students to discover other geometric relationships they wouldn’t ordinarily uncover when more traditional methods of instruction were used.
loriana González, a professor of curriculum and instruction in the College of Education at Illinois, says when students used dynamic geometry software they were more successful in discovering new mathematical ideas than when they used static, paper-based diagrams. Continue Reading »
Igor Berezhnoy of Tilburg University in the Netherlands has developed computer algorithms to support art historians and other art experts in their visual assessment of paintings. His digital technology is capable of distinguishing a forgery from an authentic Van Gogh based on the painter’s characteristic brush work and use of colour. Continue Reading »
Why some scientists choose a given citation and not others to include in the references of their scientific writings is an issue which is not completely resolved, according to what could be determined in a study carried out by María del Mar Camacho Miñano and Manuel Núñez Níckel, of the Universidad Complutense of Madrid and the UC3M, respectively, published in the Journal of the American Society for Information, Science and Technology.
The field of quantum information processing has come a long way in the past five years, partly thanks to a £10 million grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) which has helped focus activity in this potentially lucrative field.
As the grant’s lifespan comes to an end, leading representatives from academia, government and business gathered at the Institute of Physics on December 10 to highlight the most recent advances and discuss what is now needed to make the most of the opportunities that quantum information processing gives the UK. Continue Reading »