Extending Wi-Fi signals, especially for IoT devices, can be expensive and difficult to install. But a new technology coming out of MIT called RFocus could change this with its no-power, beamforming capabilities.
The researchers recognized the need to improve Wi-Fi strength but also acknowledged the limited options designers have to improve Wi-Fi presently. However, each option presents major drawbacks:
1) Designers can extend Wi-Fi with repeaters, but these devices can be expensive to implement and can potentially create security flaws in the network.
2) Designers can deploy RF antennas on receiving devices to improve their reception capabilities, but this option may not be possible for the majority of Wi-Fi devices that already feature integrated antennas or PCB-type antennas.
3) Designers can choose an entirely different technology, such as 5G, which private owners will be able to deploy, effectively creating their own private cell network. However, such technologies are yet to be delivered to the masses and require modification to currently-installed hardware....
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Daniel Oberhaus
Nearly fifty years ago, Gordon Moore, the cofounder of Intel, predicted that the number of transistors packed into computer chips would double every two years. This infamous prediction, known as Mooreâs law, has held up pretty well. When Intel released the first microprocessor in the early 1970s, it had just over 2,000 transistors; today, the processor in an iPhone has several billion. But all things come to an end, and Mooreâs law is no exception.
Modern transistors, which function as a computerâs brain cells, are only a few atoms long. If they are packed too tightly, that can cause all sorts of problems: electron traffic jams, overheating, and strange quantum effects. One solution is to replace some electronic circuits with optical connections that use photons instead of electrons to carry data around a chip. Thereâs just one problem: Silicon, the main material in computer chips, is terrible at emitting light....
At the recent 2016 Military Sensing Symposia (MSS) Detectors and Materials Conference, MIT Lincoln Laboratory was presented with the Herschel Award for its development of digital-pixel readout integrated circuits. The Herschel Award, given by the MSS Specialty Group on Detectors and Materials, recognizes a major breakthrough in infrared device science or technology.
Digital-pixel readout integrated circuits can achieve very high dynamic range, high sensitivity, and fast data rate compared to conventional technology. The MIT Lincoln Laboratory team received the award for its work on the Vital Infrared Sensor Technology Acceleration (VISTA) program. The VISTA program was a tri-service program managed by the U.S. Army's Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate; it was stood up to improve the nation's capability in advanced infrared focal plane array technology for military sensors.
The Herschel Award, named for Sir William Herschel, a British astronomer who is credited with discovering infrared radiation, is one of the most prestigious awards offered by the MSS. It is not bestowed annually but is given when the selection committee, composed of leading members of the infrared scientific community, determines an individual or organization has contributed a significant advancement to the infrared science and industry community. Until this year, the Herschel Award had not been presented since 2011....
A novel sensor designed by MIT researchers could dramatically accelerate the process of diagnosing sepsis, a leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals that kills nearly 250,000 patients annually.
Sepsis occurs when the bodyâs immune response to infection triggers an inflammation chain reaction throughout the body, causing high heart rate, high fever, shortness of breath, and other issues. If left unchecked, it can lead to septic shock, where blood pressure falls and organs shut down. To diagnose sepsis, doctors traditionally rely on various diagnostic tools, including vital signs, blood tests, and other imaging and lab tests.
In recent years, researchers have found protein biomarkers in the blood that are early indicators of sepsis. One promising candidate is interleukin-6 (IL-6), a protein produced in response to inflammation. In sepsis patients, IL-6 levels can rise hours before other symptoms begin to show. But even at these elevated levels, the concentration of this protein in the blood is too low overall for traditional assay devices to detect it quickly....
