Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers from Harvard and MIT have pioneered a device that could improve quantum communication and may be the key to developing a quantum internet, according to an article published Monday in the scientific journal Nature.

Quantum signals lose information when traveling over long distances. To solve this problem, the researchers’ new technology catches and stores quantum bits — known as qubits — thus preventing information loss. The physicists hope this breakthrough will open the door to a quantum internet that can communicate unhackable messages.

“This is the first system-level demonstration, combining major advances in nanofabrication, photonics and quantum control, that shows a clear quantum advantage to communicating information using quantum repeater nodes,” Mikhail D. Lukin — a Harvard physics professor who lead the research team — said in a press release published Monday. “We look forward to starting to explore new, unique applications using these techniques.”

When you’re a software and hardware engineer sometimes you need a little challenge. Engineer Robert Lucian Chiriac’s latest Raspberry Pi creation can detect license plates and read the characters with fairly decent accuracy. This is an involved project that relies on machine learning to properly interpret images from the camera into discernible text.

The primary license plate reading function is constructed using three separate applications (there are more used throughout the project, but these three are critical). Chiriac used the YOLOv3 object detection algorithm to create a bounding box around each license plate it detects from the camera input. The image within the bounding box is sent to CRAFT, a text detecting application. Once the location for each character in the plate has been identified, the information is passed along to CRNN to predict the actual text.

Chiriac mounted the Raspberry Pi, GPS module, 4G module and Pi camera to his car’s rear-view mirror with a 3D-printed unit he designed. The Pi camera is even adjustable with a ball-joint swivel mount.

In the midst of the pandemic, more aspects of our daily lives are being conducted online, from work to school to medical appointments. Luckily, internet service providers think they can cope.

As they increasingly log on from home, Americans are having to meld their personal technology with professional tools at unprecedented scale. For employers, the concern isn’t just about capacity, but also about workers introducing new potential vulnerabilities into their routine — whether that’s weak passwords on personal computers, poorly secured home WiFi routers, or a family member’s device passing along a computer virus.

The dramatic expansion of teleworking by US schools, businesses and government agencies in response to the coronavirus is raising fresh questions about the capacity and security of the tools many Americans use to connect to vital workplace systems and data.

At one major US agency, some officials have resorted to holding meetings on iPhone group calls because the regular conference bridges haven’t always been working, according to one federal employee. But the workaround has its limits: The group calls support only five participants at a time, the employee noted.

Continue reading “Millions of Americans are suddenly working from home. That’s a huge security risk” »

In light of the ongoing shift toward renewable energy technologies and the growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, researchers worldwide have been trying to develop batteries that can operate more efficiently and for longer periods of time. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the preferred energy-storage technology for portable electronics, as they contain organic electrolytes, which typically enable high operating voltages and energy densities.

Despite their widespread use, further increasing the performance of existing LIBs could have a significant impact on their safety. In fact, these batteries contain highly volatile and flammable organic carbonates, which, if ignited, can cause considerable damage.

In recent years, researchers have made significant efforts toward overcoming these safety issues, for instance, by using additional substances or by optimizing the materials separating battery components. While some of these strategies successfully reduced the risk of the battery catching fire, as long as LIBs are made with highly flammable electrolytes, accidents may still occur.

An aerospace startup that plans to launch thousands of satellite “cell towers” into space says it has successfully sent a text message to a common Android smartphone using one of its satellites in orbit. The company claims it’s the first time a text message has ever been sent to an unmodified mobile phone from space, and it demonstrates the technology needed to provide global cellphone connectivity from orbit.

The company behind the breakthrough space text is called Lynk, which used to go by the name UbiquitiLink. Lynk is one of several space companies at the moment planning on building a constellation of thousands of satellites to provide some kind of connectivity to individuals on the ground. But rather than provide broadband internet coverage, Lynk is focused on providing cell service for the average mobile phone with its satellites, without the need for customers to provide any extra hardware.

Despite the crashing markets, companies are working hard to boost the further adoption of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. In two separate announcements, Coinbase and the popular internet browser Opera revealed that they’ve made serious strides in this regard.

Coinbase Card Usable With Google Pay

The leading cryptocurrency exchange in the US, Coinbase, allows its users to get a cryptocurrency card through a partnership with Visa. Now, the card has enabled users to spend Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies directly from their Coinbase account using Google Pay.

The outside world is scary enough right now. The internet doesn’t have to be scary, too.

The internet is mobilizing to fight coronavirus, but data scientists say we need more.