Lifeboat Foundation

From your smartphone to just a regular clock, quantum physics may be weird, but it’s also practical.

Scientists have created, synthesized, and analyzed a new class of fluorophores, which are luminous chemical compounds. These are the new bullet systems based on cyanopyrazine. According to research, the inclusion of cyanogroup compounds in fluorophores considerably boosts the efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes (OLED). This indicates they can be utilized to develop new materials to improve the brightness of smartphone, computer, and television screens. The researchers’ findings were recently published in the journal Dyes and Pigments.

The research was led by Egor Verbitskiy, the director of the Postovsky Institute of Organic Synthesis Ural Branch of RAS and a member of the Laboratory of Medical Chemistry and Advanced Organic Materials at the Ural Federal University. He states that physicists were aware that introducing cyanogroups to fluorophores can enhance the OLEDs’ properties and overall efficiency.

Walking can boost not only your own energy but also, potentially, the energy of your wearable electronic devices. Osaka Metropolitan University scientists made a significant advance toward self-charging wearable devices with their invention of a dynamic magnifier-enhanced piezoelectric vibration energy harvester that can amplify power generated from impulsive vibrations, such as from a human walking, by about 90 times, while remaining as small as currently developed energy harvesters. The results were published in Applied Physics Letters.

These days, people carry multiple electronic devices such as smartphones, and wearable devices are expected to become increasingly widespread in the near future. The resulting demand for more efficient recharging of these devices has increased the attention paid to energy harvesting, a technology that converts energy such as heat and light into electricity that can power small devices. One form of energy harvesting called vibration energy harvesting is deemed highly practical given that it can transform the kinetic energy from vibration into electricity and is not affected by weather or climate.

A research team led by Associate Professor Takeshi Yoshimura from the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka Metropolitan University has developed a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) piezoelectric vibration energy harvester that is only approximately 2 cm in diameter with a U-shaped metal component called a dynamic magnifier. Compared with conventional harvesters, the new harvester allows for an increase of about 90 times in the power converted from impulsive vibrations, which can be generated by the human walking motion.

Continue reading “High-performance and compact vibration energy harvester created for self-charging wearable devices” »

The anti-Apple crowd has the backing of the world’s richest person.

Elon Musk might have just propped himself as the new face of the anti-Apple group working to counter the iPhone maker’s monopoly in the app market. In a tweet, Musk accused Apple of threatening to withhold Twitter from the App Store without giving any specific reason and called it censorship.

Since his Twitter acquisition, Elon Musk has primarily been in the news for the things that have happened inside the social media company, whether it is firing half of the workforce or asking the remaining crew to commit more hours of work at a higher intensity to build a new version of the social media company.

Amazon is bringing its palm print-scanning biometric payment technology to several Whole Foods locations.

Biometrics: Every person has measurable physical characteristics that are unique to them — and because these attributes are unique and measurable, they can be used to verify our identity.

Biometric technologies — like the one that probably unlocks your phone — automate this verification, analyzing a face, fingerprint, or palm for distinct identifiers linked to a specific person.

This article reports a highly integrated watch for noninvasive continual blood glucose monitoring. The watch employs a Nafion-coated flexible electrochemical sensor patch fixed on the watchband to obtain interstitial fluid (ISF) transdermally at the wrist. This reverse iontophoresis-based extraction method eliminates the pain and inconvenience that traditional fingerstick blood tests pose in diabetic patients’ lives, making continual blood glucose monitoring practical and easy. All electronic modules, including a rechargeable power source and other modules for signal processing and wireless transmission, are integrated onto a watch face-sized printed circuit board (PCB), enabling comfortable wearing of this continual glucose monitor. Real-time blood glucose levels are displayed on the LED screen of the watch and can also be checked with the smartphone user interface.

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While the Apple Watch has evolved from a fashionable phone accessory to a high-tech health monitor—capable of scanning for heart conditions and calling for help after injuries—future generations may tap into a deeper set of features to track the body’s inner workings.

This could include long-rumored blood sugar readings, from the wrist-worn gadget, plus blood pressure measurements, hydration levels and more, following newly divulged arrangements with the sensor maker Rockley Photonics.

Continue reading “Apple Watch could gain long-sought glucose tracking with Rockley Photonics deal: report” »

A fake Android SMS application, with 100,000 downloads on the Google Play store, has been discovered to secretly act as an SMS relay for an account creation service for sites like Microsoft, Google, Instagram, Telegram, and Facebook.

A researcher says the infected devices are then rented out as “virtual numbers” for relaying a one-time passcode used to verify a user while creating new accounts.

While the app has an overall rating of 3.4, many user reviews complain that it is fake, hijacks their phones, and generates multiple OTPs (one-time passwords) upon installation.

Continue reading “Malicious Android app found powering account creation service” »

Researchers at the UPC’s Department of Electronic Engineering have developed a new type of magnetometer that can be integrated into microelectronic chips and that is fully compatible with the current integrated circuits. Of great interest for the miniaturization of electronic systems and sensors, the study has been recently published in Microsystems & Nanoengineering.

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are electromechanical systems miniaturized to the maximum, so much so that they can be integrated into a chip. They are found in most of our day-to-day devices, such as computers, car braking systems and mobile phones. Integrating them into electronic systems has clear advantages in terms of size, cost, speed and energy efficiency. But developing them is expensive, and their performance is often compromised by incompatibilities with other electronic systems within a device.

MEMS can be used, among many others, to develop magnetometers—a device that measures magnetic field to provide direction during navigation, much like a compass—for integration into smartphones and wearables or for use in the automotive industry. Therefore, one of the most promising lines of work are Lorentz force MEMS magnetometers.