In a bid to increase cyber security awareness, Japan’s government has announced it will hack its own citizens’ internet-connected devices. According to CNN, February 20 marks the day that “Japanese officials will start probing 200 million IP addresses linked to the country, sniffing out devices with poor or little security. A law was passed last […]
I Became an Engineer: By Turning Curiosity into a Career
***Editor’s Note: The “I Became an Engineer” blog runs every Friday. To share your story email jennifer.delaosa@advantagebizmarketing.com*** This week’s story comes to us from ECN reader Abdel Hezzini, senior electrical systems engineer, Veeco Instruments. I think my engineering story was written before I was born. It began in the 1980s when my parents migrated to the […]
MERMAIDs Dive a Mile Underwater to Detect Incoming Earthquakes
An international team of researchers discovered that the Galápagos’ volcanoes get their fuel from a source that’s 1,200 mi deep within the ocean. Known as a “mantle plume,” this narrow conduit sends hot rock to the surface. Although mantle plumes came onto scientists’ radar in the 1970s, they have escaped detailed seismic imaging, since their […]
Software Update Traps Driver in NIO Electric Car During Heavy Traffic
In the middle of Beijing’s harrowing traffic, an electric vehicle (EV) was left stranded during a test drive after the driver started a software update, according to South China Morning Post (SCMP). The car belonged to Chinese EV startup NIO, which brands itself as a Tesla rival. SCMP reports the driver “accidentally made a series […]
Salinity Sensor Tracks Key Aspects of the Sea
A multidisciplinary team at KAUST has created a sensor that can hitch a ride on aquatic animals, and measure the ocean’s shifting salt levels. It’s lightweight, robust, flexible, and can function after long periods of submersion. According to the researchers, the salinity sensor can “form the basis of a marine animal monitoring device that records multiple […]
Engineers Build a Robot That Can Imagine Itself
Columbia Engineering researchers have developed a robot with some sense of self-awareness. Humans can adapt their self-image throughout their lifetime, picturing themselves in future situations, and learning from past mistakes and experiences. Robots, however, learn from human-provided simulators, models, or by trial and error. “But if we want robots to become independent, to adapt quickly […]
Spotlight On: AdaSky
A newcomer turned powerhouse in FIR technology for the automotive industry. We, as humans, naturally process, perceive, and understand our surroundings as we continually peer through our individual windows to the world. Mirroring nature, autonomous cars need to perceptually keep pace, in order to safely navigate the intricacies of urban life. Established 3 years ago, […]
New Research Center Aims to Push the Limits of Moore’s Law
The bright minds at Binghamton University and Purdue University will work together to lead a new, multi-million dollar research center, called the Center for Heterogeneous Integration Research in Packaging (CHIRP). With support from the Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC), the center will “help to define the future of electronics packaging in the United States and globally for […]
Haptic System Buzzes with Control Room Info
Screens and speakers focus on two main senses, sight and hearing. Haptic displays, on the other hand, target our sense of touch. Pushing the haptic field forward, scientists at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a haptic system called VibrAID, which uses vibration patterns to simplify interactions with complex control systems in power stations and […]
Melting the Snow Away with an Under-Road Heating System
Once snow and ice blanket the road, the dangers of driving skyrocket. “Once you have cars driving, the dynamics of the ice and snow change [because of the movement of the vehicles], and in a place such as a highway exit, the [risk of] injuries or fatalities goes up,” says Yonatan Elimelech, a partner at […]