Convertible video displays that offer both 2D and 3D imaging without the need of any eyewear offer greater convenience to users who would otherwise have to keep track of yet another accessory. Such autostereoscopic displays have already hit the TV market, but the underlying technology reveals its limitations at close viewing distances. Viewers typically must […]
Full-Circle Viewing: 360-Degree Electronic Holographic Display
Princess Leia, your Star Wars hologram moment may be redeemed. In the original ‘Star Wars’ movie, the inviting but grainy special effects hologram might soon be a true full-color, full-size holographic image, due to advances by a South Korean research team refining 3-D holographic displays. The team described a novel tabletop display system that allows […]
New Chip Could Bring Highest Level Of Encryption To Any Mobile Device
Random number generators are crucial to the encryption that protects our privacy and security when engaging in digital transactions such as buying products online or withdrawing cash from an ATM. For the first time, engineers have developed a fast random number generator based on a quantum mechanical process that could deliver the world’s most secure […]
New Sensor Could Help Fight Deadly Bacterial Infections
Scientists have built a new sensor that can detect the potentially deadly E.coli bacteria in 15-20 minutes, much faster than traditional lab tests.E.coli can be transmitted in contaminated food and water, posing particular risks to children and the elderly. In the late spring of 2011 a serious outbreak of E.coli bacteria sickened thousands of people in Germany and killed more […]
Pixel-Array Quantum Cascade Detector Paves Way for Portable Thermal Imaging Devices
The primary source of infrared radiation is heat — the radiation produced by the thermal motion of charged particles in matter, including the motion of the atoms and molecules in an object. The higher the temperature of an object, the more its atoms and molecules vibrate, rotate, twist through their vibrational modes, the more infrared […]
Shrinking 3-D Technology For Comfortable Smart Phone Viewing
Imagine watching a 3D movie on your smart phone and suddenly getting a headache or even feeling nauseous. Such viewer discomfort is one of the biggest obstacles preventing widespread application of 3D display technology – especially for portable devices whose slim design poses an extra challenge. Now researchers at the Sun Yan-Sen University, China have […]
Glass-based Ultraviolet Absorbers Act As ‘Biological Shields’
If you’ve ever experienced a bad sunburn, you know the damage that ultraviolet (UV) light can cause to living cells (like your skin). Out in space, where the level of radiation from the sun can be even higher, it can damage sensitive electronics aboard in-flight spacecraft. The dangers of UV light have prompted scientists to […]
Easily Fabricated, Flexible & Wearable White-Light LED Designed
Researchers from National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan have created highly flexible, efficient white LEDs with potential use in wearable displays and non-flat surfaces, such as curved and flexible television screens. While the design itself is new, the LED was completely fabricated from pre-existing technologies, allowing others to easily replicate and build on the platform. “Compared […]
Breakthrough Optics Pave Way for New Class of Tech
A new class of fascinating technologies – including optics in computing, telecommunications links and switches, and virtually any other optical component – could be created simply by configuring a mesh of light-controlling devices known as interferometers. This is similar to the way electronic semiconductors can fashion the wide array of digital technologies we have at […]
Colonoscopies of the Future
Colonoscopy is a safe and effective medical procedure that’s proven to saves lives. Used for routine cancer screening, it can help identify colon tumors in their early stages. In addition, it is a key non-surgical imaging technique that allows doctors to spot ulcers, polyps or bleeding inside the large intestines of their patients safely, avoiding […]