Computation is a ubiquitous concept in physical sciences, biology, and engineering, where it provides many critical capabilities. Historically, there have been ongoing efforts to merge computation with “unusual” matters across many length scales, from microscopic droplets (Science 315, 832, 2007) to DNA nanostructures (Science 335, 831, 2012; Nat. Chem. 9, 1056, 2017) and molecules (Science 266, 1021, 1994; Science314, 1585, 2006; Nat. […]
Displays
A Spherical Virtual Reality Display
University of British Columbia (UBC) and University of Saskatchewan researchers pooled their expertise to create a ball-shaped virtual reality (VR) display. While most spherical VR displays circulating the market show a complete picture from a single view, the new design harnesses graphics rendering and calibration techniques to create a distortion-free 3D image when seen from […]
Breakthrough in Photonics — Data-Transmitting Light Signal Gets Power Boost from Nanosized Amplifier
Light is more energy-efficient and a faster way of transferring data than electricity. Until now, the rapid attenuation of light signals in microchips has prevented the use of light as a source of an information signal. With international collaboration, researchers at Aalto University have now developed a nanosized amplifier to help light signals propagate through […]
Environmentally Stable Laser Emits Exceptionally Pure Light
Researchers have developed a compact laser that emits light with extreme spectral purity that doesn’t change in response to environmental conditions. The new potentially portable laser could benefit a host of scientific applications, improve clocks for global positioning (GPS) systems, advance the detection of gravitational waves in space and be useful for quantum computing. Researchers […]
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 […]
Fiber Sensors May Leave the Jacket On
Optical fibers enable the internet, and they are practically everywhere: underground and beneath the oceans. Fibers can do more than just carry information: they are also fantastic sensors. Hair-thin optical fibers support measurements over hundreds of km, may be embedded in almost any structure, operate in hazardous environments and withstand electro-magnetic interference. Recently a major […]
All-Photonic Quantum Repeaters Could Lead to a Faster, More Secure Global Quantum Internet
Engineering researchers have demonstrated proof-of-principle for a device that could serve as the backbone of a future quantum Internet. University of Toronto Engineering professor Hoi-Kwong Lo and his collaborators have developed a prototype for a key element for all-photonic quantum repeaters, a critical step in long-distance quantum communication. A quantum Internet is the ‘Holy Grail’ of quantum […]
Multicolor Holography Technology Could Enable Extremely Compact 3-D Displays
Researchers have developed a new approach to multicolor holography that could be used to make 3-D color displays for augmented reality glasses, smartphones or heads-up displays without any bulky optical components. In Optica, The Optical Society’s journal for high impact research, researchers from Duke University, USA describe how they encoded a multicolor image onto a 300-by-300 […]
New Technology Uses Lasers to Transmit Audible Messages to Specific People
Researchers have demonstrated that a laser can transmit an audible message to a person without any type of receiver equipment. The ability to send highly targeted audio signals over the air could be used to communicate across noisy rooms or warn individuals of a dangerous situation such as an active shooter. In The Optical Society […]
Light Connects Two Worlds on a Single Chip
For the first time, researchers of the University of Twente succeeded in connecting two parts of an electronics chip using an on-chip optical link. A light connection could be a safe way of connecting a high-power component and digital control circuitry on one chip without a direct electrical link. Until now, however, an optical link […]