Advances in Computers thread

[ScienceRocks]

Printing silicon on paper with lasers

Printing electronics has led to application areas formerly which were impossible with conventional electronic processes. Solutions are used as inks on top of large areas at room temperatures, allowing the production of fully flexible circuitry. Commonly, research in these inks have focused on organic and metal-oxide ink materials due to their printability, while these materials lack in the electronic performance when compared to silicon electronics. Silicon electronics, on the other hand, only recently has found their way in solution processes. Printing of cyclopentasilane as the silicon ink has been conducted and devices with far superior electric performance have been made when compared to other ink materials.

 

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Microsoft Surface 3: Early impressions
By Will Shanklin
May 6, 2015
3 Pictures

Microsoft has really picked up its Surface game in the last year. First the Surface Pro 3 took a big step forward, and now the Surface 3 brings many of the same principles to a smaller and cheaper device. Read on for Gizmag's Surface 3 early impressions.

 

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Oculus Rift consumer version gets a release window: Mark your calendar for Q1 of 2016
By Chris Wood
May 6, 2015
2 Pictures

Oculus VR just pulled back the curtain for a peek at the long anticipated consumer version of its Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. The updated hardware will be available to consumers in Q1 of 2016, with pre-orders starting before the end of the year.

 

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New chip architecture may increase qubits in a future quantum computer

Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute and Honeywell International have developed a new ion traparchitecture (using ions trapped inside a vacuum chamber and manipulated with lasers) that could increase the density of qubits in future quantum computers.
The GTRI/Honeywell approach uses new microfabrication techniques that allow more electrodes to fit onto the chip. The design borrows ideas from a type of packaging called a ball grid array (BGA), which is used to mount integrated circuits.

 

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Optalysys prototype proves optical processing technology will revolutionise Big Data analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

Cambridge UK optical processing business Optalysys Ltd, has announced that they have successfully developed a demonstrable prototype that can process mathematical functions optically in a scaleable, lensless design.

Optalysys optical processing systems will “turbo-charge” existing computers by performing processor-intensive tasks at much faster rates and with a significant reduction in energy consumption. The prototype is portable and has a footprint similar to a desktop computer. The technology has the potential to achieve Exascale processing levels by 2020.

Optalysys CEO, Dr. Nick New, explains. “Until now, meaningful optical processing technology has been impractical for a number of reasons. Advancements in liquid crystal technology now permit numerical data to be dynamically entered into an optical system at high speeds and resolutions. Several additional breakthroughs by the Optalysys team have resulted in a patented lensless design which is easily aligned to within a few microns.”

The prototype demonstrates optical derivative functions – mathematical building blocks commonly used in complex engineering model simulations such as weather prediction and aerodynamic modelling. It also performs correlation pattern matching used in Big Data analysis such as DNA analysis and financial modelling.

The prototype achieves a processing speed equivalent to 320 gigaFLOPs and, because it uses light rather than electricity as the processing medium, it is incredibly energy efficient. Now the principles of the approach have been proven, Optalysys is ramping-up the processing capabilities of the technology.

More news on this front from others



Optalysys technology will underpin next-generation weather forecasting in a €4m project led by the ECMWF



Optical Processor to Boost Speed, Reduce Energy Demands of Genome Research



Optalysys Develops Prototype Optical Processing System



Optalysys completes 320 gigaFLOP optical computer prototype, targets 9 petaFLOP product in 2017 and 17 exaFLOPS machine by 2020

 

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Researchers create first neural-network chip built just with memristors
3 minutes ago by Bob Yirka report

Enlarge
A memristive neural network. The cartoon depicts a fragment of Prezioso and colleagues’ artificial neural network, which consists of crossing horizontal and vertical wires that have memristor devices (yellow) at the junctions. Input voltages …more

(Phys.org)—A team of researchers working at the University of California (and one from Stony Brook University) has for the first time created a neural-network chip that was built using just memristors. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the team describes how they built their chip and what capabilities it has.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-05-neural-network-chip-built-memristors.html#jCp

 

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VoxieBox Displays 3D Images Just Like R2D2’s Message From Princess Leia

Voxon, chosen out of the Hardware Alley to do the ‘wildcard’ pitch during TechCrunch Disrupt NY, demonstrated a truly amazing technology today. Imagine the scene from Star Wars where Princess Leia is projected in 3 dimensions recording a message to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Well, Voxon’s VoxieBox product does just that.
Its unique combination of hardware and software, developed over 30 years of tinkering in a New York garage, literally ‘prints light’ in three dimensions, not unlike the way a 3D printer would print in plastic. But this does it thousands of times a second, thus tricking the human eye into thinking it’s seeing a 3D image, thanks to their proprietary algorithm.
The VoxieBox does not require goggles or glasses to view the image, meaning it’s extremely user-friendly. Because you can display any image (moving or still), you can thus move and revolve around objects and see an object from many different angles, collaboratively.
Furthermore, the VoxieBox could be used in classrooms, allowing children to manipulate, for instance, a blood cell in biology classes without being exposed to dangerous materials.

 

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Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions

8 May 2015

Windows 10 is going to be the last major revision of the operating system.

Jerry Nixon, a Microsoft development executive, said in a conference speech this week that Windows 10 would be the "last version" of the dominant desktop software.

His comments were echoed by Microsoft which said it would update Windows in future in an "ongoing manner".

Instead of new stand-alone versions, Windows 10 would be improved in regular instalments, the firm said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...nology-32658340

 

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IBM's Watson supercomputer strives to be jack of all trades
Watson already has won a major TV game show, is looking for a cure for cancer and has ambitious gastronomy ambitions including devising a recipe for chocolate-beef burritos.

 

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Fixstars announces six-terabyte Solid State Drive
39 minutes ago by Nancy Owano weblog

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The world's first 6TB Solid State Drive (Fixstars SSD-6000M) is accepting orders and it will be shipped to customers in the United States in late July. That's the news from Fixstars, which has announced a 2.5" SSD with a capacity of 6TB. The announcement on Thursday said it was the world's largest 2.5-inch SATA SSD. The Fixstars SSD-6000M will use 15nm flash memory packed into a 2.5″ form factor. Read speeds are expected to be up to 540MB/s and write speeds of up to 520MB/s for sequential access.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-05-fixstars-six-terabyte-solid-state.html#jCp

 

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Generals will be able to direct battles using new Minority Report-style technology including 3D goggles and even virtual reality contact lenses

Military generals will be able to direct battles and explore disaster zones in real time, which could radically alter the way battles are fought.
Rather than standing on the front line, commanders can order the deployment of troops from a portable command centre small enough to fit inside a briefcase.
The technology will enable generals to see the surroundings for themselves as 3D images pop up on virtual screens showing live footage from drones above the battleground.
In addition, computer-generated advisers are on hand to offer tactical advice.
They system also provides users with interactive gloves resembling those seen in the 2002 film Minority Report, where three mutants foresee all crime before it happens.

 

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Samsung Gear VR for Galaxy S6: Early impressions
By Will Shanklin
May 11, 2015
5 Pictures

The Oculus-powered Samsung Gear VR is our pick for the best virtual reality experience consumers can have today, but it has some limits – including overheating issues and the fact that it only works with the Galaxy Note 4. But now you can buy a new version of the Gear VR that plays nicely with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge. Read on for Gizmag's early impressions.

 

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QromaScan scans and tags photos with an iPhone and your voice
By Simon Crisp
May 11, 2015
4 Pictures

QromaScan is a simple scanning setup which might mean you finally get around to digitizing and organizing those boxes of old photos you've got gathering dust in the attic. The system, which is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, combines the camera and voice recognition of an iPhone, with a green-screen lightbox to make it quick and easy to produce digital files of printed photos.

 

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Researchers try to improve smartwatch typing with two new keyboard concepts
By Antonio Pasolini
May 12, 2015
3 Pictures

Wearable devices are becoming more prominent, but, apart from voice control, they don't usually offer many ways of entering text. We have seen the ZoomBoard keyboard as one possible solution, as well as large, curved screens that use smartphone-like keyboards. Now a team of researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València and the University of Stuttgart have developed two tiny QWERTY soft keyboard prototypes that supposedly allow users to enter text more easily into their wearables.

 

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The $9 CHIP is real computing in a tiny form
By Heidi Hoopes
May 12, 2015
8 Pictures

From the company that brought us Otto, the gif-capturing camera, comes CHIP, the US$9 computer. Its endowments of 1 gig processing, 4 gig storage, and 512 MB of RAM would only be average, were it not for the price, and the fact that it's ready-to-go despite its svelte stature – small enough to fit on a Post-It note. As with Otto, the company is seeking funding on Kickstarter and is also offering PocketCHIP, an enclosure to turn CHIP into an affordable smart device with touchscreen and keyboard.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Yes, 10-core smartphones will be a thing in 2016

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When MediaTek first launched an octa-core mobile processor back in late 2013, many folks -- including Qualcomm -- called it a gimmick, but said feature has since become quite popular amongst device manufacturers, to the point where Qualcomm eventually had to come up with its very own octa-core offerings. Just to stay one step ahead of others, MediaTek is now prepping the launch of a deca-core aka 10-core chip dubbed the Helio X20, which will succeed the octa-core Helio X10 (MT6795) that's already powering HTC's Asia-only One M9+ plus several upcoming Chinese flagship phones. MediaTek is sampling its new chip in Q3, and the first commercial devices to use it will arrive as early as end of this year.
While ten cores may seem an overkill, the 20nm Helio X20 is actually more about its "Tri-Cluster" architecture that consists of two 2.5GHz Cortex-A72 cores, four 2GHz Cortex-A53 cores and four 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 cores. So basically, on the CPU side the Helio X20 is very much a Helio X10 with two more Cortex-A72 cores, but with the original eight Cortex-A53 cores running on slightly lower speeds.

 

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IBM’s silicon photonics technology aims to speed up cloud and Big Data applications

First fully integrated silicon chip to use high-speed pulses of light instead of slow electrical signals

May 12, 2015

IBM announced today (May 12) what is says in the first fully integrated silicon chip to use high-speed pulses of light instead of slow electrical signals over wires. That means the chip will be able to move data at rapid speeds and longer distances in future computing systems.
The silicon photonics chip is wavelength-multiplexed, meaning it can transmit multiple wavelengths of light. IBM says they will soon be able to start manufacturing 100 Gb/s optical transceivers. This will allow datacenters to offer greater data rates and bandwidth for cloud computing and Big Data applications.

 

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IBM develops cost effective silicon photonics for 100 Gb per second communication in cloud servers, datacenters, and supercomputers

IBM announced a significant milestone in the development of silicon photonics technology, which enables silicon chips to use pulses of light instead of electrical signals over wires to move data at rapid speeds and longer distances in future computing systems. For the first time, IBM engineers have designed and tested a fully integrated...

 

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LG Unveils Proof-Of-Concept .9 Millimeter-Thick OLED Display [Paper-Thin Electronics]

LG Display, the screen-making subsidiary of LG, is dedicated to OLED panels, and it has unveiled an impossibly thin television to prove it.

At a press event in its home country of Korea on Tuesday, LG Display showed off a "wallpaper" proof-of-concept television. The 55-inch OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display weighs 1.9 kilograms and is less than a millimeter thick. Thanks to a magnetic mat that sits behind it on the wall, the TV can be stuck to a wall. To remove the display from the wall, you peel the screen off the mat.

 

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Moore's Law Keeps Going, Defying Expectations

“For the first 20 years I couldn’t utter the term Moore’s law. It was embarrassing,” the 86-year-old visionary said in an interview with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman at the gala event, held at Exploratorium science museum. “Finally, I got accustomed to it where now I could say it with a straight face.” He and Friedman chatted in front of a rapt audience, with Moore cracking jokes the whole time and doling out advice, like how once you’ve made one successful prediction, you should avoid making another. In the background Intel’s latest gadgets whirred quietly: collision-avoidance drones, dancing spider robots, a braille printer—technologies all made possible via advances in processing power anticipated by Moore’s law.

Of course, Moore’s law is not really a law like those describing gravity or the conservation of energy. It is a prediction that the number of transistors (a computer’s electrical switches used to represent 0s and 1s) that can fit on a silicon chip will double every two years as technology advances. This leads to incredibly fast growth in computing power without a concomitant expense and has led to laptops and pocket-size gadgets with enormous processing ability at fairly low prices. Advances under Moore’s law have also enabled smartphone verbal search technologies such as Siri—it takes enormous computing power to analyze spoken words, turn them into digital representations of sound and then interpret them to give a spoken answer in a matter of seconds.

Another way to think about Moore’s law is to apply it to a car. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich explained that if a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle had advanced at the pace of Moore’s law over the past 34 years, today “you would be able to go with that car 300,000 miles per hour. You would get two million miles per gallon of gas, and all that for the mere cost of four cents.”