Researchers have broken the capacity limits of fiber optic networks

You can allay those fears that the fiber optic network of that delivers your internet is going to overload. At UC San Diego’s Qualcomm Institute, engineers not only broke the supposed limits of fiber optic data transmission – they utterly smashed it, increasing the power of optical signals almost twenty times the base level. Engineers have usually cranked up the power of the signal to send and receive data faster. However, at one point, that power increase starts to create interference, degrading whatever’s getting send to the point of not delivering the data at all. As more light is beamed through cases, the amount of interference between carriers increases – at some point, the data becomes so distorted that it can’t be untangled and decoded by the receiver. This time, engineers were able to send the information 7,400 miles without the need for pricey electronic regenerators to boost the signal.

The breakthrough here comes from wideband “frequency combs” that keeps signal distortions predictable (and thus reversible) and the end of the line — and it means the capacity of the world’s fiber optic networks could gain a very a substantial boost. The Qualcomm Institute’s Nikola Alic, a lead author on the paper, called current fiber optic systems “a little like quicksand… the more you struggle, the faster you sink.”

“The more power you add to the signal, the more distortion you get, in effect preventing a longer reach. Our approach removes this power limit, which in turn extends how far signals can travel in optical fiber without needing a repeater.” Electronic repeaters are an expensive way of keeping a signal going, but don’t solve the issues of signal distortion. These experimental “frequency combs” could do exactly that.

[Image credit: jah~/Flickr]

Filed under: Science

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Via: Gizmodo

Source: Science, UC San Diego

Barclaycard steps up its contactless game with three new NFC devices

If you didn’t know, Britain now prefers cashless payments to notes and coins. Contactless cards play a big part in the shift away from cash, but as technology evolves, smartphones and wearables are beginning to influence matters too. Barclaycard has long supported contactless technology, via its PayTag NFC sticker or bPay bracelet, but the credit card provider recently pulled the products and warned that something new was coming. Indeed, Barclaycard is back with three “new” wearable bPay payment devices: a wristband, fob and sticker.

The products are all very familiar, but Barclaycard has returned with some new features. The company has launched a new website and app that allows bPay users to transfer money into their digital wallet, view purchases and change payment settings for each individual device (like when automatic top-ups balances run low). As before, the bPay wearables are available not only to Barclays and Barclaycard customers, but anyone with a UK-issued Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card.

The launch comes as Apple readies the launch of Apple Pay in the UK. Barclays confirmed it won’t support the technology right away, and today’s launch might be why. The sticker can be fixed anywhere, but was originally intended for smartphones with NFC, while the fob goes wherever your keys go. The wristband, however, looks like a fitness wearable (but doesn’t act like one) and is designed for use at festivals or travelling on the Tube. In fact, they’ll all work anywhere that supports contactless payments.

All three devices will go on sale via the bPay website from July 1st, but they come at a price. It’ll cost £14.99 for the sticker, £19.99 for the fob and £24.99 for the band. Barclaycard also says that the wristband and fob will be available on the High Street for the first time and will head to CycleSurgery and Runners Need stores in August. At first, contactless payments will be limited to £20, but you’ll get an extra tenner to play with from September.

Filed under: Wearables, Internet, Mobile

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Floating robots will find out what keeps the Indian Ocean healthy

Believe it or not, scientists don’t know a lot about how the Indian Ocean works. Without many samples, researchers are frequently left in the dark about the ways that fish, plankton and other aquatic life flourishes in the area. That won’t be a challenge for much longer, though. Australia’s national science agency is launching a fleet of BioArgo robots that will measure both the biological and physical traits of the ocean to learn what makes it healthy. Much like the Argo machines studying Arctic waters, they’ll float deep underwater (nearly 6,600 feet) and drift with the current. They’ll usually need to surface only when they’re transmitting their findings. Combined with satellite imagery, the BioArgo drones should give researchers a true “3-dimensional picture” of the Indian Ocean — important when a sixth of the human population depends on this sea for basics like food and transportation.

Filed under: Robots, Science

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Source: CSIRO

Stretchy conductive ink puts computing power on your clothes

Those dreams of having computers in your clothing might be more realistic than you think. Japanese researchers have developed a printable conductive ink that maintains a circuit even when you stretch fabric to three times its usual length — you could have athletic gear with hidden activity trackers, sensors and other computing devices. The key is a careful mix of fluorine, an organic solvent and silver flakes which, when combined, keeps transmitting electricity even under heavy abuse.

The current prototype for the ink, a wristband that tracks muscle movement, is pretty crude. You’d need much smaller circuitry before your apparel replaces your step counter or smartwatch. However, it only takes one step to print the ink. As such, it’d be relatively easy to produce on the large scales you need for shirts and wristbands. Smart fitness clothing already exists, but this invention would make it both more commercially viable and a heck of a lot more comfortable.

[Image credit: Takao Someya/University of Tokyo]

Filed under: Wearables, Science

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Via: EurekAlert, Nikkei Technology

Source: Nature

Telescope filter helps spot Earth-like alien worlds

In the hunt for planets around distant stars, the stars themselves are often the worst enemy. They’re so bright that you rarely spot anything smaller than a gas giant, which isn’t much help when you’re trying to find habitable worlds. An alliance of American and Dutch researchers may have the ticket to locating Earth-like bodies, though. They’ve developed a new variety of coronagraph (a telescope filter that blocks starlight) powerful enough to give a much better view of the objects around stars, even when they’re half as far from their hosts as Earth is to the Sun. The key is that it doesn’t block light directly, like other coronagraphs — it instead has the light waves cancel each other out, even in the infrared wavelengths where stars tend to blot out their orbiting companions.

The filter has only been in action at multiple telescopes for about a month, but the early results speak for themselves. In the picture you see above, the coronagraph helped make out Beta Centauri’s multiple stars. The hope is that the technology will let astronomers detect more small planets through straightforward observation, rather than having to use indirect measurements that leave plenty of room for error. Don’t be surprised if the rapidly expanding list of known exoplanets not only grows faster, but includes more examples that could support life.

[Image credit: Leiden University, University of Arizona]

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Via: Motherboard

Source: UA News