Image: Facebook In early 2018, Facebook’s AI researchers unveiled a deep learning system that can transform 2D photo and video images of people into 3D mesh models of those human bodies in motion. Last month, Facebook publicly shared the code for its “DensePose” technology, which could be used by Hollywood filmmakers and augmented reality game… Continue reading Facebook’s DensePose Tech Raises Concerns About Potential Misuse
Author: IEEE_Spectrum
The IceCube Neutrino Detector at the South Pole Hits Paydirt
Photo-illustration: IceCube Collaboration/NSF After 3.9 billion years of hurtling unhindered through the vast reaches of the universe, a ghostly neutrino particle died on 22 September 2017. It was annihilated when it collided with an atom in the frozen darkness two kilometers beneath the surface of the south polar ice cap. But this subatomic particle’s death… Continue reading The IceCube Neutrino Detector at the South Pole Hits Paydirt
Experts Disagree on Top Applications for 5G
In the world of emerging technologies, you often see industry and academic experts take on the roles of “good cop” or “bad cop.” Whether someone plays a particular role depends largely on their own interests. When it comes to the rollout of 5G networks, carriers and equipment suppliers are all in. On the other hand,… Continue reading Experts Disagree on Top Applications for 5G
Device Uses Flashes of Light to Restore Hearing
Image: University Medical Center Göttingen Scientists in Germany have succeeded in restoring hearing sensations in gerbils using flashes of light. The technique, if it can be developed for humans, could offer a more refined, high-resolution auditory experience than what can be achieved with current hearing devices such as the cochlear implant. The scientists, led by Tobias Moser, a professor of… Continue reading Device Uses Flashes of Light to Restore Hearing
Why Consider Disability and Long-Term Insurance?
Figure 1. A screenshot of the Disability Income Needs Calculator from IEEE. Source: IEEE Disability and long-term care insurance provide a source of income in the event that your ability to work is interrupted. Both help you pay bills and provide income, but there are important differences. Each plan offers specific benefits that are unique… Continue reading Why Consider Disability and Long-Term Insurance?
The Future of Cybersecurity Is the Quantum Random Number Generator
Illustration: Greg Mably In 1882, a banker in Sacramento, Calif., named Frank Miller developed an absolutely unbreakable encryption method. Nearly 140 years later, cryptographers have yet to come up with something better. Miller had learned about cryptography while serving as a military investigator during the U.S. Civil War. Sometime later, he grew interested in telegraphy and… Continue reading The Future of Cybersecurity Is the Quantum Random Number Generator
Popcorn-Driven Robotic Actuators
Photo: Cornell University It’s not that often I can steal the title of a paper and use it for a blog article that people will actually read, but I think “Popcorn-Driven Robotic Actuators” totally works, so credit for that to Steven Ceron at Cornell University, who’s the first author on this paper, presented at the IEEE International… Continue reading Popcorn-Driven Robotic Actuators
Gore (the Gore-Tex Company) Thinks It Holds the Key to On-Skin Wearables
Photo: Gore I confess, I wasn’t familiar with W.L. Gore and Associates other than as the creator of Gore-Tex. So I wasn’t sure what I was going to find when I visited its new Silicon Valley innovation center last week. But then Paul Campbell and Linda Elkins, co-leaders of the center, pulled a sheet of… Continue reading Gore (the Gore-Tex Company) Thinks It Holds the Key to On-Skin Wearables
Chip Hall of Fame: RCA CDP 1802
Photo: Paul Rautakorpi/Wikipedia CDP 1802 Manufacturer: RCA Category: Processors Year: 1976 If the RCA Corp. had made different decisions in the 1970s, the name Joe Weisbecker could be as revered as Steve Wozniak’s is today. Weisbecker was the architect of the RCA CDP 1802 microprocessor, also known as the Cosmac. Part of what made the 1802 special… Continue reading Chip Hall of Fame: RCA CDP 1802
Australia’s Digital Transformation Stumbles Badly
Photo: iStockphoto An Australian Senate committee published a 146-page report assessing the government’s progress toward its goal of becoming “one of the top three digital governments in the world…that other nations can look to for guidance and inspiration,” by 2025. Given what is in the report, other nations may want to look elsewhere for their… Continue reading Australia’s Digital Transformation Stumbles Badly