Lifeboat Foundation

As cars become computers on wheels, the former BlackBerry and Dyson executive is approaching Volvo’s EV transformation with a consumer electronics mindset.

Today, I’m talking to Jim Rowan, the CEO of Volvo Cars.

Volvo’s Jim Rowan, now more than 18 months on the job, has strong opinions on EVs, car software, and autonomy.

Continue reading “Volvo CEO Jim Rowan thinks dropping Apple CarPlay is a mistake” »

As information and communication technologies (ICT) process data, they convert electricity into heat. Already today, the global ICT ecosystem’s CO₂ footprint rivals that of aviation. It turns out, however, that a big part of the energy consumed by computer processors doesn’t go into performing calculations. Instead, the bulk of the energy used to process data is spent shuttling bytes between the memory to the processor.

In a paper published in the journal Nature Electronics, researchers from EPFL’s School of Engineering in the Laboratory of Nanoscale Electronics and Structures (LANES) present a new processor that tackles this inefficiency by integrating data processing and storage onto a single device, a so-called in-memory processor.

They broke new ground by creating the first in-memory processor based on a two-dimensional semiconductor material to comprise more than 1,000 transistors, a key milestone on the path to industrial production.

Made using molybdenum disulfide, the processor has over 1,000 transistors but works in two dimensions.

2023 EPFL / Alan Herzog.

Modern-day information technology systems are well known for producing large amounts of heat. Heat reduction is a more efficient way of using energy and will also help the world reduce carbon emissions, as it aims to go greener in the coming few decades. To minimize this unwanted heat, one must go to the root of the problem, the von Neumann architecture.

Deep within every piece of magnetic material, electrons dance to the invisible tune of quantum mechanics. Their spins, akin to tiny atomic tops, dictate the magnetic behavior of the material they inhabit. This microscopic ballet is the cornerstone of magnetic phenomena, and it’s these spins that a team of JILA researchers—headed by JILA Fellows and University of Colorado Boulder professors Margaret Murnane and Henry Kapteyn—has learned to control with remarkable precision, potentially redefining the future of electronics and data storage.

In a Science Advances publication, the JILA team—along with collaborators from universities in Sweden, Greece, and Germany—probed the spin dynamics within a special material known as a Heusler compound: a mixture of metals that behaves like a single magnetic material.

For this study, the researchers utilized a compound of cobalt, manganese, and gallium, which behaved as a conductor for electrons whose spins were aligned upwards and as an insulator for electrons whose spins were aligned downwards.

The idea of simulating quantum physics with controllable quantum devices had been proposed several decades ago. With the extensive development of quantum technology, large-scale simulation, such as the analog quantum simulation tailoring an artificial Hamiltonian mimicking the system of interest, has been implemented on elaborate quantum experimental platforms. However, due to the limitations caused by the significant noises and the connectivity, analog simulation is generically infeasible on near-term quantum computing platforms. Here we propose an alternative analog simulation approach on near-term quantum devices. Our approach circumvents the limitations by adaptively partitioning the bath into several groups based on the performance of the quantum devices.

I started messing with computers when I was seven or eight.

Illinois State University.

Students from various disciplines gathered around a target, eyes fixed on model rockets lifted into the air by a buzzing drone. Their mission— landing the rocket safely from a 22-yard, three-second free fall.

Continue reading “Future Elon Musks test vertical landing rockets at college” »

Year 2015 face_with_colon_three

(Phys.org)—Quantum computers are inherently different from their classical counterparts because they involve quantum phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, which do not exist in classical digital computers. But in a new paper, physicists have shown that a classical analog computer can be used to emulate a quantum computer, along with quantum superposition and entanglement, with the result that the fully classical system behaves like a true quantum computer.

Continue reading “Quantum computer emulated by a classical system” »

Two-dimensional (2D) materials, composed of a single or a few layers of atoms, are at the forefront of material science, promising revolutionary advancements in technology. These ultra-thin materials exhibit unique and exotic properties, particularly when their layers are stacked and twisted in specific ways.

This manipulation of layers can significantly alter their electronic characteristics, presenting exciting opportunities for the development of next-generation technologies such as more efficient computers and reliable electricity storage systems.

Understanding the intricate relationship between the atomic structure and electronic properties of these materials, however, poses a significant challenge. Traditional microscopy techniques struggle to capture the complete 3D atomic structure of these layered materials, especially when the layers are oriented differently or composed of light elements.

“Our goal is to revolutionize the field of ultrafast photonics by transforming large lab-based systems into chip-sized ones that can be mass produced and field deployed.”

On the tip of a fingerprint

However, these lasers are notoriously large and expensive making them impractical for constant use. Now, researchers have made a version of these devices that can fit on the tip of a fingertip or more conveniently on a small chip, more precisely a nanophotonic chip.

Continue reading “Scientists create powerful lasers that fit on a fingertip” »