• Unmask internet trolls’ real identities to prevent abuse, MP argues

    At the Cheltenham Science Festival, Gloucestershire, Phillips discussed how social media could be reclaimed from people using the platforms to hurl abuse at others. This practice is popularly referred to as “trolling” (a term which originally had a different, less insidious meaning). Phillips has been subjected to extensive abuse on Twitter and other platforms; she described having received 600 rape threats in a single evening and being threatened with violence every day to the point that she stopped counting the incidents. As a left-of-centre woman politician who frequently speaks out on issues of social justice, Phillips is among the most popular targets for trolls in the UK and has been targeted by trolls from the left and right. If you speak as a feminist, she said: “You will suffer…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Antenna Design Using Simulation

    Duration: 1 hour PCB antennas are increasingly found in a wide variety of devices, including laptops as well as products for the Internet of Things (IoT). These antennas are used for wireless communication, sensing, and tracking. To optimise the design of PCB antennas, engineers rely on simulations. In this webinar, we will discuss how a PCB antenna design with Bluetooth wireless technology is optimised using numerical simulation. Kaiwen will demonstrate how the radiated power performance predicted by the simulation strongly agrees with laboratory measurements. Following this model validation, Kaiwen will discuss how PA Consulting has used parametric sweeps to alter the antenna design to study the impact on the radiation pattern and the power performance in an easy and automated way. The…

  • Laser-frequency combs tap terahertz source for ultra-fast Wi-Fi

    Wi-Fi and cellular data traffic are increasing exponentially but, unless the capacity of wireless links can be increased, all that traffic is bound to lead to unacceptable bottlenecks. Upcoming 5G networks are a temporary fix, but not a long-term solution. For that, researchers have focused on terahertz frequencies, the sub-millimetre wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. Data traveling at terahertz frequencies could move hundreds of times faster than today's wireless. In 2017, researchers at the Harvard John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) discovered that an infrared-frequency comb in a quantum cascade laser could offer a new way to generate terahertz frequencies. Now, those researchers have uncovered a new phenomenon of quantum cascade laser-frequency…

  • Mobile maps: mapping live data with the help of mobile networks

    In 2009, the German newspaper Die Zeit published an animated map of six months in the life of Malte Spitz, a Green Party politician, using his mobile call details records (CDRs). These are the logs of how, when, where and with whom he communicated, collected by his phone supplier for billing purposes. By matching these records to mentions of Spitz’s political life on websites and blogs, Die Zeit was able to pinpoint the places the politician visited, the routes he took, how long he’d stayed in each location, and the people he’d texted and spoken to on the phone at the time. Die Zeit and Spitz wanted to reveal how potentially intrusive the retention of CDRs can be in the way that they can track individuals from one cellular antenna tower to the next. Now, nearly a decade later, CDRs are…

  • Lunar 4G network to be established in ambitious industry-led project

    The group is working with Vodafone, Audi and Nokia on the project, rendering it the first privately funded lunar mission. Vodafone and PTScientists (the ‘PT’ stands for part-time) will connect two Audi lunar Quattro rovers to a base station in the landing module. They will use a small piece of hardware developed by its technology partner, Nokia, in order to establish the network. Nokia will develop a space-worthy variant of its Ultra Compact Network, which will weigh barely 1kg. The launch is scheduled for 2019. The hardware will be launched from Cape Canaveral using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket system, which is partially reusable. Once the network has been established, the group intends to stream high-definition video from the Moon to Earth. This will allow for the first live HD video feed…

  • £8.4m 'Growth Deal' brings ESA deep-space project to Goonhilly, Cornwall

    Announced today by the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the project will see Goonhilly upgraded to enable it to provide deep-space tracking and satellite communication services on a commercial basis. It will be the first time the UK has had the capability to communicate directly with deep-space missions. In the future, Goonhilly will complement the capability of the European Space Agency (ESA)’s worldwide ground station network, currently comprising seven core stations supporting more than 20 earth, observatory, planetary and exploration spacecraft, as well as European launchers. The Goonhilly contract is being funded through the LEP’s Growth Deal with the UK Government, via ESA. The investment will see ESA working with Goonhilly to upgrade one of its largest…

  • View from Washington: US government moves to ban Chinese phones again; targets Huawei and ZTE

    It is the latest chapter in a long-standing face-off between Washington and the two companies over claims that their products contain Chinese spyware. The ban would cover their network infrastructure hardware and officially issued smartphones. “Huawei is effectively an arm of the Chinese government and it’s more than capable of stealing information from US officials by hacking its devices,” claimed Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, one of the bill’s sponsors. An effective ban on Huawei and ZTE was also proposed in a recently leaked White House policy document on the build-out of the US 5G cellular network. It was quickly dismissed by the mobile comms industry for suggesting that the move could be achieved by having the government fund construction (and thereby choose all suppliers) rather…

  • Android Messages 2.9 app code hints at future web interface for phone and PC texts

    The application package for the upcoming version of Android Messages, v2.9, contains suggestions that Google is working on a web interface for sending text messages via computer. This could pair a phone with a laptop or desktop computer in order to send text messages. Phrases in the package include “Messages for Web”, “Scan your QR code”, “Text over Wi-Fi and data” and “Sign out of all computers”. The updated app would likely direct users to visit a web site on a browser on their PC, where they can scan a QR code to pair their phone and computer. Once paired, users can use Android Messages on their computer, while the phones themselves do the SMS or MMS communication. With its new Messages app, Google may adopt Rich Communications Services (RCS), a universal standard aimed at replacing…

  • White House bans personal mobile phones from West Wing

    Announcing the decision, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said, “The security and integrity of the technology systems at the White House is a top priority for the Trump administration and therefore, starting next week, the use of all personal devices for both guests and staff will no longer be allowed in the West Wing.” Sanders clarified the decision, saying: “Staff will be able to conduct business on their government-issued devices and continue working hard on behalf of the American people”. It is not known how these “goverment-issued devices” are differentiated from personal ones. The ban on personal phones does not apply to the President, Donald Trump, a person close to the administration said, but it will apply to every top official working in the White House. The proposal…

  • 3D-printed objects connect to internet without any electronics

    Typically, devices require electronic components to send, interpret and receive signals via Wi-Fi. Given this, wirelessly connecting 3D-printed devices without the addition of electronic components had never been achieved. “Our goal was to create something that just comes out of your 3D printer at home and can send useful information to other devices,” said Vikram Iyer, a graduate student at the University of Washington. “But the big challenge is how do you communicate wirelessly with Wi-Fi using only plastic? That’s something that no one has been able to do before.” In order to allow their printed devices to exchange information, the University of Washington engineers harnessed backscatter techniques, which use antennas to reflect radio waves or other signals emitted from a device such…

  • ‘Mobile misery maps’ offer new route to better services on the move

    Vodafone Ireland has conducted one of the first live trials of a technology that can pick out millions of fast-moving phone subscribers from their Call Detail Records (the logs of time, date, place, duration and type of communication that phone companies collect every time we use our mobiles) and produce live maps of how they are using their phones (and how rubbish the experience is). The idea behind ‘mobile misery maps’ is to help phone companies improve their services around pain points on roads and railways, with one eye on the future of increasingly autonomous vehicles. The maps mark each cell site along a route in ‘traffic light’ colours, from red to green. These can be filtered for specific call-quality indicators, including problems like low-quality VoLTE calls, slow video streaming…

  • Cockatoos feast on billion-dollar broadband network cables

    Australia’s average internet speed is 11.1MBps, making it the 50th fastest in the world. A major infrastructure project, which aims to roll out better service nationwide, is due to be completed in 2021, although it is already attracting criticism for slow speeds. Engineers visiting sites to check on the cables have found them damaged, having been chewed by cockatoos. Most of the damage has occurred in southeast Australia in areas surrounding grain farms, which attract the birds. According to the National Broadband Network (NBN) Company, the network builder, repairing the damage done by the birds has already cost $80,000. These costs are likely to rise as further bird-inflicted damage is revealed. NBN is planning to cover the cables with inexpensive, protective plastic casing to protect…

  • Alphabet’s Project Loon to provide emergency mobile coverage to Puerto Rico

    After Hurricane Maria hit the region on September 20, millions of Puerto Ricans have been suffering from crippled infrastructure, with access to food, electricity, clean water and mobile signal severely limited since. 83 per cent of mobile sites are out of service, the FCC reports , and more than 90 per cent of its mobile towers are inoperable. Since then, telecommunications companies have been deploying temporary mobile sites and US FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced the formation of a Hurricane Recovery Task Force. Among other actions, the FCC has awarded Alphabet – Google’s parent company – an experimental license to operate in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in order to help them regain connectivity. This license gives Alphabet until April 2018 to roll out the project. Its purpose…

  • O2 gets 4G to remote Scottish communities using helicopters and off-road vehicles

    The company said that by the end of this year, more than 800 Scottish towns and villages will have been connected, from Ben Nevis in the Highlands to Aberdeen and rural areas around Inverness. Derek McManus, chief operating officer at O2, said: “Of all the ingredients that keep our economy and society moving, arguably top of the list is mobile. “The need for 4G connectivity is an integral part of modern daily life. A good connection can make all the difference to how we communicate with each other as individuals and it is a key factor to the success of local businesses. “At O2, we are constantly challenging ourselves to develop and deploy new technology to deliver better connectivity for our customers across Scotland, regardless of landscape or weather conditions.” O2 is taking a number…

  • Drinkers pour their own pints and pay at automated beer-serving machines

    Created by Drink Command, the machines are already being trialled by some Hilton Hotels and the bar at The University of Reading. They currently accept contactless, NFC and other payment methods at the tap, such as Apple Pay and Android Pay. The company hasn’t as yet outlined how it will help inexperienced customers pour pints with an acceptable head of foam. Matt Tebbit, who runs the bar at the University of Reading said: “Our 16-tap self-serve beer wall has allowed us to increase our capacity to serve more customers and hold our existing staff levels by giving patrons the option to order from the bar or serve themselves at their leisure.” “There is a change of mindset happening in the beer dispense industry, similar to how self-serve technology has improved the…

  • Apple sets stage for “next 10 years” of mobile technology with iPhone X

    At the inaugural event to be held in the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple ’ s enormous new ‘One Infinite Loop’ campus headquarters, Tim Cook, Apple ’ s CEO, and Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, ran through the features of the company ’ s flagship smartphone, laying to rest all the rumours that have circulated about the new design throughout the year. The iPhone X (ten, not ex) features an all-glass design with a 5.8-inch Super Retina OLED panel edge-to-edge display; Apple ’ s new A11 Bionic chip; wireless charging capability and an improved rear camera with dual optical image stabilisation. The handset also introduces Face ID, a highly secure new way for customers to unlock iPhone X, authenticate and use Apple Pay, using just their face, all enabled by the…

  • Online anonymity next in Beijing’s internet firing line

    The Cyberspace Administration of China has announced that from October 2017, internet users will be required to provide their real name in order to register with smaller websites and services. Already, internet users are required to provide their real name (“real-name registration”) in order to register for the largest social networks and messaging services, including WeChat, Weibo and Baidu Tieba, and to have a mobile phone number. Internet service providers and other companies such as Baidu and Tencent – which owns WeChat and QQ – will become responsible for requesting and verifying users’ real names when they register, as well as for investigating possible users of fake names, and reporting illegal content to the appropriate authorities. The legislation could serve to shift the responsibility…

  • Interview: Dr Arseniy Kuznetsov, senior scientist, A*Star

    The past few decades have seen numerous attempts to bring 3D animation to computers and consumer devices, but results have been far from successful. Even though 3D TVs made it to market several years ago and events such as the Olympics and the World Cup were captured in stereo, it did not take long for manufacturers to realise these products were not going to drive sales. Having to use special glasses to see stereo images did not help either. What we really want is an image that conveys depth properly, through holographics. According to Arseniy Kuznetsov, a photonics expert and pioneer in the development of nanoantennas, a display that brings holographics to smartphones is on its way. “People have been dreaming about this and talking about it for a long time,” he says. “We know this because…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Moore’s Law 2017: an uphill battle

    Moore’s Law, first hypothesised in 1965 by Intel founder Gordon Moore, states that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit will double approximately every two years. The shrinking of transistors enables a larger number to be held within the same area, which results in a faster processor that can operate at lower power requirements. Although the law was adhered to rigidly for half a century, in 2015 Intel admitted that the pace of advancement had started to slow down. Its eighth-generation Core CPUs, codenamed Coffee Lake, are set to launch in the second half of 2017 and will once again be built on the same 14-nanometre (nm) process used three generations prior for its Broadwell chips, originally released in 2014. What this means for the future of Moore’s Law is currently…

  • Outdated strategies are the wrong approach to implementing 5G

    There’s a saying that generals are always preparing to fight the previous war. They’ve learnt successful strategies from prior experience and are inclined to use them in the next battle. Learning from experience is critically important, but previous strategies can be inappropriate when other factors change.It might be that the mobile community is fighting a 5G war with lessons learnt from previous generations – a conclusion drawn in my recent book ‘The 5G Myth’. In the past, introductions of new generations of mobile technology have concentrated on faster speeds and greater capacity. Many are assuming that 5G will continue this trend. Ericsson, for example, has said there is a general industry consensus “that traffic volumes will be multiplied 1,000 times; 100 times more devices will require…

  • View from India: India poised to become one of world’s top manufacturing destinations

    A case in point is mobile handsets. India is among the world’s fastest-growing smartphone markets, yet feature phones continue to remain a second choice, as they comparatively offer better durability and battery life than smartphones. It simply means that there’s a demand for both smartphones and feature phones. Given this premise, the entire mobile phone segment is expected to generate millions of jobs through manufacturing and assembly units and service centres. Considering the manufacturing sector, the government of India has been promoting sector specific parks like electronic manufacturing clusters and agro-based food parks in order to boost large-scale manufacturing. Apart from that, the creation of smart sustainable and clean cities is another effort in this direction. “The world…

  • Very Large Telescope upgrade enhances our hunt for new Earth

    As part of the project, the VISIR instrument (VLT Imager and Spectrometer for mid-Infrared), which is part of the VLT, will be modified in order to be able to better detect potentially habitable planets in the star system some 4.37 light-years away from the Earth. Breakthrough Initiative, funded by billionaire Yuri Milner and supported by physicist Stephen Hawking, will fund the upgrade. Detecting habitable planets in distant star systems is extremely complicated as the planets are hidden in the bright light of their particular stars. The mid-infrared wavelength range makes it possible to find those planets as the difference in the thermal glow is smaller. Still, however, the planets are millions of times less bright than the stars. The new technology to be developed for VISIR will enable…

  • Innovative antenna boosts smartphone and laptop battery life

    The new antenna, developed by Birmingham University spin-out Smart Antenna Technologies (SAT), essentially bundles all existing antennas on a smartphone into one unit. Currently, smartphones need up to seven separate antennas for Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth and 3G and 4G due to physics constraints. “Previously antenna’s needed to be physically separated due to the physics challenge of achieving good signal isolation between antennas,” explained Sampson Hu, SAT’s CEO, who developed the technology as part of an engineering research project at the University of Birmingham. “It’s like if the person beside you is shouting loudly it is very difficult to hear what the person 50 meters away is saying.” The new design overcomes the challenges by isolating individual ports to allow uninterrupted reception…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Nominet and Microsoft collaborate on TV white space broadband project for Africa

    TV white space (TVWS) is the part of the radio spectrum occupied by unassigned or unused UHF and VHF broadcast frequencies, largely unused in many countries since analogue television services started going off air, replaced by digital services. The available set of TVWS frequencies varies from territory to territory, so Nominet developed a geolocation database to tell devices which frequencies they can use in a given area, at what power and for how long. Radio spectrum supports the majority of internet connections, but it is a finite resource and with the anticipated explosion of wireless broadband services and billions of devices connected to the Internet of Things, effective management of the spectrum will become crucial. Speaking to E&T at the launch event, part of Nominet’s Internet…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

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