Category Technology/Electronics

Ions help electrons hop through porous material with potential for brain-inspired computing

New research advances neuron-inspired computing materials
Visualization of the zinc-based metal-organic framework, highlighting how a nearby potassium ion can influence electron movement through the material. Credit: Courtesy of Alejandro Aviles Sanchez

Next-generation computing technologies could be one step closer to emulating how neurons respond and communicate with each other, thanks to research examining how electrons and ions move through materials.

Among them, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of materials with potential for advanced electronics.

In a recently published paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Texas A&M University chemical engineering professor Dr. Perla Balbuena and postdoctoral researcher Dr...

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Tiny polymer devices mimic neuron firing, pointing toward energy-efficient edge computing

Nanoscale mechanics could enable brain-inspired computing
This illustration shows the nano-mechanical devices the researchers developed. Inspired by neurons, they can perform computing tasks with high energy efficiency. Credit: Emily Theobald

MIT researchers have created a computing platform that could be used to develop intelligent and adaptive next-generation electronics that can perform multiple functions, like computing and memory, within one extremely compact, energy-efficient device.

Such a platform opens opportunities for low-power edge computing applications, interactive medical and environmental monitoring systems, and smart robots.

The researchers accomplished this by leveraging the unique mechanical response of soft polymers at the nanoscale. A mechanical response is how a structure changes when a force is applied to it.

T...

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A blueprint for keeping humans in control of AI

ai
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

William Overman began his Ph.D. program at Stanford Graduate School of Business at an auspicious moment: just two months before ChatGPT launched publicly in November 2022, exploding the widely held understanding of what machines are capable of.

Even as Overman began enlisting AI for his research, he grew wary of where the technology was headed. “This isn’t only about the apocalyptic potential of what could happen; I’m also thinking a lot about the future of human flourishing,” Overman says. He fears that misaligned AI could overstep its bounds—not necessarily maliciously—and inflict subtle yet real harms on people.

“To prevent that, we need to get this right,” Overman says.

“We must set up the proper interactions and training and incentive...

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Smartphone-controlled microneedle patch could offer drug-free pain care from afar

KAIST and KIOM develop a wearable microneedle electroceutical for personalized pain management
Configuration and characteristics of the thermoresponsive, conductive, and adhesive microneedle electroceutical. Schematic (a) and photograph (b) of the wireless microneedle electroceutical patch. Photograph of the thermoresponsive, conductive, and adhesive microneedle electrode (c) and schematic illustrating enhanced current delivery efficiency (d). Low skin-contact impedance (e) and temperature-dependent variable adhesion (f) of the conductive, adhesive microneedle electrode. Credit: KAIST

A “wearable electroceutical” has been developed that could reduce the need to visit a hospital or rely on painkillers every time pain occurs...

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