Laboratories: looks like the high-tech of the future - II

Chips that act like the real brain

Here is a subject present in many works of science fiction: an intelligent computer system capable of learning new tasks, like men. Currently, the MIT researchers have gone a step by making a computer chip that mimics the way neurons react to new information. With about 400 transistors, the silicon chip can simulate the activity of a brain synapse. The researchers say that more chips can be combined to create devices with artificial intelligence.

High-speed transmissions

In December, researchers have shown how networks of tiny nano-plasmonic antennas are able to manipulate light with precision, to innovate in the optical and create microscopes, telecommunications systems and more powerful computers.

Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana have used nano-antennas for a sudden phase change of light. According to researchers, the antennas could be used to create better communication systems and transmission of high-speed data.


Shoes that recharge your phone

Smartphones and other portable gadgets go even further in technology, energy consumption is always more important. An innovation could solve the problem, not by seeking to integrate larger batteries and more powerful, but by focusing on the energy created when we walk.

At each step, our body creates 40 watts of mechanical power when the foot treads the ground. A special cushion generating electricity placed in the soles of a pair of ordinary shoes can transform this power into several watts power. During the day, the energy generated is stored in a small battery of the sole, provides enough electricity to power the battery of the smartphone to a pedestrian.

InStep, a new startup, is developing a shoe sole that stores the energy of each step in a battery. The system is capable of delivering up to 10 W for each foot - enough to light a mini Wi-Fi hot spot that communicate via Bluetooth with your smartphone and take charge of the most energy function: long-range communication with antennas relay.