ChineseAcademyOfSciences
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Scientists made the first 'unhackable' quantum video call
Following extensive testing earlier this year, China has now deployed its quantum communications work in the form of the first ever quantum-safe video call. The call, between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, marks a secure communications breakthrough which will have a huge impact on the way sensitive information is shared between distant parties.
China bounced an 'unhackable' quantum signal between cities
The field of quantum cryptography, which seeks to transmit encrypted information using entangled quantum particles like photons, could help lay the groundwork for tomorrow's quantum networks but it faces a significant physical hurdle: entangled photons are crazy hard to transmit long distances. Even in fiber optic cables, they can only go about 150 miles before completely degrading. But a team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences may have the solution. You just have to send the photons 745 miles into space.
Liquid metal machines 'eat' in order to move
Robots typically rely on batteries to get power, but they may soon have to do little more than nibble on another material to start moving. Chinese researchers have developed simple liquid metal machines (not shown here) that zip around if they "eat" aluminum and other substances that produce electrochemical reactions. It's not possible to directly control their movement, but they closely mimic whatever space they're in -- you can propel them through channels, for instance.
Chinese robotic triceratops skeleton packs Linux, no horns
FROG (Four-legged Robot for Optimal Gait) has a ways to go before it can become a real dinosaur. The camouflaged robot is a prototype of a triceratops skeleton designed by Dr. Wei Wang and a number of PhD students at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Automation, and is downright timid compared to, say, Boston Dynamics' horn-wielding BigDog robot. It has joint angle sensors, acceleration sensors, a pan-tilt camera, and a number of other sensing devices. The robot has a Linux system inside and communicates wirelessly with a host computer -- though it still requires a plug for power. Dr. Wang hopes that the 'bot will show up in museums or other dinosaur exhibits when it's a bit more complete. He balks at comparisons to our beloved BigDog, however, since it has DC Motors and isn't hydraulic, so don't expect this herbivorous reptile to carry your luggage over rocky terrain any time soon.
Chinese scientists demonstrate 2Mbps internet connection over LED
LED data transmission used to be all the rage -- we fondly remember beaming Palm Pilot contacts via IrDA. Then we got omni-directional Bluetooth and building-penetrating WiFi, and put all that caveman stuff behind us. But now, scientists the world over are looking to bring back line-of-sight networking, and the latest demonstration has Chinese researchers streaming video to a laptop with naught but ceiling-mounted blue LEDs. The Chinese Academy of Sciences claims to have realized a 2Mbit per second internet connection that transmits data simply by modulating the flicker of the little diodes, and imperceptibly enough to have them serve as room lighting as well. Like Boston University before them, the Chinese scholars see short-range LED networks controlling smart appliances. It's not quite the gigabit speed you'd get from laser diodes, but this way you'll get more mileage out of those expensive new bulbs, eh?
