technologies – OfdmFORUM

Why the Condition College, PA space is a sensor technologies warm location

November 1, 2023 Audrey

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You don’t notice them, but they’re always there — measuring, monitoring, helping you live a safer, more convenient life. Sensors have become widely used in manufacturing and are now commonplace in homes and personal items, from smartphones to cars to smart-home devices like robot vacuums, lights, thermostats, cameras and more. Sensors now track human health data, just like they track the health data of heavy equipment and machinery in factories.

In Happy Valley, sensors play a role in our research and business ecosystem, with extensive sensor research taking place at Penn State and several established sensor companies growing or starting up in the area.

Here’s why some local experts believe Happy Valley has an affinity for sensor technology and how they see them changing the world for the better.

Why Happy Valley is a sensor technology hot spot

For KCF Technologies, the “why” behind the company’s Happy Valley headquarters is clear. This is where the company got its start and there were never plans to grow anywhere else.

As Sean Buda, vice president of marketing, explained, KCF Technologies came out of Penn State research more than two decades ago. At that time, the company’s three founders, all Penn State researchers, including current CEO Jeremy Frank, were working on wireless vibration sensors for various government agencies.

As the sensors proved applicable in a broad range of applications, KCF’s reach expanded to more industries. As the company grew, it relied on adding more Penn State talent.

“When I started with KCF two-and-a-half years ago, I would say at least 70% of our company was from Penn State. Now, that continues to diversify, coming out of [the COVID-19 pandemic], as we become more of a global player,” Buda noted. “We’re operating on six different continents, with over 600 manufacturing locations, as we scale our business.”

Still, its global reach doesn’t tempt KCF to relocate. The company is deeply embedded in the Penn State community, through athletics sponsorships, internship programs and high quality of life for its employees. Buda has an optimistic outlook on continuing to grow as a global business from central Pennsylvania.

“Every June, we hold an industry-wide manufacturing event in Happy Valley and, last year, we had 250 people attend from around the world,” he said. “State College is becoming an easier place to do business, with some great venues… If we were to do this… 10 years ago, it wouldn’t have been quite as easy.”

Another sensor innovator with a strong Penn State connection is Larry Cheng, Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Penn State. We’ve covered Dr. Cheng’s research many times in the past, including his work on wearable sensors that could change health care for good.

Cheng credits Penn State’s unique interdisciplinary approach to research in aiding him

New technologies makes h2o in Demise Valley, but Jevon’s Paradox looms | Technologies

October 2, 2023 Audrey

In accordance to the United Nations, even even though there is sufficient h2o on Earth for anyone, about two billion individuals even now put up with from shortage owing to lack of entry or infrastructure. Technological remedies exist: making use of sea and groundwater, recycling wastewater, improving upon distribution and consumption effectiveness, and gathering h2o from the environment. Latest exploration released in Character shown the means to produce water in Dying Valley, a scorching scorching aspect of California’s Mojave Desert. This was accomplished by capturing and purifying drinking water from fog, and by imitating the way spiders and beetles gather water. Yet, these developments experience a challenge set forth by William Stanley Jevons two generations in the past: as source performance improves, consumption tends to maximize.

The international desire for drinking water carries on to rise. In accordance to the United Nations, h2o use has grown at two times the charge of population development in the last century. In addition, there is an expanding number of areas going through serious drinking water shortages. Jesús M. Paniagua, author of a modern ebook on the heritage, engineering, and future of water, explained, “There’s truly adequate h2o on the earth to provide its approximately 8 billion people today. The challenge is it is dispersed poorly, squandered, contaminated and managed in a completely unsustainable way.”

Cristina Monge Lasierra, a political scientist at the University of Zaragoza (Spain), remembers the warning of former UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon: “The fight for sustainability will be fought in the metropolitan areas.” That’s where 75% of the population and 80% to 85% of the prosperity will be concentrated. “What occurs in the cities and how they connect with the outlying locations will be incredibly essential,” mentioned Monge.

The greater part of h2o consumption — about 80% according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Growth (OECD) — goes in direction of agriculture and livestock, which in transform responds to the desire for meals from urban parts exactly where most of the inhabitants resides. The remaining considerable water utilization is in industrial and urban configurations. “The excessive temperature we’re experiencing in Spain actually highlights the significance of integrating drinking water as a basic element in reimagining our metropolitan areas,” reported Luis Babiano of AEOPAS, a Spanish association of community h2o supply and sanitation operators.

Engineering will allow for successful h2o distribution, although there is still development to be manufactured. In accordance to Francisco Lombardo, president of the H2o Economic climate Discussion board, “More than a quarter of the h2o dispersed in Spain is wasted thanks to a absence of infrastructure expenditure.” Lombardo is dedicated to “rebuilding h2o infrastructure and utilizing technologies for far better command over drinking water leakage and loss.”

Paniagua acknowledges that “very deficient programs are shedding massive amounts of water” and cites the capital of Uruguay as an example. “Montevideo has been dealing with a offer problem thanks to a 3-calendar year drought. On top of that, the [water distribution] community has losses of about 50%, which

Applying Technologies to Improve Source-Chain Resilience

September 25, 2023 Audrey

The Covid-19 pandemic brought numerous worldwide offer chains to a halt. And as we emerged from the pandemic, quite a few businesses overcorrected by adopting “just-in-scenario stock administration.” What is far more, when purchaser self-confidence differs commonly from month-to-month and demand continues to be risky, it is complicated for organizations to system. In the clothing sector, for example, buyers need to place peak-time orders six months in advance. With superior volatility, need forecasts in June can be completely distinctive than precise demand from customers in December. This raises the general danger of both missing the year by not owning adequate, or facing massive markdowns in January. To move forward, provide chain managers need to have more versatile, dynamic connections amongst investing associates to substitute their recent level-to-position, static connections that are unable to adapt to sudden, surprising offer chain disruptions. What they need is a much more modern-day, much more responsive provide chain platform. This article discusses how today’s supply chain engineering can enable corporations establish additional resilience into their offer chains relocating ahead.

The Covid-19 pandemic shook world provide chains to their core, and they have not yet totally recovered. What is more, numerous managers who experienced beforehand adopted “lean” rules, which include “just-in-time stock management,” have overcorrected by adopting “just-in-case inventory administration.” This inclination to only overcorrect (and overstock) with an advertisement-hoc and sick-described “just-in-case” stock system has resulted in soaring worldwide inventories in the retail, wholesale, and producing industries at a time when the Business enterprise Confidence Index and Buyer Self-assurance Index equally clearly show abnormal volatility. When consumer self-confidence differs widely from month-to-month, it is challenging for firms to strategy. In the apparel sector, for example, prospective buyers will have to spot peak-season orders six months in progress. With substantial volatility, demand from customers forecasts in June can be absolutely distinctive than real need in December. This raises the all round danger of both missing the year by not getting sufficient, or struggling with huge markdowns in January.

To move ahead, provide chain supervisors will need additional versatile, dynamic connections among investing partners to replace their recent point-to-issue, static connections that are not able to adapt to unexpected, surprising offer chain disruptions. What they require is a extra present day, a lot more responsive supply chain platform.

Constructing Supply Chain Resilience with a Modern Know-how Platform

Provide chain administration technological innovation platforms can construct resilience on a selection of degrees, by permitting firms to:

Build unified commerce by using improved provide chain visibility.

Just one of the most sizeable troubles going through shops now is the orchestration of a seamless purchaser practical experience across multiple channels, this kind of as on line, in keep, and hybrid models that combine the two. Numerous grocers have developed ground breaking systems that let clients to spot orders on the net, that notify the customer when the order is all set, and that then detect when the purchaser is nearby, making a seamless client encounter. Community-broad inventory visibility is

Congress must seize the option to double down on quantum technologies

September 15, 2023 Audrey

5 years ago, Congress passed the National Quantum Initiative Act (NQIA). In the yrs considering that, exploration on quantum entanglement won the Nobel Prize in Physics and applications that after seemed difficult now appear to be inside get to. 

For all those apps, world-wide non-public expense in quantum startups has surged, reaching $2.35 billion in 2022. Having said that, the U.S. government will have to improve its commitment to this vital know-how, broadening the investments from basic science to supporting engineering and engineering.

With the NQIA thanks for reauthorization on Sept. 30, we urge Congress to prioritize this legislation. 

While AI continues to capture headlines and national attention, the world-wide race to quantum know-how carries on apace, with programs in conversation, computation and sensing that guarantee to revolutionize our world. 

Quantum computation will enable us to solve complications that are unable to be solved on classical computer systems — enabling these genuine-world gains as greater agriculture yields and the growth of new vaccines, medicine and professional medical solutions.  Quantum sensing will permit better precision timing than GPS devices with implications for navigation, defense programs and economical networks.  And while widely used encryption will be rendered susceptible by quantum computing, quantum conversation promises bodily secure communication. 

Our achievements in offering on quantum’s likely is dependent on two primary inputs: investment and expertise.  

Financial investment, of program, is more than pounds. The NQIA has accomplished a commendable job of placing obvious U.S. priorities and facilitating cross-sector and multidisciplinary coordination. The proposal to commit in new quantum accelerators and testbeds is welcome, as is the mandate to strengthen NIST’s role in science and normal placing. Doing so will incubate promising quantum investigate and progress routines and placement the U.S. to steer the training course of quantum innovation.

The new Countrywide Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee (NQIAC) report called for, and we agree, increased versatility in the use of funding, allowing researchers to remain agile in pursuing new, emerging avenues of study. Signaling extended-phrase determination (the present legislation ends in 2028) and fully funding NQI routines and quantum parts of the CHIPS and Science Act are necessary. 

Strong bipartisan assist for quantum investigate and improvement will carry on to catalyze private and college expense and spur start-up action. The College of Pittsburgh — where by a person of us is the founding director of the Institute for Cyber Law, Policy and Safety and the other is vice chancellor for exploration infrastructure — recently announced a $11.6 million investment decision to build the Western Pennsylvania Quantum Details Main, delivering researchers with state-of-the-artwork instrumentation. We are very pleased to perform our component in the “whole-of-country,” all-palms-on-deck push to produce quantum systems for the American men and women – and to assure that the gains are not restricted to company passions.  

The expertise piece is a lot more complicated. Funding by yourself, no subject how substantial, simply cannot generate the quantum workforce the nation desires. We are in the method of schooling a quantum workforce the

Google launches Protected AI Framework to enable secure AI technologies

June 25, 2023 Audrey

Google has announced the start of the Secure AI Framework (SAIF), a conceptual framework for securing AI devices. Google, owner of the generative AI chatbot Bard and parent business of AI analysis lab DeepMind, reported a framework throughout the public and personal sectors is crucial for building certain that liable actors safeguard the technologies that supports AI developments so that when AI designs are applied, they’re protected-by-default. Its new framework strategy is an vital stage in that way, the tech large claimed.

The SAIF is designed to aid mitigate risks certain to AI systems like model theft, poisoning of schooling details, malicious inputs by way of prompt injection, and the extraction of confidential details in teaching information. “As AI capabilities grow to be significantly built-in into goods throughout the world, adhering to a bold and accountable framework will be even extra important,” Google wrote in a website.

The start comes as the progression of generative AI and its impression on cybersecurity continues to make the headlines, coming into the target of each corporations and governments. Issues about the pitfalls these new systems could introduce assortment from the probable issues of sharing sensitive small business information and facts with advanced self-learning algorithms to destructive actors applying them to appreciably enhance attacks.

The Open Worldwide Software Safety Undertaking (OWASP) not too long ago revealed the prime 10 most critical vulnerabilities found in massive language design (LLM) applications that a lot of generative AI chat interfaces are based upon, highlighting their probable effect, relieve of exploitation, and prevalence. Examples of vulnerabilities incorporate prompt injections, info leakage, inadequate sandboxing, and unauthorized code execution.

Google’s SAIF constructed on 6 AI security rules

Google’s SAIF builds on its experience building cybersecurity products, this kind of as the collaborative Provide-chain Concentrations for Application Artifacts (SLSA) framework and BeyondCorp, its zero-have confidence in architecture used by a lot of companies. It is dependent on six main factors, Google claimed. These are:

Increase strong safety foundations to the AI ecosystem including leveraging protected-by-default infrastructure protections.
Increase detection and response to carry AI into an organization’s risk universe by monitoring inputs and outputs of generative AI devices to detect anomalies and employing menace intelligence to foresee attacks.
Automate defenses to keep pace with current and new threats to strengthen the scale and speed of reaction endeavours to safety incidents.
Harmonize platform amount controls to make certain regular safety including extending protected-by-default protections to AI platforms like Vertex AI and Safety AI Workbench, and building controls and protections into the software program enhancement lifecycle.
Adapt controls to modify mitigations and develop a lot quicker feed-back loops for AI deployment by way of procedures like reinforcement discovering based on incidents and consumer suggestions.
Contextualize AI program threats in encompassing organization procedures such as assessments of finish-to-finish small business challenges this sort of as information lineage, validation, and operational habits monitoring for selected forms of applications.

Google will grow bug bounty courses, incentivize investigate all-around AI stability

Google set out the measures

Holograms, AR technologies and RFID tags: The retail outlet of the future is getting condition

June 15, 2023 Audrey

Retail improvements which includes outfits with RFID tags, digital mannequins and seamless checkouts are eradicating the friction in the procuring working experience — and exceeding Gen Z’s expectations.

Makes which includes Uniqlo, Zara and H&M are introducing in-retailer retail solutions that use these new systems to aid item discovery, buyer test-on and a seamless checkout practical experience.

According to Might 2023 insights from a Klara study involving Gen-Z and millennials, 44% of Gen-Zers think they will attempt on garments in the identical way in the foreseeable future as currently. In the meantime, 40% claimed they anticipate to use digital dressing rooms, 18% mentioned they’ll use augmented reality, and 23% will rely on artificial intelligence to suggest on which apparel greatest healthy their body and manner design and style.

Lots of makes are already switching their retail outlets to integrate these systems. In May possibly 2022, H&M Group model Cos piloted intelligent mirrors in its Beverly Hills keep. Through the use of RFID tags, the mirrors permitted shoppers to order merchandise to test on with no leaving the switching place. RFID, or radio frequency identification, is a variety of wi-fi technologies that utilizes electromagnetic engineering to track their location.

Net3 manufacturers together with 9dcc and RSTLSS, meanwhile, are equipping apparel with NFC, or “near-field communication,” tags. These tags bring capabilities to phygital items and facilitate updates on drops. NFC tags can also be utilized to build digital authenticity wallets or to display the composition or resources origin of clothes and add-ons in stores.

With labels and tags turning out to be digitized, they are supplying ways to make the retail practical experience speedier and extra seamless. Quick Retailing started to exam RFID know-how in its suppliers in 2013, and all of its makes — including Uniqlo, Concept and Helmut Lang — began applying it in selling price tags in 2017. With them, products can be tracked for merchandising needs. In 2019, Quickly Retailing brought RFID-enabled self-checkouts to Uniqlo merchants. The checkouts figure out the tags in the outfits and, with out manually scanning, costs are calculated. All of its North American stores and new openings now have them.

“We produced self-checkout employing RFID technology to assistance clear up a agony level that all customers have seasoned: waiting in extended traces,” said Masahiko Nakasuji, Quick Retailing Team world wide marketing and advertising executive officer. “We designed it from the standpoint of the consumer: What would make the checkout course of action much easier for them?” So far, RFID self-checkout has lowered checkout times by 50%.

Before this yr, Zara’s owner, Inditex, declared that it is introducing a new security technological know-how through chips sewn into garments, phasing out challenging anti-theft tags in outlets this year. The removing of anti-theft tags at checkout has become a agony point for the brand, with the procedure being slow and making queues. In accordance to Inditex, the new tags will slash checkout periods by up to 50%.

In its renovated merchants, H&M Team is also testing