Electrical Engineering Breakthroughs

The year 2021 has brought with it a variety of challenges, but the world of Electrical Engineering has seen some important research & development breakthroughs. According to scitence and technology publication SciTechDaily, here are some of them:

Radio Signals to detect hidden objects

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Wavsens LLC research department have developed a method for using radio signals create images and videos of both hidden and moving objects in real-time. Firefighters could use such a technology to find victims inside buildings that are filled with smoke and/or fire. Apparently, the technology can also be used in the early warning of hazardous space debris.

Energy Efficient AI chip runs on solar power

AI-based technology consumes a lot of energy and must be permanently connected to the cloud, raising issues related to data protection, security and energy usage levels. CSEM engineers may have found a way to address those problems, thanks to a new system-on-chip they have developed. It runs on a tiny battery or a small solar cell and executes AI operations at the edge, which means that the computation happens locally on the chip - instead of the cloud.

Magnetic Nanomaterial discovered to defeat money counterfeiting

A research team led by international NUST MISIS members have developed a new iron-cobalt-nickel nanocomposite which could be used to protect money and securities from counterfeiting. Due to the material unit's small size, as well as their excellent magnetic and electric properties, these materials have a broad range of potential applications, one of which is to inject it into currency to protect it from counterfeiting.