Lifeboat Foundation

It’s past time the world moves away from text-based passwords and verifications for mobile phones and starts embracing more secure image-based solutions, say computer scientists from the University of Surrey.

In a new study, Surrey scientists demonstrate an image-based authentication system called TIM (Transparent Image Moving) for mobile phones to help reduce the risk of shoulder surfing attacks. TIM requires users to select and move predefined images to a designated position for passing authentication checks, similar to those required for online shopping.

The proof-of-concept study found that 85% of TIM users believed it could help them to prevent password guessing and shoulder surfing attacks. The study also found that 71% of participants think TIM is a more usable image-based solution than others on the market. The research has been published in the Journal of Information Security and Applications.

An international team of scientists is developing an inkable nanomaterial that they say could one day become a spray-on electronic component for ultra-thin, lightweight and bendable displays and devices.

The material, zinc oxide, could be incorporated into many components of future technologies including mobile phones and computers, thanks to its versatility and recent advances in nanotechnology, according to the team.

RMIT University’s Associate Professor Enrico Della Gaspera and Dr. Joel van Embden led a team of global experts to review production strategies, capabilities and potential applications of zinc oxide nanocrystals in the journal Chemical Reviews.

The framework will enable satellite access for smartphone users in emergency situations.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) intends to establish a new regulatory framework to enable connections between satellite operators and wireless firms to connect smartphone users in isolated or underserved regions worldwide.

FCC stated in a release that it aims to “create clear and open protocols to facilitate supplemental coverage from space.”

Continue reading “FCC agrees on a new framework for satellite coverage for smartphones” »

ChatGPT launched a tide wave of interest in AI. For many consumers, AI is finally living up to long overdue expectations. The accomplishments of ChatGPT in a short period of time are phenomenal. But what is yet to come when AI is combined with robotics will change everything.

I have been promoting the advances in robotics for several years. I even called 2022 the year of robotics, partially because of the growing need to overcome shortages in labor and to handle tasks beyond the physical or mental capability of humans, and partially because of the continued advances that AI, accelerated processing, semiconductor, sensors, wireless connectivity, and software technologies are enabling to develop advanced, autonomous machines. Robots are no longer just for the manufacturing floor. They are hazardous material handlers, janitors, personal assistants, food preparers, food deliverers, security guards, and even surgeons that are increasingly autonomous. Essentially, they are AI in the physical world. As a result, robot competitions are heating up from middle schools to Las Vegas.

As seen at CES, robotics technology is advancing rapidly with advances in technology. My favorite examples were the multi-configurable Yarbo outdoor robot and the John Deere See & Spray. Yarbo can be a mower, a leaf blower, or a snow blower. If it could dispose of animal excrement and the annoying neighbor, it would be perfect yard tool. On the other end of the spectrum was the John Deere See & Spray Ultimate, a tractor with up to a 120-foot (36.6m) reach that uses AI/ML to detect weeds smaller than the size of a smart phone camera and spray herbicide accordingly. John Deere also offers self-drive tractors.

This week the FCC voted 4–0 to approve a new effort to help satellite providers like SpaceX offer wireless cell phone service from space. SpaceX’s Starlink service already had a deal in place with T-Mobile to offer phone service in areas that currently does not have it.

“The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted today proposes a framework through which satellite operators collaborating with terrestrial service providers would be able to obtain FCC authorization to operate space stations on certain currently licensed, flexible-use spectrum allocated to terrestrial services. The Commission is proposing to add a mobile-satellite service allocation on some terrestrial flexible-use bands.” The FCC said in a statement.

The FCC went on to say that this service could “serve a wireless provider’s customers should they need connectivity in remote areas, for example in the middle of the Chihuahuan Desert, Lake Michigan, the 100-Mile Wilderness, or the Uinta Mountains.”

It’s moving towards a “single network future.”

HUMANS in the next 100 years could be part-machine, part-flesh creatures with brain chips and bionic limbs and organs in a vision of “cyborgs” once described by Elon Musk.

Men and women born around 2100 could live in a world very different to ours as humans may be totally connected to the internet and meshed together with artificial intelligence.

Mobile phones would no longer be needed — as everything you now do with your smartphone will now be done with a chip in your brain.

It’s part of a South Korean project to develop one of the largest semiconductor manufacturing hubs in the world.

An investment of $230 billion is expected to be made in the next two decades by Samsung to further semiconductor manufacturing.

The mega cluster, which will feature five new semiconductor plants built by Samsung, will be set in the Gyeonggi Province and is expected to be completed by 2042.

Continue reading “Samsung to invest $230 billion to further semiconductor manufacturing” »

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