Month: June 2018

The ‘plug-and-play’ nature of the new designs is very promising for facilities that need to monitor pipes or gas containers over larger networks. It also offers an increased communication range (up to 10 meters) which can help minimize the amount of required readers and thereby lower overall costs.

RFID tags are already ubiquitous in retail, libraries and hospitals. They’re cheap, wireless, not too power hungry, and are very useful for keeping track of inventory. However, it’s their design that subjects them to inefficiency; most RFID tags have tiny, in-built antennae, which deflect a radio signal and transmit code that’s then stored in the tag’s chip. The problem is when the radio waves reflect against walls (or other objects) and interfere with sensing. Sai Nithin Reddy Kantareddy, a graduate student, explained that antennae-based sensors increase the chances of getting false positives or negatives which makes them unreliable.

To deal with that complication, MIT’s Auto-ID lab has a design which turns ordinary RFID tags into sensors. Some RFID tags are battery-assisted, while others are more passive (meaning they get their energy from a remote reader), but both types use antennae. Aware of the shortcomings associated with antennae, the researchers came up with an UHF (ultra-high frequency) tag sensor configuration which is less prone to interference, and was able to sense glucose in the environment. The glucose-sensing chip produces an electric charge whenever it identifies glucose, and that acts as the battery.

Their approach involved memory chips that could switch between a ‘passive’ energy-based mode and a local, energy-assisted mode (where an external battery is normally required) into an RFID tag with standard radio-frequency antennae. A circuit wrapped around the chip allowed it to activate the energy-assisted mode only when it sensed particular stimuli.

In the future, the researchers hope to develop RFID tag sensors that can identify environmental carbon monoxide — and the good news is their chip-centric design is much more scalable and than the specificity demanded by antennae designs.

Delivery personnel can drop packages to your designated box any time of day, so there’s no need to wait for your order to arrive or to ask shops to leave parcels at the front desk. To access a box, you simply need type in your passcode on the Hub’s touchscreen panel. It will also prevent neighbors with sticky fingers from snatching your packages.

Amazon Worldwide Lockers and Pickup director Patrick Supanc said in a statement:

“We’re always striving to make things easier for our customers. Building on Amazon’s expertise in locker solutions, the Hub addresses frustrations from property owners, carriers and residents concerning package delivery. Now half a million residents in some of the premier properties in the country have access to the Hub, Amazon’s latest delivery solution. The Hub simplifies delivery for residents, offering quick and secure access to packages, day or night. For delivery providers, it offers a single, convenient location for package drop-off and gives property managers time and resources back to focus on other priorities.”

While we’re sure you’d love to have access to one — it could ensure that you’re getting your package in one piece, after all — its installation still depends on your landlords. You’ll have to continue relying on your property managers or use an Amazon Locker until they decide that installing a Hub would be a great investment.

ZTE’s plight began in April when the US Department of Commerce imposed a seven-year ban on American companies doing business with the Chinese phonemaker after it exported telecoms equipment to Iran and North Korea. Since the tech giant relies on US chipmakers for parts, it might not survive being cut off from US corporations. The lawmakers involved in the bill’s amendment are concerned that China could use ZTE (and Huawei) devices to steal data from the US, eavesdrop on American citizens and launch cyberattacks against the country.

Under the new provision, the administration would have to certify that ZTE and other Chinese telecoms haven’t violated any law in the US for a year and have been cooperating with authorities. Further, the government must not purchase or subsidize any ZTE- or Huawei-branded equipment. Of course, just because the Senate voted in favor of reinstating ZTE’s ban doesn’t mean it’s already a done deal.

The House already passed a version of the bill that doesn’t include the ZTE provision, so the two chambers still have sort things out and produce a final copy. Further, the White House has already objected to the provision and vowed to squash it before the bill becomes a law. It might all depend on the group of Republican lawmakers involved in writing the provision who are now scheduled to meet with the President on Wednesday.