Critical & Emerging Technologies

Quantum cryptography is an emerging technology in which two parties may simultaneously generate shared, secret cryptographic key material using the transmission of quantum states of light. A unique aspect of quantum cryptography is that Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle ensures that if Eve attempts to intercept and measure Alice’s quantum transmissions, her …

The capability of Russia and China to disrupt American military wireless and satellite communications using electronic warfare has been rising.  This is athreat to US Navy operations that require connectivity among a diverse set of platforms, including submarines, surface ships, aircraft, and shore sites. The links among these platforms support …

According to a 23 January DARPA solicitation, the cost, complexity, and limited availability of military ranges mean that operational training and system test and evaluation will increasingly take place in completely virtual environments. Furthermore, the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) will require orders of magnitude of more test and …

Over the past two decades, many wireless systems have been developed and widely used around the world. The most important examples are cellular mobile radio and Wi-Fi systems. Just like radio and television broadcasting systems, they radiate electromagnetic waves/energy into the air but a large amount of the energy is …

Since the 1980’s, the electronics industry has undergone explosive growth, as higher transistor densities have fueled substantial performance advances while paving the way for miniaturization.  In order for these systems to function properly, the electronic circuits within them must be protected from extreme temperatures, contaminants, shock and vibration, and harsh …

Many alternatives to silicon are being developed, as it is believed that silicon transistors will reach their technological limits after 2020. Two-dimensional (2-D) nanomaterials have shown promise for a new generation of nanoelectronic devices. The most widely studied 2-D nanomaterial is graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms and packed …

As the name indicates, ultrasonic sensors measure distance by using ultrasonic waves. The basic working principle of these sensors is based on echolocation, which involves transmission of ultrasonic waves to the target object, which reflects it back to the source after receiving the initial wave. The ultrasonic sensors detect the exact …

Robots have already become an indispensable part of our lives. However currently, most robots are relatively rigid machines which make unnatural movements. In contrast, humans seem to be able to manipulate objects with our fingers with incredible ease like sifting through a bunch of keys in the dark, tossing and …