Lifeboat Foundation

By using quantum key distribution (QKD), quantum cryptographers can share information via theoretic secure keys between remote peers through physics-based protocols. The laws of quantum physics dictate that photons carrying signals cannot be amplified or relayed through classical optical methods to maintain quantum security. The resulting transmission loss of the channel can limit its achievable distance to form a huge barrier to build large-scale quantum secure networks. In a new report now published in Nature Photonics, Shuang Wang and a research team in quantum information, cryptology and quantum physics in China developed an experimental QKD system to tolerate a channel loss beyond 140 dB across a secure distance of 833.8 km to set a new record for fiber-based quantum key distribution. Using the optimized four-phase twin-field protocol and high quality setup, they achieved secure key rates that were more than two orders of magnitude greater than previous records across similar distances. The results form a breakthrough to build reliable and terrestrial quantum networks across a scale of 1,000 km.

Quantum cryptography and twin-field quantum key distribution (QKD)

Quantum key distribution is based on fundamental laws of physics to distribute secret bits for information-theoretic secure communication, regardless of the unlimited computational power of a potential eavesdropper. The process has attracted widespread attention in the past three decades relative to the development of a global quantum internet, and matured to real-world deployment through optical-fiber networks. Despite this, wider applications of QKD are limited due to channel loss, limiting increase in the key rate and range of QKD. For example, photons are carriers of quantum keys in a QKD setup, and they can be prepared at the single-photon level to be scattered and absorbed by the transmission channel. The photons, however, cannot be amplified, and therefore the receiver can only detect them with very low probability. When transmitted via a direct fiber-based link from the transmitter to the receiver, the key rate can therefore decrease with transmission distance.

Guys over at 3DCenter.org have just updated their GPU price charts for January, which is a second update this month.

AMD Radeon RX 6,000 and GeForce RTX 30 prices are declining, this trend has been observed for the second time this month. From 185%, GeForce RTX 30 cards are now ‘only’ 177% more expensive than they should be. Meanwhile, AMD cards observe a reduction from 178% to 167%, which is a retail price increase over the official MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price).

Those price changes are likely not yet affected by the crypto coin crash that took place last week. For those to take effect we probably have to wait a week or two (so the next price update should be very interesting).

Elon Musk’s brain chip company Neuralink appears to be gearing up to launch its first-ever human trials, with the firm now looking to recruit a director to run the tests.

According to The Guardian, the entrepreneur, who owns a variety of science-based start-ups, is preparing to take Neuralink’s brain chip research to the next stage by hiring a mission-driven Clinical Trial Director to begin human testing. The company is moving toward potentially finding a way to use the technology to treat people with brain and spinal injuries.

This week, startup exiting stealth a year ago, previously announced that it was commercializing waveguides composed of silicon nanostructures as an alternative to traditional optics for use in mobile devices.

Metalenz recently began a partnership with ST Microelectronics to move its technology into mass production and expects to be shipping imaging packages sometime in the second quarter of this year, according to CEO Robert Devlin.

Google’s AR headsets, internally codenamed Project Iris, are expected to be released in 2024. Its device uses “outward-facing cameras to blend computer graphics with a video feed of the real world, creating a more immersive, mixed reality experience than existing AR glasses.” The hardware is “powered by a custom Google processor, like its newest Google Pixel smartphone, and runs on Android, though recent job listings indicate that a unique OS is in the works.”

Google Glass, the prior foray into AR, didn’t gain widespread consumer interest or adoption. The Verge says that the work on the project began to pick up speed recently. As of now, there isn’t a “clearly defined go-to-market strategy.” According to the Verge, Google is keeping the project secret, requiring “special keycard access” and “non-disclosure agreements.”

Facebook said it would hire around 10,000 workers around the world to build Meta and related products. A search on LinkedIn’s job board for “metaverse” shows thousands of listings. For people looking for fast-growing opportunities, you may want to look at pivoting into virtual and augmented reality and related opportunities in the metaverse.

Rebooting a quantum computer is a tricky process that can damage its parts, but now two RIKEN physicists have proposed a fast and controllable way to hit reset.

Conventional computers process information stored as bits that take a value of zero or one. The potential power of quantum computers lies in their ability to process ‘qubits’ that can take a value of zero or one—or be some fuzzy mix of both simultaneously.

“However, to reuse the same circuit for multiple operations, you have to force the qubits back to zero fast,” says Jaw Shen Tsai, a quantum physicist at the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing. But that is easier said than done.

Revenue across all chipmakers soared 25% amid the chip shortage, but revenue at Intel, a former pioneer, barely budged.

Researchers have developed implants small enough to fit inside brain cells.

Beyond that, the ECoG technology could be developed for use in the emerging field of brain-computer interfaces, which have a huge range of potential applications – from controlling a computer just by thinking, to streaming music directly to your brain.

By uncovering new knowledge about how the brain works, for example, the device could be used to interpret hand motions in new ways utilising brain wave patterns.