Data Transfer

Over the past few years many of us have become accustomed to unlocking phones and computers with our fingerprints, but a prototype device from a team at Purdue could one day allow payments, passwords and photos to be sent via touch.

​Sony has wheeled out a versatile new USB hub geared toward working professionals with a need for speed. The MRW-S3 is packed with ports to support a variety of data transfer methods, but is spearheaded by what the company is calling the world’s fastest SD and Micro SD card readers.

We’re used to receiving data wirelessly, and wireless power is also starting to make its way into devices. Now, researchers from North Carolina State University (NCSU) have developed a system that can combine the two, wirelessly transmitting both data and power simultaneously from a distance.

Researchers at University College London have created a new record for the fastest ever data transfer rate for digital information, at an incredible 1.125 terabits per second.

A team of researchers has created a new device that allows for the steering of light around sharper corners than ever before. The device is tiny, constructed from an inexpensive material, and could one day become an integral part of computer hardware.

The city of Vienna has hosted a laser light show with a twist with University of Vienna scientists having tested a new way of sending data over a light beam. The technique, which exploits classical and quantum mechanics, allows much more information to be transmitted securely through the air.

Researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology and the University of Central Florida have developed a new fiber optics cable capable of transmitting the contents of over 5,000 DVDs in a single second – a speed six times greater than the previous record.

Samsung says it has advanced the development of the 802.11ad standard 60 GHz Wi-Fi technology that will soon allow users to download a 1 GB movie in less than three seconds or stream uncompressed high-definition videos from mobile devices to TVs in real-time.

Using a new type of optical fiber, researchers at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) have transmitted data over a single optical fiber at a speed of 43 terabits per second (43 Tbps) to set a new data transmission world record, beating the previous record of 32 Tbps.

Efficient as fiber optic cables are at transmitting light pulses, they do need to be physically supported, and they can only handle a finite amount of power. Still, what's the alternative ... just send those pulses through the air? Actually, that's just what scientists have already demonstrated.

Mexican company Sisoft, working with researchers from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM), has developed a wireless Li-Fi technology that transmits data in visible light emitted from LED lamps, while lighting the room at the same time.

NearBytes technology that uses sound to bring NFC-like capabilities to non NFC-capable devices has now found a commercial application in the form of the Edgepay POS terminal that allows card-free payment of goods and services using a mobile phone.