News 2019

The development of technologies which can process information based on the laws of quantum physics are predicted to have profound impacts on modern society. For example, quantum computers may hold the key to solving problems that are too complex for today's most powerful supercomputers, and a quantum internet could ultimately protect the worlds information from malicious attacks.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have identified a weakness in Intel's processors: by undervolting the CPU, Intel's secure enclave technology becomes vulnerable to attack. Modern processors are being pushed to perform faster than ever before - and with this comes increases in heat and power consumption.

Professor Geraint Rees, Pro-Vice-Provost of Artificial Intelligence at UCL, writes that AI can and must be used for good, to complement and augment human endeavour rather than replace it. Recent advances in deepfake video technology have led to a rapid increase of such videos in the public domain in the past year.

In a new twist on human-robot research, computer scientists at the University of Bristol have developed a handheld robot that first predicts then frustrates users by rebelling against their plans, thereby demonstrating an understanding of human intention. In an increasingly technological world, cooperation between humans and machines is an essential aspect of automation.

A new interface developed by researchers in Bristol and Paris takes touch technology to the next level by providing an artificial skin-like membrane for augmenting interactive devices such as phones, wearables or computers. The Skin-On interface, developed by researchers in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Bristol in partnership with Telecomm ParisTech and Sorbonne University , mimics human skin in appearance but also in sensing resolution.

An increase in hate speech on social media leads to more crimes against minorities in the physical world, a study shows. Academics from Cardiff University's HateLab project collected Twitter and police recorded crime data from London over an eight-month period to analyse whether a significant association existed.

Artificial intelligence (AI) appears to detect diseases from medical imaging with similar levels of accuracy as health-care professionals, according to research led by the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. The research, the first systematic review and meta-analysis synthesising all the available evidence from scientific literature, was published today in The Lancet Digital Health .

Digital computers use numbers based on flawed representations of real numbers, which may lead to inaccuracies when simulating the motion of molecules, weather systems and fluids, find UCL and Tufts University scientists. The study, published today in Advanced Theory and Simulations , shows that digital computers cannot reliably reproduce the behaviour of 'chaotic systems' which are widespread.

Here's a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial. From fresh insights into the impact of blast injuries on children, to a technological way to cut womb cancer wait times, here is some quick-read news from across the College. Impact of child blast injuries revealed A new BMJ paper has outlined the effects of blast injuries on children compared to adults.

Researchers from GW4 universities Bristol and Cardiff assessed the performance of the GW4 Alliance Isambard supercomputer using an open-source Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) code. The research team consisted of Unai Lopez Novoa, Data Innovation Research Institute; Pablo Ouro Barba, Cardiff School of Engineering; Dr James Price, University of Bristol and Professor Simon McIntosh Smith, the principal investigator for the Isambard project and a professor of high-performance computing at the University of Bristol.

Artificial intelligence is being used to tackle anti-Polish hate crime in the run up to Brexit. Researchers at HateLab, based at Cardiff University, are working with Samurai Labs, a Polish Artificial Intelligence laboratory, to monitor aggressive social media content and pinpoint any connections to offline events.

Current methods for anonymising data leave individuals at risk of being re-identified, according to new UCLouvain and Imperial research. Companies and governments downplay the risk of re-identification by arguing that the datasets they sell are always incomplete. Our findings show this might not help.

Scientists from the University of Bristol and the Technical University of Denmark have found a promising new way to build the next generation of quantum simulators combining light and silicon micro-chips. In the roadmap to develop quantum machines able to compete and overcome classical supercomputers in solving specific problems, the scientific community is facing two main technological challenges.

New technologies are giving businesses in Wales a much needed boost while questions over Brexit continue, researchers say. Academics from Cardiff University's Welsh Economy Research Unit surveyed 479 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as part of the 2018 Digital Maturity Survey. They say the results demonstrate a clear link between a business's success and its uptake of new digital opportunities.

While network algorithms are usually associated with finding friends on social media, researchers at the University of Sussex have shown how they could also be used improve the effectiveness of cancer treatment, by predicting the interactions between genes. There are over 12 million newly diagnosed cases of cancer globally each year and this figure only continues to grow.

Computers which are capable of teaching themselves to predict premature death could greatly improve preventative healthcare in the future, suggests a new study by experts at the University of Nottingham. The team of healthcare data scientists and doctors have developed and tested a system of computer-based 'machine learning' algorithms to predict the risk of early death due to chronic disease in a large middle-aged population.

Humans are unknowingly adhering to a universal pattern when they flick between apps on their smartphones, scientists have discovered. Experts from Cardiff University have shown that although we spend a varying amount of time glued to our screens, the way in which we specifically switch between our different apps is remarkably similar.

New research has demonstrated a ground-breaking solution for securing future critical communications infrastructures, including emerging 5G networks. The research addresses widely reported concerns on security vulnerability of 5G networks which are predicted to transform the telecommunications industry in the next ten years.

Many modern laptops and an increasing number of desktop computers are much more vulnerable to hacking through common plug-in devices than previously thought, according to new research. It is essential that users install security updates to be protected against the specific vulnerabilities we have reported Theodore Markettos The research, to be presented today (26 February) at the Network and Distributed Systems Security Symposium in San Diego, shows that attackers can compromise an unattended machine in a matter of seconds through devices such as chargers and docking stations.

Dating apps and websites could soon use computing algorithms that 'think' like humans to pinpoint fake profiles designed to con victims out of thousands of pounds. Researchers from across the UK, including experts from the University of Bristol Cyber Security Group , have developed new algorithms that can understand what fake dating profiles look like and then apply this knowledge when they scan profiles submitted to online dating services.