Magazine: Fall 2019 | Volume 26, No. 1
People have long been fascinated in future devices. Buzzwords like.AI, robotics, 5G, medical IoT, and quantum computers usually come to mind when discussing future devices. But it can be difficult to image what future devices may do or how they may look.
In this issue, we take a deep dive into technologies that drive the development of futuristic devices. Two points hold true: 1. Future devices are often unexpected, 2. Future devices are driven by solid technology breakthroughs.
We have assembled a range of articles from renowned academic researchers and industry experts explaining some of the most exciting advances that are making futuristic devices possible. These articles cover utilities, user interface, programming language, new methods of communication, security and privacy issues, scalability and deployment challenges, and so on.<
Our goal is to share insights into where innovations are needed, and what is required for future devices to survive and thrive in the market. This is a call for action. We firmly believe in everyone's eventual role as a user of future devices, but some of you will also be the designers of new emerging devices. The future is now.
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COLUMN: Advice
Some tips for academic writing and using Microsoft Word
By Pooyan Doozandeh, Frank E. Ritter
SECTION: Features
OPEN ACCESS
Toward a universal quantum programming language
Quantum computing may be more powerful than classical computing, but it has a radically different programming model. While current languages are in their infancy and future languages are likely to be different, now is a great time for language designers and implementers to try new ideas.
By Jens Palsberg
Rolling dice at the nanoscale
Can emerging devices allow us to overcome the inherent determinism of digital logic?
By Xiangyu Zhang, Ramin Bashizade
Batteries not included
Getting things done amid frequent power failures, batteryless intermittent research is rethinking how we build computing systems and paving the way to a sustainable and scalable digital future. The next trillion devices might be a little weird.
By Josiah Hester, Jacob Sorber
Lighting the way to wireless efficiency
The ubiquity of light makes it an attractive option for both illumination and wireless communication. We explore the future of visible light communication, including next-generation devices, groundbreaking applications, and open challenges.
By Charles J. Carver, Tianxing Li, Xia Zhou
In-body devices: The future of medicine
In the "near" future, devices inside the body will help with endoscopies, biopsies, and even treatment of cancer and Parkinson's disease. What does it take to create such tiny devices fit for operation inside the human body?
By Deepak Vasisht, Guo Zhang
Evolving intelligent devices for the future via named data networking
As the numbers and capabilities of networked devices continue to grow, they will play an increasingly important role in daily life. Ensuring security and usability will be the first and foremost challenge; Named Data Networking can help address this challenge through localized trust, usable security, and autoconfiguration.
By Zhiyi Zhang, Edward Lu, Yu Guan, Tianxiang Li, Xinyu Ma, Zhaoning Kong, Lixia Zhang
Protecting privacy and open competition with Almond: An open-source virtual assistant
Will Alexa and Google Assistant become the duopoly platforms on which consumers reach web services and IoTs verbally? With open and collaborative research, we can build the best open-source virtual assistant to ensure choice, privacy, and open competition.
By Monica S. Lam, Giovanni Campagna, Silei Xu, Michael Fischer, Mehrad Moradshahi
Future assistive devices: What's at stake for you or me?
In the future, small portable devices will be available for all kinds of purposes, not least as a support for people with different kinds of impairments. But is this purely a good development or are there possible dangers? In the latter case, how can we find a proper balance?
By Lars Oestreicher
Toward decentralization: Democracy for devices
As more and more devices are connected to one another, there is a growing shift to decentralized independent operation without the need of a central controller. We look into the aspects of collective operation, resilience, security, and peer-to-peer economy in a decentralized network, analyzing the benefits and challenges of introducing "democracy" among devices.
By Nitin Shivaraman
Future of IOT: Design and deployment challenges
The article touches upon the various design considerations for IoT devices, and discusses the various challenges faced in the design and deployment of such devices.
By Prashant Ravi
DEPARTMENT: Hello world
Using Grover's search quantum algorithm to solve Boolean satisfiability problems: Part I
By Diogo Fernandes, Inês Dutra