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Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is a sleep disorder characterized by the occurrence of pauses in breathing (apnea) during sleep. Such pauses can typically last for more than 10 seconds and are often followed by loud snoring. The brain interprets each breathing pause as danger — because of the decrease in oxygen supply — and sleep becomes shallow. As a result, a person suffering from SAS builds up a sleep debt, which may in turn lead to mental health issues like depression or dementia. In order to avoid medical complications, early detection of SAS is crucial. So-called non-contact detection methods are based on monitoring chest motion, e.g. by means of a sensor attached to the mattress sensor the person is sleeping on; from the recorded bio-vibration data, breathing frequencies and amplitudes can be derived. This type of method is not always effective. For example, when a person’s breathing is ‘forced’ (breathing accompanied by thoracic and abdomen movement, and in fact also a symptom of SAS), sleep apnea is difficult to detect. Now, Iko Nakari and Keiki Takadama from the University of Electro-Communications have developed a new method for processing overnight bio-vibration data that can detect SAS in a more universal way.

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Self-driving car technology requires detectors capable of sensing a car’s environment, also in situations of limited visibility like bad weather conditions. Radar-based sensors have emerged as an essential component of driver assistance systems and self-driving vehicles, as they can robustly distinguish nearby pedestrians and other traffic-relevant objects. Apart from being applicable in bad weather, artificial recognition systems also need to be capable of dealing with so-called non-line-of-sight (NLOS) situations, when the line of sight between detector and object is obstructed. In traffic, NLOS situations occur when pedestrians are blocked from sight; for example, a child behind a parked car, about to run suddenly into the street. Now, Shouhei Kidera from the University of Electro-Communications and colleagues have developed a radar-based detection method for recognizing humans in NLOS situations. The scheme is based on reflection and diffraction signal analysis and machine-learning techniques.

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One of the critical issues for the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) is the collection and computational analysis of wireless data from huge networks of smart sensors being implemented in applications that include smart transportation and cities. Recently, the technique of over-the-air computation (AirComp) has been proposed as an integrated approach for collection and processing of data from sensor networks transmitting Big-data simultaneously. Notably, although this method is efficient, it requires that all signals from nodes arrive simultaneously at the sink, aligned in signal magnitude so as to enable an unbiased estimation. However, for nodes far away from the sink with low channel gains, it is not possible to avoid misalignment in signal magnitude.

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Insulators, by definition, do not conduct electrical current (in theory), and have a high electrical resistivity. Still, physicists distinguish between various types of insulators, differing in how the insulating states come about. The most common insulators are materials in which electrons cannot flow freely; too much energy would be required to ‘unbind’ them. Other types include Anderson insulators, in which electrons are ‘stuck’ because of quantum interference effects, and topological insulators, which are actually conducting at their surface. But one type of insulator, the so-called excitonic insulator, is particularly special — because it has never been unambiguously observed.

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Reinforcement Learning (RL) is an effective way of designing model-free linear quadratic regulators (LQRs) for linear time-invariant networks with unknown state-space models. RL has wide ranging applications including industrial automation, self-driving automobiles, power grid systems, and even forecasting stock prices for financial markets.

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In vivo bioimaging: technology to elucidate sex-dependent differences in skeletal muscle function MEMS technology for fabricating plasmonic near-infrared spectrometers

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Basic studies and application of plastic optical fibers

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Stretchable electric pumps for next-generation soft robotics Inspecting dust on surfaces in product manufacturing: Effect of dirt on inspection surfaces on the accuracy of visual inspection Polymer-based optical fiber for visualization of stress

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Control of snake-like robots for high mobility and dexterity Time-saving simulation of peeling graphene sheets Convenient synthesis of biopharmaceutic-Fc conjugates: Semi-synthesis and evaluation on the extension of their circulating plasma half-lives

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Multiple Sensor Fusion Technology for Non-contact Measurement of Vital Signs and its Clinical Applications Frontiers of state of the art precision molecular spectroscopy Technology for processing wood powder with natural additives

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JST-ERATO Intelligent Optical Synthesizer (IOS) Project Adaptive learning system using big data based machine learning Drag reduction and relaminarization of wall-turbulence by traveling wave control

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Soft robotic gripper based on dielectric elastomer actuators Digital Public Media: Mid-air Display Technology Molecular materials with ultralong-lived room-temperature triplet excitons: Persistent room-temperature phosphorescence and nonlinear optical characteristics under continuous irradiance

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Next Generation Router Architecture: Packet Processing Prediction Elucidating mechanisms of voluntary control of human multi-muscle Isotropization of Quaternion-Neural-Network-Based PolSAR Adaptive Land Classification in Poincare-Sphere Parameter Space

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Photonics research: Controlling photons with a photon Innovative photovoltaic materials: CsSn_1-xPb_xI₃ nanocrystals as phase-stable perovskites Technology for visualizing flow of blood to aid neurosurgery in the human brain Computational intelligence-inspired clustering in Multi-access Vehicular Networks

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Aurora-induced atmospheric composition change: Global sodium variation revealed by optical spectroscopic observations from the space Developing Robots That Can Learn Like Humans Electron transfer and oxidative damage in DNA under biomimetic crowding environment

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Hierarchical Opportunistic Routing with Moderate Clustering for Ad Hoc Networks Kerr-lens mode-locked Tm doped sesquioxides laser in-band pumped by an Er:Yb fiber MOPA 1.6 μm Geospatial information extraction from SNS: Who said what from where! Information science offers insights into the performance of pianist: Efficiently reading piano musical scores by analyzing geometrical information in musical notes

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Frontiers of audiology: Quest to find effective solutions to support people with hearing loss

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Radar for environmental monitoring: New algorithms for high speed and low cost 3D imaging Astronomical spectroscopy in a laboratory: Direct and accurate measurements of electron densities of plasmas Laser science: Innovative solid state lasers with Yb³⁺-doped CaF₂ - LaF₃ ceramic gain media Two dimensional materials: Advanced molybdenum selenide near infrared phototransistors Nanophotonics: Integrating nanocavities into optical fibers with femtosecond laser ablation

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Computer science: Post-quantum cryptography and security for Internet of Things Eco-friendly organic photovoltaics: Saving the planet with flexible electronics

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Prosthetic limbs made user-friendly with polymer based elastic sensors. Digital to analog convertors generate bipolar voltages when coupled to a polarity switchable double flux amplifier Inference of Bayesian networks made fast and easy using an extended depth-first search algorithm Robotic vision sensors based on light sensitive bacterial proteins

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UEC Museum of Communications

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Nanoparticle-polymer composites boost holographic data prospects Relativistic effects pack a punch in high-temperature plasma collisions Spectrometry: Miniaturising near-infrared devices Hybrid rockets: Optimizing performance using design informatics

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Navigating the open seas of graduate school

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Network traffic anomaly detection - machine learning Coding theorem defines decoding error capacity for general scenarios Engineering: Improvements to a decision-making algorithm Speech signal processing: Enhancing voice conversion models

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Medical optical imaging: Innovative near infrared bioluminescent probes for deep tissue imaging

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Quantum computing: Trapping single atoms in a uniform fashion Physiology: Cell pH regulation revealed Neurology: A closer look at walking control Space physics: Confirming the structure and shape of polar cap patches

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Advanced analytical service science based on big data

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Bose-Einstein condensates miscibility properties reveal surprises Brain diseases: Unlocking potential from MRI data Auditory systems: Modelling bats' information processing

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Graph-based data mining reveals patterns in learning space use Task allocation: Computing the logistics of snow-plowing Metal mesh filters: Calculating pressure drop Environmentally friendly refrigerant measures up

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Wireless transceivers: Hardware still limits the unlimited Walking control: Influence of lower limb co-ordination Snake robot range-sensing control system avoids tail-end collisions Random additions efficiently anonymize large data sets

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Frontiers of research on solar cells: Lead (Pb) perovskites with efficiencies over 20%

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Nanowire quantum dot solar cells: oxide layer boosts performance Motor behaviour: understanding the jerks that lurk in smooth movements

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Advanced Wireless and Communication Research Center (AWCC), University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo.

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Star formation: Exotic chemistry Physics of semi-metals: Insights into electron transport in bismuth Multiterminal source coding: deciphering noisy observations

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Fuel cells in the spotlight

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Quantum optics: Understanding spectral properties of broadband biphotons Motor memory: the long and short of it Human Interface: Virtual robotization for human limbs

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Innovative nanophotonics: Integrating quantum light sources with nanofibers for quantum internet applications

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Next generation mobile communications: World's first successful use of an electric circuit to compensate for distortions in electric signals due to heat Magnetic vortices: Controlling core switching in Pac-man disks Underwater robotics: Analyzing the propulsion of a soft robotic fish Artificial intelligence: Brain-training for baseball robot

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Nanotechnology for real world applications: Self-organized indium arsenide quantum dots for solar cells

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Silicon nanophotonics: controlling photoluminescence for better devices Micromanipulators: Taking the future in hand Depth perception - understanding ambiguities

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Frontiers of optical science: Ultrashort pulses of light produced by Raman scattering from hydrogen for next generation laser optical communications

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Internet protocol networks: Optimizing link reinforcements Pharmacophores: The future of drug discovery Hybrid solar cells: The Mechanism of dyeing for greater efficiency Control systems: Fuzzy features Optical signal processing: Neater networks

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Cutting edge research: An 'optical comb' for medicine, environment, astronomy, and other applications

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Molecular motors: Bubble-driven walking Data security: Unexpected information leakage from side channel Bioimaging: Visualizing real-time development of capillary networks in adult brains Fusion Science: Heavy ions and lost resonance lines