Digital Revolution

Summary

The Digital Revolution, also known as the Third Industrial Revolution, is the shift from mechanical and analogue electronic technologies from the Industrial Revolution towards digital electronics which began in the latter half of the 20th century, with the adoption and proliferation of digital computers and digital record-keeping, that continues to the present day. Implicitly, the term also refers to the sweeping changes brought about by digital computing and communication technologies during this period. From analogies to the Agricultural Revolution (Neolithic) and the First Industrial Revolution (1760-1840), the Digital Revolution marked the beginning of the Information Age. Central to this revolution is the mass production and widespread use of digital logic, MOSFETs (MOS transistors), integrated circuit (IC) chips, and their derived technologies, including computers, microprocessors, digital cellular phones, and the Internet. These technological innovations have transformed trad

Official source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Revolution

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Narrative Recomposition in the Context of Digital Reading

Cyril Antoine Michel Bornet

In any creative process, the tools one uses have an immediate influence on the shape of the final artwork. However, while the digital revolution has redefined core values in most creative domains over the last few decades, its impact on literature remains limited. This thesis explores the relevance of digital tools for several aspects of novels writing by focusing on two research questions: Is it possible for an author to edit better novels out of already published ones, given the access to adapted tools? And, will authors change their way of writing when they know how they are being read? This thesis is a multidisciplinary participatory study, actively involving the Swiss novelist Daniel de Roulet, to construct measures, visualizations, and digital tools aimed at leveraging the process of dynamic reordering of narrative material, similar to how one edits a video footage. We developed and tested various text analysis and visualization tools, the results of which were interpreted and used by the author to recompose a family saga out of material he has been writing for twenty-four years. Based on this research, we released Saga+, an online editing, publishing, and reading tool. The platform was handed out to third parties to improve existing writings, making new novels available to the public as a result. While many researchers have studied the structuration of texts either through global statistical features or micro-syntactic analyses, we demonstrate that by allowing visualization and interaction at an intermediary level of organisation, authors can manipulate their own texts in agile ways. By integrating readersâ traces into this newly revealed structure, authors can start to approach the question of optimizing their writing processes in ways that are similar to what is being practiced in other media industries. The introduction of tools for optimal composition opens new avenues for authors, as well as a controversial debate regarding the future of literature.

EPFL2017

In the past half-century, the digital revolution completely changed the world we live in and the ways we experience it. Over this period, the underlying force supporting the continuous technological development has been the geometrical scaling of transistor dimensions, resulting in an exponential increase of the computation power density as well as a drastic decrease of chip cost. Approaching the end of the CMOS scaling era, the semiconducting industry faces enormous challenges to redefine its research priorities. Moreover, novel strict requirements on energy efficiency, system autonomy and remote sensing are posed by the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) networks. The quest for novel materials and device working principle is therefore more critical than ever. "More than Moore" devices aim to overcome the fundamental physical limitations of the MOSFET structure so to either replace or complement CMOS technology in a broad range of applications. Among this variegated research field, tunnel FETs have attracted a consistent interest in the last decades because of their steep turn on characteristic enabling the power supply scaling while maintaining a low standby power consumption. Several materials and TFET architectures have been demonstrated, with both promising results and great challenges in the quest for reducing the persisting performance gap with the established CMOS technology. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the potential of two dimensional (2D) materials and heterojunctions for the realization of âMore than Mooreâ devices as well as for high sensitivity sensors. The continuously expanding family of 2D materials offers a huge catalog of electronic, mechanical and optical properties. The transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) group in particular includes a set of promising semiconductors with relatively large, number of layer dependent, band gap. MoS2 FET with excellent performance have been reported, while WSe2 has the potential of becoming the base for a true 2D CMOS platform. MOSFET devices were fabricated starting from black phosphorous and WSe2 in order to investigate respectively fabrication strategies characterized by a reduced air exposure and the deposition of high k dielectric on 2D flakes. We then investigated the opportunities offered by the deterministic transfer of 2D flakes realizing both 3D/2D and 2D/2D heterojunction devices. The first reported VO2/MoS2 devices have been demonstrated obtaining a good rectifying characteristic and excellent, temperature tunable photosensitivity. Prototypes of three terminal devices based on this junction open the possibility for true VO2 based field effect devices. Finally, a heterojunction TFET based on WSe2/SnSe2 is presented. Our devices exhibit an excellent turn on characteristic and a direct comparison with the built-in, same flake WSe2 FET show how they outperform the MOSFET realized in the same material system. Moreover, we propose a new device combining the advantages of both MOSFET and TFET in a unique structure.

EPFL2020

Digital participation and urban planning practices: An inventory of digital tools and a comparison of procedures in Geneva and Singapore

Stéphanie Aline Hasler

While the smart city model is seen as a means to cope with challenges cities are facing, it is often reduced to an amalgam of technologies. Citizens are seldom included in the planning process, although they hold a key position to produce and share valuable knowledge on how they use and live in the city. Digital tools offer new opportunities to improve interaction and information exchange among urban planners and citizens, which can lead to more sustainable and responsive planning. This research intends to answer the following questions: ‘what are the opportunities and limits of involving citizens in the urban planning and decision making through digital tools?’, ‘what are the barriers to harness these tools and include citizens in the planning process?’, and ‘what are the levers to change current practices?’, The aims of this research are to understand how digital technologies open new means of planning more responsive and sustainable cities and how the role of citizens, as well as the one of urban planners, are changing in this context. To explore this topic, this research follows two different approaches. The first investigation produces a catalogue of worldwide existing digital tools for participatory urban planning. These practices are analysed regarding data (collection, production, and analysis), interactions, degree of involvement of the participant, outcomes of the tool and use of the produced information in the planning process. By giving an overview of the multiplicity of tools, this approach allows to determine both the opportunities – particularly in terms of data production and exchange – and the limitations of digital tools for participation. This overview gives a new insight on the potential use of digital tools. The second approach is a detailed study of planning processes in two cities, Geneva and Singapore, to compare their practices. Interviews with practitioners and analysis of planning documents, tools and policies are the methods used to describe current procedures in these two cities. These case studies have been selected for two reasons. Firstly, it compares a technology-driven city with one that has not yet taken full advantage of technologically driven planning practices. Secondly, it allows a comparison of top-down strategies that are supported with bottom-up initiatives with citizen-centric planning strategies. This approach helps us understand the interactions among stakeholders, the limitations of the ongoing procedures, and the barriers that hinder change. Urban planning procedures vary from one city to another, but good practices and levers for change can be identified, and put forward as recommendations to improve urban planning practices. However, many challenges need to be overcome in order to achieve this. The main challenge of studying innovative digital practices is that the value of the tools is often exaggerated. The promoted benefits are not often used to their full potential. Moreover, it is difficult to identify the deficiencies of existing practices, as practitioners will hardly ever point out failings in their own methods or practices. Another shortcoming is that procedures, tools and technology are evolving at a fast pace, which requires regular updates of data.

2017