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Space & Physics

How Shyam Gollakota is revolutionizing mobile systems and healthcare with technology

His research is already opening up new possibilities for battery-free networks, including underwater Wi-Fi, powerline communication, and even wireless cameras

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Shyam Gollakota. Image credit: By special arrangements

Prof. Shyam Gollakota, Washington Research Foundation and Thomas J. Cable Endowed Professor at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, has been honored with the Infosys Prize 2024 in Engineering and Computer Science for his groundbreaking contributions to mobile systems and healthcare. His research, which spans multiple engineering domains, has had a profound societal impact, particularly in areas like smartphone-based healthcare tools, battery-free communication, and the augmentation of human auditory perception with artificial intelligence.

Prof. Gollakota’s innovations have not only advanced the field of mobile systems but have also provided scalable, affordable solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. His work is reshaping how we think about the intersection of technology and healthcare, and his pioneering research promises to improve the lives of millions globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

At the heart of Prof. Gollakota’s innovations is his ability to repurpose existing technologies to address real-world challenges

“His work on mobile and wireless communications is game-changing. Particularly impressive is his work on active sonar systems for physiological sensing, battery-free communications, and the use of AI to selectively tailor acoustic landscapes. These innovations will continue to benefit humanity for years to come,” stated Jury Chair, Infosys Prize 2024.

Transforming Mobile Devices into Healthcare Tools

At the heart of Prof. Gollakota’s innovations is his ability to repurpose existing technologies to address real-world challenges. One of his most remarkable contributions is his development of contactless physiological sensing using smartphones. By transforming mobile devices into active sonar systems, Gollakota’s research leverages the microphones and speakers in smartphones—components that are ubiquitous in today’s devices—to detect subtle physiological movements such as breathing.

This novel approach has significant implications for mobile health, particularly in resource-constrained areas where access to traditional medical equipment is limited. According to him, the ability to perform contactless physiological sensing with just a smartphone has the potential to revolutionize medical diagnostics, and make healthcare more accessible to billions of people around the world.

Battery-Free Communication: A Leap Forward in Sustainability

In a world increasingly concerned with energy efficiency and sustainability, Prof. Gollakota’s work on battery-free communication stands out as a pioneering achievement. He developed a technique called ambient backscatter, where wireless devices communicate by reflecting existing radio signals, rather than generating their own. This method drastically reduces energy consumption, allowing devices to communicate without the need for batteries.

This research is already opening up new possibilities for battery-free networks, including underwater Wi-Fi, powerline communication, and even wireless cameras. Battery-free devices could transform industries ranging from environmental monitoring to the Internet of Things (IoT). As per his visions, we are creating a future where energy-efficient, sustainable communication systems will be a part of our everyday lives.

Augmenting Human Auditory Perception with AI

In a truly visionary move, Prof. Gollakota’s research also explores how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to augment human auditory perception. His work in this field enables people to program their acoustic environments, allowing them to focus on specific sounds or filter out others based on semantic descriptions. This breakthrough could have significant applications in hearing aids, earbuds, and assistive listening devices, where users can customize their listening experiences.

Battery-free devices could transform industries ranging from environmental monitoring to the Internet of Things (IoT)

By using AI to isolate and manipulate soundscapes in real time, Prof. Gollakota’s research is poised to improve quality of life for millions, offering individuals greater control over their auditory experiences. This technology will soon be commonplace in consumer electronics, giving people a level of control over their hearing that was once thought impossible.

A Thought Leader and Innovator

Prof. Shyam Gollakota’s career trajectory has been exceptional. A graduate of IIT Madras and MIT, where he received his Ph.D., Gollakota has quickly risen to prominence as a thought leader in mobile systems, machine learning, and human-computer interaction. He has received numerous accolades, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award. His recognition on MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35 list and twice on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 further cements his status as one of the brightest minds in his field.

As the director of the Mobile Intelligence Lab at the University of Washington, Gollakota is at the forefront of cutting-edge research in mobile health, networking, and battery-free computing. His work has already led to the creation of novel technologies that push the boundaries of what mobile systems can achieve, all with the potential to address key societal challenges.

The Future of Computing

Looking to the future, Prof. Gollakota’s research will continue to revolutionize mobile systems and human-computer interaction. His work in programmable sound, battery-free communication, and contactless diagnostics lays the foundation for the next generation of computing technologies. These innovations promise to reshape industries, improve global health, and enhance human capabilities.

With his visionary ideas and transformative research, Prof. Shyam Gollakota’s work will undoubtedly continue to have a profound impact on both the world of technology and the lives of people worldwide.

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Space & Physics

MIT unveils an ultra-efficient 5G receiver that may supercharge future smart devices

A key innovation lies in the chip’s clever use of a phenomenon called the Miller effect, which allows small capacitors to perform like larger ones

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Image credit: Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

A team of MIT researchers has developed a groundbreaking wireless receiver that could transform the future of Internet of Things (IoT) devices by dramatically improving energy efficiency and resilience to signal interference.

Designed for use in compact, battery-powered smart gadgets—like health monitors, environmental sensors, and industrial trackers—the new chip consumes less than a milliwatt of power and is roughly 30 times more resistant to certain types of interference than conventional receivers.

“This receiver could help expand the capabilities of IoT gadgets,” said Soroush Araei, an electrical engineering graduate student at MIT and lead author of the study, in a media statement. “Devices could become smaller, last longer on a battery, and work more reliably in crowded wireless environments like factory floors or smart cities.”

The chip, recently unveiled at the IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium, stands out for its novel use of passive filtering and ultra-small capacitors controlled by tiny switches. These switches require far less power than those typically found in existing IoT receivers.

A key innovation lies in the chip’s clever use of a phenomenon called the Miller effect, which allows small capacitors to perform like larger ones. This means the receiver achieves necessary filtering without relying on bulky components, keeping the circuit size under 0.05 square millimeters.

Credit: Courtesy of the researchers/MIT News

Traditional IoT receivers rely on fixed-frequency filters to block interference, but next-generation 5G-compatible devices need to operate across wider frequency ranges. The MIT design meets this demand using an innovative on-chip switch-capacitor network that blocks unwanted harmonic interference early in the signal chain—before it gets amplified and digitized.

Another critical breakthrough is a technique called bootstrap clocking, which ensures the miniature switches operate correctly even at a low power supply of just 0.6 volts. This helps maintain reliability without adding complex circuitry or draining battery life.

The chip’s minimalist design—using fewer and smaller components—also reduces signal leakage and manufacturing costs, making it well-suited for mass production.

Looking ahead, the MIT team is exploring ways to run the receiver without any dedicated power source—possibly by harvesting ambient energy from nearby Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signals.

The research was conducted by Araei alongside Mohammad Barzgari, Haibo Yang, and senior author Professor Negar Reiskarimian of MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories.

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Society

Ahmedabad Plane Crash: The Science Behind Aircraft Take-Off -Understanding the Physics of Flight

Take-off is one of the most critical phases of flight, relying on the precise orchestration of aerodynamics, propulsion, and control systems. Here’s how it works:

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On June 12, 2025, a tragic aviation accident struck Ahmedabad, India when a regional passenger aircraft, Air India flight A1-171, crashed during take-off at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. According to preliminary reports, the incident resulted in over 200 confirmed casualties, including both passengers and crew members, and several others are critically injured. The aviation community and scientific world now turn their eyes not just toward the cause but also toward understanding the complex science behind what should have been a routine take-off.

How Do Aircraft Take Off?

Take-off is one of the most critical phases of flight, relying on the precise orchestration of aerodynamics, propulsion, and control systems. Here’s how it works:

1. Lift and Thrust

To leave the ground, an aircraft must generate lift, a force that counters gravity. This is achieved through the unique shape of the wing, called an airfoil, which creates a pressure difference — higher pressure under the wing and lower pressure above — according to Bernoulli’s Principle and Newton’s Third Law.

Simultaneously, engines provide thrust, propelling the aircraft forward. Most commercial jets use turbofan engines, which accelerate air through turbines to generate power.

2. Critical Speeds

Before takeoff, pilots calculate critical speeds:

  • V1 (Decision Speed): The last moment a takeoff can be safely aborted.
  • Vr (Rotation Speed): The speed at which the pilot begins to lift the nose.
  • V2 (Takeoff Safety Speed): The speed needed to climb safely even if one engine fails.

If anything disrupts this process — like bird strikes, engine failure, or runway obstructions — the results can be catastrophic.

Environmental and Mechanical Challenges

Factors like wind shear, runway surface condition, mechanical integrity, or pilot error can interfere with safe take-off. Investigators will be analyzing these very aspects in the Ahmedabad case.

The Bigger Picture

Take-off accounts for a small fraction of total flight time but is disproportionately associated with accidents — approximately 14% of all aviation accidents occur during take-off or initial climb.

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Space & Physics

MIT claims breakthrough in simulating physics of squishy, elastic materials

In a series of experiments, the new solver demonstrated its ability to simulate a diverse array of elastic behaviors, ranging from bouncing geometric shapes to soft, squishy characters

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Image credit: Courtesy of researchers

Researchers at MIT claim to have unveiled a novel physics-based simulation method that significantly improves stability and accuracy when modeling elastic materials — a key development for industries spanning animation, engineering, and digital fabrication.

In a series of experiments, the new solver demonstrated its ability to simulate a diverse array of elastic behaviors, ranging from bouncing geometric shapes to soft, squishy characters. Crucially, it maintained important physical properties and remained stable over long periods of time — an area where many existing methods falter.

Other simulation techniques frequently struggled in tests: some became unstable and caused erratic behavior, while others introduced excessive damping that distorted the motion. In contrast, the new method preserved elasticity without compromising reliability.

“Because our method demonstrates more stability, it can give animators more reliability and confidence when simulating anything elastic, whether it’s something from the real world or even something completely imaginary,” Leticia Mattos Da Silva, a graduate student at MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, said in a media statement.

Their study, though not yet peer-reviewed or published, will be presented at the August proceedings of the SIGGRAPH conference in Vancouver, Canada.

While the solver does not prioritize speed as aggressively as some tools, it avoids the accuracy and robustness trade-offs often associated with faster methods. It also sidesteps the complexity of nonlinear solvers, which are commonly used in physics-based approaches but are often sensitive and prone to failure.

Looking ahead, the research team aims to reduce computational costs and broaden the solver’s applications. One promising direction is in engineering and fabrication, where accurate elastic simulations could enhance the design of real-world products such as garments, medical devices, and toys.

“We were able to revive an old class of integrators in our work. My guess is there are other examples where researchers can revisit a problem to find a hidden convexity structure that could offer a lot of advantages,” Mattos Da Silva added.

The study opens new possibilities not only for digital content creation but also for practical design fields that rely on predictive simulations of flexible materials.

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