Internet-connected smart systems are everywhere – from autonomous cars to home assistants – and they’re only getting smarter. However, as edge devices process more data locally, they become prime targets for hackers, especially in the age of AI-powered attacks. A new technology developed at CUHK promises to solve that problem – by exploiting the unique physical properties of carbon nanotubes to make physically unique devices that can be reprogrammed in trillions of different ways, making hacking feel like trying to pick a lock that reshapes itself every time you touch it.

loT is the key to building a smart city, in which sensors act as eyes and ears of the system to collect and convert physical variables into electronic signals for analysis. A self-powered wireless sensing e-sticker, thin as two human hairs, developed by CUHK, converts the power of a finger touch into electromagnetic wave signals to advance the smart sensing technology. Another discovery is a TENG with high power output to better harvest mechanical and biomechanical motion.