24/05/2017
Manufacturing industry is on the cusp of a 4th wave of transformation that holds the promise of a step change in productivity. Industrial IoT business models are being defined with increased flexibility, co-operative human-machine interaction and the use of data analytics to identify trends and dynamic system relationships that were previously hidden or inaccessible.
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23/05/2017
Although it’s 15 years since LED lighting made its debut, take-up is accelerating across all areas of lighting, helped by its lower power consumption, longer lifespan, increased robustness and faster switching capabilities.
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09/05/2017
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A colour display is hard to beat in any application and continued price erosion means it is becoming commercially viable to use graphical colour displays in a wider range of applications.
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11/04/2017
Humankind has always wondered what secrets the universe was hiding in its starry depths and striven to understand how we fit into the bigger picture. This curiosity is still strong, as demonstrated by the number of powerful telescopes that have either been built recently or are under construction.
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14/03/2017
New applications for lasers are being developed as technology is improving – according to Dr Graeme Malcolm, co-founder of M Squared Lasers, which is pushing innovation with lasers made using in-house technologies.
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14/03/2017
The networking world has largely been defined by the development of fixed function chips. While these devices have been one of the means by which data rates have increased, this has been achieved at the expense of configurability.
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28/02/2017
The tentacles of the internet are reaching further into the domain of deeply embedded systems that used, at most, to be attached to simple fieldbuses. Although the internet may stop short of ‘smart’ light bulbs that use Zigbee or Bluetooth to communicate, more organisations are looking at supporting the Internet Protocol (IP) directly in sensor nodes and smart actuators.
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24/01/2017
Data centres and supercomputing installations are challenging data communications requirements. To meet these challenges, the industry is increasingly looking to photonics based solutions.
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24/01/2017
In the last 30 years or so, the rate at which data can be sent down core fibre has increased by an amazing 10million times. And the UK has a long and enviable track record in this remarkable progress, with research groups and companies continuing to influence and drive the industry.
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10/01/2017
Radio coverage in enclosed spaces is increasingly seen as essential – particularly in road and railway tunnels, where highly reliable systems are needed for smooth operations and to protect travellers.
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13/12/2016
Monitoring the rail network is a costly and time consuming endeavour, but the University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Railway Research (IRR) has developed a new sensor system that could transform the way in which networks are maintained by turning rail vehicles into track monitors.
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13/12/2016
Building fires are, by their very nature, inhospitable environments. The combination of heat, a potentially toxic atmosphere, poor visibility and an unstable building can have fatal consequences, so it’s no surprise to find out that technology is being brought to bear in an attempt to improve safety, particularly when it comes to communication with and location of firefighters committed to a building.
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23/11/2016
Resistive touchscreens are typically found in retail electronic point of sale (EPOS) devices and companies have traditionally used them in industry. These have several layers, including two thin transparent, electrically resistive layers, separated by a thin space. When an object such as a fingertip or stylus tip presses down on the outer surface, the two layers touch to become connected. These touchscreens simply need enough pressure for the touch to be sensed and can be used while wearing gloves or other personal protective equipment (PPE).
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23/11/2016
Sophisticated graphics displays in the instrument cluster are a proven way for makers of premium vehicles to add consumer appeal and cachet to new high-end models of car. Audi has won rave reviews for its ‘Virtual Cockpit’ instrument cluster in the 2016 TT roadster.
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08/11/2016
The demand for better communications systems has grown exponentially in recent years and wireless communication technology is now truly pervasive, but the pace of the technology’s continual development presents Original Electronics Manufacturers (OEMs) with challenges.
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08/11/2016
The modern data centre is becoming more complex as it attempts to handle the proliferation in mobile devices and billions of newly connected devices, all of which are increasing the pressure on data infrastructure. Customer expectations have never been higher and they will expect a seamless level of service, even as the demand for data increases exponentially.
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26/10/2016
One of the longest established such centres in the UK, the Institute of Photonics at the University of Strathclyde is working in optogenetics and neurophotonics, as well as more traditional areas such as solid state lasers.
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11/10/2016
Passive inter modulation – PIM – is ‘unwanted interference’ which tends to occur when two or more interacting signals either interfere with one another or are affected by outside interference. While PIM is not new, the development of Long Term Evolution (LTE), 4G and 5G generation networks means that it has become more important as an issue. These networks have proven to be far more vulnerable to the effects of PIM, as well as to other signalling problems.
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27/09/2016
Offering really high speed fixed broadband to all who need it would seem to mandate rolling out optical fibre to the customers’ premises, according to the industry and a number of operators and equipment manufacturers are trying to show this is true - but only up to a point.
They point to a bewildering array of technology and economic options for upgrading broadband networks, with emerging standards and technologies targeting legacy ‘last mile’ copper connections.
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27/09/2016
The Electronic and Electrical Engineering department at University College London (UCL) has been linked almost inextricably with the development of the communications industry. Professor Polina Bayvel, head of UCL’s Optical Networks Group (ONG), pictured below, explained: “It’s a special department; the first electronic and electrical engineering department in any UK university.”
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13/09/2016
Since 2013, Vodafone’s annual IoT Barometer has looked at how enterprises are using and deploying Internet of Things (IoT) technology and one striking finding in the latest report is that, for many companies, the IoT is now at their heart.
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13/09/2016
The IoT offers a technological revolution that can deliver higher efficiencies and enhanced productivity in existing equipment infrastructure. More than this, by leveraging cloud-based IT technologies and capabilities, the implementation of real-time data analysis can enable autonomous decision making and create the potential for new services and revenue streams.
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23/08/2016
The Internet of Things is evolving to provide greater intelligence at the node, converting raw data into smart information. With less data to communicate, it becomes more cost-effective to integrate low power RF transceivers into the node module. Certification to wireless protocol standards ensures interoperability and the emergence of open tools will make support for these standards less onerous to developers.
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09/08/2016
The common belief that nothing can be certain, except for death and taxes, can be traced back to the 18th Century. But perhaps the saying needs to be updated for modern times with the addition of age related hearing loss.
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09/08/2016
Silicon photonics is a technology which has been under development for quite a few years, but has yet to make its presence felt in the market. But circuits and modulators based on the approach are beginning to appear as demand grows.
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