News Digest 10 Nov 2014

Understanding Industry 4.0: Factories go digital

The UK’s first digital factory demonstrator aims to show how Industry 4.0 could benefit industrial equipment operators. The concept of Industry 4.0 is often seen as somewhat woolly and difficult for manufacturers (its core audience and potential customers) to get their heads around. Its other names are not much clearer: Internet of Things, Cyber-physical systems; machine-to-machine communication is perhaps the most descriptive, but even that tends to be shortened to the enigmatic M2M. Read More

Ric Parker - Rolls Royce director of research and technology

When talking to Ric Parker about the technology he’s overseeing development of at Rolls-Royce, you realise you’re not just discussing the future of one of Britain’s leading engineering companies but that of the entire civil aerospace sector. Since privatisation in 1987, Rolls-Royce has grown to become the world’s second-largest manufacturer of aircraft engines and so its technical direction has a huge impact on the world’s aviation fleet. That includes not just the fuel efficiency, carbon emissions and noise of aircraft but also their fundamental look and design. Read More

We don't need: No education

Ahmedabad Mirror | 10 Nov 2014

Lack of inventive educational facilities in the country has been a challenge for long. But a liberal arts university that swears by the laws of philanthropy is set to change education as you know it. One of the most exciting educational philanthropic initiatives is transpiring in the national capital region, where the Ashoka University is being positioned as the next big thing. This non-profit university has been built around the principles of collective public philanthropy, which means that this is being funded for the society...by the society. Read More

NXP Gives Android Its Apple Pay : NXP launches module for secure NFC mobile transactions

NXP, having worked with Apple on Apple Pay, now launches its PN66T module for secure NFC mobile transactions -- for Android. In the past few weeks Apple Pay has been making the news as the new way to easily implement mobile payments with the iPhone 6 and the upcoming Apple Watch. Read More

What an Engineering Education Lacks : Reading, writing, and arithmetic: all are important in engineering education

Recently I was interviewed me about my thoughts on engineering education. Now, first, it’s important to note that the university experience is not an engineering education; it’s merely the start of that process. Too many of us practitioners figure we can stop learning after graduation. It’s disturbing that the average firmware person reads just one technical book per year; this in a field where change is the very foundation of our profession. Read More

Sensor Fusion Goes Open-Source Group to provide common algorithms

AUSTIN, Texas – Analog Devices, Freescale, PNI Sensor Corp., and the MEMS Industry Group formed the Accelerated Innovation Community, a group dedicated to providing open-source algorithms for sensors. AIC also plans to announce an I/O standard for sensors in collaboration with the MIPI Alliance. Read More

Smart Battery Charges Up for IoT

SAN JOSE, Calif. – After several years chasing WiFi sockets in consumer gadgets, Roel Peeters got another idea. Sell a $35 smart, networked battery that consumers can plug into millions of existing smoke alarms. The concept is simple. The battery lets any existing smoke alarm connect to a home WiFi network so it can alert the owner’s smartphone if the alarm goes off. Its smart power management will also eliminate 3am wake up calls from an alarm with a dying battery. Read More

Compact Fusion Energy About to Happen?

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin has announced that its Skunk Works unit is developing a compact nuclear fusion reactor that is small enough to fit in a truck and capable of generating enough energy to light 80,000 homes. According to the company, the technology offers a 90% size reduction from prior concepts and could be deployed within a decade. Read More

The future of energy in the EU

"Where Europe really needs to move things forward is both procedural and substantive consensus on the scope of EU competition rules and their impact on national energy policy commitments. This calls for far more than a quick fix of the very worst deficiencies in the system." - Ralf Boscheck, Lundin Family Professor of Economics and Business Policy, International Institute for Management Development business school, Lausanne, Switzerland. Read More

Energy: act now to mitigate risk

With its 2014/15 Winter Outlook Report (WOR), the UK’s National Grid has released its annual forecasts for the country’s expected energy supply and demand over the cold winter months. This year’s findings suggest that Britain will have enough energy to avoid any blackouts this winter. However, the National Grid has warned that electricity margins will be at only 4.1%, a seven-year low, due to planned generator closures and breakdowns as well as the inability to quickly replace these with new plants. Read More

Industrial 2.4GHz wireless transceiver

LPRS, the manufacturer of short-range wireless devices, now offers the Circuit Design STD-503 2.4GHZ wireless transceiver for integrating into industrial equipment. There is growing demand for industrial wireless connectivity and the STD-503 operates in the globally recognised 2.4GHZ band. Designed to be embedded into OEM equipment, this compact radio transceiver module was developed for industrial applications that require stable and reliable operation. Read More

Cockroaches fitted microphones to aid disaster relief missions

North Carolina State University researchers have developed technology that allows cyborg cockroaches – so-called biobots - to pick up sounds with microphones and seek out the source of the sound. The technology is designed to help emergency personnel find and rescue survivors in the aftermath of a disaster. Read More

How would you spend £5,000 to build the perfect engineering CV?

Student engineers are being offered the funding and contacts to put together their dream work experience programme. What would your ideal CV look like? Perhaps it would include work experience from top international firms. Maybe you would have visited some of the world’s top research facilities and met with some of industry’s finest minds. Or perhaps you’d have undertaken voluntary work to apply your engineering skills to a major humanitarian challenge. Read More

Boosting cooling tower price-performance ratio : Delta Cooling is able to colour-match its cooling towers to the exterior of a building

When evaluating the purchase of most types of capital equipment, the obvious factor to consider is price/performance. Yet, an important factor that most people would agree should not be overlooked is value added, an amenity or service - such as warranty or engineering assistance - that substantially increases the worth of the product, or potential ROI. Read More

Device could work like a mini medical laboratory at home

Ahmedabad Mirror | 10 Nov 2014

For years, cardiac diseases have been the most important cause of death globally. Mobile assistance systems that monitor vital parameters, e.g. blood pressure or heart rate, of risk patients in their homes could make their lives safer and more satisfying. A platform supporting this kind was developed and tested by researchers from Fraunhofer FIT, the Berlin Charite, T-Systems and several international partners. Read More

Tiny scallops bots to help heal your body

Ahmedabad Mirror | 09 Nov 2014

Scientists have created a tiny 3D-printed robot scallop that can swim inside human body using rare earth magnets to deliver drugs directly to disease-affected areas. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Germany have developed a tiny robot that doesn't require an engine or batteries and is small enough to travel through the bloodstream. In their paper published in Nature Communications, the researchers describe their new robot and how it might one day be used to treat a variety of human ailments. Read More

Matrix-like learning could become reality

Ahmedabad Mirror | 10 Nov 2014

Researchers have connected two human brains directly allowing them to pass on data. It could lead brain tutoring where you could learn directly from the brain of a teacher. Sometimes, words just complicate things. What if our brains could communicate directly with each other, bypassing the need for language? Read More

Hard Lesson in Sleep for Teenagers

Ahmedabad Mirror | 07 Nov 2014

Professional literature on sleep needs of adolescents points to biological, behavioural and environmental effects of deprivation. Within a week of my grandsons' first year in high school, getting enough sleep had already become an issue. Their concerned mother questioned whether lights out at midnight or 1 am and waking at 7 or 7.30 am to get to school on time provided enough sleep for 14-yearolds to navigate a demanding school day. Read More

Energy efficient flameproof motor

WEG’s W22Xd Super Premium Efficiency range of hazardous area motors are claimed to be the most energy efficient flameproof motors available on the market. W22Xd hazardous area motors are designed to cope with the rigours of aggressive and explosive atmospheres, while exceeding high IE4 energy efficiency levels with minimised noise, vibration, and low operating temperature for increased reliability and safety. Read More

Fanless and robust micro PC for vehicles

The NUVO 3100VTC is a specialised embedded system which was specifically developed for operation in vehicles and has been certified. Acceed says the compact fanless system can be adapted to the requirements of various different installation locations by configuring its CPU performance. The core i7-3610QE and the core i5-3610ME basic components from Intel are optionally available. Read More

ચંદ્ર પર આવું હશે ઘરનું ઘર. મંગળ કરતા વહેલા ચંદ્ર પર રહેવા જવાશે.

Sandesh | 8 Nov 2014 | Read More