Thanks to our technology editor, and keen cyclist, Steve Buish for flagging this one – a project to build a bike power meter. Basically the idea is to prototype a low-cost affordable fitness power meter for cyclists (using “an ESP8266 WiFi module, 4 strain gauges in Wheatsone arrangement measured by HX711 24-bit instrumentation amplifier”). It …
Plessey wins Manufacturer of the Year award
Plessey has been awarded the Manufacturing Business Award 2016 for large businesses by the Plymouth Herald. The awards, now in their sixth year, were presented at a gala dinner at the Plymouth Pavilions. Paul Burton, Editor of the Herald, said; “If the success of the businesses shortlisted is anything to go by, the Plymouth’s future …
Intel Speculation
The speculation du jour is, of course, over Intel’s rumoured job cuts. Why? And where will they fall? The speculation is all over the map. The most likely reason why is that the Q1 results being announced tomorrow are shitty and the job cuts are a way of diminishing the consequent fall in the share …
Imec develops solar cell with 22.5% conversion efficiency
Imec and kerfless epitaxial wafer start-up, Crystal Solar have demonstrated a homojunction solar cell with a record 22.5% conversion efficiency said to pave the way to low-cost solar wafer commercialisation. The potentially disruptive wafer technology was used to fabricate a standard monocrystalline 156x156mm2 cell on 160um to 180um thick grown n-type wafer with built-in rear …
Pennsylvania American Water to acquire Scranton Sewer System
The total value of the transaction is approximately $195 million.
Graphene-based sensor could detect sick buildings
Researchers at the University of Southampton claim to have developed a graphene-based sensor that can detect harmful air pollution in the home with very low power consumption. The sensor, which is the result of a collaboration with the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), detects individual CO2 molecules and volatile organic compound (VOC) …
Osram epitaxy boosts high power led efficiency
Osram Opto has cut led light output droop by optimising its epitaxial processes. At a current density of 3A/mm², quantum efficiency of the has been increased 7.5%. Under laboratory conditions and driven at 3A/mm2, 740 lm typical luminous flux was produced from QFN LED package (6,200K, Cx 0.319, Cy 0.323, single-chip LDxyz). At low current densities …
CambridgeIC 14bit inductive shaft encoder copes with misalignment
Fabless chip maker CambridgeIC has improved the accuracy and speed of its non-contact position sensing technology. Implemented in the firm’s CAM502 chip, it delivers 5,000 position sample/s, either linear or angular, and 14 bits of resolution using resonant inductive sensors. In operation, two passive resonant LC circuits, mounted on a single small PCB (see image) are …
CambridgeIC 14bit inductive shaft encoder copes with misalignment
Education According To Mr Bell
As one of Edinburgh Royal High School’s less distinguished students, Alexander Graham Bell resented education conducted under strict discipline and consisting of memorising facts by rote. Bell derided the system of “giving out a certain amount of work which must be carried through in a given space of time and putting the children into orderly …
UK looks to lead superconducting spintronics computing
Cambridge scientists are to design a architecture for superconducting spintronics computing, which could dramatically cut the energy costs of high-performance computing. Spintronics, which stores and processed data as the spin of electrons, in principle could save power compared with electronics because it avoids moving charge around. It is also potentially fast. “Given the energy-efficiency of …