It's that time of the year again - when the best minds in the electronics design engineering and manufacturing industry descend on Sydney for the annual electronics design and assembly expo, ElectroneX.

MIT and Harvard University researchers have developed reconfigurable robots that can fold themselves into arbitrary shapes. [ + ]

Researchers from Monash University have discovered that graphene oxide sheets can change structure to become liquid crystal droplets spontaneously and without any specialist equipment. [ + ]

It's set to be the perfect combination: the rapid growth of high-speed cellular networks and the introduction of IP version 6, which has enough IP addresses for every grain of sand on Earth. Add to this mix the proliferation of the ARM-embedded computing architecture, now the de facto global standard for low-power, high-performance mobile computing thanks to its successful integration into virtually all mobile phones on the market.

A new phase-changing material built from wax and foam could allow robots to switch between hard and soft states.

Bishop & Associates' Bob Hult offers a plea to engineers, praising all they've achieved but requesting a bit of restraint. [ + ]

Cable assemblies are the core components for the most critical connections. In many instances, there is an option of choosing between field-assembled cables or overmoulded cables. For some designs, the choice is clear cut, for others not so much. This article explores the design differences between moulded cable assemblies and field-terminated cables.

New multisensor platforms, wearable systems and the Internet of Things are expected to lift total MEMS semiconductor sales to $8 billion in 2014, according to research firm IC Insights. [ + ]

Security consultant Context Information Security has uncovered a security weakness in an Australian inventor's Wi-Fi-enabled, energy-efficient LIFX LED light bulb that can be controlled from a smartphone. [ + ]

Lifetime, form factor, packaging and a range of colours - from the outside, it would appear as though LED lighting has everything going for it. But for design engineers, there's a lot more to the story.

It's a peculiar thing, but electronics and rule breaking seem to go hand in hand - at least as far as the average driver is concerned. It is hard to hide from electronics. The ubiquitous microchip is everywhere, from the kitchen to the lounge to the garden and especially in the motor vehicle - where there are now more electronics than ever were involved in the moon landing.

Semiconductor manufacturers closed 72 wafer fabs between 2009 and 2013, and another nine fabs are slated to close in 2014, according to data recently compiled, updated, and now available in IC Insights’ Strategic Reviews online database and the Global Wafer Capacity 2014 report. [ + ]

ODU's white paper looks at the requirements for rugged high-speed data connectors. [ + ]

As Brazil hosts the world's greatest sporting competition this month and also prepares for the 2016 Summer Olympics, what will be the impact of the World Cup on the connector market? [ + ]

The real advantages of solid-state lighting are realised when lamp designers shake off limitations imposed by traditional lamps and take advantage of the low power, low heat and low profiles of LED light sources, as LED arrays light the way.