When designing a new medical device, one of the decisions manufacturers face is choosing a connector and mating receptacle. For some applications, a standard (or off-the-shelf) connector is a viable option. For other applications, a custom or hybrid connector may be more appropriate.

Each generation of engineers has seen a new generation of instrumentation. Baby boomers used cathode-ray oscilloscopes and multimeters with needle displays. Generation X ushered in a new generation of 'digital' instruments that used analog-to-digital converters and graphical displays. Generation Y is now entering the workforce with a new mindset that will drive the next generation of instrumentation.

The semiconductor wireless sensor networks market is expected to reach $12 billion by 2020, according to WinterGreen Research.

Researchers are developing sensors that can detect the early onset of swelling and temperature changes in the brain after head injuries and then vanish when they're no longer needed. [ + ]

Australia's manufacturing industry could be given a welcome boost if it takes advantage of some of the latest research here and overseas to create ultra thin and flexible electronic devices. [ + ]

ABB's modular liquid-cooled drives and PLCs have been included in Vard Electro's application-specific propulsion and thruster power solutions for offshore supply vessels. The electric motor propulsion technology designed by Vard is used on a series of six platform supply vessels (PSVs) - the first two of which are currently being built in Japan. [ + ]

A graphene-copper-graphene 'sandwich' strongly enhances the heat-conducting properties of copper and could further help in the downscaling of electronics. [ + ]

University of Washington computer scientists have built a low-cost gesture recognition system that runs without batteries and lets users control their electronic devices hidden from sight with simple hand movements. [ + ]

We've all met 'em. Those blundering, inconsiderate idiots walking our pavements with heads down bent over a small handheld device while they tap and stare at little images on a little screen oblivious to the world going on around them. Forget worry beads, they are passe. The mobile phone has become the new dangerous and antisocial religion and it's much more exciting being in colour and with sound. [ + ]

Two names representing two different technologies stand out like beacons among the thousands of names and inventions that were such a feature of the 19th century. These two, like boxers in a ring waiting for the contest to start, sparred and weaved in bids to make their beliefs the one the world would accept. But the two were not the inventors of the technology they so passionately believed in and strangely they are better remembered today as the inventors of the gramophone and the vacuum braking system used on trains throughout the world. [ + ]

Nanotechnology is expected to bring significant benefits to the energy sector, especially to energy storage and solar energy, finds a recent study by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI. [ + ]

Factory revenue in the worldwide server market increased 3.1% year over year to $14.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012 (4Q12), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker. [ + ]

Broadcom has introduced Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) system-on-chip (SoC) for low-power, mass-market wearable devices such as fitness trackers and smart watches. [ + ]

MIT researchers have developed a new, low-power signal-processing chip that could lead to a cochlear implant that requires no external hardware. The implant would be wirelessly recharged and would run for about eight hours on each charge. [ + ]

With benefits such as high switching speeds with low on-resistance and, unlike the bipolar transistors that preceded it, no possibility of thermal runaway, the silicon power MOSFET is the obvious choice in many applications. [ + ]