Industry News
element14 announces winners of wireless power design competition
The element14 engineering community has announced two winners in its ‘Beyond the Phone’ Wireless Power Challenge. [ + ]
RS Components and Allied sign distribution deal with ROHM
RS Components and Allied Electronics have signed an agreement with ROHM Semiconductor as authorised global distribution partners of the electronic component vendor. [ + ]
R&D key to RFID market growth
The need to optimise business processes is prompting organisations to adopt radiofrequency identification (RFID) solutions, according to Frost & Sullivan. [ + ]
Future electronics may depend on lasers, not quartz
Nearly all electronics require devices called oscillators that create precise frequencies - frequencies used to keep time in wristwatches or to transmit reliable signals to radios. [ + ]
Collaboration worth $46bn to the economy
Collaboration is a key solution to Australia's productivity and innovation challenges, according to the latest Deloitte report commissioned by Google Australia. [ + ]
UNSW's robot soccer team to compete at RoboCup
UNSW's robot soccer team and their minders are hoping they can knock their traditional rivals off the top spot in the world's largest robot competition, RoboCup Championships, to be held in Brazil next week. [ + ]
Tasmania's engineering excellence award finalists announced
Projects that in total contribute more than $1 billion investment in the Tasmanian economy have been selected as finalists for Engineers Australia's Tasmania Division Engineering Excellence Awards. [ + ]
New Raspberry Pi board offers more sensors and accessories
The new Raspberry Pi B+ board, which marks the first significant change to the credit card-sized computer, is available to buy immediately through element14. The new board offers more sensors and accessories, enabling users to build bigger and better projects. [ + ]
Sand-based Li-ion batteries
Researchers have created sand-based lithium-ion batteries that are said to outperform the current industry performance standard by three times. [ + ]
'The Internet of the Backyard'
element14, Plotly and Texas Instruments have launched a new competition - The Internet of the Backyard. [ + ]
Silicon sponge improves Li-ion battery performance
Researchers have developed a porous material to replace the graphite traditionally used in a Li-ion battery's electrodes, as silicon has more than 10 times the energy storage capacity of graphite. [ + ]
Nanoparticles to keep electronics from overheating
Power dissipation, chip power consumption, and heat flux in electronic devices has been steadily increasing over the past decade, creating a need for improved methods of cooling them. [ + ]
Self-powered cardiac pacemaker
Researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a self-powered artificial cardiac pacemaker that is operated semi-permanently by a flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator. [ + ]
Researchers improve battery performance with nanotubes
Researchers have boosted power and durability in lithium-ion batteries with the help of extremely tiny tubes and rods. The development could lead to batteries that last longer and perform better, leading to a cost advantage for electric vehicles. [ + ]
Bio-bots that walk on command
Engineers have developed walking 'bio-bots' powered by muscle cells and controlled with electrical pulses, giving researchers unprecedented command over their function. [ + ]