Seeking to satisfy the growing demand for light, powerful and long-lasting batteries, Swiss researchers have developed an initial prototype of a solid sodium battery with the potential to store extra energy. [ + ]

SEMICON Southeast Asia (SEMICON SEA), a conference connecting people, products, technologies and solutions across the electronics manufacturing supply chain, will be held in Kuala Lumpur next year. [ + ]

Korean researchers have developed ultraflexible organic flash memory that is bendable down to a radius of 300 μm. [ + ]

Recognising the growing engineering talent for the Internet of Things (IoT), semiconductor supplier Renesas held its first Gadget Renesas (GR) Embedded Design Contest in Southeast Asia this year. [ + ]

Computing software provider MathWorks has introduced a free 5G library aimed at supporting wireless design exploration in advance of the release of the initial 3GPP 5G standard specification in March 2018. [ + ]

Deakin University scientists have been working to process energy-storing sheets of 'MXene' — a nanoscopic material made of carbon and titanium — into knittable fibres. The goal of their research? To create clothing fibres that can store energy. [ + ]

US researchers have developed an ultrafast method for electrically controlling magnetism in certain metals. Their breakthrough could lead to increased performance and more energy-efficient computer memory and processing technologies. [ + ]

Emona Instruments has been appointed as the Australian and New Zealand distributor for Magna-Power Electronics. [ + ]

ercogener has developed its first Industry 4.0 modem using u-blox LTE Cat M1 cellular technology. The modem is designed to meet the requirements of the recently announced Orange LTE Cat M1 network, which will be launched across Europe in 2018. [ + ]

The Institute of Fluid Science at Tohoku University is upgrading and improving the performance of its core equipment in order to further enhance its fluid science research in fields such as health, welfare and medicine, the environment and energy, aerospace and manufacturing. [ + ]

Aalto University physicists have discovered a microscopic mechanism that will allow gallium nitride semiconductors to be used in electronic devices that distribute large amounts of electric power. Their secret? Doping gallium nitride with beryllium atoms. [ + ]

An international team of scientists has discovered what they believe to be a new route to ultralow-power transistors. The key to their research lay in the use of a graphene-based composite material. [ + ]

Fujitsu, Lenovo and the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) have announced a strategic collaboration that creates a joint venture between the three companies. [ + ]

NASA has announced that its Mars 2020 rover will be equipped with 23 cameras — more than any rover before it. [ + ]

HD-Energy technology for electric vehicles (EVs), from lithium-ion battery technology manufacturer Enevate, features fast charging in only five minutes with high-energy density and long driving range up to 390 km — or 80 km with a 60-second charge. [ + ]