We have all seen virtual reality in films and wanted it, it is the ultimate gaming experience. HTC have jumped on the bandwagon and partnered with Valve, the creators of Portal, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead and the Steam platform, to create the Vive headset. The headset pulls virtual words off your computer screen and right in to your eyes, offering users lifelike experiences and transporting them right into the game.

A smart bra designed to stop women emotionally eating has been developed by Microsoft, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Rochester and the University of Southampton. The undergarment, which is the result of a study titled Food and Mood: Just-in-Time Support for Emotional Eating, features sensors in its cup pockets and side panels that detect changes in heart rate, skin temperature and stress levels. This data is then transm...

A 15 year-old boy claims to be the world’s youngest ‘cyborg’ after implanting a microchip into his hand. Byron Wake, of Martock, Somerset, used a hypodermic needle to implant the device. The transponder, which is the size of a grain of rice, works by using NFC which emits a low power radio-frequency signature that triggers pre-programmed events. Since implanting the microchip, Wake has used it to unlock his phone and control its...

Following Apple’s lead, MasterCard is introducing biometrics at POS for online transactions. Currently the company uses SecureCode to verify identity, which requires the cardholder to enter a password in a pop-up window. However, people are creating more and more online accounts, making it harder to remember passwords. According to a survey conducted by Certify, the average person is thought to have to remember at least 19 passwords, and on...

Corning Incorporated announced its latest optical cabling innovation for data centres and Storage Area Networks (SAN), EDGE8solutions. EDGE8 is the industry’s first modular, tip-to-tip optical cabling system to feature an eight-fibre (Base-8) cabling design that maximises per rack unit density for better network scalability and improved link performance.

Web-based tools developed as part of a Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) competition will enable M&E consultants to improve the efficiency and lower the cost of onsite energy schemes. The tools developed by Guru Systems analyse performance data and apply powerful machine learning algorithms to identify the root causes of inefficiency and propose costed measures to improve heat networks.

Wearable products could bring medical monitoring to the masses but, as Steve Rogerson found out, a clash between consumer and healthcare cultures is looming.

  Alcohol-detection technologies designed to prevent vehicles from being driven when a driver’s BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) exceeds the legal limit are being developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). 

The practice of urban mining has seen an increased growth in recent years. This is due to the precious metals contained within mobile phones, which include gold, copper, silver and platinum. When recycled, these metals are melted down and sold as nuggets to jewellers, investors and sometimes back to the manufacturers. 

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti has been cataloguing her home of six months, the International Space Station, to create 360° panoramic images users can rotate and explore. Each section of the Space Station required around 14 fisheye photos stitched together. This has created a virtual tour, allowing the public to view the space laboratory.

With massive projected growth attributed to the Internet of Things, how are semiconductor vendors keeping up with demands for capacity and performance from internet and data centre infrastructure? Sally Ward-Foxton finds out.

The productronica innovation award is the first independent award in the electronics production industry and will be bestowed by productronica. To have a chance to win the first productronica innovation award, entries must satisfy very clear criteria. They must be technologically innovative, feature a totally new design or be easy to integrate into systems.

Thamesdown Transport has become the latest user of an innovative new tyre pressure monitoring system developed in the UK by Oxford-based WheelRight. The system uses algorithms to process the data as the tyre rolls over it to calculate pressures, eliminating the need for manual checking. To check tyre pressures, Thamesdown’s maintenance team drive over a flush-mounted device embedded into the road that contains highly sensitive, yet robust s...

Goodyear has introduced its latest tyre concept - one that has the capacity to produce its own electricity. In theory, the BH03 tyre will transform generated deformation into electrical energy and could be used to extend the range of electric cars. According to Goodyear, the tyre creates electrical energy that could supply the batteries of the car’s hybrid powertrain, as well as other on-board technologies.

The SimpleLink CC26xx family from TI is the latest in its low power radio-enabled MCU devices and is the lowest power yet launched. This video provides an introduction, featuring an interview with Oyvind Birkenes, General Manager, Low Power RF, Texas Instruments.

A research team at UC Berkeley in California, led by bioengineering professor Kevin Healy, has developed a network of pulsating cardiac muscle cells housed in an inch-long silicon device that effectively models human heart tissue. The team has demonstrated the viability of this system as a drug-screening tool by testing it with cardiovascular medications.

The demand for smaller and cheaper mixed-signal technology is growing. Steve Rogerson looks at how the industry is rising to the challenge.

  The industry is working on a multitude of different haptic effects for tomorrow’s touch screens and buttons, writes Sally Ward-Foxton for ES Design magazine.

The UK’s out-going coalition government’s Chancellor, George Osborne, has pledged £40m in research in to the IoT as part of a larger £140m figure aimed at funding developments in science and innovation.

In the world of the low-energy application, the microWatt/MHz MCU is king. By Philip Ling, Editor, ES Design magazine.