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.

For three days in Munich earlier this month, the International Exhibition and Conference for Printed Electronics played host to almost every leading player in what many see as a technology with real potential. Called LOPEC, the event showcased this exciting technology which has begun to enable a wide variety of new and innovative applications.

For anyone who cares about the ongoing impact that the consumption of fossil fuels is having on our environment - yet still needs a constantly charged power hungry smartphone - the JAQ charger from myFC looks to be the ideal solution. Widely talked about last week at MWC in Barcelona and due to be launched later this year, JAQ uses a slim 'power card' that contains water and salt.

  The smart meter market is awash with different standards and technologies and, as Steve Rogerson found, there is little sign of any light at the end of the tunnel.

  The next step for PV technology is integrating it directly into buildings. Sally Ward-Foxton explores for ES Design magazine.

Once again Space Tech Conference will open its doors in Long Beach, California, to bring together the leading representatives of the military, government and commercial space sectors.  An unparallelled line-up of expert speakers at the three-day conference will showcase the breadth of innovation in the industry, discussing issues and opportunities in solving the space sector’s most challenging problems.

  Will removing division in the industry help promote wireless charging to greater heights? Philip Ling takes a look at the latest developments.

  Which low-power wireless technologies will dominate as the IoT rolls out? Steve Rogerson looks at the contenders.

  Adding programmable logic blocks to MCUs offers some interesting benefits, as Sally Ward-Foxton discovers for ES Design magazine.

  The use of MCUs in automotive applications is growing, but Steve Rogerson found there were differences in how the chip makers see the market evolving.

  With autonomous cars promised by the end of this decade, the advanced sensing and control systems needed to make that a reality are starting to come together, giving us a better idea of what to expect, as Sally Ward-Foxton discovers.