Camera or computer? The boundary lines separating the two are way out of focus these days as snapping-machines soak up increasing amounts of electronic technology. Long gone are the days when photographers would have to be in charge of a camera's settings...

By Paul Whytock | 11-06-2018

The development of contactless payment cards based on biometrics technology is causing great excitement. Because in the next few years the technology is expected to drastically transform contactless payments worldwide. At the forefront of this development are...

By Nnamdi Anyadike | 08-06-2018

Nanoparticles of materials are increasingly used in electronics, from flexible circuits to solar cells. The properties of materials at the extremely small scale are not obvious to designers and knowing their potential effects on the environment, if released, a...

Environment | By Rob Coppinger | 06-06-2018

Automation in logistics is rapidly changing the face of the grocery supply chain sector. However, the technology innovations currently in the pipeline place the industry at the cusp of even greater change. This is because in what is already a highly competitiv...

By Nnamdi Anyadike | 04-06-2018

This article was updated in June 2025 (first published 31‑05‑2018 by Christian Cawley). Key Takeaways: Analogue switch-off delayed: BT’s copper-based PSTN will now close on 31 January 2027, giving tele-care services extra time to migrate....

Insights | By Christian Cawley | 31-05-2018

The global telecommunication industry is rapidly being transformed by the development and rollout of ‘free space optics (FSO)’. FSO is a line-of-sight technology that uses invisible beams of light to provide optical bandwidth connections. These enhanced connec...

By Nnamdi Anyadike | 29-05-2018

The heat your computer generates could help increase battery life by a fifth with a nanostructured thin film technology that turns that waste warmth into electricity. The thin film converts heat into electricity using what is called pyroelectrics and it cou...

By Rob Coppinger | 24-05-2018

If I suggested to a cycling-mad pal of mine that he should switch to electrically powered bicycles his verbal response would most definitely not be printable here. Why is that? Well in his case, even as a gentleman of mature age, he has sufficient pedal-pow...

By Paul Whytock | 23-05-2018

High-power electronics could work at higher temperatures for longer with water flowing over a heat exchanger’s surface that is designed to repel the liquid, the exact opposite of what is used today. Water is typically boiled off hydrophilic heat exchanger...

By Rob Coppinger | 21-05-2018

Rapidly falling component and installation costs are encouraging the growth of solar power in key locations across the globe. And solar inverters, which play an important role in the operation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, are expected to witness a solid...

By Nnamdi Anyadike | 18-05-2018

Originally published 16-05-2018 | Revised June 2025 Key Takeaways: AR market surge: IDC values AR at US $83.6 bn (2024) and forecasts 38 % CAGR through 2030. Mainstream hardware: LiDAR-equipped phones plus Vision Pro, Quest 3 and s...

Insights | By Mark Patrick | 16-05-2018

If there is anyone in the developed world for whom the word ‘building’ still conjures up an image of a structure comprising just four walls, a roof, a couple of doors and a few windows then the latest ‘smart building’ developments are likely to come as quite a...

By Nnamdi Anyadike | 11-05-2018