CENS news
1st June 2005
SUBCON 2005
Our thanks to all the companies and individuals who took the time to visit our stand at SUBCON 2005.
As ever, if you missed us this time round, there will be more opportunities to meet with us - either at an upcoming event or by contacting us to arrange a meeting.
16th May 2005
NEPCON success!
Thanks to everyone who came by our stand at this year's NEPCON event in Brighton. We had a great time exhibiting there, and it was fantastic to see so much UK innovation under one roof.If you missed us at NEPCON, however, don't worry - there is another chance to catch CENS at next week's SUBCON exhibition in Birmingham.
25th April 2005
Goodbye, ADSL, hello HAP
Currently, consumer broadband Internet connectivity is largely supplied from the telephone interchange to the consumer (the so-called 'last mile') using ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line), a technology that utilizes the existing telephone wires as a carrier for data. Whilst ADSL works fine for many situations, it is limited by the distance of the endpoint from the exchange. As a result, many customers in rural areas cannot be get broadband Internet.
So what is the future? According to the Information Society Technologies initiative, it could be HAP, or High Altitude Platforms: airships that float at an altitude of 20km and transmit data in the 31GHz range. It is thought that the airships could supply data at a rate of 120Mb/s for a fraction of the cost of eg. satellites or the installation of more phone infrastructure.
For more information, check out the IST Results site.
17th March 2005
Bath academics to unleash Universal Constructor
Academics at the University of Bath are working on an idea that could transform the face of manufacturing in the UK. Currently, rapid prototype machines are used extensively in industry for the creation of plastic components (for cars, for example). These components are designed in 3d on a computer, and the design fed into the machine for realization. This technique would form a very flexible system for creation of products for use in the home - however, a rapid prototype machine currently costs around £25k. What would happen, however, if such a machine was fed a design to reproduce itself?
This question is the crux of a project masterminded by Dr Adrian Bowyer, of Bath's Centre for Biomimetics. His idea is that, given the appropriate design, the machines could self-replicate effectively endlessly, to the extent that the machines became cheap enough for each home to have one. Sounds like sci-fi? Perhaps, but this quirky concept has the potential to be very significant in the next few years. For more information, see Bath's website.
2nd March 2005
Polymer Vision to market flexible display within two years
Philips Polymer Vision yesterday issued a press release reporting progress made in the development of a flexible display. Their latest design, the PV-QML5 gives a resolution of 320x240 pixels on a 5-inch diagonal area, and can be rolled into a tube with a radius of curvature of around 7.5 mm when not in use. The display is monochrome, offering four gray-scale levels and a contrast ratio of 10:1, making the screen usable in bright daylight. Whilst the PV-QML5 is currently still a prototype, Philips is confident of bringing it to market within two years.
The development of a truly flexible display for electronic devices would change the nature of many electronics markets -- most obviously for mobile devices, but potentially introducing new opportunities for products such as paperless books and newspapers.
25th February 2005
Philips develops plastic non-volatile memory
Philips, in collaboration with a Dutch University, yesterday announced a breakthrough development in plastic electronics. The group is the first in the world to demonstrate a plastic non-volatile memory technology that meets the performance requirements required in commercial plastic electronics applications.
Whilst this memory is probably some time from market, the development of a plastic non-volatile memory opens up many applications for plastic electronics -- for example, more sophisticated RFID tags produced at low cost, making them suitable for use of consumer packaging.
For more information, check out the Philips press release.
24th February 2005
Flexible asynchronous microprocessors coming soon!
Seiko Epson announced the development of a flexible, asynchronous, 8bit microprocessor earlier this month.
The press release has been widely reported around the Internet, and bears investigation if only for the amazing graphic of the new chip.
According to Epson, their technology allows them to produce a microprocessor which uses 70% less energy than its synchronous counterpart, and produce some 20dB less electromagnetic radiation. The company is now seeking applications for the hardware, which could include wearable computing or new display technologies.
2nd February 2005
SME-friendly nano-tech group established
A recent Electronics Weekly article discusses a new group representing Small to Medium sized Enterprises in the nanotech industry.
The group, called MUST (Micro & Nano UK SMEs Together) was formed earlier this month at a meeting in Oxford, and serves to indicate the growing interest of UK SMEs in nanotechnology.
2nd February 2005
CENS new website goes live!
We at CENS are happy to unveil our new-look website here at www.cens.co.uk.
The site's new look has been in the pipeline for some time, and we hope you like the changes we have made -- be sure to check back soon, as we're even now working on new content and information for North East SME's.
2nd November 2004
Seiko Epson produce ultra-thin 20 layer PCB
Epson Inkjet Technology, perhaps best known as a manufacturer of desktop printers, recently announced that they have managed to leverage their inkjet technologies to produce 'printed' circuit boards.
Typical circuit board fabrication techniques center around photolithographic techniques to pattern copper layers bonded to base boards, and have been limited by the thick copper and photomask layers required for the process. The use of inkjet methods to print circuits using combinations of conducting and insulating ink circumvents many of these traditional limitations, allowing Epson to produce a 20 layer PCB at a thickness of just 200 microns.
PhysOrg have a more indepth discussion here.
22nd October 2004
UK manufacturers to fail to meet lead free directives?
An Electronics Weekly article from a year ago highlighted a worrying lack of preparation amongst UK companies to meet the impending RoHS directives set to come into force in July 2006.
The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive, aimed at companies manufacturing electronic equipment, is intended to reduce the amount of potentially harmful substances used in electronic devices, and places greater responsibility on manufacturers for ensuring appropriate recycling policies are in place.
With the directive deadlines drawing ever closer, North East companies should be asking themselves whether their products will be compliant in 2006.