Viewpoints

Dr. Ali Sadri considers how some of the limitations for 5G performance can be overcome, for example via RIS and in-building wireless coverage. With the rollout of 5G continuing to cause issues around the globe, some people would argue that it’s not yet living up to the hype. So what’s needed to unlock its potential? Dr. Ali Sadri, CTO of ...

Ash Madni shares his thoughts on industry figure Jack Pekarik, a Master Inventor at GlobalFoundries, who he describes as “a true scholar, a gentleman and a SiGe genius”. As designers, our interface to a foundry occurs via a third party, so many of us don’t get to meet the brains behind silicon processing. Most of us have to settle with ...

Is there still a dividing line between consumer and business when it comes to technology, questions Matthew Swinney, Head of Image Sensing Solutions at Sony Europe? With the coming of age of AI and IoT, the origins of the Internet seem to belong to another era. They can be traced back to the 1970s with ARPANET, a project designed by ...

Colin Tucker, chairman of Novocomms, thinks a rise in global political uncertainty and a new administration in Downing Street, could provide opportunities for the UK electronics industry. Back in the days when I was a young engineer, the UK boasted names such as Plessy, AEI, English Electric and of course GEC, all of whom were globally respected names, employing hundreds ...

Today, microelectronics is moving at an incredible rate,  particularly in the fields of EDA and design methodology, writes Ash Madni. It’s a wonderful time to invest energy in both if we are lucky enough to participate. However, we are human beings not automatons and consequently don’t instantly move in the direction of change when required. It takes us time to ...

Helen Weedon, MD of the Satcoms Innovation Group, considers how the satcom industry can better engage with young people about the opportunities that exist. Recruitment within the satcom industry is a pain point for many operators, even for the biggest household names. Not enough young people are choosing to study STEM subjects and this skills shortage is already being felt ...

Amazon may be in a tight spot in its video streaming technology dispute with Nokia, but there are options, writes John-Paul Rooney, a consumer tech specialist at European intellectual property firm Withers & Rogers. News that tech innovator Nokia is suing Amazon in five jurisdictions – the UK, Germany, India, the European Unified Patent Court, and the US – for ...

Vehicle manufacturers have long dreamt of reducing weight by replacing heavy wiring looms with radio frequency technology. However, achieving this wireless nirvana is not as simple as it first appears, writes Sampson Hu, founder of UK antenna specialist Novocomms. One of the heaviest sub-systems in most vehicles, wiring harnesses can weigh in at around 150lbs, creating a major headache for ...

The robotic patents war is not over but disputes don’t have to reach court, writes Alexander Ford of Withers & Rogers, in the wake of the Ocado and AutoStore settlement. Following a three-year-long legal dispute over alleged patent infringement, Ocado and Norwegian robotic tech company, AutoStore, have reached an out-of-court settlement. But the robot patent war is far from being ...

Why not use IoT-enabled sensors, using the LoRaWAN standard, for ‘ultra-early’ wildfire detection, asks Carsten Brinkschulte, co-founder and CEO of Dryad Networks? Wildfires contribute approximately 20% of the world’s CO2 emissions, equivalent to the combined emissions of automobiles, airplanes, trains, and ships. Even more concerning, these wildfires trigger a chain reaction in our climate, intensifying global warming by increasing the ...