Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Belgian company LabNation has launched SmartScope, an open source USB test equipment package said to be the first such system designed to run on multiple operating systems and platforms.Chief technology officer Riemer Grootjans said SmartScope is targeted at a new range of users. “Development h...

Internet of Things applications, such as connected cars, wearable electronics and building automation, are boosting demand for microcontrollers. According to the latest Microcontroller Market Tracker report from market analyst IHS, sales of MCUs into IoT applications is expected to grow from $1.7billion in 2014 to $2.8bn in 2019. By contrast, the o...

Researchers at the University of Twente have demonstrated working electronic circuits produced using methods which they say resemble Darwinian evolution.The team has moved away from conventionally designed circuits, using instead an approach that resembles those found in nature. By using such a ‘designless’ approach, the team says c...

An MIT-led group of researchers has claimed to have determined a way to make large sheets of molybdenum telluride. The team says their method is also likely to work for many similar 2D materials, and could make widespread applications in electronics feasible.“This material has a similar bandgap to silicon and in single-layer form it has a...

Dialog is to acquire Atmel in a cash and stock transaction that values the latter at $4.6bn. According to Dialog, the deal will create a global leader in power management and embedded processing solutions.According to Dialog’s CEO Jalil Bagherli, pictured, the rationale for the deal is clear. “The potential this combination holds is...

The Dual Use Technology Exploitation (DUTE) cluster is a £10million project jointly funded between government and industry aiming to back technologies and research which can have a ‘dual use’ in defence and civil sector businesses.The project will help boost growth by linking UK manufacturers, particularly SMEs, from the civil...

The BBC has announced its micro:bit computer, due to be given to one million schoolchildren in October to boost interest in coding, has been delayed. An issue with its power supply means it will now be sent out after Christmas.The pocket-sized codeable computer is the BBC's most ambitious education initiative for 30 years. In the 1980s, the...

CEA-Leti claims to have manufactured micro-accelerometers on 300mm wafers, a development that could lead to lower MEMS manufacturing costs.“This demonstration that our 200mm MEMS platform is now compatible with 300mm wafer fabrication shows a significant opportunity to cut MEMS production costs,” said Leti CEO Marie Semeria. “...

The LUTZ Pathfinder, the first of three electric-powered ‘pod’ vehicles, was unveiled outside Milton Keynes Central train station as part of a project to trial automated vehicles in pedestrianised areas.The event marked the completion of the first project vehicle by Coventry-based manufacturers RDM Group. The two-seater pod was then...

STMicroelectronics has introduced the MIS2DH, a three-axis accelerometer specifically designed for medical applications. The MIS2DH can enable functions such as activity monitoring and posture sensing to be included in a range of medical applications.There is a growing interest in the medical world in exploring how implantable devices could hel...