Healthcare
Spotlight on upconversion nanoparticles: finding the right chemistry to make life science applications “click”
Reimagining the future
Healthcare
Complex generics pharmaceutical devices: scaling the barriers to entry
Many generics companies have experienced the challenges of getting a “complex generic” to market firsthand. But, argues David Cottenden, there are device strategies to stack the odds in your favour…
Consumer
Robots as domestic servants? And what Bill Gates missed in betting on domestic robotics a decade ago
The revolution in domestic robotics did not happen as Bill Gates predicted. But a decade of progress means that we can ask what vision for domestic robotics could eventually satisfy the cost, performance and safety requirements of the consumer.
Healthcare
Imaging by the numbers: quantitative imaging for digital pathology
Pathology is going digital and novel quantitative imaging approaches will take diagnostic power to the next level while creating opportunities for automation in the multi-billion tissue diagnostics industry. Alexander Carr reviews steps towards quantification in 2019.
Industrials
Keeping the cost down: can urban air quality monitors and 5G communications providers cooperate?
Finding sites for new infrastructure in a city is difficult and expensive. This is particularly true when there are tight restrictions on where equipment can be located in order to function.
Industrials
Swarming service robots? How human-multi-robot collaborative teams will tackle real-world problems
What innovations can increase the adoption of robotics more widely in the commercial sector? Rather than focus on complexity to enable such robots to operate in challenging environments, Simon Shakespeare makes the case for less sophisticated but more specialised robots working in collaborative teams.
Telecoms
Satellite operators can improve return on assets with IoT
Faced with dwindling Returns on Assets, satellite operators will increasingly look towards Internet of Things (IoT) as a potential remedy to the growing problem of broadband overcapacity.
Healthcare
How to develop microfluidics for commercial products
Whilst microfluidic devices have huge potential, most fail to progress beyond research use, let alone reach mass consumer markets similar to products in the microelectronics industry. But developers are increasingly using cycles of (1) optimised designs, (2) apt manufacturing, and (3) robust testing to create highly integrated and compact devices with exciting functionality for widespread application.
Industrials
Advanced statistical testing to reduce development costs and improve machine reliability
Testing an automation system, a robot or a complex high-value machine for reliability is a long, expensive, and challenging part of product development. Simon Shakespeare sees a future where product design for reliability is increasingly informed by simulations and statistical approaches to testing, giving engineers confidence in a design before any hardware prototype has been committed to production.
Telecoms
Low-cost satellite IoT: around the corner, but no free lunch for operators
This blog looks at the impact of orbit and operating frequency on the types of IoT service a satellite operator can deliver. Paying attention to IoT network topology and air-interface protocols will enable all operators to make the most of the dish in front of them, says Steve Baker.
Healthcare
What is a good innovation strategy in surgery… and is it robotics?
Robotic surgery is a hot topic: the concept is popular with patients, on the minds of industry leaders, and seen as the future of surgery by many investors. Too often, robotic-assisted surgery is equated with precision, and precision with improved clinical outcomes. Excitement is driving investment and a growing number of robotic-assisted surgery companies. But, in basic terms, what is a good innovation strategy in surgery… and is it robotics?
