http://www.ejc.net/media_news/wi-fi_makes_trees_sick_study_says/
http://www.ejc.net/media_news/wi-fi_makes_trees_sick_study_says/
2010.11.24 in Mobile and Wireless, Technology/R&D | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Reblog
(0)
| | Digg This
| Save to del.icio.us
|
|
2010 "EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard":
2010.11.01 in Technology/R&D | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Reblog
(0)
| | Digg This
| Save to del.icio.us
|
|
The announcement comes as Chinese vendors are facing more political obstacles to doing business in the United States and elsewhere. Earlier this month a number of politicians grouped together to demand that the U.S. FCC investigate any security risks from procuring equipment from Huawei or from ZTE. Both vendors have also been adversely affected in 2010 by regulatory problems in India, one of their largest markets. ZTE has said that it has acquired some US$4 billion in IP and hardware from U.S. vendors in the past, and the most recent announcement reflects its desire to emphasise its contribution to the U.S. economy.
2010.11.01 in Technology/R&D | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Reblog
(0)
| | Digg This
| Save to del.icio.us
|
|
Microsoft, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson are the three representatives from the US who made it to the top list. However, the overall trend is US is far less positive - there has been a 5.6% reduction in investment in R&D in the US in 2009.
The top 50 companies on the scoreboard includes 16 EU companies, 19 US firms and 12 from Japan. 30 of the top 50 cut R&D investment in 2009.
European companies reduced their investment in R&D activites by 2.6% in 2009 lagging behind the global average of 1.9%.
Asian economies have continued to invest heavily in Research and Development with growth recorded in many countries. Investment in India increased by 27.3% while China saw a growth of 40%.
Corporate Japan has continued to invest in research and development despite significant fall in profits. South Korea and Taiwan have also reported positive growth.
Within Europe, Germany recorded a 3.2% reduction while French corporate investment in R&D dropped by 4.5%. On the other hand, Switzerland's grew by 2.5% along with Spain which recorded a 15.4% growth despite drop is sales of 6.4%.
The alternative energy sector continues to see significant investments in research & development - 15 companies have made it on the scoreboard, which made investments of more than €500 million in R&D in 2009, an increase of 28.7%.
"The fact that major EU firms have largely maintained their R&D investment shows that they recognise R&D as key to emerging stronger from the crisis." Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science said.
"But the wide gap with the top US companies in areas like software and biotechnology and the continuing rapid rise of Asian-based companies highlight the innovation emergency Europe is facing.," she added.
"We urgently need heads of state and government at the December European Council to back the Innovation Union proposals that Antonio Tajani and I announced on 6 October."
2010.10.27 in E-conomy, Technology/R&D | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Reblog
(0)
| | Digg This
| Save to del.icio.us
|
|
The researchers claim that their work could soon transform on-board entertainment and Internet access services. "Our research should make it far easier for train operators to offer a broader range of Internet and live media services in many more locations and at a lower cost," says research team leader John Thornton, a research fellow at the University of York.
In order to offer Internet services in any location, trains need to be equipped with a dish, or "reflector," that both transmits to and receives signals from an orbiting satellite. This is currently only possible on a relatively small number of routes where there is sufficient headroom between the train cars and tunnels or overhead cables. Using alternative technology to satellites results in reduced bandwidth and patchy geographical coverage.
A dome-like "lens" structure, which is much lower in height, is an alternative to a dish, but the technology's use is limited by both its cost and reduced effectiveness at receiving signals. Thornton claims that his team has developed a much simpler lens model that uses common plastics and outperforms existing versions. He adds that the team has also devised a system that will allow a single lens to track a variety of satellites simultaneously, giving train operators increased reliability and the opportunity to offer passengers a much broader range of services.
"There is a growing expectation among consumers that they should be able to enjoy access to the Internet and other media wherever they are," Thornton says. "Providing these services on a moving vehicle such as a train ... is a huge technological challenge and that is reflected in the limited number of routes where they are currently enjoyed by passengers." Thornton adds that the team's research should make it far easier for train operators to offer "a broader range of Internet and live media services in many more locations and at a lower cost."
The research conducted at the University of York has been supported by a grant from the European Space Agency. The school is now looking for a commercial partner to move the project forward.
2009.01.28 in Infrastructure, Technology/R&D | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Reblog
(0)
| | Digg This
| Save to del.icio.us
|
|
2009.01.22 in Technology/R&D | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Reblog
(0)
| | Digg This
| Save to del.icio.us
|
|
http://www.ejc.net/media_news/internet_car_radio_a_world_first/
2009.01.07 in Media, Mobile and Wireless, Technology/R&D | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Reblog
(0)
| | Digg This
| Save to del.icio.us
|
|
Terahertz waves occupy the part of the spectrum between light and radio, specifically between infrared and millimetre waves. With wavelengths of 0.1-1mm, THz waves can be used like light or x-rays to create detailed images of solid objects. They have the useful property of passing easily through packaging and clothes, and since they are non-ionising they are safer than x-rays.
But THz waves can probe the content of objects as well as their shapes, thanks to their ability to respond to chemical properties. This is because their frequency range of 0.3-3THz matches the natural molecular vibrations of many common substances and biological materials.
Add these two properties together and you have a scanner that can not only detect a hidden package, but also show what is inside. New European research on THz waves could enable applications that include detecting tumours beneath the skin, a new and powerful kind of microscope for biological research, and quality control in semiconductor and pharmaceutical factories, as well as smart security scanners.
http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/index.cfm?section=news&tpl=article&ID=90252
2008.12.30 in Technology/R&D | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Reblog
(0)
| | Digg This
| Save to del.icio.us
|
|
"Imagine if your computer, iPhone, TV, radio and thermostat could all communicate with you when you walked in a room just by flipping the wall light switch and without the usual cluster of wires," says Thomas Little, a Boston University engineering professor. "This could be done with an LED-based communications network that also provides light--all over existing power lines with low power consumption, high reliability and no electromagnetic interference."
The researchers are developing smart lighting devices and systems applications, as well as the various materials needed for wireless devices to interface with a network. Boston University's research efforts will focus on developing networking applications, notably the solid-state optical technology that will form the network's backbone. The three partners combined will have 30 faculty researchers plus students, postdoctoral researchers and visiting industry engineers working as regular contributors.
"This is a unique opportunity to create a transcendent technology that not only enables energy efficient lighting, but also creates the next generation of secure wireless communications," Little says. "As we switch from incandescent and compact florescent lighting to LEDs in the coming years, we can simultaneously build a faster and more secure communications infrastructure at a modest cost along with new and unexpected applications."
Little envisions the creation of indoor optical wireless communications systems that use white LED lighting within a room to provide Internet connections to computers, ordinary and mobile smart phones, TVs, radios and thermostats. With widespread LED lighting, a vast network of light-based communication is possible, Little states. A wireless device within sight of an enabled LED could send and receive data though the air--initially at speeds in the 1 to 10 megabit per second range--with each LED serving as an access point to the network.
"The innovative LED-based networking research ... has the potential to be extremely positive and disruptive to the market," says Inder Monga, a project leader in advanced networking research at Nortel. "Nortel believes the era of hyperconnectivity is upon us and the potential new applications that this visible light-based networking could enable with its energy efficient qualities, privacy and its ubiquitous nature is very exciting."
2008.12.03 in Mobile and Wireless, Technology/R&D | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Reblog
(0)
| | Digg This
| Save to del.icio.us
|
|
Most people have used a library but very few will have visited historical archives. Unlike libraries, archives are primarily concerned with conserving records rather than being accessible to visitors. Even with online search facilities, locating archival material is an art best left to specialist researchers who know their way around.
“Archival structures are complex,” says Fredrik Palm of Umeå University, assistant coordinator of the QVIZ project co-funded by the EU. “Archivists have a duty to maintain the provenance of their records – this is the most important thing they do. And if you keep that structure it doesn’t make it easy to find the right information.”
In Europe, researchers have the added headache of dealing with dozens of national archives, not to speak of thousands of private collections all over the continent. And shifting borders over the centuries make it even harder to track down all records about a person or event.
QVIZ was launched in 2006 to find ways to make Europe’s digital archives more accessible. Collaborators in five countries have created an online portal that makes it easier than ever to find documents quickly and accurately.
http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/index.cfm?section=news&tpl=article&ID=90195
2008.12.03 in Technology/R&D | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Reblog
(0)
| | Digg This
| Save to del.icio.us
|
|