Although taste is subjective most people like slick graphics, which is why smartphones and smart watches come with full color, high-resolution displays, and why graphics designers can make a living from icon design for mobile device applications. The problem with nice graphics, however, is that they require a lot of computing power and energy, and place a heavy load on the usual small batteries of portable gadgets.

Researchers at Queen's University's school of Mathematics and Physics in Belfast together with Stanford University, the University of California, California State University and the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan have succeeded in developing new, dynamic hybrid materials that not only conduct electricity at unprecedented speeds, but are light and durable and can be easily produced in large conventional semiconductor plants...

Most of the time simple solutions are the best. “Keep it simple, stupid” or KISS is a well-known but often ignored design principle. Not so for this project which consists mainly of clever wiring and a bunch of connectors. What can you do with it? Not only does it allow you to get out of the wallwart phone charger mess by providing inputs for several plug types but it also lets you easily attach a volt- and ammeter to see what's happening -- and why. Hide it all in a sturdy little box and what you have is a handy adapter & test tool.

In medial diagnostics there is an increase in the use of DNA biomarkers to detect certain infectious diseases, genetic abnormalities, certain types of cancer or prenatal abnormalities. This uses specific fluorescent dyes (so-called intercalation dyes) which react with the corresponding DNA molecules (nucleic acid)…

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have developed a process that allows cameras with a thickness of only 2 millimeters to be produced. Comparable to the eyes of insects, the lens of the camera is divided into 135 small segments...

Applications based around "something with microcontrollers" increasingly use a link to a smartphone to provide the GUI. Light switches can be operated from the iPhone, a rain sensor sited in your back garden can relay information to an Android device. For developers however such an app can be relatively complex but now help is at hand with Smart.IO...

The sygonix BLE motion and vibration tag is now available from Conrad. This handy tag has a number of uses around the house and is really easy to program. The user can, for example program it so that it sends a message to a smartphone when post arrives in the post box or a door or window is opened...

An unexpected visitor can be a welcome surprise, but at other times you will have regretted answering that doorbell when and finding a less desirable guest on your doorstep. An intercom with a camera at the front door can be a solution, but that’s of no use to you when you are not at home. With the project presented here you can, in principle, see from anywhere in the world who rang your doorbell, have a conversation with your visitor and even remotely open the door for them, provided you have your smartphone on you.

Connected Objects is what people covet today. Anything except the dog’s temper has to be controllable from a smartphone or tablet and even more ‘stuff’ must report back via the internet. If that’s what you really want, who are we to refute that desire? With our revamped Wi-Fi Controller Board you can control electric loads over the Internet and receive status information in return.

A team of computer scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has developed a new wireless communication technology that allows mobile devices to work much longer from a single battery charge with short wireless links. Among other things, the new technology is targeted at devices such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, which typically have a small battery and therefore a short operating time between charges.