Latest Technology Stories
Technology and standards: a close connection?February 28, 2017
The PC has been ubiquitous and interoperable since the '80s, while the PLC lags behind, despite years of work on IEC standards. Nick Boughton contrasts the relationship between technology and standards in commercial and industrial spheres
New ‘electron gun’ could help enable X-ray moviesFebruary 28, 2017
A low-power tabletop source of ultrashort electron beams could replace car-size laboratory devices, engineers report
The new standards for robot ethics – three things humans can learnFebruary 15, 2017
The British Standards Institute’s standards for robot ethics focus on safety, human contact, robotic deception and possible sexism or racism from self-learning artificial intelligence systems. What must industry learn from the standards, asks Graham Mackrell
Tin-based alloys offer platform for energy-efficient electronic devicesFebruary 15, 2017
Prof Eoin O’Reilly and his Tyndall colleagues aim to create energy-efficient devices for future internet platforms from metastable alloys, thereby leveraging existing mass-production approaches to new functionality and capabilities
Wearable, low-cost sensor to measure skin hydration and detect dehydrationJanuary 31, 2017
Engineers have developed a wearable, wireless sensor that can monitor a person's skin hydration to detect dehydration before it poses a health problem
Local authorities 2.0 – councils and the use of web and mobile appsJanuary 17, 2017
The methods of data collection and processing by councils are inefficient in this technological age, writes Aidan Lynch. He outlines how a proposed Local Authority Complaints System would streamline data collection for more efficient handling
Improving the resilience of Ireland’s rail network: a decision support tool for slope assetsDecember 13, 2016
Irish Rail's decision support tool provides risk assessment, prioritisation and cost/benefit investment analysis of its earthwork assets. The development process also included the world’s first network-wide geotechnical slope analysis, writes Catherine Joyce
Pioneering nanotechnology that captures energy from people could power mobile phonesDecember 13, 2016
The days of charging mobile phones with finger swipes and powering Bluetooth headsets simply by walking is now much closer, say engineers as they have created a new way to harvest energy from human motion
Award-winning GIS system balances business risk and requirements for ESBNovember 29, 2016
ESB Networks has won an international award for its geographic information system, which manages and maintains all assets to optimise performance and support safety improvements. ESB's Adrienne Behan looks at the challenges overcome in developing the new system
Cloud of Things: simple and efficient device management for Industry 4.0November 29, 2016
In order to profit from the Industrial Internet of Things, companies need access to machine-to-machine technology, a good cloud strategy and the right service provider, writes Dr Alexander Lautz, senior vice-president M2M at Deutsche Telekom
An optical / near-infrared detector array to help study stars, galaxies and planet formationNovember 15, 2016
Tom Ray, of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, discusses the latest developments in the study of stars, galaxies and planet formation. Ireland is well placed to lead the way in this area over the next few years
International engineering team develop self-powered mobile polymersNovember 15, 2016
An international group of engineers has identified materials that directly convert ultraviolet light into motion without the need for electronics
Regulatory compliance and cyber threats: industrial security in the pharmaceutical sectorNovember 1, 2016
Martyn Williams looks at why the pharmaceutical and biotech industry is vulnerable to cyber security attacks and examines some of the most effective security tools that companies have at their disposal in the era of Industry 4.0
Inspiring the next generation to take their first STEPS towards an engineering careerNovember 1, 2016
Aidan Knowles, an ethical hacking engineer at IBM, discusses the benefits and enjoyment to be got from volunteering with the Engineers Ireland STEPS programme
Addressing the IT skills gap and finding the right candidateOctober 18, 2016
Dejan Ćušić, business director of Comtrade Digital Services, discusses the challenges IT companies are facing when looking to secure the right candidate for technical roles
SIGFOX – nationwide telemetry to build the Internet of Things networkOctober 18, 2016
The SIGFOX network provides two-way transmission of small quantities of data over long distances, lowering barriers to implementation of Internet of Things solutions and extending battery and service life of connected devices. John Rutherford reports
Irish Centre for High-End Computing: enabling the next wave of innovative researchOctober 4, 2016
Intel is funding the Irish Centre for High-End Computing to further develop the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s wave-forecasting code, WaveWatch III. The code is already used to recreate rogue waves hitting Ireland’s west coast and help mitigate their effects
How secure is your company’s access control technology?October 4, 2016
As a form of risk management, access control is essential for protecting staff, information and assets and limiting the potential for unauthorised individuals to enter your facilities. Is your security up to scratch?
Digital innovation meets engineering to find Quik solution to part-time recruitment processOctober 4, 2016
Skillar, an early-stage UCD student venture, has developed a new 'Quik' app to accelerate the recruitment process for part-time jobs. Quik enables employers to advertise part-time jobs, shortlist applicants who apply through the app and validate their work experience
Internet of Things – partnership brings network solutions to customers all around IrelandSeptember 20, 2016
VT Networks' and Powerpoint Engineering's rollout of a dedicated IoT network across the country will result in the remote reading of electricity and gas meters, monitoring of expensive electricity and gas assets and the protection of lone workers in rural locations