Engineers are creative; I don't think it's possible to be a problem solver <I>without</I> being creative. So I was very intrigued by a recent video of Clay Shirky, discussing what he's learned about creativity and the people who express it during his time at New York University's Interactive...More>>

Context awareness has become a hot topic in mobile devices. The idea seems self-evident: design these devices to be smart enough to adapt themselves to their users. In 2009, the Gartner Group defined context-aware computing as "the concept of leveraging information about the end user to improve the...More>>

This month we have a mini sensor that measures the magnetic activity that happens inside your head and a sensor to measure just how ripe (or unripe) that apple is.More>>

When I talk with people about the increasing use of sensors in healthcare, one of the capabilities I find most interesting is the ability to use sensors to obtain much richer data about a patient's condition, particularly as they go about their normal lives.More>>

Wireless sensor and switch networks are increasingly making inroads into the industrial sensor industry as more manufacturers and end-users explore wireless. The various technologies have matured and there is a growing market acceptance for their use in factories, warehouses, and other types of...More>>

This month we've got tiny, self-sealing air samplers, a gel that could be used to create artificial skin for robots, and even hardier Hall effect sensors. Let's get to it, shall we?More>>

Distributed wireless sensing gets even more attractive if frequent battery changes can be eliminated. That’s the whole idea behind energy harvesting (EH). Depending on the system design and the type of energy source used, EH enables the design of wireless sensor nodes to provide data for remote...More>>

This winter, at least here in the Northeast U.S., has been a very odd one. Unusually low amounts of snow and very mild temperatures have combined to make a not terribly wintery winter and while that's great news for commuters and those of us who have to dig out driveways and roofs anytime the...More>>

(Editor's Note: Periodically I'll get a notice about upcoming technology transfer opportunities and when I get these notices, I like to pass them along to you guys, just in case any of the technologies on offer could solve whatever problem you're currently attempting to solve. The most recent...More>>

Robots are awesome. Robotic cars are even more so. I've been following the various iterations of the autonomous car for a while now and I swear they just keep getting better. Which is a very good thing, beyond the pure technical achievement of solving a highly complex problem, because as the...More>>