 Are manufacturing companies in SA competitive enough?by Seara Macheli-Mkhabela, Altron
Associations encourage dialogue but questions need to be answered: do these bodies comprise adequate forums to address the issues that affect manufacturing competitiveness? Have discussions in these forums expanded beyond wages to other key drivers of competitiveness?... ( more)
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 In conversation with... Paolo Miglietta, Schneider Electric by Hans van de Groenendaal
Much has been written about renewable energy, more efficient use of energy, sustainability and many similar buzz words. Perhaps the reality for us in South Africa is the fact that electricity is now expensive and this is starting to affect our pockets and companies' bottom lines... (more)
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PIC improves fibre cable capacity
by Hans van de Groenendaal
A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is conceptually very similar to an electronic IC. While the latter integrates many transistors, capacitors and resistors, a PIC integrates multiple optical components such as lasers, modulators, detectors, attenuators, multiplexers/de-multiplexers and optical amplifiers. Large-scale PICs, like their electronic counterparts, extend the scope of integration so that upwards of dozens or more distinct optical components are integrated into a single device... (more) |
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Security in the network - a minefield for IT and management
by Hans van de Groenendaal
It has been predicted that by 2015 80% of devices connected to corporate networks will be privately owned, ranging from smartphones to iPads to laptops - or whatever device takes an employee's fancy... ( more) |
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Secure defences
by Dr. Jutta Mackwell, BCS, UK
In autumn 2010, an "'ethical hacking" experiment conducted in six cities across the UK showed that almost half of private Wi-Fi networks could be hacked in less than five seconds, even if they were password-protected... (more)
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Two panels, one outcome: government must deliver
by Hans van de Groenendaal
The overall conference theme was "Social Communications - challenging the limits of technology innovation". In welcoming the delegates, the vice-chancellor of the University of Fort Hare, Dr. Mvuyo Tom set the scene for the conference... (more) |
Digital terrestrial television - wlll SA make its 2013 deadline?
by Gerhard Petrick
This decision was confirmed for South Africa on 14 January 2011 by the Minister of Communications, resulting in South Africa, and the region, adopting the most advanced DTT standard, known as the second generation digital video broadcasting for terrestrial broadcasting, or DVB-T2... (more)
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Fast wireless access on board: wireless networking in trains
Information from Industrial Automation and Control
Top-speed data communication is taken for granted in many areas today. So it is all the more remarkable that even very recently-designed trains have almost no wireless technology. This article discusses the difficulties faced and possible solutions... (more)
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Fibre optic communications
Information from Throughput Technologies
Fibre optics (optical fibres) consist of long, thin strands of very pure glass about the diameter of a human hair. They carry much more information than conventional copper wire and one of the advantages of fibre cable is that it is completely insensitive to electromagnetic interference... (more)
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Wireless enables industry
by Hans van de Groenendaal
In this "virtual" panel discussion, we address the subject of industrial wireless automation with four participants from diverse wireless perspectives. I started by asking: How pervasive is wireless in the automation and control industry?... (more)
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Site planning and wireless network installation
by Paul Hsu, Moxa, USA
There are currently no standardised procedures for wireless network planning and installation. So before you begin site planning your network, you need to decide which technologies will be the most beneficial and whether or not comsumer-grade products can meet the needs of your appplication... (more)
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Evolution of communication in industrial and utility environments by Tim Craven, H3iSquared In this article we will look at the evolution of different mediums for communications. Before the use of Ethernet in the industrial and utility sectors, serial communications was the technology of choice for allowing devices to talk to one another... ( more)
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Wireless technology in industrial automation
Information from YokogawaThe use of wireless technology in industrial automation systems offers a number of potential benefits. However, the practical implementation of wireless technology faces a number of challenges, not least the present lack of a universally agreed standard... ( more)
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| Certification for mining applications
Information from Opto Africa
Nowadays industrial Ethernet switches and industrial Ethernet-based devices are suited to their environments and applications; such as being designed to meet the rigours of the task at hand - which in some cases includes harsh environments like oil, gas and the mining industry.Some of the facilities that would utilise equipment that would fall into this application environment would be oil refineries, oil platforms and petro-chemical plants... (more) |
Analogue sensing: where and how it's used
Information from RET Automation
In many applications, a simple proximity sensor that merely detects the presence or absence of a target obviously would not apply. For these and similar applications, inductive linear analogue sensors are the best alternative. .. ( more)
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System software stack
Information from National Instruments
Software has been a critical component of automated test systems since it was first used to control stand-alone instruments more than 40 years ago. Today software development costs are often 2x to 10x more than capital costs in most test systems today... (more)
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Thermal profiling - a key element of process control
by Paul Austen and Mark Waterman, ECD, USAThere is no doubt that in today's more sophisticated electronics market, with boards populated with everything from ball grid arrays (BGAs) to system in package (SiPs), process control is more important than ever... (more)
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Harnessing FPGAs for beamforming
software radio systems
by Rodger Hosking, Pentek, USAOver the past 20 years, software-defined radio techniques have not only revolutionised radar and communications systems, but they have also boosted system performance levels. One of the most widely-deployed and technically-challenging operations in these systems is beamforming... ( more)
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Amateur Radio: IARU conference - the first time on African soil
by Hans van de Groenendaal In August this year South Africa hosted the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 triennial conference. This was the first time since the formation of the international body that this important policy-making meeting has been held in SA and hosted by the South African Radio League (SARL)... ( more) |
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Industry and institute news
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