News

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the world needs technology that can quickly and accurately identify invisible dangers, including harmful substances or airborne environmental pollutants. Colourimetric sensors – devices that intuitively reveal information about their environment through colour changes – are an attractive option in this regard. But, for more people to benefit from these sensors, they must be easy to produce at a large scale. This is a major limitation with currently available colourimetric sensors, which require complex structures with intricate fabrication procedures. Other problems with existing devices include slow response times and unsaturated colours.

Now in a new study published in Advanced Science, scientists at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, have attempted to tackle these limitations by developing a new type of colourimetric sensor made up of a thin layer of viruses called M13 bacteriophages. They used this type of virus because it can change its structure – and thus its optical properties – in response to changes in the surrounding environment, such as the presence of harmful compounds. Prof Young Min Song, who led the study, explains, “In our study, we introduced the M13 bacteriophage, which is a nanometer-sized filamentous virus, as a sensing layer owing to its volumetrically expanding properties.”

The scientists genetically engineered the M13 bacteriophages by combining them with a “highly lossy ultra-thin resonance promoter layer” (HLRP) as the substrate. Then, they maximised the resonance of the coating layer of the viruses by optimising the substrate such that the bacteriophage became extremely sensitive toward specific airborne substances. This made it possible for the “viruses” to detect chemicals at very low concentrations – as low as tens of parts per billion. Prof Song explains the technique, “Specifically, through optimisation of the virus layer deposition, the virus layer was coated with ultra-thin dimension, which enhanced the detection rate. The HLRP with resonance enhancement was applied to obtain a distinct colour even with a nanometer-scale thickness change in the M13 bacteriophage virus layer. Consequently, the colour change was maximised by optimised resonance conditions.”

The scientists tested the new sensor with environmental variables, like changes in humidity, and with compounds like volatile organic chemicals and endocrine disrupting chemicals. In both cases, changes in these stimuli could be successfully observed through distinct colour changes in the sensor, thus showing its practical applicability.

This new design for highly effective and mass-producible colourimetric sensor holds much promise for a variety of real-life applications, such as detecting harmful industrial chemicals or assessing air quality. To top it all, these sensors could become invaluable tools in clinical settings, as Prof Song remarks, “In the future, advances in genetic engineering will enhance the sensitivity of the sensors and extend their applicability to the medical industry, where they could be used as diagnostic kits for detecting specific viruses and pathogens.”

With further research, this technology will hopefully work as a powerful means to show the true colours of invisible airborne threats.

AVEVA today launched  AVEVA Select, a new program designed for partners to gain full access to AVEVA’s comprehensive software portfolio. The new AVEVA Select program is designed to help customers accelerate their digital transformation agendas by leveraging the breadth of the AVEVA software portfolio across its install base.

The AVEVA Partner Network today boasts over 5,000 members providing opportunities for Alliances, Systems Integrators, Distributors, Solution Providers and Technology Partners to participate in the AVEVA community. With programs designed to suit every product and solution specialization and industry, AVEVA Select aligns to both market and technology trends helping companies simplify design, optimize production, reduce energy and maximize performance. Its programs and support initiatives are designed to promote the variety and value of applications developed and delivered on the AVEVA platform worldwide.

With AVEVA Select, partners will be able access the entire AVEVA portfolio through the channel that they have known and trusted, often for as long as 30 years. The program will expand AVEVA’s reach to a wider distribution of industries, outside its previous core customer base of mid/downstream Oil & Gas, heavy chemical, power generation and distribution, to incorporate many other sectors including Food and Beverage (F&B), Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Smart Cities and Infrastructure, Mining, Paper and Pulp, Utilities, Water and Waste and Discrete industries (e.g. automotive, electronics).

The expanded AVEVA Select customer base will be able to leverage their installed Monitor & Control (M&C) and Planning & Operations (P&O) solutions from AVEVA to address new challenges, create opportunities and improve the performance of their industrial operations.

Members of the current AVEVA Partner Network community also see the launch of AVEVA Select as very timely for the community.  “The AVEVA Partner Network continues to grow as a hub for the latest thinking on performance management of manufacturing operations and today it is utilized for the sharing of best practices with the partner community as well as harnessing their collective insights to help solve some of the world’s most complex industrial manufacturing issues. The launch of the new AVEVA Select Program comes at a time when industrial customer demand for digital transformation is growing exponentially and it will create new opportunities for the customer base,” commented Bob D’Agostino, President of AVEVA Select North.

“With the new AVEVA Select Program we can confidently grow the partner network from strength to strength by offering real value for our strategic technology partners, distributors, systems integrators and many more, enabling our network members to work better together to help their customers create increased business value. I am excited to be part of this journey which will undoubtably extend the capabilities of the AVEVA offering to a new and previously untapped partner audience,” said Jason Bass, President of AVEVA Select Central.

“Our Partner and Channel Network is already one of the most active and supportive global networks in the industrial and manufacturing sector. The passion of our people is to bring communities together in order to overcome everyday business challenges as well as develop innovative new ideas. This is particularly relevant in times like these where many organizations are feeling the effects of the economic downturn in the COVID-19 world,” concluded Kerry Grimes, Head of Partners, AVEVA.

Servomex has published its latest expert paper, which compares gas chromatography using plasma emissions detectors (GC-PED) with atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry (APIMS) for ultra-high-purity (UHP) gas analysis in the semiconductor industry.

Mass Spectrometry and Gas Chromatography are both methods which offer ultra-trace gas analysis solutions for the quality assurance of gases used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Each technique has its own advantages and disadvantages for specific process environments.

The expert paper gives readers an in-depth look at these positive and negative factors, and examines the different performance factors for each method when used within continuous quality control instrumentation.

The GC-PED technology discussed in the paper is a key feature of Servomex’s new SERVOPRO NanoChrome ULTRA multi-gas analyzer. The NanoChrome ULTRA is a flagship component of the new ULTRA Series of UHP gas analyzers, which combines exceptional performance and transformational specifications for the most stringent semiconductor demands.

The new ULTRA Series is due to be launched at the upcoming Semicon Taiwan exhibition in Taipei between September 23-25.

Download the full expert paper here: https://www.servomex.com/resources/?tab=expert-paper-tab#tabs

Lucideon is set to benefit from seven-figure growth from the free trade agreement between the UK and Japan.

Tony Kinsella, CEO of the international technology company based in Stoke-on-Trent says the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will support £1 million of business growth over the next 12 months.

Lucideon has been eyeing expansion in Japan for several years and is now preparing to open a new office in Ibaraki Prefecture, on the outskirts of Tokyo, to move its work forward.

Tony, who has recently been appointed as a member of the Department for International Trade’s Technical Advisors Group, provided insight to the government as an industrialist with links to Japan.

Tony said: “We expect expansion in Japan to open £1 million worth of business over the next 12 months for Lucideon.

“It’s been great us for us to be involved with this process with the Department for International Trade.

“We now plan to ramp up our operations in the UK, expanding our workforce to service and support the Japanese market.

“Over the years, our technologies have been particularly well-received by Japanese industry.

“The atmosphere for business is very forward looking, with a real appreciation of technological advantages that can give product and production improvements.

“Following on from the agreement, we are now able to move our plans forward by opening the new office, and launching a joint venture with a Japanese company.

“We will also be able to further develop the application of AI within materials selection and development.”

Tony also believes the free trade agreement will deliver significant opportunities for the new Midlands Industrial Ceramic Group, (MICG).

Lucideon is a lead partner in the MICG, which comprises of blue-chip companies, SMEs and universities across the Midlands, working together to position the region as a world leader in advanced ceramics.

Tony added: “We hope that this trade deal, and our investment in Japan, will bring a major Japanese investor into the Midlands Industrial Ceramic Group’s proposed Advanced Ceramics Centre in North Staffordshire.

“The deal is good news for us, for Stoke-on-Trent and for the Midlands.”

Analog Devices has announced the industry’s first wireless battery management system (wBMS), which enables automotive manufacturers increased flexibility to scale their electric vehicle fleets into volume production across a wide range of vehicle classes. This is the first wireless battery management system available for production electric vehicles, and it will debut on General Motors’ production vehicles powered by Ultium batteries.

The implementation of ADI’s wBMS eliminates the traditional wired harness, saving up to 90% of the wiring and up to 15% of the volume in the battery pack, as well as improving design flexibility and manufacturability, without compromising range and accuracy over the life of the battery.

ADI’s wBMS includes all integrated circuits, hardware and software for power, battery management, RF communication, and system functions in a single system-level product that supports ASIL-D safety and module-level security building upon ADI’s proven industry leading BMS battery cell measurement technology. By delivering high accuracy for the lifetime of the vehicle, the system enables maximum energy use per cell required for best vehicle range and supports safe and sustainable zero-cobalt battery chemistries, such as lithium iron phosphate (LFP).

“The transition of battery packs from wired to wireless connectivity enables automotive manufacturers to scale their electric vehicle platforms across multiple vehicle models to meet growing consumer demand,” said Patrick Morgan, Vice President, Automotive at Analog Devices. “Our wBMS solution not only simplifies manufacturing, but also allows new systems to be built on wireless data, accelerating the entire industry towards a sustainable future. We are honoured to bring this breakthrough system innovation to market with General Motors.”

Additional system features enable batteries to measure and report their own performance, increasing early failure detection, and enabling optimised battery pack assembly. The data can be monitored remotely throughout the battery lifecycle – from assembly to warehouse and transport through installation, maintenance and into a second-life phase.

ADI and General Motors recently announced a collaboration, bringing the wBMS technology to General Motors’ Ultium battery platform. The ADI technology helps ensure scalability of the Ultium platform across General Motor’s future lineup, which will encompass different brands and vehicle segments, from work trucks to performance vehicles.

“We are pleased to collaborate with ADI to take the wBMS technology to production as part of our ground-breaking Ultium battery platform,” said Kent Helfrich, Executive Director, Global Electrification and Battery Systems at General Motors. “ADI’s wBMS technology enables the more widespread electrification of our fleet, and we look forward to a continued collaboration with ADI to deliver innovation in safety, quality, and performance for the future.”

The shared goal of Yaskawa, an industrial robotics and mechatronics manufacturer, and Phoenix Contact, a manufacturer of automation solutions, is to drive forward the transition away from proprietary solutions towards an open and future-proof ecosystem for industrial automation. Yaskawa, a leading company in this industry, has decided to use PLCnext Technology. As a part of this framework, Phoenix Contact will license its PLCnext runtime environment to Yaskawa and has agreed upon joint further development. Yaskawa plans to use the PLCnext runtime system in the fields of Motion Controls and Robotics, initially in Europe and the USA.

“I am really happy that we are now deepening our long-standing, trusting business relationship even further and expanding our partnership in the field of industrial control technology,” emphasizes Bruno Schnekenburger, CEO and President of Yaskawa Europe.Ulrich Leidecker, COO and President of the Industrial Management and Automation Business Area at Phoenix Contact, adds, “The openness of the PLCnext ecosystem enables a large number of providers to offer highly flexible, secure, and modern automation technology. This technology partnership with Yaskawa is a milestone for the automation industry, because the more partners that engage in an open automation ecosystem, the more beneficial it becomes for every single participant.”

PLCnext Technology is the open ecosystem for industrial automation from Phoenix Contact. With a combination of open control technology, modular engineering software, and an online community, this solution allows users to adapt easily to changing demands and to use existing and future software services efficiently. Featuring a digital marketplace for software and systematic cloud integration, PLCnext Technology is well equipped to face the challenges of the IoT world.

Industrial organisations are opting for Cloud, Digital Twin, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation technologies to address the complexities of today’s challenging macro-economic environment, according to AVEVA.

At a recent virtual press panel, hosted by the company and moderated by Craig Resnick, Vice President, Consulting, ARC Advisory Group, industry leaders exchanged views on how industrial organisations are innovating using technology to maintain business continuity and drive better supply chain and production planning. This is turning challenges into opportunities to increase productivity and profitability, especially when it comes to improving supply chain inefficiencies and driving sustainability initiatives.

The panel, which comprised senior representatives from three leading energy sector organisations – The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Wood PLC and DCP Midstream participating alongside Craig Hayman, CEO of AVEVA – emphasised how technology is playing a vital role in  achieving  real-time optimization and improving decision making, digitally enabling business operations, supported by an often remote workforce to drive substantial cost reductions.

Demand for Cloud in the Industrial Setting is Accelerating at a Phenomenal Speed

Craig Hayman, CEO of AVEVA, kicked of the panel sessions by emphasising the massive opportunity for digital transformation for the industrial sector, which has traditionally been underpenetrated by digital technologies. He commented: “Digital Twin, AI and Cloud are improving collaboration and accelerating autonomous projects across the globe. To enable digital resiliency and long-term sustainability, organisations need to bring together the connected workforce with Cloud, Big Data and Edge capabilities. There are new pressures and opportunities, but ultimately one digital imperative.”

Craig Resnick reported that 80 per cent of ARC’s clients are pursuing Cloud in their production operations to increase asset uptime and performance, a number that has increased dramatically during the pandemic. The need for remote monitoring and control of operations in engineering has driven the uptake of new tools, such as augmented and virtual reality, to supplement the remote experience and connect workers in the field, on-prem and working from home. Digital Twin technologies in the Cloud have witnessed one of the fastest growth trajectories among the transformational tools piloted or adopted during the pandemic, with remote engineering design and build, as well as remote operate and maintain, cited as drivers for this acceleration.

The collective group also agreed that while many investments in digital technology may not have had clear-cut business cases pre-pandemic, for example, connected workers could have been perceived as a non-essential, and this has all changed. “Organisations that didn’t take going digital seriously before, are doing so now,” said Dr. Alan E Nelson, CTO at ADNOC.

Dr. Nelson also advised organisations to focus their technology strategy and investments across a few impactful platforms (including new energy technologies, manufacturing processes and materials of the future). He further commented, “Technology strategies cannot be considered in isolation and should be developed in collaboration with key global strategic partners. Such strategies also need to support and encourage R&D capabilities to innovate at scale, which is crucial to reducing the risks related to commercialisation of new technologies and giving organisations an edge in this new COVID-19 landscape.”

Darren Martin, CTO of Wood, cited Digital Twin as a key enabler, to operate, maintain and optimise assets remotely across the globe with precision. While connecting people and workers during the pandemic has been key to business resilience and continuity, AI and automation is facilitating up front design, allowing people to focus on more complex developments. “The pandemic forced the industrial sector to embrace digital almost by default with future plans brought forward suddenly and accelerated to be ready and operational, now. Almost overnight there was an increased demand for systems that were smarter, faster, modular, safer, that would minimise scheduling delays in order to reduce OPEX, increase sustainability, lifespan and upskill existing trade craft professionals to be able to take on new roles.”

Bill Johnson, Group Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer, DCP Midstream, commented: “Our DCP 2.0 strategy is focused on industry-leading innovation and digital transformation with a goal to achieving real-time optimisation and decision making, digitally enabling our business and workforce and increasing our cash flow while diminishing risk. By utilising real-time data from a variety of sources to make the most strategic business decisions, driving workforce efficiencies through automation  as well as creating digital platforms to improve our employees’ quality of life and customer experience and utilising predictive analytics to improve asset maintenance we are confident that we are on a positive path to ensuring that DCP Midstream is equipped to remain agile and competitive even in the most disruptive environments.”

Craig Hayman, CEO, AVEVA concluded, “As the post pandemic world returns to a new normality, I urge industrial organisations to seize the opportunity to maximise the benefits of creating a more agile, resilient business and exploiting the many advantages that emerging new technologies can offer. Organisations that are waiting for the future need to wake up to today’s reality and understand that the future is here now and that digital transformation investments that are made today will determine the continued success of their operations moving forward.”

Tenants of serviced offices are starting to ask questions about environmental monitoring in their office spaces. Temperature, humidity, CO2 and ventilation levels are known to have an impact on comfort and even productivity of occupants of an office building. Add in safety concerns about COVID19 transmission in the workplace and this becomes a trend that Facilities Managers need to be paying attention to now.

Yodit Stanton, CEO of Opensensors.com, has long been championing the use of data to optimise facilities management. She says “Leveraging office utilisation and environmental data is a way to efficiently aid office reopening and manage employees returning to work following COVID-19 lockdown.”

There are many other use cases for monitoring internal air quality: efficient management of reopening offices and reducing the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission is a high priority for the short to medium term. Over the longer term, efficiency is a key consideration for both Facilities Managers and workspace tenants and it’s an area where data monitoring and reporting will continue to grow in relevancy.

Internal Air Quality, or IAQ, depends on what’s going on outside the building as much as what’s going on inside. To optimise ventilation and filtration, you need to know what’s coming in from outside. For example, it’s a waste of energy to increase ventilation by circulating air from outside the building if that results in an overall increase in the polluted air inside. Equally, if you aren’t accurately monitoring air quality within the building (particulates, NO2, VOC’s temperature, humidity and CO2 are most relevant for office spaces) you run the risk of running HVAC systems when they’re not needed.

Optimising usage of the HVAC system pays dividends in many ways. Running the ventilation system when it’s not needed uses more energy. Understanding where in a building the problem areas are, means corrective measures can be applied in those areas only, rather than across the entire building and potentially wasting energy. A low carbon approach is increasingly important for businesses and individuals in our efforts to be conscious energy consumers. Wasted energy also means a direct increase in energy costs. There are also the less obvious costs that build up over time for HVAC maintenance. Greater usage leads to more frequent replacement of filtration equipment, for example, if wear on the air handling units can be reduced by increasing efficiency, this will lead to lower maintenance costs.

David Johnson, Sales Director at South Coast Science believes that with the increased availability of low-cost environmental sensors, the demand for real-time internal air quality monitoring will increase. He says “Because air is pervasive and always moving into and out of the building, to operate HVAC efficiently you need to monitor indoor air quality in real-time and with a high degree of accuracy. To do this, you must also understand the impact of what is coming in from outside. The two are very much linked and this is why we are developing both solutions for building managers and landlords to understand the effect this has on indoor air quality”.

Low cost sensors for environmental monitoring provide a solution for gathering the data needed to optimise systems, realise cost benefits and support energy efficiency in the workplace. South Coast Science is continuing to develop air quality monitoring systems that provide accurate and real-time data both inside and outside the building. When used in combination with occupancy sensors and a visual reporting dashboard, as offered by OpenSensors, a Facilities Manager can easily take action on the data, meet internal air quality targets and provide the evidence to their tenants.

For more information on why indoor air quality should be monitored, especially as employees return to the office, join Yodit Stanton, OpenSensors and Bruno Beloff, South Coast Science in their webinar on how to leverage air quality data to minimise the spread of COVID19. Sign up to save your place here.

Evonetix has announced a collaboration with Analog Devices. The companies will work together on the advancement and commercial scale-up of Evonetix’s proprietary microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based silicon chips and accelerate the development of Evonetix’s first product, a DNA desktop writer.

Evonetix’s novel silicon chip controls the synthesis of DNA at many thousands of independently controlled reaction sites or ‘pixels’ on the chip surface in a highly parallel fashion. The two companies began working together in January 2019. They agreed to extend the collaboration as Evonetix continues to work with Analog Garage, Analog Devices’ corporate innovation lab, to jointly develop an integrated solution which includes the MEMS platform, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) to miniaturise the control electronics, and flow cell. Analog Devices will assist with the commercial scale-up of the technology, and manufacture devices for the desktop DNA writers.

The opportunities available to synthetic biology in areas as diverse as pharmaceuticals and drug discovery, industrial biotech, specialty chemicals, renewables, agriculture and materials science are currently being held back by the ability to create de novo high-fidelity DNA at scale. Evonetix’s DNA synthesis technology, which will be sold to laboratories as a ‘plug and play’ desktop instrument, will synthesise DNA at unprecedented accuracy, scale and speed, accelerating scientists’ ability to use biology on a scale not currently possible and influencing a large impact on global health.

Dr Matthew Hayes, Chief Technology Officer at Evonetix, said: “Collaborating with Analog Devices is a significant step forward in our mission to develop a highly parallel desktop platform to accurately synthesise DNA at scale. The support and expertise of the Analog Garage R&D team has been invaluable in helping us design a complex control ASIC and we now look forward to expanding our collaboration to achieve the commercial scale-up of our platform.”

Pat O’Doherty, Senior Vice President of Digital Healthcare at Analog Devices, added: “Evonetix is a pioneer in reimagining biology and developing a radically different approach to synthesising long-chain DNA at unprecedented accuracy and scale. This collaboration provides Analog Devices with an opportunity to enter the growing synthetic biology market. Our work together is aimed at increasing the speed and reducing the cost of gene assembly to provide novel strategies that can be used to produce affordable medications and treat a wide range of diseases globally.”

The Oxfordshire Advanced Skills training centre is celebrating its one-year anniversary as the first learners in the state-of-the-art Culham-based facility begin their on-the-job training.

OAS, based at Culham Science Centre near Abingdon, offers high quality training for apprentice engineers and technicians at technology businesses in the Thames Valley.

It has already delivered training to more than 90 learners working for more than 20 local businesses, and the team has ambitious plans for the next 12 months to deliver even greater impact into the local engineering industry.

The first cohort of apprentices are now completing their year one assessments before heading back to their employers to begin on-the-job training, while other learners continue to progress through their vocational programmes at the centre which is managed by the Manufacturing Technology Centre.

Meanwhile, the OAS team is getting ready to welcome the latest group of new apprentices on site later this month to begin their training programme.

OAS operations manager Emma Johnstone said the first year had been a testing but rewarding time with some unexpected challenges.

She said, “I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved despite all the extra challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic. Our learners and trainers adapted to the ‘new normal’ so quickly, and as a result we are only a couple of weeks behind our original schedule in spite of the months of disruption.

“Our recruitment team has worked hard to support our record number of applicants through virtual interviews and assessments, and we’re looking forward to welcoming the successful recruits onto the first steps of their apprenticeship journey.

OAS is a partnership between the UK Atomic Energy Authority and the Science and Technology Facilities Council. The two organisations have a history of apprentice training in science and engineering stretching back more than 70 years. The MTC’s Advanced Engineering apprenticeship helps learners develop the skills industry needs to deliver the technologies of the future in the high value manufacturing sector.

Director of Oxfordshire Advanced Skills, David Martin, said, “The opening ceremony seems like yesterday, but here we are a year on. Thanks to the huge efforts of so many people, we have a busy and very successful training centre producing highly skilled technicians. The centre is set to exceed last year’s number of apprentices by a good margin, with an estimated 200 this academic year along with an expanding syllabus.

“This is just the start. We’re already planning the expansion of OAS to new locations across the UK in areas including space, nuclear design, robotics and power engineering. We’re also really pleased that the Government is backing our pilot project to increase diversity in apprenticeships and improve access to people from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

David Hughes, managing director of the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre said, “It’s been a huge team effort, and this anniversary is a great opportunity to celebrate the contributions of everyone who has supported OAS so far. Together, we’re creating the next generation of future-focused engineering experts. We’d like to thank our new tooling provider, Ceratizit, and our employer partners for their ideas and support. Most importantly, we want to recognise all of our wonderful learners who have been so flexible and committed to their learning despite the challenges this year has thrown at them. We’re so proud to support them to fulfill their potential.”

David Hughes added, “It’s an exciting time at OAS, and we’re looking forward to what the next year will bring. We’re launching a new Level 4 apprenticeship programme next month, an additional cohort of Level 3 apprentices in November, and creating more bespoke short courses in partnership with local employers. In addition, we’re launching a new inclusion programme to help to make engineering a more accessible career path for all.”

More information about training opportunities at OAS can be found at https://www.oas.ukaea.uk/about-apprenticeships/ or by contacting the training team via oasphase2@the-mtc.org.

Businesses interested in becoming an employer partner and working with the OAS to develop future engineering talent, should contact OAS business development manager, Paul Smith, via Paul.Smith2@the-mtc.org or on 07933 397161.