Electronics, measurement, instrumentation, automation, control and ICT Issue 133, June 2019

Editor's note: Get it while it's hot! Welcome to the new EngineerIT e-newsletter. I hope you like it. This is just one of many ways we are conveniently making our content available to you, our valued readers. However, if this e-newsletter doesn't do it for you, there are other ways to receive EE Publishers' content, free-of-charge. 1. EngineerIT e-zine The full magazine is available in electronic version. Simply click on the cover at the bottom of this newsletter, or go online here for our archive. 2. EE Publishers mobile app We have just launched a comprehensive, free, mobile app for Android and Apple smart phones and tablets. The new app seamlessly maintains a complete library of current and back issues in your pocket. Download the app here. 3. EngineerIT website All the content from our monthly issue is available online. If you don't want to wait for the magazine each month, catch the latest articles as they happen at www.engineerit.co.za. 4. EngineerIT print edition Print is alive and well, and if this is your preferred reading method, opt-in to receive our print magazine free-of-charge through this link. Wow. That's a lot of options. Now you have no reason not to know about the latest and greatest technology in your industry. Aimee Editor: EngineerIT

Views and opinion

Lead editorial: Imagine an adaptive education system powered by AI by Phathizwe Malinga, SqwidNet Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way people engage and consume products and solutions, shifting the benchmarks of development and data analysis within the organisation, and transforming the relationship between government and citizen. It is a powerful technology that has applications across all industries, and it has the potential to truly transform not just education, but how ... ( read more )

Addressing the local cybersecurity skills shortage by Marcus Karuppan, T-Systems South Africa The PWC Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey published in 2018 states that over a quarter of South African respondents believe that cybercrime will be the most disruptive, impactful crime faced over the next two years. This is especially alarming in the face of the continuing shortage of cybersecurity skills plaguing South Africa at a time at a time when we need... ( read more)

A brave new world for software developers by Cliff de Wit, Dexterity Digital Developers today are in a privileged position. As software becomes increasingly crucial in business and daily life, software developers are playing a key role in shaping the world of the future. Eighteen years ago, developers primarily wrote code from scratch, whereas now they stand on the shoulders of giants, using evolved toolsets and architectures to focus more on software... ( read more)

Closing the identity gap: African governments need biometrics by Steve Warne, HID Global Africa faces many challenges that citizen identification can help solve, but the World Bank estimates that more than 40% of people lacking IDs in the world live in Africa – about 1,1-billion people. Many individuals have difficulty asserting their rights because they are unable to prove that they are citizens. These individuals may be denied access to education, health facilities, land and other rights. In addition, the absence of proof of identity is a serious barrier to financial inclusion. With biometrics... ( read more)

Virtual Panel Discussion: Mitigating job losses Compiled by Aimèe Clarke, EE Publishers Job losses appear to be an inevitable part of the move towards automation and the industrial internet of things (IIoT). As South Africa gears up to embrace these trends, thought needs to go into how job losses can be mitigated so that South Africa’s large population of unskilled labourers don’t join the existing large population of unemployed. Here’s what our industry panel had to say about the issue... ( read more)

Technical articles

Humans and machines can achieve “factory harmony” Information from Omron If South Africa is to compete globally as a location for manufacturing, new concepts are needed to optimise the efficiency of industrial production. In view of the progress made in automation and artificial intelligence, a well-established and improved interaction between man and machine could help to ensure high economic standards and productivity. A promising model for the new harmony on the factory floor is based on intelligent, integrated and interactive design of tomorrow’s manufacturing... ( read more)

Are ASICs the next big development in AI? by Hans van de Groenendaal, EE Publishers Just as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) are beginning to show promise in artificial intelligence (AI), new developments in application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are challenging to become devices of choice for AI in the future. The uncertainty began when Google announced its second-generation... ( read more) The rise of autonomous vehicles and why ethics matter by Rudeon Snell, SAP Africa There is little doubt that autonomous vehicles, more commonly known as self-driving cars, are set to be transformational. The market alone is set to reach roughly $42-billion by 2025 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) projected at 21% until 2030. Not only will this disruption be immense, giving birth to new types of businesses, services and business models, but their introduction will trigger similarly immense ethical implications. The World Health Organisation (WHO) highlights... ( read more) Measurements and uncertainty in testing laboratories by Erich Seeger, SABS Why SABS laboratories, including the National Electrical Test Facility (NETFA) uses a particular rounding-off procedure in their test results. Numerical measurements involve numbers in any format prescribed by the method or standard. These results will then be issued in several types of report, depending on their application, e.g. test reports, research reports, publications and others. Raw data in the form results from the physical measurements in the laboratory cannot be left... ( read more) Calibration and the challenges of choice Information from Keysight Technologies A poor or incomplete calibration can lead to significant errors in your measurements. The time to develop a product may exceed your original schedules and production yields may be too low if the test instruments are not performing to specification. If your test instruments are not measured during calibration to the specifications you depend on, the devices you test are at risk. That can be costly. A detailed calibration report is the only way to verify for sure that your instruments... ( read more)

Quantum dots: The technology evolution Information from IDTechEx Quantum dots (QDs) are a commercial success for nanotechnology. They are already used in display applications. Importantly, the QD technology and application landscape is rapidly evolving. This article discusses the multiple innovation and commercialisation frontiers of this technology. QDs in displays... ( read more) Wireless technology: Low power, high returns Information from Sierra Wireless Many of today’s industrial IoT (IIoT) applications use low-power wide-area (LPWA) technology to save energy consumption and reduce cost while logging, monitoring, and reacting to real-time data. This article looks at the advantages of LPWA and offers tips that increase the return on investment. A growing number of... ( read more) South Africa must reorganise for future World Radio Conferences by Hans van de Groenendaal, EE Publishers “South Africa needs to more actively invest in the spectrum economy. With AI, IoT, big data and vehicle-to-everything communication (V2X), spectrum is at the centre of the future digital economy. Unless we change the way we view spectrum, South Africa and Africa will remain a relegated investment destination... ( read more)

Why fears around biometric credit cards are misplaced by Yogesh Mathur, Gemalto Consider how easy everyday our use of biometrics is becoming. Increasingly, we are using it to log on to our computers and smartphones without batting an eyelid. Many of us have used fingerprints to access buildings at work, and we’ve happily given our fingerprints and ID photographs to the Department of Home Affairs for passports and other documents for the very same purpose of identification based on what we and our digits look like...( read more) Disparate radio systems threaten public safety by Hans van de Groenendaal, EE Publishers When a disaster strikes, one of the most important tools is reliable communication between the various responding agencies. In the main centres of South Africa, the communications network used by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and disaster management agencies is based on a technology called terrestrial trunked radio (Tetra). It is a European system designed for use by government agencies...( read more)

Urban vs rural – How to optimise ICT investment strategies by Byron Clatterbuck, Seacom  Africa is a large continent, and investors tend to pick and choose their markets based on a multitude of criteria. Some see opportunities in emerging arenas while others focus on more developed and mature opportunities. However, while Africa has emerged as a popular site for investors (Ethiopia is a current attention hotspot thanks to telecom privatisation), there remains substantial risk that needs to be considered alongside the significant potential, no...( read more)

Get a library of EE Publishers’ magazines in your pocket! EE Publishers  has just launched a comprehensive, free, new,  mobile app  for  Android and  Apple  smart phones and tablets. The new, single,  mobile app  seamlessly maintains a complete library of current and back issues of all four of  EE Publishers’  magazines in your pocket or briefcase, for reading on-line or off-line. Once the  EE Publishers mobile app  is downloaded and installed, the latest issues of  EngineerIT, Energize, Vector  and PositionIT  magazines are automatically pushed to your mobile device every month free-of-charge. The  mobile app  comes pre-loaded with the current issue and back issues for the last twelve months, for all four magazines from  EE Publishers . Zooming and panning of the high-resolution pages within the magazines allows effortless reading of text, tables, figures and graphs. Try out the new combined mobile app from EE Publishers now! Search the  Apple iStore  or Google  PlayStore  for “ EE Publishers ”, or Touch or click the relevant image below .

Industry news highlights Release of ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI SANSA to build its very own square kilometre array SA youth make it to robotics world championships How to clean up the "big data mess" IITPSA: Recognising young female talent Global trade show supports entrepreneurs Putting the “I” in "CSIR" Optimising environmental efficiency with AI Start-up Spotlight: Growing the African tech innovation landscape Standards bodies caught up in Huawei-US fued SAIMC: Don’t underestimate the importance of safety Gear up for Industry 4.0 Get your e-Zine free-of-charge EngineerIT e-Zine – June 2019 (PC & mobile editions)

Submit an article

Book an advert

Make a suggestion

Get EngineerIT anywhere

EngineerIT online EngineerIT eZine Android app iOS app

‌ ‌ ‌