Wireless wonders

The subject matter is clearly topical. If everything is going to join the world of the 'internet of things', then the enabling technology needs to be on hand. Much more of which will inevitably continue to fill the pages of New Electronics (both in print and online). It was interesting to see a number of the sponsoring companies, who were restricted to table top exhibits, chose the event to unveil their latest product offerings. Despite its small size, the tightly focussed subject matter and the targeted audience (sales people, for example, are not allowed to register) obviously had enough appeal for those exhibitors to use the Forum as a UK launch pad. New offerings included the eRIC (easyRadio IC) radio transceiver from LPRS, and Murata introduced the LBEP series of wireless modules that provide LAN, Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low energy connectivity. Linear Technology were also talking about an RF mixer chip and a mesh network solution that are not released yet and so I can't mention in any more detail. A point of interest, however, was the nature of the event. Clearly large, broad-based electronics exhibitions in the UK are a thing of the past. At New Electronics we believe there is not just a case, but a need, for a focussed electronics design exhibition, and you will hear much more from us about the Electronics Design Show (October 2-3) in the coming months. The Fortronic Forums take this a step further. Albeit a very small audience, it was an audience that as a unit attended every presentation with rapt attention, and used the times in between those presentations to milk the exhibitors of all the information they could. It was clearly a formula that succeeds, in part, because of the limits on size, the right amount of exhibitors married to the right type and number of visitors. For the cynics among you then I should say that we at New Electronics have no commercial interest in these events – my observations are without self-interest. So if you are interested, the next one – if it is relevant and you are not a salesperson! – will be at the same venue in October, where the subject matter will be 'Power and Power Management'. It is worth noting for motor racing fans that visitors can also look round the museum which includes all the history and cars driven by such F1 luminaries as Mansell, Hill, Prost, Piquet and Senna – with last week's British Grand Prix a reminder that the current Williams team has a bit of catching up to do to match its former triumphs!