A mid-term review by the European Union on the progress of the INFER project will be held in Wroclaw on the 26^th and 27^th of April.

The INFER project started on the 1st  of July 2010 with a research program focusing on pervasively adaptive software systems for the development of an open, modular software platform for predictive modelling.  It is designed to be applicable in different industries and also a next generation of adaptive soft sensors for on-line prediction, monitoring and control in the process industry.

The application of developed smart adaptive systems is to contribute to the operational excellence of the European process industry.  In addition, the goal of  the jointly developed software platform is to translate the latest academic research results into a commercial software product and thus strengthen European competitiveness. Within this research program, 14 industrial researchers will get the opportunity to gather knowledge in academia, 6 academic researchers will absorb knowledge in industry and 3 new experienced researchers have been recruited.

These main goals are being achieved by pursuing the following objectives within three overlapping research and partnership program areas:

Area 1 and objectives: Computational Intelligence –  Research and Development of advanced mechanisms for adaptation, increased robustness and complexity management of the proposed open architecture for multi-component, multi-level evolving predictive systems.

Area 2 and Objectives: Software Engineering –  Development of a professionally coded INFER software platform for building robust predictive systems, and intelligent data analysis.

Area 3 and Objectives: Process Industry / Control Engineering – Development of self-adapting and monitoring soft sensors for the process industry.

Participants from the European Union, Evonik Industries from Germany, Research and Engineering Center (REC) from Poland and the Smart Technology Research Center of Bournemouth University in UK, are  taking part in this review.

REC have joined the National Microelectronics Institute in the United Kingdom. NMI is the trade association representing the UK Semiconductor, Microelectronics and Electronic Systems Communities.

The NMI’s objective is to aid the development of a sustainable, world-leading industry by building a strong network and acting as a catalyst and facilitator for commercial and technological development. A not-for-profit organisation funded by its members, NMI has a membership that spans the supply chain and includes Electronic Systems Design and Manufacturing Companies, Integrated Device Manufacturers, Fabless Semiconductor Manufacturers, Semiconductor Foundries, Semiconductor Suppliers, Electronic Design Services, Intellectual Property Providers, Research & Academic Institutions, National and Regional Government Agencies.

As a software engineering services supplier REC will work with NMI members in forming R&D collaborations and also will be of benefit to other members who are looking to form collaborations across Europe.

In February 2012, the “Inno Testing” conference took place in Berlin. It focussed on trends and knowledge exchange of in the field of software verification, and validation in critical systems from the point of safety, particularly in industries such as aviation, automotive, railways, etc.

The organisers of the conference were the Association of Enterprises of ICT from the Berlin and Brandenburg region – SIBB e.V. (Verband der Software, Informations und Kommunikations Industrie), of which REC is a member.

Roman Sorokiewicz, Quality Manager at REC, gave a lecture on “Challenges of Quality: Agile Testing of Embedded Systems with distributed teams”. In this paper he presented an agile approach to the quality assurance processes involved in vetting a final product, advocating the experience of REC as a near-shoring or off-shoring partner (work in distributed teams, process tailoring).

The future of financial transactions appears set to change for good, thanks to new mobile applications and ‘Near Field Communications’ technology (NFC).

Due to the increasing popularity of mobile and web applications, financial institutions have been investing in new payment systems specifically for mobile devices.

Earlier this year, Orange rolled out their ‘Quick Tap’ contactless payment device, which uses NFC, for payments up to £15. Recently, several more commercial giants across the world have announced their own movement into this transactional hotspot, and the imminent arrival of their new payment facilities using NFC technology.

Google have announced a new ‘Wallet’ app, which is designed to make payments easier for consumers. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Bank in Australia has launched their ‘Ka-ching‘ app, which allows smart phone and iPhones to connect with cash registers and to make payments electronically. Payments are made by adding iCarte to the handset, which allows purchases up to $100 to be made by phone where MasterCard PayPass facilities are present.

Visa Europe launched two services this autumn to rival PayPal and Google. Their Mobile Person-to-Person service allows a registered user to transfer funds via a mobile phone to any Visa cardholder in Europe.

However, a recent poll of over 1,000 Britons by behaviour analysts Intersperience revealed that just 17% would consider using their mobile phones as a card payment device. 44% cited the lack of security software as their main concern, though the younger generation of respondents appear much less resistant.

It is going to be vital for confidence that all mobile and web application technology designed for financial transactions is designed to the highest calibre. REC prides itself on quality innovation and engineering to ensure the very best results in all fields of digital technology.

Major internet browsers see the synchronisation of web applications as the next step in outmanoeuvring their rivals.

Mozilla has announced a project called WebAPI, which is designed to make the same basic web applications available on a mobile browser, and to make them cross-compatible for iOS, Android and Windows Phone. This will be a major breakthrough for web applications, which have become increasingly popular, but which have lacked in functionality compared to software written for a specific native operating system.

Meanwhile, Google is working on a similar project to allow interaction between applications on the Chrome browser and Chrome OS. Android already have such a system in place, ‘Intents’, designed for communication between Android applications. This is to be developed to benefit web applications by developing and integration the types of actions that will enable multiple applications to communicate and integrate together. This is a development that is vital for Chrome OS to function as a browser-based operating system.

There are signs that the two big players are looking to merge projects together, which is excellent news for the field of web applications. If you’re in need of a web application developer, see what REC can offer.

The M2M Summit, an annual conference for leaders, experts, and decision-makers within the M2M sector, is to meet again on 15 September 2011, hosted by the German-based M2M Alliance. The growth in interest in M2M solutions is expected to raise the number of participants from 200 last year to nearer 500 in 2011. As a result of this demand, the event has been relocated to the larger RHEIN.MEDIO.ERFT in Köln-Bergheim.

The summit will include expert speakers, round-table discussions on wireless M2M growth, and practice-based workshops in the fields of intelligent mobility, remote services, smart energy and smart metering, and global M2M. The official partner country for the 2011 summit is Canada. The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade will join Canadian M2M specialists for business and networking opportunities.

The M2M Alliance is designed to combine and enhance the strengths of its members, to retain dynamism within the market, and to help influence technical development and political business strategy. The summit is free to attend for industry experts.

The deadline is fast approaching for the 2011 ARTEMIS initiative, which is designed to encourage proposals for collaborative research within and across Europe for embedded systems. The eligibility criteria demand a consortium across several member states, and support the involvement of universities to attract funding. The total grant package since 2008 has exceeded €20M for UK partners.

The Technology Strategy Board [TSB], who operates the scheme, has presented new initiatives to support UK research and development, including technology and innovation centres. The TSB may look to streamline their focus, away from the multifaceted strands of electronics, photonics and electric systems, and towards embedded systems as a technology that spans all of their current sectors. A group of embedded systems associates in session addressed the need for nurturing the next generation of embedded systems engineers.

Meanwhile, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP), one of Europe’s largest graduate recruitment programmes, also have an upcoming deadline for a technological scheme. Firms have until 15 September to apply with research and development projects that require both the involvement of a research institution, and the recruitment of a graduate, for which a percentage of the cost is available. [See REC’s list of industry and academic associations]

In the early twentieth century, studies in the field of education were suggesting that digital technology was offering the potential for young people to learn creatively in subjects that had otherwise not been associated with imaginative thinking. An Australian study found that children of primary age were skilled computer users, and could adapt to conceptually difficult challenges through technology.

Now, this young generation, perhaps better placed than any before them to investigate creative principles through digital technology, are moving through higher education and preparing for the world of employment, which moves the focus of the investigation along the educational chain.

In the summer of 2010, a report from the Council for Industry and Higher Education in the UK recommended that creative digital technologies should become a priority for UK universities, with the need to cultivate business opportunities in this expanding sector. It recommended that the UK should seek to prioritise digital technologies alongside the identified ‘Stem’ subjects, including maths and science, and invest in them accordingly.

Industry feedback suggested that digital industries require an interdisciplinary cross between scientific or engineering based subjects with artistic subjects. Such a combination requires a different academic approach and different funding mechanisms.

One year on, this fusion of the technological and artistic fields continues to emerge in practice as Intel have commissioned science fiction authors to create potential uses of the firm’s digital technology. ‘The Tomorrow Project’ has been designed to capture public imagination, and benefits from the predictive powers of creative specialists.

Through our collaborations and alliances, REC benefits from the creative and academic potential from institutions across Poland and in the UK. We are keen to align ourselves with cutting edge research and development, but also with creative and cultural heritage.

As a solutions provider, it is our job to think creatively about digital technology and then establish the ideas in practice.

A dispute has opened in Switzerland over regulations that would demand tougher environmental controls to cut carbon emissions. The Swiss Cleantech association, in favour of the move to cut carbon emissions by 20% over the next ten years, has clashed with the national Business Federation, which suggests that the imposition of such targets would restrict innovation and growth.

The Federation, economiesuisse, argues that Swiss progress in green technologies is falling behind that of other countries, but sees the remedy for the problem in maintaining a favourable and liberal environment for multinational firms. Their report revealed that large, prosperous firms were leading the way in filing for patents in green technologies. Cleantech, for their part, argue that the credibility of the Swiss green technology sector is considerably weaker without serious targets to force companies into making energy efficiency savings.

REC has grown to meet the ever increasing demand for environmentally friendly and energy efficient applications. Located in Eastern Europe, our forward-thinking personnel can offer cutting edge advancement in green technologies at a reduced cost.

A new research paper based on an M2M roundtable event held in Florida in March has offered some interesting insights on the current state of the industry [source]. It suggests that the indicators used to measure the present and future growth of the industry are inadequate due to a lack of clarity about what M2M should entail. It was generally agreed that ‘M2M’ should only refer to devices where voice is not included or where it is a peripheral component.

Mobile operators, it is also discerned, have an important role to play in facilitating the design, setup, operation, reliability, support, and retail elements of M2M. Some of the developing areas, such as eSystems and telematics, are business- and even lifesaving in their significance.

REC has a versatile role at the heart of these critical M2M and telematics systems. The eCall automotive device that we developed transmits encoded data through the voice channel. We have also provided international support for wireless modules. See our section on M2M and telematics.