16.9 C
New York
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Home Blog

What the UK ought to – and shouldn’t – do about semiconductors – Delicate Machines

codesanitize
-
0
What the UK ought to – and shouldn’t – do about semiconductors – Delicate Machines


What ought to be within the long-delayed UK Semiconductor Technique? My earlier sequence of three blogposts set out the worldwide context, the UK’s place within the international semiconductor world, some ideas on the longer term instructions of the business, and a number of the choices open to the UK. Right here, in abstract, is a listing of actions I feel the UK ought to – and shouldn’t – take.

1. The UK ought to… (& there’s no excuse to not)

The UK authorities has dedicated to spending £700m on an exascale laptop. It ought to specify that processor design ought to be from a UK design home. After a long time of speaking about utilizing authorities procurement to drive innovation, the UK authorities ought to give it a strive.

Why?
The UK has actual aggressive power in processor design, and this sub-sector will turn into increasingly vital. AI calls for exponentially extra computing energy, however the finish of Moore’s legislation limits provide of computing energy from {hardware} enhancements, so design optimisation for purposes like AI turns into extra vital than ever.

2. The UK ought to… (although it most likely gained’t, as it will be costly, troublesome, & ideologically uncomfortable)

The UK authorities can buy ARM outright from its present proprietor, SoftBank, and float it on the London Inventory Change, whereas retaining a golden share to stop a subsequent takeover by an abroad firm.

Why?
ARM is the one UK-based firm with internationally important scale & attain into international semiconductor ecosystem. It’s the only anchor firm for the UK semiconductor business. Possession & management issues; ARM’s present abroad possession makes it susceptible to takeover & expatriation.

Why not?
It could price >£50 bn upfront. Most of this cash could be recovered in a subsequent sale, and the federal government may even make a revenue, however some cash could be in danger. Nevertheless it’s price evaluating this with the precedent of the publish GFC financial institution nationalisations, at an identical scale.

3. The UK shouldn’t… (& virtually actually not doable in any case)

The UK shouldn’t try to create a UK based mostly manufacturing functionality in forefront logic chips. This might must be completed by one of many 3 worldwide corporations with the required technical experience – TSMC, Intel or Samsung.

Why not?
A single forefront fab prices >£10’s billions. The UK market isn’t anyplace close to large enough to be enticing by itself, and the UK isn’t ready to compete with the USA & Europe in a $bn’s subsidy race.

Furthermore, a long time of neglect of semiconductor manufacturing most likely means the UK doesn’t, in any case, have the abilities to function a forefront fab.

4. The UK shouldn’t…

The UK shouldn’t try to create UK based mostly manufacturing functionality in legacy logic chips, that are nonetheless essential for industrial, automotive & defence purposes. The lesser technical calls for of those older applied sciences imply this might be extra possible than manufacturing forefront chips.

Why not?
Manufacturing legacy chips could be very capital intensive, and new entrants need to compete, in a brutally cyclical world market, with current vegetation whose capital prices have already been depreciated. As an alternative, the UK must work with like-minded international locations (particularly in Europe) to develop safe provide chains.

5. Warrants one other look

The UK may safe a place in some area of interest areas (e.g. compound semiconductors for energy electronics, photonics and optoelectronics, printable electronics). Focused assist for R&D, innovation & expertise, & seed & scale-up finance may yield regionally important financial advantages.

6. How did we find yourself right here, and what classes ought to we study?

The UK’s restricted choices on this strategically vital know-how ought to make us mirror on the choices – implicit and express – that led the UK to be in such a weak place.

Korea & Taiwan – with much less ideological aversion to industrial technique than UK – rode the wave of the world’s quickest growing know-how whereas the UK sat on the sidelines. Their financial efficiency has surpassed the UK.

What the UK ought to – and shouldn’t – do about semiconductors – Delicate Machines

Actual GDP per capita at buying energy parity for Taiwan, Korea and the UK. Based mostly on information from the IMF. GDP at PPP in worldwide {dollars} was taken for the bottom yr of 2019, and a time sequence constructed utilizing IMF actual GDP development information, & then expressed per capita.

The UK can’t afford to make the identical errors with future know-how waves. We want a correctly resourced, industrial technique utilized persistently over a long time, rising & supporting UK owned, managed & domiciled innovative-intensive corporations at scale.

ios – Notification Service Extension cannot edit notifications

codesanitize
-
0
ios – Notification Service Extension cannot edit notifications


i’ve added Notification Service Extension to my mission and need to edit the notifications after they arrived to the appliance:

class NotificationService: UNNotificationServiceExtension {

    var contentHandler: ((UNNotificationContent) -> Void)?
    var bestAttemptContent: UNMutableNotificationContent?

    override func didReceive(_ request: UNNotificationRequest, withContentHandler contentHandler: @escaping (UNNotificationContent) -> Void) {
        self.contentHandler = contentHandler
        bestAttemptContent = (request.content material.mutableCopy() as? UNMutableNotificationContent)
        
        if let bestAttemptContent = bestAttemptContent {
            // Modify the notification content material right here...
            bestAttemptContent.title = "(bestAttemptContent.title) [modified]"
            bestAttemptContent.physique = "(bestAttemptContent.physique) [modified]"
            
            contentHandler(bestAttemptContent)
        }
    }
    
    override func serviceExtensionTimeWillExpire() {
        // Known as simply earlier than the extension will probably be terminated by the system.
        // Use this as a chance to ship your "finest try" at modified content material, in any other case the unique push payload will probably be used.
        if let contentHandler = contentHandler, let bestAttemptContent =  bestAttemptContent {
            contentHandler(bestAttemptContent)
        }
    }

}

that is how I name notifications(for testing):

var apn = require('apn');

var apnProvider = new apn.Supplier({  
  token: {
    key: '*****.p8',
    keyId: '*******',
    teamId: '*******'
  },
  manufacturing: false
});

var deviceToken = '*******';

var notification = new apn.Notification();

notification.subject="*******";
notification.expiry = Math.flooring(Date.now() / 1000) + 3600;
notification.badge = 1;
notification.sound = 'Notification_1.wav';

notification.mutableContent = true;
notification.alert = {
  title: "That is the title",
  physique: "That is the physique"
};

notification.payload = {
  kind: "*******",
  from: "*******",
  groupId: "*******",
  fetchData: {
    id: "*******",
    kind: "*******"
  }
};

console.log(notification.compile());

apnProvider.ship(notification, deviceToken).then(operate(consequence) {
  console.log(JSON.stringify(consequence, null, 2));
  course of.exit(0);
});

The issue is that I can not see the [modified] textual content within the notification. Do you’ve any concept what the issue is or what could cause it?

Tesla Stans By accident Spotlight Shady AP Conduct

codesanitize
-
0
Tesla Stans By accident Spotlight Shady AP Conduct



Join day by day information updates from CleanTechnica on electronic mail. Or comply with us on Google Information!

A few weeks in the past, I got here throughout a really fascinating article at Electrek that’s value speaking about. In it, Fred Lambert (a person who has grow to be a goal for Tesla Stan hatred lately), discusses one thing type of loopy that occurred when the Stans tried to defend a really poor efficiency by Tesla’s vision-only driver help options.

Within the video, Mark Rober took a number of totally different automobiles with semi-autonomous options and examined them towards totally different conditions. Kids within the street, smoke, heavy rainfall, and blinding mild had been all simulated. Most comical of all was a Looney Tunes–fashion take a look at with a faux roadway, like Wile E. Coyote makes an attempt to make use of towards the Roadrunner. Lidar-based methods simply noticed by way of the trickery, however Tesla’s vision-only system plowed proper into the (fortunately styrofoam) wall.

As an alternative of admitting that the god-king may really poo and pee like us mere lazy mortals, the Tesla Stans went into conspiracy mode. They discovered some frames within the video displaying that the Autopilot system wasn’t on, and concluded that Rober will need to have manually pushed the car into the barrier to make Tesla and Pricey Chief look unhealthy.

However a body of video out of context didn’t inform the entire story. Lambert identified that just some seconds earlier, the system had, in truth, been on. Solely on the final second, when the Autopilot system detected an imminent and unavoidable crash, did it shut itself off. So, in actuality, the Autopilot system couldn’t address the Wile E. Coyote take a look at.

The article goes on to level out that that is removed from the one time we’ve seen this conduct by Tesla’s methods. On a number of events, Tesla’s methods have been caught disengaging themselves simply earlier than crashes, presumably with the intent of evading duty. If the system wasn’t technically on on the time of the crash, Tesla can (because it has up to now) declare that the driving force was totally at fault. Divorcing this reality from the context that the system shut off on the final second is misleading.

The article goes into better element about this, and does level out that we will’t be 100% certain why Tesla has the system behave like this. Nonetheless, seeing Tesla Stans use this info this fashion does present us how misleading this observe can actually be. I don’t doubt that at the least a few of them did consider that Autopilot was turned off, however I additionally don’t doubt that a few of them picked by way of the video and tried to make use of this to deceive. And that is all assuming that the accounts in query on “X” aren’t Tesla sock puppets.

Sadly, this type of pondering that each retains Tesla from going again to radar and lidar and sustains the cult can’t work out in the long term. There’s no person on the planet that at all times makes the best name. Irrespective of how superior, clever, and competent somebody is, they may  select poorly at occasions. When somebody believes that they’re at all times proper and no person is round them to push again on errors, this drawback compounds till catastrophe occurs.

Hopefully quickly Tesla’s board and the remaining pro-Elon Tesla Stans will work out that Tesla the corporate is in unhealthy form, and desires actual management whereas Elon goes on together with his quixotic quest in politics.

Featured picture by CleanTechnica.

Whether or not you’ve gotten solar energy or not, please full our newest solar energy survey.

Chip in a couple of {dollars} a month to assist assist unbiased cleantech protection that helps to speed up the cleantech revolution!

Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Need to promote? Need to counsel a visitor for our CleanTech Speak podcast? Contact us right here.

Join our day by day e-newsletter for 15 new cleantech tales a day. Or join our weekly one if day by day is simply too frequent.

Commercial



 

CleanTechnica makes use of affiliate hyperlinks. See our coverage right here.

CleanTechnica’s Remark Coverage



Most cancers’s “Grasp Change” Blocked for Good in Landmark Examine – NanoApps Medical – Official web site

codesanitize
-
0
Most cancers’s “Grasp Change” Blocked for Good in Landmark Examine – NanoApps Medical – Official web site


Researchers found peptides that completely block a key most cancers protein as soon as thought untreatable, utilizing a brand new screening methodology to check their effectiveness inside cells.

For the primary time, scientists have recognized promising drug candidates that irreversibly bind to a notoriously “undruggable” most cancers protein, successfully and completely disabling it.

Transcription components, proteins that act as grasp regulators of gene expression, play a vital function in most cancers growth. Regardless of years of effort, designing small-molecule medication to dam these proteins has confirmed largely ineffective. In consequence, researchers have not too long ago turned their consideration to peptides, brief chains of amino acids, as a possible resolution for focusing on these elusive proteins.

Now, a workforce from the College of Bathtub has developed a breakthrough methodology to find peptides that may selectively and irreversibly bind to transcription components inside cells. Utilizing this strategy, they’ve efficiently blocked a key cancer-driving transcription issue often called cJun, marking a major step ahead in focusing on beforehand untreatable most cancers mechanisms.

The workforce, publishing within the journal Superior Science, used a brand new drug discovery screening platform expertise, known as the Transcription Block Survival (TBS) assay, which assessments an enormous variety of peptides to “swap off” transcription components that drive most cancers.

Their earlier work recognized reversible inhibitors of cJun, however this newest work builds on that by discovering peptides that bind selectively and irreversibly inside cells, completely blocking cJun motion.

How the Inhibitor Works

The transcription issue cJun has two similar halves, which bind on both aspect of the DNA strand to change gene expression.

It may grow to be overactive in most cancers, driving uncontrolled cell progress, so the researchers designed a peptide inhibitor that binds to one-half of cJun, stopping it from forming pairs and attaching to the DNA.

As soon as that they had made a peptide that certain to the transcription issue, the researchers modified it to bind irreversibly.

Dr Andy Brennan, first writer of the examine and Analysis Fellow within the College of Bathtub’s Division of Life Sciences, stated: “The inhibitor works a bit like a harpoon that fires throughout to the goal and received’t let go – it grips the cJun tightly and stops it from binding to the DNA.

“We’d beforehand recognized reversible inhibitors however that is the primary time we’ve managed to dam a transcription issue irreversibly with a peptide inhibitor.”

Testing and Screening with the TBS Assay

For the Transcription Block Survival assay, researchers inserted binding websites for cJun, into an important gene in cells grown within the lab. As cJun binds to the gene, it prevents it from working and the cell dies. In distinction, if cJun is blocked by the peptide inhibitor, the gene exercise is restored and the cell survives.

Jody Mason, CSO of Revolver Therapeutics and Professor of Biochemistry within the College of Bathtub’s Division of Life Sciences, stated: “Many drug candidates which are efficient in vitro grow to be poisonous or don’t penetrate most cancers cells in any respect.

“Nonetheless our platform screens for peptide exercise immediately within the cell, overcoming many widespread challenges confronted by medication primarily based on small molecules or antibodies.

“The display checks the exercise of the inhibitor in an actual cell atmosphere which incorporates proteases and different proteins that may generally intervene with peptide exercise, while additionally checking toxicity.

“We hope this expertise can sooner or later uncover different promising drug candidates for beforehand ‘undruggable’ targets.”

Having confirmed cell permeability and exercise in most cancers cells, in addition to goal selectivity, the researchers now want to indicate the inhibitors work in preclinical most cancers fashions.

Reference: “An Intracellular Peptide Library Screening Platform Identifies Irreversible Covalent Transcription Issue Inhibitors” by Andrew Brennan, Scott Lovell, Keith W Vance and Jody M Mason, 17 March 2025, Superior Science.
DOI: 10.1002/advs.202416963

The analysis was partly funded by the Medical Analysis Council and Biotechnology and Organic Sciences Analysis Council.

Constructing robots could be a ache: 6 causes you must let another person do it

codesanitize
-
0
Constructing robots could be a ache: 6 causes you must let another person do it


Constructing robots could be a ache: 6 causes you must let another person do it

Contract engineering corporations will help speed up robotic improvement and deployment, in line with SKA Robotics. Supply: Adobe Inventory

Think about you’re tasked with constructing a robotic—an autonomous system designed for industrial precision. You’ve spent months simply looking for the requisite expertise. Your mechanical engineering staff was comparatively straightforward to assemble, however in terms of the specialised talent units wanted — reinforcement studying (RL), synthetic intelligence integration, and superior robotic notion — you’re hitting a wall.

Consultants command premium salaries — typically as much as $250,000 for lead RL roles — and your finances is rapidly ballooning. You then uncover that two stealth-mode startups are planning to launch a competing product inside months.

Sound acquainted? That is precisely why outsourcing or partnering with specialised contract engineering corporations is usually the neatest transfer. Even the largest names—from NASA to Apple—have traditionally introduced in exterior consultants to deal with the hardest technical challenges. It’s not only a cash play; it’s about velocity, flexibility, and confirmed experience.

As SKA Robotics founder Spencer Krause defined in weblog put up “Why Corporations Ought to Contract Out Robotics Methods Growth” and in a current interview with R&D World: “Lots of immediately’s companies appear to hesitate in terms of outsourcing troublesome engineering duties. They might fear that utilizing contractors will diminish their perceived worth. Nonetheless, in terms of robotics, nothing might be farther from the reality.”

Krause and the staff at his firm supplied insights on avoiding frequent pitfalls that in-house robotics groups usually face. In addition they added perspective on how a contract engineering agency will help you avoid them.

Pitfall 1: Getting slowed down by useful resource constraints

An Adobe stock graphic.

Venture deadlines are sometimes a supply of stress, notes SKA Robotics. Supply: Adobe Inventory

Constructing a robotic isn’t low-cost or fast. You want money, time, and folks—a number of ’em. Corporations usually assume they will simply hand the challenge to their present staff, solely to appreciate they’re quick on gear, finances, or bandwidth. Delays pile up, prices balloon, and immediately your “easy” robotics challenge is draining your group.

Consequently, tasks can get difficult, even for area consultants. “Assembly advanced robotics deadlines is advanced for me,” stated Nathan George, CEO of Void Robotics, on a podcast with Krause.

“I attempt to remedy actually, actually arduous issues, however I can’t essentially assure a deadline simply,” he added. “I’ve to do mounted prices to verify it doesn’t go an excessive amount of over finances.”

Outsourcing repair: Contract engineering corporations come ready-made with the instruments, expertise, and processes you want—no scrambling to purchase software program licenses, no must seek out gear or reassign your inner groups. They transfer quick, which implies fewer delays and smoother budgeting.

Case research instance: Siemens Power wanted a custom-built robotic for generator upkeep on a good timeline. By partnering with a specialised exterior engineering agency, it deployed a completely operational robotic inside 4 months.

This allowed Siemens Power to keep away from disassembling large-scale mills—saving about three days of downtime for every deployment and preserving roughly $1.73 million in alternative value each time the robotic was used.

Pitfall 2: Battling labor shortages

A rendering of an office building. Scarce engineering talent poses challenges for both long and short projects, says SKA Robotics.

Scarce engineering expertise poses challenges for each lengthy and quick tasks, says SKA Robotics. Supply: Adobe Inventory

Discovering robotics professionals is brutal proper now. Even huge corporations can’t rent sufficient expert engineers, and coaching your individual could be a gradual, dangerous course of.

Worse but, if it’s a one-off challenge, it’s possible you’ll find yourself saddled with a specialised staff you don’t want long-term. In accordance with Locomation CTO Tekin Meriçli, even a $74 million funding spherical can really feel like “peanuts” once you’re scaling an autonomous car startup: you rapidly discover ways to stretch each greenback—and likewise how arduous it may be to draw the fitting folks.

In one other episode, George talked about a method of managing dozens of interns to deal with a few of these gaps, although that comes with its personal challenges.

“I don’t know too many corporations that might belief an intern to be accountable for their gross sales,” famous Krause, who acknowledged that the association may work. Unpaid or low-paid engineering interns can scale back labor prices, however they usually require important coaching and supervision, typically consuming extra senior employees time than they save.

Outsourcing repair: Contract engineering crews are stacked with consultants who’ve already lower their tooth on advanced robotics. You principally get a cohesive staff with out combing by job boards or coping with prolonged onboarding. And when your challenge is completed, they’re off the payroll—no costly severance packages or idle consultants.

Case research instance: In mining and development, SKA Robotics has collaborated on tasks involving automobiles with load capacities starting from underneath 500 lb. (226.7 kg) to greater than 3 million lb. (1.3 million kg).

In a single case, the corporate started detailed testing on miniature, scaled-down fashions together with a 1:12 scale model of a blast gap driller. This system enabled exact calibration of autonomous navigation methods earlier than deploying the know-how onto full-sized equipment.

Pitfall 3: Getting caught in approval purgatory

A cartoon robot stamping a paper. Bigger companies have more bureaucracy, notes SKA Robotics CEO Spencer Krause.

Greater corporations have extra forms, notes Spencer Krause. Supply: Sora/OpenAI

Greater corporations have greater processes: extra paperwork, extra gatekeepers, extra pink tape. That’s wonderful in principle—till it grinds your robotics timeline to a halt.

Instance: The headhunter Greg Toroosian (Try Episode 149 of Krause’s podcast) highlights how inner forms can gradual every part down, particularly in giant organizations that require a number of sign-offs simply to buy a single element or proceed to the following improvement part.

Outsourcing repair: Excessive-end contract engineering corporations stay and die by quick decision-making. They don’t wade by the identical hierarchy you do. They will quickly pivot, approve new elements, or add new expertise on the fly, permitting your challenge to maintain buzzing—even whereas your inner groups are nonetheless filling out types.

Case research instance: On a multi-robot photo voltaic subject development program for Sarcos Know-how and Robotics Corp., exterior methods and notion engineers maintained necessities, developed algorithms, and managed subsystem motion diagrams with out being slowed down by inner sign-off delays.

Their capability to adapt rapidly at every improvement stage helped maintain the general challenge on monitor and minimized downtime brought on by bureaucratic slowdowns.

Pitfall 4: Sudden technical difficulties

An AI-generated image reflects a potentially real problem of excessive solder smoke during an electronics assembly process.

An AI-generated picture depicts a possible drawback of extreme solder smoke throughout an electronics meeting course of. | Supply: Sora/OpenAI

Robotics is a beast—{hardware}, software program, and controls all must sync completely. “’Sudden technical difficulties’ can seem out of nowhere and tank your schedule,” famous Krause. A single {hardware} glitch can set you again months in case you’re studying on the job.

Outsourcing repair: Seasoned contract engineers have seen all of it earlier than. They’ve wrangled these issues on prior gigs and may deal with them quick—usually borrowing classes from parallel industries. For example, SKA Robotics has utilized area trade approaches to resolve advanced development robotic challenges.

Case research instance: One producer of blast gap drillers wanted a sturdy autonomous navigation resolution. By partnering with a contract engineering agency that had deep expertise in distant management and GPS-based autonomy, the staff overcame sudden {hardware} integration points and collision-avoidance complexities.

The contractor’s fast response and prior data of comparable issues drastically decreased delays, permitting the car to drill holes and geotag them with minimal human oversight.

Pitfall 5: Missing in-house experience

Image generated with Grok 3 of a man working on a robot. Contract engineering firms can supplement in-house expertise, according to SKA Robotics.

Contract engineering corporations can complement in-house experience. Picture generated with Grok 3.

Not each firm has a robotics wizard on employees, and that’s okay—till you soar headfirst into constructing a robotic requiring specialised algorithm design or superior controls engineering.

Outsourcing repair: Contract engineering corporations carry bundled experience—electrical, mechanical, controls, software program—underneath one roof. Hiring them sidesteps the necessity to attempt to rent and combine a half-dozen completely different specialists by yourself.

Case research instance: An organization creating a surgical robotic turned to an exterior staff when it wanted superior collision avoidance and tool-path “snap to” options. Inside a span of roughly 10 weeks, the exterior engineers delivered embedded software program that parsed STL information, managed real-time collision mitigation, and offered a simulator for demonstration.

The agency’s prior experience in low-level chipset coding and robotics algorithms stuffed essential data gaps for the shopper—and saved it months of in-house trial and error.

Pitfall 6: Overcommitting to non-recurring wants

The Project Management Triad—also known as the Triple Constraint—cited by SKA Robotics.

The Venture Administration Triad—also referred to as the Triple Constraint—is typically humorously summarized as, “Good, quick, or low-cost: Choose two.” | Supply: Sora/OpenAI

Hiring full-time for a single robotics gig will be financially counterproductive. You may find yourself locked right into a bloated payroll lengthy after your one-and-done challenge wraps.

Void Robotics’ George acknowledged that he tried to promote a common product at first however in the end shifted to working with a selected buyer in a leaner, extra incremental method.

“The price to develop is difficult, so we’re doing it fairly slowly,” he recounted.

Outsourcing repair: While you outsource, you’re paying for efficiency on a set timeline. As soon as the challenge is full, so is the contract. You don’t must justify layoffs or discover busywork for newly employed specialists. It’s a clear break that retains your finances lean and your organizational construction steady.

Case research instance: A company needed a self-driving catamaran to autonomously gather water samples, a necessity that solely arose for particular analysis intervals. As an alternative of constructing a devoted maritime robotics division, it contracted out hull design, drive methods, and autonomy integration.

After profitable deployments in a number of areas, the corporate merely ended the contract, stopping pointless long-term payroll for a bespoke challenge.

SKA Robotics appears on the huge image

Krause famous that enormous enterprises typically fear that outsourcing “diminishes” their very own inner worth. However main successes, from the Apollo Lunar Lander to the iPhone, show in any other case. The actual danger is burning time, cash, and morale whereas your staff struggles to resolve issues that specialists have seen and solved earlier than.

Trendy robotics requires a multidisciplinary method—mechanical engineering, controls, algorithm design, software program, and extra, reiterated SKA Robotics. Even with stellar in-house groups, unexpected snags like labor shortages, inner pink tape, and specialised data gaps can derail your launch. And in a world the place market home windows shut rapidly, that’s a danger few can afford.

Editor’s be aware: This text was syndicated from The Robotic Report sibling website R&D World.

SITE AD for the 2025 Robotics Summit registration.
Register now so you do not miss out!

123...3,922Page 1 of 3,922

ABOUT US

Welcome to CodeSanitize, your number one source for all things coding and technology. We’re dedicated to providing you the very best of software development tutorials, tips, and resources, with a focus on clarity, practical examples, and up-to-date content.

© Copyright 2024 - codesanitize.com. All rights reserved