All posts tagged: electronics

In the adoption of Agile project management practices to the development of hardware or combined hardware-software engineering projects, and the adaptations to common Agile techniques that may be applied for best results with hardware projects, let’s consider some of the challenges that may be faced and how you might address them.

For example, do you develop software and firmware only after you’ve developed and assembled an iteration of physical prototype hardware? Or do you develop an iteration of your software and firmware concurrently with the development and assembly of the corresponding hardware and use other methods such as simulation to stand in for the hardware until an iteration of the physical hardware is ready?

When using Agile project management techniques, it is desirable to be able to rapidly produce and demonstrate a working prototype of your technology and to rapidly iterate and refine and build on each prototype without necessarily having a perfectly engineered product ready to go at the first iteration. When you’re working with hardware, however, you need to deal with the lead time required to source components, to fabricate printed circuit boards, to have prototype layouts assembled by an external pick-and-place assembly contractor or to have custom plastics injection-moulded and so on.

What if the lead-time required for these processes is longer than the time allocated to a particular iteration or sprint? These types of external supply and manufacturing dependencies are unique to hardware, and aren’t present in software development – so they present a unique challenge when trying to apply agile methods to the management of hardware projects. While these constraints may seem like a daunting challenge to adoption of Agile in the hardware engineering industry, techniques and tools such as in-house rapid prototyping, 3D printing, CNC milling of simple PCBs and the like present part of a potential solution, allowing for rapid, agile iteration of hardware prototypes.

A prototype iteration of a hardware system doesn’t have to physically involve hardware, either. Simulation and visualisation tools can play a valuable role of validating the design and performance of all the components that come together into a new product, even before a prototype is actually physically constructed. FPGAs and logic synthesis may also be valuable tools here, allowing for validation of soft cores before physical hardware is constructed. One of the challenges for combined software and hardware development is that software can normally be developed fairly rapidly and the development broken down into smaller iterative chunks. Hardware, on the other hand, may require months to show a working component or feature, which has been implemented starting from scratch.

If the software development must wait for the hardware to be created before final testing, this can create significant testing delays. Hardware must also often follow strictly defined process models, meet compliance standards, and it can be difficult to make late changes to hardware. This means that feature creep can be difficult and expensive in hardware engineering, although Agile methods are traditionally more accepting of “feature creep” compared to traditional “waterfall” management methods.

Traditionally, the priority for embedded software, for example, would be to write the hardware drivers first, to allow evaluation of the new device and to allow testing. Testing is more complex when software must fit within a small, cheap microcontroller with limited resources in an embedded system, with timing well controlled to prevent race conditions and other timing issues. This means that at some point testing on the actual hardware is generally important. A problem often seen when businesses who create hardware and the software that runs it face when trying to “go Agile” is that they attempt to take methods and practices developed for software (such as Scrum, an Agile project management framework), and try to use it for everything, including hardware development.

Scrum is based upon “sprints” of relatively short lengths (two weeks to 30 days), with highly defined tasks that must be completed during the sprint. The nature of software development makes this an excellent framework for rapid progress; but scrum isn’t necessarily the best framework for hardware development. If the products are in a highly regulated industry, such as medical or aviation hardware, then the documentation must follow industry requirements for specification and design, as well as normal testing and functional requirements documentation. This makes it extremely difficult to use scrum by itself, since the processes for hardware are frequently much more rigid, defined, and design-oriented than those normally defined by scrum.

On the software side, because software must interface, communicate with, and control hardware, development issues using Agile are more complex for combined software/hardware projects, and the stories (definition of the functions for a specific feature) that the developers define for each sprint are accordingly more complex. Large projects with large amounts of hardware and software dependencies can be even more challenging.

One method of dealing with hardware that isn’t ready to test is to decouple software and hardware development, via an abstraction layer, to allow software development to continue more rapidly. Can the interfaces to the hardware module be specified, and the specifics abstracted away to allow other parts of the hardware and software development to continue around the hardware component that is behind schedule? The challenge is to find a method that allows the rapid development of software with concurrent development of the hardware, that can best meet the requirements of each process. A good approach can be the use of different Agile techniques for hardware projects than those used in software projects. Agile techniques are not abandoned – simply implemented a little differently, with different specific Agile techniques chosen for the most effective results.

With Commitment-Based Project Management (CBPM), which has been described as an “agile without using Agile” technique with broad applicability outside the software engineering sector, the emphasis is on the delivery of at least a component or piece of the hardware that works, in the case of an embedded computing or other combined hardware-software project, in order to allow the development or testing of the software that will work on that hardware component. This is very different from the traditional “waterfall” project management approach, where the entire hardware system needs to be built first. While the “scrum” method for software projects is based on sprints with small portions of the software completed at a time, hardware development can benefit from a different approach.

With Agile, both hardware and software features are broken down into smaller chunks – only the Agile methodology can be a bit different for each. Once software is working, it can be deployed either on any available hardware modules that are ready, or in a test or simulation environment. This allows the early identification and fixing of race issues and bugs that arise, and reduces the amount of “fixing” and lengthy hours reworking that must occur during late integration and testing when the hardware is ready.

And that’s the goal of successful agile development – to reduce the total time required, decreasing errors, mistakes and the chances of unforseen events, which will increase the time to market for your new or revised product. Here at the LX Group you can leverage our product development expertise and experience for your total benefit. Our consultants, engineers and experts in many fields can guide you to your goal of product success. To get started, join us for an obligation-free and confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

LX is an award-winning electronics design company based in Sydney, Australia. LX services include full turnkey design, electronics, hardware, software and firmware design. LX specialises in embedded systems and wireless technologies design.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

Wearable computing – the use of personal computers, displays and sensors worn on one’s person – gives us the potential for advancement in human-computer interaction compared to traditional personal computing – for example the ability to have constant access and interaction with a computer – and the Internet, whilst going about our daily activities.

This could be considered the ultimate in multitasking – the use of your computing device at any time without interrupting your other activities. For example, the ability to read an email or retrieve required information while walking or working on other tasks. Wearable computing potentially offers much greater consistency in human-computer interaction – constant access to the computer, constant connectivity, without a computing device being used in an on-and-off fashion in between other activities.

Once contemporary example of this is the new Google Glass, which represents an advanced, sleek, beautifully designed head-mounted wearable computer with a display suitable for augmented-reality applications – or just as an “ordinary” personal head-mounted display. Even before its public release, the frenzy surrounding Google Glass amongst technology enthusiasts demonstrates the potential level of market demand for wearable computers.

However, with a price of at least US$1500 price tag of Google Glass, (at least for its “Explorer Edition” beta version) this leads many to consider what potential might exist for the deployment of wearable computing and wearable sensor-network technologies – however at a lower cost.

One example is the category known as “Smart Watches” such as the Sony SmartWatch and Pebble Technology’s “Pebble” e-Paper watch – which both offer constant, on-the-go access to information from the Internet – and thus become a member of the Internet of Things – at a glance of the wrist. Text messages and email notifications are amongst the most simple, common examples of data that can be pushed to a smart watch, but the display of information from a multitude of other Internet-connected data streams is possible.

With the growing popularity and increasing hardware capabilities of smart phones, it is increasingly taken for granted that a smart phone carried on one’s person can act as a gateway between the Internet (connected via the cellular networks) and other smaller, lower-power wearable computer or sensor devices worn on the body and connected back to the smartphone via standard data links such as WiFi or Bluetooth. In using the smart phone as an Internet connection, the size, price and weight of the wearable device can be significantly reduced – which also leads to a considerable reduction in cost.

Furthermore, apart from providing mobile Internet connectivity, the smart phone can also provide a large display and an amount of storage capacity – which can be harnessed for the logging, visualisation and display of data collected from a network-connected sensor node wearable on one’s body, or a whole network of such sensor nodes distributed around different personal electronic devices carried on the person and different types of physical sensors around the body.

The increasing penetration of smart phones in the market and the increasing availability and decreasing cost of wireless radio-networked microcontroller system-on-chips, MEMS
sensors and energy efficient short-range wireless connectivity technologies such as Bluetooth 4.0 are among some of the factors responsible for increasing the capabilities of,
and decreasing the cost of, wearable computing and wearable Internet-of-Things and sensor platforms.

Speed and position loggers, GPS data loggers and smart pedometers intended for logging and monitoring athletic performance, such as the Internet-connected, GPS-enabled,
Nike+ system; along with biomedical instrumentation and sensor devices such as Polar’s Bluetooth-connected heart rate sensors are other prominent examples of wearable Internet-of-Things devices which are attracting increasing consumer interest on the market today.

Combined with display devices such as smart watches, smart phones and head-mounted displays such as Google Glass. these kinds of wearable sensors create a complete wearable machine-to-machine Internet-of-Things network that can be self-contained on one’s person. Which leads us to the next level of possibilities – what do your customers want a device to do? And how can it be accomplished? And do you have the resources or expertise to design, test and bring such a system to the market?

It isn’t easy – there’s a lot of technology to work with – however it can be done with the right technology parter. Here at the LX Group we have the experience and team to make things happen. With our experience with sensors, embedded and wireless hardware/software design, and ability to transfer ideas from the whiteboard to the white box – we can partner with you for your success.

We can create or tailor just about anything from a wireless temperature sensor to a complete Internet-enabled system for you – within your required time-frame and your budget. For more information or a confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

People and organisations have backgrounds in many fields, and being an expert in one of those will likely generate the seed of an idea – which can be developed into what may be a commercially-successful product. However being an expert in one particular field does not make them the master of all.

This is very true when the decision to develop a product is made. With the advent of crowdfunding, accessible design tools, one-off machine shops and laser-cutting houses, inexpensive PCB production and the wealth of “experience” published on the Internet – almost anyone can be easily convinced that they too can bring an idea from concept to delivered product.

However this form of readily-accessible tools and knowledge doesn’t immediately allow an individual or organisation become competent overnight, just like reading a book on eye surgery doesn’t turn you into an optometrist. Thus when considering turning your ideas into a product – are you equipped for the challenges of product development?

Let’s examine the major stages of the design process and consider just a few points with regards to what is necessary.

Conceptual Development
This involves many tasks including product and market research, developing final product specifications, prototype creation and more. If designing your first product, do you have the discipline to finalise the specifications and avoid feature creep? Is your design cost-effective? Without a wide knowledge of parts and suppliers you could miss out on finding a single component or module that could replace a whole sub-section of your design.

The Design Process
This involves multiple iterations of your product, both hardware (and software if it uses embedded technology). This could involve large initial capital outlay to bring in the required development tools for hardware and software, test equipment and more. Choosing the appropriate tools alone can be a nightmare, and leave you at the mercy of vendors or fast-talking sales people. Finally the time required to design, test, incorporate feedback and redesign can be more than you expect, as each iteration is a learning process in itself. The more time you spend, the more time you’re giving your competition to succeed.

Testing, Verification and Certification
Your new product must meet a variety of compliance standards for mains power use, RF emissions, accuracy, perhaps environmental factors such as withstanding levels of vibration and temperatures, and more. This will require incredibly specialised testing equipment and the services of an external laboratory. Furthermore you may need multiple examples of the product at this stage for external user testing and feedback, again requiring short-run manufacturing expertise that doesn’t stretch the budget.

Pre-production Manufacture
If you’re working on your first product, this stage will seem like a complete nightmare. After finding a manufacturer you can trust, and setting up your component supply chain, developing tooling and test jigs for the assembly line (with most of this likely to be in the Far East) you may be running out of time, budget or nerves as you deal with suppliers, manufacturers and designers in more than one language and time-zone.

Manufacturing
Although an extreme amount of work and effort brings your organisation to this stage – manufacturing is not a hands-free effort. It requires quality control, supply-chain and product delivery management; and after some product examples have been released the opportunity to make small changes to the product based on customer feedback. This may require revisiting the previous stage of the design process and the efforts within. For higher-volume production you may need to keep staff on-site with the contracted factory to oversee manufacturing and ensure the design has not been altered to find relevant cost-savings for the manufacturer that could affect the outcome of your design.

Ongoing Support
After experiencing the processes to this point, you’ve reached a somewhat simpler part of your product’s development cycle. By now you’re an expert in your product, how it works, operates and can be used to it’s maximum. However you can’t rest on your laurels, as constant customer feedback and market forces will require you to update the product when necessary.

So why do all that yourself? You could invest in the physical and human resources required to bring your first idea to life – at a great initial expense, and hope for the best. Or you could instead take your design to a team of experts in the product design and manufacturing business – who can understand your product idea and turn it into a finished product on time and on budget.

Here at the LX Group we can take your design ideas and produce the required customised solution for your team, or even follow through to final completion, including documentation, standards compliance and revisions.

To move forward with your design requirements on time and on budget, simply contact us for a confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

Building prototypes of your product idea during the design process is naturally important and something that is a necessity for many reasons – including physical conceptualisation, demonstrations to possible financiers, proof of concept, usability testing in later stages, and project inspiration. However like all stages of the design process (as discussed last week) doing so requires a level of knowledge and expertise that not every organisation possess.

This is not a criticism, but should be taken as a positive observation. And like any skill – if you can’t do it properly yourself, find someone who can. Here at the LX Group we will take the time to understand your needs and ideas which can then be transformed into one or even a range of prototypes – setting you up for success. As part of this process a decision needs to be made with regards to the type of prototype required, so let’s examine them in more detail and the benefits of each.

Proof-of-concept prototypes

This is often a very basic example that will function in a similar manner to the final product – to prove that it is feasible and can be done. We say that the key purpose is to focus on, understand and address identified risk areas with the prototype. For example selecting an appropriate microcontroller to ensure processing speed and I/O requirements are adequate, or power consumption levels fall under a required maximum. During this level of prototyping it is important to remove design faults and technical risks otherwise the costs involved to make changes later on will be exponential compared to doing so now.

Demonstration prototypes

When you need to show someone what “it’s all about” – a demonstration prototype will be required. This is the model you shop around to potential investors and future customers, document or show during grant applications, and generally spruik to the outside world. Those of you in larger organisations may also require this to “sell” the concept to decision makers in the upper echelons of management. The prototype may not function as the final product, however it should appear to do so. For example the housing and cosmetic look will match the final product as much as possible, however embedded software may be very basic or “emulate” the required functions.

Research and Development prototype platforms

When you have the go-ahead to move forward with the project design, it’s time to get working on the design – which requires R&D prototypes. The algorithm development of the product can take place with these prototypes, and thus may not look like the finished product, but they will have the functionality and specified hardware to operate as one. Furthermore this type of prototype may be modified or altered during the research process to account for changes, updates and possible design changes.

Commercial Product Iterations

There are three iterations during this stage in the design process, including:

Alpha prototypes – these are the first revision of the design and generally meet all aspects of the product design. These will be used to test the design parameters, review the design and seek improvements, and seek internal suggestions and improvement ideas.
Beta prototypes – these will include any changes made during the alpha prototype stage, and be submitted for compliance testing, certification, stress testing and product trials. After the results of those operations more changes may be required to the design requirements and specifications.
Pre-production prototypes – these are manufactured during short runs and ideal for verifying the manufacturing process, component suppliers, determining production yields, product testing, and the supply chain. For more popular products security at all stages of the supply and manufacturing chain is vital to remove the possibility of information leaks, industrial espionage and intellectual-property theft. You don’t want fuzzy photos of your next great thing plastered over Internet pundit websites.

Where to from here?

Your project budget and prototype requirements will determine the method of creation and time required to do so. For many designs the speed of prototyping can be increased dramatically, in conjunction with reducing the budget requirement by using a mixture of standard components, development kits, a mixture of reference and custom designs and pre-designed hardware libraries. By not “reinventing the wheel” wherever necessary time and money can be saved without too much effort, leaving resources available for R&D or custom sections of the design.

So if you have an idea for a prototype and not sure about how to move forward and would like to have an experienced organisation take care of everything – we can “make it happen”. At the LX Group we have our own hardware compiler – a proven system of product design that will save you precious time and money. No matter what stage of design your team has achieved, we can partner with you to share our design and manufacturing expertise for your benefit.

To move forward with your prototype requirements, simply contact us for a confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

So you have an idea – the “next big thing” in the technology or consumer electronics area. You may have developed it alone, or with a group of friends or colleagues. Over many sleepless nights and busy weekends it was developed into a working example. Or your small company worked on it non-stop. You overcame the design challenges, early bugs and faults. Now you’re at the stage where the prototypes are performing as required and you know it’s ready to convert into a product.

At this juncture the project may have hit the largest stopping point there could be – funding and commercialisation. More money is required to further development, however as an individual, small group or business there’s no way the bank will lend you the money. Furthermore with almost everyone “feeling the pinch” you don’t want to ask family or friends.

However there is a solution – “Crowdfunding”. Until recently crowdfunding was unheard of, but like most great ideas has spread like wildfire and is now a legitimate form of fund-raising for great projects. How it works is very simple – you describe your new product in as much detail as possible, showing the features and benefits just like any other sales tool.

However you then offer people the ability to pay in advance to either sponsor or back the product development and purchase the final product. You will set in advance a goal amount. Different monetary amounts are set, each with a ‘reward’ of the product and other extras – and the higher the amount, the greater the reward. At this point is is supremely important to accurately state the delivery date. People will wait if they know when to expect their product. These amounts are pledged, and not received unless the financial goal amount has been met at a set cut-off date.

If the total amounts pledged fall short of the goal amount, the project remains unfunded and you’re back to try again. However – if the goal is met – the backers funds’ are transferred to your organisation, less a fee by the crowdfunding facilitator. And this is when the next challenge arises – bringing the product to market.

For inspiration, two recent examples of crowdfunding success were developed locally here in Australia. The first of these is “Ninja Blocks”, a hardware and cloud-based solution to interface all sorts of objects interactively with the Internet. Their goal was $24000 however ended up receiving just over $100000. The product captured the imagination and enthusiasm of so many people the founders have had a second round of VC funding.

Another is a current project – the “LIFX Light Bulb”. It’s an RGB LED energy-efficient light bulb that can be controlled via wifi and therefore an Internet-connected device. Although the end date hasn’t been reached, and the goal is $100000 – they have already received over one million dollars in backing.

As you can see – with the right product, pricing and promotion – crowdfunding can be a raging success. However before moving forward and examining further development, who are these crowdfunding facilitators?

The largest and most popular is known as Kickstarter. Based in the United States, they have a huge range of products and projects being funded. If you need to reach a global audience, this would be the facilitator to consider. They collect the pledges via the Amazon payment system and capture a small percentage, around five to ten percent. But there is one drawback – projects must be based in the United States. However this can usually be worked around by having a representative in the US who can act on your behalf.

Another choice is Pozible, although not as large as Kickstarter they’re based locally which makes the process so much easier. However as a domestic facilitator you may not reach the global audience due to foreigner trust issues and being far from the majority of the target market.

Back to your project – let’s say you’ve successfully gained your funding. Where to next? You could be staring a huge bank balance, a prototype on your desk and have several thousand people waiting for their reward. Do you understand the processes of taking a design from prototype to actual manufacture? Perhaps it could be redesigned for a cheaper cost price – not only components but making it cheaper to make. And where will you have it made? Locally? You’ve heard about how cheap it is to offshore to East Asia – but who do you contact? Who can you trust? Do you feel confident sending your designs and a large payment offshore – hoping everything will work out? Or do you have the time, knowledge, language skills and savvy to research in country?

If the answer to even one of those questions is “no” – to ensure success you need a partner who understands your product, will take the time to work together with you from your initial contact right through to delivering the final products to your backers. That is where you can take advantage of our experience and success to bring your product to market.

LX has experience in successfully taking electronic products from concept through the commercialisation process. There are many factors to consider before commencing product development and LX can provide expert advice throughout the process, lowering your commercial risk.

Some of the services offered by LX include:

Development of business cases and business plans
Competitor research and analysis
Evaluation of proposed solutions
Intellectual Property (IP) landscaping
Market research and feasibility studies
Rapid market testing
Surveys and focus groups
Development of marketing strategies
Starting a business – LX Business Quick-Start pack
Assistance in raising funding (investment and government grants)
Product versioning strategies and technology road mapping

For more information or a confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

If you’ve had your eye on a career in the mining industry, which pays well and offers above average job security, here’s some advice. Brush up on your knowledge of robotics, electronics and automation. Even go a step further and obtain a relevant degree or certificate in the robotics and electronics field. The fact of the matter is simply that electronic robots are the next in the evolution of industry in general, and the in the mining industry specifically.

At What Cost?
Though improvements in excavation techniques have made mining such safer than it once was, it’s still an endevour inherent with hazards. Cave-ins, explosions and toxic gases are just a few of the better known dangers associated with mining, often with catastrophic results.

The fact that these dangers are so rampant means that it’s more difficult to attract the right people to the field, it’s harder to keep them and it costs a lot to insure them. By using electronic robots in some of the harder and more dangerous aspects of mining, the cost of all these three factors and more can be drastically reduced.

As old as the Hills?
Using electronic robots in mining is certainly not a new concept. Most mines in the world have a at least a few robots, and several mines have been using automated machinery for more than forty years. What’s new is the expanding roles robots can now take on, thanks to improvements in electronics and automation design. Just a few years ago, technology such as automated controls and virtual intelligence were not advanced enough to fully utilise robots in the roles they could best perform.

Remote Mining
The large mining firm Rio Tinto, which operates a substantial network of ore mines in Western Australia, is one of the early innovators in using electronic robots in their operation. In fact, the company envisions a time in the near future when the majority of their mining work will be performed by purpose designed and manufactured electronic robots. It is envisaged that many of these robots will be controlled from Rio Tinto’s headquarters in Perth, located hundreds of kilometers from the nearest mine. Though humans will still need to be present on site to deal with unforeseen occurrences, the on-site staff will be drastically reduced and that will translate into reduced operating costs. In addition, onsite staff will be less likely to be exposed to extreme situations; instead electronic robots will take on this role. Dig Safer.

Currently, Rio Tinto operates a small fleet of robotic trucks. The trucks are controlled by several forms of electronic technology that allows them to be aware of their environment. For general navigation, the trucks are fitted with GPS. For obstacle detection, they have laser rangefinders and avoidance radars. Vehicles fitted with the same technology currently traverse the highways of California as part of Google’s Streetview project. So far, no accidents can be attributed to the robotic vehicles.

Electronic Robots in the 21st Century
Rio Tinto is also developing a variety of electronic robotic technology to be used deep inside the mine. This includes robotic drilling devices, robotic blasting machinery and several other items to replace human labour in the most dangerous part of mining operations. Plans are already underway to increase the fleet of robotic trucks from around fifteen to well over one hundred. Dig Faster.

For modern life to function as we expect, extensive mining operations are essential. But mining has always been dangerous, expensive, labour-intensive work. As mineral deposits are depleted, the work involved becomes even more difficult. Often the mines have to be expanded thousands of feet deeper to continue to find deposits. Dig Deeper.

Electronic robots are the logical step in ensuring that mine operators can continue to extract the needed minerals without drastically increasing the costs and risks associated with the industry. If mining work is in your future plans, it’s time to become friendly with and knowledgeable about electronic robotic applications. Welcome to the 21st Century!

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

LX Group and ITL Design have just delivered the first production quantity to their client for a collaborative design and manufacturing project, completed within 12 months.

http://www.prlog.org/10802097-lx-innovations-and-itl-designs-have-just-delivered-the-first-production-quantity-for-collaborative.html

ITL Design provided the mechanical design and manufacturing, adding value to the client’s existing IP through innovative industrial design, mechanical design and manufacturing using their Malaysian based manufacturing facility. LX Group provided the system level design, electronics, firmware, PC software and off-shore manufacturing co-ordination. The system has passed certification for commercial sale.Project:The Nero post is a point-of-sale theft control device, designed to display consumer electronic products. It attaches to the consumer product via a magnetic head, allowing customers to interact with the product. The post can be shelf or wall mounted and rotated to suit the most appropriate display angle.The design is intended to complement the modern retail environment in order to maximise the visual impact of retailer’s products, which can vary from small mp3 players to mobiles phones, digital cameras and camcorders.

http://www.ferret.com.au/c/LX-Innovations/LX-Innovations-and-ITL-Designs-have-just-delivered-the-first-production-quantity-for-a-collaborative-design-and-manufacturing-project-n844871

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

Electronics Design House wins ‘Digital Home’ Award at Electronics Future Awards 2010 with Yellowbird ALERT

For the second year running, LX Group has won a major award at the Electronics Future Awards 2010.

LX Group was awarded winner in the Digital Home category, Highly Commended in the Communications category and nominated in the Wellness and Environment categories with YellowBird ALERT.

YellowBird ALERT (Automatic Linking to Emergency Radio Transmissions) is an emergency alert system that warns of natural disasters, such as bush fires or floods, by utilizing AM and FM radio transmissions.

YellowBird logs onto a registered radio station and sits dormant until an alert is received.

In the event of an emergency, authorities may decide to send an alert by creating a message and alert tone package, which sends out an immediate radio broadcast. If contact it lost with the registered radio station, Yellow Bird will notify the user and scan for alternative stations.

Simon Blyth, director of LX Group said ”my team and I are thrilled and greatly encouraged to receive this award” and added that he was pleased to be able to support an event that recognized and promoted electronics innovation.In 2009, LX Group was awarded overall winner at the EDN Innovations Awards for Best Project with WMD3000, a device that monitors a user’s gym workout and provides feedback wirelessly. Also awarded to LX, was first place in Best Application of Test/Data Acquisition category and highly commended in the category of Best Application of RF Wireless Design.

The Electronics News Future Awards, continuing the tradition founded by the EDN Innovation Awards, recognizes excellence in Australian and New Zealand electronics (http://www.electronicsnews.com.au/awards.aspx).

About LX

LX Group is an award winning Australian electronics design house, specializing in the wireless and low power electronics designs. LX offers clients a range of professional solutions designed to take a new product idea from concept through to production.

LX Group services include full turnkey electronics design, electronics, firmware and software design, electronics engineer consultancy, rapid prototyping, electronics manufacturing and commercialization and technical support. LX’s team takes an innovative approach to developing each project to ensure it gets to market fast with the best possible features.

For more information about LX Group please visit www.lx-group.com.au or call 1800 810 124

Links:

http://www.prlog.org/10954702-lx-innovations-wins-electronics-future-award.html

Published by LX Group for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

ITL Design and LX Group collaborate to design and manufacture ‘Nero’, a retail display and theft control device for small consumer electronic devices.

http://www.prlog.org/10802090-lx-innovations-itl-design-introduce-nero.html

The first production quantity of the product, which were manufactured at ITL’s Malaysian based manufacturing facility and in South East Asia, have been delivered to the client all within a 12 month time frame. By blending ITL Design’s extensive industrial design and manufacturing capabilities with LX Group leading electronic design services, Nero is now the most innovative and unique retail theft control device on the market.

Nero is a retail display and theft control device, designed to display consumer electronic products, which attach to the device via a magnetic head, allowing customers to interact with the product. The design is intended to complement the modern retail environment in order to maximise the visual impact of retailer’s products, which can vary from small mp3 players to mobiles phones, digital cameras and camcorders. The post can be shelf or wall mounted and rotated to suit the most appropriate display angle.

ITL Design provided the mechanical design and manufacturing, building upon and adding value to the client’s existing IP through innovative industrial design, mechanical design and manufacturing using their Malaysian based manufacturing facility. LX Group provided the system level design, electronics, firmware, PC software and off-shore manufacturing co-ordination. The system has passed certification for commercial sale.

About ITL Design Background:

ITL Design & Manufacturing is part of an Australian listed company that has been providing clients with complete, innovative solutions to develop their ideas into commercially successful products for the past 15 years.

About LX Group Background:

LX Group is an innovative contract electronics design company based in Sydney and Canberra, specialising in the design of embedded systems and wireless technologies. They offer clients a range of professional solutions designed to take a new product idea from concept through to production.

Published by LX Group for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.