Page 4 - Issue 1 2023

Articles from our newsletters Functionality of six oscilloscopes in
an ultra-portable package
you may have missed The PicoScope 2000 models from Pico

Technology, an UK-based design, development
Twice a week EngineerIT publishes a newsletter. Here are some of the articles that and manufacturer of PC Oscilloscopes and
were published during December/January which you may have missed. data loggers, features the functionality of
six oscilloscopes in one package. The range
Demand for digital identity verification surges across Africa is available in South Africa from Comtest.
PicoScope two-channel, four-channel and
According to the World Bank, 57% of
Africans still do not have any kind of mixed-signal models have the functionality
bank account, including mobile money of an oscilloscope plus a logic analyser (on
accounts. This translates to about mixed-signal oscilloscopes models), spectrum
360 million adults in the region and analyser, function generator, arbitrary
approximately 17% of the total global waveform generator, and serial bus analyser
unbanked population without access to with support for 15 protocols included as
formal financial services, a recent study by standard. They are USB-powered and come in
BPC and Fincog found. an ultra-portable package that can be easily
South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) notes that banking transported in a laptop bag. Read more
regulations of digital services in most of Africa are slow to evolve, with a study from
the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies showing that only 15 African countries have
completed national cybersecurity strategies for threat monitoring and response.
Read more

Sizing up the Satellite-to-Cell opportunity

At any given moment around the world,
15 percent of the planet’s 5.2 billion mobile
phone users are not connected, according
to research conducted by Lynk, the first
company to demonstrate a satellite-to-
mobile-phone satellite constellation. What
if those disconnections – from being in a SANSA signs agreement to support
remote area far from terrestrial signals or the UAE’s first Moon mission
cut off from cell service following a natural disaster – were a thing of the past?
That reality is coming as satellite-to-cell service emerges as a viable service, first by South African National Space Agency
start-ups and soon by major telco and handset players. Read more (SANSA) has signed an agreement with
the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre
(MBRSC) to support the Emirates Lunar
Transforming quality through intelligent data and analytics
Mission (ELM). As a payload on iSpace
The value Robotics automation Hakuto-R M1 mission, the Rashid Rover lifted
delivers has been recognised as off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the
companies and organisations Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA, on
shift their internal focus towards 11 December 2022.
technologies that can resolve legacy The Centre will use SANSA
challenges and refine processes. Hartebeesthoek Ground Station to establish
In the healthcare sector, the direct communication between the rover
Healthcare Financial Management and the ELM Control Centre at MBRSC
Association (HFMA) found that located in the UAE, after the rover lands on
healthcare systems were starting to prioritise automation technology so that they the Moon surface. Read more
could optimise patient care during the pandemic while minimising their security risks.
In the manufacturing sector, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has been found to
provide organisations with scalability, improved workflows, and greater efficiencies as
evidenced by a study in Science Direct. This is echoed in a recent report by McKinsey
entitled ‘Managing the risks and returns of intelligent automation’ which underscored
the value of combined automation and artificial intelligence solutions to ‘optimise
end-to-end business processes. The research firm found this to be both a tactical and
strategic approach to improving quality of service and productivity throughout the
organisation. Read more

EngineerIT | Issue 1 2023 | 4