Preliminary results from a market analysis of the two-stroke combustion engine industry
Abstract Market research results from groups based in the university sector can often make a significant contribution to knowledge and perspectives related to complex international industrial sectors. This is particularly true when these groups have strong linkage to the industry in question and the market research forms part of a wider research programme which involves the science and engineering of the product base under investigation. Preliminary results are therefore presented from research focused on a market analysis of the two-stroke engine industry by members of a group which is concentrating its effort in this area of the combustion engine industry. The results are intended to introduce the work in progress and to highlight several aspects which form the core of the study including application areas, patent activity and industrial company identification.
The people factor in collaboration and technology transfer
Abstract A considerable amount of work has been published which focuses on trends and statistics related to technology and its transfer as a commodity from one entity to another. This work usually emanates from large companies, institutions or government establishments and is generally presented as a historical probability. In comparison, very little has been published from a ‘hands on, as it happens’ point of view, particularly from the small company sector of commerce and industry. Consequently a perspective is presented which illustrates several observations related to collaboration and technology transfer and proceeds to illustrate a suggested profile for the operative required to carry out these tasks.
Ceramic microwave antennas for mobile applications
Due to their medium to high permittivity values, ceramic microwave materials are attractive as building blocks for miniaturised antenna solutions. Further advantages are low dielectric losses and an excellent temperature stability of standard ceramic materials. Yet, the permittivity of the ceramic material also has a strong influence on the radiation efficiency and bandwidth of the antenna. This implies that in the design process a suitable compromise has to be found between the degree of miniaturisation on the one hand and the antenna efficiency and bandwidth on the other. We describe two approaches towards efficient miniaturised ceramic microwave antennas: the dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) with partial metallisation and the shorting post patch antenna. We focus on design steps taken to ensure both a high degree of miniaturisation and high values of the radiation efficiency, the choice of the ceramic material and the experimental performance of the antennas.