FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition will host its first Australian regional competition at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre from 11-14 March 2015. [ + ]

element14 was named a silver winner in Best Community Development at the 2014 Digital Impact Awards in London. [ + ]

ABB has donated more than $150,000 in drives, motors and PLC equipment to the Electrical Power Engineering (EPE) Laboratory, located at the Clayton campus of Monash University. [ + ]

Dr Edward Sazonov, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at The University of Alabama, is developing a sensor that can be worn around the ear that would automatically track diet, giving medical professionals and consumers accurate information that can be missed with self-reporting. [ + ]

Toshiba's Dr Shuji Hirakawa has received the IEC Lord Kelvin Award, the highest global prize in electrotechnology, for his long-term contribution to increasing the technical harmonisation that enables global trade and his commitment to the mission of the IEC. [ + ]

Dyesol has signed an agreement with SPECIFIC, an open innovation centre managed by Swansea University in the UK. [ + ]

RS Components has boosted its battery portfolio by adding Lead Crystal batteries from new supplier partner Betta Batteries. [ + ]

Mathworks has announced that MATLAB and Simulink can now generate code optimised for use across the ARM Cortex Family. [ + ]

Engineers Australia will host two retired NASA astronauts at Convention 2014 and the only Australian on Earth currently working in the International Space Station Flight Control team. [ + ]

The element14 Community has selected 15 engineers from around the world to take part in its 'In the Air' design challenge, an initiative to develop pollution measurement applications inspired by the Internet of Things (IoT) movement. [ + ]

The market for wearable technology in APAC is currently worth US$8.5 billion and is expected to grow to US$37 billion over the next five years at a CAGR of around 34%, according to Arvind Arun, industry analyst in the ICT Practice at Frost & Sullivan. [ + ]

Rosenberger, a manufacturer of connectivity products in the high-frequency and fibre-optic technology sectors, has signed a global distribution agreement with RS Components (RS) and Allied Electronics. [ + ]

Test, measurement and monitoring company Tektronix has appointed Vicom as a full portfolio distributor in Australia, covering a range of Tektronix and Keithley instrumentation. [ + ]

A prototype app giving Canberra residents the ability to seamlessly access a wide range of local services has secured first place - and a $12,500 cash prize for Canberra's Imagine Team - at the Canberra Digital Challenge awards. [ + ]

Israeli scientists have announced a breakthrough in molecular electronics that has paved the way for DNA-based computer circuits. [ + ]