Ben Pilkington

Feature Writer

B.A. (Hons) English Language and Literature, M.St. English Language and Literature

Ben Pilkington is a freelance writer who is interested in society and technology. He enjoys learning how the latest scientific developments can affect us and imagining what will be possible in the future.

Since completing graduate studies at Oxford University in 2016, Ben has reported on developments in computer software, the UK technology industry, digital rights and privacy, industrial automation, IoT, AI, additive manufacturing, sustainability, and clean technology.

Ben is happiest on a bicycle, loves sleeping in a tent or under the stars, and can’t function properly without coffee.

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Articles from Ben

A New Approach to Environmental Monitoring with Seed-Inspired Sensors

Learn about a new approach to environmental monitoring with Tristellateia seed inspired sensors here on AZoSensors.

11 Oct 2021

Pedestrian Defense: Making E-Scooter Use Safer with Sensors

An engineering company that was spun off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has announced a partnership that could significantly improve safety for e-scooters and civic e-mobility schemes.

11 Aug 2021

How Graphene Could Help to Manufacture Low-Cost Miniature Gas Sensors

Student Arne Quellmalz is working on technologies that could replace the typically bulky, expensive, and high-energy-consuming gas sensors available today. Using graphene and innovative integration techniques, Quellmatz’s research could lead to the manufacture of gas sensors that are small and cheap

10 Aug 2021

The World’s First Self-Installed Condition Monitoring Technology

An Australian technology start-up, MOVUS, is working to bring the benefits of massive passive data-gathering to bear in industry. MOVUS’s FitMachine condition monitoring sensor has been touted as the FitBit of industrial machinery.

9 Jul 2021

The Benefits of Installing Sensors on Wind Turbines

To maximize energy output and minimize maintenance costs, wind farm operators install numerous sensors on their wind turbines. These tiny, relatively inexpensive devices enable skyscraper-sized wind turbines to operate as efficiently and safely as possible.

23 Jun 2021

Argo AI's Game-Changing LiDAR Sensors for Safer Self-Driving Cars

A US-based self-driving car developer, part-owned by Ford Motors and Volkswagen, could be set to redirect focus in the nascent – and turbulent – LiDAR sensor industry. Argo AI developed the new LiDAR sensor for autonomous cars in-house, following a recent acquisition.

28 May 2021

The Graphene-Based Sensor that Detects COVID in Less than 5 Minutes

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new test that can detect the presence of coronavirus RNA in under five minutes. The test – based on thin-film graphene and filter paper sensor – is cheap to produce, portable, and can be adapted for sensing other diseases.

10 May 2021

Velodyne Lidar's Velarray H800: Providing Self-Driving Cars with Improved Vision

Velodyne Lidar has announced plans to bring LiDAR sensors for driverless cars into mass production in 2021 – with a target price of USD $500 and a feature list and form factor that will appeal to self-driving car manufacturers worldwide.

20 Nov 2020

How CO2 Gas Sensors Could Help Control COVID-19

Market analysts have recently predicted the rise of an emerging market for CO2 gas sensors to help control the spread of COVID-19.

19 Nov 2020

Wearable Sensors and Big Data: Today's Challenges and Tomorrow's Potential

Wearable sensors – as well as numerous other “passive” sensor applications in the Internet of Things (IoT) – are hoovering up vast amounts of data that can be used to improve our daily lives dramatically. However, this aspect of wearables and the IoT presents significant challenges.

7 Sep 2020