Electronic Specifier has released its August 2026 issue, bringing readers a wide-ranging look at how artificial intelligence, next-generation connectivity, and evolving protection technologies are converging across the electronics and engineering sectors – from medical devices to Industrial IoT.
This month’s cover feature, ‘AI in medical devices – more structure, less risk’, examines why medtech companies must treat AI trustworthiness as a strategic priority rather than an afterthought. With McKinsey estimating tens of billions in potential annual value from AI-driven productivity and innovation, the piece explores how frameworks like ISO/IEC 42001 are helping manufacturers build ‘Trust by Design’ into AI-enabled systems from day one, and what a phased implementation pathway looks like in practice.
Elsewhere in the issue, readers will find:
- News: coverage of a new implantable device from the University of Glasgow using wirelessly powered micro-LEDs to improve photodynamic therapy for bladder cancer, alongside updates on the UK’s Cyber Resilience Pledge, Philips Hue’s expanded Matter support, and NI’s 50th-anniversary roadmap for its Nigel AI assistant
- STEM Spotlight: an analysis of the UK government’s apprenticeship funding reforms, and why the shift away from management-heavy standards toward skills-first technical training could mark a turning point for the engineering talent pipeline
- Women in Tech: a profile of Sarah Armstrong-Smith, Chief Strategy Officer at Performanta and member of the UK Government Cyber Advisory Board, who makes the case that cybersecurity has always been a human matter first and a technical one second
- Communications: a deep-dive into Single Pair Ethernet, tracing its evolution from the 2015 IEEE 802.3bw specification through to 10BASE-T1S, and unpacking the hardware design considerations – including isolation and common-mode noise rejection – that engineers need to get right
- Test & Measurement: a look at why traditional spectrum analysers are struggling to keep pace with dense 5G, IoT, and radar environments, and how real-time spectrum analysis and TDoA localisation are changing the way engineers hunt down interference in the field
- IoT: coverage of 3GPP URLLC’s role in Industry 4.0 applications as the industry looks toward 6G, plus an exploration of multiprotocol connectivity strategies that are helping smart home manufacturers reduce fragmentation across Zigbee, Thread, Matter, and Bluetooth LE
- Power: an examination of inrush current limiters and the shift from multiple thermistor-based solutions to single, high-power devices as systems scale to handle greater power density
“This issue really captures a theme we keep coming back to,” said Paige Hookway, Managing Editor of Electronic Specifier. “Whether it’s AI governance in medical devices, spectrum management for 5G, or protocol fragmentation in the smart home, the common thread is that new capability only delivers value when it’s backed by the right structure – the right standards, the right design discipline, the right trust framework. That’s what our contributors have unpacked this month.”
The August issue is available to read below:
