If you visit the site for AIM, the global trade association for automatic identification, you'll find news and links about various automatic identification technologies, including RFID, bar codes, card technologies, and their related standards. You can sign up for relevant newsletters, view surveys, and even submit a request for proposal, or RFP.

Frost & Sullivan's (www.sensors.frost.com) new report, "Accelerometers in North American Automotive, Aerospace, and Industrial Markets," reveals that holding prices at profitable levels has become a real challenge for suppliers of accelerometers.

Medical implants (and ingestibles) have escaped the Star Trek TNG set and entered the real world to the tune of a projected annual increase of nearly 11% in the U.S. A 2003 report from the Freedonia Group (www.freedoniagroup.com) puts the 2007 total at $24.4 billion.

Product News is but a sampling of the many, many products we've seen recently. The ones included this month reflect a trend, are different enough to make me sit up and take notice, or are nice implementations of current technology.

GE Infrastructure (www.geinfrastructure.com), which GE calls one of its "newest growth engines," has introduced four new technology solutions to the Chinese market. Company officials made the announcement during an event held in Shanghai called the Futurescape of Technology. Overall, the event showcased more than 30 new products that can support the growth of China, especially in the critical infrastructure sector.

A research team led by Henry Du of the Stevens Institute of Technology is investigating ways to enhance photonic crystal fiber (PCF) sensors, sensor arrays, and sensor networks for applications including remote and dynamic environmental monitoring, manufacturing process safety, medical diagnostics, and homeland security.

A few years back, Measurement Specialties, a pioneer in pressure sensing, gained recognition for an aggressive schedule of acquisitions. More recently, the company established MSI Sensors (www.msisensors.com) as a separate division and echoed history as MSI made four significant acquisitions in 2004. In all cases, the acquired companies note the benefits of being a part of MSI's global operation.

How do you select a product or service supplier? When you're looking to establish a long-term affiliation that's critical to your products and customer relationships, you need to do some homework. This is true in all areas, but perhaps especially so where MEMS technology is concerned. After more than 20 years, the infrastructure for this technology—so critical to the future of sensing—is still being established.

GE's security business (www.ge.com ) has completed the first commercial field test of the Tamper Evident Secure Container (TESC), a freight container developed jointly with the world's leading manufacturer of maritime shipping containers, China International Marine Containers Group Ltd. (CIMC).