Imagination offers loss-less image compression core

Imagination has brought out an image compression core which claims to be lossless while 50% smaller than preceding cores. Called PVRIC4, the core  will be incorporated in next-generation PowerVR GPUs and is available for licensing now as a standalone IP block The block is already used by Imagination partners, including Chips & Media. PVRIC4 features a ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/imagination-offers-loss-less-image-compression-core-2018-11/

Intelligent farming

Small Robot Company, the Shropshire agritech start-up, has announced  an early version of Wilma, its AI interface. Wilma is the core of an intelligent, autonomous crop management system for arable farming. Wilma can already distinguish Wheat plants from ‘Not-Wheat’, meaning any images of items that are not wheat plants. Wilma is a granular OS for ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/intelligent-farming-2018-11/

SiFive launches more powerful RISC-V core

SiFive, the  RISC-V specialist, has announced SiFive Core IP 7 Series Cores, claimed to be the highest performance commercially available RISC-V cores. The 7 Series product family is designed to enable embedded intelligence with features that have not been available until today. The 7 Series includes the E7, S7 and the U7 series. The SiFive Core ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/sifive-launches-powerful-risc-v-core-2018-11/

The Crab

You never quite know what Intel is up to. Like a crab, it seems to be headed forward when it’s actually scuttling off sideways. Everyone knows one thing about Intel  today – they can’t make 10nm. But no one knows why not. After 50 years of scaling, Intel hit a wall. Or did it? After all ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/dilemmas/the-crab-2018-11/

Neural network IP aimed at SoCs processing complex speech

Cadence has introduced DSP intellectual aimed at neural network-based complex speech recognition on the local PCB, without the need for cloud-based services to do the heavy lifting. Resources are sufficient for far-field voice recognition, where the user is metres away from the microphone. Voice-controlled digital home assistants and automotive infotainment are intended applications. Why process ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/design/eda-and-ip/neural-network-ip-aimed-socs-processing-complex-speech-2018-10/

God’s Justice

Is this God’s Justice? All those hard working, fast driving, disciplined Germans are killing themselves from pollution while the Greeks, lying around stinking of drink, live in bucolic, unpolluted good health.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/dilemmas/541595-2018-10/

Bosch improves accelerometer-gyro chips for phones

Bosch Sensortec has launched a family of mems inertial measuremnt units (IMUs), aimed at phones, with Android compliance, an I3CSM interface, and support for sensor synchronisation. Called the BMI260 family, the devices combine Bosch Sensortec’s accelerometer with Bosch’s automotive gyroscope, and are claimed to be robust against temperature fluctuations and PCB stress. “Our next-generation IMUs builds upon ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/sensors-products/bosch-improves-accelerometer-gyro-chips-phones-2018-10/

Cast your vote for the Consumer Product Innovation award

Help decide the destination of an Elektra 2018 Award! The Consumer Product Innovation category, sponsored by Avnet, is determined by a readers vote, so we need your decision.

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Renesas sees weakening industrial demand

Renesas saw Q3 sales decrease 8.7% y-o-y to $1.54 billion and expects Q4 sales to be down 12.3% y-o-y at $1.6 billion. Q3 profit was $212 million. Weakening demand, mainly for industrial ICs, was the culprit. For Q4 Renesas anticipates a gross margin of 40%, down 7.9 points yo-y and  operating margin of 7.3%, down ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/renesas-sees-weakening-industrial-demand-2018-10/

Xilinx ACAP reported to have won half Microsoft’s Azure co-processor business

Xilinx has had a big success with its new data centre co-processor ACAP, reports Bloomberg, having won half Microsoft’s co-processor requirement for its cloud services business Azure at the expense of Intel. ACAP is the brainchild of Xilinx CEO Victor Peng (pictured) and, says Peng, “accelerates  a broad range of workloads with dynamically adaptable silicon ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/xilinx-acap-reported-won-half-microsofts-azure-co-processor-business-2018-10/

Intel reported to be looking for external foundry

Intel is said to be looking for foundry to fab  some Atom processors and chip-sets, reports Digitimes. “We are in a constraint scenario into the fourth quarter, both at low-end PC and IoT,” says Intel CEO Bob Swan, “we have taken some of our 10-nanometer equipment and tools and began to blow that back to ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/intel-said-looking-foundry-2018-10/

Samsung slashes chip capex by 27%

Samsung has cut chip capex by 27% from $37 billion to $28 billion citing slowing demand.  Q3 operating profit was a record $15 billion, but Samsung expects a 4% drop in proft in Q4. “Looking further ahead to 2019, earnings are forecast to be weak for the first quarter due to seasonality, but then strengthen ...

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Top 10 (less 5) IC Product Categories In 2018

Thanks to IC Insights for this one – the top five products in the semiconductor industry measured by revenue:

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ST strips down low-power MCUs for budget-conscious

STMicroelectronics is offering a pair of stripped-down microcontroller for budget-conscious consumer, industrial, and medical applications. STM32L412 and STM32L422 have 64 or 128kbyte flash and a 80MHz Arm Cortex-M4 core, plus the firm’s FlexPowerControl. EEMBC benchmarking includes, said STM, 273 CoreMark, 167 ULPMark-PP (Peripheral Profile) and 447 ULPMark-CP (Core Profile). Analogue peripherals including two ADCs to perform ...

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Bluetooth LE 5 transceiver gets AEC-Q100 for automotive

Toshiba has announced am automotive Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) core specification 5.0 chip for automotive applications such as including remote key-less entry, on-board diagnostics and tire pressure monitoring systems. TC35681IFTG is based around an Arm Cortex-M0 CPU, and is designed for compliance with AEC-Q100. The mixed-signal device contains both analog RF and base-band digital parts ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/micros/bluetooth-le-5-transceiver-gets-aec-q100-automotive-2018-10/

SHOCK: Russkies Drink Less Vodka

According to the World Health Organisation, the Russkies are drinking less vodka Vodka consumption peaked in 1995 with per capita consumption of pure alcohol of spirits amounting to nearly 9 litres.  That year, per capita consumption of beer and wine amounted to just 1.54 and 0.81 litres of pure alcohol.    Roll on 20 years ...

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TI adds gigabit time-sensitive networking to industrial MCUs

Texas Instruments has announced a multi-protocol gigabit time-sensitive networking (TSN)-enabled processor family, claiming it to be the first anywhere. Called Sitara AM6x, the industrial-grade family has quad and dual Arm Cortex-A53 core variants aimed at industry 4.0 factory automation, motor drives and grid infrastructure. Gbit TSN, EtherCAT, Ethernet/IP and PROFINET are supported by a specific ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/micros/ti-adds-gigabit-time-sensitive-networking-industrial-mcus-2018-10/

Invisible car envisaged by photonic tiles

A team of European scientists have exploited photonics technology to develop digital, ceramic tiles that can change colour, pattern, or play videos with a connected smartphone or tablet, turning a bedroom wall or ceiling into a giant cinema screen. The ‘Luminous Electronic Tile’, or LUMENTILE, project mixes the simplicity of a plain ceramic tile with sophisticated ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/uncategorised/invisible-car-envisaged-photonic-tiles-2018-10/

Essex firm to build portable atomic clocks

Essex-based Teledyne E2v is to build a new generation of atomic clocks, with partners in the Europe’s Quantum Flagship consortium. The project is called iqClock, and involves the creation of an ‘optical’ atomic clock. “Optical atomic clocks are the most precise time-telling tools known to man,” said Teledyne quantum technology scientist Dr Ole Kock. “The challenge ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/design/essex-firm-build-portable-atomic-clocks-2018-10/

Gadget Book: A Beginner’s Guide to Circuits

This book may be of interest to budding Gadget Masters - A Beginner’s Guide to Circuits, by Øyvind Nydal Dahl.

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Eval board for DOSA buck and buck-boost power modules

Recom has released evaluation boards to go with its RPM buck and RBB10 buck-boost dc-dc converters. “These boards provide customers with an effortless way to evaluate these DOSA modules,” said the firm – DOSA is the Distributed-power Open Standards Alliance. RPM‐1.0, RPM‐2.0, RPM‐3.0, and RPM‐6.0 buck regulators generate a constant output voltage at up to ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/eval-board-dosa-buck-buck-boost-power-modules-2018-10/

US moves to scupper China DRAM plan

The US has thrown a spanner in the works of China’s would-be DRAM champion.  The US Department of Commerce has put Fujian Jin Hua Integrated Circuit (JHICC) on a list of companies  that cannot purchase components, software and technology goods from U.S. firms without a licence.  ”When a foreign company engages in activity contrary to ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/541549-2018-10/

DIN rail power supplies for railway applications

Puls Power has introduced DIN-rail power supplies for railway applications, suitable for both track-side and on-board train equipment. The firm claims 100% greater mains failure bridging time than required by the railway standard EN 50155 (S2). All PCBs are conformally coated to increase weather resistance, and all PSUs are completely convection cooled for increasing reliability, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/din-rail-power-supplies-railway-applications-2018-10/

Sign up for the Gadget Master newsletter

Ensure you receive the latest and greatest Gadget Master news, hot and fresh, straight into your inbox!

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Elektra Awards 2018 – Early bird table offer ends Wednesday 31 October

Hopefully, you already have the date in your diary - Wednesday 5th December - for the 2018 Elektra Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/electro-ramblings/elektra-awards/elektra-awards-2018-early-bird-table-offer-ends-wednesday-31-october-2018-10/

Multi-constellation GNSS receiver reduces TTFF.

Fujitsu is shipping a multi-receiver GNSS module for GPS,  GLONASS, QZSS, SBAS, Galileo and BeiDou. The ability to receive signals from several satellite systems significantly reduces the TTFF (Time to First Fix), meaning a faster and more accurate positioning. Beside the GNSS device itself the MSB1054 provides a built-in RF-front end (SAW filter, LNA) as ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/multi-constellation-gnss-receiver-reduces-ttff-2018-10/

Osram illuminates St Peters in Rome

Osram leds are to provide light throughout Saint Peter’s basilica in Rome, aiming to save 85% of power consumption. Said to be the largest church in the world, it is enormous – holding a congregation of 20,000, it is around 190m long, the three naves each 58m wide, the central nave 45.5m at its highest ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/led-luminaries/osram-illuminates-st-peters-rome-2018-10/

Farnell shipping 3D printers

Farnell element 14 is distributing  the MakerGear family of 3D printers. Farnell  will stock the single-head MakerGear M3-SE and the independent dual-head MakerGear M3-ID. Both printers provide industrial-grade precision and reliability for the prototyping and production of finished components. Simplify3D software included as standard on the M3-ID and is available as an optional upgrade on the ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/farnell-shipping-3d-printers-2018-10/

Tulipps for UAVs, ADAS and X-Ray

Tulipp (Towards Ubiquitous Low-power Image Processing Platforms) – an EU initiative targeting complex image processing applications – has delivered its first three Use Cases: Medical X-Ray Imaging, automotive ADAS and UAVs. The Medical X-Ray Imaging Use Case combines an embedded computing board with a medical X-ray imaging sensor to eliminate the noise on images when ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/tulipps-uavs-adas-x-ray-2018-10/

VW, Intel, Champion Motors in autonomous EV jv.

Intel/Mobileye, Volkswagen and Champion Motors are to form a jv  to commercialise Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS).  The jv will address Level 4/5 self-driving MaaS. VW will provide the EVs and knowledge about the design and deployment of mobility services.  Intel/Mobileye will provide a  turn-key hardware and software self-driving system validated for level-4 capability.  Champion Motors will be ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/vw-intel-champion-motors-autonomous-ev-jv-2018-10/

LCOS display has integrated driver and memory

OmniVision has brought out a 1080p liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) microdisplay with integrated driver functions and memory aimed at AR applications such as glasses and head-mounted displays. “By integrating the driver function into the microdisplay, our OP02220 saves board space and streamlines the development process,” says OmniVision’s Sam Yoshikawa. OmniVision provides an evaluation kit ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/lcos-display-integrated-driver-memory-2018-10/

Q3 semi sales up 4.1% on Q2

Q3 chip  sales were up 4.1% over Q2 and 13.8% over Q3 2017 at $122.7 billion, says the SIA. September sales were up 2% on Q2 at $40.9 billion. “Three-quarters of the way through 2018, the global semiconductor industry is on pace to post its highest-ever annual sales, comfortably topping last year’s record total of $412 ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/q3-semi-sales-4-1-q2-2018-10/

50MP CCD has 2.18 to 1 aspect ratio

ON Semiconductor  is sampling a 50MP CCD. The KAI-50140 is designed in a 2.18 to 1 aspect ratio to match the format of modern smartphones, reducing the number of image captures required to inspect a full display. The 4.5 µm Interline Transfer CCD pixel used in the KAI-50140 provides high resolution with an electronic (global) shutter ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/50mp-ccd-2-18-1-aspect-ratio-2018-10/

Siberian Lab Develops Transistorised Harmonic Distortion Measuring Set

The Novosibirsk Laboratories in Siberia have developed a transistorised harmonic distortion measuring set. It is designed for the frequency range 50 to 15,000 c/s and the limits of percentage measurement are 0.3 to 30%. So, 57 years ago,  started a story in EW’s issue of Feb 1st 1961. The story continues: The first stage of ...

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Budget 2018: Digital tax, Apprenticeship levy, Investment

With Brexit in the offing in 2019, the Chancellor Philip Hammond has just presented his Budget to Parliament for 2018.

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600V GaN fets have built-in drivers for easy use from 100W to 10kW

Texas Instruments has announced ready-to-use 600V gallium nitride (GaN) power transistors with built-in driver stages. The 50 and 70mΩ devices are intended for applications from 100W up to 10kW. While GaN transistor have the potential to increase the efficiency and shrink the size of power supplies, their high speed and somewhat fussy characterisitcs mean that ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/600v-gan-fets-built-drivers-easy-use-100w-10kw-2018-10/

Platform-independent neural net for self-learning microcontrollers in

German research organisation Fraunhofer IMS has developed a platform-independentl feed-forward artificial neural network, written in C. “By using standard libraries based on the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and a source code reduced to a minimum, even integration including learning algorithms on a microcontroller is possible,” said the organisation. “The artificial neural network is superficially not ...

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Elektra 2018 – Vote for the University Research award

Cast your vote on a shortlist of five university projects selected by the Editor, for the University Research category.

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A few things you might need to know when installing OctoPi – the 3d printing software

Over the weekend I decided to spend an hour installing OctoPi on a Raspberry Pi – OctoPi is the Raspberry Pi version of 3D printing host programme OctoPrint. How naive… it was only hours later I had something running. What did I learn? Firstly, and most importantly, Gina Häußge (‘Foosel’) and Guy Sheffer (guysoft) are to be ...

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Elektra Awards 2018 – Vote for the Consumer Product Innovation award

Your chance to help determine the destination of an Elektra 2018 Award, for the Consumer Product Innovation category.

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Good Old Philippines

Good old Philippines – they have the world’s cheapest beer, according to Deutsche Bank, The bank has done a survey of the price of a pint across the planet, and this is the result:

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Renesas prepares RX65N MCU for new robot protocol ROS 2

Renesas is aiming at industrial robots by adding support for DDS-XRCE (data-distribution service for extremely resource constrained environments), one of the protocols planned for the ROS 2 communication standard. Specifically an XRCE-DDS client (‘Micro XRCE-DDS’ from eProsima) has been implemented on Renesas’ 32bit RX65N MCUs. “Robot Operating System – ROS – is a key framework ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/software-products/renesas-prepares-rx65n-mcu-new-robot-protocol-ros-2-2018-10/

Sheltap clamshell for waterproof auto connections

Kyocera has introduced a clamshell-style branch connector for automotive electronics that features a locking structure for waterproof connections, ensuring reliability in harsh conditions. Samples of the Sheltap 9715 Series Waterproof Electronic Branch Connector are available upon request. Kyocera designed the Sheltap branch connector series to provide a high level of waterproof functionality and reliability — ...

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Pre-assembled distribution boards save installation cost and time

Schneider Electric has announced a range of preassembled distribution boards. Premade at Schneider Electric’s low voltage (LV) manufacturing plant in Telford, the Quick Build Units (QBU) will save time and cut the costs of installation for contractors and end users. Distribution boards are an essential part of a building’s electrical network, supplying power to its ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/pre-assembled-distribution-boards-save-installation-cost-time-2018-10/

Li-Ion battery ICs in WLCSP

Ricoh has launched single cell Li-Ion battery protection ICs in a Wafer Level Chip Scaled Package (WLCSP). They are especially designed for use in rechargeable smart watches, hearing aid instruments, fitness trackers, wireless earbuds and other small portable devices. Wearable devices incorporate a small rechargeable Li-Ion battery with a capacity in the range from 50 ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/li-ion-battery-ics-wlcsp-2018-10/

Ed Gets To Riyadh

Well I got my trip to Riyadh in the end, Ed confides to his diary,  the PM’s ban on Ministers attending Davos in the Desert did not extend to all trips to Saudi – so long as you didn’t pitch up at the conference. So off I trotted keeping my head down, avoiding the VIP ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/ed-the-serial-ceo/ed-gets-riyadh-2018-10/

IBM buys Red Hat for $34bn

IBM is to buy Linux OS specialist Red Hat for $34 billion. It is IBM’s biggest ever acquisition. IBM’s own market cap is $114 billion. “The acquisition of Red Hat is a game-changer, “ says IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, “IBM will become the world’s No. 1 hybrid cloud provider, offering companies the only open cloud ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/ibm-buys-red-hat-2018-10/

Rohm accidentally eases low-voltage mosfet drive frustration

When building a power supply using a microcontroller, has it ever frustrated you that most mosfet gate driver chips are only specified to work down to 4.5V. There might be one or two that create a suitable rail for the top mosfet using a bootstrap circuit, but these cease to work at either 0% or ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineer-in-wonderland/rohm-accidentally-eases-low-voltage-mosfet-drive-frustration-2018-10/

Novel automotive buck-boost dc-dc operates down to Iq=8uA

Aiming at automotive, Rohm has introduced a buck-boost dc-dc chipset, claimed to provide the lowest current consumption with good transient response for ECUs (electronic control units) for cluster panels and gateways used in start-stop vehicles. Unusually, one of the chips (BD8P250MUF-C) is a buck converter, and the other (BD90302NUF-C below right) is a totem pole ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/novel-automotive-bcuk-boost-dc-dc-operates-iq8ua-2018-10/

Telling It As It Is

The MIT-led 1979 VLSI  project in Japan has been widely held up to be one of the success stories of government intervention in the semiconductor industry. However there were many local critics among whom one of the most vocal  was a university professor and technological genius  called Jun’ichi Nishizawa When MITI  held a public review ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/yarns/telling-as-it-is-2018-10/

Sigfox adds a basestation and geolocation

IoT comms firm Sigfox has launched Access Station Micro, a weather-resistant Basestation and gateway for the low-power long-range IoT communication system. It includes an integrated antenna and power-over-Ethernet capability. “It can be installed within minutes and connect to Sigfox’s Cloud via existing Internet access or cellular networks,” said the organisation, which is aiming the unit for ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/sigfox-adds-basestation-geolocation-2018-10/

Lumileds 2835 hits 200 lm/W – at 65mA

Luxeon 2835 HE is a 200 lm/W led from Lumileds, which is it is aiming at luminair manufacturers wishing to reduce LED count such as troffers, high bay and low bay fixtures. It is available in 2-step MacAdam ellipse colour consistency versions “The LED’s tight colour point distinguishes it from other mid power devices in ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/led-luminaries/lumileds-2835-hits-200-lm-w-65ma-2018-10/

Blockchain tackles fog

Leti’s sensiNact IoT middleware will be the core of a platform under development in an EU-Korean project that will empower decentralised AI applications at the edge. Decentralisation from the cloud to the edge is a key challenge of AI technologies applied to large heterogeneous systems, including ensuring timely and effective responses that are critical (e.g. ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/541255-2018-10/

Temperature sensor has ±0.1°C accuracy

TI has introduced a temperature sensor family that offers ±0.1°C accuracy across a wide temperature range and helps simplify system design for industrial and medical applications. The TMP117 is the first single-chip temperature sensor to offer similar performance to platinum resistance temperature detectors (RTDs) while reducing design complexity and power consumption. For medical applications, the ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/temperature-sensor-has-2018-10/

Resistor modules for hi-rel applications

Pickering Interfaces of Clacton-on-Sea has launched a family of  programmable resistor modules with 2.5W, 5W or 10W power handling capability at 100V or as limited by power. Models 40-251/2/3 target applications that require accurate medium-power programmable resistance such as a programmable load for the testing of  ECUs and fuel level sensing. These ECUs are commonly ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/resistor-modules-hi-rel-applications-2018-10/

O-S-D Sales Grow 11% For 9th Consecutive Record Year

In 2018, O-S-D (opto, sensors and discretes) sales have increased  by 11% – propelled by higher ASPs, new applications and shortages – and are expected to set a ninth consecutive record, says IC Insights. With tight supplies of widely used power transistors and diodes driving up prices and new optical-imaging applications moving into more systems, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/markets/o-s-d-sales-grow-11-9th-consecutive-record-year-2018-10/

Intel has $19bn Q3

Intel had Q3 revenue up 19% y-o-y at $19.16 billion. The company forecasts revenues of $71.2 billion for the full year which will probably not be enough to retake the chip crown from Samsung. In H1, Samsung had $40 billion chip sales compared to Intel’s $33 billion. Intel’s  PC business had revenues of $10.2 billion; ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/intel-19bn-q3-2018-10/

Pico adds calibration standards for vector network analysers

UK test equipment maker Pico Technology has introduced validation standards for vector network analysers, that can be “optionally be used to validate the accuracy of a network analysis test setup and its calibration before, during or after a sequence of measurements is made”, said the firm. TA430 (insertable M-F) and TA431 (non-insertable F-F) – pictured ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/test-measurement-products/pico-adds-calibration-standards-vector-network-analysers-2018-10/

MIT surveys driver-less car ethics, and learns three things

An MIT survey has revealed global ethical preferences when it comes to autonomous vehicle safety, and some regional variations. Over 200 million participants from over 200 countries quizzed themselves on versions of a ‘trolley problem’ ethical dilemma – where the vehicle must opt for one of two potentially fatal options in an impending accident – ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/mit-surveys-driver-less-car-ethics-learns-three-things-2018-10/

Embedded Studio 4.10 for ARM released

Following beta testing, Segger has added its new linker and ‘link-time optimisation’ (LTO) to the latest release build of Embedded Studio for ARM and Embedded Studio for Cortex-M. “The new product version delivers programme size reduction, achieving 5-12% reduction over the previous version on typical applications,” said the firm. “These savings are the result of ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/software-products/embedded-studio-4-10-arm-released-2018-10/

Buck and boost chip converts 2A up and down for phones

Diodes is aiming at phones, tablets, and other battery-operated consumer devices with a synchronous buck/boost dc-dc converter with integrated high-side and low-side 25mΩ H-bridge mosfets. Called AP72200, it delivers up to 97% efficiency with 1% voltage regulation accuracy, low quiescent current, and very low output ripple. Using proprietary buck/boost current-mode control, it can handle continuous current ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/buck-boost-chip-converts-2a-phones-2018-10/

85W and 120W desktop PSUs meet VI efficiency

XP Power has launched 85W and 120W desktop power supplies that meet the latest energy-efficiency standards. ALM85 and ALM120 meet international Energy Efficiency Level VI and CoC Tier 2 standards, applicable for the US, UK and Europe, which set requirements for average active mode efficiency, measured at 25, 50, 75 and 100% load; minimum efficiency ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/85w-120w-desktop-psus-meet-vi-efficiency-2018-10/

Fable: The Crazy Chemist

There was once a company trying to make a 1Mbit DRAM under licence from Japan. The couldn’t get the process to yeld. “We couldn’t understand why a process that was doing so well in Japan wasn’t working here,” recalls the CEO. “We asked them to send over their best engineers. We still couldn’t get the ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/fable/fable-crazy-chemist-2018-10/

UltraSOC and ResilTech combine on auto systems safety

  UltraSoC and ResilTech are combining on securing  the safety compliance of automotive systems, focusing particularly on the ISO26262 standard. UltraSoC’s embedded analytics technology provides a platform to verify and validate the security and functional safety of products, and to incorporate hardware-supported safety and security features such as anomaly detection and prevention of malicious intrusion. ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/ultrasoc-resiltech-combine-auto-systems-safety-2018-10/

Wasp-inspired drone drags 40x its own weight though complex environments

US and Swiss researchers have created a miniature multi-mode drone that can act as a tug, dragging 40 times its own body weight over obstacles – while helicopter-style aerodynamic lifting would only allow ~2x to be moved. Called FlyCroTug, its operation was partially inspired by wasps. “Wasps can fly rapidly to a piece of food, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/wasp-inspired-drone-drags-40x-weight-though-complex-environments-2018-10/

Renesas upgrades RX CPU core

Renesas has developed a third-generation 32-bit RX CPU core, the RXv3. The RXv3 CPU core will be employed in Renesas’ new RX MCUfamilies that begin rolling out at the end of 2018. The new MCUs are designed to address the real-time performance and enhanced stability required by motor control and industrial applications in next-generation smart ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/renesas-upgrades-rx-cpu-core-2018-10/

Infineon and XAIN team on car-sharing.

Infineon and the Oxford University spin-out XAIN are to work together on a blockchain-based approach to decntralised access rights via a smartphone. An initial application is car-sharing. Automotivec  applications for blockchain include automated payments, keyless access for car sharing schemes, on-demand services, tuning protection and automated driving functions. Essentially, it is all about the granting ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/infineon-xain-team-car-sharing-2018-10/

FRAM has temperature range up to 125°C

Fujitsu has engineering samples of  its automotive FRAM device MB85RS64VY . This is the third product of Fujitsu’s automotive FRAM family, following the release of two models with 256Kbit and 128Kbit in 2017. It features a temperature range up to 125°C and incorporates a memory of 64Kbit as well as a SPI interface with a maximum operating ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/fram-temperature-range-125c-2018-10/

Current transformers from RS

RS Components has introduced a range of own-brand (RS Pro) current transformers which includes more than 100 devices. “These RS Pro components target applications including process control, motor control, utility power monitoring, control panels, and in switch-gear used in generators and electrical power distribution systems as well as in energy and building-management systems,” said the ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/test-measurement-products/current-transformers-rs-2018-10/

CMOS pseudo SRAMs reach 128Mbit

Alliance Memory has introduced a family of high-speed CMOS pseudo SRAMs (PSRAMs) with densities from 8 to 128Mbit in 6 x 7 x 1mm 48-ball FPBGA and 4 x 4 x 1mm 49-ball FPBGA packages. “The devices combine the most desirable features of SRAMs and DRAMs to provide designers with easy-to-use, low-power, and cost-effective memory ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/memory/cmos-pseudo-srams-reach-128mbit-2018-10/

Packaging market to grow at 5.2% CAGR.

 Between 2017 and 2023, the  packaging market’s revenue will grow at 5.2% CAGR, says  Yole Développement, while  the advanced packaging market will grow at 7% CAGR. The traditional packaging market will grow at a  CAGR of 3.3%. Of the different advanced packaging platforms, 3D TSV and fan-out will grow at rates of 29% and 15%, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/uncategorised/packaging-market-grow-5-2-cagr-2018-10/

LoRaWAN specs for firmware updates over the air.

The LoRa Alliance has announced the public availability of three new specifications to support and standardize firmware updates over the air (FUOTA), a capability unique to LoRaWAN among LPWANs. These major enhancements to the protocol are accompanied by significant growth in deployments and certification, with an increase of more than 50% in the number of LoRaWAN Certifie products ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/lorawan-specs-firmware-updates-air-2018-10/

CEVA neural net adds support for ONNX

The  CEVA Deep Neural Network (CDNN) compiler supports the Open Neural Network Exchange (ONNX) format. “By adding ONNX support to our CDNN compiler technology, we provide our CEVA-XM and NeuPro customers and ecosystem partners with much broader capabilities to train and enrich their neural network-based applications,”says CEVA’s Ilan Yona. ONNX is an open format created ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/541143-2018-10/

IQD oscillator eval board

IQD’s IOSC-EV Board available can be used to test standard surface mount clock oscillators, VCXOs or TCXO/VCTCXOs. The IOSC-EV Board comes with six smaller boards that can be snapped from the side of the main board and onto which different size 4 pad packaged oscillators can be soldered. The smaller board can then be soldered ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/iqd-oscillator-eval-board-2018-10/

Sunbeams From Cucumbers

Scientific delusion has a long satirical history. Trying to extract sunbeams from cucumbers was described 292 years ago by Dean Swift. Earlier this week Addison Lee, the taxi company, said it will have self-driving taxis in 2021, Toyota and Softbank have given GM $5 billion to develop a driverless taxi for service in San Francisco ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/delusions/sunbeams-from-cucumbers-2018-10/

Cyber Crime

We hear an awful lot about cyber crime these days with governments, companies and individuals  all acting as both perpetrators and victims. At the citizen level, in the USA, these are the most common cyber crimes:

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/dilemmas/cyber-crime-2018-10/

Infineon shipping auto TPM

Infineon has put  a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), specifically for automotive applications, on the market. The  OPTIGA TPM 2.0 protects communication between the car manufacturer and the car which increasingly turns into a computer on wheels. A number of car manufacturers already designed in Infineon’s OPTIGA TPM. The TPM is a hardware-based security solution.  By using ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/infineon-shipping-auto-tpm-2018-10/

10 x 14mm modules offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth simultaneously

U-blox has announced a module that can operate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth simultaneously, allowing it to act as a gateway between the two wireless wireless standards. Both Bluetooth low energy and Bluetooth BR/EDR are supported, and Wi-Fi can be 802.11b, g or n. Called NINA-W152, it measures 10 x 14 x 3.8mm including its built-in antenna. If ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/rf-microwave-optoelectronics/10-x-14mm-modules-offers-wi-fi-bluetooth-simultaneously-2018-10/

ST Q3 revenues up 18.1%

ST’s  Q3 net revenues were up 18.1% y-oy at  $2.52 billion for a profit of $369 million which was up 56.7% y-o-y and an operating margin of 15.8% which was up 270 bps y-oy. “ST had another quarter of solid performance, with sequential revenue growth of 11.2%, above our 10% midpoint outlook, and operating margin ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/st-q3revenues-18-1-2018-10/

Two micron image sensors for HD low-cost IoT apps

OmniVision is shipping a  2-micron image sensor family  built with OmniBSI pixel technology. The two sensors, the OS02F10 and OS04B10, provide cost-effective backside illumination (BSI) solutions and are designed for capturing high definition (HD) images in entry-level IoT, industrial, commercial, and residential security and surveillance cameras. Their chief ray angle (CRA) of 9 degrees enables thinner ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/two-micron-image-sensors-hd-low-cost-iot-apps-2018-10/

SEMI September billings down 6.5% on August

  September billings for semiconductor manufacturing equipment were down 6.5% on August at $2.09 billion compared to August,reports SEMI. August billings were $2.37 billion. September billings are 1.8% higher than the $2.05 billion of September 2017. “Quarterly global billings of North American equipment suppliers experienced their typical seasonal weakening in the most recent quarter,” says SEMI ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/semi-september-billings-6-5-august-2018-10/

Circular sensor connector with 2A per contact current rating

Harwin's circular sensor connector has a current rating of 2A per contact.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/connectors/circular-sensor-connector-2a-per-contact-current-rating-2018-10/

CML upgrades voice codec offering

CML Microcircuits of Maldon, Essex has upgraded its voice codec offering with the  CMX655D which integrates two matched channels with Digital Signal Processing (DSP) along with a 1 Watt 90% efficient filterless Class D amplifier and support for digital MEMS microphones. These are functions that would have previously only been possible by adding additional components. In ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/uncategorised/cml-upgrades-voice-codecs-2018-10/

Top 10 (+2) Countries For Taking Holidays

  Thanks to Statista for this one – the twelve best countries for holiday entitlement:

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Win a Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC development board

We have three of the Xilinx boards to offer as prizes, worth £203 each.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/uncategorised/win-xilinx-zynq-ultrascale-mpsoc-development-board-2018-10/

Nepal takes telecoms bundling seriously

Having been to Nepal recently, I was amazed how many wires folk can manage to string off a single telegraph pole. Mostly the power at the top gets left alone, and then it appears telecoms cables are added when as and when required, by anyone with a ladder – at least I saw guys with ...

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Arrow takes Nvidia’s Jetson Xavier computer to the edge of AI

In a bid to advance AI and robotics, Arrow Electronics will offer Nvidia’s latest Jetson Xavier AI computer. The computer is designed to create autonomous machines in industrial settings. According to Nvidia, the collaboration with Arrow and its customer database will “open the door to the development and deployment of AI solutions for manufacturing, logistics, smart cities, healthcare ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/distribution-world/arrow-distribute-nvidias-jetson-xavier-computer-2018-10/

8W off-line switcher up-rated for 480V three-phase industrial power

Power Integrations has up-graded its LinkSwitch-XT2 range of off-line ac-dc power supply chips for use on 480Vac three-phase industrial power rails, swapping the original 725V internal mosfet for a 900V version. Intended for use up to 8W in industrial equipment it can be used in both isolated and non-isolated fly-back topologies. It can also be used ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/uncategorised/8w-off-line-switcher-rated-480v-three-phase-industrial-power-2018-10/

The Most Competitive Economies On Earth

The USA is the most competitive country in the world, says the World Economic Forum. The US got good scores for Business Dynamism, Financial System and the Labour Market but it wasn’t rated so highly in the Institutions, ICT Adoption and Product Market categories. Overall the US scored 85.6 Singapore came second with a score of ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/manufacturing-mannerisms/competitive-economies-earth-2018-10/

Programmable rack resistors for test

Pickering Interfaces has launched a family of 110 programmable resistor modules with 2.5W, 5W or 10W power handling capability at 100V or as limited by power. Models 40-251 (2.5W), 40-252 (5W) and 40-253 (10W) are aimed at applications that require accurate medium-power programmable resistance such as a programmable load for the testing of electronic control ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/test-measurement-products/programmable-rack-resistors-test-2018-10/

LDO Iq as low as 250nA

Microchip has announced a low drop-out linear regulator with 250nA quiescent current. Called MCP1811, the firm claims “faster load line and transient response when compared to other ultra-low Iq LDOs”. Looking at the data sheet (fig 2-24), Vout dips 100mV for 20µs with a 100µA to 10mA load transient (1µF X7R output cap, Vin=4.3V Vout=3.3V). Fig ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/power-supplies/ldo-iq-low-250na-2018-10/

Get ready for Droidcon London 2018!

Are you attending Droidcon London this year? If you can make it, I would strongly recommend the event if you are involved with Android at all.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/eyes-on-android/programming/get-ready-droidcon-london-2018-2018-10/

Precision multi-channel±10V and 0-20mA ADC for industry

Analog Devices has introduced two multi-channel ±10V and 0-20mA precision A/D converters for programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and distributed control system (DCS) modules. Matched current sense resistors and resistor dividers are integrated, using the firm’s iPassives technology – see table below for precision summary. “The high degree of channel-to-channel matching simplifies calibration requirements, and with ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/analogue-linear-mixed-signal-ics/precision-multi-channel%c2%b110v-0-20ma-adc-industry-2018-10/

Competition: Win a Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC development board

Please note a new competition on Electronics Weekly, giving you the chance to win a Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC development board, for supporting machine learning.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/competitions/competition-win-xilinx-zynq-ultrascale-mpsoc-development-board-2018-10/

Farnell publishes IoT design papers

Farnell has published five papers on designing for the the IoT.  They are: Cloud Device Integration for the IoT – With the Internet of Things bringing unprecedented levels of intelligence to embedded control, devices are being integrated from a variety of manufacturers and hardware types – some of which pre-date the widespread adoption of IoT. ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/farnell-publishes-iot-design-papers-2018-10/

China RISC-V Consortium Has 50 members

The China RISC-V Industry Consortium has has attracted over 50 members including VeriSilicon, Espressif Systems, Ingenic Semiconductor, UNISOC (Spreadtrum & RDA), Zhaoxin Semiconductor, Horizon Robotics, and C*Core Technology a,omg with R&D bodies and academic institutions, reports Digitimes. The objective of the consortium is to promote the adoption of RISC-V in China by building exchange platforms ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/china-risc-v-consortium-50-members-2018-10/

Bridgetek development modules back up graphic controller ICs

Bridgetek has introduced a series of entry-level development modules to support its BT815 and BT816 advanced graphics controller ICs which are being ramped into volume production. Supporting a range of different display configurations, the 54.1mm x 85.60mm VM816C modules each feature a BT816 device. Through these items, engineers will be able to utilise the functionality offered ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/bridgetek-2018-10/

Imec and ASML establish high-NA EUV lab for sub-3nm node

Imec and ASML are to accelerate the adoption of EUV lithography for high-volume production, including the current latest available equipment for EUV (0.33 Numerical Aperture, NA). Moreover they will explore the potential of the next-generation high-NA EUV lithography to enable scaling towards the post 3nm node. To this end, they will establish a joint high-NA ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/imec-asml-establish-high-na-euv-lab-sub-3nm-node-2018-10/

GB Leads World In Marine Radar

BRITAIN’S world leadership in marine radar was confirmed last night. Nearly 600 shipowners and technical staff  were at the Royal Festival Hall in London as guests of Decca Radar Ltd to hear of important new developments contributing to safety of life at sea. So, 58 years ago, opened a story in Electronics Weekly’s edition of November 2nd ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/memory-lane/gb-leads-world-marine-radar-2018-10/

UK capacitive touch controller works in tough industrial environments

Aiming at industrial and automotive applications, Hampshire-based TouchNetix has introduced a high-immunity capacitive touch screen controller that can work with thick screens, and even variable thickness screens – performance that is impossible for modified consumer-grade touchscreen controllers, according to the firm. Claimed noise immunity is far higher than competing controllers – 80dB against typically 50-55dB, ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/sensors-products/uk-capacitive-touch-controller-works-tough-industrial-environments-2018-10/

Steph McGovern boosts EW BrightSparks selection panel

We are very pleased to announce that the journalist and TV presenter Steph McGovern will be joining the EW BrightSparks 2019 selection panel. EW BrightSparks is a programme, run in partnership with RS Components, to highlight talented young electronic engineers in the UK. Now in its third year, we are looking for the young engineers who are ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/ew-brightsparks/steph-mcgovern-boosts-ew-brightsparks-selection-panel-2018-10/

Dogs & Fleas

Arm is in a bit of a dilemma. Tomorrow the ‘Davos in the Desert’ shindig backed by the Saudi government  opens. Arm CEO Simon Segars was down to speak. Loads of prospective attendees from  US Treasury Secretary to Liam Fox have pulled out of the Saudi spree  because of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Will ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/dilemmas/dogs-fleas-2018-10/

Arm adds Cortex-A5 to Design Start programme

Arm has added the nine year-old Cortex-A5 core to its Design Start programme. The cost is $75k up-front and another $50k when the design is complete which includes a year of support from Arm. Three years of support costs $150k up-front and $50k when the design is redy to tape out.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/arm-adds-cortex-a5-design-start-programme-2018-10/

Apple tells Bloomberg to retract spy chip story

In a highly unusual move, Apple’s CEO has publicly called for a retraction of a news story. The story is the spy chip allegation saying China put spy chips on boards used in servers bought by Apple. ‘This did not happen,” Cook (pictured) told Buzzfeed News, “I feel they should retract their story. There is ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/apple-asks-bloomberg-retract-2018-10/

Imec tool accelerates DNA sequencing 10x

Imec has developed a software tool to speed up human DNA sequencing analysis called elPrep which accelerates whole genome and exome processing pipelines up to an order of magnitude, saving a typical lab hundreds of hours of compute processing and allowing more and faster DNA tests. elPrep 4.0 is designed as a drop-in replacement for preparation steps defined ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/imec-tool-accelerates-dna-sequencing-10x-2018-10/

Oak Ridge demo-es 120kW EV charging

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated a 120-kilowatt wireless charging system for vehicles—providing six times the power of previous ORNL technology and a big step toward charging times that rival the speed and convenience of a petrol station fill-up. The wireless system transfers 120kW with 97% efficiency, which ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/oak-ridge-demo-es-120kw-ev-charging-2018-10/

Ed Frets About Arabian Delights

Oh dear. No.10 has stopped Ministers going to the Davos in the Desert shindig in Saudi, Ed confides to his diary. Saudi has been a cornucopia of goodies for pols for donkeys’ years – it embarrasses even me to see the number of rapacious politicals who attend the Saudi embassy cocktail parties. For me, as ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/ed-the-serial-ceo/ed-frets-arabian-delights-2018-10/

Game theory confuses cyber-attackers

Applying game theory to the way virtual machines are allocated to hypervisors could improve cloud security, according to the US Army. Speaking of multiple VMs running on a hypervisor: “Herein lies the unseen danger: an attacker can target an unsecured VM, and once that VM is compromised, the attack can move on to compromise the ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/game-theory-confuses-cyber-attackers-2018-10/

Technique tells machines which graphs can be understood by humans

Graphs can be easy or difficult to understand, or somewhere in-between. To give computers some idea where on the scale their output might be, and how to improve it if need be, researchers at Columbia University and Tufts University have invented a technique called ‘pixel approximate entropy’. “This is a brand new approach to working ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/technique-tells-machines-graphs-can-understood-humans-2018-10/

When NMOS Married CMOS

The transition from NMOS to CMOS came as a surprise to many. Most people thought CMOS too slow and insufficiently dense to become the industry’s mainstream process technology. In the mid-70s, Yasui Tokumasa of Hitachi took the view that NMOS was like a bridegroom and CMOS like a bride. He characterised NMOS as prompt at ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/yarns/nmos-married-cmos-2018-10/

UK engineering university launched in Hereford

New Model in Technology & Engineering (NMiTE), Britain’s first new purpose-built university for 40 years, has been launched today at Hereford Cathedral. Dubbed NMiTE, it is the first in a wave of government-promoted higher education ‘challengers’, due to receive its initial intake of student engineers in September 2019. “Britain desperately needs to boost productivity, technical skills ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/uk-engineering-university-launched-hereford-2018-10/

Better solar thermal electricity conversion

Purdue University is proposing a tungsten-ceramic zirconium carbide heat exchanger to increase the efficiency of solar-thermal electricity generation. Solar-thermal generation – where sunlight is focussed onto structures that absorb it as heat, which is then used to drive turbine-style generators – is proposed as an alternative to photo-voltaic generation, with the particular advantage that heat ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/better-solar-thermal-electricity-conversion-2018-10/

Seek gamers if you want female engineers

Girls who play video games are three times more likely to choose physical science, technology, engineering or maths (PSTEM) degrees compared to their non-gaming counterparts, according to the University of Surrey. A study, led by Surrey education researcher Dr Anesa Hosein – who declares a “geek girl gamer” past, according to the University, found that ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/seek-gamers-want-female-engineers-2018-10/

Panasonic tries to focus on high-tech Blinkers

A tech solution to the problem of too much tech, distracting you visibly or audibly. These blinkers, dubbed Wear Space, are a prototype from Panasonic's Future Life Factory.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/audio-amplifiers/panasonic-tries-focus-high-tech-blinkers-2018-10/

Comms take largest foundry share

Comms apps are expected to account for 3x more foundry wafers than computing apps in pure-play foundries this year, says IC Insights. With the tremendous growth of smartphones over the past decade, foundry sales to the communications market have soared. Ten years ago, computers/computing systems were easily the largest application for pure-play IC foundry sales, but ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/comms-take-largest-foundry-share-2018-10/

Sovereign or submissive?

“It is time for Europe to decide whether it wants to become a submissive continent…or a sovereign continent,” says French finance minister Bruno Le Maire (pictured) who has been leading the fight in the EU to tax the US tech giants. The Americans calk them the FANG and the French call them the GAFA, but ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/sovereign-or-submissive-2018-10/

Pharrowtech demo-es 60GHz phased array radar

Pharrowtech, an Imec spin-off currently in incubation, has demo-ed a prototype of a 60 GHz active phased array. Pharrowtech’s solution paves the way for telecom OEMs to dramatically increase range and field of view of backhaul nodes, access points and home units. It is fully built using low-cost, high-volume chip and antenna technology. This marks ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/540755-2018-10/

Renesas IDE for HMI and camera based development

Renesas has introduced a design environment for its  RZ/A1 microprocessors (MPUs) to simplify and accelerate the development of HMI, and camera-based development applications.. The  RZ/A1 Software Package IDE offers a starting point for RZ/A1-based HMI and camera-GUI design, significantly reducing the complexity and resources required to develop these applications. The RZ/A1 Software package incorporates the MCU ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/renesas-ide-hmi-camera-based-development-2018-10/

Arms Industry Numbers Compare With Chip Industry Numbers

When President Tump started back-tracking on delivering a kicking to Saudi Arabia he referred to a $110 billion arms deal which brought home to me that the arms trade, once so huge in comparison to to other industries, now runs on figures which compare with the chip industry. After all, Broadcom made an offer of ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/general-mannerisms/arms-industry-numbers-compare-chip-industry-numbers-2018-10/

Micron to buy out Intel’s share of flash jv

Micron is to buy Intel’s share of their 12 year-old  flash jv IM Flash Technologies. Micron will pay $1.5 billion for the stake and will assume responsibility for $1billion debt owed by Intel to the jv. Each company originally put in about $1.2 billion to found the jv in 2006. “Micron’s acquisition of IM Flash ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/micron-buy-intels-share-flash-jv-2018-10/

Engineering Design Show: Video Interview – Lascar Electronics on graphical interfaces, wireless data logging

At Engineering Design Show 2018, we caught up with Jonathan Abbott at Lascar Electronics

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/displays-2/engineering-design-show-video-interview-lascar-electronics-graphical-interfaces-wireless-data-logging-2018-10/

Fable: The Whistle

There was once a man who discovered that when the kids’ whistle given away with boxes of cereal was blown into a telephone it mimicked the tones that caused the telephone exchange to release a long distance phone line. This made it possible to make free long distance calls. The man published his findings and ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/mannerisms/fable/fable-the-whistle-2018-10/

DevBoard Watch: Matrix Voice board listens for IoT applications

Check out the Matrix Voice board, developed specifically for voice control applications. It can both work as a Raspberry Pi Hat or as a standalone unit.

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-master/boards/devboard-watch-matrix-voice-board-listens-iot-applications-2018-10/

64th IEDM will highlight device breakthroughs.

Novel neuromorphic and 3D devices, along with advances in memories and in core integrated circuit technology, are among the highlights of the upcoming 64th IEDM which will be held December 1-5, 2018 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square hotel. With 230 scheduled presentations, the conference’s tradition of spotlighting more leading work in more areas of ...

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from Electronics Weekly https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/64the-iedm-highlights-device-breakthroughs-2018-10/