Articles
Roundtable: What new electronics packaging materials or techniques do you expect to gain popularity in 2013?
November 1, 2012 12:02 pm | CommentsCustomers are demanding smaller, thinner, faster and more power efficient semiconductor solutions, especially for mobile applications, consumer electronics and the growing “Internet of Things.” Substrate advancements can help address these needs. New techniques are delivering materials with lower expansion and higher stiffness, resulting in thinner and/or coreless packages with reduced warpage.
Design requirements for automotive displays
November 1, 2012 11:34 am | by Mike Mallory, Electrical Engineer, Ocular LCD | CommentsTouch panel demand continues to rapidly increase and applications utilizing this advanced technology are expanding into a wide variety of markets. According to DisplaySearch, projected capacitive touch panels have surpassed resistive touch panels in shipments and revenue.
Why I don't trust cars that think for themselves
November 1, 2012 10:32 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | CommentsMost drivers wouldn't feel comfortable just handing over control of their vehicle to, well, their vehicle, but a new system from Nissan may do just that. The Autonomous Emergency Steering System, as the name suggests, will take over steering in emergency situations in which a crash could be avoided when you remove human error from the equation.
Ever-smarter digital power modules ease energy-efficiency gains
October 31, 2012 12:20 pm | by Patrick Le Fèvre, Marketing and Communication Director, Ericsson Power Modules, www.ericsson.com | CommentsA gift from decades of telecoms-industry development, bullet-proof models for high-availability power-supply systems and key standards documents are freely available online to tempt adventurous designers into exploring their own solutions for safeguarding processes that cannot afford unplanned downtime.
Selecting Hall-effect sensors for brushless DC motors
October 29, 2012 12:00 am | by Josh Edberg, Honeywell Sensing and Control, sensing.honeywell.com | CommentsBrushless DC (BLDC) motors need to operate more efficiently as energy and cost savings become bigger concerns for designers of electronic devices. One way to help ensure greater efficiency is by selecting the correct bipolar latching Hall-effect sensor IC for electronic commutation in BLDC motors.
Is a pacemaker capable of mass murder?
October 24, 2012 9:05 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | CommentsWhen you are a patient in a hospital, you tend to expect that the electronics are either top of the line or at least functioning correctly. You expect that the devices doctors implant in your body are reliable and safe. These seem like safe assumptions. Unfortunately, you could be mistaken.
Letter From the Publisher: It’s Time to Grow Again
October 23, 2012 12:02 pm | by Nick Pinto, Group Publisher | CommentsWith the recent downturn in the global economy, countries throughout the world have struggled to celebrate growth opportunities within their various industrial sectors. The medical device market has not been immune to the downturn, but has been able to persevere better than most industries.
The best solution for dealing with space junk
October 19, 2012 2:26 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | CommentsThere is a lot of junk in space. There’s American junk, Russian junk, Chinese junk, and corporate junk. There are satellite pieces and discarded rocket parts and metal bits. Basically, all the junk is just floating around clonking into other junk and causing general mayhem when they get a bit too close to the stuff that’s not junk.
Better Design Practices and Connector Technologies for Midplane Power Engineering
October 18, 2012 3:47 pm | by Corey Schroeder, Molex Incorporated | CommentsMidplane power engineering requires better design practices and connector technologies Upticks in computing power in a range of industries—consumer goods and appliances, data/communications devices, medical and diagnostic equipment, servers and other networking systems
Could NASA help paraplegics walk?
October 18, 2012 9:37 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | CommentsNASA has been known to make pretty large contributions to society. But they might have outdone themselves on this one. The agency is currently in the research and development phase for a powered armor suit that could one day allow paraplegics to walk. The suit, called X1, is a robotic exoskeleton designed to be worn over the body to assist in leg movements.
What trend or new technology will drive the test instrument market in 2013?
October 15, 2012 2:35 pm | CommentsIn the November issue of ECN Magazine, we talk Test and Measurement in the Roundtable with industry experts and engineers to get the low down on the question: What trend or new technology will drive the test instrument market in 2013? Each expert offers up insights and opinions into the trends of the past year.
Wireless power technology embraces user-friendly features
October 12, 2012 8:37 am | by Pearl (Ke) Cao and Vladimir A. Muratov, Texas Instruments | CommentsWireless charging technology has been recognized as a very attractive solution to a wide range of applications because it conveniently replaces power cords and charging cables. This emerging technology is being adopted for charging mobile phones and other handheld devices.
The 10-letter keyboard that will make your head hurt
October 11, 2012 4:50 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | CommentsThe ASETNIOP keyboard is one of those things that may be great for future generations but will have a tough time integrating itself into the current workforce. The keyboard works on the premise that the traditional setup for typing is structurally inefficient, and you really only need 10 buttons to type
How to solve the problem of excessive leakage current in the healthcare industry
October 11, 2012 12:52 pm | by Lennart Elmlund, Director of Marketing, Bridgeport Magnetics Group | CommentsThe 2012 Edition of NFPA 99 Healthcare Facilities Code reflects the new format of using a risk-based approach for determining the level of protection. An example is the definition of wet locations. The new code, in absence of any government regulations, gives the responsibility to the governing body of the healthcare organization to designate wet procedure locations.
What to look for in relays for space applications
October 11, 2012 9:34 am | by Karl Kitts, Engineering Director, High Performance Relays, TE Connectivity | CommentsWhen NASA’s Curiosity rover made a perfect landing in Gale Crater of Mars, it was 150 million miles from the nearest repairman. Every component has to operate reliably to support the vehicle’s expected operation life of 98 weeks—or one Martian year. Specifying a relay for space obviously involves finding a compact, lightweight device that meets electrical needs.
