Articles
A new foundation for 1-D barcode reading
August 14, 2012 12:39 pm | by Bill Silver, Senior Vice President & Senior Fellow, Cognex Corporation | CommentsThe linear barcode reading market is currently dominated by opto-mechanical laser scanners. Image-based barcode readers offer potential advantages including no moving parts, improved yields on poorly printed or damaged codes, the ability to save images of misread objects, and the ability to read 2-D symbologies.
Roundtable: How should we improve LEDs?
August 14, 2012 12:27 pm | CommentsQ: While LEDs contine to gain widespread adoption, what challenges must the industry address to maintain or improve progress? Experts from the field weigh in on the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to LEDs talking about everything from price to efficiency and what the industry must do to make (or break) LEDs
Would you trust brakes that think for you?
August 14, 2012 11:34 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | CommentsIn keeping with the vehicle safety theme I’ve self-cultivated with Signal and the inflatable seatbelt, let’s take a look at the world of brakes, specifically Automatic Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS). The idea behind AEBS is that in the event that you, the driver, are unable or incapable of braking in order to avoid a collision with a car, pedestrian, object, your garage door, etc. the car will take (complete or partial) control...
Internet sales tax could foster anti-business climate
August 14, 2012 10:44 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | CommentsThe prospect of an Internet sales tax has hung over the head of e-commerce like the Sword of Damocles. It’s the boogeyman that threatens to pull the World Wide Web into the stone age of brick-and-mortar. But the ugly rumors may finally be true. A bill under consideration in the Senate would impose an Internet sales tax and amend any “competitive” disparity. Prepare to spend a lot more for your online purchases.
Getting more efficiency out of your UPS system
August 13, 2012 9:40 am | by Peter Panfil, vice president of Global Power, Emerson Network Power | CommentsOne of the biggest challenges data center managers face today is to maintain or improve availability in increasingly dense computing environments while increasing efficiency and reducing costs. Recent advances in technology are providing new options to help data centers meet these sometimes conflicting objectives.
NI deploys LabVIEW and CompactRIO in wake of Fukushima nuclear disaster
August 8, 2012 10:19 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | CommentsOne of the more unique applications of National Instruments’ LabVIEW design platform was its recent deployment during the Fukushima nuclear disaster. In conjunction with Kyoto University, NI created the Kyoto University RAdiation MApping (KURAMA) system, which measured gamma rays in the Fukushima Prefecture. At NI Week 2012, I learned more about this intriguing development.
Saving the oceans one robot at a time
August 8, 2012 9:02 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | CommentsAnyone who has ever seen the Hudson River can conjure up an image of a dirty, chemical-laden body of water with trash that chokes the docks and piers along NYC and New Jersey. Earlier this summer, I watched in horror with several dozen other people, as two girls jumped into the river for a quick dip. Several people expressed their concern about the trash floating just feet away from the swimmers. I considered the several centuries worth of garbage and chemicals that we’ve dumped into the river,
Dimmable LED driver solutions for MR16 lamp replacements
August 1, 2012 10:23 am | by Montu Doshi, David Zhang, and Steve Solanyk, Texas Instruments | CommentsMR16 lamps, also known as multi-mirror lamps, are halogen-type lamps designed in an integral multifaceted reflector and are renowned for their exceptional beam control. To encourage adoption of MR16-compatible LED-based lamps, it is essential that they match or exceed the performance of conventional halogen or incandescent lamps.
LEDs: Redefining the basic assumptions of lighting
August 1, 2012 9:57 am | by Doug Bailey, Power Integrations | CommentsOver the past 150 years or so, the lighting industry has evolved into a mass production industry built around the concept of standardized bulbs, designed with built-in obsolescence. Consumers find themselves frequently replacing identical, short-lived products with more of the same. This trend is supported by a small number of large manufacturers that meet demand by building billions of identical products at low cost.
Enough with the Twitter Olympics
July 31, 2012 3:38 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | CommentsIt’s official, people: Twitter has taken over the Olympics. Yes, we all know about Ryan Loche and Michael Phelps. Even the Queen’s granddaughter (a silver medalist) is popping up in the Olympic news, but let’s focus on what’s important during this competition: Twitter. It seems for every story you read about the craziness of antiquated gymnastic rules and disappointing defeats, there is a story about Twitter.
New-generation IGBTs increase motor drive efficiency in appliances
July 31, 2012 10:22 am | by Andrea Gorgerino, IGBT Applications Manager, Energy Saving Products, International Rectifier | CommentsManufacturers are continually increasing adoption of electronically controlled motor drives in appliance applications such as compressors for refrigerators and air-conditioning to meet new energy efficiency regulations. The power semiconductor of choice in these systems is the IGBT, either in discrete form or in an integrated module. In these applications the switching frequencies are usually kept below 10kHz to increase efficiency...
Full steam ahead for the Navy’s controversial “Great Green Fleet”
July 30, 2012 4:43 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | CommentsThe Navy has embarked on an ambitious green energy program, which could cost upwards of $2 billion per year. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus must convince a skeptical Congress, Senate, and public that investing in pricey alternative fuels — in the midst of the worst recession in decades — will reap dividends.
Cellular carrier certification requirements
July 27, 2012 10:40 am | by Chris Anderson and Pat Frank, Spectrum Design Solutions, www.spectrumdsi.com | CommentsSo you want to sell a product with cellular in it, but you have no details on cellular carrier and agency certifications? Here’s the skinny.
Why YouTube should remain anonymous
July 27, 2012 9:45 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | CommentsAnyone who has ever spent any time on YouTube reading the comments is familiar with—as Slate calls it-- the “abandon all hope ye who enter here” atmosphere of the community. When you dare scroll down past the episode of Hogan’s Heroes you’ve been watching, you’ll find all manner of misogynistic, racist, homophobic, anti-liberal, anti-conservative, anti-religion...
Stop ruining technology with nostalgia
July 24, 2012 4:57 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | CommentsNew technology is supposed to be an improvement over old technology. It should be more efficient, faster, smaller, or simply just better than its predecessors OR it must offer something so unique, so amazing that you forget that it, in fact, does nothing. It’s the reason smart phones, tablets, and ultrabooks are outselling dumb phones, computers, and laptops of days gone by. People like improvements.
