Computing
The future of Google Glass
May 16, 2013 3:49 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Blogs | CommentsThere has been a lot of talk about Google Glass lately, mostly due to the prototype debut, but one interesting aspect of that public viewing is that developers –outside of GoogleLand—can take a crack at coming up with interesting uses for the technology. By allowing new voices into the conversation, the world is seeing even more possibilities for Google Glass.
Intelligent sensor hub integrates programmability, precision in a single package
May 15, 2013 3:40 pm | Freescale Semiconductor | Product Releases | CommentsFreescale Semiconductor is introducing a new Xtrinsic intelligent sensor hub that serves as an advanced sensor fusion platform. The Xtrinsic FXLC95000CL sensor hub integrates an on-board accelerometer with capability to manage multiple external sensors. The solution provides
Embedded vision system allows remote switching of PoE status
May 15, 2013 10:57 am | Adlink Technology Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsADLINK Technology announced the release of its new EOS-1220 GigE Vision-compliant embedded vision system, featuring 3rd generation Intel Core i7 quad-core processors, four independent PoE (power over Ethernet) ports, full compatibility with GigE Vision cameras and support for smart PoE APIs, allowing remote switching of PoE status.
SMT advanced bus converter promises to save board space
May 13, 2013 2:34 pm | Ericsson Power Modules | Product Releases | CommentsEricsson introduced a new surface-mounted version of its second generation of digital Advanced Bus Converter (ABC) products, called the BMR456-SI. This high-efficiency, digitally controlled DC/DC converter is compliant to full surface-mount manufacturing processes, and
Kit helps developers gain fast entry into the world of embedded ARM processors
May 10, 2013 11:25 am | Kontron | Product Releases | CommentsKontron announced the ready-to-use SMARC Starterkit. The kit offers developers fast entry into the world of embedded ARM processors, which is now highly scalable owing to SMARC Computer-on-Modules. The kit comes in a sturdy transport case, has all the cables already connected and is
VITA 66.1 optical MT backplane interconnect system promises simplified VPX-architecture
May 6, 2013 12:32 pm | Molex Incorporated | Product Releases | CommentsMolex launched the VITA 66.1 ruggedized optical MT backplane interconnect solution for high-density aerospace, defense and commercial embedded system applications. Fully compliant with the ANSI-ratified 66.1 specification, the compact VITA 66.1 optical MT backplane solution is
Super-Junction MOSFETs add dedicated control input for increased switching efficiency
May 6, 2013 10:58 am | Stmicroelectronics | Product Releases | CommentsSTMicroelectronics introduced the first MDmesh V Super-Junction MOSFET featuring a new package technology that increases the efficiency of power circuitry in equipment such as white goods, televisions, PCs, telecom, and server switched-mode power supplies. The new TO247-4 4-lead package
App lets amputees skip office visit, take programming bionic limbs into their own hands
May 3, 2013 2:06 pm | by KATHY MATHESON Associated Press | News | CommentsDouble-amputee Jason Koger used to fly hundreds of miles to visit a clinician when he wanted to adjust the grips on his bionic hands. Now, he's got an app. Koger came to Philadelphia this week to demonstrate the i-limb ultra revolution, a prosthetic developed by the British firm Touch Bionics.
More than a game: Exploring new digital frontiers
May 3, 2013 2:03 pm | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsA groundbreaking new initiative led by the University of York, with partners at Cass Business School, part of City University London and Durham University Business School, aims to unlock the potential for scientific and social benefits in digital games.
Robotic insects make first controlled flight
May 3, 2013 9:21 am | News | CommentsIn the very early hours of the morning, in a Harvard robotics laboratory last summer, an insect took flight. Half the size of a paperclip, weighing less than a tenth of a gram, it leapt a few inches, hovered for a moment on fragile, flapping wings, and then sped along a preset route through the air.
Bonding with your virtual self may alter your actual perceptions
May 2, 2013 2:28 pm | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsWhen people create and modify their virtual reality avatars, the hardships faced by their alter egos can influence how they perceive virtual environments, according to researchers.A group of students who saw that a backpack was attached to an avatar that they had created overestimated the heights of virtual hills...
Tele-what? YouTube touts itself not as a TV alternative, but a new-generation video platform
May 2, 2013 9:35 am | by JAKE COYLE AP Entertainment Writer | News | CommentsYouTube vs. TV? YouTube says the battle - if there ever was one - is over. In a flashy presentation to advertisers Wednesday night, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt declined to forecast that Internet video will displace television watching. Instead he declared: "That's already happened."
French industry minister denies country closed to foreign investment after vetoing Yahoo deal
May 2, 2013 9:31 am | by GREG KELLER Associated Press | News | CommentsThe French government has defended its veto over Yahoo Inc.'s attempted takeover of video sharing website Dailymotion, even as the move draws jeers for discouraging much needed foreign investment. Yahoo this week abandoned plans to take a 75 percent stake in Dailymotion, a deal sought by the managements of both companies, after the government blocked it.
Roboteq backs Raspberry PI-based Robot Navigation Computer project on Kickstarter
May 1, 2013 2:53 pm | Roboteq, Inc | Product Releases | CommentsRoboteq is collaborating on a kickstarter project named RIO (for Raspberry IO) and aimed at creating an intelligent I/O card that stacks over the $35 Raspberry PI Linux Single Board computer. The RIO card includes a rich set of I/O and connectivity features.
10 MUST READ posts from April
May 1, 2013 2:44 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Blogs | CommentsHere’s a rundown of the most read, most popular, most awesome articles on the web. Take a look at what you missed the first time around or check up on an old favorite to see the conversation in the comments. Keep checking out the Lead at www.ecnmag.com and follow us on Twitter @ecnonline for our most up-to-date articles.
Smart protocol converter translates avionics messages in real-time
May 1, 2013 11:47 am | Product Releases | CommentsData Device Corporation (DDC) introduced the AceXtreme Bridge Device to translate avionics messages in real-time between MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429, and Ethernet in any direction, without a host computer. With an onboard Intel Atom processor, two Ethernet channels, two
Carnegie Mellon develops zooming technique for entering text into smartwatches
May 1, 2013 11:07 am | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsTechnology blogs have been abuzz that smartwatches may soon be on their way from companies such as Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft. But as capable as these ultra-small computers may be, how will users enter an address, a name, or a search term into them?
Slim, 2.5-inch, 5-mm hard drives and solid state hybrid drives tout solid state hybrid drive technology
April 30, 2013 5:26 pm | Western Digital | Product Releases | CommentsWD, a Western Digital company is shipping what it asserts are the world's first ultra-slim 2.5-inch, 5 mm hard drives and solid state hybrid drives (SSHD), which are designed for integration into the slimmest devices and space-constrained computing environments. With 500 GB of storage capacity and
One step closer to a quantum computer
April 30, 2013 11:52 am | by Linköping University | News | CommentsProfessor Weimin Chen and his colleagues at Linköping University, in cooperation with German and American researchers, have succeeded in both initializing and reading nuclear spins, relevant to qubits for quantum computers, at room temperature. The results have just been published in the renowned journal Nature Communications.
‘Internet Of Things’: An opportunity for intelligent device manufacturers
April 29, 2013 3:25 pm | by Steve Schmidt, Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategy, Flexera Software | Blogs | CommentsThe “Internet of Things” is a phrase used to describe how the internet will link traditional smart devices, and a wide range of additional physical assets to allow these endpoints to generate and share data. Nearly every product will have an IP address and communication capability — not just networking and telecommunications devices...
Computer scientists suggest new spin on origins of evolvability
April 29, 2013 10:54 am | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsScientists have long observed that species seem to have become increasingly capable of evolving in response to changes in the environment. But computer science researchers now say that the popular explanation of competition to survive in nature may not actually be necessary for evolvability to increase.
Regulators feature constant on-time control architecture
April 26, 2013 10:16 am | Product Releases | CommentsAlpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited released AOZ1237, the latest addition to a family of high efficiency, easy-to-use synchronous EZBuck regulators featuring a proprietary Constant On-Time (COT) control architecture that enables smaller solutions and simplifies designs.
Fabric-enabled networking solutions include multi-service edge device
April 26, 2013 9:32 am | Product Releases | CommentsAvaya unveiled what it asserts is the industry’s first fabric-enabled multi-service edge device. Avaya VENA Fabric Connect transforms the entire network from data center to desktop into a more agile one that is easier to configure, manage and maintain. Based on an
Computers are sorcery! Kill them with fire!
April 25, 2013 4:13 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsIt's hard to believe we were ever this dumb. And it's hard to believe the '90s ever happened. This wacky decade — when we were all still finding our digital bearings — spawned gems like "Komputer Tutor", a VHS series from "America's Digital Goddess", Kim Komando, that takes simple computer concepts and dumbs them down even further ... and further and further. It's comedy gold.
Single board computer simplifies instrument control
April 24, 2013 3:24 pm | Mosaic Industries | Product Releases | CommentsThe PDQ Lite is a low cost single board computer and development board that hosts the Freescale HCS12/9S12 MCU and an embedded RTOS. This GNU C-programmable instrument controller is well suited for data acquisition and control, PWM drive, I2C sensor interfacing, laboratory automation, scientific instruments, SCADA, instrumentation and automation.
