Features
Does the battery fuel gauge lie?
April 5, 2012 5:53 am | by Isidor Buchmann, CEO & founder of Cadex Electronics Inc. www.BatteryUniversity.com; answers@cadex.com | Articles | CommentsMeasuring stored energy in an electrochemical device, such as a battery, is complex and state-of-charge (SoC) readings on a fuel gauge provide only a rough estimate.Users often compare battery SoC with the fuel gauge of a vehicle.
New rumors of smaller Apple tablet continue to surface
April 5, 2012 5:42 am | by Ron M. Seidel, Editorial Intern | Articles | CommentsStories about an “iPad mini” started receiving attention March 13 when 9to5Mac posted a link to a Korea Times report in which an unnamed Samsung official told the newspaper that Apple will be building a 7.85-inch version of the iPad utilizing Samsung displays.
Selecting the best three-phase BLDC motor design technique
April 4, 2012 7:55 am | by Brian Chu, Product-Line Marketing Manager, Microchip Technology | Articles | CommentsThree-phase Brushless DC (BLDC) motors offer several advantages over other popular motor drive architectures. These advantages—such as a lack of voltage drop across brushes, low acoustic noise and low mechanical vibrations—enable better system efficiency...
Global PV installations to grow by up to 21 percent in 2012 predicts IMS Research
April 4, 2012 5:27 am | News | CommentsGlobal solar PV installations will grow by at least 3.5 percent and up to 21 percent in 2012, according to a new report from IMS Research, recently acquired by IHS Inc. The market analyst firm forecasts that despite incentive cuts in most of the world’s largest markets...
Hungry? Press the emergency pizza button
April 3, 2012 12:15 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsIn this era of instant gratification, an emergency pizza button ranks somewhere between the invention of sliced bread and the printing press.
Return to Zero - Real-Time Collaboration
April 3, 2012 7:51 am | Articles | CommentsReturn to Zero is a funny comic strip for engineers, with lab humor, odd situations, and exploding circuits that of course makes a sport out of solving the trickiest of engineering problems.
Increased voltage capability of tantalum polymer capacitors opens up new applications
April 2, 2012 4:55 am | by Martin Bárta, Field Application Engineer, AVX | Articles | CommentsTantalum polymer capacitors -- widely used for more than 15 years -- have benefited from significant increases in CV and reductions in ESR. However, due to the maximum achievable breakdown voltage (VBD) of such capacitors...
ZigBee 101
April 2, 2012 4:41 am | by Jorge Deligiannis, Chief Technology Officer at Energate | Articles | CommentsZigBee has become the dominant utility-requested protocol for home energy management applications, and the growing need for residential demand response programs has increased the level of interest in ZigBee and its outgrowth Smart Energy Profile...
Lighting applications for large-size projected capacitive touch panels
March 30, 2012 9:55 am | by John Blackburn, Senior Electrical Engineer, Ocular LCD | Articles | CommentsThe demand for projected capacitive (PCAP) touch panels is growing at a rapid rate. The increased durability and enhanced look and feel a PCAP touch panel provides can benefit a wide variety of products. The all glass construction allows for increased optical clarity...
Next-gen components help reduce energy use in new motor system designs
March 30, 2012 9:08 am | by Lydia Meijer, Bourns, www.bourns.com | Articles | CommentsToday, electric motors are more closely scrutinized as a result of broad spectrum application use, which is strictly regulated. Electric motors consume more than half of all electric energy produced.
Return to Zero - High Voltage Supply
March 28, 2012 10:42 am | Articles | CommentsReturn to Zero is a funny comic strip for engineers, with lab humor, odd situations, and exploding circuits that of course makes a sport out of solving the trickiest of engineering problems.
MAGE SOLAR Opens Distribution Center in Arizona
March 27, 2012 7:41 am | News | CommentsMAGE SOLAR, part of the globally operating MAGE GROUP, announced today that it has added a new warehouse and distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona. Effective immediately, the company’s
Booming China Market Creates Great Opportunities for PV Inverter Manufacturers
March 27, 2012 7:36 am | News | CommentsThe Chinese PV inverter market, driven by the introduction of the national FiT, grew by over 400% in 2011 to reach more than 2.5 GW in shipments according to a new report from IMS Research, recently acquired by IHS Inc. The report also found that the market was
Evolving LLC Converters bring new capabilities to LED street light designs
March 23, 2012 9:05 am | by Chris Lee, Marketing Manager, Power Integrations | Articles | CommentsOver the last few years momentum has been rapidly building behind the development of a new generation of LED technology-based street lights. Promising a much longer service life and higher power efficiency than existing technologies...
RC analog-to-digital converters simplify design of temperature, humidity, & CO instrumentation
March 22, 2012 8:27 am | by Alec Melnick, Sr. Applications Engineer, Lapis Semiconductor | Articles | CommentsTemperature, humidity and other physical measurements in digital instrumentation typically utilize successive approximation (SA) analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) techniques to acquire data.
Tips Help Engineers Write Well -- Part 2
March 21, 2012 1:26 pm | by Jon Titus, Senior Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsA conclusion at the start of a report and the active voice improve engineers' written communications.
Return to Zero - Communications
March 21, 2012 9:48 am | Articles | CommentsReturn to Zero is a funny comic strip for engineers, with lab humor, odd situations, and exploding circuits that of course makes a sport out of solving the trickiest of engineering problems.
The Roundtable - The Cloud
March 21, 2012 7:24 am | Articles | CommentsHow do you feel the Cloud will most impact product development in the coming year?
Design with your eyes on the road
March 21, 2012 6:57 am | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsThe other day, I received a press release from a company that announced plans to apply its technology to the automotive space. The memo cited research from Strategic Analytics which predicts a 10 percent compound annual growth rate in the market for the next five years.
Brainstorm: Smart Grid & Alternative Energy
March 21, 2012 6:44 am | Articles | CommentsWhat market segment is in the direst need of an alternative energy overhaul and why?
Getting the silent treatment from your TV? You don’t have to take it anymore
March 21, 2012 5:29 am | by Les Tyler, President, dbx-tv | Articles | CommentsToday's flat-panel TV sets have bright, detailed pictures. They look great even when not operating, as a result of thin profiles and disappearing bezels. And, they connect so easily to the Internet, Skype, and BluRay players...
Opto 22 sponsors eSight Energy's U.S. ''Energy Management Road Shows''
March 21, 2012 5:04 am | News | CommentsIndustrial automation manufacturer Opto 22 is sponsoring eSight Energy's U.S. "Energy Management Road Shows," a series of live events exploring the role of power monitoring and energy analysis in improving building energy efficiency.
LED Lighting to Drive $3bn Power Semiconductor Market in 2016
March 15, 2012 6:58 am | News | CommentsThe global market for power semiconductors used in LED lighting is forecast to reach over $3 billion in 2016, according to a new report from IMS Research, a leading independent provider of market research and consultancy to the global electronics industry.
EC Working on Regulations for Commercial UAV Use
March 14, 2012 6:09 am | Blogs | CommentsWorking hard to catch up to the rest of the world, the European Commission's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Panel began meetings February 9 in Brussels, Belgium, to agree on the key flight rules and technologies for commercial UAVs
High-tech risk management: Sophisticated inspection procedures & equipment for counterfeit detection
March 14, 2012 5:34 am | by Robert W. Chesla, Senior Project Engineer, Rockwell Automation & Nora Gibbs, Account Executive, Smith & Associates | Articles | CommentsA successful and effective anti-counterfeiting strategy must be implemented when an end-product manufacturer purchases components from an independent distributor.
