Features
Engineering Update #5: Robotic cockroaches, lightsabers, a 3D wearable mouse, and Google Glass
February 28, 2013 9:20 am | Videos | CommentsIn this episode of Engineering Update, brought to you by Mouser Electronics (www.mouser.com): Researchers at the University of Michigan are studying cockroaches in order to advance robotic technology. A 3D wearable, wireless, thumb-activated, space recognition, Bluetooth 4.0 low-energy protocol mouse called Mycestro.
Migrating legacy M2M systems to the cloud
February 27, 2013 4:51 pm | by Chris Downey, Laird Technologies | Articles | CommentsThe rapid pace of technological change means that, even before a system has matured, it often is replaced or enhanced with new technologies. Such is the case with machine-to-machine (M2M) applications and their migration to the cloud, or what sometimes is called the Internet of Things (IoT).
Hydrogen fuel cells get a lift
February 27, 2013 9:16 am | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | Blogs | CommentsI was reading one of the logistics magazines I regularly get and found out something amazing. By about 2020, roughly 80 percent of the lift trucks in America will be powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The fuel cell advantage is constant voltage output and longer continuous run time.
What role will sensors and controls play in emerging solid state lighting applications? (Part II)
February 15, 2013 2:41 pm | Articles | CommentsQ: What role will sensors and controls play in emerging solid state lighting applications? Solid-state lighting technology is a natural fit in our digital, wireless world. Adaptive control and wireless sensor networks are the key to ever more sophisticated LED lighting schemes including dimming,
What role will sensors and controls play in emerging solid state lighting applications?
February 15, 2013 2:38 pm | Articles | CommentsQ: What role will sensors and controls play in emerging solid state lighting applications? Where will the Internet of Things make its big commercial debut? Probably a few feet above your head. Intelligent sensing systems — installed and configured in overhead lighting systems and combining motion, temperature and light sensors with microprocessors, imagers and LEDs
What is the Real Smart Home?
February 15, 2013 12:17 pm | by Elly Schietse, General Manager, GreenPeak Belgium | Articles | CommentsYou are ready and packed to leave on a holiday trip and for the first time, you agreed that your teenage son can stay home alone. The control freak in you is already making long lists of daily and weekly tasks and to-do’s to keep the pets and plants alive, and the calamity predictor in you wants to anticipate for flooded bathrooms and burning fryers.
Engineering Update #4: Robots driven by moths, recycling Nike & Nokia, and a hacking kit that flies
February 14, 2013 9:52 am | Videos | CommentsIn the latest episode of ECN 's Engineering Update, brought to you by Mouser Electronics (http://www.mouser.com): In case you were looking for a more dramatic way to steal competitive data or hack Facebook accounts, a build-it-yourself quadrocopter, called Crazyflie, is now available.
Large-scale free WiFi is still a dream worth pursuing
February 13, 2013 3:34 pm | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsSometimes, it seems our nation no longer aspires to great things. These days our astronauts hitch rides to the International Space Station on Soviet spacecraft, and just recently, the U.S. Postal Service — once the envy of the world — announced its intention to eliminate Saturday mail service.
Engineers weigh in on best energy management tactics
February 13, 2013 9:28 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsWe know ECN readers have varied and valuable opinions – now here’s a great opportunity to showcase them. Send us an answer to the question below and if we think yours is the best, we’ll feature your response in the April print issue. Plus, you’ll get a $15 Starbucks gift card simply for sharing your thoughts.
Insulated-gate bipolar transistors optimized for uninterruptible power supplies, solar, induction heating, industrial motor, and welding applications
February 11, 2013 3:00 pm | International Rectifier | Product Releases | CommentsInternational Rectifier (IR) announced the expansion of its family of 600V insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) with the introduction of the IRGP4640D, IRGP4650D and IRGP4660D. The new rugged, reliable devices are optimized for uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), solar, induction heating, industrial motor and welding applications.
Engineering Update #3: Watson, Nano Batteries, 3D Chips, and Mission: Impossible Gets Real
February 7, 2013 1:42 pm | Videos | Comments"Watson," no, not Sherlock's sidekick, but the famous supercomputer who beat the world's best human at Jeopardy, is going back to school. IBM is sending the Watson system to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, so it can improve its "thinking" skills. Because making robots more human always works out just fine.
Mechatronics security by design
February 6, 2013 12:06 pm | by Peter Thorne, Managing Director, Cambashi Ltd. | Articles | CommentsEngineers responsible for mechatronics development have always known that it’s not just PCs that can suffer from malware. A study in 20111 used experiment rather than theory to identify vulnerabilities of in-vehicle automotive systems. Not only was this a strong reminder of the seriousness of the issue...
Automobile EDR data collection by the Government must include safeguards
February 6, 2013 10:34 am | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsIn December, The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a proposal that would require automakers to equip all light vehicles with event data recorders (EDRs) that capture information in the moments before and after a wreck similar to the way they are used to study airline crash.
Will 12V solar disappear in 2013?
February 5, 2013 3:08 pm | by Jon Gabay, Mouser Electronics | Mouser Electronics | Blogs | CommentsThe established solar architecture based on 12V photovoltaic panels, batteries, charge controllers, and inverters will continue to give way to grid-tied inverter architectures. This approach to harvesting solar energy brings with it a lot of key benefits.
Engineering Update #2: Revolutionary self-healing wires
January 31, 2013 1:53 pm | Videos | CommentsOur second newscast for Electronic Component News is brought to you by Mouser Electronics, the electronic components distributor with the widest selection of the newest products. In this episode of Engineering Update, we're discussing new research into larger, safer lithium ion batteries, revolutionary self-healing and self-assembling wires using liquid metal....
Did the Justice Department cause Aaron Swartz’s suicide?
January 31, 2013 9:00 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsAaron Swartz was a 26-year-old computer programmer and online activist who died of apparent suicide on January 11, ahead of a scheduled trial where he was charged with 13 felonies. Swartz, founder of Demand Progress, an online group actively working against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)...
Short-range wireless module operates on the 868MHz European ISM license-free frequency
January 24, 2013 3:14 pm | Telit Wireless Solutions | Product Releases | CommentsTelit Wireless Solutions announced the market introduction of the LE70-868 point-to-point, star-topology, short-range wireless module for the European multi-kilometer range wired-to-wireless network migration market in application areas such as solar/wind farms and agricultural automation.
Obsolete industries won’t drive economic growth
January 24, 2013 12:09 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsAn article in the Associated Press, "Big Data and cloud computing empower smart machines to do human work, take human jobs," bemoans the loss of jobs to technology – a highly dubious assertion that crops up every generation like a broken record. And like the damaged piece of vinyl, this argument is immune to logic and reason.
Engineering Update #1: Smart TVs & Unmanned Cars
January 24, 2013 9:08 am | Videos | CommentsNew from Electronic Component News is the very first episode of our Engineering Update newscast, brought to you by Mouser Electronics (www.mouser.com), the electronic components distributor with the widest selection of the newest products. We talk about...
Interference filter designed for use on the DC side of the inverter in photovoltaic and other DC systems
January 21, 2013 4:01 pm | Schurter Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsSCHURTER presents its new 2300 A FMER SOL interference filter. In addition, the series is now offered without ground capacitors to safely prevent any leakage of current to ground. The series is designed for use on the DC side of the inverter in photovoltaic and other DC systems.
What technology do you expect to take the consumer space by storm in 2013? (Part II)
January 21, 2013 11:31 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsThe question of, "What technology do you expect to take the consumer space by storm in 2013?" continues in part II of the February Brainstorm series as experts take on the question of what will be popular in consumer electronics and the consumer technology space in the next 12 months.
Do you have what it takes to be a Brainstorm expert?
January 21, 2013 10:36 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsWe here at ECN love to hear what you have to say, so for our March issue we’re opening up the Brainstorm discussion to our faithful readers. We want to hear your thoughts about lighting and the future of technology.Typically, the Brainstorm is an editorial section consisting of short commentary by five or six experts in a particular vertical market. Check out the Brainstorm archive, here.
CES 2013 a meager showcase for consumer electronics
January 17, 2013 2:20 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Microsoft Corp. | Articles | CommentsCES has never been more irrelevant. I wrote those words last year when Microsoft pulled out of CES and the industry was in the thralls of its 3D hysteria, pushing a technological gimmick that no one wanted. Since then, the industry has found a new rallying cry – 4K (or Ultra-HD) – and largely abandoned hopes of shoving stereoscopy down our throats, but the pizzazz is still missing.
New Jersey’s power and fuel infrastructure was no match for Sandy
January 16, 2013 12:14 pm | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsThe love-hate relationship we have with "the grid" was inescapable during Superstorm Sandy. We don’t think about it much when our homes are lit and appliances are humming – we have the freedom to do anything we want. But when there’s an interruption, there’s that nagging wish to be free from the grip of our local utility....
DC/DC converter design principles for wireless sensor node applications
January 15, 2013 4:55 pm | by Yogesh Ramadass, Design Engineer and Tony Antonacci, Systems Engineer, Texas Instruments | Texas Instruments | Articles | CommentsWith the advancement of energy harvesting elements, energy can be found and captured in almost any application, allowing for a wide variety of systems to be powered remotely. Applications such as “smart homes” and “mesh sensor networks” take advantage of the harvesting elements in order to power back-end electronics....
