Newsletters
A tale of two lamps
April 30, 2013 4:19 pm | by Karl Stephan, Consulting Engineer, Texas State University, San Marcos | Blogs | CommentsA few months ago, my wife bought a lamp at an office-supply place to light up the table where my father-in-law plays dominoes with us. He’s 87 and his eyesight isn’t what it used to be, so having lots of light in the right place is important. The ceiling light doesn’t quite do the job.
The green death
April 30, 2013 3:45 pm | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | Blogs | CommentsBeing "green" has gone from a technical effort to economically reduce energy use and avoid waste where such avoidance makes sense to actively reducing our effectiveness to show how committed we are to the Green Religion. And there is so much of this going on. In my opinion we would be much better off worshiping trees. Or cows.
Integrating sensors into mobile devices
April 30, 2013 3:34 pm | by Jim Steele, Ph.D., Vice President of Engineering, Sensor Platforms | Articles | CommentsSensors have been an important addition to smartphones ever since accelerometers were first used to determine screen orientation. Now a wide variety of sensors, including magnetometers, barometers, and gyroscopes, are found in many other devices, such as watches, glasses, headsets, and shoes.
New construction materials and techniques enable LVDT linear position sensor operation in diverse environments
April 30, 2013 3:04 pm | by Lee Hudson, Applications Engineer, Macro Sensors, www.macrosensors.com | Macro Sensors | Articles | CommentsThe LVDT Linear Position Sensor is a robust sensor adaptable to a variety of applications. A very reliable sensing device with no moving parts, LVDTs are often the best linear feedback technology when it comes to reliability and longevity. However, in the past, LVDTs were limited by its own sensitivity to the environment that caused errors in linear feedback.
Pressure sensor construction addresses challenges in wet environments
April 30, 2013 2:09 pm | by Karmjit Sidhu, Vice President Business Development, American Sensor Technologies, www.astsensors.com | Articles | CommentsAccurate measurement of low pressure with respect to atmospheric reference (typically called vented or gauge reference) requires that pressure sensors breathe under dry, humid and wet conditions. In humid and wet environments, challenges are posed on how to operate the pressure sensor without allowing water into the back end of the sensors....
Universal PLD test system can perform boundary scan IC and board tests
April 30, 2013 12:27 pm | Saelig Company, Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsSaelig Company has introduced the JTAGMaster Tester/Programmer, an integrated solution for testing and configuring Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs). JTAGMaster can perform boundary scan IC and board tests, as well as programming JTAG-compatible IC and EEPROMs using external adapters.
Energy-saving smartphone sensor registers the ambient brightness
April 30, 2013 10:57 am | Osram Opto Semiconductors | Product Releases | CommentsOsram Opto Semiconductors has expanded its portfolio of proximity and ambient light sensors with a new, extremely powerful version with low power consumption. The compact SFH 7776 digital sensor registers the ambient brightness – even behind dark smartphone covers....
Smart TV: Will Moore’s Law define TV architecture?
April 30, 2013 9:57 am | by Paul Gray, Director of European TV Research, DisplaySearch | Blogs | CommentsThe TV until now has evolved at a pace largely detached from Moore’s Law, an observation that the number of transistors on a unit area of integrated circuit doubles every two years. Its consequence is that computing power doubles per unit of cost in the same time.
TriggerSmart Childproof RFID Smart Gun
April 30, 2013 9:12 am | Videos | CommentsTriggerSmart has developed and patented a user-unique Childproof RFID Smart Gun. Basically, only the authorized user can fire the weapon, and the gun is harmless in the hands of a child or an intruder in the home. This video demonstrates their technology.
LED fixture features 10,000 lumen output while drawing only 150 watts
April 29, 2013 4:59 pm | Larson Electronics Llc | Product Releases | CommentsLarson Electronics has announced the release of an explosion proof LED area light designed to provide durable and reliable illumination with versatile mounting capabilities. The HBLP-1MLED-TRN Trunnion Mount Light Fixture features 10,000 lumen output while drawing only 150 watts....
ECN's exclusive interview with Digikey on LEDs and the state of the marketplace
April 29, 2013 4:16 pm | by Robbie Paul, Lighting Sales Director, Digikey | Articles | CommentsSolid state lighting is continuing its solid growth across a range of industries and applications. ECN recently spoke to Robbie Paul, Lighting Sales Director at Digikey to discuss the solid state lighting market and the latest LED trends.
‘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...
HotSpot Episode 10: Numi, The King of Toilets
April 29, 2013 2:09 pm | Videos | CommentsThis week on WDD's HotSpot: Kohler announces Numi, a feature-packed toilet that makes the bathroom the place to be. With a Bluetooth receiver that allows users to directly stream their music from a smartphone, the porcelain throne also features an SD card....
Taking the LEED in energy efficiency
April 29, 2013 11:14 am | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | Blogs | CommentsThere is a push on to make buildings more energy efficient. This is in part being accomplished by making them meet LEED Standards. What does LEED stand for? Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED promises to "Reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions".
USB thermocouple and vibration DAQ modules aimed at academic users
April 29, 2013 10:50 am | Data Translation, Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsData Translation announced two sensor specific, USB-powered modules with application software for the growing educational market. These new devices allow lab and field testing for experimentation, sound, vibration, and temperature analysis.
Guns are only as ‘smart’ as we are
April 29, 2013 9:48 am | by Stephanie Carmichael, Contributor | Blogs | CommentsI’m uncomfortable with the phrase "smart gun." Maybe that’s because the words make me think of Skynet in Terminator, or the great lesson to man about the dangers of artificial intelligence gussied up in a blockbuster action-movie franchise. While it’s probably not going to rebel and nearly exterminate all of mankind, in the wrong hands, real-world technology can become a tool for evil.
A look back at Lightfair 2013
April 26, 2013 4:54 pm | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsCold weather has been hanging on well into April here in the northeast. But if you were in Philadelphia this week, you would be forgiven for walking around wearing sunglasses – especially indoors at the Pennsylvania Convention Center – a sure sign that Lightfair is in town.
IP65-rated pushbuttons include new brushed chrome option
April 26, 2013 12:07 pm | NKK Switches | Product Releases | CommentsNKK Switches announced it has updated its YB2 Series of 24mm square and 25mm round tamperproof pushbuttons. New to the series is a brushed chrome cap and bezel option for non-illuminated models. This new option gives design engineers greater flexibility to match YB2 Series devices with the style of their designs.
Constant-current power supply achieves efficiencies up to 91%
April 26, 2013 11:16 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe series of constant current (CC) models of the high-voltage output (maximum output voltage up to 280VDC) with IP65/67 design for customers’ choices and with the efficiency up to 91%. This series are built-in two-stage PFC circuit to achieve the EU harmonic interference limited of lighting products requirements....
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.
Sensor provides solution for crystal oscillators, sensors requiring temperature compensation
April 26, 2013 9:50 am | Heraeus Sensor Technology | Product Releases | CommentsThe Heraeus Sensor Technology SMD Platinum RTD temperature sensor element provides an ideal solution for crystal oscillators, sensors, and other components requiring temperature compensation. The 0805 SMD package RTD offers the stability of a thin film Pt RTD in a standard surface mount package.
Engineering Update #9: The gossiping Pinoccio and the power line inspecting Skysweeper
April 26, 2013 9:09 am | Videos | CommentsThis episode of ECN's Engineering Update is brought to you by Mouser Electronics. In this week's headlines: A new device named Pinoccio is a socially-adept networking tool designed with the Internet of Things in mind. The microcontroller allows engineers to connect their own handmade devices to the internet as well as other devices in the home.
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.
Keystone Electronics releases new catalog
April 25, 2013 1:50 pm | Product Releases | CommentsKeystone Electronics Corp. has released the 2nd edition of its original M60 full line Catalog of interconnect components and electronic hardware, Catalog M60.2. This latest 152-page edition features a variety of new products and product updates that are easy-to-locate within product category sections.
The newest storybook: Scannable pjs
April 25, 2013 1:49 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Blogs | CommentsIt was really only a matter of time before QR codes invaded bedtime, but at least they made it interesting. Smart PJs (patent-pending) are a new kind of clothing complete with QR code-like scannable patches that could make bedtime a little more fun.
