Articles – EEJournal

Three Companies, One Toolchain: The Rise of TASKING 3.0

March 12, 2026

I don’t like change. I know I’m starting to sound like an old codger, but that’s OK because I am an old codger (I know the secret handshake and I have the ~~ceremonial undergarments~~ T-Shirt to prove it). For example, I remember going to the Design Automation Conference (DAC) year after year throughout the 1980s. The same companies were there each time, but it seemed like everyone I knew had moved from one company to another between conferences. It was very confusing. It made my head hurt.

Since then, the same thing … Read More → "Three Companies, One Toolchain: The Rise of TASKING 3.0"

The Curious Case of the Waning Wheeltapper

by Max Maxfield

March 10, 2026

I constantly amaze myself by the vast quantities of useless nuggets of knowledge and tidbits of trivia that are rattling around in my poor old noggin. These typically resurface when I least expect them. For example, I could be discussing AI systems with someone, and—as improbable as it may sound—one of the examples they give might trigger thoughts of a man bending over tapping a railway wheel with a hammer. In fact, this very scenario just occurred.

Let’s first set the scene. When I was a kid growing up in England in the 1960s, … Read More → "The Curious Case of the Waning Wheeltapper"

Bumblebees Can’t Fly, and Humans Can’t Exist (I Have Proof)

by Max Maxfield

March 5, 2026

I’m feeling more than a little existential at the moment. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a cream for that. I was going to say, “Don’t worry, it’s not catching.” However, the more I think about what I’m about to tell you, the more I fear we might discover that it is.

The idea that bumblebees shouldn’t be able to fly dates back to the 1930s. According to an oft-repeated anecdote, a French (it goes without saying) aerodynamicist supposedly calculated that a bumblebee’s wings were too small to support its … Read More → "Bumblebees Can’t Fly, and Humans Can’t Exist (I Have Proof)"

Mad Max Meets Furiosa AI

by Max Maxfield

March 3, 2026

I recall seeing the very first Mad Max movie in 1979. In this torrid tale, a dystopian near-future Australia is facing a breakdown of civil order. Max (no relation) is a police officer who turns into a vigilante, which isn’t surprising when you see what he sees and experiences. All I can say is that the final scene is so powerful that it’s as fresh in my mind as when I saw it 50+ years ago.

The pace picked up in Read More → "Mad Max Meets Furiosa AI"

Well, Fork Me with a Dining Philosophers Problem (or The Best Way to Debug Embedded Systems)

by Max Maxfield

February 26, 2026

There are many difficult-to-answer questions. For example: At what point does ‘a few’ become ‘several’ When does ‘soon’ become ‘never’? How long will this take? (How long have you got?) When will it be done? (Define ‘done’?) Is it backward compatible? (With what, exactly?) How many devices around the world are running code no one fully understands? How many engineers are currently Googling the same error message? Why are the French [your query goes here]? And the list goes on…

One question I’m often asked—and one I often ask myself—is, “How many people are … Read More → "Well, Fork Me with a Dining Philosophers Problem (or The Best Way to Debug Embedded Systems)"

Powering Kilowatt-Plus Processors

by Max Maxfield

February 24, 2026

A futurist is a person who studies, analyzes, and makes informed predictions about the future, especially regarding trends in technology, society, business, culture, economics, or science. For example, a technology futurist bouncing around today might examine developments in artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), robotics, silicon chip process technologies, and semiconductor packaging, and then discuss how these could reshape edge computing over the next 10 to 20 years.

Sad to relate, as much as I’d like to think of myself as a technology futurist, I fear that I fall far short of what is required. A lifetime’s … Read More → "Powering Kilowatt-Plus Processors"

Physical AI at Foundry Scale

by Max Maxfield

February 19, 2026

When conversations turn to semiconductor foundries, they typically begin with leading-edge process nodes and the race toward ever-smaller geometries. However, although nanometer bragging rights dominate headlines, something quieter—and arguably more consequential—is unfolding elsewhere in the industry.

The reason for my newfound perspective is that I was just chatting with James Prior, who is a Marketing Executive at MIPS. James explained that a new class of computing is emerging outside the data center. Robots, drones, … Read More → "Physical AI at Foundry Scale"

I Doff My Cap to the New Hailo RPi AI HAT+ 2

by Max Maxfield

February 17, 2026

As usual, my head is aswirl (like “awash,” but a tad less rambunctious) with cogitations and ruminations about all the once-impossible things I’ve been exposed to recently. I feel like the White Queen in Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, who famously said, “Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” All I can say is that she was an amateur of no account.

Before we leap into the fray with gusto and abandon (and aplomb, of course), let’s first remind ourselves that AI tasks that were once … Read More → "I Doff My Cap to the New Hailo RPi AI HAT+ 2"

Dipping Our Toes Deeper into the AI+AR Computing Waters

by Max Maxfield

February 12, 2026

I’ve said this until I’m blue in the face, but no one seems to want to listen: As I discussed in one of my “What the FAQ” columns (see What the FAQ are VR, MR, AR, DR, AV, and HR?), augmented reality (AR) is but a subset of mixed reality (MR), which also embraces diminished reality (DR), virtual reality (VR), and augmented virtuality (AV). Sad to relate, it’s the AR term that’s impinged on the collective consciousness, so that’s what we’ll have … Read More → "Dipping Our Toes Deeper into the AI+AR Computing Waters"

Beyond the Spherical Chicken: Rewriting Maxwell for Modern Machines

by Max Maxfield

February 10, 2026

This is going to be a story in three parts. If we’re lucky, they’ll be related, but I’m not making any promises. Let’s start by discussing one of the things I know nothing about. Yes, I know this is a long (and ever-growing) list, but in this case, I’m thinking about the design and analysis of antennas and radar systems.

The closest I’ve ever come to designing an antenna was when I came into proud possession of a battered old black-and-white vacuum-tube and cathode-ray-tube (CRT) television, circa 1971, when I was about 14 … Read More → "Beyond the Spherical Chicken: Rewriting Maxwell for Modern Machines"