Articles – EEJournal

A Tale of Two Multimeters – Part 1: Fixing rubber buttons on the Keithley 197 DMM

May 4, 2026

I have been building up my home lab these past few years, and I decided that I needed a better multimeter. My original Fluke 77 handheld digital multimeter (DMM) has served me well for more than 40 years, but I wanted more resolution than its 3½ digits. A few years back in a fit of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome), I purchased a 20,000-count Surpeer AV4 multimeter from Amazon for $40. Alas, the Surpeer is no longer available. Eventually, I wanted a faster meter—a bench meter—so I purchased a dead Keithley 179 for $20 from eBay (plus $20.30 for shipping and tax) and described its … Read More → "A Tale of Two Multimeters – Part 1: Fixing rubber buttons on the Keithley 197 DMM"

Physical AI Robotic Ships on Patrol!

by Max Maxfield

April 30, 2026

I recently received an email that essentially said something like, “Interested in physical AI, agentic AI, robotic ships, autonomy, maritime, offshore, subsea, security, ocean science… [the list went on]? If so, get in touch!”

Let’s take a step back before we race forward. Someone recently asked me how my “triage process” works for people pitching potential articles to me. I’d never really thought about this before, but there are certainly several ways to turn me off before we start.

One is to call me “Clive” (my given name used only by my family) … Read More → "Physical AI Robotic Ships on Patrol!"

Should We Terraform Mars (“Yay” or “Nay”)?

by Max Maxfield

April 28, 2026

When I was a kid growing up in the 1960s, I fully believed that humans could live on both Mars and Venus without requiring special suits or survival gear. This was because I had discovered the wonderful world of science fiction. Many of the books I devoured (figuratively speaking) described Mars as a dusty frontier world with a thin, dry atmosphere. By comparison, Venus was portrayed as a foggy, steamy, swampy jungle planet. Although both planets were depicted as being home to intelligent races, Mars was typically represented as having a truly ancient civilization.

I’m thinking … Read More → "Should We Terraform Mars (“Yay” or “Nay”)?"

Want to Build Chips 10X faster and at 50% Lower Cost (Without Changing Existing Tools or Workflows)?

by Max Maxfield

April 23, 2026

I have some news that will make chip and chiplet designers (we’re talking ASIC, ASSP, SoC, and multi-die systems) squeal in delight. However, before we leap headfirst into the fray with gusto and abandon (and, it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, aplomb), I just got off a call with my old chum, Adam Taylor.

As you may recall from an earlier column, Adam will be hosting the inaugural FPGA Horizons US East 2026 Conference and Exhibition, … Read More → "Want to Build Chips 10X faster and at 50% Lower Cost (Without Changing Existing Tools or Workflows)?"

TrustInSoft Analyzer Turbocharged with AI and RUST

by Max Maxfield

April 21, 2026

As is often the case these days, my poor old noggin is jam-packed with myriad meandering musings pertaining to AI. For example, I just started reading Road Kill by Dennis E. Taylor (you may remember Dennis as the author of We Are Legion (We Are Bob)).

In Road Kill, three twenty-something friends—Jack, Natalie, and Patrick—come into possession of an alien spaceship in the form of an invisible (cloaked) flying saucer. This … Read More → "TrustInSoft Analyzer Turbocharged with AI and RUST"

EnCharge Me Up! 200 AI TOPS at Only ~8 Watts

by Max Maxfield

April 16, 2026

I tell you, I’m starting to feel like I’m riding the crest of the wave when it comes to AI in all its multifaceted glory. Back in the 2010s, I thought it was astonishing that you could show an AI images of cats, dogs, chickens, and penguins, and it could tell these little rascals apart. I know that may seem “old hat” now, but as recently as ten years ago, it was considered nothing short of mind-boggling.

Since that time, which I’ve come to think of as the true dawn of perceptive AI (everything … Read More → "EnCharge Me Up! 200 AI TOPS at Only ~8 Watts"

Meet the Embedder AI Firmware Engineer

by Max Maxfield

April 14, 2026

If you’re involved in developing embedded systems, YOU NEED TO READ THIS. I’m sure that, like me, you’ve been exposed to a lot of AI-powered design tools over the past couple of years. Suffice it to say that the one I’m poised to tell you about just blew my socks off (don’t worry, I’ll retrieve them later).

I’m so excited about all this that rather than wiffle and waffle as is my wont, I’m moved to dive headfirst into the fray. I was just chatting with Ethan Gibbs, who … Read More → "Meet the Embedder AI Firmware Engineer"

In Memoriam: Tracy Kidder, author of Pulitzer Prize-Winning “The Soul of a New Machine”

by Steven Leibson

April 13, 2026

Tracy Kidder, the author of the 1981 best-selling book “The Soul of a New Machine,” has passed away. Kidder wrote many non-fiction books including his first book, “The Road to Yuba City,” and “House,” “Strength in What Remains,” Mountains Beyond Mountains,” “Old Friends,” “Among Schoolchildren,” “Home Town,” and “Good Prose.” “The Soul of a New Machine” was only his second published book and his only book to win a Pulitzer Prize, which is somewhat surprising because the book details the experiences, trials, and tribulations of the computer engineers who designed the first Data General (remember them?) 32-bit minicomputer (remember those?), … Read More → "In Memoriam: Tracy Kidder, author of Pulitzer Prize-Winning “The Soul of a New Machine”"

Meet the AI That Doesn’t Just Hear What You Say—It Hears What You Mean!

by Max Maxfield

April 9, 2026

As usual, my mind is buzzing with hitherto unthought thoughts. The topic du jour is emotion-aware conversational AI that combines speech recognition with paralinguistic understanding. Ha! I thought that would get your attention and give your excitement juices a bit of a stir.

It’s not so long ago that the ability to communicate with tools like smart assistants and say things like “Alexa, turn on the living room lights” using natural language commands would have seemed like something out of a science fiction movie. Of course, the writers of the movie script would have envisaged a … Read More → "Meet the AI That Doesn’t Just Hear What You Say—It Hears What You Mean!"

Sustainable Power for an Increasingly Intelligent World

by Max Maxfield

April 7, 2026

I never used to think about power when I was younger. Actually, there are many things I didn’t think about when I was younger (and I’m getting even better at not thinking about things as I grow older), but power was certainly around the top of the list. When I was a kid in the UK circa the 1960s, most things (televisions, radios) plugged into the wall. The most common battery-powered items were torches (flashlights), portable radios (which were a big deal at the time), toys, and cameras.

As an aside (I think it’s … Read More → "Sustainable Power for an Increasingly Intelligent World"