Articles – Page 38

Gruesome Gambols Gripping Generative AI (Part 2)

June 1, 2023

I’m not having a good day. “Why so?” You ask. Well, thank you so much for caring. I have a sad tale to tell—one that will doubtless bring a little tear to your eye. I stand before you a broken man, hanging my head in shame, with my credentials as an engineer hanging in tatters.

Since we have so much of an artificial intelligence (AI) nature to talk about, I’ll cut a long story short, which is opposite to the way I usually like to do things. Earlier this week, I celebrated the 33rd … Read More → "Gruesome Gambols Gripping Generative AI (Part 2)"

Gruesome Gambols Gripping Generative AI (Part 1)

by Max Maxfield

May 30, 2023

I love being me, which is a good thing when you come to think about it, because I don’t think the alternative would be much fun. In addition to being a trend-setter and leader of fashion, one of the things I’ve been blessed with is a good imagination, but—as we will see—a good imagination can be a double-edged sword.

My poor old noggin is currently coping with conflicting considerations concerning generative artificial intelligence, or generative AI, which refers to an AI capable of generating text, images, or other media … Read More → "Gruesome Gambols Gripping Generative AI (Part 1)"

The Semiconductor Company from Another World: The Siliconix Story, Part 2 – Starting the Optical Encoder Industry

by Steven Leibson

May 29, 2023

Bill Hugle and Frances Sarnat married in 1947 after each had earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry at the University of Chicago. The two started a business making artificial gemstones in 1948, but the venture went bust by 1951 because of a patent infringement lawsuit brought against Bill Hugle by Linde Air Products, which had hired him as a plant chemist in 1947, just before he started his side business with his wife. The Hugles wanted to continue working together and, after receiving many rejections to employment inquiries, were able to secure employment with the DH Baldwin Piano Company of Cincinnati, … Read More → "The Semiconductor Company from Another World: The Siliconix Story, Part 2 – Starting the Optical Encoder Industry"

Using Generative AI for Refactoring and Debugging Code Cuts Debugging Time in Half!

by Max Maxfield

May 25, 2023

I am currently wearing my patent-pending puzzled and perplexed expression. This manly mien was handed down to me by my father when he determined he had no further use for it. It was the aspect he assumed when my mother requested him to undertake some chore around the house. Oftentimes, he managed to look so befuddled and bewildered that she ended up performing the task herself. I’ve not yet achieved this pinnacle of prowess and proficiency, but I’m assiduously working on honing my skills in this department.

The reason for my … Read More → "Using Generative AI for Refactoring and Debugging Code Cuts Debugging Time in Half!"

The Semiconductor Company That Came From Another World: the Siliconix Story, Part 1 – Starting With Star Sapphires

by Steven Leibson

May 22, 2023

Starting in the 1940s, Bill Hugle and Frances Sarnat Hugle founded technology companies that drew them further and further into the semiconductor business. Together they kicked off the development of precision optical encoders, founded semiconductor makers Siliconix and Stewart-Warner Microcircuits, and developed semiconductor manufacturing equipment on both the east and west coasts of the US. Along the way, the couple endured many business reversals and enough legal and political intrigue to fill several lifetimes, yet their story is essentially untold. Until now.

If you look at the famous chart of early semiconductor makers … Read More → "The Semiconductor Company That Came From Another World: the Siliconix Story, Part 1 – Starting With Star Sapphires"

MathWorks Meets the Cobot Cohort from Universal Robots

by Max Maxfield

May 18, 2023

Is it just me, or is everyone fascinated by the idea of humanoid robots in general and intelligent humanoid robots in particular? Just saying this has left (what I laughingly call) my mind buzzing with robot-related nuggets of knowledge and tidbits of trivia.

I remember watching The Jetsons animated sitcom on TV when I was a kid circa 1962/63. Looking back, it’s funny how this program’s weird mix of futuristic (flying cars) and retro (vinyl record … Read More → "MathWorks Meets the Cobot Cohort from Universal Robots"

Agile Analog Makes the Analog Parts of SoC Design Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

by Max Maxfield

May 16, 2023

I sometimes joke that I’d bend over backwards to be flexible and that I’d give my right arm to be ambidextrous (I didn’t say they were good jokes). Now, following a recent excursion into wibbly-wobbly analog space (where no one can hear you scream), I’m tempted to say that I’d jump through hoops to be more agile.

I know, it’s a bit weak, isn’t it? Mayhap you could suggest something a tad more rib-tickling (or not, as the case might be), but we digress…

Intel’s latest version of oneAPI takes advantage of new Intel Xeon improvements, supports AMD and Nvidia

by Steven Leibson

May 15, 2023

In its quest to make oneAPI a viable alternative to Nvidia’s CUDA for parallel-processing software development, Intel has released the 2023.1 version of its oneAPI tools. Last August in EEJournal, I wrote:

“Nvidia has something that Intel and AMD covet. No, it’s not GPUs. Intel and AMD both make GPUs. However, they don’t have Nvidia’s not-so-secret weapon that’s a close GPU companion: CUDA, the parallel programming language that allows developers to harness GPUs to accelerate general-purpose (non-graphics) algorithms. Since its introduction in 2006, CUDA has become a tremendous and so-far … Read More → "Intel’s latest version of oneAPI takes advantage of new Intel Xeon improvements, supports AMD and Nvidia"

Join the Innovation Revolution with NextFlex and Manufacturing USA!

by Max Maxfield

May 11, 2023

I have to say that I’m flabbergasted. In fact, I don’t think it would be unfair to say that rarely has my flabber been quite so gasted. The reason for my current state of high-gast is that I just received some frabjous intelligence with respect to enhancing our manufacturing capabilities here in the USA.

One of the things that’s made me increasingly sad over the years is how much manufacturing and expertise we’ve frittered away (“lost to overseas competitors” is another way of thinking about it). … Read More → "Join the Innovation Revolution with NextFlex and Manufacturing USA!"

Flex Logix configurable hardware IP for AI and DSP workloads fuses FPGAs, tensor units, and software

by Steven Leibson

May 10, 2023

Today, we’re going to talk about AI, DSP, FPGAs, IP, and SoCs. Normally, these things don’t all go together. Certainly, FPGAs have been used to implement AI and DSP algorithms, although AI and DSP algorithms generally involve different sorts of computations. (See “A Brief History of the Single-Chip DSP, Part II .”) DSP designs have largely stayed with FPGA implementations, thanks to the bounty of multiplier/accumulators (MACs) they deliver, while AI training has migrated to GPUs. These days, AI inference has been … Read More → "Flex Logix configurable hardware IP for AI and DSP workloads fuses FPGAs, tensor units, and software"