Articles – Page 49

Time of Flight Sensors, Trilobites, and Tunable Optics – What an Unlikely Combo!

September 13, 2022

STMicroelectronics has added a new member to its line of VL53 FlightSense TOF (time of flight) distance/ranging sensors, but this new sensor takes a radical departure from the previous generation by replacing a conventional lensing system with metalenses, developed in conjunction with a startup company called Metalenz and based on technology originally developed in a Harvard University metamaterial lab. According to Metalenz, this is the first commercial product to incorporate its metalens technology.

Engineered metamaterials meet or exceed the capabilities of the conventional materials they replace by harnessing the … Read More → "Time of Flight Sensors, Trilobites, and Tunable Optics – What an Unlikely Combo!"

Robot’s Gambit: Watch Out, the Robots are Coming for Us

by Steven Leibson

September 12, 2022

This article is for all those people who think that Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics are real. They’re not, and the robots appear to be coming for us. Two seemingly unrelated articles caught my eye on the morning of July 25. The first article described the unfortunate death of a motorcyclist due to being rear-ended by a Tesla AV (autonomous vehicle) operating in Tesla’s Autopilot mode on Interstate 15 just south of Salt Lake City. The second article discusses how a chess-playing robot in Russia broke a young opponent’s little finger when the 7-year-old … Read More → "Robot’s Gambit: Watch Out, the Robots are Coming for Us"

Not Much Happened, or Did It?

by Max Maxfield

September 8, 2022

This is a follow-on to my previous column, All Change! As you may recall, assuming you are a regular muller of my meandering musings, that column described the presentation I gave earlier this week to the MSc students studying Embedded Computing at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway.

Possibly in order to lure the unsuspecting and more gullible students to attend, this … Read More → "Not Much Happened, or Did It?"

All Change!

by Max Maxfield

September 6, 2022

Earlier today as you are reading this (assuming you are reading it on Tuesday 6th September, which is when it’s scheduled to post on the EE Journal website), I gave my presentation to the MSc students studying Embedded Computing at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway.

I’m actually penning these words a week in the past from your perspective as a punter because I … Read More → "All Change!"

Hot Stuff: You Might Rent the Car Seat that Heats Your Derriere or Your Next Running Shoes

by Steven Leibson

September 5, 2022

When the first reports of BMW creating a marketing program to rent heated seats in its newest vehicles, the news coverage was designed to make my blood boil. “Pigs!” I thought. “They’re just bleeding their customers dry because cars have become always-connected rolling software platforms.” Here are some of the headlines that led me down the garden path:

“BMW owners outraged over $18-a-month charge to use heated seats” – Theo Wayt, New York Post

“The future of cars … Read More → "Hot Stuff: You Might Rent the Car Seat that Heats Your Derriere or Your Next Running Shoes"

Meet the HRRG 4-Bit Mixed-Technology Computer

by Max Maxfield

September 1, 2022

Time seems to be passing extremely fast these days. Every time I blink, another week passes by; every time I sneeze, I lose another month; and every time I… but we digress. Just a few weeks ago (or possibly several months ago the way things are going), someone posted a comment to one of my columns saying they were surprised they hadn’t seen an update regarding the status of my HRRG Computer project here on EE Journal.

If you were to ask me, I’d probably say that I … Read More → "Meet the HRRG 4-Bit Mixed-Technology Computer"

Flight Simulation Stresses USB Hubs and Reveals Other USB Pitfalls. Here are Some Helpful Hints

by Steven Leibson

August 29, 2022

Ron Sartore is a serial entrepreneur and a USB veteran. He started a company named Anchor Chips in 1995, back before USB was a standard. When the USB revolution started in 1996, Sartore jumped on the standard and Anchor quickly became a leading supplier of USB controller chips, dubbed “EZ-USB.” Cypress Semiconductor bought Anchor Chips in 1999. (Infineon bought Cypress Semiconductor in 2019 and they’re still selling EZ-USB chips.) Sartore’s “semi-retired” now, but he’s still learning, designing, and building, thanks to his hobby, flying simulated aircraft, which he’s managed to turn into yet another business. As … Read More → "Flight Simulation Stresses USB Hubs and Reveals Other USB Pitfalls. Here are Some Helpful Hints"

O-M-Gosh, I’ve Been Zeked! (Part 1)

by Max Maxfield

August 25, 2022

I have to acknowledge that I’m speechless, and that’s not something you can expect to hear me say very often. The reason for my glazed look is that I recently had a video conference with an amazing 11-year-old called Zeke. After chatting with Zeke and his father, Eric, I now have a sneaking suspicion that I’ve wasted much of my life and failed to reach my full potential.

In many ways, Zeke reminds me of me when I was his age, the main difference being that he’ … Read More → "O-M-Gosh, I’ve Been Zeked! (Part 1)"

Are You Ready for Ubiquitous Connectivity?

by Max Maxfield

August 23, 2022

Let’s do a thought experiment. Suppose you find yourself trapped in a small space like an elevator and someone looks you in the eye and poses the question: “Are you ready for ubiquitous connectivity?” How would you respond? “Yes,” “No,” “Maybe,” or “What the heck is ubiquitous connectivity when it’s at home?”

Actually, that’s not a bad question. Let’s break it down. In its more general usage, connectivity refers to the state or extent of being connected or interconnected. More particularly, in the context of computing, … Read More → "Are You Ready for Ubiquitous Connectivity?"

$4 Logic Analyzer Based on Raspberry Pi Pico

by Steven Leibson

August 22, 2022

Here’s a truly inspired project. Dr. Agustín Gimenez Bernad, a Senior Developer in ServiZurich S.A. in Spain, has created one of the most brilliant hacks I’ve seen yet. He’s built a 24-bit logic analyzer that samples at 100 Msamples/sec and stores 32K samples from nothing more than a $4 Raspberry Pi Pico board and some clever code. There’s a lot to learn from this project, which is posted with some very fine documentation on GitHub, but if you just need a $4 logic analyzer, there’s still a lot to be admired.</ … Read More → "$4 Logic Analyzer Based on Raspberry Pi Pico"