EEJournal

feature article archive
Subscribe Now

Equipping Machines with Extrasensory Perception

by Max Maxfield
February 17, 2022

I was just perusing and pondering the official definition of extrasensory perception (ESP). This is also referred to as the “sixth sense” based on the fact that most people think we (humans) are equipped with only five of the little rascals: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

As an aside, we actually have many more senses at our disposal, including thermoception (the sense by which we perceive temperature*), nociception (the sense that allows us to perceive pain from our skin, joints, and internal organs), proprioception (the sense of the relative … Read More → "Equipping Machines with Extrasensory Perception"

Intel Foundry Services (IFS) Appears To Go All In On RISC-V

IFS and Intel Capital Point Part of a $1 Billion Investment at RISC-V
by Steven Leibson
February 14, 2022

After CEO Patrick Gelsinger announced Intel Foundry Services (IFS) and Intel’s IDM 2.0 strategy, many people have said that Intel’s IFS announcement was like an old 1950s hair-dye TV commercial: Do they, or don’t they? In this case, instead of hair coloring, the question is whether Intel was really serious about becoming a true foundry. Here’s what Intel said back on March 23, 2021:

“Intel announced plans to become a major provider of U.S.– and Europe-based foundry capacity to serve the incredible global demand for semiconductor manufacturing. To … Read More → "Intel Foundry Services (IFS) Appears To Go All In On RISC-V"

Verifying Cache and System Coherency in 21st Century Systems

by Max Maxfield
February 10, 2022

In computing, the term “cache” refers to a hardware or software component that stores data in such a way that future requests for that data can be served faster. Since I’m a hardware design engineer by trade, and since this column largely focuses on maintaining the coherency of hardware caches, let’s commence by forgetting that beasts such as software caches even exist.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve forgotten already (I don’t like to boast, but I’m getting better and better at forgetting … Read More → "Verifying Cache and System Coherency in 21st Century Systems"

The Story of the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Printer

It Can Take a Long Time to Connect a Printer to a Computer Over WiFi
by Steven Leibson
February 9, 2022

This is the story of a printer.
 It’s a bad printer.
 It’s a very bad printer.
 It’s no good.
 It’s horrible.
 It’s terrible.
 It’s the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad HP Printer.

This story was going to be my New Year’s story. However, as events unrolled, I discovered that the printer problems … Read More → "The Story of the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Printer"

Are TOM Displays the Future of Consumer AR?

by Max Maxfield
February 8, 2022

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I think that one of the biggest game-changers heading our way is the combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR). Together, these two tantalizing technologies are going to change the ways in which we interact with our systems, the world, and each other.

Before we plunge into the fray with wild abandon — which really is the only way to plunge into a fray (plunging into a fray with meek forbearance, for example, is almost certainly fated to … Read More → "Are TOM Displays the Future of Consumer AR?"

FPGAs vs ASICs: Choose Your Path Carefully

Understand the Many Significant Differences Between FPGAs and ASICs Before You Choose
by Steven Leibson
February 7, 2022
Ates Berna, General Manager and Managing Partner for ElectraIC in Istanbul, Turkey, recently posted a summary comparison chart showing the differences between FPGAs and ASICs on LinkedIn. Although it’s not a detailed chart, I think it’s a great icebreaker that leads to a more detailed discussion about the choices you make between an FPGA and an ASIC when you need a fairly complex high-performance, non-standard IC to solve a design challenge. (Note: The way Berna posted and tagged this chart on LinkedIn, I suspect it may have originated with Doulos, a training organization specializing in FPGA and ASIC design education. The chart compares FPGAs with “dedicated ICs,” which are clearly ASICs in this context.) … Read More → "FPGAs vs ASICs: Choose Your Path Carefully"

Keeping Autonomous Vehicles Out of the Ditch and on the Road

by Max Maxfield
February 3, 2022

I have to say that I’m constantly surprised and impressed by the things the clever chaps and chapesses at MathWorks come up with. Just when I think I’ve seen and heard it all, they spring into action and introduce me to things I’d never even thought about before.

MathWorks is a privately held corporation, so it can be a tad difficult to lay one’s hands on certain information, but I’m informed that they have … Read More → "Keeping Autonomous Vehicles Out of the Ditch and on the Road"

You Too Can Employ Robots to Suck the Souls Out of Your Customers, Just Ask McDonald’s

Is Ronald McDonald Really Ol’ Beelzebub in Disguise?
by Steven Leibson
February 2, 2022

Thanks to COVID-19 and other factors, employee shortages now abound in every market, but perhaps no more so than in retail and restaurants, which are filled with low-paid, customer-facing “careers.” The result? An explosion of ordering kiosks to automate the time-consuming and nearly robotic job of taking the customer’s order. This isn’t a new trend if you think about it. Self-service gasoline appeared in the 1970s, partially in answer to rising gasoline prices. And what constitutes self-service for gasoline? A kiosk with a filling hose and nozzle. Put in your credit card, punch some … Read More → "You Too Can Employ Robots to Suck the Souls Out of Your Customers, Just Ask McDonald’s"

IBM Unveils 127-Qubit Quantum Computer

Hold on. This is Going to Make Your Head Hurt
by Steven Leibson
January 31, 2022

On November 16, during its online Quantum Summit, IBM announced that it had successfully completed initial development of the 127-qubit (quantum bit) Eagle quantum computer. Last year, IBM’s Hummingbird quantum computer handled 65 qubits, and, the year before that, the company’s Falcon quantum computer was handling calculations using 27 qubits. So the company has been steadily increasing the number of qubits that its quantum machines can handle, roughly doubling the number of operational qubits in its quantum machines on an annual basis. However, the Eagle quantum computer is the last member of IBM’s Quantum System One … Read More → "IBM Unveils 127-Qubit Quantum Computer"

featured blogs
What the FAQ are Perceptive, Enhancive, Assistive, Generative, Agentic, and Physical AI (and Vibe Coding)
Mar 20, 2026
From machines that see and think, to systems that act, and the humans that nudge them along....
More from Max's Cool Beans...