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Will We Soon Say, “CMOS Sensors Drool, SPAD Sensors Rule”?

by Max Maxfield
May 27, 2025

We may think that today’s artificial intelligence (AI), especially Generative AI (GenAI) like ChatGPT, is terrific, but I’m informed that “We ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” I’m also informed that the “next big thing” in AI will be centered on images and video, specifically machine vision. However, today’s cameras, which were designed for humans, not computers, are still far from the point where they can capture image data for AI at a quality and quantity comparable to the data currently used to power large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT.

< … Read More → "Will We Soon Say, “CMOS Sensors Drool, SPAD Sensors Rule”?"

A CXL progress report: The elephant is learning to dance

by Steven Leibson
May 26, 2025

It’s been a year since I last looked at the developing CXL (Compute Express Link) standard (see “The Adventures of CXL Across the 3rd Dimension”) and, conveniently, SNIA (Storage Networking Industry Association) held a one-hour Webinar on the topic in April. The title of the presentation is “Unlocking CXL’s Potential: Revolutionizing Server Memory and Performance” and it’s available to view on BrightTalk. SNIA assembled three CXL … Read More → "A CXL progress report: The elephant is learning to dance"

Scaling Up and Scaling Out: Reimagining Silicon Switching for the AI Era

by Max Maxfield
May 22, 2025

This has been another “one of those days.” I’ve been discovering all sorts of things pertaining to what’s currently happening in the high-end of artificial intelligence (AI) space (where no one can hear you scream), and now I’m screaming inside and my head hurts. 

Let’s start with the concept of an “AI Pod.” This term can mean different things to different people, but it generally refers to a pre-configured, modular infrastructure solution designed to simplify and accelerate the deployment of AI workloads.

Read More → "Scaling Up and Scaling Out: Reimagining Silicon Switching for the AI Era"

A book that covers Heathkit test equipment? Yes, please

by Steven Leibson
May 19, 2025

Recently, I’ve written several articles about the Heath Company and its legendary Heathkits. I based these articles on discussions with and materials from Chas Gilmore, who joined Heath in 1966, worked there on and off for more than two decades, and eventually became its VP of product development, marketing, and sales. The articles were also based on discussions with, and a book by Chuck Penson titled “Heathkit: A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products.” (See the references below for links to these articles.) Imagine my surprise when I discovered a book titled “Read More → "A book that covers Heathkit test equipment? Yes, please"

Event-based image sensor cuts processing power requirements by one or two orders of magnitude

by Steven Leibson
May 14, 2025

I last wrote about Prophesee’s event-based vision sensor at the end of 2023. (See “Prophesee’s 5th Generation Sensors Detect Motion Instead of Images for Industrial, Robotic, and Consumer Applications.”) Back then, I wrote about the company’s fifth generation 320×320-pixel GenX320 sensor, which captures changes in light on a per-pixel basis rather than generating video frames like conventional imaging sensors. The technology has progressed since then. Prophesee has worked with Sony to produce the IMX636HD, a 1280×720-pixel, event-based sensor for industrial … Read More → "Event-based image sensor cuts processing power requirements by one or two orders of magnitude"

Wow! AI-Powered “Sketch-on-Napkin” to Embedded Design

by Max Maxfield
May 13, 2025

I was just thinking about the 1871 book Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon, writer, and photographer, the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (a.k.a. Lewis Carroll).

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass continue to influence us today, not just as beloved children’s stories but as enduring works that challenge the boundaries of logic, language, and imagination.

At their heart, both books are filled with logical conundrums, puzzling paradoxes, and … Read More → "Wow! AI-Powered “Sketch-on-Napkin” to Embedded Design"

Efinix co-packages FPGA with SDRAM to shrink board-level real estate footprint

by Steven Leibson
May 12, 2025

Efinix has just done designers a solid. The company’s new Ti180J484D1 FPGA incorporates a 2Gbit LPDDR4X SDRAM die co-packaged with the FPGA die, which creates a System in Package (SiP) device that results in a smaller footprint on your circuit board. In addition, you won’t need to worry about the precise pcb trace-length matching that’s required to properly connect the DDR SDRAM to the FPGA. Efinix has handled that for you already. The idea’s similar to those high-end FPGAs from other vendors that package HBM (high-bandwidth memory) DRAM stacks with … Read More → "Efinix co-packages FPGA with SDRAM to shrink board-level real estate footprint"

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Meets Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) in More Ways Than One

by Max Maxfield
May 8, 2025

Way back in the mists of time that we used to call 2023, I wrote (well, waffled) a column about Network-on-Chip (NoC) technology (see Who Needs a Network-on-Chip (NoC)? Everyone!). Suffice it to say that this was in the days before the punctuation police forbade me from using exclamation marks in my titles (thankfully, I’m not bitter).

Well, even though this was but two short years ago, all I can say is that NoC technology has progressed in leaps and … Read More → "Artificial Intelligence (AI) Meets Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) in More Ways Than One"

Is the world ready for Platypus, Zero ASIC’s open eFPGA IP? CEO Andreas Olofsson is betting that the answer is “Yes”

by Steven Leibson
May 7, 2025

Embedded FPGA (eFPGA) IP is not new. Several companies including Achronix, Efinix, Flex Logix, Menta, and QuickLogic have been offering FPGA cores for integration into ASICs and SoCs for a while. ASIC designers use eFPGA cores to help future-proof their designs. The eFPGA can be used to patch bugs or add features as needed. These abilities help to avoid a costly and time-consuming re-spin of the ASIC. It’s a difficult bit of IP business with a limited market, chiefly used by semiconductor developers in the defense and aerospace segments. Analog Devices (ADI) bought all of … Read More → "Is the world ready for Platypus, Zero ASIC’s open eFPGA IP? CEO Andreas Olofsson is betting that the answer is “Yes”"

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