Author Archives: richard wilson

NIWeek: Configurable controllers tuned for industrial IoT

06111511_bdrNI has introduced new controllers within its reconfigurable I/O (RIO) hardware range which can be used as part of industrial internet of things (IoT) deployments.

The new CompactRIO, FlexRIO, Single-Board RIO controllers are supported by LabVIEW software, the LabVIEW FPGA Module and NI Linux Real-Time, now based on Security-Enhanced Linux, which enables advanced security features for industrial IoT applications.

According to Jamie Smith, director of embedded systems at NI, the intention with the LabVIEW RIO architecture is to allow engineers to “quickly design, prototype and deploy embedded systems for advanced monitoring and control applications in the industrial IoT.”

CompactRIO Controller combines a quad-core 1.91GHz Intel Atom processor with a Kintex-7 FPGA dedicated data processing of  more complex filtering and control algorithms.

It runs NI’s Linux-based real-time 64-bit OS.

The FlexRIO controller has the Kintex-7 FPGA to provide the signal processing to support over 30 I/O adapter modules. And a dual-Core ARM processor runs the Linux Real-Time OS.

Single-Board RIO controller is based on Xilinx’s Zynq system-on-a-chip (SoC) with its dual-core, 667 MHz ARM processor, Artix-7 FPGA and a real-time OS.

 

Richard Wilson

NIWeek: IBM engineers IoT product development

Chris O'Connor

Chris O’Connor

IBM is targeting the development of IoT applications with an online community and software to help developers who want to connect internet of things (IoT) devices to the cloud and how to use big data coming from those connected devices.

IBM will present different IoT software tools at NIWeek in Austin, Texas this week.

IBM’s product line engineering (PLE) software has been given the flavour of IoT with project management tools for those developing data gathering devices that connect to the internet.

“Everyone is trying to create products, devices, and components that are applicable across a wide variety of industries and yet are customizable to any particular product domain,” said Greg Gorman, IBM director of product management of Internet of Things platform.

The PLE process documents and manages the product development cycle incorporating multiple hardware and software.

IBM has also created a suite of software tools, called developerWorks Recipes, supported by online tutorials to help operators connect their IoT devices to IBM’s Bluemix open-source tools and cloud data service.

For example, data storage, predictive modeling and geospatial analytics can help users to better understand the data on their devices and also help to accelerate the IoT ecosystem.

According to Christopher O’Connor, general manager, internet of things, IBM:

“With developerWorks Recipes, IBM provides easy access to new analytics and operational insight capabilities that tap into the vast data from many connected devices, home appliances or cars.”

Richard Wilson

New tech jobs are all about the money

Ruth Jacobs

Ruth Jacobs

Technology job-seekers are recognising their value and placing more importance on salary than ever before, according to research from recruiter Randstad Technologies.

A market survey found that the proportion of technology workers saying that pay is the biggest factor in choosing a job has risen in the last three years to 22%.

The survey of 10,728 UK-based workers found that the average size of the workforce involved in technology roles has also expanded, with 71,000 more employees working in technology specialist roles in 2014 compared to in 2013.

In total, there were 1,278,000 technology workers in the UK in 2014, with 49% of those (627,000) employed in the technology sector itself and the remaining 51% (651,000) employed in technology roles across other industries.

Ruth Jacobs, managing director of Randstad Technologies, comments:

“More start-ups are popping up throughout the country, and companies of all sizes are realising the importance of cyber security roles and big data analytics and hiring specialists in these fields. But this in turn has changed the tone of the jobs market – tech workers are now much more in demand and can command higher salaries than ever before.”

Those with technology skills are starting to recognise their value to companies and they are seeking salary levels which reflect this.

“Meanwhile, workers who are already entrenched in the workforce should follow the new generation’s lead, and approach pay more proactively. Now, more than ever, it is worth workers doing their homework to find out their current market value, before being bold and asking for more money – or switching companies – to make sure they are being paid their fair due,” said Jacobs.

Employers have stepped up their game to attract talent by offering attractive salary packages, but they are being slower to recognise and reward the broader skill-sets that their established workers have built up through years of hard slog following the recession.

Richard Wilson

PMBus digital power chip drives 30A for sub-micron processors

UntitledTexas Instruments has introduced its first PMBus synchronous DC-DC buck converters with 20A and 30A current ratings.

The TPS544B25/C25 converters are designed for accurate voltage rail setting in designs with sub-micron processors.

The converters have a 0.5% reference-voltage accuracy and full differential remote-voltage sensing.

Also frequency synchronisation to an external clock eliminates beat noise and reduces EMI.

Additionally, the converters support pin-strapping that enables the devices to start up without PMBus commands to an output voltage set by a single resistor.

The digital PMbus interface is used for programming, monitoring of the output voltage, current and external temperature and fault reporting.

There is also the UCD90240 24-rail PMBus power sequencer and power manager for powering Ethernet switches.

Voltage-control mode with input feed-forward improves noise margin and responds well to input voltage changes. Other features include internal soft start, input under-voltage protection, thermal shutdown and a reset function.

Richard Wilson

NIWeek: Swiss students show stair-climbing wheelchair

y1UElnKhNsYj36m5TETc80x6lgQ1V9IJ3inEZKHtuzgmnP44PjCVWHo89K7fHoxLmPfpxw=s190A team of 10 students studying mechanical and electrical engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich are designing and building an electric wheelchair which is able to climb stairs.

Moving on the ground is accomplished with a system with automated balancing on the two main wheels. The stairs are climbed using two rubber tracks mounted on the bottom of the chair.

In a presentation at NIWeek in Austin, Texas today, the award-winning students described the three main elements of the design:

  • Two large, balancing, wheelchair like wheels. Our wheelchair will use these to drive on flat ground. The ability to balance on two wheels allows our vehicle to be as mobile as possible and reduces friction to a minimum. The driver will not have to balance himself, this will be done by the motor control system.
  • Two folding rubber tracks placed between the wheels which are used to climb and descend stairs. The user sits with their back towards the stairs. This allows more legroom. The axis of rotation is placed behind the two large wheels, such that when you lower the rubber tracks they are the only elements touching the stairs. The angle of the rubber tracks can be adjusted to the slope of the staircase.
  • A pair of linear actuated small wheels at the back of the chair are mounted on a metal bar and are critical to the functionality of the chair. Through the linear movement the support system is lowered to the ground, which props the wheelchair into the air. This elevation is used at the top of a staircase to offer a smooth transition from the tracks to the big wheels (while getting off stairs) and help the rubber track adjust to the slope (while driving onto the stairs). It also gives the wheelchair two more points of contact to the ground.

The hope is the wheelchair will compete at the cybathlon championship 2016.

Source: Scalevo

Richard Wilson

NIWeek: LabVIEW 2015 writes code faster for 8-cores

06041502_21853_bdrNational Instruments began its NIWeek technology conference in Austin, Texas today by announcing the latest version of its LabVIEW design and test software.

There has been a speed upgrade and new debugging tools.

The classic characteristic of LabVIEW is to be able to use new and existing software code across different hardware platforms for design as well as test and big data management.

LabVIEW 2015 continues this with support for new hardware such as the quad-core processor-based CompactRIO and CompactDAQ controllers, 8-core PXI controller, and high voltage system SMU.

There is also new access to training in software-design. NI offers three application-specific suites that include a year of unlimited training and certification.

“Common programming tasks have been speeded up for faster code writing and large data libraries can be opened up to x8 faster and with no prompts to locate missing module subVIs,” said NI.

New code debug tools examine arrays and strings in auto-scaling probe watch windows and document findings with hyperlink and hashtag support in comments.

And the supplier’s FPGA Compile Cloud service comes with the Standard Service Program membership.

New third-party tools include an Advanced Plotting Toolkit by Heliosphere Research for creating professional data visualizations.

The RTI DDS Toolkit by Real-Time Innovations can be used to create scalable peer-to-peer data communications. Additionally, application-specific libraries for biomedical, GPU analysis, and Multicore Analysis and Sparse Matrix applications are now available free of charge.

NIWeek 2015 Keynotes Live Stream

Richard Wilson

Lattice superMHL chipset supports 4K video on USB Type -C

Abdullah Raouf

Abdullah Raouf

Lattice Semiconductor is targeting the upgraded version of the USB connector, known as Type-C, with a transceiver which will support 4K video with concurrent USB 3.1 Gen 1 or Gen 2 data.

The transmitter and receiver pair conform to the new superMHL video interface standard that can deliver and receive 4K 60 frames per second over a two-wire differential pair with the USB Type-C connector in “alt mode”.

According to Abdullah Raouf, senior marketing manager at Lattice Semiconductor: “Other video solutions require four lanes to deliver 4K 60fps, which inhibits concurrent 4K video with USB 3.1 data.”

The Type-C connector, as it is called, is expected to take over from the micro USB as the standard connector for multi-gigabit USB 3.1 interfaces.

It will support the 10Gbit/s data rates compared with the 5Gbit/s maximum of USB 3.0, which will make it a practical alternative to today’s HDMI connectors on your television.

The SiI8630 transmitter can take an input from HDMI 2.0 transmitters already integrated into the application processor and directly interfaces with a USB 2.0-enabled Type-C connector without the need for additional high-speed switches.

The SiI9396 receiver can be used to connect USB Type-C mobile and PC interfaces to HDMI displays and USB devices such as keyboards, mice and external storage.

This is a product line Lattice acquired with its Silicon Image purchase and the superMHL devices will support connections to MHL1, 2, and 3 enabled products.

 

Richard Wilson

Ubuntu drone puts robotics in the classroom

4-1024x589A Spanish company has a different take on encouraging students to get involved in electronics design. No Raspberry Pi controlled lights for them, Erle Robotics is putting drone development in the classroom.

Erle Robotics saw the potential of robotics in education, and the need for easy-to-program Linux hardware.

“Many of the current drone platforms are still black boxes, technology that can hardly be understood by newcomers so we are bringing Linux to it,” said Erle Robotics.

The Vitoria-based company’s founders believe that UAVs have the potential to change the way we interact with technology.

“We also share that the true impact of scientific study facilitated by UAV technology is the advancement it enables in real world applications.

“We want to put UAVs in the hands of the next generation of innovators because we believe that the future of robotics won’t be about humanoids that costs $10,000. It’ll be about low cost drones and the creativity and passion of the people.”

The company has created a DIY kit for building an Ubuntu  drone. It is a Linux-based platform with Erle’s Ubuntu core running on the APM Autopilot hardware platform from 3DRobotics. It sells for €299.

This is an all-in-one drone controller with point-and-click programming, command modes, failsafe programming and 3-axis camera control.

It uses the Robot Operating System (ROS) framework for writing robot software. It is a collection of tools, libraries created by the Open Source Robotics Foundation.

 

 

Richard Wilson

ReRAM closer to embedded 28nm chips, says Imec

RRAM2015

TaOx filaments at 40nm

Intel’s super fast flash using a 3D cross-point architecture is not the only advanced semiconductor memory game in town.

Another of the more interesting next generation memory technologies is resistive RAM (ReRAM).

This is particularly interesting for integrated large volume embedded memory on to processors to provide high speed memory access.

Imec and Panasonic have been working on improving the stability of ReRAM during read operations and they claim to have fabricated a 40nm TaOx-based ReRAM technology with precise filament positioning and high thermal stability.

The aim is to integrate ReRAM in 28nm processors.

ReRAM creates a memory state by either current- or voltage-induced switching of a resistor element material between two metals.

The research at Imec and Panasonic has created an encapsulated cell structure with an Ir/Ta2O5/TaOx/TaN stacked film structure featuring a filament at the centre of the memory cell.

Positioning of the filament is crucial and the researchers claims to have fabricated a 2Mbit 40nm TaOx-based ReRAM cell with precise filament positioning and high thermal stability.

The result was a memory array with reliability of 100k cycles and 10 years’ retention at 85°C.

The companies are confident the filament technique will scale to 28nm cell sizes.

Gosia Jurczak, director of imec’s research program on ReRAM devices stated:

“With these breakthrough results, we have proven the potential of this promising memory concept as embedded nonvolatile memory in 28nm technology node where conventional NOR flash shows scaling limitations.”

The results were presented at this year’s VLSI technology symposium (Kyoto, June 15-19 2015).

Richard Wilson

Audi to show first OLED rear lights

A156497_fullAudi will demonstrate Matrix OLED rear lights in a concept car at the IAA in Frankfurt.

According to the German car manufacturer, the benefits of using OLEDs is that they are homogenous light sources which do not require any reflectors, light guides or similar optical components.

Audi predicts that research will soon produce OLEDs with sufficient light density be used as indicator signal and brake lights too.

The thin glass sheets that are used today to encase the organic material will be replaced by plastic films.

Another benefit of OLEDs is that they can be subdivided into small segments that can be controlled at different brightness levels.

Different colours and transparent OLED units will soon be possible, said the car maker.

IAA takes place in Frankfurt on 17-27 September.

Richard Wilson