Zombie approach to software design or 10 best tools

Barney Hanlon

Barney Hanlon

Of all the open source analogies we’ve come across, zombies has to be one of the most unusual.

One member of the undead infects another, who goes on to bite another. The zombie infestation spreads rapidly. Meanwhile their human counterparts can’t replicate as quickly.

Their birth and development is slow and their progress sluggish. Paired against each other, the zombie future is inevitable.

Zombies are the equivalent of open source software. Open source software development can identify, debug and grow at a much faster and nimble rate than the progress of humans (proprietary software) which are limited by time and resource.

Instead, open source allows developers to dive straight into a codebase to fix bugs and propagate the improved software.

The benefit of the zombie-approach to software development is that everything it builds is open to constant improvement and the sheer volume of its adoption provides safety in numbers (most of the time at least).

Think your developer toolbox is full? Think again.

Open source tools and software are built by a community trying to solve the same problems you are, and by feeding back into the zombie frenzy, software iterations become stronger and more beneficial as the community grows.

We’ve rounded up some recommendations from our engineers on the tools and software they couldn’t design, build, implement and support without. From mobile to design, the zombie approach is helping these go from strength to strength.

Mobile

Twitter Bootstrap – If you want a really quick way to spin up a nice basic interface for hardware hacking, then Twitter Bootstrap is the way to go. It’s responsive (works on mobile, tablet and desktop) and allows you to rapidly prototype interfaces using your web browser.

Cordova Project – If you are looking for a way to access native APIs relating to a mobile device, (for example, its camera or one of its sensors) then the Apache Cordova project is one for you. It is a powerful and evolving toolkit that allows you to really mobile-enable your hardware projects.

Android – The Google-created operating system, Android, is actually built on open source. It’s not just mobile, though; it’s already being used in televisions, cameras, kiosks and even in factories to monitor equipment.

If you really need to give your hardware a brain and build apps on it, then Android has a powerful set of features that you can customise and use to create something formidable.

Design

Inkscape – For colouring, illustrating or icons, Inkscape is your holy grail. Particularly renowned for its illustration features, Inkscape has become a staple for professional designers worldwide. To convert shapes into objects, direct edit on SVGs and edit clones on canvas, check out Inkscape. Oh and it converts Bitmap to Vector automatically.

GIMP – As a free, open source alternative to Adobe’s Photoshop, GIMP has been given a rough ride in its time for poor UX and for not quite being on a par with its licensed counterpart. GIMP has now been overhauled with a varied and powerful set of features that gives Adobe a run for its money.

Firebug - If you’re looking for a website inspector tool for Firefox, Firebug should be your first port of call. If you can’t figure out why page load time is so high and your performance is slipping, Firebug is a handy tool that lets you edit and debug CSS, HTML and JavaScript in realtime.

Content

Drupal – Drupal does many things, but at its heart is content. It runs millions of sites including whitehouse.gov. At a content level, it has tonnes of built in features for SEO and its default installation comes with a high level of security and file maintenance tools.

Varnish Cache – Searching for a web accelerator for a dynamic site with a shedload of content? Varnish is a good place to start to help speed up your website. If it’s good enough for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, it’s probably good enough for you.

Continuous Integration

Jenkins - Although you don’t need a specific tool for Continuous Integration, it’s pretty darn handy. Written in Java, Jenkins is a fork from Oracle’s Hudson. After a tumultuous inception, Jenkins has established a firm foothold in the automated testing space.

Infrastructure

Nagios – If you’re looking for open source options on the infrastructure side of things, Nagios is worth looking into. It’s fast becoming a standard for system and infrastructure monitoring. It’s robust, reliable and runs on many operating systems.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the tools and software our engineers use every day, but that’s also part of the appeal of the zombie approach to software development. By the time you’ve got to grips with the first round of tools, there’s a whole new wave waiting to make their move.

Writer is Barney Hanlon, technical team lead at Inviqa, with over seventeen years experience in software development.

 

NI replaces benchtops with software defined test

National InstrumentsNational Instruments has continued with its plans to replace bench top test instruments with software defined, PC-based instruments.

The firm has combined a mixed-signal oscilloscope, function generator, digital multimeter, programmable DC power supply and digital I/O in one PC-based test instrument.

Called VirtualBench, the instrument provides the signal acquisition and generation functions and is driven by software applications running on a PC or iPad.  

“We are building on what NI does best, which is our software-based approach to test and measurement,” said Chad Chesney, director of data acquisition marketing at NI.

For development engineers another attraction is the coupling with LabVIEW system design software.

3D printer will be big consumer product, says analyst

Juniper ResearchThe combined market value from consumer 3D Printer hardware sales and material spend is forecast to be worth $1bn by 2018, says analyst Juniper Research.

In the short term the market looks less interesting, but longer term growth could be strong.

Today, 3D printer shipments are at relatively low levels for mainly industrial and professional use, representing a limited opportunity in the medium term. This year the market worth only $75m.

According to Juniper, suppliers such as 3D Systems and Stratasys have confirmed a stronger demand for professional 3D printers and materials compared to a softer consumer demand.

It is hoped that the entry of consumer brands such as HP and Epson into the professional market, will help create a volume market in 3D printers.

“While there has been an increase in awareness of 3D printing it is still, and will continue to be, a niche consumer technology,”  said Nitin Bhas, author of the report titled Consumer 3D Printing & Scanning: Service Models, Devices & Opportunities 2014-2018.

“In order for 3D printing to successfully find a mainstream market amongst consumers, it needs to widen the applications available that integrate consumer lifestyle and drive a number of applications beyond professional printing.”

Markets in the US and Europe are ahead in terms of consumer 3D printer adoption, driven by hobbyists and early tech-adopters.

Retailers such as Staples are even testing in-store 3D printing services.

The whitepaper, ‘3D Printing ~ Cutting through the Hype’ is available to download from the Juniper website together with further details of the full report and Interactive Forecast Excel (IFxl).

Raspberry Pi gets smart in the home

enocean_stills_16_thumbRaspberry Pi is being put forward as a smart home server controlling lights and window blinds in response to variations in temperature and light.

A self-powered wireless sensor interface from EnOcean  can be used with Raspberry Pi, is available from element14, as the basis of a home automation design platform.

It can be the basis of a smart home server where the EnOcean Pi acts as a bridge (Gateway-Controller) to the self-powered switches and sensors providing data and status information.

Communications is via the EnOcean ISO/IEC 14543-3-10 low power radio protocol which can be used in 902MHz, 868MHz or 315MHz frequency bands. It has a range of up to 30 metres in buildings.

The starter kit comes with three wireless sensors; push button, a solar-powered magnet contact switch and temperature sensor. There is also a web-interface for control via tablets or smart phones.

“The EnOcean Sensor Kit combines state of the art energy harvesting with ultra-low power sensors to create a unique automation solution for use with the Raspberry Pi,” said David Shen, CTO at element14.

enocean_stills_11_thumbThe EnOcean Sensor Kit is priced at $69.99.

 

2014 resurgence for power transistors, forecasts IC Insights

IC Insights - Worldwide power transistor salesAfter consecutive sales declines in 2012 and 2013, the power transistor market is forecast to climb 8% in 2014 and reach a new record high in 2015, says IC Insights.

For more than three decades, power transistors have been the growth engine in the $21 billion commodity-filled discrete semiconductor market, handling the vital job of controlling, converting, and conditioning currents and voltages in an ever-expanding range of electronics—including battery-operated portable products, new energy-saving equipment, hybrid and electric vehicles, “smart” electric-grid applications, and renewable power systems.

However, the power transistor marketplace has uncharacteristically struggled for the past two years, posting the first back-to-back annual sales declines in more than 30 years (-8% in 2012 and -6% in 2013) due to delays in unit purchases by cautious equipment makers responding to economic uncertainty and price erosion from excess production capacity.

The two-year losing streak for power transistors is expected to end in 2014, with worldwide sales rebounding 8% to $12.5 billion.

IC insights forecasts power transistor sales rising 9% in 2015 to $13.7 billion, topping the current annual peak of about $13.5 billion set in 2011.

With economic uncertainty easing and end equipment sales gaining strength, the power transistor market is projected to increase by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4% between 2013 and 2018, reaching $15.7 billion in 2018.

The projected rate of annual sales growth is more than double the 3.0% CAGR in the previous five years (2008-2013), when power transistors and nearly all other semiconductor categories were pulled down by the financial-meltdown recession and lingering economic weakness after the strong 2010 recovery.

The 2014 rebound in power transistors will be led by low-voltage MOSFETs (up to 40V), high-voltage MOSFETs (over 400V), and insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) products that are often used in high-current applications and systems operating in rugged conditions, such as in vehicles, lighting equipment, air conditioners and heaters, motor drives, factory equipment, and industrial gear, such as welders.

IC Insights expects to see 2014 sales growing 9% in low-voltage MOSFETs (to nearly $2.8 billion), high-voltage MOSFETs (to about $1.8 billion) and IGBT power modules (to $2.7 billion).

Even bipolar junction power transistors, which have been around for more than five decades, are expected to see a 6% increase in sales to $854 million in 2014 after dropping 10% in 2013.

Since power transistors cannot be efficiently merged into integrated circuits, it stands to reason that sales growth in power transistors has nearly matched the CAGR of ICs since the early 1980s.

Between 1984 and 2013, worldwide sales of power transistors have grown by a CAGR nearly 8% compared to an annual average of 9% for ICs.

IC and power transistor sales are expected to rise by a CAGR of about 6% in the next five years.

Power transistors are expected to represent about 59% of the projected $26.7 billion in total discrete semiconductor sales in 2018 versus 56% of the $20.7 billion market in 2013.

Strong demand for power transistors will continue to be fuelled by the steady growth in battery-operated portable products, global efforts to reduce consumption of electricity with new energy-efficient power supplies in equipment, earth-friendly solar and wind power systems, and ongoing efforts to improve plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles.

Renesas expands R-IN32M3

Renesas r-in32m3

Renesas R-IN32M3

Renesas has expanded its R-IN32M3 series platform solution for industrial Ethernet protocols with an IAR Systems development kit and multiple Industrial Ethernet protocol stacks support.

IAR Systems eases device evaluation with the release of its IAR KickStart Kit for R-IN32M3 SoCs.

The kit includes an R-IN board, an I-jet Lite debug probe and evaluation versions of IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM, as well as lots of protocol stacks.

The Smart Factory means that communication networks have become a critical component in improving production efficiency and real-time processing.

The number and complexity of industrial protocols like CC-Link IE, EtherCAT, PROFINET, etc., as well as a variety of applications, has led to long and complex development cycles.

Renesas’ R-IN32M3 series of devices improves industrial Ethernet network performance with optimised hardware accelerators, while reducing costs by supporting multiple protocols such as EtherCAT, CC-LinkIE, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, CANopen and others, from a single device. It can be used for real-time network communication in gateways, I/O controllers, PLCs/PACs, embedded controllers, industrial drives and countless other networked applications.

Key features of R-IN32M3 include:

ARM Cortex M3-based CPU subsystem clocked at 100 megahertz (MHz) clock speed
Hardware accelerators improve efficiency and offloads from the main CPU
Hardware real-time OS accelerator (HW-RTOS)
Hardware Ethernet accelerators (IP/TCP/UDP Check Sum, Header ENDEC, Buffer manager)
1.3 MB of on-chip RAM
EtherCAT or CC-Link IE slave controller on-chip (license free)
2-port real-time Gigabit switch, supports cut-through and store and forward operating modes, as well as support for IEEE1588 PTP and Device-Level-Ring (DLR) protocols
Dual-channel 10/100 Ethernet (with dual-channel PHY included, Note 1)
High-speed, real-time port with dedicated DMAC
Many peripherals and GPIOs

Maxim’s PIXI

Maxim MAX11300 functional diagram

Maxim MAX11300 functional diagram

Engineers can mix and match 20 ADCs, 20 DACs or 20 High voltage digital I/O pins in any order using the MAX11300, mixed-signal PIXI technology.

PIXI claims to be the industry’s first configurable 20-channel, -10V to +10V high-voltage mixed-signal data converter.

It is for complex applications requiring multiple mixed-signal operations like base stations and industrial control and automation.

Graphical user interface software that comes with PIXI allows rapid drag and drop configuration of the device. Any function can be assigned to any pin.

Select an ADC and connect it to any of 20 pins, select a DAC and connect it to any pin or assign a digital I/O to any pin.

Unlike traditional multichannel data converters, PIXI lets engineers configure the 20 mixed signal input/outputs (I/Os) to optimise a design.

PIXI integrates a 12-bit, multichannel, analog-to-digital converter (ADC); a 12-bit, multichannel, buffered digital-to-analog converter (DAC); and high-voltage analog switches and digital I/Os.

With -10V to +10V, high-voltage range, PIXI enables high-voltage bipolar signals. It provides more design flexibility than any competing data converter.

Each of the 20 mixed-signal I/Os can be configured for the application, so designers can optimise PCB layout. Configuration software enables “drag and drop” setup of the 20 ports. Files can be exported for coding and easily reconfigured as requirements change.

Silego launches new CMIC

Silego SLG46120

Silego SLG46120 block diagram

Silego has launched a new Configurable Mixed-signal IC (CMIC) in the flagship GreenPAK (GPAK) family.

Silego’s GPAK family of NVM Programmable Mixed-signal Matrix devices enables many system functions such as system reset, power sequencing, voltage sensing, interface, and miscellaneous logic while minimizing component count, board space, and power consumption.

The SLG46120V maximizes the GPIO and functionality available in the incredibly small 1.6 x 1.6 x 0.55 mm 10-GPIO STQFN package. This device builds upon the 8-GPIO SLG46110V to expand the range of designs that can be addressed in such a small device.

SLG46120V projects use the GPAK development hardware and GPAK Designer.

“An upgrade path from the SLG46110V, the SLG46120V allows our customers to implement more complex and demanding functions,” says Silego’s Nathan John.s

Target Applications include:
• Consumer Electronics
o Wearables
o Portable: Tablets, Smartphones, Notebooks
o PCs and PC peripherals
• Commercial and Industrial Electronics
o Servers
o Embedded PCs
o Data Communications Equipment

Ultrasonic MEMS microphone from Knowles

Knowles is to manufacture a MEMS microphone supporting ultrasonic bandwidth starting in Q3.

It allows the microphone to assist smartphones and consumer electronics with touch-less gesture recognition, phone-to-phone data transmission, pen input compatibility for handsets and tablets, and 3D positioning input.

To facilitate these capabilities, the new MEMS microphone can receive ultrasonic sound waves above the audible range of humans, up to 80 kHz, and use those waves to triangulate an object’s location and movement. The technology principles are similar to radar or an ultrasound administered by a doctor during pregnancy.

Beyond the ultrasonic mode, the microphone offers four performance modes, including a low power voice activation mode, which is ideal for mobile consumer electronics.

Knowles expects to begin manufacturing in Q3 2014.

Product Details
· Product: High SNR digital bottom port microphone
· Part Number: SPH0641LU4H-1
· Measurements: 3.50 x 2.65 x 0.98 mm

Product Features
· Supports ultrasonic frequencies
· Superwide-band capable
· Lowest power consumption in the market (3x less than other digital microphones)
· Best acoustic performance per square millimeter
· Multiple performance modes (sleep, low-power, standard mode, ultrasonic mode)
· Sensitivity matching for better algorithm performance
· Easier system integration and better RF immunity compared to analog microphones

Technical Data
· Ultrasonic frequencies: Up to 80kHz
· Signal-to-Noise Ratio: Nominal 64.3 dB(A)
· Flat Frequency Response: Up to 20 kHz
· Power consumption: 235µA in low power mode
· Size: More than 20% smaller than other digital microphones
· Sensitivity matching: ±1 dB

Sensor in the eye medical diagnostic tool

figure1c_v2University of Washington engineers have designed a low-power sensor that could be placed permanently in a person’s eye to track hard-to-measure changes in eye pressure.

The sensor would be embedded with an artificial lens during cataract surgery and would detect pressure changes. It was would integrate a low power radio chip to transmit measurement data.

“No one has ever put electronics inside the lens of the eye, so this is a little more radical,” said Karl Böhringer, a UW professor of electrical engineering and of bioengineering.

“We have shown this is possible in principle. If you can fit this sensor device into an intraocular lens implant during cataract surgery, it won’t require any further surgery for patients.”

There are two ways to check eye pressure, but both require a visit to the ophthalmologist.

At most, patients at risk for glaucoma may only get their pressure checked several times a year, said Tueng Shen, a collaborator and UW professor of ophthalmology.

But if ophthalmologists could insert a pressure monitoring system in the eye with an artificial lens during cataract surgery that could save patients from a second surgery and essentially make their replacement lens “smarter” and more functional.

“The implementation of the monitoring device has to be well-suited clinically and must be designed to be simple and reliable,” Shen said. “We want every surgeon who does cataract surgeries to be able to use this.”

An illustration of the final device. Source: U of Washington

An illustration of the final device. Source: U of Washington

The UW engineering team has built a prototype that uses radio frequency for wireless power and data transfer. A thin, circular antenna spans the perimeter of the device – roughly tracing a person’s iris – and harnesses enough energy from the surrounding field to power a small pressure sensor chip.

The chip communicates with a close-by receiver about any shifts in frequency, which signify a change in pressure. Actual pressure is then calculated and those changes are tracked and recorded in real-time.

The chip’s processing mechanism is actually very simple, leaving the computational heavy lifting to the nearby receiver, which could be a handheld device or possibly built into a smartphone, Böhringer said.

The current prototype is larger than it would need to be to fit into an artificial lens, but the research team is confident it can be downscaled through more engineering.

 The team is working on downscaling the prototype to be tested in an actual artificial lens. Designing a final product that’s affordable for patients is the ultimate goal, researchers said.

“I think if the cost is reasonable and if the new device offers information that’s not measureable by current technology, patients and surgeons would be really eager to adopt it,” Shen said.

The research was funded by the Coulter Foundation and the UW. Buddy Ratner, a UW professor of bioengineering and of chemical engineering, and Felix Simonovsky, a UW bioengineering research scientist, also contributed to this work.

The University of Washington researchers recently published their results in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering and filed patents on an initial prototype of the pressure-monitoring device.