Embedded Insiders

Send us a textThis is the Embedded Insiders’ first video broadcast. Join Rich Nass, Brandon Lewis, Alix Paultre and Laura Dolan as they discuss Alix’s latest adventures at APEC and what the future holds for power electronics. Not to mention Alix’s Tchotchke Index. What is it? And what can show-goers glean from what you pass out at trade shows? Tune in to learn more!For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textPower is key in any embedded system—literally. You will not find an embedded system that does not contain some sort of power subsystem. However, people tend not to put much emphasis on that portion of the embedded design. Why is that? Beats me, so I asked Chris Jones, a Director at Artesyn Embedded Technologies in this week’s Five Minutes With…discussion. And did he ever come up with a zinger of a story!For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textEnergy harvesting is not a new concept – solar panels have been around for a long time, and even mechanical watches have had motion-capture systems to wind the mainspring since Rolex invented “Perpetual” movement. However, recent advances in circuit efficiency have made other forms of low-power energy harvesting viable, as they can use the microamps of current provided. Today one can obtain devices that harvest electrical energy using sources ranging from stray RF to beamed laser energy via fiber. One of the more interesting and novel means of energy harvesting is the quantum-tunneling-based Evercell thermal energy technology from Face. Evercell is a passive-structure, semiconductor-based system that exploits principles of quantum physics to produce a small, continuous flow of electric power in virtually any setting. We talked to Stefan Popov, the Managing Partner of QuantumDrive, the exclusive licensee for the use of Face's Evercell power cells in self-powered watches quartz watches. Everc

Send us a textThere are holes in IoT security. I don’t think anyone disputes that. Is it a big problem or a small problem? Unfortunately, the answer depends. Knowing where to start and what path to take is a tricky one, in part because different people will point you in different directions. To (hopefully) steer you straight, I discussed the topic with a recognized security expert, Brent Wilson, a staff security applications engineer for IoT products at Silicon Labs, in this week’s Five Minutes With…discussion.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textThe space where the electronics meets the mechanics ends up being a place of disconnect. Who owns that domain, the mechanical engineer or the electrical engineer? Good question, and that’s where I started the discussion with Michael Randt, Founder and CEO of Trinamic in this week’s Five Minutes With…discussion. As the IoT proliferates, particularly in the industrial, automation, and manufacturing industries, the world of “mechatronics” is key to the success of a design. And the problem likely will get worse before it gets better.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textAPEC 2019 is happening March 17-21 in Anaheim, CA. The Embedded Insiders’ very own Alix Paultre, a seasoned veteran of the power electronics industry, will be attending the Applied Power Electronics Conference and moderating one of the sessions there. Tune in as he elaborates on what attendees will learn at the show this year and what it’s all going to mean for the future of the embedded and power electronics industries.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textThe 2019 Embedded World Conference and Exhibition was here and gone in a flash, once again setting records for attendance and innovation. The Embedded Insiders Rich Nass, Brandon Lewis, Alix Paultre, and Laura Dolan dedicate this special episode to some of the most groundbreaking solutions on display at this year’s event, which also happened to be the recipients of Embedded Computing Design’s first-ever Best-in-Show Awards. 22 Best-in-Show Award winners were selected from categories including: - Microcontrollers, Microprocessors & IP - Development Tools & Operating Systems - Power ICs & Related Components - Computer Boards, Systems & Components - Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning - Embedded Security - Embedded Storage - Wireless & Wired IoT Connectivity For more information on the winners, visit bestinshow.embedded-computing.com/shows/embedded-world-2019.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textConnectors, cables, etc. are a vital piece of the embedded system, but are often (too often?) taken for granted. There’s clearly a lot going on in that space that designers should know about. To connect the dots, I spent some time with Matthew Burns, a Director at Samtec, a guy who lives and breathes connectors. Check out this week’s Five Minutes With…discussion.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textAda and RISC-V? Yup, that’s exactly what’s going on, as nVidia has selected Ada to run on its RISC-V core. What does that mean for the future of Ada? That’s the question I started with this week’s Five Minutes With…discussion with Quentin Ochem, a Director at AdaCore, one of the leaders in the Ada programming language.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textThis week on Embedded Insiders, we were joined by Derek Hunt, Director of Certification for LoRa Alliance and Certification Committee Chair. He shed some light on what’s currently going on in the low power area networking space. We discussed how LoRaWan is being deployed worldwide, the certification aspects involved, identifying the classes of operation and Worldwide Wake Up. LoRaWan is also attending the Mobile World Congress this week. Tune in to learn more.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textThe Embedded Insiders are headed to Embedded World next week. To make sure we maximize our time, we hopped on the phone with Axel Sikora, who is the Chairman of the Embedded World Conference. He’s also in tune with what’s happening on the exhibitor side. Whether you’re headed over to Nuremberg, Germany for the big event or not, you’ll be interested in what Axel has to say about the key technologies going forward.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textArtificial intelligence is supposed to make your life easier, whether it’s in a consumer setting or an industrial setting. Edge computing, which is the on-premise compute component, is growing in its potential. Edge devices started as simple sensors and now they constitute complete compute platforms, in many cases. According to Jonathan Luse, General Manager of Product Planning for the IoT Group at Intel, who was this week’s Five Minutes with…guest, Intel is high on the technology and has the tools a developer needs to connect the dots in an AI-based platform.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textObsolescence is something that many vendors dread. But fear not, help is out there. Just because a chip or a board is no longer available from your supplier, you may be able to find a replacement part, and you don’t need to build it yourself. Vendors like GDCA specialize in replacing parts that are no longer available. How do they do that, and is it a wise choice to continue with a product that’s no longer in production? Those are some of the questions I asked of “obsolescence expert,” Ethan Plotkin, the CEO of GDCA in this week’s Five Minutes With…discussion.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textSmart cities is a term we’ve been throwing around for a while now. But what’s really behind the drive to add intelligence to our roads, buildings, street lights, etc? That’s the first question I asked of this week’s Five Minutes With…discussion with Ian Aaron, the CEO of Ubicquia, and that was the easy part. The harder part is how you actually do it, which was my follow-up question.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textLow-power wide-area networks (LPWANs) are a necessary component in many IoT or industrial IoT applications. You already know there are many options when it comes to your LPWAN of choice. Today, we’re taking a look at LoRaWAN, one of those choices, and the one that seems to be moving at the fastest pace. The LoRa Alliance, the group that supports the technology recently announced a new rollout, which was the first topic I broached in this week’s Five Minutes with…discussion with Donna Moore, the CEO and Chairperson of the LoRa Alliance.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textA funny thing happened on the way to the 5G rollout. Some claims were made early on that are turning out to be not true. In fact, they’re so far from reality that you can’t see them in any crystal ball worth gazing into. In this week’s edition of the Embedded Insiders, Brandon Lewis and Rich Nass look at what’s real, what’s not and what’s going to happen sometime soon (not much). And to help validate our “facts,” we brought in a guest, Multitech’s CTO David Smith.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textThe automobile presents a challenge for all types of electronics due to the heat and bouncing around that takes place, specifically under the hood. Memory, while not always at the forefront of a designer’s mind, is subject to those same conditions and needs to not be an afterthought. To understand the difficulties as well as the options, I invited Anthony Le, a Senior Director at Macronix to be this week’s Five Minutes with…guest.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textAttendance may have been down at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show, based on observed foot traffic alone. But, that didn't stop electronics vendors from innovating at the highest levels. From artificial intelligence in automotive and consumer vision systems to ubiquitous voice recognition and more, the Embedded Insiders got what they bargained for and then some at CES 2019. Special guest Louis Parks discusses Quantum Computing and its impact on future security.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textBluetooth Mesh has a huge upside in my opinion. But when is it going to be ready for prime time? Or is it already? And what about competitive media, like ZigBee or Wi-Fi? These are just some of the questions I threw at Mahendra Tailor, a Technology Leader at Laird Technology in this week’s Five Minutes with…discussion.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

Send us a textYou can’t build an embedded system without power. Plain and simple. Hence, embedded developers need to be up to speed on the latest power-related technologies. The key attribute that needs to be discussed with respect to power is efficiency. And that’s the topic I discussed with Harold Blomquist, President and CEO of Helix Semiconductors in this week’s Five Minutes with…discussion. We started with “what is efficiency” then got down to what an embedded developer needs to know about it.For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com