A group of researchers at the University of Washington have figured out a way to make 3D-printed objects emit WiFi signals containing status information, all without using electrical power. The technique uses what’s called WiFi backscattering. The method is to make the 3D-printed device amplitude-modulate a WiFi signal coming from a conventional source such as […]
Lidar sensor targets autonomous vehicle apps with super-high resolution
The new VLS-128 LiDAR sensor is designed for the rapidly expanding autonomous vehicle market. Featuring an industry-leading 128 laser channels, the VLS-128 features high resolution, long range, and the widest surround field-of-view of any LiDAR system available today. Velodyne’s VLS-128 succeeds the HDL-64. Velodyne’s new flagship model has a whopping 10 times higher resolving power […]
Teardown: Inside Sphero’s R2-D2 toy
Our teardown of R2-D2 shows what’s inside this little droid with a big personality. One of the hot new toys released in advance of the new Star Wars movie is R2-D2 by Sphero, the same toymaker that developed the BB8 for the 2015 Star Wars sequel called The Force Awakens. As with the BB8, R2 […]
Support package lets Simulink models run on MCUs
The flexiTARGET Simulink Target Support Package (TSP) allows engineers to target their models for a range of real-time hardware. Users can target Simulink models to their chosen microcontroller. Key benefits of flexiTARGET include support for GCC and other low-cost compilers, and support of any Matlab version including 2016b and beyond. flexiTARGET consists of a number […]
Multiprotocol wireless software handles IoT connectivity for next-gen apps
New dynamic multiprotocol software for the Wireless Gecko system-on-chip (SoC) and module portfolio enables simultaneous operation of Zigbee and Bluetooth low energy (LE) on a single SoC. This package handles Internet of Things (IoT) applications without incurring the additional complexity and hardware cost of a two-chip architecture, thereby reducing the wireless subsystem bill-of-materials (BOM) cost […]
New LoRa Alliance specs let IoT devices connect, move between LPWANs
The LoRa Alliance, the global association of companies backing the open LoRaWAN standard for internet of things (IoT) low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs), released its latest technical specifications. New features in the latest specification releases include roaming and separation of backend nodes, which will enable IoT devices to connect to and move between LPWANs around the […]
Gallery: Neat tech on display at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicles USA
A focused forum on the here-and-now of self-driving technology held in Novi, Mich., staged by TU-Automotive, featured presentations by Tier 1 suppliers, researchers, and automakers. Also, there were a few displays of interesting technology. Here are a few examples of what was there to be seen. NEXT PAGE: A washer system for car cameras
Teardown: The Apple Sport watch
Apple recently came out with the Series 3 version of its watch. We can get an idea of how the Series 3 goes together from a teardown analysis of Apple’s earlier Sport model. The Sport model we analyzed has an aluminum case but the watch is also available in stainless steel. It measures about 39 […]
Low-power clock ICs simplify timing for 10/25/100G Ethernet designs
A new family of high-performance clock generators target 10/25/100G applications. The new Si5332 clock family from Silicon Labs uses MultiSynth fractional clock synthesis technology to deliver jitter performance of 230 fsec rms. Multiple Si5332 options spanning 6, 8 and 12 clock outputs enable clock tree consolidation for demanding applications including hyperscale data center switches, servers, […]
Gallery: Scenes at the Mentor Graphics Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum
The Mentor IESF recently took place in Plymouth, Mich. and featured a heavy dose of technology built around autonomous vehicle and connected vehicle themes. Here are a few of the more interesting sights we discovered as we perused the technical sessions and the show floor. NEXT PAGE :Two displays, one computing platform