We recently got a tour of Qorvo‘s new RF front-end module from Qorvo’as Bror Peterson and Keysight’s Osamu Kusanois. The module is said to be the world’s first 39-GHz front-end that integrates a power amp, low-noise amp, and switch in one small package. The module uses gallium nitride technology to get a high power density. […]
FAQ
Million-mile drives on computers that don’t move
Simulation is the only way to get the kind of confidence necessary to field autonomous vehicle functions. Karsten Krügel, Sven Flake, dSPACE GmbH HOW do you ensure that an autonomous vehicle will perform safely when the driver’s responsibility has essentially been removed? The necessity for reliable operation under this scenario is raising major challenges within […]
Inertial measurement units will keep self-driving cars on track
IMUs are just as important as cameras and radar when it comes to operating autonomous vehicles reliably. Mike Horton, Aceinna Inc. AN inertial measurement unit (IMU) is a device that directly measures a vehicle’s three linear acceleration components and three rotational rate components (and thus its six degrees of freedom). An IMU is unique among […]
How to test time-sensitive networks effectively
Connected vehicles depend on networks that won’t bog down when handling real-time data. Specialized TSN tests ensure messages arrive on time and intact. Jeff Warra, Spirent ETHERNET has been the backbone of IT infrastructure for more than 40 years, but it was never designed to be a determinist network. That’s why, over time, Ethernet standards […]
When tire pressure monitoring gets smart
Bluetooth-enabled tire monitors will check inflation pressures and temperatures with much more precision than available through yellow lights on a dash panel. Addy Mulders, Dialog Semiconductor THE words “connected cars” often bring to mind self-driving autonomous vehicles. But connected cars will offer a variety of capabilities, not the least of which is tire pressure monitoring […]
The tricky business of teaching cars to see
Neural network software can be difficult to debug. One reason: It functions only vaguely in the way it has been explained to the general public. Leland Teschler, Executive Editor CRACK open an autonomous-driving vehicle and you will find neural networks taught to recognize objects such as pedestrians, road signs, and other vehicles. Recent accidents involving […]
In defense of the toggle switch
The world has gotten much fancier with capacitive and resistance touch input on displays, buttons that don’t give tactile feedback, or buttons that do but bounce the input signal on occasion. Buttons are everywhere. They’re on microwaves, refrigerators, garage door openers, smartphones, and inhabit the soul of the electric start/stop for modern automobiles. For designers, […]
802.11ax: Are we there yet?
Many who develop with microcontrollers have access to compatible Wi-Fi modules. Do you need to be concerned about updating to the latest version 802.11ax when it comes out? The answer depends on whether your MCU will reside in an area where the Wi-Fi access point is typically congested. If so, 802.11ax can help. In short, […]
IoT via Cellular: Out with 2G and 3G, in with LPWA
Wireless connections are convenient and cheap to set up, but Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other commercially available technologies do not always have the range needed. Wireless cellular is an option, but cellular connections are expensive. A lot of devices use 2G and 3G cellular technologies because they cost less, especially when only little chunks of data […]
Can you operate circuits at sub-threshold voltages?
Yes, you can operate circuits below the 0.9 volts where some transistors can run. The result is mind-blowingly low power consumption, as in a full-featured Real Time Clock (RTC) with a supply current below 14 nA (that’s nanoamps). First, some background on how transistors work Transistors operate much like an electronic switch. Apply voltage above […]