RISC stands for Reduced Instruction Set Computer and is a type of architectural processor design strategy. “Architecture” refers to the way a processor is planned and built and can refer to either the hardware or the software that is closest to the silicon on which it runs. An Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) specifies the basic […]
Featured
Documenting code: use this when you just don’t know what to write
Documenting code is something most people dislike doing. By the time you are done with writing, debugging, testing, fixing and re-testing, you are so sick of it that you just don’t want to look at it anymore. But most of us have already been on the other side of the code: a recipient of some […]
Metal Oxide Field Effect Transistor: What is RDS(on)?
RDS(on) stands for “drain-source on resistance,” or the total resistance between the drain and source in a Metal Oxide Field Effect Transistor, or MOSFET when the MOSFET is “on.” RDS(on) is the basis for a maximum current rating of the MOSFET and is also associated with current loss. All things being equal, the lower the […]
Top microcontroller threads on EDAboard.com – April
(editor’s note: Intrigued by the problem? Have a similar challenge? Have a question or another solution? Then click the “Read more” link and follow the conversation on EDAboard.com or log in to EDAboard and participate in the microcontroller forum thread.) ADE7763 SPI register read issue – I an currently working on SPI communication between PIC24FJ64GA006 […]
Teardown: The electronics of Hello Barbie
Parents leery of privacy invasion have little to fear from Barbie, whose language skills mainly reside in the cloud. There’s been a lot of discussion in the media about privacy and home appliances that listen to conversations. The Hello Barbie doll is a voice-enabled toy that has been part of the controversy. It uses Wi-Fi […]
RF cable and RF wireless transmission
What is RF? RF stands for “Radio Frequency” and has become a catch-all term for certain wired communications and a large (spectral) range of wirelessly transmitted waves. It’s easy to find wireless RF modules for microcontroller development kits and other design-ready products, but where does RF cable fit in? What does Ethernet have to do […]
Modulating 5G
The IoT will make heavy use of fifth-generation mobile networks that use a yet-to-be-determined modulation scheme. Here are the major contenders. LEE TESCHLER | EXECUTIVE EDITOR Fifth-generation mobile networks, abbreviated 5G, will form the telecommunications standards for the internet of things. Planners say 5G will have a higher capacity than the current 4G equipment partly […]
The case for multiprotocol, multiband connectivity in the IoT
Wireless protocols that are widely used in the IoT have a lot of common attributes. Multiprotocol SoCs able to run them all can simplify many kinds of wireless designs. TOM PANNELL, Senior Marketing Director, IoT Products| SILICON LABS We have many innate expectations for controlling the myriad devices and systems in our lives. When I enter […]
Thwarting hackers on the IoT
A few best practices can drastically improve the security of IoT devices and help maximize the benefits they provide. CHRISTOPHE TREMLET, SCOTT JONES MAXIM INTEGRATED The news back in March was certainly alarming – WikiLeaks announced it had internal CIA documents revealing that the spy agency had found a way to access Android and Apple […]
Supervisory IC vs. RC circuit: delaying MCU start-up until supply voltage is good
Engineers use external microcontroller (MCU) supervisory circuits as a fail-safe to ensure that their systems operate in a safe manner when unforeseen, unpredictable events occur when their systems are sent out “into the wild,” that is, when their systems are no longer in a controlled environment. (Here, we will consider microprocessors and central processing units […]