The relentless march of technological progress has given engineers increasingly smaller and more energy efficient microcontrollers to use in their designs. These benefits do come with a cost, however. Physically smaller packages have less room for I/O pins meaning fewer peripheral components can interface with the microcontroller itself. Fewer peripherals means less functionality which tends […]
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Now available free: Embedded C Coding Standard book
To help the embedded systems industry create safer products, Barr Group has made the downloadable version of its Embedded C Coding Standard available to the public free of charge. This offering comes in response to potentially disturbing results published in the 2017 Embedded Systems Safety & Security Survey. That survey revealed that approximately one in five designers of […]
Top microcontroller threads on EDAboard.com – August
(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 forums.) PWM using Controller – I working on one project which requires the following condition: Analog voltage and PWM […]
Memory technology from Floating Gates to FRAM
There are two basic types of memory: volatile and non-volatile. Volatile memory loses its content and becomes a blank slate whenever power is completely removed. However, volatile memory doesn’t need much power and can maintain its contents with a small battery. Non-volatile memory retains its contents even if power is completely removed. SRAM and DRAM […]
A look at the computer engineering stack
The embedded world looks a lot like the computing world as technology evolves, so it’s worth taking a look at the full computer engineering stack. This kind of stack refers to the structures built on top of each other that combine to form computers, not the memory register stack that processors use and can sometimes […]
Sensing is key to autonomous operation
A lot of work in sensor technology is taking place to make robotic vehicles practical. It’s becoming clear that autonomous vehicle deployment will depend on the development of smart sensors. Industry analysts see advances coming in traditional areas of radar and proximity sensing. They also think the architecture of vehicle systems will evolve in ways […]
ADAS developers contemplate sensor fusion
Semiconductor makers now field sensor equipment complete with built-in safety systems that specifically target autonomous driving applications. LANCE WILLIAMS | ON Semiconductor Increasingly sophisticated advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are helping cars move up through defined levels of autonomy toward the day when fully autonomous driving is a reality. ADAS is an automotive megatrend that […]
PCIe in the embedded world
PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), also known as PCIe, is a high-speed serial bus standard that is better known in IT circles for use with personal computers and servers, but PCIe is used in embedded systems, as well. As the line between high-performance computing and embedded systems blurs, embedded systems require operating systems as […]
The danger of treating autonomous vehicle control as a solved problem
LEE TESCHLER EXECUTIVE EDITOR A panelist made an interesting comment during the recently concluded TU-Automotive connected car conference near Detroit. It happened during one of the many sessions devoted to software infrastructure and connected services. “In Silicon Valley, autonomous vehicle control and driving is viewed as a solved problem. The real emphasis is on making […]
Selecting an LED and finding the correct size resistor
Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are diodes that emit light when energized. LEDs can light a room now, whereas for decades they had been too weak to do much more than act as indicators. LEDs are fun to play with, and a fairly safe way to introduce kids to principles of circuits. There’s just a few […]
