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The Invention of FORTRAN to Moore’s Law: The April 2018 Hardware History Roundup

The Invention of FORTRAN to Moore’s Law: The April 2018 Hardware History Roundup

Here's a look at some major milestones in hardware history for the month of April beginning in 1957 with the invention of FORTRAN to the introduction of the Windows 3.1 operating system in 1992.


News Apr 25, 2018 by Chantelle Dubois
Teardown Tuesday: Battery Charger

Teardown Tuesday: Battery Charger

In this teardown, we open up a six-pack sequential battery-charging station, from Milwaukee.


News Apr 24, 2018 by Nick Davis
Reader Question: What Do You Wish You Had on Your Bench?

Reader Question: What Do You Wish You Had on Your Bench?

If you could build your dream bench, what would you put on it?


News Apr 20, 2018 by Kate Smith
A New Generation of Long-Distance Laser-Ranging: A New Time-of-Flight Sensor from STMicroelectronics

A New Generation of Long-Distance Laser-Ranging: A New Time-of-Flight Sensor from STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics recently announced their new laser-ranging time-of-flight sensor with a range of up to 4 meters.


News Apr 20, 2018 by Nick Davis
Optimizing for the Smart Grid: A Look at Infineon’s MIPAQ Intelligent Power Module

Optimizing for the Smart Grid: A Look at Infineon’s MIPAQ Intelligent Power Module

This News Brief looks at Infineon's Intelligent Power Module (IPM), the MIPAQ Pro, which has been updated for use in smart grid applications.


News Apr 19, 2018 by Donald Krambeck
Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation and Power System Design: An Interview with Dr. Sudipta Chakraborty

Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation and Power System Design: An Interview with Dr. Sudipta Chakraborty

Sudipta Chakraborty is the Director of Energy Systems at OPAL-RT. In this Engineer Spotlight, he speaks about challenges facing power system design, how hardware-in-the-loop simulations are important for problem-solving with grid integration, and his work on the IEEE-1547 standard for power grid test procedures.


News Apr 18, 2018 by Chantelle Dubois
What Is an aCOT? A New Synchronous DC-to-DC Buck Converter from Diodes Incorporated

What Is an aCOT? A New Synchronous DC-to-DC Buck Converter from Diodes Incorporated

Diodes Incorporated recently released an adaptive constant on-time (aCOT) synchronous DC-to-DC buck converter that offers high efficiencies and an improved transient response.


News Apr 18, 2018 by Nick Davis
Teardown Tuesday: Space Heater

Teardown Tuesday: Space Heater

In this teardown, we dissect a rotating space heater that has two modes of operation: silence and turbo.


News Apr 17, 2018 by Nick Davis
Low Noise, Low Power, High Speed: An 18-bit, 2 MSPS Precision SAR ADC from Analog Devices

Low Noise, Low Power, High Speed: An 18-bit, 2 MSPS Precision SAR ADC from Analog Devices

The AD4002 from Analog Devices is a low-noise, low-power, and high-speed 18-bit successive approximation register analog-to-digital converter.


News Apr 16, 2018 by Nick Davis
High Efficiencies at Light Loads: A Voltage Boost Converter from Texas Instruments

High Efficiencies at Light Loads: A Voltage Boost Converter from Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments recently released their new voltage boost converter (step-up converter) that offers high efficiencies at light load conditions.


News Apr 12, 2018 by Nick Davis
Adjustable Step-Down DC/DC Constant-Current Control: An LED Controller from Diodes Incorporated

Adjustable Step-Down DC/DC Constant-Current Control: An LED Controller from Diodes Incorporated

Diodes Incorporated announced a new adjustable constant-current LED step-down (buck) DC/DC converter that accepts an input voltage ranging from 5V to 60V.


News Apr 11, 2018 by Nick Davis
Teardown Tuesday: Immersion Cooker

Teardown Tuesday: Immersion Cooker

In this teardown, we open up an Immersion Cooker, from My Sous Vide.


News Apr 10, 2018 by Nick Davis
20A (Single Voltage) or 10A (Dual Voltages): A DC/DC Voltage Regulator Module from Linear Technology

20A (Single Voltage) or 10A (Dual Voltages): A DC/DC Voltage Regulator Module from Linear Technology

A compact μModule point-of-load regulator from Linear Technology can be configured as either a single 20-amp voltage regulator or two 10-amp voltage regulators.


News Apr 09, 2018 by Nick Davis
Intel, Waymo Compare Vision Systems in Wake of Uber’s First Fatal Autonomous Car Crash

Intel, Waymo Compare Vision Systems in Wake of Uber’s First Fatal Autonomous Car Crash

In the wake of Uber's fatal autonomous car crash, companies such as Intel and Waymo are insisting that their autonomous vehicle systems could have prevented this tragedy. How are these big names doing autonomous driving differently?


News Apr 07, 2018 by Donald Krambeck
Controlling Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors: A Highly-Integrated IC from Infineon

Controlling Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors: A Highly-Integrated IC from Infineon

A new series of highly-integrated ICs provide a flexible solution for driving variable speed motors.


News Apr 05, 2018 by Nick Davis
Using GMR Technology: A Highly-Sensitive Current Measurement Sensor from Allegro Microsystems

Using GMR Technology: A Highly-Sensitive Current Measurement Sensor from Allegro Microsystems

Allegro Microsystems touts their new fully-integrated and highly-sensitive current sensor.


News Apr 03, 2018 by Nick Davis
SiP, SoC, SoM, CoM—What’s the Difference?

SiP, SoC, SoM, CoM—What’s the Difference?

What's the difference between SiP, SoC, SoM, and CoM?


News Apr 02, 2018 by Chantelle Dubois
Two Programmable Buck Converters and Two Programmable Linear Voltage Regulators in a Single Package

Two Programmable Buck Converters and Two Programmable Linear Voltage Regulators in a Single Package

Texas Instruments recently announced their new dual high-current buck converter and dual linear regulator all in a single IC.


News Mar 30, 2018 by Nick Davis
Microsoft Experiment Looks Into the 7 Properties of Highly Secured Devices for IoT

Microsoft Experiment Looks Into the 7 Properties of Highly Secured Devices for IoT

A team from the Microsoft Research New Experiences and Technologies (NExT) Operating Systems Group has been working on methods to introduce high level security in IoT microcontrollers, coming up with a list of seven properties they believe are essential for protecting devices and could be easily implemented by any manufacturer.


News Mar 29, 2018 by Chantelle Dubois
MIT’s Encryption Chip Reduces Public-Key Encryption Power Consumption by 99.75%

MIT’s Encryption Chip Reduces Public-Key Encryption Power Consumption by 99.75%

Encryption takes energy. MIT's public-key encryption chip reportedly reduces encryption energy consumption by 99.75%.


News Mar 28, 2018 by Chantelle Dubois