Editors' Blog

IoT Paranoia – Not a Bad Thing

While the Internet of Things (IoT) is full of promise, there’s one word that summarizes all that people fear about it: security.

We got to hear a bit about that at a session dedicated to the topic at the recent Internet of Things Engineering Summit co-conference at EE Live. Presented by consultant George Neville-Neil, it wasn’t about technology per se; it was about our state of mind.

Most of us believe it’s important to keep intruders out. His main takeaway: assume they will get in. Because, eventually, they will. … Read More → "IoT Paranoia – Not a Bad Thing"

A Tale of Two Networks

by Jim Turley

I was talking to Atmel the other day – they had announced the release of their ATPL230 power line communication (PLC) chip, which was filling in of one of the squares in the strategy that we reported on some months ago. PLC is one of the ways in which smart meters can communicate back with the utility. But when you look at Atmel’s overall communication strategy for smart energy devices, … Read More → "A Tale of Two Networks"

Shipping Data Between Things and the Cloud

by Jim Turley

As companies rush out to take advantage of the Internet of Things (IoT), platforms are popping up all over. We looked at some of the companies participating a while back, trying to impose some structure on the chaos, but the thing is, everyone has a different idea of what a “platform” is. The common denominator seems to be that some aspect of the IoT is abstracted away, making it easier and cheaper to get up and running. Which is a good thing. The … Read More → "Shipping Data Between Things and the Cloud"

Meshing With Bluetooth

by Kevin Morris

A while back, we took a look at what seemed to be the dominant two radio protocols in new Internet-of-Things announcements: Bluetooth Low Energy and WiFi.

Which resulted in Zigbee raising their hands and doing a virtual “Ahem…”

So I followed up with a discussion of Zigbee, and the ensuing LinkedIn discussion was passionate (and not necessarily kind to Zigbee).

Emotions and ease-of-use … Read More → "Meshing With Bluetooth"

Mentor Unifies Verification

by Amelia Dalton

Seems like verification unification is in the air. We saw it recently with Synopsys, and now we have a move from Mentor.

While Synopsys’ version looked like an effort to unify acquired technology, Mentor’s efforts seem more internal. The big picture involves the unification of simulation, formal, emulation, and virtual prototyping under one umbrella, one interface. In that scheme, Mentor presents each of the technologies as an engine serving the higher-level verification goal; no longer is each one of these things a … Read More → "Mentor Unifies Verification"

Intersil Re-emerges

by Bryon Moyer

When you’re musing over Silicon Valley comings and goings over a beer, it’s not unreasonable to hear the question, “Whatever happened to [place company name here]?” And, in some cases, the answer will be, “Oh, they’re still around, they’re just kind of quiet these days.”

Well, that seems to have been the case with a name that’s been around for a long time. If memory serves, they were my first interview as I prepared to move from college to real work. And they& … Read More → "Intersil Re-emerges"

On the Scene: Project Ara

by Bryon Moyer

The race hasn’t yet begun. In fact, we’re not even on the starting block, but the rule book for this race – the race to the next major innovative mobile platform (smartphone) has been drafted and teams are starting to assemble. Google’s Project Ara, the world’s first completely modular smartphone is coming, and the modules will be designed by… YOU! On your mark. Get set. Design!

Wireless and LED Power Combined

by Bryon Moyer

From where we sit in the electronics world, you can sometimes be lulled into thinking we see all that goes on around us. And then you suddenly get introduced to a whole new area that operates all on its own, with its own expectations, standards, and even language. (“Troffer” is used no less than seven times in the release I’m about to reference. It’s a portmanteau of “trough” and “coffer” – a fixture for fluorescent lights. But I digress.)

The thing is, these once-independent worlds are starting … Read More → "Wireless and LED Power Combined"

New SEMulator 3D Announced

by Bryon Moyer

Coventor recently released a new version of SEMulator 3D. We’ve looked at this tool before; it’s what they call a virtual fabrication platform – helpful for simulating semiconductor processes.

Featured in this upgrade is an improvement in the modeling of so-called pattern-dependent etch effects. In other words, how an etch proceeds at one spot depends on what’s around it. And looking farther out apparently makes for a more accurate simulation result, so, with this release, they’ve … Read More → "New SEMulator 3D Announced"

Free Markets and IoT Conferences I

by Bryon Moyer

In my role, you pay attention to conferences. Ideally, you’d go to them all and sift through the repetition to get interesting golden nuggets to write about. But, especially outside Silicon Valley, that means lots of travel, and you start to pick and choose.

As an actual practicing engineer, you (hopefully) have actual projects to work on, so traveling to conferences means trading off some productivity for learning useful things. Question is, how do you choose?

In particular, the IoT is blowing up huge, learn more from the Read More → "Free Markets and IoT Conferences I"