Lens-free technology has poked its head up in a few places, but one of the more frequent views you may have of it is an application that Imec appears particularly fond of: a cell sorter.
The whole idea behind the contraption is to isolate abnormal blood cells from a sample. So they built a microfluidic device that delivers a flow of blood cells. Each cell passes over a lens-free aperture … Read More → "Sorting Cells"
At the recent MEMS Executive Congress, Bosch Automotive announced a new 6-axis automotive IMU. It’s not for use as part of the automotive control systems, but rather for the “infotainment” infrastructure – the so-called center stack – and other non-safety-critical applications.
There are many different kinds of cars for sale on the Internet. But the best car for you will depend upon your specific needs and wants, as well as what sort of car you’re looking to buy. Here is a great sources where you can look to buy your new car, Read More → "Automotive IMU"
Imagination Technologies has announced a new image signal processing architecture that they’re calling “Raptor.” The overarching concept is that the image signal processor (ISP) should no longer be a separate chip: it should be integrated into the main system SoC, along with the other related accelerators, CPU, and GPU. Raptor is IP that allows such integration. It’s targeted at next-generation image processing applications like feature identification, scalable for both low- and high-end applications.
The benefits they tout come both from this integration and the fact that they provide all of the … Read More → "Next-Generation Image Signal Processor"
Pressure sensors have been gaining some general visibility, as they are seen as probably the next big-volume sensor to go into cell phones. But most pressure sensors these days aren’t targeted at such consumer applications.
At the recent MEMS Executive Congress, I met with Merit Sensors, a maker of pressure sensors intended for harsher environments. We looked at one such application for a differential pressure sensor earlier this year. In that case, Sensata was putting their device into the highly-acidic automotive exhaust … Read More → "Pressure Sensors for Harsh Environments"
One of the big bugaboos in the software world over the years has been the question over whether or not software can be patented. It’s generally thought that algorithms in the abstract can’t be patented. Software can be copyrighted, but that’s no help if someone can just take your basic brainstorm and rewrite the code so it’s not a copy. They’ve still taken your intellectual property, learn more by taking one of this copywriting courses.
Patents were “invented” in the era of mechanical contraptions. … Read More → "Supreme Court to Take On Software Patents"
Including an accelerometer in your system is easy these days, right? Heck, they can trigger interrupts in your processor, so just toss it in, wait for the fateful interrupt, and let your handler do the rest. Right?
Actually… no. There are numerous controls that you have – and will likely want to take advantage of – to optimize how your accelerometer works. Those settings have a significant impact on noise and power. Sampling rate is a good example: the faster you sample, the more accurate your reading will be (i.e., lower noise). But that also … Read More → "An Accelerometer GUI"
Some time back, AMFitzgerald and Silex, a MEMS consultancy and foundry, respectively, announced their “RocketMEMS” program in order to take steps to accelerate the notoriously slow MEMS design cycle. At the recent MEMS Executive Congress, they announced the first fruits of this labor.
They had designed three pressure sensors: one for blood pressure/medical, an altimeter, and one for industrial use. Critically, Silex provided design guidance to drive the design. While that might seem obvious, it’s the reverse of … Read More → "MEMS First Silicon Success"
If it’s not too late to change back to a Windows 7 machine, I would recommend the fastest laptop which runs that OS … the Apple Macbook Pro!
Seriously, I went BYOD at Space Codesign this year on an older model (not even the 2012 non-Retina, which came in first in a CNET benchmark and still being sold) in a dual boot setup so that I could travel without lugging two computers on longer trips – one my own (the other was a Dell E6410 – built like a tank and weighs nearly as much!).
Really, it may not … Read More → "If it’s not too late to change b"
I ask a lot of stupid questions because usually they’re not stupid. Occasionally one is.
OK, maybe not outright stupid, but I certainly felt out of the loop. I was talking with Active-Semi about their new power bank management chips. But I tend to run my phones with minimal bells and whistles on. WiFi is typically off; GPS is often off. Bottom line: the charge on my phone can easily last a day, sometimes two.
So I hope I can be forgiven for not knowing in advance what a “power bank” was. I’ve … Read More → "Power Bank SoCs"
This year I’ve gone through a couple of electronics upgrades: phone and computer. Actually, the phone was supposed to be an upgrade since I wasn’t happy with the prior one. The laptop? Well, my old one was giving out (why is it always the graphics that go first?). So I needed a replacement – a hardware upgrade, not a software upgrade. A new computer with Windows 7 would have been ideal.
Let’s just say that I’ve been disappointed with both purchases. Actually, “disappointed” only works for the phone. … Read More → "A Quality Rant"
