Fish Fry – Page 51

October 24, 2014

What’s the difference between a human and a pile of rocks? A robot algorithm (of course)! In this week’s episode of Fish Fry, we check out a new robot being developed at the University of Guadalajara that utilizes a pattern recognition algorithm to determine the silhouette of a human body. Also this week, we talk about the trials and tribulations of SoC design with Bill Neifert of Carbon Design Systems. Bill and I discuss Carbon’s focus on the automatic creation of RTL-accurate models for integration into SoC designs and how you can make … Read More → "First Responder Robots and Virtual Prototypes"

Hello Rubber, Meet Road

Valencell’s Biometric Testing Takes IoT Out for a Spin

by Amelia Dalton

October 17, 2014

This here twin-turbo EEJournal.com podcastin’ hot rod is headed to the IoT finish line – one biometric at a time. In this week’s Fish Fry, we investigate biometric data sensors and how one company is making sure that our fitness is actually what we think it is. My guest is Valencell President Steven LeBoeuf. Steven and I are going to chat about the future of the wearable market, precision biometrics, Valencell’s new state-of-the-art sports testing lab, and a little bit about professional cartooning. Get your wearable motor runnin’ folks!</ … Read More → "Hello Rubber, Meet Road"

Shootout at the MEMS Corral

MEMS Executive Congress 2014 Preview

by Amelia Dalton

October 10, 2014

This week’s Fish Fry celebrates the wild west of electronics – MEMS and sensor-based technology. Ridin’ shotgun with me is none other than Karen Lightman of the MEMS Industry Group. Karen gives us a special sneak peek into the upcoming 10th annual MEMS Executive Congress. I do hope you have your spurs locked on tight, your saddle equipped with the newest context-aware sensors, and your o-scope spit cleaned and polished. We’re riding straight into the MEMS corral. This may get messy…

Skynet Calling

Liquid Metal, Communication Protocols, and Embedded MCUs

by Amelia Dalton

October 3, 2014

We all know it’s coming. It’s only a matter of time. Skynet is close at hand. This week’s Fish Fry takes a look at a new study released by the University of North Carolina that has made reconfigurable metal a reality. But, before we can build Skynet (or build the counter-revolutionary forces led by the one and only John Connor) we must be able to connect the IoT communication … Read More → "Skynet Calling"

The Beat Goes On

The Cadence of IoT and the Sound of a Single Atom

by Amelia Dalton

September 25, 2014

The music is loud, the rhythm – infectious, but it’s the backbeat that has us tapping our toes and coming back for more. We’re all jamming to the same IoT tune, but what keeps the cadence in 4/4 time? My guest this week is Phil Callahan from Silicon Labs and we discuss this dance called IoT, from the internet infrastructure laying down its chord progression to the super cool demo solos Silicon Labs will be showing at this year’s X-fest. Also this week, we check out another musical melody that has finally revealed…the sound of … Read More → "The Beat Goes On"

Shifting Left

Designing Code, Breaking Code, and the Verification in Between

by Amelia Dalton

September 19, 2014

Like the venerable Kenny Rogers once said, “You have to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em…” In the verification game, much is the same. You have to know how to make the code, and you have to know how to break it. In this week’s Fish Fry, David Hsu (Synopsys) joins us to discuss the challenges of static verification and formal verification, how to “shift left”, and how to make code just to break it. Also this week, we investigate how hierarchical timing analysis may solve your sign-off timing troubles once and and … Read More → "Shifting Left"

All’s Fair in Love and Power (Consumption)

Fairchild’s New Foray into Smart Power

by Amelia Dalton

September 11, 2014

Any engineer who is worth his or her salt probably knows the illustrious (and occasionally infamous) tale of Fairchild Semiconductor and the creation of Silicon Valley. Fairchild is certainly one of the most important companies in electronics history. But, what has Fairchild done for us lately? This week my guest is Saj Sahay of Fairchild Semiconductor, and we discuss three megatrends driving innovation in electronic design. It turns out Fairchild Semiconductor is back – with a bold new mission – and they’re doing some really cool stuff in the area of “Power Systems in Package”. As a bonus, we also … Read More → "All’s Fair in Love and Power (Consumption)"

On The Hunt: Part One

HLS and Sub-atomic Particle Jitter

by Amelia Dalton

September 5, 2014

Dateline: The 5th of September. Time: 2100 hours. We’re on the hunt. No, we’re not hunting the mysterious Yeti, the Loch Ness monster, or heck even the ever-elusive EUV. This time, we’re looking for some HLS. My guest this week is Mark Milligan from Calypto. Mark joins Fish Fry for the very first time to bring HLS into the light, into the world, and into the caring hands… of Google? Oh yes. Also this week, we delve into the deeply nerdy realm of sub-atomic particle jitter and investigate how the U.S. Department of … Read More → "On The Hunt: Part One"

The World According to FRAM

TI’s FRAM MCUs and ADI’s X-fest Demos

by Amelia Dalton

August 29, 2014

In this week’s Fish Fry, we take a fast tour of the world, with interesting stops in FRAM, high-speed ADCs, and remote RF transceivers. Don’t know what FRAM is? Fear not. Will Cooper from Texas Instruments tells us all about this amazing not-so-new non-volatile memory technology, which is really cool – even if I don’t quite agree with his basketball loyalties. Then we’re off to analog land with Robin Getz from Analog Devices where we chat about remote RF transceivers, high-speed ADCs, motor control demos, and a whole lot more. Check it out!

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A Horse of a Different Color

Advanced vs. Established Process Geometries

by Amelia Dalton

August 19, 2014

It’s time to saddle up and ride into the semiconductor sunset! Whether you’re hitchin’ your wagon to a young whipper-snapper node, or lassoin’ a long-in-the-tooth workhorse process, the time it takes to get your IC design up and out of the corral may depend more on the software you use to verify your design than on the silicon itself. In this week’s Fish Fry, Mary Ann White (Synopsys) and I get down to the very heart of semiconductor design: process geometries. We have ourselves a good ol’ time chatting about challenges of FinFET designs, the tricky … Read More → "A Horse of a Different Color"