Mechatropolis

Technique yields precise calibration of dual-slope ADCs By: Greg Sutterlin and Vladimir Vitchev, Maxim Integrated Products, Sunnyvale, CA

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:01:00 GMT

Overcome zero-offset and gain errors when using dual-slope ADCs in low-cost instrumentation applications

The Basics of ZigBee Testing, Part 2: Receivers By: David A. Hall, National Instruments

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 07:02:00 GMT

ZigBee is a wireless standard for personal area network (PAN) sensor monitoring and control. National Instruments' Alliance Partner SeaSolve has developed a test suite including transmit (Tx), receive (Rx) and compliance testing for ZigBee. In this two-part article, we will describe test methodologies and techniques for each type of testing.

How do you test ZigBee transmitters? By: David A. Hall

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:04:00 GMT

ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4) is a wireless standard for personal area network sensor monitoring and control that is designed for low-power, short-range communications between wireless devices.

Tutorial: Improving the Transient Immunity of Your Microcontroller-Based Embedded Design - Part 2 By: Ross Carlton, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:03:00 GMT

Hardware Techniques - The basic circuit building blocks

Tutorial: Improving the Transient Immunity of Your Microcontroller-Based Embedded Design - Part 1 By: Ross Carlton, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 11:04:00 GMT

When it comes to protecting their designs from a variety of transient electrical disturbances, developers of microcontroller-based embedded systems in consumer, industrial, and automotive electronics are caught between the rock and the hard place.

Teardown of Nike SDM Triax Elite Training System By: Richard Nass

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:01:00 GMT

Teardown of Nike SDM Triax Elite Training System

Selecting a Wireless Sensor Development Platform By: Anton Hristozov

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:05:00 GMT

Selecting a Wireless Sensor Development Platform

L9950 Actuator Driver Opens Up Automotive Door-Zone Applications By: Manuel Gaertner and Giovanni Torrisi, STMicroelectronics

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 08:02:00 GMT

In automotive comfort electronics, door-zone modules incorporating actuator drivers such as the L9950 have emerged as a way to add power-management functionality as well as for general diagnostic communication.

MEMS accelerometer calibration optimizes accuracy for industrial applications By: By Randy Carver and Mark Looney

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

MEMS inertial-sensors technology has been driven by automotive safety systems; as such, the technology has been applied to several high-volume applications. The large volumes associated with automotive safety systems have enabled substantial investm

Low Power: A High Priority for Mechatronics

mbarr@mechatropolis.com — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Many of the mechatronic products designed today are battery-powered. Whether they use rechargeable or replacement batteries, battery life can be a critical success factor for the end product. Consider both the productivity and area limitations that battery life place on the Roomba vacuuming robot.

Microcontrollers promise to improve automotive electronic control units By: Matthias Poppel and Markus Staeblein

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

A significant challenge for today's automotive electronics engineers is achieving cost-effective, fail silent or even fail operational automotive systems. Extremely high safety requirements and the mission-critical nature of braking, steering and s

Using FPGAs for advanced collision avoidance systems By: Martin Mason

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Electronic safety systems are now commonplace among automotive applications. In most countries, the law mandates restraint systems, such as air bags and seat and harness belts. Far from being an expensive afterthought, safety systems are, in many ca

Optimization of battery power for ZigBee wireless nodes By: Saul Lopez, San Diego Gas and Electric

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

San Diego Gas and Electric is currently in the process of rolling out an ambitious Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Home Area Network (HAN) to meet the region's demand response (DR) and energy efficiency (EE) programs. It is working closely w

Freescale adds four Coldfire families

colin.holland@btinternet.com — Mon, 17 May 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Freescale Semiconductor has added four ColdFire families - MCF547x, MCF548x, MCF523x and MCF527x - made up of more than 20 processors. These families of embedded 32-bit microprocessors are designed to reduce memory requirements, power dissipat

Identifying Sources of Jitter By: Johnnie Hancock

Wed, 08 Dec 2004 00:00:00 GMT

This paper begins with a review of jitter fundamentals including a discussion of the various random jitter (RJ) and deterministic jitter (DJ) components and their possible causes. Using RJ/DJ separation and Bathtub curve analysis is typically

Verification of Mechatronic Systems with µC Control By: Ingo Nickeleit

Wed, 26 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT

The increasing interplay of software and electronics with mechanical components in automobiles places new challenges on verification. Almost all functions in motor vehicles are controlled by software through microcontrollers (µC). Unfortu

Picking the right flavor of Industrial Ethernet By: Anthony J. Calati Jr., Fraba Inc.

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Ethernet is a communication system that has been widely adopted for use within office and home networks. A high bandwidth, which allows for the sending of large data packets in soft real-time, coupled with the increased amount of information

Roomba sweeps low-cost parts By: David Carey

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

To view an on-demand seminar featuring the Roomba Discovery robotic vacuum, click here. The flying-saucer-shaped Roomba Discovery robotic vacuum, at the upper end of a range of Roomba devices from iRobot, features autoreturn to a home charger ba

Consumer and automotive electronics converge: Part 1 - Ethernet, USB, and MOST By: Henry Muyshondt, SMSC

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The convergence of data transport technologies with audio and video distribution requirements has resulted in a new architecture for today's automotive entertainment systems. Networking and USB protocols are fast becoming recognized as optimal solu

Consumer and automotive electronics converge: Part 2 - A MOST implementation By: Henry Muyshondt, SMSC

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Part 1 of this series discussed development of automotive connectivity systems that bridge the benefits of Ethernet, USB, and Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) to deliver fast and efficient data; and how rapid evolution of consumer electronics

Inside the Toyota Prius: Part 1 - The airbag control module By: David Carey, Portelligent

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Editor's Note: This is the first of a series of seven teardown articles exploring the electronic makeup of the Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle. All are featured at www.techonline.com/underthehood. Airbags have become a fixture of automobiles. Feder

Inside the Toyota Prius: Part 2 - The dashboard display system By: David Carey, Portelligent

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of seven teardown articles exploring the electronic makeup of the Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle. All are featured at www.techonline.com/underthehood. While much of the Toyota Prius's status informatio

Under the Hood: Inside the Toyota Prius By: David Carey, Portelligent

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of seven teardown articles exploring the electronic makeup of the Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle. All, plus video, a blog and Webinar are featured at www.techonline.com/underthehood. Not one to shrink

Special Issue: Airbag ASSPs: smart, sensitive By: Mike Williams and Adriana Blanco, Gartner Dataquest

Mon, 14 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Automotive airbag triggers incorporate a high degree of intelligence, as well as analog sensitivity and mixed-signal functionality. Today, smart airbags have occupant-detection features and inflate to variable volumes. Tomorrow's intelligent syst

Special Issue: Inside the Toyota Prius: Part 6 - Navigation unit bridges automotive, CE By: David Carey, Portelligent

Mon, 14 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

With increasing frequency, car buyers are spending big for the convenience of in-car navigation. Not unusual for factory-optioned navigation, the Prius' GPS-based mapping and guidance system adds almost $2,000 to the sticker price. For a full a

Special Issue: Inside the Toyota Prius: Part 5 - Inverter/converter is Prius' power broker By: David Carey, Portelligent

Mon, 14 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The inverter/converter unit (ICU) is the ringmaster of all of the electrical conversion in the Prius. The hybrid's two motor generator units have distinct roles: MG1 recharges the high-voltage (approximately 200-V) nickel metal hydride battery p

Special Issue: Inside the Prius: Part 4 - Controllers keep dual motors humming By: David Carey, Portelligent

Mon, 14 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Toyota's Prius in many respects can be considered to have two engine controllers: one for the traditional, 1.5-liter gasoline engine and another for the electric motors used to power the car alternatively. For a full archive of articles and rel

Equivalent Results: A methodology to measure the effects of high-speed compression By: Al Wegener and Yi Ling, Samplify Systems, Inc.

Wed, 16 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

As analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog (D/A) converter sample rates continue to rise, many DSP systems that use fixed-bandwidth network and storage elements from the PC world often fall behind, creating an opportunity for real-time compres

How to use DSP caches, part 1 By: Staff, Texas Instruments

Mon, 21 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

[Part 2 explains how to configure caches and how to use them correctly, all with a focus on maintaining cache coherence. It shows how DMA transfers affect cached memory, and how to manage DMA transfers with double buffering.] A processor ca

Freescale in-car microprocessor aims for central role

rcj@spiritone.com — Mon, 21 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. Freescale Semiconductor Inc. has unveiled a microprocessor that aims to integrate all the control electronics for an automobile cockpit into a single low-power device. The company introduced the flagship model of its new micr

Consumer and automotive electronics converge: Part 3 - MOST details and controller architecture By: Henry Muyshondt, SMSC

Wed, 23 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

This article is part of a three part series that examines networking structures in the automobile. Part 1 discusses how consumer technologies, such as USB and Ethernet, are integrated into the vehicle and connected with the vehicle backbone, using a

How to use DSP caches, part 2 By: Staff, Texas Instruments

Mon, 28 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

[Part 1 introduces the fundamentals of cache, using the C64x DSP as an example. It explains why caches are needed, how caches communicate with main memory, and how to optimize cache performance.] If multiple devices, such as the CPU and per

Design tools spur fuel cell development year round By: Erik Wilhelm and Michael Wahlstrom, University of Waterloo

Wed, 30 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Challenge X is a three-year program (now in its final year) that tests teams from 17 universities to come up with technology to reduce automotive energy consumption and emissions, and integrate their solutions into a Chevy Equinox SUV/passenger-car

Building wireless sensor networks By: Robert Shear,

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Competitive pressures, globalization, rising energy prices, and increasingly stringent regulations are driving companies to cut costs while increasing efficiency and productivity. Industry leaders feel pressure to adopt new technologies that will he

Five basic mistakes to avoid when using instrumentation amplifiers By: Matthew Duff, Application Engineer, Analog Devices, Inc.

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Instrumentation amplifiers (in-amps) show up in a broad spectrum of applications: measuring heart signals, factory monitoring equipment, aircraft controls, and even animal tagging. Engineers have found them to be a simple and effective way to amplif

Building wireless sensor networks. Part Two By: Robert Shear,

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The second of two parts examines redundancy, diversity and other factors in network deployment. See part 1. As with most communications mechanisms, increasing the number of distinct channels proportionally increases the throughput of the system. I

Build simple and inexpensive FlexRay nodes By: Neelima Chaurasia, Fujitsu Microelectronics America

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Adoption of the next-generation automotive protocol FlexRayTM is underway at a rapid pace, as automakers and their OEMs implement the standard in safety, comfort, and information systems as well as networks. A FlexRay-based technology provides time-

Tiny Nintendo DS Lite drives volume By: David Carey, Portelligent

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Nintendo is enjoying a renaissance in gaming, so it seemed like a good time to peek into its current offering in portables. While a recent Nintendo Wii teardown by Portelligent tells a fascinating story of higher-end graphics and motion-sensing co

Industrial control: Kit brings PowerQuicc II to industrial apps

lwirbel@cmp.com — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Freescale Semiconductor Inc. has launched the Com Express development kit to bring PowerQuicc II integrated communications processors into the industrial control space. Freescale has elected to include Ethernet Powerlink, Profibus and IEEE 1588 as

Tiny Nintendo DS Lite drives volume By: David Carey, Portelligent

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

First military-temperature MRAMs ready to serve

rcj@spiritone.com — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. Freescale Semiconducutor Inc. today (June 18) is announcing the first Mil-spec extended-temperature-range magnetic RAMs (MRAMs), providing the last piece of the puzzle for the potential customers who have funded much of the mem

Generate efficient vehicle dynamic models - right down to the tires: Part 1 - procedures and system topology By: Thomas Uchida, Kevin Morency, John McPhee, Chad Schmitke, University of Waterloo

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Introduction DynaFlexPro is a Maple software package for modeling and simulating the dynamics of multibody multi-domain systems. In this paper, DynaFlexPro is used to develop dynamic models of the John Deere Timberjack Grapple Skidder articulated-s

Why so many Industrial Network Protocols? By: Alexandra Dopplinger, Freescale Semiconductor

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Industrial network protocols include EtherNet/IP, Ethernet Powerlink, EtherCAT, Modbus-TCP, Profinet, SERCOS III, and the list is still growing. How do you select an industrial network protocol that is future-proof and meets your unique requirements

Generate efficient vehicle dynamic models - right down to the tires: Part 2 - simulation and validation By: Thomas Uchida, Kevin Morency, John McPhee, Chad Schmitke, University of Waterloo

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Part 1 of this feature discussed multibody dynamic modeling procedures and system topology for an articulated-steering vehicle. Generating efficient simulation code Once the system topology and parameters have been defined, the ModelBuilder GUI too

Mechatronics transforms driving experience

rcj@spiritone.com — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

In the feature film Transformers, which opened last week, mechatronic robots from the planet Cybertron invade Earth in search of that which endowed life on them. In the real world, mechatronic robots from the planet Earth invade Mars in search of

Design tools quiet automotive noise: Part 2 - an electric motor application By: Ravi Beniwal, SenSound and Chris DeFilippo, National Instruments

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Part 1 of this feature discusses noise sources and analysis methods. Test setup A case study was performed using the National Instruments CompactDAQ USB data acquisition system and SenSound's Helmholtz Equation Least Squares (HELS)-based NAH soft

Mathematical modeling and optimization increase vehicle design efficiency and productivity By: Paul Goossens, Maplesoft

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Balancing fuel-efficiency and safety requirements against the market demand for greater performance -while trying to reduce design and prototyping costs- has always been a major challenge. To achieve this, automotive manufacturers are increa

Choosing between corporate IT or Industrial Ethernet, Part 1 By: Michael B. Roche,

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Ethernet is growing increasingly popular as an industrial application protocol due to its speed, openness and design flexibility, giving users several choices when deciding which infrastructure equipment to use for their application. Users migrating

Choosing between corporate IT or Industrial Ethernet, Part 2 By: Michael B. Roche,

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Part 2 continues to examine the tradeoffs between front office Ethernet and Industrial Ethernet. Click here to see Part 1 Comparing the performance differences between business and industrial applications reveals that the packet rate, packet size

How to use FPGAs for quadrature encoder-based motor control applications By: Glen Young, Actel

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Precisely tracking speed, acceleration, and position of a motor's rotor is an essential requirement for many motor control applications found in everyday equipment such as fax machines, elevators, and medical equipment. A closed-loop control scheme

Using Model-Based Design to Test and Verify Automotive Embedded Software By: Jim Tung, The MathWorks

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Embedded software and electronics represent an increasing percentage of the engineering content of an automobile. By 2010, electronics are expected to comprise 40 percent of automotive material costs, up from 10 percent in 1970 [1]. Embedded

Replacement of Mechanical, Electromechanical and Discrete Logic in Appliances with MCUs By: By: Inga Harris, Freescale Semiconductor

inga.harris@freescale.com — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

There is a big future for low cost microcontrollers (MCUs) in the appliance industry as the price of small pin count; small memory devices reach previously unattainable levels.

Experimental Jitter Analysis in a FlexCAN-based Drive-by-Wire Automotive Application By: Jason Paskvan

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

This paper describes several experiments designed to characterize jitter in an actual automotive application created using FlexCAN, a controller area network (CAN)-based communication architecture.

Design platforms enable variable-speed motor control in energy-efficient appliances By: Aengus Murray, Director of iMOTION Marketing, International Rectifier Corp

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

A sensorless, field-oriented control algorithm enables cost-effective variable speed control of PMSM, based on current measurements alone

Understand the evolving motion-control requirements for PC fans By: David Pivin, product applications manager, Andigilog, Inc.

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

As the amount of power dissipated by personal computer's CPU and other heat sources has increased, brushless DC fan control has progressed through several levels of improvement to keep temperatures within safe limits.

Electronics off to the races By: David Carey, Portelligent

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

It's race time! Fresh off an electronics teardown of the popular Toyota Prius hybrid (see Inside the Toyota Prius - Part 1: The airbag control module), we'll look here at a whole different animal -a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP race motorcycle.

Ultra-low-power DSP design By: Lennart Yseboodt, Michael De Nil, Jos Huisken, Mladen Berekovic, Qin Zhao, Frank Bouwens, and Jef Van Meerbergen

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Here's how IMEC built a sub-100uW DSP by tuning its algorithm, processor architecture, and memory system, as well as through clock gating. The article presents detailed power results for each optimization.

Microcontrollers' not so micro impact

mbarr@mechatropolis.com — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Microcontrollers are hidden everywhere you look. Billions of the tiny computers were manufactured in the last year and each now lies at the heart of an electronic device somewhere in the world.

Electric fork lifts powered by fuel cells and ultracapacitors By: Bobby Maher,

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

For many applications, fuel cells are an increasingly attractive source of power. To improve the overall power system, they can usefully be combined with ultracapacitors, which help provide peak power to meet short-term burst power demands.

Teardown: Tiny Nintendo DS Lite drives volume By: David Carey

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Apple patents reveal what's behind the touchscreen By: Nicolas Mokhoff

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

All public teardowns have identified Balda, which produces high-tech assemblies from high-performance plastics and electronic components at its headquarters in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, as the supplier of the touchscreen display module for the iPhone.

Freescale expands MRAM product line

ismini.scouras@gmail.com — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Austin, Tex. --Freescale Semiconductor has expanded its magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) family with a 3-volt, 4-Mbit extended temperature range (-40 to +105C) non-volatile RAM (nvRAM).

Advances in servo system development By: Paul Webster, GE Fanuc Automation

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The recent trend in has been to reduce cost, size and complexity of servo systems while increasing performance. High-end machining has always used the best the industry had to offer, but increasingly we are seeing a demand for higher speeds and accuracy

Making MEMS accelerometers work in motion control By: Joseph Bergeron and Mark Looney, Analog Devices, Inc.

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

MEMS (micro electromechanical system) inertial sensor technology provides a major structural shift in mechanical sensing. When the performance meets their needs, system developers welcome trading complicated mechanical mounting schemes