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| Low-Power Wireless | |
Last month we started a new Hands On section on Low-Power Wireless. We warmed up our test equipment and camera to do a video review of Silicon Labs' Si1000 wireless development kit. We'll review low-power wireless dev kits here and non-RF low-power dev kits on Low-Power Design. Next week we'll review Microchip's 802.15.4 2.4 GHx RF transceiver module on this site.
Another feature we'll be running regularly is tutorials on various RF technologies, starting this week with the new Bluetooth Low Energy spec that was recently approved. Bluetooth LE looks perfectly suited for ultra-low-power wireless sensor networks, which are cropping up in countless commercial, industrial and military applications. Check out the write-up on our Tutorials section.
If there's anything else you'd like to see added to this new site, let us know. Within bandwidth
limitations, we're game.
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| Low-Power Design | |
"The only constant is change." The big, breaking news--just announced yesterday--is that Brian Fuller is returning to his roots at EE Times. He talks about his move in his blog this week in terms of his commute, but we all know he's a journalist at heart, and one of the best.
Brian's been a good friend and a strong supporter of Low-Power Design from the start. He's contributed greatly to our success, for which we'll always be grateful. During his long tenure at EE Times he made it into the leading news source in the electronics industry. We know he'll be equally successful in his new endeavors there, for which we wish him all the success in the world. |
John Donovan
|  The Essential Embedded Processing Tool
Embedded Insights guru Robert Cravotta has launched the Embedded Processing Directory. I'm in awe at how much work obviously went into creating this 191-page detailed compendium. I don't know what Robert's business plan is, but free is a great price for such a valuable resource. More...
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Brian Fuller
|  The future of electronics and my changing commuteI'm changing jobs. After a three-year absence, I'm returning to EE Times to as Products Strategist to run the publication's products coverage. In the intervening years (and after 25 years as a reporter and editor), I've kept my appetite for reporting and blogging whetted by writing for this publication's founder, John Donovan, and a few others. More... |
Steve Leibson
|  Freescale's earthquake
Freescale is striding into the current hot spot in the microcontroller war zone-the 32-bit zone. Loyalties and market shares for 8- and 16-bit microcontroller families are pretty well settled. The new front is at 32 bits and Freescale's massive foray into this battle is a sign that there's still territory to win. More...
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Robert Cravotta
|  An example of innovation for embedded systems
Embedded systems are, for the most part, invisible to the end user, yet the end application would not work properly without them. So what form does innovation take for something that is only indirectly visible to the end user? Swype's touch screen-based text input method is such an example. The text entry method already exists on the Samsung Omnia II and the Motorola Droid X.More...
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Global Technology Congress
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| Resistive Touch Sensing Primer |  Resistive touch sensors consist of several panels coated with a metallic film, such as ITO (indium tin oxide), which is a transparent and electrically conductive. Thin spacer dots separate the panels from each other. When something, such as a finger (gloved or bare) or a stylus presses on the layers, it causes the two panels to make contact and closes an electrical circuit so that a controller can detect and calculate where the pressure is being applied to the panels. The controller can communicate the position of the pressure point as a coordinate to the application software. More... |
Integration versus differentiation: Where are you in the value chain?
|  To survive in today's market, it's crucial to recognize where along that integration/differentiation continuum the product lies. Determining where to cut and partition the system to maximize the solution effectiveness is the key for anyone in the radio business, whether you're an RF IC, module or end product provider. Choose wisely and suddenly you're spending your time on the things that really matter to your customers. Make the wrong choice and you're in a quagmire of activity that isn't really adding value to your product, your company and ultimately your end customers. More... |
Simplifying Android Migration
|  The underlying standard software components and an active developer community have not necessarily made it easier for OEMs to bring Android-based devices to market. Smartphone developers must still cope with basic board support issues, from accommodating ARM-based chipsets to building device drivers, as well as refactoring and tuning legacy embedded and desktop code to run well on the new platform. Despite these daunting challenges, it is possible for developers to migrate to Android quickly and efficiently while preserving legacy code and the competitive edge it provides. More... |
CMOS Power Amplifier Technology
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 Traditionally, the power amplifier (PA) has been the last bastion of non-CMOS technology. Typically, this block is manufactured using a specialty GaAs or LDMOS process coupled with a hybrid module packaging technology, in total an expensive manufacturing flow, which has made it a substantial part of the cell phone bill of materials. What is needed, to propel the next stage of the downward cost curve, is a way to implement the PA using mainstream CMOS and ultimately integrate the functionality onto the system-on-chip. More... |
Joint Tactical Radio System: AMF, GMR, HMS
|  The JPEO JTRS team at SPAWAR San Diego and PEOC3T Fort Monmouth, NJ is leading the development and testing of the Airborne Maritime Fixed (AMF), Ground Mobile Radio (GMR) and Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Factor (HMS) radios. These radios will be capable of communicating in the Global Information Grid using 9 waveforms and 13 radio form factors, including 7 small form factors (SFF). More... |
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That's a brief look at what we have to offer--and we're adding more every day. Please check back with us regularly to get the latest news, tips and techniques for implementing green/low-power/RF designs.
Sincerely,
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