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IoT Storage Technologies: Ultra Low Power CBRAM

IoT Storage Technologies: Ultra Low Power CBRAM Do you remember using those old floppy disks back in the day? I remember my computer had two floppy disk drives. You’d put the disk with your program in one and a disk for the data in the other. Eventually, the incredible invention that is the hard drive came about and storage space exploded. Our memory capacity is still increasing, but now the size is becoming less of a factor. When it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT) energy usage is the Read Article

Wearable Technology in the Future Will Be Seamless and Convenient

Why Wearable Technology is the Future and How It Will Be Seamless and Convenient When I was younger I was a bit of a nerd, and I guess I still am. The most visible sign of my nerdiness was my fashion sense or lack of it. Tall socks, cargo shorts, and a brown Pacman hoodie that I wore in every season, except summer, made up my daily wardrobe. I was simply more interested in gizmos and gadgets than I was in looking good. I’m still more interested in fashionable electronic devices than clothes, but the line between the two is Read Article

The IoT is Developing New Technologies for Aging in Place

The IoT is Developing New Technologies for Aging in Place My grandmother has lived down the street from my parents for the past 7 years. She moved down there after it became apparent she had Alzheimer’s disease and my parents realized she couldn’t live alone anymore. However, technology has allowed her to live a semi-independent life. My mother uses nanny cams to make sure my grandma is safe and happy and goes down to the house whenever grandma needs help. This arrangement has kept my grandmother out of Read Article

AltiumLive 2017: ANNUAL PCB DESIGN SUMMIT

AltiumLive 2017: ANNUAL PCB DESIGN SUMMIT Rarely does a PCB design conference come along that is focused wholly on training content designed to make YOU a more knowledgeable and effective designer. That’s why Altium decided to create one--fully centered on designers...and presented by expert PCB designers. This Fall, AltiumLive 2017: Annual PCB Design Summit is coming to North America and Europe. We will host a 2-day PCB design conference like no other. You will hear from industry Read Article

Impressive Next Gen PCB Designer Nicole Pacino

Impressive Next Gen PCB Designer Nicole Pacino Mike Creeden, Founder of San Diego PCB, with his daughter Nicole Pacino With the median age of today’s PCB being 48 years old, it’s always refreshing and encouraging to see a young sprout up amongst the design community ranks. One such young is Nicole Pacino of San Diego PCB. Nicole is the daughter of Mike Creeden, founder of San Diego PCB, who is also an IPC Master Trainer and IPC ’s Council executive board member. As you can imagine, Nicole was Read Article

How to Plan Your PCB Layout for a High Voltage Design

How to Plan Your PCB Layout for a High Voltage Design I used to trail run with a friend who is an urban planner. As part of her devious plan to get me to run further before I was too tired and bored, she’d tell me about the various considerations that go into the zoning and construction in a town. There were also a lot of shenanigans with local politics that provided a juicy distraction. Although my friend would disagree, a high voltage PCB layout have some similarities to complex urban planning. In Read Article

PLC vs Embedded System: When You Should Choose a PLC Despite the Higher Cost per Unit

PLC System vs Embedded System: When You Should Choose a PLC Despite the Higher Cost per Unit Have you ever gone out to a well-reviewed, luxurious restaurant for dinner? I’m sure you paid a pretty penny for it. However, if fine dining is a passion of yours and you enjoyed it then it’s worth the expense. On the other hand, it’s hard not to feel silly paying $20 more than you’re supposed to for a sandwich at an average local restaurant. In this situation, you’re much better off putting that money towards cooking lessons and becoming your Read Article

How a Single Ground Connection Messed up 100 Units of MP3 Players

Digital Player Grounding: How a Single Ground Connection Messed up 100 Units of MP3 Players Technology is pretty great and it has definitely made certain things in life easier. However, when you’re juggling parenting, coding, electronics design and occasionally writing an article like this. Sometimes even the coolest apps can’t mitigate the stress we experience in a day. For example, this morning I accidentally mistook salt for sugar and mixed it into my child’s favorite porridge. One small mistake on my part and suddenly my 5-year-old Read Article

Google Glass Enterprise Edition Breaks Into Workplace Market

Google Glass Enterprise Edition Breaks Into Workplace Market Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be the first to do something? It must be a grand feeling to go where no man has gone before, whether that place is a mountain or the moon. There are also a lot of risks that come with maiden voyages. You can plan all you want, but the only way to find out what lies on the edge of the horizon is to go there. Google, now Alphabet, has long been a pioneer in the tech world. Their Google Glass product was a bold Read Article

Why You Should Follow These Best Practices In Real Time Clock Design

Why You Should Follow These Best Practices In Real Time Clocks Design Have you ever been late for school because your alarm clock decided to stop at 3.15 AM? In high school, my alarm clock wasn’t very pleasant sounding, but the sound of my mom shouting at me was worse. I knew that my clock had stopped because its battery was dead. However, had I paid closer attention, I would have noticed that my clock ran slower as the battery drained off. That way I could have changed it in time and avoided rising to my mom’s Read Article

Semiconductor Fiber Could Replace Fiber Optic Cable Transmission Lines

Semiconductor Fibers: What Will Replace Fiber Optic Cable Transmission Lines? The Internet is a strange and wonderful place. I grew up at the end of the age of dial-up Internet when chat rooms were all the rage. Now, I occasionally enjoy using the Internet to play some online games, which was impossible back then. My telephone router and its copper network could barely support enough bandwidth to load an image. Now our networks have been upgraded with blazing fast fiber optics. While these communication systems are Read Article

RF Technologies for Low-Power Wireless Communications: Ambient Backscatter

RF Technologies for Low-Power Wireless Communications: Ambient Backscatter I love family reunions, though, with forty people in my extended family they can get a bit hectic. Whether we’re playing cards, swimming, or at the dinner table there’s always someone telling jokes and stories. In fact, most people are trying to talk so sometimes you have to yell to be heard. It can also be difficult to communicate in the electromagnetic spectrum. Your devices often have to “shout” their own signals into the void in order to Read Article

Wearable Devices: Technology Bridging Function and Fashion

Wearable Tech: Functional and Fashionable Technology Do you ever look at old pictures of your parents when they were younger and wonder, “why were they wearing those hideous clothes?” I find the giant glasses to be particularly bad. Fashion is and always has been important, even if trends change. When it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT) and wearable electronics, aesthetics often seem to be left by the wayside. Designers seem to let functionality determine to look and form factor, rather than Read Article

DRCs in PCB Design: How They Can Save Your Design from Sinking

DRCs in PCB Design: How They Can Save Your Design from Sinking For many years I owned a small boat which gave me hours of fun on the water, but there are a few critical rules that have to be obeyed. One of those rules is that you MUST install the drain plug before putting your boat in the water. It’s a lot cheaper to go for a swim intentionally, rather than unexpectedly in order to retrieve your new boat. Everyone knows that rules are there for our protection. But sometimes, whether accidentally or on Read Article

Considerations for Designing a High Voltage PCB

Considerations for Designing a High Voltage PCB I used to think that high voltage applications were only used in power engineering. Since I had no desire to work at a power plant or transformer station, I was safe from having to learn high voltage PCB design considerations. Alas, my interest in space applications proved me wrong and forced me to confront my laziness. It turns out high voltage applications show up in almost every industry, from manufacturing and power plants to medical and Read Article

Assessing the Post-Development Hardships of Uncontrolled Data Management

Assessing the Post-Development Hardships of Uncontrolled Data Management For every, team, and business, getting to the release state should be the moment where you can breathe a sigh of relief. This moment, unfortunately, doesn’t always lend itself to joyful celebration. Project completion can mean a) you and your team have successfully constructed a design without any flaws in the documentation process and can now prep for its release, or b) you’ve successfully completed your design but realize a minor (or major) Read Article

RF Technologies for Low-Power Wireless Communications: Ambient Backscatter

RF Technologies for Low-Power Wireless Communications: Ambient Backscatter I love family reunions, though, with forty people in my extended family they can get a bit hectic. Whether we’re playing cards, swimming, or at the dinner table there’s always someone telling jokes and stories. In fact, most people are trying to talk so sometimes you have to yell to be heard. It can also be difficult to communicate in the electromagnetic spectrum. Your devices often have to “shout” their own signals into the void in order to Read Article