Embedded Systems

Adding a Wi-Fi interface to your IoT sensor node does not have to be a big deal, writes Tim Bonnett of Alpha Micro Components.

Lattice Semiconductor has increased the specification of its iCE40 range of low power FPGAs for mobile applications.

Robotics and machine learning are becoming the next big thing for embedded system hardware and software suppliers, writes Glenn Perry from Mentor Graphics.

Touch control moves into mid-air gesture control with tactile feedback. Bastien Beauvois describes some of the techniques for designing haptic touch interfaces.

Microchip has announced four new 8-bit tinyAVR MCUs, ranging from 14 to 24 pins and 4KB to 8KB of flash. They’re the first tinyAVR micro controllers to feature Core Independent peripherals (CIPs). There’s also a core-independent Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC), custom programmable logic blocks, self programming for firmware upgrades and non-volatile data storage in the form a power-down mode with ...

NXP has announced a radar Power architecture microprocessor for automotive radar that offers four times more performance that its earlier MPC577X. Called S32R27, it “will deliver the features and performance required for making safe, automated driving a reality”, said the firm, going on to claim: “This means higher accuracy and safety for applications such as collision avoidance, lane change assist, ...

Amiho Technology has introduced its first radio module for IoT networks using the LoRa wide-area network (WAN) protocol standard. Operating at 868MHz and with a range to up to 15km, it can be used in sensing and monitoring devices as part of a wide-area IoT wireless networks. An application is likely to be smart metering. Measuring 17.8 x 20.3mm, the AM094-LW module is pre-loaded ...

Texas Instruments has released a slew of 10Gbit/s USB Type-C products. TUSB1046-DCI, for example, is a VESA USB Type-C Alt Mode re-driving switch supporting USB 3.1 data rates up to 10Gbit/s and DisplayPort 1.4 up to 8.1Gbit/s for downstream facing port (Host). 10Gbit/s is ‘SuperSpeedPlus’, compared with 5Gbit/s ‘SuperSpeed’. The device is used for configurations C, D, E, and F ...

James Dyson Award winner Joel Gibbard will present his personal view of technical innovation, which includes a little bit of playfulness, at NIDays in London next month (29 November). The CEO and co-founder of Open Bionics believes that technology with “a little bit of creativity and playfulness can change people’s lives for the better”. And he uses open source design ...

Prototype design can now take advantage of Xilinx Virtex UltraScale technology with the latest FPGA modules from Pro Design. The proFPGA product series, which will be demonstrated at ARM TechCon in California this week (26-27 October), are intended to be used for ASIC and IP prototyping, real time system integration and pre-silicon software development. The five new modules are the proFPGA XCVU080, XCVU095, ...