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Thomas Dolby talks tech at Design West 7
EE Times
THE NEWS
SOURCE FOR THE
CREATORS OF
TECHNOLOGY
What’s
your
embedded
strategy?
24
ISSUE 1619 MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2012 WWW.EETIMES.COM
CONTENTS APRIL 2 , 2012
35
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INTELLIGENCE
OPINION
4
50
Commentary: How ST
could lose its MEMS mojo
32
DESIGN + PRODUCTS
Last Word: Why machines
need to smarten up
Global Feature: Embedded
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NEWS OF THE TIMES
7
8
9
14
16
Dolby plays Design West
General Clark defends solar
MEMS sensor fusion goes
hardware-agnostic
Globalfoundries still betting
on AMD’s business
EE Times fetes ACE winners
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Vision for the next-gen UI
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Embedded: Got a strategy?
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April 2, 2012 Electronic Engineering Times
3
COMMENTARY
ST riding high on the MEMS tide,
but facing a downside
It seems STMicroelectronics has really found
its mojo when it comes to MEMS.
Indeed, market watcher Yole Développement
emphasizes just how well ST and many other
companies are doing in its ranking of the
microelectromechanical systems market’s
top 30 companies for 2011.
ST is both an IDM, with products under
its own brand, and a MEMS foundry supplier
to Hewlett-Packard and others. Its total
MEMS sales leapt to $907 million in
2011 from about $600 million in 2010,
according to Yole.
But ST’s fast growth curve in MEMS,
and the design slots it is believed to
hold (hint: Think of a round fruit that’s
so tasty, someone’s stolen a bite), could
mean it’s running out of
upside and facing some
potential downside if it
should get designed out.
Then again, it’s possible to
get designed out of any
product, and most companies would rather be the
incumbent in a winning
platform than be on the
outside looking in.
Either way, the top 30
ranking (see story, page 20)
underscores what exciting,
dynamic times we live in.
In 2011, generally considered a difficult year, the IC
market was essentially flat
and stalled at $300 billion
in value. But the MEMS
market grew 17 percent, to $10 billion
in sales revenues, according to Yole.
In the last issue of EE Times, I
described ST’s mobile-handset chip
joint venture as an achor weighing
down its financial results, and suggested ST might do well to try selling
ST-Ericsson to a suitor or suitors from
China. I noted such a move would leave
ST free to focus on the things it does
well, including MEMS.
According to IHS iSuppli, ST was
the seventh-largest chip company in
the world in 2011, with revenue of
$9.792 billion—which puts its MEMS
revenue at about 9 percent of its total semiconductor sales for the year.
There is every sign that
MEMS as a percentage of
total chip sales will continue to grow rapidly,
both for ST and for the
industry as a whole, given
that the MEMS market
faces almost perfect growing conditions.
The speed of the rise is
phenomenal. ST has
shown, courtesy of a slide
presentation from senior
executive vice president
Carmelo Papa, that its
sales of MEMS devices,
excluding foundry work
done for HP, went from $30 million in
2006 to $650 million in 2011—more
than a twentyfold increase in five years.
But the Yole ranking shows that others are also doing well in MEMS.
Knowles Electronics, a maker of silicon
microphones, jumped to fifth place as
In 2011,
a difficult year,
ICs finished
flat; MEMS
sales grew
17 percent
4
Electronic Engineering Times April 2, 2012
its sales went from $140 million in
2010 to $362 million in 2011, a remarkable increase.
What’s behind the runaway growth
is no secret: The smartphones and
tablets that have been selling like hotcakes are packed with MEMS sensors.
Of particular significance are design
wins with Apple, which continues
to dominate the mobile consumer
device market and outperform its
Android rivals.
But there’s the rub. According to IHS
iSuppli, ST is the sole supplier of MEMS
gyroscopes and accelerometers for the
iPhone and iPad, and Apple accounted
for half of ST’s MEMS business in 2011.
That puts ST at risk of becoming overly
dependent on the success of one customer. And if that sounds familiar,
it’s because ST’s dependence on a faltering Nokia, once the undisputed leader
in mobile phones, is believed to have
been one of the reasons for the industry
realignment that led to the creation
of ST-Ericsson.
Nonetheless, the MEMS market’s
fertile growth conditions should help
ST and others to diversify their customer base for some time to come.
Consumer electronics developers’ love
affair with MEMS shows no signs of
cooling, and more sensor and actuator
functions are being rendered as MEMS.
The high volumes and lower prices are
washing back to support sales in traditional markets such as industrial and
automotive electronics. And MEMS
components are making inroads into
sports, personal-health and even clinical medical electronics applications.
Sometime soon, there might even be
a MEMS device to measure mojo. p
By Peter Clarke ([email protected]),
European news director of EE Times.
.REPORT EE Times Confidential’s MEMS
Sector Profile and Database analyzes the
current MEMS market and examines where
it is headed. The study’s database offers
vital statistics for more than 200 MEMS
market players.
http://bit.ly/GD4kgm
.MORE ONLINE
“Apple bought half of ST’s MEMS in
2011, says IHS,” http://bit.ly/xtQvG5
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News
OF THE TIMES
PHOTO: TRISH TUNNEY
In his ’80s hit
he was ‘blinded
with science,’
but in fact
innovator
Thomas Dolby
has a keen eye
for disruptive
technology
DESIGN WEST
Dolby sings of twists and turns in digital music
By Rick Merritt
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Thomas Dolby
held several hundred engineers in thrall
here last week with stories about his
journey in and out and back into the
music industry. In a detour along the
way, he helped create—and destroy—a
billion-dollar business in polyphonic
ringtones. The lesson engineers should
draw from it all? “S--t happens,” the musician said in a Design West keynote.
Technology has opened up amazing
opportunities—and created more than
a few problems—for the music industry, said Dolby, best known for his 1980s
hit “She Blinded Me with Science,”
one of three songs he performed during
his Design West address.
“You used to have to spend millions
just to get out in front of fans,” Dolby
said. “When I started out at 17, [you]
had to get a cassette tape to an A&R
man, then get the radio stations to play
it, and all these other things had to fall
in place.”
Now the Web can create instant stars
and targeted audiences. “The music
industry will be like day trading, with a
music manager behind a screen” building a fan base through social networking tools that identify “qualified
listeners with a laser focus,” the musician said in a Q&A with press here.
Dolby created a Web-based mystery
game, the Floating City, as a companion
for his latest album. It became a forum
for 11,000 of his fans as they tried to
unravel the clues.
“I was in the forums lurking around,
reading their conspiracy theories. If I
saw something I liked, the Floating City
Gazette would publish it, and it became
true,” he said.
Dolby is on tour promoting the new
album, his first in 20 years. He travels
with a trailer “that looks like it was
7
NEWS OF THETIMES
designed by Jules Verne and H.G.
Wells.” It acts as a portable studio,
recording 30-second video clips from
fans as part of a time capsule for the
Floating City.
The electronic-music era had a rocky
start. Back when Dolby was embarking
on his career, “electronic instruments
were quite bulky, they didn’t stay in tune
and they were quite expensive,” he said,
noting that one of his first synthesizers
was the size of a refrigerator and cost
twice as much as his first London flat.
About the time the commercial Internet was born, Dolby snagged a oneyear grant from Paul Allen’s Interval
Research group to explore some concepts at the nexus of music and technology. That led to the formation of
Headspace, creator of the Beatnik audio
engine. Dolby described Beatnik as
“a SoundBlaster card in software.”
In 1994, Dolby met Marc Andreessen
and Jim Clark, co-founders of Netscape,
and subsequently convinced them to
support audio in their browser. “But
companies said if audio took an extra
second to load their front page, that
was too long,” Dolby recalled.
The resistance pushed Headspace to
make its code as tight and efficient as
possible, an effort that paid off after Sun
Microsystems licensed the technology
for use in Java. Nokia heard the news
and contacted Headspace for help getting the code to run on its phones. The
handset giant wanted to compete with
Japanese phones that used an audio chip
to deliver polyphonic ringtones. Headspace suddenly had a vibrant market.
“By 2005, most phone makers licensed
Beatnik, and ringtones were a billiondollar business” that didn’t involve the
big record companies, Dolby said.
That changed when Headspace
developed the rich media format
for embedding song samples
in ringtones.
“We inadvertently brought the large
recording companies into the game,”
Dolby said. “They would sit down with
the carriers and do deals that cut out all
the cottage ringtone publishers. Within
a few years, the window for polyphonic
ringtones ended because the wireless
networks were good enough to handle
the whole song.”
In 2008, Dolby retired from the tech
business, moved back to England and
resumed his music career.
After his one-day stop in Silicon Valley last week, Dolby headed back to the
East Coast to resume the U.S. tour that
will bring him back to the Bay Area for
a San Francisco concert on April 13.p
lMORE
Design West coverage
http://bit.ly/rRr4ye
The Floating City
http://bit.ly/kZqDsn
CLEANTECH
General Clark issues call to arms on solar
By Rick Merritt
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Just a few miles
from the shuttered Solyndra plants
where 1,100 workers were laid off in
August, retired four-star general and
former U.S. presidential candidate
Wesley Clark called for putting the
fledgling solar industry at the front of
a new U.S. national economic strategy
that focuses on being a world leader in
production of low-cost clean energy.
“This is an industry central to America’s future,” Clark said in his keynote
address at PV America West last month,
adding that it would require government support beyond 2016 “for the
technology to mature and stand on its
own feet.” His remarks drew a standing
ovation at the solar conference here.
The U.S. solar industry now employs
slightly more than 100,000 people,
more than twice the level it employed
8
‘We need an X Prize
for solar efficiency,’
retired general
and onetime
presidential candidate
Wesley Clark told
PV America West
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NEWS OF THETIMES
in 2009, thanks to deployments that
jumped nearly a gigawatt to 1,889
megawatts last year, said Rhone Resch,
chief executive of the Solar Energy
Industries Association (SEIA). The
industry’s employment rolls could rise
to as many as 250,000 people over the
next five years, he added.
Eight utilities plan to invest $2.5 billion in various solar programs, said
Julia Hamm, chief executive of the Solar
Electric Power Association (SEPA),
which counts about 400 utilities among
its members. “We’ve often heard it said
utilities hate solar, but that’s not true,”
Hamm said.
But while “utility skepticism has
diminished dramatically, it has not vanished altogether,” she said.
What’s more, big challenges loom.
According to some reports, photovoltaic panel prices plunged as much as
50 percent in the past year. The decline
is widely attributed to the billions in
export subsidies that the Chinese government has given to domestic manufacturers since 2010. High-profile U.S.
panel startup Solyndra got caught in
the dynamics.
In March, the U.S. Department of
Commerce announced it would impose
a tariff of 2.9 to 4.73 percent on import-
ed Chinese solar panels, citing the illegality of the export subsidies. The
penalty could increase next month,
when the Commerce Department is
expected to rule on whether Chinese
panel makers are selling the products
for less than their cost to manufacture.
In the wake of Solyndra’s failure,
various critics have declared the game
over for U.S. PV panel manufacturing.
Nonetheless, trade groups such as SEIA
and advocates such as Clark continue to
promote a role for PV and other solar
technologies in the States.
“The energy sector has been seen as
declining, but we should make it
instead a bigger pie, not a smaller pie,”
said Clark. “We have to talk about a
new vision for distributed energy, captured close to where it’s produced and
made cheaper.
“We need an X Prize for solar efficiency and get it into classrooms in America
to publicize it,” Clark said, calling for
greater academic and industry involvement in solar technology.
“We’re not going to be energy independent in the near term on solar, so
don’t wrap energy independence and
solar together in the near term,” Clark
warned, noting that the shift to electric
and hybrid cars is “going slowly.”
On the other hand, “we are dealing
with climate change; we have got to
move away from carbon-based fuels,
and the center of that program is solar
energy,” he said. “That’s the national
security argument we need.”
Clark did not directly answer the
question of whether he would run for
president again. “I’ve been there and
have a couple of T-shirts,” he joked.
The solar industry faces other immediate challenges, said SEIA’s Resch.
A 30 percent tax credit on solar installations that Resch called “the backbone
of solar” is under fire by legislators.
Some utilities want to cap the amount
of solar energy that residential users
can sell back to them.
In addition, some new smart meters
don’t support selling back energy from
rooftop solar panels. And the government’s Section 1603 Treasury Program,
supporting use of solar in small installations, is set to expire.
“Changes in meters could shut down
the entire industry in California, the
largest solar-market state in the
nation,” Resch warned. He added that
pressure is building in Washington for
fundamental tax reforms. “Without
the right policy, your company could
go out of business.” p
SENSOR
FUSION
Hardware-agnostic sensor data
integration: MEMS’ next frontier?
By Junko Yoshida
AS MORE microelectromechanical system sensors show up in mobile devices,
the focus of MEMS design has begun
shifting from discrete MEMS components to MEMS sensor data integration.
How raw data from multiple sensors
is “fused” and “interpreted” makes a
noticeable difference in a system’s power consumption and application performance, said Ian Chen, executive vice
10
president of startup Sensor Platforms
Inc. With that premise as its mission,
Sensor Platforms has rolled a library of
software algorithms and middleware
that a company statement says are
designed “to interpret users’ contexts
and intents” using data accumulated by
mobile devices’ complement of sensors.
The MEMS sensors most often found
in today’s smartphones and tablets
include accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes and barometers.
In its new MEMS Sector Profile
and Database (http://bit.ly/GD4kgm),
EE Times Confidential cites “the rise of
the sensor fusion revolution” and asks
an attendant question: “Who will determine the sensor architecture, where the
processing will reside and the motherboard-level sensor fusion architecture?”
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NEWS OF THETIMES
Though sensor fusion might mean
physical integration of diverse sensors
in a single, monolithic device, Sensor
Platforms offers sensor fusion in software that is hardware agnostic.
The company says the single-codebase software can run in its entirety on
an applications processor or on a sensor
hub, or can be spread over the system.
“Our software allows system designers to pick and choose different supply
sources for each sensor,” Chen said.
“The flexibility in sourcing is critical,
since these sensors come at different
price and performance points.”
Another advantage that Sensor Platforms claims is conservation of sensor
power. Chen noted that “up to 10 milliwatts is added in power consumption
when sensors are in use.” The startup’s
FreeMotion Library, he said, includes a
proprietary algorithm that can “turn off
power-hungry sensors, like the gyroscope, and emulate their function with
lower-power sensors when user movements are slow,” to cut sensor power
consumption by up to 90 percent.
Reliability is another issue. Though
the fact is not broadly advertised, compass calibration on some smartphones
can be off by 90°, Chen said. “All sensors
require frequent calibration to maintain their data quality,” he added. The
FreeMotion Library architecture supports reliable sampling and continual
cross-sensor calibration to ensure reli-
12
able sensor information, both for application developers and end users.
Packing a system with MEMS sensors
is just a first step toward improved system power consumption, design flexibility, data reliability and applications
performance, said Tony Massimini, chief
of technology at Semico Research. “How
do the system designers fully utilize [the
available sensor data?] We may be just
scratching the surface,” he said. “System
designers, many new to MEMS, need
software development tools.”
Indeed, the need for software development kits extends to applications
developers looking to alchemize mobile
device sensors’ divergent motion data
into information their apps can exploit.
“Apps need information and context
about the user, not just the user’s location or changes in his motion or direction,” Chen said. He said Sensor
Platforms is releasing the FreeMotion
Library’s application programming
interface so that its sensor calibration
and sensor fusion can provide robust
data with better accuracy.
Sensor Platforms claims the FreeMotion SDK offers “a foundation to extend
the type of information that applications can gain from sensor data.”
MEMS-sensor suppliers are developing their own sensor fusion software.
Earlier this year, for example, Freescale
Semiconductor rolled its Xtrinsic sensor
fusion algorithms for electronic com-
pass applications, which combine magnetometer-provided headings with corrections from inertial sensors that
compensate for stray magnetic fields.
Freescale is offering its sensor fusion
algorithms as a free download for its
MEMS sensor users.
Last fall, STMicroelectronics unveiled
its iNEMO Engine Sensor Fusion Suite of
algorithms. ST said the suite can be combined with its iNEMO Inertial Modules
to create complete and customizable
hardware/software multi-axis MEMS sensor solutions for enhanced motion and
accurate heading recognition.
Asked about the competition, Chen
said MEMS sensor vendors use proprietary libraries to lock customers into
their products, whereas his company’s
solution is hardware independent.
Semico’s Massimini mentioned Movea
as another potential competitor to Sensor
Platforms. Movea offers motion-responsive software, firmware and semiconductor IP for markets such as mobile devices
and tablets, interactive TV and sports,
and electronic health care systems.
“Movea has been delivering solutions
for several years,” Massimini noted,
adding that the company “has developed
a system that allows system developers
to implement their algorithms using
Movea IP blocks.”
Massimini said Movea “is working
with a CAD vendor so the output of this
tool can be used to design an ASIC.” p
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NEWS OF THETIMES
FOUNDRIES
Globalfoundries expects
increased sales to AMD
in new agreement’s wake
By Dylan McGrath
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. — Globalfoundries expects more
business from Advanced Micro Devices in 2012, despite an
amended wafer-supply agreement that gives AMD the right
to use other wafer foundries for 28-nanometer accelerated
processing units (APUs).
Last month, AMD and Globalfoundries announced the
foundry provider had waived a requirement that AMD’s
28-nm APUs be manufactured only at Globalfoundries. In
exchange, AMD agreed to give Globalfoundries a cash payment of $425 million and transfer its remaining Globalfoundries stake to the foundry provider. AMD said it would
take a $278 million charge associated with the equity transfer.
Many industry pundits saw the change as the beginning of
the end of the relationship between AMD and its former
manufacturing unit, spun out in 2009. But in a conference
call with analysts following the announcement, Thomas
Seifert, AMD’s chief financial officer, said AMD planned to
spend about $1.5 billion with Globalfoundries in 2012 and to
have 28-nm products manufactured at both Globalfoundries
and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
AMD spent about $900 million on wafers processed by
Globalfoundries in 2011, Michael Noonen, senior vice president of sales, market and quality at Globalfoundries, said in an
interview here at the recent Common Platform Alliance Technology Forum. Noonen, who joined Globalfoundries in January after more than three years with NXP Semiconductors,
said it had always been the foundry’s goal to separate itself
completely from AMD, though he acknowledged that the
deal’s structure might not have been as originally envisioned.
Noonen said new management at both companies—the
appointment of Ajit Manocha as CEO of Globalfoundries and
Rory Read as CEO of AMD—had set the tone for a healthier
relationship between the partners after poor 32-nm yields at
Globalfoundries cut into AMD’s sales last year. The amended
wafer-supply agreement and AMD’s divestiture of its equity
stake in Globalfoundries further improve the working relationship, he said.
“I want to compete for [AMD’s] business as opposed to it
being contractually obligated,” Noonen said. “That’s always a
stressful situation.”
Seifert also painted a picture of an improving relationship,
calling the amended wafer pact “not less but also not more
than putting a mutually beneficial agreement in place that
allows us to better balance risk moving forward, but also
gives Globalfoundries the ability to further diversify their
customer base.”
No. 2 pure-play?
According to Noonen, Globalfoundries surpassed United
Microelectronics Corp. in the fourth quarter and is now the
second-largest pure-play foundry in the world, behind TSMC.
The claim is difficult to verify because Globalfoundries is a
privately held company that doesn’t report quarterly financials. For all of 2011, market-research firm IC Insights Inc.
ranked Globalfoundries third, with estimated sales of $3.58 billion, trailing UMC’s $3.76 billion and TSMC’s $14.6 billion.
On the March analyst conference call, Seifert said Globalfoundries’ yield performance at 28 nm had improved significantly since the issue came to a head last summer. That gave
AMD the confidence to enter the amended supply agreement,
which is structured as a fixed-price, “take or pay” arrangement, whereas previously AMD had paid only for good dice.
“We both believe that yields have progressed to a degree and
maturity that we can make this transition,” Seifert said.
Noonen said Globalfoundries expects to have its 28-nm
process in volume production later this year, adding that the
company already had processed about 40 customer test chips.
The 28-nm transition didn’t involve “nearly the same degree
of difficulty” as the shift to 32 nm, he said. “Going from 32 to
28 nm, there are a lot more process steps in common.” p
14
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NEWS OF THETIMES
EE Times, EDN honor 2012 ACE Award winners
By Dylan McGrath
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — UBM Electronics, a division of UBM plc and
the publisher of EE Times and EDN,
honored companies, teams and
individuals for achievements over
the past year by presenting the 2012
UBM Electronics ACE Awards here
last week.
The award program this year
combined the EE Times ACE
(Annual Creativity in Electronics)
Awards and the EDN Innovation
Awards. It was conducted in conjunction with Design West, a new
conference and expo built around
the rich foundation of training,
education and products established by ESC, combined for
the first time with popular summits and new event launches in
one venue.
The UBM Electronics ACE
Awards recognize and honor the
people and companies behind the
technologies and new products
that are transforming the global
electronics industry.
A panel of EE Times editors narrowed down the entries to five
finalists in each category, based on
the criteria set forth in an online
submission form. Winners were
determined from among the finalists by a panel of independent
judges. Judging took place from
Nov. 1, 2011, to Jan. 6, 2012.
“It was a challenge for our judges
to select one winner in each category from all of the creative and innovative technologies represented by
the finalists,” said Junko Yoshida,
editor in chief of EE Times. “The
winners have proved that they are
pioneers in developing and implementing breakthroughs in electronics. We hope this awards program
gives companies worldwide the
impetus to stretch their imaginations and their resources for even
more progress in the coming year.”
16
vDan
Novak
(left), vice
president of
global marketing,
public relations and
communications
at Qualcomm Inc.,
accepts the
2012 ACE
Company of
the Year Award
from EE Times
editor in chief
Junko Yoshida.
vRobert
Nalesnik,
vice president
of marketing at
mCube (left),
accepts the
ACE Startup of
the Year Award
from Patrick
Mannion, director
of content for
EDN and Test &
Measurement
World.
vACE
Executive
of the Year Award
winner Rich Beyer
(left), chairman
and CEO of
Freescale
Semiconductor
Inc., with Patrick
Mannion.
2012 ACE Award winners:
STARTUP OF THE YEAR mCube
COMPANY OF THE YEAR Qualcomm Inc.
EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR Rich Beyer,
Freescale Semiconductor
DESIGN TEAM OF THE YEAR
Tilera Corp.
INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
Michael McCorquodale
Integrated Device Technology
ENERGY TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Maxim Integrated Products
hACE
Innovator of the Year
Award winner Michael
McCorquodale, general
manager of the Silicon
Frequency Control
business at Integrated
Device Technology.
ULTIMATE PRODUCTS
SoCs
Zynq-7000 EPP
(Extensible Processing Platform), Xilinx
Analog ICs
3LG family of CrystalFree CMOS
oscillators, Integrated Device Technology
Digital ICs (MCUs, FPGAs, microprocessors)
LPC11U00 microcontrollers,
NXP Semiconductors
Power
LTC6803 multicell battery stack monitor,
Linear Technology
Human-Machine Interface Technology
Xtrinsic capacitive and resistive touch sensing
platform, Freescale Semiconductor
Software
Virtual System Platform,
Cadence Design Systems
hIhab
Bishara (right), director of
server solutions at Tilera Corp.,
accepts the Design Team of the
Year Award from Junko Yoshida.
hACE
Mentor of the Year
Stewart Christie of Intel.
Passive Components, Sensors, Indicators
and Interconnects
TMP006 temperature sensor,
Texas Instruments
Development Kits, Reference
Designs & SBCs
Home Health Hub reference platform,
Test & Measurement Systems & Boards
MDO4000 mixed-domain oscilloscope,
Tektronix
MOST ENGAGED COMMUNITY MEMBER
Jonathan Chan
BEST STUDENT DESIGN/DESIGN
CHALLENGE WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Oak Canyon Junior High team, Lindon, Utah:
Pipe Dreams Christmas Tree, Ted Hansen,
teacher; Wayne Rust, team mentor
CONTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR
Jim Williams
hJonathan
hIan
Basey (left), vice president of
marketing at Avnet Electronics
Marketing, accepts the ACE Integrated
Program of the Year Award from Brian
Fuller, editorial director of EE Life.
Chan (right)
accepts the Most
Engaged Community
Member ACE Award
from Junko Yoshida.
MENTOR OF THE YEAR
Stewart Christie, product marketing
engineer, Intelligent Systems Group, Intel
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
James Truchard, National Instruments
Jeff Kodosky, National Instruments
IEEE SPECTRUM TECHNOLOGY IN THE SERVICE
OF SOCIETY AWARD
Ekso Bionics
IEEE SPECTRUM EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
AWARD
SuVolta
PHOTOS: TRISH TUNNEY
STUDENT OF THE YEAR
Aaron Goldstein, Arizona State University
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hACE
Lifetime Achievement Award winners James Truchard
(far left), CEO of National Instruments, and Jeff Kodosky
(second from right), business and technology fellow at National
Instruments, with Junko Yoshida and Patrick Mannion. Truchard
and Kodosky co-founded National Instruments in 1986.
vBob
Dobkin (left),
co-founder of
Linear Technology,
and Siu Williams,
wife of the late
Jim Williams,
accept the
Contributor of
the Year Award
from Planet
Analog editor
Bill Schweber
on behalf of
Jim Williams, the
renowned analog
circuit designer
and EDN
contributor who
died in June 2011.
A measurable edge in analyzing AV
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For more information visit:
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For more information:
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hAaron
18
hTekla
Perry (left), senior
editor of IEEE Spectrum,
presents the IEEE Spectrum
Technology in the Service
of Society Award to Eythor
Bender, CEO of Ekso Bionics.
The company won for its
Ekso exoskeleton, a set of
wearable robotic legs that let
paraplegics stand and walk.
PHOTOS: TRISH TUNNEY
Goldstein (right), a
senior engineering student at
Arizona State University,
accepts the ACE Student of
the Year Award from Junko
Yoshida. Goldstein formed a
satellite laboratory at ASU
and has interned at NASA.
He plans to launch his own
aerospace and electrical
engineering design firm
after graduation.
Global
WATCH
Top 30 worldwide MEMS companies by 2011 revenue
$ millions
MARKETS
Texas Instruments
STMicroelectronics
762
738
Hewlett-Packard
Robert Bosch
Knowles Electronics
Panasonic
Canon
AKM
Seiko Epson
Analog Devices
Avago Technologies
362
336
284
279
261
255
251
174
153
Sensata
Honeywell
237
250
Infineon Technologies 150
Boehringer Ingelheim Microparts
Invensense 144
136
VTI Technologies 121
Lexmark 110
Triquint 102
FLIR Systems 90
Sony 77
Kionix 76
Ulis 75
144
GE Sensing
Measurement Specialties
Omron
56
62
Memsic 55
Murata
51
Source: Yole Développement
The top 30 players
accounted for almost
80 percent of total
MEMS packaged device
sales worldwide
20
ST closes in on TI
in MEMS
top 30 ranking
By Peter Clarke
Denso
913
907
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS and STMicroelectronics finished neck and neck atop market watcher Yole Développement’s 2011 global ranking
of microelectromechanical system component
manufacturers. ST moved from fourth to second among MEMS device makers last year,
in a global market that totaled $10.2 billion,
up 17 percent from 2010, Yole reported.
The MEMS sector’s double-digit rise compares with a virtually flat 2011 market for
semiconductor ICs. The latter market inched
up just 0.4 percent last year, to $299.5 billion,
according to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics figures.
ST capitalized on exploding demand for
motion processing in mobile devices to
expand its MEMS device sales by 42 percent
over 2010’s tally, to $907 million. Yole (Lyon,
France) estimates TI’s 2011 MEMS sales at a
market-leading $913 million. But TI’s more
mature micromirror MEMS business saw single-digit growth, slower than that for ST’s
inertial sensor business for consumer applications. ST is also a leading foundry supplier of
MEMS components.
As was the case in 2010, the top four finishers last year claimed a commanding presence
in the MEMS device market (see table). Thirdranked Hewlett-Packard remains a force in
MEMS production for inkjet printing. Robert
Bosch, a leading provider of MEMS for automotive applications, moved into the fourthplace slot vacated by ST. The top four vendors
collectively sold $3.3 billion of MEMS products, Yole said, and the top 30 companies
accounted for almost 80 percent of total
MEMS packaged device sales worldwide.
The mobile device market drove a broad
range of sensor suppliers to 40 percent or better
growth last year, according to Yole. Silicon
microphone maker Knowles Electronics
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jumped from 18th place in the 2010 ranking to fifth last year as it grew its sales of
MEMS microphones by 40 percent, to
$362 million. Magnetometer supplier
AKM grew sales 46 percent, to $279 million, to record an eighth-place finish.
The industry’s leading fabless MEMS
device supplier, InvenSense, saw its
sales soar 67 percent, to $144 million, as
demand rose for its multi-axis gyroscope and motion sensing chips. And
Memsic Inc. entered the top 30 with a
whopping 80 percent jump in its magnetometer and accelerometer sales.
“Growth is now coming from combos
of accelerometers and magnetometers
and from combos of accelerometers and
gyros, which started to ship in volume
last year,” Laurent Robin, inertial MEMS
analyst at Yole, said in a statement. p
EE TIMES CONFIDENTIAL
RELEASES MEMS SECTOR
PROFILE AND DATABASE
The MEMS Sector Profile and Database, compiled by the editors of
EE Times Confidential, analyzes a
highly dynamic and increasingly
critical market to assess where it
stands and where it is headed. The
report, with its database of more
than 200 MEMS market players, is an
intelligence resource for engineers,
engineering managers and senior
management across the electronics
industry who increasingly must
take a systems-level approach to
product and market development.
To obtain your copy, go to
http://bit.ly/GD4kgm.
22
MEMS
CONGRESS
Panel predicts MEMS market
boom; silicon to win slots
By Peter Clarke
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — Consumer electronics will continue to drive
rapid expansion in microelectromechanical system volume shipments,
as updates of established platforms are
loaded with MEMS sensors and actuators, and as new classes of equipment
come onto the scene. That was the consensus of a panel at the MEMS Executive Congress Europe.
In mobile phones and tablets, expect
to see silicon MEMS devices being used
for camera autofocus mechanisms, tunable RF circuits, audio speakers and
chemical sensors, said panelist JeanChristophe Eloy, founder and president
of market research organization Yole
Développement (Lyon, France).
Tehro Lahtinen, innovation manager
at sports watchmaker Suunto, cited
opportunities for MEMS devices of
many types in sports equipment, clothing, wireless sensor nets and various
other elements of the Internet of
Things. Andre van Geelen, general manager at Epcos Netherlands, said his company would look to offer MEMS-based
RF and timing circuits to maximize
bandwidth in mobile phones.
Just about any mechanical device
that conceivably can be rendered in silicon eventually will be, said Eloy, who
predicted the imminent takeoff of RF
MEMS devices, MEMS for cameras and
MEMS-based audio speakers.
The “big bang” in MEMS consumer
applications has generated a wave that
is resonating in automotive infotainment and sports gear, as well as in personal-health applications that have
similarities to medical apps but not the
latter products’ strict requirements for
clinical testing. Even in the medical
electronics sector, with its notoriously
arduous qualification cycles, MEMS
apps are surfacing.
But Sauli Palo, principal specialist for
component quality and technology at
Nokia, pointed out that as MEMS volumes go up, prices will come down.
“MEMS have become commoditized,”
Palo said. “The key is to find the good
applications. It is up to the apps developers to sort out what can be done.”
Fabless outlook
A second topic picked up by the panel
was whether fabless companies can succeed in the MEMS sector, given its fragmented technology base. “Helping the
fabless to success [in MEMS] is the most
important thing we can do,” said Eloy.
Toward that end, Eloy believes two
classes of MEMS foundry will coexist.
Higher-volume demand will be met by
the traditional IC foundries, such as
TSMC, UMC and Globalfoundries,
while the traditional MEMS specialist
foundries, such as Dalsa and Micralyne,
will act as development partners and
support lower volumes.
The two classes, he said, “are different
supply chains that are not competing.
You could start with one before moving
to another one.”
From the floor, an observer remarked
that startup companies cannot afford to
invest in fabs and that foundry services
are clearly in demand. But it remains
unclear how many MEMS companies
have acquired the discipline to work
within strictly delineated process limitations, the observer added.
Epcos’ van Geelen acknowledged that
MEMS processes vary by application, a
hurdle for multiproject wafer runs.
Palo, asked how Nokia felt about
using fabless suppliers, said the company had “gone to fabless [providers] in
other areas” apart from MEMS but added
that going the fabless route for MEMS
requirements “does raise questions.” p
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ER
AM
COVER STORY
What is your
embedded
strategy?
By Nicolas Mokhoff
CHIP VENDORS KNOW they can cater to the huge
embedded market with many more divergent chips
than might be pitched to, say, the mobile markets for
iPods, iPads and notebook computers. There has
been an explosion of embedded applications in the
automotive, industrial and medical markets, and
even in consumer white goods such as refrigerators,
washers and microwave ovens. Not only does embedded system design offer a wealth of possibilities, but
many embedded designs can forgo the
added expense of leading-edge microcontrollers or microprocessors. The sheer
volumes of chips used in embedded systems make an embedded-market strategy
a must for silicon vendors.
Designers of embedded systems have
their own requirements. UBM Electronics’ just-released 2012 Embedded Market Survey sheds light on designers’
requirements for chips, tools and support. Five points stand out:
• The top five areas of interest to
embedded designers are chip technology, time-to-market, design/
24
development process, global markets and outsourcing (both domestically and overseas).
• Current embedded projects contain
a single microprocessor/microcontroller (cited by 53 percent of
respondents); two processors/microcontrollers (25 percent); or three to
five MPUs/MCUs (16 percent).
• The average processor clock rate
was 425 MHz in the 2012 survey, up
from 291 MHz in 2011.
• There is an almost even split
between those respondents who
used the same processor on their
last project (45 percent, of whom
59 percent were happy with their
current supplier) and those who
switched to a new processor (55 percent, of whom 46 percent did so for
better features).
• Respondents believe the ecosystem
surrounding the chip (software,
tools and support) is twice as important as the chip itself. In order, the
ecosystems from Texas Instruments,
Freescale, Microchip, ARM, Atmel
and Intel command the highest
grades. In the 2012 survey, however,
STMicroelectronics was ranked
fifth, on par with Atmel, among the
providers of the processors that
respondents considered using on
their next project.
As in 2011, the most important factors in choosing a processor are the software development tools available and
the chip’s performance.
Among the industry’s embedded
advocacy groups, the Embedded Vision
Alliance (EVA) stands out for taking on
the task of using powerful, low-cost,
energy-efficient processors. Members
Advanced Micro Devices, Analog
Devices, CEVA, Freescale Semiconductor, Intel, Maxim, Nvidia, TI and Xilinx
are addressing embedded vision applications as platforms consisting of
devices and design tools. “Processor
Survey respondents indicate their preferences among chip vendors’ support ecosystems
19%
2012 (N= 665) Unaided
17%
2011 (N= 669) Unaided
2010 (N= 529) Unaided
14%
11%
12%
10% 10%10%
9%
11%
9%
8%
8% 8%
8%
6%
6% 6%
4%
2% 2%
Texas Instruments
Freescale
Microchip
ARM
Atmel
Intel
NXP
3%
2%
1%
Renesas
2% 2% 2%
STMicroelectronics
Source: UBM Electronics’ 2012 Embedded Market Survey
vendors are beginning to focus on
embedded vision applications,” said Jeff
Bier, founder of EVA and president of
Berkeley Design Technology Inc.
On the more traditional embedded
system design path are real-time-operating-system (RTOS) vendors such as
QNX, which “has focused on creating a
real-time software platform that can
scale from the low end to the high end
and that customers can easily extend
for specific requirements,” said Grant
Courville, the company’s director of
product management. For RTOS vendors, working with chip vendors
means reaching as many application
levels as possible.
Machine-to-machine devices—which
connect everything, everywhere—have
huge ramifications for safety, security
and dependability, Courville said; as a
result, “M2M devices will need to be
built on proven platforms.”
Courville said QNX is “working
closely with our ecosystem partners
to deliver a full M2M solution, including automated over-the-air updates
and dramatically expanded wireless
capabilities.”
EE Times asked six semiconductor
vendors to define their embedded
strategies. Their replies, which are
largely based on their current embedded offerings, start on page 26. p
The next killer app: Machines that see
Do embedded processors shape applications, or is it the other way around?
A few years ago, after nearly two decades of evaluating and using embedded processors for DSP-intensive applications, my colleagues and I at
Berkeley Design Technology Inc. realized that embedded computer vision
applications were poised to benefit from the same type of virtuous circle that
had previously enabled the proliferation of wireless communications and
video compression algorithms.
With that vision starting to appear in volume applications, processor
vendors are beginning to focus on embedded vision applications and to tune
their processors for such apps, often by incorporating specialized co-processors designed for vision processing.
By reducing the number and severity of auto collisions, vision-based safety
systems may be able to save many thousands of lives. Embedded vision
also promises more-intuitive human-machine interaction—long the grail of
consumer electronics. Imagine turning on your TV just by staring in its directiion for a few seconds; it then offers you a personalized menu of options, from
which you choose using basic gestures. Market research company IMS
Research estimates that by 2015, vision-enabled devices will be shipping at a
rate of more than 3 billion units per year. (Read about many more embedded
vision applications on page 32 and at http://bit.ly/la6LGk.)
In some applications, vision functions will be simple and will be able
to fit into existing processors (perhaps with a modest boost in clock rate
or an additional core). But many of the most compelling embedded vision
applications use very performance-hungry algorithms. Implementing those
algorithms at low cost and low power consumption will require specialized
processors. As a result, BDTI expects to see processor suppliers introducing
more processors that are optimized for vision applications, and providing
more application development support (such as optimized software
libraries) for those apps.
— Jeff Bier, founder of the Embedded Vision Alliance and president of BDTI
25
COVER STORY
The key
challenges
for embedded
designers
‘Customers across
a range of
applications are
looking for more
tightly integrated
digital signal
processing devices’
By Colin Holland
Analog Devices:
Embedded as part of a
complete signal chain
By Daniel Leibholz
OUR APPROACH TO EMBEDDED
processing reflects our customers’ need
to implement a complete signal chain.
We define a complete signal chain
either as the processing pathway from
signal acquisition through conditioning, conversion and digital signal processing, or as the creation pathway in
the opposite direction.
Among the many trends that influence signal chain design, we are seeing
that customers across a range of applications are looking for more tightly
integrated digital signal processing
components that improve throughput,
accuracy, latency and power efficiency
while reducing the burden on downstream host controllers and application
processors. These components must do
more than address specific signal processing challenges; they also must have
sufficient performance and functional
headroom so that customers can implement unique algorithms and differentiated platforms.
Given that integrated signal processing chips combine multiple functions
with embedded intelligence, we also
place a premium on ease of use, programmability and configurability.
Analog Devices’ embedded strategy
demands a deep understanding of the
26
requirements of emerging applications
in key end markets.
In the automotive sector, for
instance, there is growing interest in
improving driver and pedestrian safety,
and a key technology enabler is embedded vision systems. Our work with carmakers on driver-assistance systems led
us to develop the dual-core Blackfin
ADSP-BF609.
Designed for multiple vehicle-safety
functions, such as lane departure warning and collision detection, the new
DSP features an accelerator that handles real-time video analysis. This
allows a video stream to be preprocessed at high-definition rates, with
features extracted and forwarded to a
dual-core programmable DSP.
Our newest Blackfin processors
also allow Analog Devices to support
embedded vision applications in other
markets, such as industrial and security systems. Such application areas
have a growing need to integrate recognition features, such as license-plate
detection and people-counting capability, into surveillance cameras or to support HD video processing in industrial
imaging equipment.
Another example of our approach to
embedded design is the ADF7023, a
To get more of their projects completed by deadline, more embedded systems developers are looking to
increase the skill levels of their engineering teams.
This is just one of the results highlighted by the latest UBM Electronics
Embedded Market Survey, in which
1,704 respondents provided details
on their tools and work environment,
applications, methods and processes,
operating systems and chips currently
in use or being considered. The
results were presented at Design West
last week.
The 2012 survey shows that
42 percent of all projects were finished on or ahead of schedule—leaving 58 percent of all projects late or
canceled, which is about the same as
in 2011 and 2010.
In a new question this year,
respondents were asked to think
about the next year and the areas
they expect will present the greatest
challenges. Not surprisingly, given the
lateness of projects, 21 percent put
hitting schedules at the top of their
list; 19 percent said that integrating
new technology or tools would be
most problematic, and 16 percent cited managing code size and complexity. At the bottom of the challenge list
was connecting to the cloud; only
3 percent saw it as a major issue.
What one improvement would
developers make to boost their
embedded design activities? The
leading improvement, debugging
tools, was cited by 22 percent of
respondents, down 7 percentage
points; engineering team skill level
jumped to 16 percent from 9 percent.
One of the new questions added to
this year’s survey was, “What are the
most important factors in choosing an
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COVER STORY
low-power transceiver system-on-chip
for the industrial, scientific and medical
(ISM) band that supports a wide range
of applications, such as smart metering
and wireless sensor networks.
To provide the necessary flexibility
for these applications, the SoC embeds a
microcontroller with customized, digital communications functions and a
high-performance RF transceiver. p
operating system?” Availability of full
source code was the top reply, cited by
41 percent of respondents. Real-time performance and no royalties came in at
31 percent. At the bottom of the pile was
the supplier’s reputation, which garnered
only 3 percent.
When it came to the operating systems being used, in a dramatic jump,
in-house/custom OSes claimed a surveytopping 22 percent of responses, up
from 8 percent, while relative newcomers Android and Ubuntu took second and
third place, respectively, with 13 percent
and 12 percent.
Android’s dramatic impact was highlighted when engineers revealed what
they are considering using in the next
12 months. Android outstripped the
rest, with 34 percent; in-house/custom
Daniel Leibholz is vice president of Analog
Devices’ Processors and Digital Signal
Processing Products and Technology
Group, responsible for development and
implementation of processor strategy.
He began his career as a CPU architect with
Digital Equipment Corp. and is the holder
of 17 computer architecture and microprocessor patents. Leibholz earned
his BSEE and MSEE from Brown University.
more than doubled, to 17 percent from
7 percent.
Sixty percent of respondents said
they were not worried about the recent
acquisitions of operating-system vendors
by microprocessor vendors.
As to processors, there is a slow but
steady rise in the use of 32-bitters, though
8- and 16-bit devices are maintaining their
market share. There was a marked
change in what engineers said was most
important when choosing a microprocessor: The chip itself dropped to 30 percent, while the ecosystem surrounding
the chip jumped to 61 percent. p
Editor’s note: UBM Electronics’ Embedded
Market Survey can be obtained by
e-mailing embedded content director
Colin Holland ([email protected]).
Freescale Semiconductor:
Four apps define embedded direction
By Brad Johnson
OUR MISSION IS LESS ABOUT being
the leader in embedded than about
being the leading supplier of products,
tools and system solutions—semiconductors, sensors, controllers, software
and ecosystem—that will enable tomorrow’s leaders in the embedded segment.
We are a global leader in embedded
processing solutions, providing products that advance the markets we serve
with a world-class engineering force
and a legacy of billions invested in
R&D. Our priorities center on the growing embedded markets; our technologies are the foundation for the
innovations that make our world greener, safer, healthier and more connected.
We direct our efforts within four major
areas: automotive, networking, industrial and consumer. We have stayed
‘Our embedded
technologies are the
foundation for the
innovations that make
our world greener,
safer, healthier and
more connected’
28
away from areas that are not truly
embedded, such as PCs and memory.
The four focus markets are undergoing changes in which embedded technology has a direct and foundational
impact. Our value-added is at the juncture of diverse technologies that are collectively powering the growth of
embedded processing: intelligent
devices that are low power, cost-effective, multicore, networked, display
based, touch enabled, secure, scalable
and programmable; that include sensing capabilities; and that cover a full
range of embedded architectures.
In automotive, for example, we are
working toward the shared goal of zero
fatalities and zero emissions by providing passive and active safety technologies to help make driving safer and
cleaner, with more fuel-efficient vehicles. In networking, dramatic increases
in mobile and video traffic are driving
fundamental changes to network
topologies and enabling our investment
priorities in next-generation wireless
Microchip:
Expanding core
competency
By Steve Sanghi
MICROCONTROLLERS HAVE COME a
long way in terms of their applications,
processing capabilities, architectures
and fusion with other semiconductor
products, such as ASICs and SoCs. The
shrinking cost of microcontrollers is
causing the number of applications to
explode, with new ways emerging to
make products more intelligent.
Microchip’s embedded strategy is to
address the needs of those applications
by expanding on its core strengths in
microcontrollers, analog, memory and
infrastructures that enhance such
areas as cloud computing and smaller
basestations. In the industrial market,
energy efficiency demands are continuing to push the expansion and adoption of smart energy technologies and
portable medical devices, driven by
embedded hardware, software and
M2M connectivity. Tablet-like functionality, enabled by Freescale’s embedded technology, is expanding beyond
consumer smart devices into vehicles,
appliances and other markets, making
the world more connected.
Freescale combines a broad, scalable
and core-agnostic portfolio of embedded processors, complementary semiconductor devices and software to
offer highly integrated platform-level
solutions that create customer value,
simplify customer development cycles
and shorten time-to-market. p
Brad Johnson is the senior vice president
of strategy and business transformation
at Freescale Semiconductor, which he
joined in February 2011. Johnson spent
14 years at McKinsey and Co., becoming
a partner in 2006. He received a bachelor’s degree in quantitative economics
with distinction from Stanford University.
‘We’re building on our
core strengths in
MCUs, analog, memory
and wireless, along
with our development
environment, migration
path and support’
wireless devices, along with our development environment, migration path
and support. We are building on that
foundation by focusing on several
growth areas and design imperatives
within the embedded market.
To help embedded designers speed
their time-to-market, Microchip provides not just silicon but also a full
development tool ecosystem, including compilers, integrated development
environments (IDEs), debuggers, realtime operating systems, graphics tools,
reference designs and code libraries.
There is an increasing trend toward
space-constrained applications with
the thin styling that consumers love.
Microchip enables this with minuscule
quad flat no-lead (QFN) packages as
well as chip-scale options, which allow
our MCUs to squeeze into today’s
smallest and thinnest form factors.
User interfaces are rapidly transitioning from knobs and pushbuttons
to touch sensing, which is more aesthetically pleasing, durable and easier
to clean. Microchip has built a rich
portfolio of touch-sensing solutions—
many of which use our microcontrollers’ existing capabilities—to
enable this transition.
Likewise, embedded displays have
evolved from LEDs to dot matrices to
LCDs. The challenge for designers is
to cost-effectively implement the
desired display brightness, contrast,
size and segments. Microchip’s MCUs
integrate easy interfaces to large displays via built-in graphics controllers
and accelerators.
To handle the relentless drive toward
longer battery life, our MCUs have
low-power modes that go down to nanoamperes of current, maximizing battery
life and enabling energy harvesting.
In addition, there is a great focus
on all aspects of energy: measurement, conservation and efficiency.
Microchip’s MCUs and digital signal
controllers (DSCs) digitally control
motors, power supplies and lighting,
substantially increasing efficiencies.
We offer many mixed-signal and analog devices to facilitate energy monitoring and metering.
Embedded designs are increasingly
connecting to other systems via such
wired- and wireless-connectivity protocols as USB, Ethernet, controller-area
network, local-interconnect network,
infrared and various flavors of RF, such
as ZigBee, Wi-Fi and the unlicensed
sub-GHz bands. Microchip provides
radios, agency-certified modules, integrated MCUs and standalone controllers that offer designers solid
options for adding this connectivity.
Many users are migrating toward
higher voltages for greater efficiency
in markets such as automotive and
industrial. Microchip provides MCUs
that work at 40 volts, 60 V and higher
for transients. p
Steve Sanghi was named president of
Microchip in August 1990, chief executive
officer in October 1991 and chairman
in October 1993. He holds an MS in
electrical and computer engineering from
the University of Massachusetts and a BS
in electronics and communication from
Punjab University in India.
29
COVER STORY
Tensilica:
Renesas:
‘Smart’ end-to-end quality control
By Peter Carbone
The definition
of embedded
drives us
By Chris Rowen
FOR MANY COMPANIES, a typical
embedded MCU strategy is about touting the hardware and software with
statements about the merits of the CPU
core, local customer support, third parties, and integration of frequently used
digital and analog peripherals.
The Renesas embedded strategy is different. Our strategy is about making a
society where people are safer, healthier,
more productive
and more efficient
with their time,
resources and the
environment. Today,
30 percent of the
world’s MCUs are
manufactured by
Renesas, and our
embedded electronics solutions touch
many parts of our
social infrastructure
and lives, including
such major industrial segments as automotive, medical,
home/building/factory automation,
white goods, metering,
enterprise/cloud/personal computing
and networking.
Our products are developed to deliver
quality, low power, continuity and
longevity of supply, real-time performance, and integration. We are among the
largest vertically integrated semiconductor manufacturers, with products that
are internally designed (including semiconductor CMOS process, IP and chip
design), manufactured and supported.
We can support a complete network of
redundant and long-term production factories with end-to-end quality control.
We continuously achieve single-digit
parts-per-million reliability with an average production life of more than 15 years.
The Renesas embedded design
approach starts with quality and innovation. By interlocking the CPU, highspeed memories and digital/analog
functions to our internal semiconduc-
tor process, we can achieve ultralow
power (leakage, operation and standby).
With internally developed high-speed
embedded flash and CPU core (+100
MHz), we can achieve high performance and functionality, delivering realtime predictable and low-latency
response. We then use these technologies to create platforms that ease design
and include different embedded memo-
‘Our strategy
is about
making a
society
where people
are safer,
healthier, more
productive and
more efficient’
30
THE QUESTION “WHAT IS YOUR
embedded strategy?” assumes that
embedded strategies are fundamentally
separate from other electronic system
strategies, but that assumption is wrong,
and getting wronger every day. How do
we separate a smartphone from a tablet
from an ultramobile? How do we define
applications that are split between the
phone and the cloud?
So I would define “embedded” in a
more useful way: as energy-sensitive,
cost-sensitive hardware/software systems. Then the question becomes,
“What’s your strategy for energy- and
Texas Instruments:
Make the world
By Brian Crutcher
IF OUR CUSTOMERS conceptualize it,
ries and packages without affecting the
customer’s previous software investment. Given that more than 10 million
MCUs are produced every day, lowering
power consumption and providing
greater integration and functionality
can have far-reaching social benefits.
The Renesas embedded strategy starts
with the goal of making our lives better
by using fewer resources, delivering the
right mix of functions, and designing and
manufacturing hardware and software
solutions that allow quick adoption and
long-term supply. In the end, our embedded solutions help put the “smart” into
products that touch our everyday lives. p
Peter Carbone is marketing vice president at
Renesas Electronics America. Before joining
Renesas, he was a sales application engineer
and design engineer at Wang Laboratories.
He holds a BSEE from Columbia University
and completed the General Management
Program at Harvard Business School.
our technology can make it possible.
In complex systems, the chip is very
important, but it is just the beginning.
As a result, our embedded processing
strategy has three basic tenets:
a broad processor portfolio;
software development kits, which
function as an ecosystem, and support
to get customers to market quickly; and
• complementary analog and connectivity products for optimized system
solutions.
•
•
Our embedded portfolio can meet
any design need, while offering scalability up and down the portfolio of
microcontrollers, ARM-based processors and DSPs.
TI runs the gamut on varying levels
of power and performance across a variety of proprietary and industry-standard cores. Design flexibility spans
from the new Wolverine MSP430, a
cost-sensitive hardware and
software?”
Tensilica’s approach has
three parts. The first part
is to make optimization and
specialization of processors
simple, inexpensive and
complete.
Historically, processor
development has been so
slow and expensive that one
processor design was forced
to serve a wide and divergent
spectrum of application
requirements. When generation of the processors is
automated, each processor can
be leaner and faster in the target
applications.
At Tensilica, we routinely provide
efficiency improvements of ten- to
twentyfold, with the most specialized
processors achieving efficiency
improvements of more than a hundredfold over conventional processors.
The second part is to create rich soft-
‘[You should
have asked],
“What’s your
strategy for
energy- and
cost-sensitive
hardware and
software?” ’
ware environments for every processor,
so that software developers have all the
compiler, debug, simulation, profiling
and operating systems needed for fast,
reliable development.
Third, we design, verify and deliver
hardware and software building blocks
for the most important communications and multimedia functions, especially for wireless baseband, audio and
video/imaging. We also have a broad
ecosystem of partners that
deliver additional software
packages, systems know-how
and subsystems, especially in
baseband and multimedia.
Tensilica now has almost
200 licensees and has shipped
more than 1 billion processor
cores. We focus on highvolume SoC applications in
a range of end markets where
our customers’ success hinges
on world-beating energy efficiency, throughput and software sophistication. p
Chris Rowen is founder, chief technology
officer, board member and first president
of Tensilica. He was a pioneer in the
development of RISC architecture at
Stanford in the early 1980s and helped
start MIPS Computer Systems in 1984.
Rowen received his BA in physics from
Harvard University and his MS and PhD
in electrical engineering from Stanford
University.
smarter, greener, safer, healthier and more fun
microcontroller platform that uses only
100-microamps/MHz active power for
wireless, battery-free, intelligent-sensing applications, up to our highest-performance (yet power-optimized)
multicore processors based on the Keystone architecture, used in wireless
basestations and supercomputing.
Our OMAP application processors are
well suited to fueling applications
growth in mobile and connected computing, robotics and cloud computing.
Our real-time signal processors are a
perfect fit for serving the expanding
demand for analytics in video and
industrial apps. In 2012, TI marks its
30th anniversary of DSP innovation.
Software has become an important
part of our customers’ design process,
and TI supports its broad portfolio with
an extensive collection of software and
a single IDE, Code Composer Studio
(CCStudio), that spans TI’s entire
embedded processing portfolio. The IDE
provides a common interface for design-
ers to scale their product
line, dramatically reduce
development time and eliminate the need to learn multiple interfaces. Based on
the popular Eclipse opensource software framework,
CCStudio takes developers
through each step of development while providing
debugging and foundational software libraries, demos
and specific application
codecs for each processor.
TI also delivers low-cost
development kits, evaluation modules
and system-level reference designs,
aimed at reducing development time by
as much as 80 percent.
If developers have a design requirement that cannot be found along the
many TI avenues, the broad TI Design
Network ecosystem provides everything from application-specific hardware modules to a variety of RTOSes. p
‘TI runs the
gamut on
power and
performance
across
proprietary
and industrystandard
cores’
Brian Crutcher is senior vice president and
general manager of the Texas Instruments
Embedded Processing business, which
includes TI’s microcontrollers and core
embedded processors. He is also responsible for TI’s custom business. Crutcher
earned a BSEE from the University of Central Florida and an MBA from the University
of California, Irvine.
31
Intelligence
NEXT-GEN USER INTERFACES
A shared vision for the UI beyond touch
By Junko Yoshida
IMS RESEARCH recently wondered whether Apple and the
iPad were falling behind competitors in user-interface technology. In its commentary, the market watcher acknowledged
Apple had changed the game by bringing touchscreen interaction to the masses. But then it asked: Is that all?
As the industry debates where the next UI battle lines will
be drawn, a growing number of FPGA, DSP and processor
companies are betting on embedded vision. Supporters of this
position point to two developments: the use of parallelism to
increase the processing power of embedded systems, and the
emergence of increasingly sophisticated machine-vision algorithms that let embedded systems not just “see,” but extract
information to produce value-added intelligence.
“Thanks to Microsoft’s Kinect [controller for the Xbox 360],
we now have ‘existence proof’ for embedded vision,” noted
Jeff Bier, president of Berkeley Design Technology Inc. “We
know it works.” Consumers are becoming more familiar
with gesture controls, and automotive manufacturers are
integrating embedded vision applications in cars in the
cause of driver safety.
Jon Cropley, principal analyst at IMS Research, said the
market for intelligent-automotive-camera modules alone was
estimated at around $300 million in 2011 and is forecast to
grow at an average annual rate of more than 30 percent
through 2015. The market for intelligent-video surveillance
devices (devices with embedded analytics), estimated at about
$250 million in 2011, is forecast for annual growth of more
than 20 percent over the same period, Cropley added.
Biggest and perhaps best established is the market for
industrial machine vision hardware (smart sensors, smart
cameras, compact vision systems and machine vision cameras). Cropley estimates average annual growth of more than
10 percent over the period, from around $1.5 billion in 2011.
Bier called embedded vision a “classic long-tail story,”
explaining, “There are thousands of applications, and its market is extremely diverse.” But from the engineering community’s perspective, he said, “many design engineers, generally,
just don’t think about vision, and they still don’t know
what’s possible.”
Bier founded the Embedded Vision Alliance to inspire and
empower embedded system designers to use vision technology. EE Times worked with the industry group to put together
this sampler of the latest embedded vision-enabled consumer
products.
32
‘Never miss a word’
That’s the marketing tagline used by Livescribe, developer
of a platform consisting of a digital pen, digital paper
and software apps.
Livescribe’s pen, integrating an infrared camera and a
digital audio recorder, can record a conversation while one
participant takes notes on digital paper.
Digital paper consists of numerous small black dots in
patterns essentially invisible to the human eye but
detectable by the pen’s camera. The user can replay
portions of a recording by tapping on the notes. Not a single
word is lost, no matter how messy the scribble.
Sounds like a reporter’s dream—and a politician’s
nightmare.
Breathalyzer app
BreathalEyes, an iPhone app available for 99 cents,
determines a subject’s blood alcohol content. The
technology uses the iPhone’s camera and the
BreathalEyes app running on the phone to scan the
user’s eyes and measure the presence of horizontal
gaze nystagmus (HGN)—an involuntary jerking or
bouncing of the eyeball.
Touch-free user interface
Eye test by phone
EyeNetra has come up with a quick and easy way
for anyone, anywhere to take an eye test, get
measured for eyeglasses and access eye care—
all via smartphone. Snap a hardware adapter onto
a smartphone loaded with EyeNetra’s software,
Netra-G, then follow the simple instructions to get
measurements for eyeglasses on the phone and
send them to your care provider.
Thanks to the success of Microsoft’s Kinect, gesture control
has become one of the most popular embedded vision applications on the consumer market. Israel-based eyeSight has
come up with advanced image processing and machine vision
algorithms tailored for embedded platforms.
The technology, independent of the underlying processor
and camera, requires minimal CPU and power consumption.
It can be embedded in computers, tablets and mobile devices.
Aftermarket park assist camera
CogniVue’s Image Cognition Processor and
application software turn a small aftermarket
rear-view camera into a smart parking
assistant. The technology offers de-warping,
perspective correction, object detection and
distance estimation, and allows multiple
viewing modes (panoramic, top-down view
and left/right split views) and overlay.
Vending machine sizes you up
Intel, Okaya Electronics and Sanden have
developed a concept vending machine featuring
a vertically mounted, 65-inch, see-through,
high-definition touchscreen display. The transparent
display allows customers to see products inside the
vending machine, while the screen can show overlaid
text messages, graphics and animation.
The vending machine comes with a camera and
“audience-impression metric” features. Based on the
image captured by the camera, the vending machine
runs anonymous facial recognition algorithms. The
machine can take a good guess at a customer’s
gender and age so that it can show advertising
content to match the customer’s demographics.
But does it say “ouch” when you kick it?
Vital Signs Camera
Philips’ Vital Signs Camera app runs on an iPad 2 or
iPhone 4S. With the device camera trained on the user,
the app detects subtle changes in facial color to measure heart rate and tracks chest movements to gauge
breathing rate. It’s not clear who’d want to post their
vitals on Facebook or e-mail their heart rate to a love
interest (as the Philips demo suggests). But you could.
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DESIGN + PRODUCTS
In space, every byte counts—there is
no room for coding errors or
vulnerabilities in such critical
applications as deployment, security
and mission control of vehicles
GLOBAL FEATURE
Trimming cost and size: The software side of the story
By Benjamin M. Brosgol
REDUCING COST AND SIZE for
embedded hardware involves issues
with circuit design, fabrication and similar topics. Software, however, raises a
different set of concerns. Though development costs need to be taken into
account, a much more significant
expense comes from software errors,
which can lead to delays, product
recalls, possible lawsuits and damage to
a company’s reputation.
A key to cost reduction is to prevent
errors from getting into the code in the
first place or, if that fails, to detect and
remove the errors before the software
gets fielded. The size issue is a bit subtler. Some of the features that have been
introduced into programming languages in the interest of reliability—for
example, exception handling and highlevel concurrency support—require runtime libraries that might be too large for
certain kinds of embedded systems.
Developers need some way to tailor
the run-time libraries to remove
unneeded functionality—in effect to
scale the size of the executable code
based on the language features actually
used. A new approach that couples a
reliable language with customizable
and specialized run-time libraries can
reduce both cost and footprint size
for embedded systems.
‘An ounce of prevention … ’
For several reasons, buggy software is
especially acute in embedded applications. First, an embedded system typically monitors or controls some
external device, so in critical applications an error or vulnerability could
compromise safety, security or both;
lives could be lost, and substantial
assets could be at risk.
Second, debugging embedded software is harder than debugging native
software. For example, embedded systems generally involve concurrency and
real-time constraints, which introduce
opportunities for errors such as deadlock, missed deadlines and corrupted
data. Because some of these bugs are
timing dependent and not easily reproduced, they could go undetected until
the software is fielded. With perhaps
thousands or even millions of systems
in use, even a bug with low probability
of being triggered will occur eventually.
Third, correcting a defect in an
Benjamin Brosgol, a senior member of AdaCore’s technical staff, has worked with
programming languages and technology for more than 30 years, concentrating on
high-integrity systems. He holds a BA in mathematics from Amherst College and
an MS and PhD in applied mathematics from Harvard University.
35
DESIGN + PRODUCTS
embedded product already in service is
complex and expensive. Solutions that
involve wireless uploads raise serious
security issues that are just beginning to
be addressed in equipment ranging from
medical devices to automotive systems.
Testing can catch some errors. For
example, RTCA Inc. commercialavionics software safety standard
DO-178C1 specifies extensive tests to
demonstrate that software meets all
requirements and that these tests fully
cover the source-code structure. Though
testing is an ongoing process for realworld systems, use of programming
language and tool technologies that
automate error detection can bolster
confidence in code correctness as well as
demonstrate the code’s safety and security properties.
Ideally, the language can express the
program’s intent so that automated
error detection takes place at compile
time. If that isn’t possible, then automated error detection can occur at runtime with a well-defined effect.
This idea isn’t new; features such as
strong type checking have been in some
languages for decades. What is new, or at
least becoming more widely adopted, is
the ability to specify stronger program
properties, or contracts, that can either
be proved through formal methods or
checked at run-time.
The Spark language2 illustrates the
first approach. Spark is an Ada subset
augmented with contracts that specify
intermodule data and information flow
and that capture logical assertions concerning program state (subprogram preand postconditions, invariants). The
Spark tools check that the source program conforms to its annotations and
can automate the process of proving that
the contracts are correct. Spark has been
used in practice to demonstrate correctness properties (for example, the absence
of run-time exceptions) on a range of
safety-critical and high-security systems.
Other language technologies treat
contracts as run-time constructs. A
recent example is Ada 20123, in which
contracts take the form of Boolean conditions that are supplied in contexts
such as invariants for types and preconditions and/or postconditions for subprograms. The programmer can control
whether the software generates code to
check these conditions at run-time; a
36
Figure 1. Contract-based programming in Ada 2012.
failed check raises an exception. In this
way, the specified contracts can be used
either as formal comments that document the program’s intent or as runtime checks that are part of a testing
regimen (Figure 1).
The underlying methodology, sometimes known as correctness by construction4, design by contract5 or
contract-based programming6, strengthens the concept of an interface to
include a behavioral specification and
can help detect many kinds of coding
errors early and inexpensively.
KISS for programmers:
Keep it small and simple
Despite the general advances in hardware capacity, limited processor power
and memory space constrain many
kinds of embedded systems; size does
matter. That presents a dilemma. In the
past several decades, many of the new
high-level-language features that
improve reliability and maintainability—input/output (I/O) libraries, memory management, exception handling,
concurrency control—require run-timesupport libraries.
For a rich-featured language, these
libraries can add tens, perhaps hundreds, of kilobytes to the size of an
executable code. This raises two
issues:
• The executable code containing
these libraries may be too large to fit
into the available memory.
• When compliance with a safety or
security standard is required, the complexity of the libraries makes it harder
to meet the certification objectives.
Embedded-systems developers sometimes address these issues by choosing a
lower-level language such as C, with
modest run-time-support requirements.
But C is notorious for vulnerabilities
such as buffer overflow, raising the risk
of introducing bugs and their associated
detection and removal expenses.
An alternative approach is to start
with a language that more directly supports the development of reliable software, and then to eliminate those
features whose run-time-support
libraries are too large and/or too complex. This can be accomplished in an
ad hoc fashion—for example, with the
programmer adhering to set stylistic
restrictions and supplying linker directives to avoid linking in unwanted
libraries. This approach, however, is
indirect and nonportable.
In contrast, one language that makes
it possible to tailor run-time requirements in a standard way is Ada. It does
so through a compiler directive known
as pragma Restrictions.
DESIGN + PRODUCTS
With this pragma, the programmer
can specify which features are not being
used. Some common restrictions include
no tasking, no exception propagation
and no local allocators. The Ada compiler verifies that the program adheres to
the specified restrictions; when the executable is built, the unneeded libraries
can be omitted. Some vendors also supply several prepackaged run-time
libraries, called profiles, corresponding
to common sets of restrictions.
An example is AdaCore’s GNAT Pro
High-Integrity Edition development
environment, which includes profiles
for minimal or no run-time libraries
(zero footprint), for simple libraries
compliant with DO-178B certification
guidance, for libraries augmented by
the tasking features permitted by the
Ravenscar7 restrictions (see Figure 2)
and for the full Ada language.
Using either the à la carte mechanism
provided by pragma Restrictions or one
of the preconfigured run-time libraries
provided by the Ada vendor, the programmer can choose features that are
expressive enough to do the job but
simple enough to accommodate their
run-time support in the available
Figure 2. Ravenscar tasking profile.
A VCN CAN SAFEGUARD EMBEDDED DEVICES
With the growing number of embedded devices connected to the
Internet, cellular networks and other networks via both wired and
wireless protocols, hackers have a new target. A virtual closed
network (VCN) can provide protection when a truly closed network is not an option.
To create a VCN, the designer needs to define the communications requirements for the device to restrict communication
to only what is required and block any communication that is
not required.
The defined communications policies need to be encoded as
firewall rules, and the firewall needs to be integrated into the
embedded device’s communications stack. If the device is running TCP/IP, then the firewall needs to be in the lower layers of
the TCP/IP stack. If the device is using cell-phone text messages
to communicate, as some vehicle antitheft systems use, the firewall needs to part of the cell-phone communication protocol.
Alan Grau is president and co-founder of Icon Labs and
architect of the company’s Floodgate Firewall.
Before founding Icon Labs, he worked for AT&T
Bell Labs and Motorola. Grau has an MS in
computer science from Northwestern University.
In each case, the firewall filters messages before the device
processes them.
The syntax of the firewall rules depends on the type of firewall.
The rules define each user group in terms of the group’s Internet
Protocol (IP) address as well as define the protocols and ports that
are allowed for each group. Once the policies are configured into a
set of rules, the firewall can enforce them.
All packets received by the device are passed to the firewall
for filtering and compared with the firewall rules. The device
drops all packets that do not match the firewall rules. As a
result, the device blocks attempts to hack into it before a connection is even established.
Engineers can build a firewall from scratch or purchase a
commercial embedded firewall. Some hardware products, such
as ZGate from Zilog, include an integrated firewall, providing a
low-cost solution.
As a result of the growing acceptance of IPv6 and the Internet of Things, the number of embedded devices is growing
rapidly and, in turn, expanding opportunities for hacking and serious Internet attacks. A VCN, enforced by an embedded firewall,
provides a critical layer of protection for embedded devices.
— Alan Grau
37
DESIGN + PRODUCTS
memory (and, if applicable, comply with
the relevant certification objectives).
Making the software fit
Two techniques can be used to make
embedded development less expensive
and more reliable, while meeting the
hardware memory constraints:
• First, eliminate or reduce the cost of
tracking and correcting bugs. Make sure
the program does what it is supposed to
do and doesn’t do what it is not supposed
to do. Modern language features can
help; in particular, the ability to specify
contracts that express behavioral properties for program entities encourages the
developer to think about the program
logic in advance and to build in quality.
• Second, scale the program’s runtime functionality to fit in the available
memory space. Configurable run-timesupport libraries that reflect the features actually used will meet this goal.
Create these using appropriate language features (such as Ada’s pragma
Restrictions) or specialized profiles supplied by the implementation.. p
References
1. RTCA DO-178C—Software Considerations
in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification. December 2011.
2. J.G.P. Barnes. High Integrity Software, The
SPARK Approach to Safety and Security.
Addison-Wesley, 2003.
3. SO/IEC SC22/JTC1/WG9. Ada Rapporteur
Group. Ada 2012 Language Reference Manual. http://bit.ly/9imSYX
4. Altran Praxis. “Correctness by Construction.” http://bit.ly/GD1iqv
5. Eiffel Software. “The Power of Design by
Contract.” http://bit.ly/16tBo7
6. C. Comar, J. Kanig and Y. Moy. “Integrating Formal Program Verification with Testing.” http://bit.ly/GBdnyZ
7. A. Burns, B. Dobbing and G. Romanski.
“The Ravenscar Profile for High Integrity
Real Time Programs,” in Reliable Software
Technologies—Ada Europe ’98, Springer
Verlag Lecture Notes in Computer Science,
Vol. 1411.
GLOBAL FEATURE
Embedded safety trims system cost, size
and development time
By Anthony Vaughan
INTEGRATING FUNCTIONAL safety into a complex electronic system can be daunting to designers. Recent advances in
embedded-processor architecture, however, have made this
task readily attainable and at lower cost.
To understand why functional safety standards dictate
numerous system aspects, it helps to know the types of failures
to which embedded systems are susceptible. In general, failures fall into two main categories: systematic and random.
Systematic failures usually result from problems with the
chip design, software bugs or the manufacturing process.
Continuous process improvements often repair them. An
example of a systematic failure in an electronic system is a
suboptimal solder reflow profile used in printed-circuit board
assembly that results in circuit-continuity failures.
Random failures may be more difficult to fix, because they
often result from chance defects or events that are inherent to
a process, a usage condition or the operating environment.
An example of a random failure in an electronic system is an
Anthony Vaughan is the North America marketing and
business development manager for Texas Instruments’
Hercules safety microcontroller group. He joined TI as a
product engineer in the imaging and audio group, then
became an applications engineer with TI’s automotive and safety
microcontroller group. Vaughan holds a BSEE from Texas A&M.
38
Figure 1. Compared with the 1oo1D system
(shown), the 1oo2 system is usually implemented
using two embedded processors with independent
I/O in a configuration where both controllers must
command an output for activation to occur.
embedded-processor malfunction caused by an alpha or neutron particle bombarding a RAM bit, getting it to flip state. It
is almost impossible to reduce the rate of random failures,
but use of risk-mitigation measures can help detect them and
respond appropriately when they occur.
At the design stage, safety-critical architectures have
helped electronic systems to withstand both systematic and
random failures. The three architectures now used most often
are the one-out-of-two system (1oo2), the two-out-of-two system (2oo2) and the two-out-of-three system (2oo3).
The 1oo2 system is usually implemented using two
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DESIGN + PRODUCTS
embedded processors with independent input/output (I/O) in
a configuration where both controllers must command an
output for activation to occur. In this architecture, it takes a
failure in both systems for an inadvertent activation to occur.
Like the 1oo2 system, the 2oo2 system has two embedded
processors with independent I/O. In this configuration, however, the output circuit is configured in a manner in which a
failure in both systems must occur for an inadvertent deactivation. Both of these systems are usually found in industrialcontrol environments, where inadvertent activation or
deactivation of an actuator could be dangerous.
The 2oo3 system is designed with three embedded processors and a complex output voting circuit. When a fault
occurs in one of the three controllers, the output of the other
two is used to control the system. A 2oo3 system is usually
used in fail-operation applications, where the system must
continue functioning despite a failure—most often, flightcritical aircraft systems and life-support medical devices.
But using these safety-critical architectures takes a tremendous amount of development time and effort; not only does
the entire embedded processor need to be duplicated, but
sophisticated software-safety algorithms must be implemented. In addition, these architecures increase the systems’ sus-
Figure 2. The 2oo3 system is designed with
three embedded processors and a complex output
voting circuit.
40
Integrated embedded-hardware
diagnostics address a multitude
of functional safety issues
ceptibility to random failures. The amount of logic that is susceptible to alpha- and neutron-particle strikes increases significantly as the number of system processors grows.
Enhancements to embedded processors have emerged to
combat the shortcomings of traditional safety systems. Many
embedded processors, such as the Hercules RM4x and
TMS570 microcontroller families from Texas Instruments,
are now available with integrated embedded-hardware diagnostics to address a multitude of functional safety concerns.
These processors apply continuously operating hardwarebased safety mechanisms on such components as the CPU,
flash memory, SRAM, power and clocks to ensure accurate
software execution.
The CPU’s complexity makes it a prime candidate for a
dual-core lockstep safety mechanism. A compare module confirms that the outputs of the two cores are identical on a
cycle-by-cycle basis. To address the integrity of both the
embedded flash memory and the SRAM, many controllers
incorporate error-correcting code (ECC) that detects corruption and corrects single-bit errors so system operation can
continue uninterrupted. Embedded processors also have
incorporated built-in self-test (BIST) engines that provide
robust diagnostic testing on the CPU and memories even
when the system is not running code.
Combining integrated safety features into a single IC has
led to streamlined safety architectures, including the one-outof-one-with-diagnostics (1oo1D) system. This type of safety
architecture suits a wide variety of fail-safe systems where
the failure rate must be extremely low. In addition, designers
of fail-operational systems are working with safety-enabled
processors and with the two-out-of-two-with-diagnostics
(2oo2D) architecture, which is simpler and more cost efficient than the 2oo3.
Because of their diagnostic capabilities and cost optimization, safety embedded processors are going into systems that
don’t necessarily require functional safety but do require
high levels of availability. Manufacturers of central-office
communications and data-center equipment are taking
advantage of safety embedded processors to mitigate the risk
of downtime. Though a failure in one of these devices doesn’t
usually pose an imminent danger to human life or the environment, they do need to be extremely robust and resistant to
all types of failures: A failure in a major communications
backbone can affect millions of people and lose significant
revenue for the communications provider. The additional
cost and time needed to develop a 1oo1D system is marginal
compared with the cost of system downtime.
The advent of safety embedded processors is helping to
decrease the cost, complexity and development time of safetycritical systems. System designers who utilize integratedhardware safety features can substantially reduce safety
software development time and the number of components
needed for needed functional safety and reliability. p
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PLANET ANALOG
USB battery charging:
Harder than it looks
By Mitch Polonsky
AS THE USB PORT becomes ubiquitous, it is becoming accepted as a universal charging port. Achieving such
universality, however, is easier said
than done. This article examines the
challenges designers commonly confront in creating this highly desirable,
omnipresent USB charging port.
Why is this taking so long?
What does it mean to provide a “fast”
charge? It depends on your definition of
fast—and that usually boils down to
customer expectations. The common
example is, “I charge my phone, MP3
player or other device for x hours at
home; but at work, with my laptop,
with my monitor, with my new adapter,
it takes all day to charge!”
So we start with the “native” charger
that comes with any device, since that
charging experience is the baseline for
customer satisfaction.
The native wall charger for a device
will very often have a special signature
on the data pins to let a device know it
is safe to charge with more current. In
some cases, it also prevents the device
from charging at all if the host is unknown. This signature may come in the
form of a specific voltage placed on D+,
D– or both.
Figure 1 illustrates a common architecture for a wall charger using this
methodology. Note that the configurations are implemented so the manufacturer can sell more accessories. Make no
mistake, selling specialized accessories is
definitely in the business plan for any
portable product. For every chargeable
product purchased, about 50 percent of
us will go out and buy another charger.
The reason is simple: We do not like carrying them around, so we leave a charger
in each of the common places we frequent, such as in the office or in the car.
What’s the ‘right’
charging current?
Here’s a hint: There may be three.
To begin an analysis of USB charging,
you first need a system to help measure
the current on Vbus and to measure and
apply voltages on D+ and D–. This can
be done by creating a board that both
the peripheral and the host can plug
into while exposing their D+, D– and
Vbus lines for analysis.
Jumping ahead, it is time to evaluate
the charging current with a device connected via your interposer board. So let’s
assume we are all smart enough to determine what voltage the native charge
places on D+ and D–, and we re-create a
discrete charging circuit to confirm our
suspicions. We then apply the right voltages, just like the native charger on D+
and D–, but the charging current is not
matching our previous results.
It is time to check our power—not
just whether things are plugged in, but
the level of power.
Battery power level plays a key role
in charging. Many of us who have
worked on cell phone designs know
that a deeply discharged lithium-ion
battery needs to be trickle charged
before the real charging can start.
This, too, complicates knowing
whether you have an optimal charging
current. The peripheral that gets
Figure 1. Common architecture for a wall charger.
42
DESIGN + PRODUCTS
plugged into a USB port may have
several different points of charging
before it is full. It most likely has a lowcharging mode for the aforementioned
trickle charging. It also may have a different charging state for when the battery is nominally charged. Finally, it
may have a charging state for a fully
charged battery.
As a result, you will need to observe
what the charging current is when a
given device’s battery is empty, when it
is midway charged and when it is fully
charged. Sound time-consuming? You
bet it is—but it is a necessary evil for
complete characterization.
Can I have the kitchen
sink, too?
We now have a growing understanding
of customer charger configurations and
what we would like to see for charging
current. For many apps (such as PC,
monitor and docking station), you may
want fast charging and the ability to
transfer data at the same time.
In this regard, there has been a lot
of confusion as to what is possible.
The reason goes back to the fact that
many native chargers place a voltage
on the D+ and D– pins of the USB port.
Since traditional data communication
on the USB is based on 3.3 V for
USB 1.1 and 300 mV for USB 2.0, putting a different voltage on these lines
eliminates the possibility for enumeration and communication.
There are some exceptions to this
rule. For instance, there are devices that
require you to download device-specific
software to your host when you first
plug the device into the USB port. Some
cell phones are like this for syncing purposes, and now some facilitate charging
at a higher current while communicating. So for device communication and
charging, we may be limited by what
the device will allow given a specific
software driver.
But all is not lost; indeed, there is
help on the way. A specification has
been created to help with this data-pluscharging challenge: USB-IF Battery
Charging Specification Revision 1.2 (BC
1.2). The full specification can be found
at http://bit.ly/eLVPx.
BC 1.2 was created to unify batterycharging attributes for USB 2.0 in the
future. The idea is to minimize the
number of cell phone chargers ending
up in landfills, by converging on one
USB-charging specification.
The European Union has been an
early adopter of waste reduction principles; specifically, it has committed
to using the same Micro-USB connectors on data-enabled cell phones. But
the EU has yet to fully adopt the BC 1.2
specification.
The BC 1.2 spec includes a Charging
Downstream Port (CDP) mode that
allows for data and higher charging currents. If, for example, a voltage between
0.4 V and 0.8 V is sensed on D+ of a host
or hub device, then D– should respond
with 0.5 V to 0.7 V.
More details on the timing associated
with this provision can be found in the
specification. Once CDP has been established, peripheral devices are allowed to
draw up to 1.5 A and simultaneously
communicate data. Devices with this
technology, including cell phones,
should begin arriving this year.
The USB port has infiltrated our life
for providing power, and we need to act
intelligently if we want to be the
providers of this power.
It is hoped that this primer on USB
charging will help you to avoid going
down many of the dark alleys in which
some of our colleagues have gotten
stuck. p
Mitch Polonsky is director of product
marketing for analog products and
technology at SMSC (Hauppauge, N.Y.).
Before joining SMSC, he was in marketing
at Motorola. He holds a BA in mathematics
from Emory University, an MSEE from
Georgia Institute of Technology and an
MBA from Arizona State University’s
W.P. Carey School of Business.
Editor’s note: Liked this?
Want more?
If you’re interested in power components,
efficiency, thermal issues, ac/dc and dc/dc
supply topologies, batteries, supply ICs,
complete supplies, single- and multirail
management, and supply monitoring, check
out our Power Management Designline
(http://bit.ly/H5Ds8j) for the latest design
and tech trends, products, and news. Plus,
sign up for our weekly Power Management
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43
DESIGN + PRODUCTS
EETimes.com Products:
Focus on sensors
Sensor reads pressure and temperature
American Sensor Technologies’ sensors provide both pressure and temperature outputs
from a single process point. This dual-output
configuration reduces process-penetration
points and leaks, which are dangerous in
critical systems such as hydrogen, oxygen,
heavy-oil processing, hydraulics, analyzers,
offshore pipelines and ammonia systems.
The devices feature a microprocessorcontrolled design, along with a one-piece
body construction. Both the Model AST20PT
Sensor and Model AST46PT Transmitter
offer high accuracy pressure and temperature measurements of ±0.1 percent and 1.0
percent BFSL, respectively.
Both units come in various temperature
ranges from –40° to 250°F (–40° to
125°C). Though the Model AST46PT is
offered in pressure ranges up to 20,000
pounds per square inch (1,400 Bar), the
Model AST20PT is available in pressure
ranges up to 45,000 PSI (3,100 Bar).
Full story: http://bit.ly/AjXGg8
www.astsensors.com
Wi-Fi sensors connect directly
to cloud servers/phone platforms
Libelium’s Wi-Fi module for the Waspmote
platform enables sensor nodes to send
gathered data to cloud-based Web servers
and to any smartphone without the need
for a special gateway, easing the deployment of sensor networks. By allowing direct
communication between the sensors and
smartphones without an intermediate
router, the Wi-Fi radio opens the Internet
of Things to iPhone/Android application
developers. Sensor nodes can connect
directly to cloud servers using a standard
protocol such as HTTP.
The Wi-Fi sensors also can use secure
HTTPS, ensuring the privacy of the information sent, a major concern when deploying
wireless-sensor networks in cities. They also
can create TCP and UDP connections, so
that developers can design their own communications framework between the sensor
nodes and the cloud servers.
Full story: http://bit.ly/wjFGsM
www.libelium.com
Starter kit simplifies energy-harvested
wireless sensors
EnOcean GmbH said its ESK 300 starter kit
simplifies the testing and development of
energy-harvesting wireless solutions for
OEM partners. The ESK 300 comes with
electromechanical pushbutton generators
for switches and a solar-powered temperatures sensor. Radio telegrams from the
self-powered sensors are received via USB
dongle and visualized via personal computer software. The starter kit comes as
a developer tool without CE certification.
It is available for 868-MHz (R&TTE) and
315-MHz (FCC) frequencies.
The kit consists of a switch module
(PTM 200) for building services, components for different switch applications (PTM
330, ECO 200), a temperature sensor module (STM 330), a USB gateway (USB 300),
PC software for visualization (DolphinView
Basic) and a sample case for industrial
switching solutions.
The starter kit is available for OEM partners at $106.
Full story: http://bit.ly/x8RIqi
www.enocean.com
Transducers resist harsh environments
Honeywell has expanded its heavy-duty
pressure transducer portfolio with the PX2
series of stainless-steel pressure measurement products, which are engineered to be
resistant to moderately harsh media such
as refrigerants, brake and hydraulic fluids,
engine oil, tap water and compressed air.
The PX2 series use piezoresistive sensing technology with ASIC signal conditioning. Their compatibility with varied media,
combined with up to IP69K protection and
CE compliance, allow for reliable performance in tough environments.
The fully calibrated PX2 series is compensated for transducer offset, sensitivity,
temperature effects and nonlinearity using
an onboard ASIC. The total error band of ±2
percent over the compensated temperature
range of –40°F to 257°F (–40ºC to 125ºC)
provides interchangeability, thanks to minimal part-to-part variation in accuracy; eliminates individual transducer testing and
calibration; and supports customer system
accuracy and warranty requirements.
The transducers measure absolute or
sealed gauge pressure. The absolute ver-
44
sions have an internal vacuum reference
and an output value proportional to
absolute pressure.
Full story: http://bit.ly/wxDnEa
www.sensing.honeywell.com
Digital thermometers/thermostats
feature SPI/three-wire interface
Maxim Integrated Products’ MAX31722/
MAX31723 digital thermometers and thermostats provide local temperature readings
over a user-selectable Serial Peripheral
Interface (SPI) bus or three-wire interface.
Though most competitive devices
require at least a 2.7-volt supply, these temperature sensors can operate from a supply
as low as 1.7 V. This low supply voltage,
along with a 2.4-microampere low-power
standby mode, makes the products suitable
for low-power or battery-operated systems.
The MAX31722 and MAX31723 have an
array of options to help the designer. An SPI
or three-wire interface is available for reading and writing data. The user can adjust
the readout resolution between 9 and 12
bits for applications that require greater
temperature resolution. Both high- and lowaccuracy applications are satisfied with the
MAX31723 (±0.5°C) or MAX31722
(±2.0°C).
The parts are available in an eight-pin
MAX package and are unit priced from
79 cents in quantities of 1,000 and up.
Full story: http://bit.ly/zb0SW8
www.maxim-ic.com
Micrel aims to eliminate dropped calls
Micrel Inc.’s MIC94300 voltage-follower output and MIC94310 fixed-output low-dropout
(LDO) IC use its latest Ripple Blocker activefilter technology, which removes noise from
the power supply.
The Ripple Blocker technology improves
minimum-detectable-signal capturing for
low-light image sensors by suppressing system power ripple for the image system
processor. By eliminating the large LC filter
that would typically be required to reduce
ripple in a discrete solution, the MIC943XX
devices provide more usable board space
for space-constrained applications.
Portable apps include smartphones,
medical imaging, tablets/notebooks/
DESIGN + PRODUCTS
Webcams, digital still and video cameras,
barcode scanners, GPS and image-system
processors for image sensors.
The MIC94300 integrates a low-RDSon,
current-limit switch and a low-pass filter that
passes direct current (dc) and blocks the
alternating-current (ac) component of the
input voltage. The MIC94310 is a lowdropout regulator that Micrel says offers better power-supply-rejection-ratio (PSRR)
performance from dc to 5 MHz than discrete
solutions. Both chips feature an active-high
enable pin for power sequencing.
For quantities of 1,000 pieces or more,
unit pricing starts at 24 cents for the
MIC94300 and 27 cents for the MIC94310.
Full story: http://bit.ly/An2jBX
www.micrel.com
16-bit-sensor signal conditioner
delivers high resistance, low power
ZMD AG (ZMDI) has introduced a 16-bit-sensor signal-conditioning IC for calibrated
resistive-sensor modules.
The ZSSC3016 combines high-accuracy
amplification, 16-bit precision analog-to-digital conversion, and an 18-bit digital signal
processor for linearization and calibration
functions. The high-resolution sensor-interface ASSP is suitable for use in battery-driven low-power devices, as it has an overall
current consumption of less than 1 milliampere combined with a standby current
of less than 250 nanoamperes.
Full story: http://bit.ly/w2xdss
www.zmdi.com
PRODUCT OF THE TIMES
Sensata Technologies has an opening
for Process Engineer in Attleboro,
MA to implement cost-effective solutions to facilitate economical manufacture of sensors at the quality level
& cycle time required. Requires
Master's or Bachelor's degree
w/ exp. in Mechanical/ Manufacturing
Eng. Email resumes to
[email protected] &
reference job code IR14501 in
email subject line. Must have legal
auth. to work permanently in the
US. EOE
Electronic Drafter, Montgomery,
AL: Bachelor's degree in Computer
Graphic Tech. or related field plus
1 yr exp req'd in electrical and
electronic design for automotive
electrical eng'g and network equipment construction. Resume to
Sungwon Alabama Corp., 13365
Edna Brake Lucas Dr.,
Montgomery, AL 36117.
45
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Defense, Society for Maintenance and
Reliability Professionals (SMRP), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Raytheon,
Center for America, U.S. Army RDECOM and eCYBERMISSION, Purdue University, Project Lead The Way (PLTW),
The Scripps Foundation for Science and the Environment, Northern Virginia Technology Council, 3M,
Aldebaran Robotics Inc., Center for Biotechnology Education at Johns Hopkins University
TAKE THE METROBUS OR METRORAIL TO THE USA SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FESTIVAL
EE LIFE
DRIVE FOR
INNOVATION
ENGINEERING
POP CULTURE
Build your own crack POTS Beer: It’s what’s
for work
By Jon Gabay
By Brian Fuller
OUR VERY OWN DR. GIZMOLOGY challenges you to build a POTS
line interface in this third installment of our Building Innovation
contest. Share a video of your application with our Drive for
Innovation audience, and if you act quickly you will get a $100
Amazon gift card and the satisfaction of knowing that you can keep
up with the doctor. The project is excerpted here. Read the rules,
view the full project and accept the challenge at http://bit.ly/GN2yK2.
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL and widely
deployed communications network the
modern world has ever seen is the plain
old telephone system (POTS). For generations, these household phone lines
have provided basic voice and, later,
data services to hundreds of millions of
households, reliably, through all kinds
of adverse conditions.
Many homes still maintain a POTS
line in some way, and the lines are ripe
for use for remote home automation,
energy savings and gizmology.
The posted article describes a telephone line interface that you can
build and connect to your household
phone line so you can control things
remotely. This month’s installment
reviews the actual telephone line interface, how it works, and how to interface to it electronically in a safe and
isolated way.
Next month, we will review the twoto four-wire interface, filtering, dualtone multifrequency (DTMF) receivers,
de-multiplexers and logic flow for security-code access, individual commands
and tone feedback acknowledgements.
Parts referenced in the online article
are available at the Avnet Express Web
site. Schematics, bills of materials, pc
board layouts, and code listings as they
apply are freely available and can be
used as a starting point. p
BUILDING INNOVATION
RULES Dive into the technology, implement
the design and share your innovations with
us by following these steps:
1. Follow John Gabay’s article and build the
board design. (Please take reasonable
safety precautions and seek guidance if
you are new to gizmology.)
2. Create a short, one- to two-minute video
describing your application of the design.
3. Send the video file via e-mail to
[email protected].
4. We will send you back an online Amazon
Gift card valued at $100. (Limit of one
gift card per person and only to the first
50 participants who fulfill the guidelines.
Offer ends April 30, 2012.)
We are building a community that rekindles
ingenuity, innovation and cleverness. Use
this article and other Gizmo Blocks in the
series to encourage students, inventors,
engineers and hobbyists to devise gadgets
that use energy efficiently and provide the
next level of personalized control and safety.
ENGINEERS WORK extraordinarily
hard—harder, I’d argue, than almost
anyone except the fishermen on
“Deadliest Catch,” coal miners, Rush
Limbaugh’s crisis-management consultants and Navy SEALs.
One reliable fuel for maintaining a
high level of engineering operational
readiness is caffeine, administered
through delivery mechanisms such as
coffee or tea, Red Bull, DynaPep and disposable hypodermic needle (tell me you
haven’t at least thought about it).
But caffeine can be taken too far,
as analog engineer and EE Lifer
Chris Gammell recently pointed out.
He wondered aloud on Twitter
(@Chris_Gammell) whether his new incube coffee maker might be prompting
him to partake in too much caffeine, get
a little too energetic and jittery, and then
wear down the carpet between his cube
and the nearest caffeine-expulsion room.
I helpfully suggested he add a beer
keg to his cube to balance things out.
That prompted embedded engineer and
Drive for Innovation star Scott Wohler
(@swohlereng) to raise a number of
helpful design considerations. The
usual Twitter hilarity followed.
It all got me thinking: Because engineers and beer go together like, well,
engineers and caffeine, beer needs to
become more institutionalized in the
workplace. After all, beer is a staple in
many business segments already. Bigtime brewers usually offer free beer for
their employees—and look at how successful they are! Bars make a killing off
beer. And many of the innovations that
came from Sun Microsystems are traceable to interactions that occurred during that workstation company’s famous
beer bashes.
Beer should be more highly integrated
into engineering environments for many
47
EE LIFE
reasons. Chief among them is that beer
and scientists enjoy a collaborative relationship, despite a notorious, sincedebunked study that beer and science
don’t mix (http://nyti.ms/HgZpz9).
Beer is a well-known social lubricant.
You’ve hit a wall with a prickly colleague over the right way to route a
dense pc board? Revisit the topic after
sharing a lunchtime brew. Your boss
has set an asinine project deadline? Beer
will relax him, and he will relax it.
Finally what better team-building
exercise than to conceive, design and
implement a beer-delivery system? Join
the maker movement! There’s no reason college kids should have all the fun.
Consider the connections between
your daily design trade-offs and the
beer-delivery architecture:
• Is it practical to devise a distributed
scheme in which multiple kegs serve
one or two engineers? Pro: You’d avoid
lunchtime and “rush hour” pulls on the
keg, to be sure (when the beer would
slow to a trickle). Con: How do you
manage a distributed refrigeration system’s power consequences when your
CFO is trying to win carbon credits as
part of his bonus plan?
• Should you have a “cloud” system in
which a single, huge keg serves the
entire department via individual taps?
Remember, the farther the tap from the
keg, the more you need to carbonate
your beer for optimal pours. Where do
you store the CO2? It boggles the mind.
Doubting Thomases
I know what you’re thinking: HR will be
reluctant (they always are, because “fun,”
“creative” and “different” are not words
found in HR Policies and Procedures,
Vol. 975.2.12.9-a).
But offer your HR VP a beer, sit him or
her down and explain the salutary effects
of the occasional barley pop. Observe
that some of the greatest design engineers of the 1970s and 1980s were not shy
around the suds. Close with a reminder
that today’s work environment is all
about self-esteem—indeed, ahem, high
self-esteem scores are crucial metrics in
the annual “satisfaction in the workplace” surveys that spell bonus or bust
for HR folks—and there’s nothing that
improves self-esteem like a couple of
carbonated fermented beverages.
48
I could go on, but my mug just
went dry.
In any event, this should arm you to
pitch the idea to your management.
And those bleeding-edge EE Lifers who
have already installed a beer-delivery
and productivity-enhancement system
in the workplace are invited to e-mail
photos, design plans and experiences
to [email protected] (subject: beer architecture system). We’ll share them with
the group. p
A DIALOGUE BREWS
I’m from Cleveland. Look up "ten cent beer
night" on Wikipedia, and then imagine the
workplace. — forthprgmr
The problem is the law. You need to get a
liquor license, unless you’re having a party
and you get rid of the alcohol at the end
of it. — kumaranmani
I’m not sure [a license is] required everywhere; is it? — phoenixdave
Don’t forget that we voted beer the fourth
greatest innovation of all time:
http://bit.ly/ngTU6f. — David Ashton
For years, I worked at a small company
where beer was a part of the culture. On
Fridays after 4 p.m., we would convene in
someone’s office with a six pack. I usually
had to buy the beer, but it was always
something to look forward to.
Engineers are typically introverts, and
beer can correct that. However, everyone
has a “slippery slope”: Three beers in, and
you might not be so productive for idea
generation any longer. ... For the adventurous, and those who prefer efficiency, Tröegs
makes JavaHead Stout, a malty, chocolatey
stout made with coffee. — swohler
I believe we have evolved enough as a civilization to recognize the innumerable benefits that beer provides for engineering and
many other professions as well. I predict
that this blog will one day be recognized as
a seminal work in influencing the course of
human events. — Dylan McGrath
I’ll drink to that! — phoenixdave
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES AND CHECK
OUT THE FUN http://bit.ly/GNnMF4
ENGINEERING
POP CULTURE
Paying it forward:
Two perspectives
By Robert W. Chesla
and Melissa Boskocevic
A mentor’s story
My first manager, Jim, was a true teaching mentor. He patiently passed down
engineering know-how that taught me
to tackle problems from both textbook
and practical, common-sense perspectives. He showed, by example, how to
work methodically, accomplish goals
and enjoy engineering as well as the
company of our colleagues.
I once asked Jim why he hired me,
and his reply was, “Not for what I think
you know, but for what I think you can
learn.” Jim is long retired, but I see him
occasionally, and we have a rock-solid
bond that has stood the test of time.
As a longtime employee of Rockwell
Automation (once Allen-Bradley),
I have built a rewarding career in
engineering. I’ve worked in design
engineering, quality, component
engineering and engineering services.
My contributions to company objectives have included stints as an ISO
9000 instructor, quality auditor and
global project manager. Over the years,
I’ve had the opportunity to visit and
audit many component suppliers, a
task that has afforded me the luxury
to interact with some of the industry’s
most knowledgeable people.
Giving back to the profession by
“paying it forward” has long been a
goal. Teaching and learning moments
arise throughout one’s career, but the
full potential of seizing a mentoring
opportunity happens only when you
have the ideal mentor-mentee match.
To create an effective and positive experience, you must have a two-way commitment to clear goals. Mentoring
can go beyond the technical side of
engineering and may include discussions of ethics, company politics and
related career guidance.
EE LIFE
When Melissa was assigned to me, I’ll
admit to having been unsure of how to
balance my workload and mentoring
duties. If I was going to put my reputation on the line with an intern, I wanted to make sure she was willing and
able to add value toward department
goals and objectives.
Happily, we quickly realized that our
personalities matched well. Melissa is
enthusiastic, competent, organized and
dedicated. She has assisted with my
workload far more than I had anticipated; although I must verify her
work, I am able put some trust in it. I
have not considered the time spent a
chore; rather, it has been a valuable
and enjoyable experience. — B.C.
A mentee’s view
Electrical engineering is my major
because I enjoy the challenge of
understanding the inner workings
of everyday electronic devices and
their applications. I find satisfaction in
solving complex problems and implementing a process to make a component function.
I joined Rockwell Automation last
summer as a component engineering
intern. Throughout my education, I
have been interested in control systems,
and this exceptional opportunity has
greatly enhanced my understanding of
industrial processes and the engineering profession as a whole.
Since beginning college, I’d heard
Bob Chesla has tapped his own
experience as a mentee in
mentoring Melissa Boskocevic.
only praise for Rockwell Automation,
based on its excellent products, ethical
business standards and continual
improvement practices. During my first
few weeks at the company, I was intimidated by the tasks that were placed
before me. I had never worked for a
large corporation, and I was unsure of
what was expected of me.
All apprehensions quickly abated,
however, as the engineers at Rockwell
Automation shared their knowledge
with me. I grew confident that I was
providing valuable assistance to my
mentor and was contributing to Rockwell Automation.
Bob has done a phenomenal mentoring job, guiding me through to numerous departments within the company
while teaching me to balance the
responsibilities, opportunities and
hurdles that engineers face. He always
finds time to answer questions and give
career advice, and my enthusiasm for
the profession has grown as a result.
When a mentor-mentee program
functions properly, it’s a win-win-win
situation: The mentor gets the satisfaction of paying it forward, the mentee
gains real-life engineering experience,
and the company receives help in meeting its goals and objectives. No less
important are the rewarding and enjoyable bonds that can develop between
mentor and mentee. p
Robert (Bob) W. Chesla is a senior project
engineer with Rockwell Automation. He
holds a BEET, and is a Certified PMP and a
Certified ISO 9000 Quality Lead Assessor.
Melissa Boskocevic is a component
engineering intern at Rockwell Automation.
She is a senior at Cleveland State University
and will graduate in December with a BSEE.
lJOIN THE CONVERSATION
http://bit.ly/GGrf6G
April caption contest:
Deadline April 30
WHEN DINOSAURS
ROAMED THE LAB ...
Age may be relative, but isn’t this
taking things a bit far?
Go to http://bit.ly/GHIYAp and add
your caption to the comments field
to explain Tyranno’s presence in the
engineers’ midst. At the end of April,
we’ll put the entries to a vote, and
the writer of the winning caption will
receive a color cartoon from artist
Daniel Guidera.
49
LAST WORD
Why systems need to get smarter
The amount of digital data around the world is
doubling every two years, thanks in large part
to innovative ways of creating and sharing
information. By 2020, according to market
watcher IDC, mobile devices, social networking and the Internet will contribute to a data
glut of historic proportions—50 times greater
than current levels.
Are we ready for all that data? Better yet, are our systems equipped
with the innovative technology to
manage it?
What’s needed is the technology
to harness that data so that both
businesses and consumers can
make decisions based on quality
analysis, rather than on experience
and intuition.
In doing so, we would take a more
scientific approach to our businesses
and lives, whether as a doctor diagnosing a patient, a homeowner
choosing the most efficient time to
do laundry or a meteorologist predicting a hurricane.
To this end, we need to build information technology systems that can
not only filter and store all this data
but also make use of it.
For more than 50 years, we’ve
been operating with the same IT elements: processor, memory, storage,
database and programs. We’ve
designed IT systems to handle business-process automation, long business
cycles and terabytes of largely structured data.
But as data gets bigger, the only way
for technology to keep up is for computing to get smarter.
Systems designed for transaction processing and structured data can’t deliver
the levels of performance that businesses and consumers are demanding and
will require in the very near future.
50
We need to build
IT systems that
can not only filter
and store data
but also make
use of it
It’s time to shift the computing paradigm from computers that calculate to
computers that learn from and adapt
to all data, structured and unstructured, such as e-mails, presentations
and videos.
Last year, IBM’s Watson high-powered question/answer system showed
the world what is possible when a finely tuned learning system tackles big
data with advanced analytics: It competed with and bested two human contestants at “Jeopardy.”
Today, IBM and partners are putting
Watson to work in industries from
health care to banking. Watson gives
us a glimpse into the monumental
shift in computing that will affect
businesses in every industry and consumers around the world. But that’s
just the beginning.
Future generations of optimized systems will benefit enterprises across
industries as they deal with common
and complex data center issues.
We are on the verge of expert integrated systems with built-in knowledge on how to perform intricate tasks,
based on proven best practices—systems that not only recognize changes
in the computing environment but
also anticipate them.
As workload demands spike, the systems will respond. When new applications or upgrades are needed, they will
be deployed against best practices and
integrated patterns.
To deal with the explosive growth of
data, data storage systems will have to
get very efficient and smart. They will
do so through deployment of advanced
capabilities such as universal storage
virtualization, compression and data
deduplication, as well as through automated tiering to keep the data optimally balanced for cost, speed and access
patterns.
In addition, next-generation integration technologies will enable systems of
integrated storage, networking and
servers, making these capabilities easier
to deploy.
As we rush to the future—generating, storing and managing ever-higher
mountains of digital information along
the way—the time to start questioning
the vitality of our systems is now.
So if you’ve wondered whether systems could get any smarter, the answer
is simple: Yes. p
By Gururaj Rao, IBM fellow and vice
president for IBM Systems and Technology
Group development in India and
Southeast Asia.
More Flexibility
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plug-and-play components, ranging from bricks to semiconductor-centric solutions
with seamless integration across all power distribution architectures.
From the wall plug to the point of load.
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Choose from limitless power options to speed your competitive advantage.
Flexibility. Density. Efficiency.
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