Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Processors Arm rolled out a micro neural processing unit that, when combined with its newest microcontroller, can increase machine learning performance by up to 480 times. The company is aiming the MCU and co-processor across a wide swath of applications. Worth noting is that Arm calls its Cortex-M55 an AI-capable processor, rather than a microcontroller, as the lines between the various proce... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


AI/Edge Arm putting AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning (ML) on the Cortex-M processor by offering IP for a microNPU for Cortex-M. The company says in a press release that it will deliver a 480x uplift in ML performance. The new Cortex-M IP is Arm Ethos-U55 NPU, which Arm says is the industry’s first microNPU (neural processing unit). Arm is hoping the new IP will start an expl... » read more

AI: A Perfect Solution But At What Cost?


The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has been a great enabler for the Internet of things (IoT). Given the ability to think for itself, it’s shrugged off its original definition as a network of tiny sensors and grown to incorporate a host of more intelligent AIoT (AI+IoT) devices, from smartphones all the way up to autonomous vehicles. AI has also paved the way for new IoT device... » read more

The MCU Dilemma


The humble microcontroller is getting squeezed on all sides. While most of the semiconductor industry has been able to take advantage of Moore's Law, the MCU market has faltered because flash memory does not scale beyond 40nm. At the same time, new capabilities such as voice activation and richer sensor networks are requiring inference engines to be integrated for some markets. In others, re... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 12


Complexity is growing by process node, by end application, and in each design. The latest crop of blogs points to just how many dependencies and uncertainties exist today, and what the entire supply chain is doing about them. Mentor's Shivani Joshi digs into various types of constraints in PCBs. Cadence's Neelabh Singh examines the complexities of verifying a lane adapter state machine in... » read more

Hardware Attack Surface Widening


An expanding attack surface in hardware, coupled with increasing complexity inside and outside of chips, is making it far more difficult to secure systems against a variety of new and existing types of attacks. Security experts have been warning about the growing threat for some time, but it is being made worse by the need to gather data from more places and to process it with AI/ML/DL. So e... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 5


Cadence's Paul McLellan checks out the different ways persistent memories can be used, as well as a basic persistent programming model and key things hardware needs to support. In a video, Mentor's Colin Walls explains what's different about operating systems for embedded applications and how to go about selecting one. Synopsys' Taylor Armerding finds troubling vulnerabilities in U.S. cri... » read more

Design For Airborne Electronics


The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), an FAA-led modernization of America's air transportation system meant to make flying more efficient, predictable and safer, is currently underway as one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in U.S. history. This is not just a minor upgrade to an aging infrastructure. The FAA and partners are in the process of implementing new ... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


AI/Edge Brewer Science is introducing its first material for permanent bond used in assembling ICs, image sensor devices, and MEMS for devices and packaging that “include low-temperature bonding, extreme chemical resistance, UV or thermal curable bonding process, and no material movement after cure,” according to a press release. The bond is part of the PermaSOL product family. “These hi... » read more

Blog Review: Jan. 29


Mentor's Shivani Joshi introduces the basics of PCB layout and the importance of being familiar with a manufacturer's specs. Cadence's Paul McLellan takes a look at why Design Technology Co-Optimization is increasingly necessary as 3nm approaches and new transistor types like CFET and gate-all-around are on the horizon. Synopsys' Sai Karthik Madabhushi recounts an alarming incident that h... » read more

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