Self-Driving Cars And Kobayashi Maru


Kobayashi Maru. If you know what I am talking about, you are a bona fide Star Trek fan. If not, let me indulge. Kobayashi Maru is a computer simulation for a training exercise in the fictional Star Trek universe, where Starfleet Academy cadets are presented with a no-win scenario. But they do have to make a decision. The primary goal of the exercise is to rescue a disabled civilian vessel... » read more

Sensors Drive IoT Intelligent Systems


Back in 1980, it is believed that the first intelligent electronic sensor was proposed (by S. Middelhoek and J.B. Angell). Their idea was to combine a MEMS sensor, an analog-to-digital convertor, and a processor to analyze the analog data generated by the sensor. But, as many great electronics ideas, the technology to put this all together on a CMOS IC was not nearly ready at that time. Toda... » read more

MEMS Market Shifting


The MEMS sector is beginning to look more promising, bolstered by new end-market demand and different packaging options that require more advanced engineering, processes and new materials. All of this points to higher selling prices, which are long overdue in this space. For years, the market for microelectromechanical systems was populated by too many companies vying for too few opportunit... » read more

5 Big Under-The-Hood Engineering Challenges In Building Autonomous Vehicles


Stories about autonomous vehicles are regular fare in the tech news cycle and usually include forecasts about the eventual ascendancy of self-driving cars. The Boston Consulting Group, for example, says that by 2035, 25% of all cars will have partial or full autonomy, with total global sales growing from near-zero levels in 2015 to $42 billion in 2025 and ~ $77 billion by 2035. In short few ye... » read more

Using An Integrated Subsystem To Accelerate Data Fusion In Your SoC


The fusion of sensor data, voice, audio and biometrics is constantly increasing the processing requirements for applications in mobile, automotive and IoT markets. Next-generation digital sensors require higher bandwidths, and more advanced voice detection and speech recognition algorithms are driving the development of progressively more complex embedded ICs. Sensor fusion to data fusion T... » read more

Automotive’s Unsung Technology


Sound systems are becoming a critical design element in vehicles, and not just for music. Thanks to evolving technology, automotive audio has reached a point where it is taking on a much broader role for applications both within and outside the vehicle. Most people associate automotive audio with the car radio, which has been a fixture in cars for decades. But in the future, these systems al... » read more

Automotive Technology Trends Reshaping An Industry


The automotive industry is being disrupted as never before in its history. Casual observers might think this disruption is only about the march toward self-driving cars, which has captured a majority share of the headlines and online chatter. Autonomy is a huge development, to be sure, but two other major technology trends, electrification and connectivity, need equal air time. More than a y... » read more

Analog’s Rising Status


As more sensors and actuators are added into electronic devices, pressure is growing to more seamlessly move data seamlessly back and forth between analog and digital circuitry. [getkc id="37" kc_name="Analog"] and digital always have fit rather uncomfortably together, and that discomfort has grown as [getkc id="81" kc_name="SoCs"] are built using smaller feature sizes. While digital transis... » read more

Sensors Enable ADAS


Under the hood, cars of today look nothing like those of a few decades ago. There are sophisticated safety and drivetrain monitoring features, software for interpreting and interacting with the outside world and modifying the inside environment, and a host of features that might have seemed impossible or even ridiculous in the past. And there's much more to come. Advanced driver assistance s... » read more

Using Automotive-Ready IP To Accelerate SoC Development


IP suppliers play a key role in the automotive supply chain to enable high-performance advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) SoCs. Vision-based SoCs may contain a high amount of third-party IP to implement the key embedded vision, sensor fusion, multimedia, security and advanced connectivity functions. And while IP suppliers have permeated the semiconductor ecosystem for consumer, mobile, PC... » read more

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