Jive SBS Syndication Feed

a Fantastic "time waster"

messages@element14.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:56:13 GMT

I`m a bit too old now to say "I`m in Love", so I`ll temper that a little and say I`m certainly Infatuated with my latest item to hit the bench.

and I`v not "lost" so much time since the Internets were created as I have with this DuinoMite board!

Being quite New, I found it a little hard to find usable info about these, esp when it came to upgrading the firmware from the Factory standard.

but Having worked it out eventually as my Enthusiasm precludes the reading of manuals etc... (until something goes wrong of course!), I probably could have saved myself some time, probably... perhaps... maybe?

OK I`m Male! we DO things like that

so back to the chase, these things are Arduino/ credit card sized SBCs, at least the Mini version is, and the standard version isn`t much bigger, that you can jack a VGA monitor and a PS2 KBD into, give it some power (Adaptor/wall-wart or USB), and get playing Straight Away in BASIC!

the entire this IS Open Source, and you can slap all sorts of OS` into the thing, I`m happy with BASIC, but C, C++, MM Basic are all there to be had at.

it`s based on Microchip`s PIC32, so you can even code in Microchip if you wanted to as it has an ICSP port (0.05 pin spacing though).

there`s a micro SD card slot built in as a sort of HDD, and formatted in FAT32, will take any size you want to put in it! the lang supports data logging to this drive as well the internal A: drive (the PIC 32`s own memory of 256k Avail).

I bought 4GB cards for my Duinomites, I can`t really see me Ever using that much! but then again, it`s better to Have and not Need, than to Need and not Have!

so yeah, I`v spent the last 3+ days in the land of BASIC again, and it`s been the best waste of Time I`v had for years!

and of course it`s kinda nice to have in effect an Arduino (I have the add-on arduino card that fits on the GPIO port), that doesn`t need an external PC and IDE, only a KBD and Monitor, and programs in Directly, that you can do ALL the arduino stuff and more with.

I give it a good 9/10, there Are mistakes in the documents and help files, the S/ware is still New and being worked on and upgraded regularly, it has an active userbase although maybe not as much hype as RaspberryPI has currently (I`ll get one of those eventually too), but it`s a Good product and you`ll have Plenty of fun with it, and like me... lose Loads of Hours!

so where was I, ah yes!

10 print "Love Ya`ll ";

20 goto 10

> run

Will 2012 Olympics lead to an internet crash?

messages@element14.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:36:13 GMT

With less than 200 days to go until the start of the London 2012 Olympics, the attention of many of the businesses located in the UK's capital city are starting to turn their attention to the logistical challenges posed by hosting the world's largest sporting event.

The long-term concern for Londoners surrounding the Games regarded how the city's transport infrastructure would cope with the stresses of moving millions of people around London over the course of two weeks.

However, a new, perhaps even more terrifying, potential problem has reared its head, with a government report suggesting that the country's telecoms system may be unable to cope with demand to access the internet in certain areas.

The Cabinet Office's official advice, which is detailed in Preparing your Business for the Games report, implores UK firms to help ease demand by pushing the concept of flexible working, which would reduce stress on the telecoms system and on the transport network.

"It is possible that internet services may be slower during the Games or, in very severe cases, there may be dropouts due to an increased number of people accessing the internet," the report reads.

Internet service providers, meanwhile, have been warned that they may be forced to "introduce data caps during peak times to try to spread the loading and give a more equal service to their entire customer base".

This statement has, unsurprisingly, prompted fears that major businesses in the UK - many of which are headquartered just a few miles away from the Olympic stadium - may witness a significant slowdown in productivity.

In preparation for the Games, firms are being urged to conduct feasibility studies into how best to cope during the event. Organisers of the Games have, for their part, already warned that they expect as many as 800,000 spectators and 55,000 athletes, officials, organisers and press to travel to and from the venues every day.

And while this is the third time London has staged the modern Games, having done so before in 1908 and 1948, it is fast becoming apparent that advances in technology are creating new problems for organisers.

Rock and Roll life of a Computer/Software Engineer

messages@element14.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:03:03 GMT

I stumbled across this video on Youtube highlighting the exciting work life of a typical computer/software engineer. It what most of us do sat at our desks but it's strangely entertaining and makes you think.

Is this your typical day at work? You could post a small video in reply to this and show everyone your typical day.

USB Host, Device and OTG library for Cortex-M3

messages@element14.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:38:21 GMT

The EFM32 Leopard and Giant Gecko devices include USB Device, Host and OTG (On-The-Go) support. Just click "Examples" in Simplicity Studio to access the library of code examples and free source code. Examples include:

Human Interface Device (Keyboard device, hub, host)
Mass Storage Device (Device and host for FAT devices)
Comminucation Device Class (UART to USB)
USB Enumerator (Reads VID/PID)
Vendor Unique Device

"Robot" and the Dawn of Information Communication; A Jim Henson Film

messages@element14.com — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:22:28 GMT

(via AT&T)

It is easy to forget that there was a time when data communication was vastly an unknown and abstract topic. A relic of the start of this digital era was found in the AT&T archives. It was recently released so that those who were not around to experience the paradigm shift, could at least marvel at the primitive history that was robotics in the 1960’s.

Jim Henson, a movie director who eventually would work on Sesame Street and the Muppets, created a short film of a little industrial robot to reify the concept of data transfers and communication to business people attending Bell System’s, Bell Business Communication Seminar.

Ted Mills of AT&T, at the time, sent Henson a memo describing the concept he wanted for the film. It read, "He [the robot] is sure that All Men Basically Want to Play Golf, and not run businesses — if he can do it better." Henson went a little deeper.

In the short film, titled "Robot," Henson communicates the immense potential of computerized systems in a slightly dark comedic tone surely to intrigue any one attending the seminar. The robot explains its affinity for “digesting vast oceans of information” as well as its contempt for emotional humans, which, in its view, serve little purpose for the new robotic race.

Apart from its technological hubris, the robot explains that his potential is shortened by man’s incompetent imperfect design. I wonder if the message resonated among ambitious business folk, of the day. It was only the beginning of our industrial exploit of a digital age. Luckily, it did not turn out to be a robot controlled dystopian future.

Cabe

http://twitter.com/Cabe_e14

Play an augmented reality first person shooter, with your phone in weapon form

messages@element14.com — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:17:34 GMT

Xappr (via MetalCompass)

A new attachment to enhance your smart phone gaming is on the way from the company MetalCompass. The Xappr is a gun shaped attachment that communicates with your phone. It works by placing your smart phone in flexible clamps. Xappr interacts with your phone to give users an enhanced game experience. If the user pivots, the game screen tilts along with them, creating a more realistic feeling.

This expands gaming capabilities for smart phones and improves on the much lacking shooter games currently available. Augmented reality games can be created using the camera on your phone and create fully interactive environments. One such possibility would be a fully functional laser tag game with friends. The Xapper is due out around June and will cost a paltry $30 USD.

There will be two options when released in spring 2012, the Xappr and Micro-Xappr. Both will be compatible with iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices. Their flagship release title will be an augmented reality deathmatch game called "ATK."

When the Xappr is released, the first use it will have for me will be in a tear down and analysis. What is under the hood is still wrapped in secrecy.

Cabe

http://twitter.com/Cabe_e14

Home Made Electronic Drum Set & Being a Good Parent

messages@element14.com — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:12:22 GMT

Practicing a musical instrument takes a lot of time, preceded by the loss of a sizable pile of money. To parents, they can be a double edge sword as they can be expensive and loud but also a considerable skill and hobby to acquire if their child is truly interested. This is the case unless the parent is a tech-savvy engineer. In which case, the perfect solution has already been built for kids that want to practice the drums.

Ian Cole was able to make an electronic drum set using the "Drum Kit - Kit Ai" all included (DKKAI) from SpikenzieLabs and some misclanious hardware from IKEA and the corner-store. The Spikenzielabs drum machine is an ATMEGA168-based kit that includes piezoelectric sensors. These sensors can be placed on any makeshift drumhead. Using the SpikenzieLabs DKKAI Roadie, programming the sensors becomes even easier. This DKKAI Roadie is a daughterboard add on that allows the user to designated a MIDI output sound to each sensor and store it in the ATMEGA eeprom directly from the connected MIDI device.

Cole opted for using Tupperware from IKEA as the drums. He attached the Piezos on to aluminum plates, which were the placed under the lids of Tupperware containers. The PVC piping structure holds the drums in place, and it also doubles as electrical conduit for the wiring.

His son is now able to play quality electric drums with the use of a MIDI capable iPad and the Garage band software connected to an amp or headphone. Lets hear it for tech-savvy parents.

Everything you need to know about the SpikenzieLabs drum kit can be found after the link.

Cabe

http://twitter.com/Cabe_e14

uClinux - energy friendly Linux on Cortex-M3 Giant Gecko

messages@element14.com — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:25:42 GMT

Energy Micro and Pengutronix demonstrate the world’s most energy friendly Linux for ARM Cortex-M3

This new port of µClinux features the latest version 3.2 Linux kernel, and gives embedded designers all of the cost and time-to-market benefits of using an open source embedded operating system, while maintaining low current consumption of just 1.6mA when in idle mode. Energy Micro, the energy friendly microcontroller and radio company, assisted and supported Pengutronix to complete the port to the Giant Gecko MCU range, the industry’s leading family of low-energy microcontrollers. The demo of the µClinux happens at this year’s Embedded World show.

Watch the video here

New base station antenna system for Dutch police

messages@element14.com — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:43:29 GMT

Dutch police are set to benefit from a new base station antenna system thanks to specialists from the radio and mobile communications antenna departments at Kathrein-Werke KG.

The company has joined up with officials in the Netherlands to expand the force's Tetra network over the next two to three years.

Around 50 new base stations are in the pipeline, while a first demonstration of the new antenna was successfully carried out in May 2011.

A number of officers trialled the equipment in conjunction with the experts at Kathrein - which boasts around 90 years of experience in the field and is the biggest antenna-producing company in the world - while also implementing intermodulation measurements.

The project is to be carried out fully in the Netherlands by Gerard Hessing, the Kathrein representative at Dutch company Hutronic.

Directional diagrams without the need of modifications to the antenna configuration have been made possible through distribution networks with asymmetric power division.

Quadrant Connections offer a complete range of base-station antennas for mobile communication networks.

Semiconductor industry 'set to expand at slower pace' in 2012

messages@element14.com — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:46:08 GMT

A new report, conducted by IHS iSuppli, has suggested that the semiconductor industry will expand at a slower pace in 2012, largely due to the ongoing economic downturn and sluggish consumer demand. The research body has said that annual revenue for the industry will hit $323 billion, a growth of 3.3 percent year-on year.

Len Jelinek, director and chief analyst of semiconductor manufacturing research at IHS iSuppli, explained that the semiconductor industry is struggling to grow during what has become one of the longest economic downturns in history.

Owing to the fact that consumers in the US, Europe, Japan and China have less disposable income, sales of popular electronic products, such as PCs, laptops and MP3s, are relatively flat.

Indeed, he observed that underwhelming demand for such products has had a residual impact on DRAM, with iSuppli saying that demand for the memory will fall 16.1 percent this year. This is, however, better than the fall seen in 2011, when demand dropped 26.8 percent, iSuppli said.

"There is one huge wild card in DRAM right now and that is industry consolidation," commented Mike Howard, senior principal analyst at iSuppli. He explained that while supply for DRAM will be up around 40 percent this year on a gigabit basis, this rise will take place in a very soft pricing environment.

Demand for NAND, meanwhile, is being undermined by the rise of smartphones and tablets devices. iSuppli said that although there is rising demand for NAND flash, additional factory capacity to meet the demand is likely to lead to oversupply. Also, it should be noted that NAND flash prices have been falling since 2010.

"Despite robust demand coming from the mobile segment, we are forecasting NAND revenue growth of only five percent in 2012 to reflect the risk of oversupply currently plaguing the industry," Dee Nguyen, analyst at iSuppli, commented.

Overall, however, iSuppli would appear to be relatively upbeat about the state of the semiconductor industry, explaining that while revenue growth is likely to be negative in the first half of 2012, it expects to see the shoots of a recovery thereafter.

Owing to the fact that consumers in the US, Europe, Japan and China have less disposable income, sales of popular electronic products, such as PCs, laptops and MP3s, are relatively flat.

2013 Solar Decathlon and the OLED solar panel

messages@element14.com — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:58:17 GMT

Solar Decathlon grounds (via DOE)

An innovation-stirring biennial competition is travelling to the west coast in 2013 for the first time in its decade-long existence. The Solar Decathlon will be in California this year for the 20+ college teams participating from all parts of the globe. (Normally held in Washington DC) Competition organizers hope to engage a new audience with innovations of technology and design from the 20 U.S. universities competing to make the best solar powered home.

The Decathlon put teams of students from all over the country against each other to compete in 10 categories. Using solar energy to power the home is only part of the challenge. The houses must be functionally and cost effective as well as incorporate a modern design. Solar technology progress is made yearly. Increases in efficiency, innovative applications, and the use of organic materials will make the biennial competition exciting.

From transparent to a light source, the OLED solar cell (via Phillips)

One example of a possible contender in the event comes in the form of solar cells and light bulbs, combined. Lumiblade organic LEDs (OLEDs) are emerging technologies being developed by Philips and the chemical company BASF. These light sources produce light by running a current through a thin layer of organic semiconductor material. The collaboration of Philips and BASF has produced Lumiblade OLEDs of just 1.8 mm thickness, with materials and dyes that become transparent when light is not being emitted. Furthermore, this OLED can be put between solar cells to capture solar energy. The applications for transparent panels that capture solar energy and emit light can be used through out the modern solar home.

Dr. Felix Görth, OLED and Photovoltaics head at BASF, described the tech best, " This combination allows the driver to enjoy a unique open-space feeling while it generates electricity during the day and pleasantly suffuses the interior with the warm light of the transparent, highly efficient OLEDs at night."

Solar OLED (via Phillips)

Innovations similar to the Lumiblade will surely be showcased in the 2013 Solar Decathlon. The Department of Energy’s Secretary, Steven Chu, explained what we can expect, “The Solar Decathlon will unleash the ingenuity, creativity and drive from these talented students to demonstrate new ideas for how families and businesses can reduce energy use and save money with clean energy products and efficient building design.”

Cabe

http://twitter.com/Cabe_e14

Graphene transistor from Nobel Prize winner

messages@element14.com — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:33:27 GMT

Graphene sheet concept art from James Hedberg

Why has Graphene not over taken Silicon for use in electronics?

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms that are only one molecule thick and have extraordinary characteristics. It is stronger than diamonds, can conduct electricity better than copper, and is impenetrable to gases and liquids. The low resistance it offers can create new and better transistors and circuits. The exceptional conductivity allows electrons to flow quicker than the modernly used silicon transistors.

However, with the incredible speed also comes another problem. For transistors to work they have to have a distinct on and off state. Creating a transistor with a consistent off state is difficult due to the great conductivity of the substance. Even with sheets as thin as one molecule electrons often filter through when in the off state. The band-gap cannot get large enough to be effective.

One man, Konstantin Novoselov, leading a group of researchers is working to create an efficient graphene based transistor. His work on Graphene in 2010 helped him, with colleague Andre Geim, win the Nobel Prize in Physics. Currently they are working to develop a transistor by placing a layer of molybdenum in between two sheets of graphene. The molybdenum is an excellent insulator and stops electrons from passing over while the transistor is in the off state. Further research and experimentation is still needed. Successfully creating a graphene transistor could significantly expand our capabilities with hardware engineering.

Take the 155Ghz Graphene transistor as an example of the possibilities.

Cabe

http://twitter.com/Cabe_e14

Projection-based folding tablet computers

messages@element14.com — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:00:59 GMT

Imagine being able to fit such a tablet into your pocket and not having to worry about reducing the size of the display. It may soon be possible thanks to researcher Juergen Steimle. Working with faculty at MIT's media lab they have developed multiple tablets that work a bit differently than their traditional counterparts.

The technology, dubbed FoldMe, works by using infrared cameras overhead to track movement and position of the tablet surface. The software interface is projected on to the surfaces, using two full high definition projectors to project the image onto the "tablet." Angle of the hinges within the tablet allowing the display to convert from a flat panel display, to a two panel display as if held like reading a book, or if folded completely over a smaller display.

Hand gestures can be read using infrared markers on the finger nails to give it the touch screen feel most people are used to. The hinges also create new controls that can be used within applications. Since the cameras read the angle of the fold, the angle can be used to control information that normally an on-screen dial would control.

It appears that this may not work well outside, or off the tablet projection grid. However, this may usher in a new level of connectivity for the boardroom. Later this month, Steimle will present his work at the TEI conference in Canada.

Cabe

http://twitter.com/Cabe_e14

European Commission launches investigation into Apple patent dealings

messages@element14.com — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:11:35 GMT

The European Commission has announced that it is looking in to Samsung's patent deals, with the regulator harbouring fears that the firm used some of its intellectual property rights to "distort competition in European mobile device markets".

According to the Commission, it is determined to establish whether Samsung met its agreement to license key technologies to rivals.

News of the investigation comes at an awkward time for Samsung, which is currently embroiled in patent battles with Apple in various courtrooms throughout the world.

Back in 1998, Samsung declared that it was irrevocably committed to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to respect fraud terms, which amount to a promise by industry players to license innovations that are critical to an industry standard on "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms".

Under the terms of the Fraud commitments, the owner of the patent cannot discriminate who gets to use its invention. Also, the terms of the agreement state that the fee for the patent cannot be excessive.

"In 2011," the regulator explained, "Samsung sought injunctive relief in various member states against competing mobile device makers based on alleged infringements of certain of its patent rights which it has declared essential to implement European telephony standards."

Over the last few months, Samsung has made more than a dozen patent claims against Apple in Germany, the Netherlands, France and Italy, all of which relate to 3G-essential technologies.

In all of the cases thus far, Samsung has been defeated, largely because it has been judged to have failed to meet the commitments it pledged to in 1998. But according to patent consultant Florian Mueller, the European Commission "can't wait until Samsung finally wins a ruling based on such a patent and enforces it, potentially causing irreparable harm".

The European Commission instigated the proceedings, according to a spokesman, who confirmed that despite speculation to the contrary, it had not received an official complaint from Apple or any other company about the issue.

Vicki Salmon, a member of the UK's Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, explained that the official inquiry is likely to complicate matters further for Samsung. "It is really difficult for Samsung to have the commission wading in when none of its competitors have made a complaint," she said.

LED Brightness Control

messages@element14.com — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:03:16 GMT

It is good practice to avoid using one resistor to limit the current through more than one parallel LEDs. Sharing a resistor among LEDs puts the same voltage across the parallel LEDs. If the V-I curve for the diodes is different, different amounts of current will flow. There is commonly a good deal of variation in the forward voltage of diodes, even of the same part number, so we use separate diodes.

Suppose we want to set two levels of brightness for a pair of LEDs. We know we need a separate resistor for each LED, but can we share transistors as in the diagram below?

At first glance this looks okay because each LED has its own resistor. I was working on a circuit like this last week. When I measured the resistance in the circuit, I found them to be lower than expected.

To see why this is, consider the case when D2 is removed. R1 still connects D1 to ground. But there is another path from D1 to ground: Through R2 to R3 to R4. So we actually have R1 || (R2+R3+R4) = 200 || (100+100+200) = 133.3ohms. This becomes clearer if you redraw this circuit (without changing the netlist) this way:

What happens if D2 isn’t missing but simply has a significantly different forward voltage? How do we analyze this circuit? We can draw the circuit with Q2 turned off and therefore omitted:

We can use the delta-wye transform to generate an equivalent “wye”. This a the transform I have not used since Circuits I. I’m thrilled finally to have a practical use for it!

(Note: I used alphabetic reference designators like R[a] in the wye topology and numeric designators like R[1] for the delta. This is opposite of how my text did it, but I did it this way to avoid confusion with the numeric designators in the original circuit.)

For the case where D2 is removed, R[c]+R[a] = 133.3 ohms, the same as we obtained for this case without the delta-wye transforms. In the wye topology, however, we could now work out the current variations at the maximum and minimum forward voltage of the diodes.

Conclusion:

When I look at the equivalent wye circuit, I see that some of the resistance is separated and some is common to both LEDs. My first thought is this is about half way between the ideal of each LED having its own resistor and the undesirable practice of two LEDs sharing a single resistor. I showed this to my colleague Bryan Piernot, however, and he showed me how even with 100s of mV of variation in V[F] among the diodes, disparity due to "wye" resistor sharing are minor compared to the effects V[F] variation with the current paths kept completely separate. The only significant effect of transistor sharing is if one of the LEDs is removed: Effective current-limiting resistance decreases from 200 to 134 ohms in our example.

N-CH FETs cost $0.15 at 1k quantities and use up 2 mm^2 of real estate apiece. If neither LED will be removed from the circuit, it is fine to share transistors among two LEDs. If, however, an LED may be removed or switched off, engineers must be aware removing the LED will affect the brightness level of the other LED.