Embedded Computing Design

E-Letter
DECEMBER 2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
This edition is sponsored by
 
Embedded World
 
 
 
 
 
NUMBER ONE
CARL TURNER, LAIRD CONNECTIVITY SOLUTIONS
 
Customers today expect smart products to be portable, compact, aesthetically-pleasing ? and able to be connected anywhere and anytime. Putting a check mark next to that entire wish list is challenging for product engineers, though, because of the inherent tension between a small, aesthetically-pleasing product and robust connectivity.
 
 
 
 
 
img_185X240
NUMBER TWO
BRANDON LEWIS, EMBEDDED COMPUTING DESIGN
 
The release of Amazon FreeRTOS generated considerable excitement in the IoT market. But outside of another victory for free and open-source software, what does this say about the overall direction of software engineering, if anything?
 
 
 
 
 
img_185X240
 
 
NUMBER THREE
ANIL PARCHURI, QUICKLOGIC AND RAKESH JAIN, MENTOR, A SIEMENS BUSINESS
 
Embedded FPGA (eFPGA) technology is not a new idea. In fact, it has been implemented in various forms for several decades. So why is it suddenly getting so much attention? The answer lies at the intersection of two fundamental economic trends within the semiconductor industry: Development cost and cost-per-unit of functionality.
 
 
 
 
 
img_185X240
SPONSORED
MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY, INC.
 
While new technologies like CAN Partial Networking (CAN-PN) are introducing new methods to reduce power consumption on a bus-wide level, it is also important to equip microcontrollers (MCUs) with the right peripherals and functionalities to allow for very-low static power consumption for ECUs that are in standby while the ignition is off.
 
 
 
 
 
img_185X240
 
 
NUMBER FOUR
MICHAEL BARR, BARR GROUP
 
One trend that really stands out to me is that the C programming language refuses to give up the fight. This is especially interesting given the increasing popularity of more modern languages in almost all other applications of computer science.
 
 
 
 
 
img_185X240
NUMBER FIVE
JOHN KOON, EMBEDDED COMPUTING DESIGN
 
In a short few years, LoRaWAN has captured the fascination of many tech companies worldwide. With Google showing interest in LoRaWAN, the technology is building momentum quickly.
 
 
 
 
 
img_185X240
 
 
SPONSORED
NVIDIA CORPORATION
 
Basically, the Jetson AGX Xavier delivers server-class performance in an embedded module form factor. Just as important, however, is that the module consumes as little of 10W, or about as much as a table fan.
 
 
 
 
 
img_185X240
SPONSORED
CADENCE DESIGN SYSTEMS
 
Successfully completing challenging SoC designs on time and on budget?with their ever-increasing software contents?requires starting the software-development process as early as possible. FPGA-based prototyping has long been a key technology to achieve that goal. However, growing complexities and shrinking time-to-market windows are making the bring-up of such a prototyping system increasingly painful and time-consuming.
 
 
 
 
 
ei_art.jpg
 
 
NUMBER SIX
RICH NASS & BRANDON LEWIS, EMBEDDED COMPUTING DESIGN
 
Arm recently put up a website challenging RISC-V technology that stirred up quite the hornet?s nest. After hundreds of comments from developers within a matter of hours, the site was promptly taken offline. Meanwhile, Wind River continues its evolution as a company beyond Intel?s shadow.
 
 
 
 
 
 
NUMBER SEVEN
JEAN LABROSSE, SILICON LABS
 
In many real-time applications, the CPU can spend 95 percent (or more) of its time in less than 5 percent of the code. Embedded systems are typically written in C, and often developers are forced to hand-optimize the code, possibly reverting to assembly language to meet tight deadlines. Measuring the actual execution time of portions of code can help you find the hot-spots in your code. This article will show how you can easily measure and display the execution time of code on live Cortex-M-based MCUs.
 
 
 
 
 
SPONSORED PRODUCT
Annapolis Micro Systems, Inc.
 
Annapolis Micro Systems, Inc.
 
Up to 128 TB Data Storage for OpenVPX
 
 
 
 
 
NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS
NUMBER EIGHT
JEAN LABROSSE, SILICON LABS
 
Memory-protection units (MPUs) have been available for years on processors such as the Cortex-M, and yet, embedded developers shy away from using them. Is it because they aren?t useful? Is it because MPUs are complex devices? Do they add too much overhead? In this article, and the subsequent multi-part series, these questions and more will be answered.
 
 
 
 
 
ei_art.jpg
 
 
NUMBER NINE
RICH NASS & BRANDON LEWIS, EMBEDDED COMPUTING DESIGN
 
It was recently reported that routers were being hacked, and ?Officials said they had high confidence that the Russian government was behind the campaign.?

Hmm, is that what it?s come down to now? And what does this mean to life as we know it? Before everyone gets all up in arms over the issue, the most simple solution is for people to use better/stronger passwords on their routers. But as the hackers get more sophisticated, obviously the security must also get more sophisticated.
 
 
 
 
 
img_185X240
NUMBER TEN
BERRY LEONARD, CONNIE MACKENZIE, DAVID WATSON, DAVID SCHNAUFER, QORVO
 

5G will pave the way for even greater reliance on RF technologies. Today, vehicles may rely on wireless communications for a dozen or more functions, ranging from safety features and navigation to infotainment and keyless entry. Over the next few years, those functions will increasingly expand to include autonomous driving, as well as communications with infrastructure and the Internet of Things.
 
 
 
 
 
img_185X240
 
 
SPONSORED
MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY, INC.
 
What is one of your biggest challenges when designing high-end embedded control applications? For many engineers, their pain point is integrating software from multiple teams. In complex applications requiring sophisticated algorithms, frequently one team is focused on developing the time-critical control code while another is working on the code for housekeeping, diagnostics and communication functions.
 
 
 
 
 
Webcast
 
 
Sponsored by: RTI
Date: January 10, 2:00 p.m. ET
Register Now
 
For additional Webcasts, check out the Broadcast Archive.
 
 
 
Facebook
 
Twitter
 
Linkedin