At its most basic level, voltage is a simple concept. Voltage, also referred to as electric potential difference or electromotive force (emf), is the difference in electric potential between two points. In the International System of Units (SI), one Volt equals one Joule of work per Coulomb of charge. In practical applications, voltage is simple, […]
Thermistors, thermocouples, and RTDs for thermal management
Thermal management is the ability to control the thermal environment of an electronic system. It is often associated with cooling heat-generating electronics, but it also encompasses generating heat in cold environments to maintain optimal system operation or power wax-based linear motors. As a result of the many uses for thermal management, a wide variety of […]
Fuses, eFuses, thermistors, and fusible resistors – which and when?
Fuses, eFuses, various types of thermistors, and fusible resistors can be used to provide varying levels of circuit protection. Fuses provide only the most basic level of overcurrent and short-circuit protection. Thermistors can be added to provide inrush current control, and a fusible resistor can provide both inrush current control and overcurrent/short-circuit protection. The most […]
What are TENGs and PENGs and what are they good for?
Small self-powered systems, including wireless sensors and small robots currently under development, can use triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) and piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) as prime power sources. TENGs and PENGs offer large open circuit voltages, low materials cost, ease of fabrication, and good energy conversion efficiencies. TENGs use triboelectricity, commonly called static electricity, to convert common mechanical […]
EMI control for power and signal lines
Trends including the emergence of 5G telephony and the continued expansion of the Internet of things (IoT) are causing the density of electronic devices to increase dramatically. That increases the density of potential sources of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and the dangers associated with a lack of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). The result is likely to be […]
Surge voltage protection considerations
Unmanaged surge voltages can cause disruption or damage to systems or even danger for users and operators. Surge protection devices (SPDs), also called transient voltage suppressors (TVSs) are commonly used to provide protection against voltage surges and spikes by limiting or blocking the energy. SPDs can be found in electric distribution networks, building wiring, and […]
What is the role of sensor fusion in robotics?
As robots become increasingly autonomous, sensor fusion is growing in importance. Sensor fusion merges data from multiple sensors on and off the robot to reduce uncertainty as a robot navigates or performs specific tasks. It brings multiple benefits to autonomous robots: increased accuracy, reliability, and fault tolerance of sensor inputs; extended spatial and temporal coverage […]
Sensor fusion levels and architectures
Sensor fusion is the process of combining inputs from two or more sensors to produce a more complete, accurate, and dependable picture of the environment, especially in dynamic settings. The goal of sensor fusion is to provide those improved results with the minimum number of sensors and minimum system complexity for the lowest cost. The […]
Sensor fusion – How does that work?
Each sensor type, or modality, has inherent strengths and weaknesses. Sensor fusion is the process of bringing together inputs from multiple sensors to form a single model or image of the environment around a platform. The resulting model is more accurate because it balances the strengths of the various sensors. Sensor fusion brings the data […]
Advanced power electronics packaging
The trends in advanced power electronics packaging mirror the overall packaging trends in the electronics industry. Those trends include adopting chip-scale packaging (CSP), 3D packaging, 3D printing (also called additive manufacturing), and advanced thermal management materials. In power electronics, these trends are being heavily influenced by the adoption of gallium-nitride (GaN) and silicon-carbide (SiC) wide […]
