The USB Promoter Group recently announced the November release of the USB4 Version 2.0 specification, a significant update to enable up to 80 Gbps of data performance over the USB Type-C cable and connector. The USB Type-C and USB Power Delivery (USB PD) specifications will also be updated to enable this higher level of data […]
FAQ
Can I park in one of your Lagrange points?: Part 2
Analysis and insight from an 18th-century mathematician were used to place the James Webb Space Telescope in a “parking spot” optimally suited for its imaging, communication, and solar-power needs. Lagrange’s analysis was an analysis of the three-body problem and provided insight into the conditions under which it could be solved analytically. The five Lagrange points, […]
What’s new in glucose sensing?
Key driving forces for new or next generation products include (1) critical need, (2) broad, global usage and (3) sufficient volume requirements to justify R&D expenditures. Glucose sensing/monitoring meets these criteria and more. In the United States alone, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) says over 133 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes [1]. According to […]
Can I park in one of your Lagrange points?: Part 1
Analysis and insight from an 18th-century mathematician were used to place the James Webb Space Telescope in a “parking spot” optimally suited for its imaging, communication, and solar-power needs. You’ve undoubtedly followed the stunning success of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched in December 2021 (Figure 1). It is now about 1.5 million kilometers […]
How many internal memories does an MCU have?
The number of internal memories in an MCU depends on how the memory is categorized. At the highest level, there are two; random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). But, if the interest is in memory performance, there are different types of RAM and ROM. And these different types of memory can be employed […]
Exceptions, traps and interrupts, what’s the difference?
Exceptions and interrupts pause a program in response to an unexpected event in hardware or software. Interrupts are asynchronous events, and exceptions are synchronous events, but the difference between interrupts and exceptions also depends on the circumstances. For example, the definitions differ between x86 machines and ARM processors and between CISC and RISC processors. This […]
How do firmware, system software, and application software work together?
Firmware, system software (also called embedded software), middleware and application software work collaboratively and perform specific functions in embedded systems. Firmware, system software, and middleware are generally preloaded in an MCU. Applications software may be preloaded but is often added after the system has been built. This FAQ reviews the functions and interactions between firmware, […]
What do MCUs have that FPGAs don’t?
Microcontroller units (MCUs) have a computer processor unit (CPU) core, various types of memory, input/output (I/O) functions, and a range of integrated peripherals. Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) don’t have any of these features and consist of many configurable (or programmable) logic blocks, with a programmable interconnect overlay surrounded by numerous general purpose I/Os (GPIOs). […]
What to look for during instrument calibration
When you send an instrument to a calibration lab, what do you expect to happen? The comprehensive definition of calibration is a verification of instrument specifications by measuring actual performance using external lab standards, normally instruments, which have better performance than the thing they’re measuring and which are traceable to the International System of Units […]
What’s happening in sensorization?
The term sensorization may have been used before the introduction of the Apple iPhone but it certainly has been used more frequently since that milestone [1]. The term identifies how a single device, such as a smartphone, or an application area, such as healthcare, improves with embedded sensors and it has the forward-looking potential of […]