#MEMS: "Unified sensor interface sought"

With dozens of MEMS sensors studding smartphones, tablets and other mass-market devices, the MIPI Alliance is aiming to create a sensor-networking standard that reduces the number of pins needed on processors to interface to sensor from dozens to just two: R. Colin Johnson


Today it takes up to 23 pins (top) on an SoC to manage all the MEMS sensors attached, but by drafting a universal interface, the MIPI Alliance hopes to reduce the required pins (click on image to expand).
Source: MIPI Alliance

Here is what EETimes says about a sensor interface standard: A standards development group is exploring the feasibility of a new interface standard that would enable even multiple degree-of-freedom arrays of micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) sensors to use a simple common interface.

Such an interface—which would be used by accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, altimeters, compasses, proximity sensors and non-MEMS sensors like GPS, near field communication, fingerprint identification, and the touchscreen itself—would require agreement from all interested parties on what protocols need to be recognized, according to the MIPI Alliance. The organization recently announced an open "birds of a feather" group to investigate the requirements for integrating multiple sensors into mobile systems...
Further Reading

#CHIPS: "Xeon Phi Wins Top 10 Supercomputer Slot"

Intel already dominated the Top500 Supercomputer List with over 76 percent of the winners using its Xeon processors, but its lead is lengthening now that its massively parallel Xeon Phi has made the Top10 spot in 2012: R. Colin Johnson @NextGenLog

Intel processors powered 76% of the Top500 Supercomputer Sites worldwide.

Here is what GoParallel says about the Top500 List: Intel’s massively parallel Xeon Phi coprocessor powered a Top 10 Supercomputer on the 20th anniversary of the Top500 Supercomputer List. At 2.6-petaFLOPS, Stampede ranked seventh out of 500 supercomputers, one of only 23 petaflop-caliber systems on this year’s list.

Located at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas (Austin), Stampede is powered by a Dell PowerEdge C8220 chassis using Xeon E5 main and Xeon Phi coprocessors. Only 62 of the Top500 supercomputers used coprocessor technologies to perform acceleration this year, including eight using advanced prototypes of Intel’s forthcoming Xeon Phi.

The other Xeon Phi based winners in the Top 100 included...
Further Reading

#MEMS: "Sensor to prevent smart-meter tampering"

MEMS sensors have become so inexpensive that even specialized functions have been targeted by suppliers like Freescale Semiconductor, which announced its smart-meter tamper-prevention sensor at the MEMS Executive Congress 2012 (Nov. 7-9, Scottsdale, Ariz.): R. Colin Johnson @NextGenLog


Freescale's three-axis accelerometer optimized for sensing tilt can be used to prevent tampering with stationary smart meters.

Here is what EETimes says about MEMS sensors for tamper prevention: Sensing "tilt" in old style pinball machines used a mechanical ball-in-tube sensor, but the micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) version should harness a tri-axis accelerometer, according to Freescale Semiconductor Inc.

At the MEMS Executive Congress 2012 here, Freescale rolled out a tilt sensor— Xtrinsic MMA8491Q—that the company says could be used for a modern version of tilt-detection in pinball. But the target application for the device is preventing tampering in smart meters.
Further Reading

#MEMS: market growth outpacing competitors

Instead of beginning to wane, the exponential growth of MEMS devices is just starting, according to analysts at the MEMS Executive Congress 2012 (Nov. 7-9, Scottsdale, Ariz.), who predict that a dozen new types of MEMS device will keep the market vitalized for the foreseeable future: R. Colin Johnson


News MEMS devices take a decade to mature (right) with the bulk of next-generation MEMS innovations still in the formative stages (left).

Here is what EETimes says about the MEMS market: Micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) have revolutionized every market in which they have become successful, but the trend is just beginning, according to analysts speaking on a panel at the MEMS Executive Congress 2012 here.

Analysts project rapid growth for the types of MEMS already in widespread use. But, by later this decade, several more types of MEMS devices are expected to be in production, creating more potential for exponential growth.
Further Reading

#MARKETS: "10 electronics visionaries to watch"

EE Times is celebrating its 40th anniversary, with special articles to celebrate the innovators who made the electronics industry what it is today, as well as the visionaries who are taking it forward: R. Colin Johnson


David Shepler was the Jeopardy Challenge Program Manager at IBM Research (shown here giving pointers to the human contestants on how to compete against Watson--IBM’s pioneering artificial-intelligence technology)...More recently, Shepler became program manager for IBM's Smarter Energy Research Institute, which is developing predictive analytics, system optimization and advanced computation models that will help define the smart grid of the future.

Here is what EETimes says about the future movers-and-shakers of electronics technology: Predicting the future is always fraught with peril, but the visionaries featured here are boldly going where no one has gone before.

To be sure, the personalities featured in this slideshow are not unique--in each category dozens of other pioneers could have been used in lieu of those chosen. Nevertheless, the pioneering vision and unflinching dedication of those featured in this slideshow serve as a shining example of how to “do” the future right.
Further Reading

#CHIPS: "Moore's Law goes biotech"

EE Times is celebrating its 40th anniversary, with this special articles honoring Gordon Moore whose Law may be faltering, but whose legacy will live on as long as semiconductors are king: R. Colin Johnson


Here is what EETimes says: Gordon Moore captivated a generation with his prophetic foreshadowing that the density of semiconductor devices would double every year or two -- a prediction that has been so dependable that commentators have enshrined it as: Moore's Law.

And even as we approach the end of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), when bottom-up molecular self-assembly is predicted to take over from today's top-down subtractive lithography -- the density of new devices is still expected to double every few years, extending Moore's legacy indefinitely even in new fields such as biotechnology.
Further Reading

#MARKETS: "Future Tech--from 3-D chips to cognitive computing"

With EE Times celebrating its 40th anniversary, a series of special articles are featuring the innovators who made the electronics industry what it is today and tomorrow: R. Colin Johnson


3-D chip stacks--here a Hybrid Memory Cube from Micron--will dominate the future of semiconductors.

Here is what EETimes says about the technologies defining our future: We picked ten technologies representative of trends which we expect will redefine our industry as well as the way we expect to interact in an increasingly interactive world. Admittedly, there are dozens of other examples we could have chosen with equal validity. We welcome your comments on our choices.

A few software-related trends were included because they are enabled by electronic technologies. We intentionally resisted including the deluge of “social media” and related trends that are merely popular uses of electronic devices.
Further Reading

#WINDOWS-8: "What You Need to Know BEFORE Upgrading"

If you have not upgraded to Windows 8 yet--and even if you have--you should read this post about the new security measures that solve existing problems, but still leave the door open malware creeping in from the new Metro-style user interface: R. Colin Johnson

Windows 8 security is hardened, but unfamiliarity with its new "Metro-style" interface could trick unsophisticated users into running programs that pretend to be patches to fix problems that don’t exist, but instead install malware. And since all applications submitted to Windows 8′s Windows Store must be digitally “signed” malware authors will be encouraging to try and steal digital certificates.

Here is what SlashDot says about Windows 8 security: Windows 8 features tightened cyber-security, suggests Aryeh Goretsky, distinguished researcher at anti-malware vendor ESET and a member of its Zeroday Emergency Response Team. In addition to enhanced versions of existing security measures, the next-generation operating system includes several new capabilities that thwart specific, hard-to-combat threats. Despite those new capabilities, bad actors could still inject malware by exploiting users unfamiliar with new features of Windows 8, so read on to find out what you can do to keep data safe...
Further Reading