EV system design from components to modules to software
Electric vehicle (EV) design at the system level is a rapidly evolving landscape encompassing components, hardware modules, and software platforms. So, on the first day of Automotive Tech Forum 2026, which was dedicated to EV designs, a panel…
Cardiac monitors: Inconspicuous, robust data collectors
As follow-up to last month’s narrative of a cardiac abnormality thankfully detected by wearable devices, this engineer details the monitoring system he subsequently donned for a month.
Two-plus years ago, my contributor-colleague John Dunn…
MWC 2026: Apple, Google, Samsung and Other Contending Contestants
Ever imagine that memory supply (translating to system capacity and price) concerns would ever dominate multiple companies’ announcements? “And so it goes”, to quote Kurt Vonnegut.
The Mobile World Congress (MWC) show, held each year in…
Stretching a bit
I love Design Ideas (DIs) with a backstory. Recently, frequent DI contributor Jayapal Ramalingam published an engaging tale of engineering ingenuity coping with a design feature requirement added unexpectedly and very (very!) late in product…
EV design: The truth about 400-V to 800-V battery transition
In electric vehicle (EV) designs, the shift from 400-V to 800-V battery systems is now a pressing issue. So, the panel discussion on the first day of Automotive Tech Forum 2026 was a good venue for a reality check on the future of 800-V EV architectures.
The…
Custom design PWM filters easily
It’s well known that the main job of a pulse width modulator’s filter is to limit the maximum peak-to-peak amplitude of the fPWM Hz-induced ripple. It attenuates this to a specified fraction—Frac of the full-scale PWM output—while passing…
Plant pulse sensors: From soil probes to tree tattoos
Plants do not just grow—they signal. From the subtle moisture shifts in soil to the faint electrical rhythms coursing through leaves and stems, botanical sensors are turning greenery into living data networks.
What began with rugged soil probes…
A defunct Amazon Echo: Where did its acumen go?
A multi-day weather-induced, utility-instigated electricity cutoff thankfully left this engineer’s residence and its contents largely unscathed…with one geriatric smart speaker exception.
Last December’s high-wind-induced extended power…
