Fan driver delivers smooth motor control

Melexis has expanded its MLX90412 family of single-coil fan drivers with a device that provides smoother motor control for higher-power fans. Optimized for the cooling requirements of data center infrastructure, AI workstation GPUs, industrial…

FPGA SDK enables sparse AI models

Version 3.0 of Microchip’s VectorBlox Accelerator SDK simplifies FPGA-based AI implementation by supporting sparse neural networks. Available free of charge, the VectorBlox SDK and associated CoreVectorBlox IP form an integrated toolchain…

Low-power RTC simplifies embedded timekeeping

The RTC 27 Click board from Mikroe provides ultra-low-power timekeeping with alarm, watchdog, and timestamp functions. Based on the mikroBUS add-on board socket standard, it integrates the NXP PCF8525 nano-power CMOS real-time clock and calendar…

AI assistant optimizes inference pipelines

Voyager Wingman from Axelera AI is an AI-powered assistant that works with the Voyager Toolkit to accelerate AI application development. It enables developers to interact with the Voyager SDK and Axelera’s documentation using natural language…

Current converter performs purely on paltry phantom power

Convert a 4-20 mA signal to 0-20mA and deliver it to a grounded load with no additional power supply needed. Recently, EDN kindly published a design of mine for a micropower 4-20 to 0-20mA current loop converter. Shortly thereafter, in the grand…

Enterprise AI: Reshaping AI processor architectures

For the past decade, the artificial intelligence landscape followed a remarkably simple recipe: if you wanted better AI, you built larger models, fed them more data, and added more GPUs. The formula worked, and it worked spectacularly. Every…

Missing sense: Why physical AI can see everything and feel nothing

Reach into your pocket and find your keys without looking. You just did something no robot can reliably do. You couldn’t see into your pocket, yet your fingers sorted keys from coins and lint, registered the weight and the cut edges, and closed…

Simple, compact circuit conveniently controls devices and systems

This easy-to-build PWM source is a handy testing tool for hobbyists, technicians, engineers and other RC-based device developers. I work at a university where I’m charged with designing and developing all manner of circuits and systems for…

Siemens EDA acquires SoC toolmaker Precision Innovations

Siemens EDA has snapped up a San Diego startup to complement its digital design and implementation capabilities with AI-powered exploration for advanced system-on-a-chip (SoC) architectures. Precision Innovations, a privately held EDA company,…

Precision in motion: The engineering value of LVDTs

Linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs) stand out as one of the most reliable displacement sensors in modern engineering. By converting linear movement into proportional electrical signals, they deliver unmatched accuracy and repeatability…

Adapter makes CarPlay connectivity wireless

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi combine to untether smartphone-to-car connections…at least until the former’s battery drains, that is. At this year’s beginning, EDN published my overview and hands-on impressions of Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s…

A ferroelectric-fluid motor may challenge magnetic-motor designs

It took 100 years to come to fruition, but this recently created fluid enables non-magnetic electrostatic-based motors. Say the word “motor” to most engineers and they almost always associate it with magnetics of some type, whether the term…