admin

Why didn’t they make classrooms like this when we were kids? A new off-grid teaching space in the UK is set to inspire the next generation of environmentalists. Treehouse designers Blue Forest have created a unique wooden classroom equipped with an innovative sedum green roof that turns rain into drinking water. The solar-powered system is believed to be the first

Read more

A new range of microcontrollers from STMicroelectronics Pty Ltd can help the cloud become significantly more energy-efficient. The digital infrastructure of today demands large quantities of electrical energy – data centres alone are believed to consume around 1.3% of the world’s electricity, equivalent to about 286,000 GWh per year. However, only about 40% of this energy is used productively, according

Read more

XP Power Ltd. today announced the EML15 series of 15W single-output ac-dc power supplies suitable for use in medical equipment. Complying with 3rd edition EN60601-1, ES60601-1, CSA-C22.2 No. 60601-1, IEC60601-1 medical safety standards, this extremely compact power supply is believed to be the smallest device at this power rating available in the industry. The supply provides two means of patient

Read more

The HB series of Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) from STMicroelectronics have up to 40% lower turn-off energy losses than competing high-frequency devices, while reducing conduction losses by up to 30%. Leveraging ST’s advanced Trench-Gate Field-Stop High-Speed technology, the HB series has a minimal collector-current turn-off tail as well as very low saturation voltage (Vce(sat)) down to 1.6V (typical), hence minimizing

Read more

Microchip Technology Inc. today announced from the Sensors Expo in Rosemont, IL the expansion of its eXtreme Low Power (XLP) PIC® microcontrollers (MCUs) with the PIC24F “GB2” family. This new family features an integrated hardware crypto engine, a Random Number Generator (RNG) and One-Time-Programmable (OTP) key storage for protecting data in embedded applications. The PIC24F “GB2” devices offer up to

Read more

Microchip has tuned its eXtreme Low Power (XLP) PIC microcontroller range with increased data protection capabilities. The MCUs integrate a hardware crypto engine, a Random Number Generator (RNG) and One-Time-Programmable (OTP) key storage  or protecting data in embedded applications. Several security features are integrated into the PIC24F “GB2” family, to protect embedded data. The fully featured hardware crypto engine, supporting

Read more

72 fabs were closed between 2009-2013 and another nine fabs are to close this year, says IC Insights. Since mid-2007, the IC industry has been paring down older capacity (i.e. 200mm and smaller wafers) in order to produce devices more cost-effectively on larger wafers. A few fabs have been refurbished for production using larger wafers or for production of “non-IC”

Read more

Rohde & Schwarz has introduced a radio conformance test system for standard-compliant testing of components for vehicle-to-vehicle applications and intelligent transport systems (ITS). The TS-ITS100 automated test system for standard-compliant testing of RF components in line with IEEE 802.11p. These components are used for vehicle-to-vehicle communications and intelligent transport systems (ITS). Using sequencer software developed especially for RF conformance tests,

Read more

Texas Instruments (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) today introduced the industry’s first seven-channel, NMOS low-side driver, replacing standard Darlington transistor arrays with a power-efficient, drop-in compatible integrated circuit (IC). The TPL7407L replaces half of the transistor arrays required to drive high current loads, providing a new option for high voltage systems that previously required a number of transistor arrays or a motor

Read more

One limitation on the use of drones to deliver packages is that they currently only store enough energy to fly within 10 miles of a fulfillment center. But researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) say that they have a solution —thanks to pigeons. In a new paper, CSAIL researchers developed a lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

Read more