Amelia's Weekly Fish Fry

In this week’s Fish Fry, we’re taking on safety, security, and the embedded design software in between. Michael May (Express Logic) and I start things off with an in-depth discussion about the ongoing design-in battle between 32 and 64 bit processors and where ThreadX RTOS fits into the embedded ecosystem. Keeping with this week’s embedded software theme, I also chat with Jim McElroy (LDRA) about what we need to do when our designs must adhere to a security-critical standard, why TÜV Certification is so important, and what it's like to captain a whale watching boat. 

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Links for February 5, 2016

More information about Express Logic

More information about LDRA

LDRA Extends TÜV Certification of Compliance Tools, Further Solidifying Leadership Role in Safety and Security Markets

New Episode of Chalk Talk: Cadence Tensilica Vision P5

Innovation big and small is the name of the game in this week's episode of Fish Fry. First up, we examine the newest advances in touchscreen technology with Jon Brodd and Kelly Ingham from Cima NanoTech. Jon and Kelly reveal the details of their (almost) larger-than-life touchscreens and help us plot a course to the future of touchscreen technology. Also this week, we take a closer look at a new wireless neurotransmitter being developed at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's Institute of Microelectronics and Biospark Technologies that could change the face of pain management forever. 

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Links for January 29, 2016

More information about Cima NanoTech

Cima NanoTech Powers the Next Generation of Large Touch Screen Displays

New Wireless Implantable Device from A*STAR’S IME and Biospark to Improve Chronic Pain Management

New Episode of  Chalk Talk - Introducing the Palladium Z1 Enterprise Emulation Platform

Got your ten-gallon beanie propellers snapped on tight? We're headed straight to the heart of critical embedded computing - where the blackplanes run free and protocols fill the sky. In this week's Fish Fry, we're rustlin' up some Texas-sized open standards at the 2016 Embedded Tech Trends Conference in Houston Texas. First up, we chat with David Jedynak and Ivan Straznicky from Curtiss-Wright about VITA open standard 48.8, the first open standard AFT technology to support small form 3U VPX COTS modules. Also this week, Rodger Hosking (VP - Pentek) joins Fish Fry to discuss the VITA 49 Radio Transport protocol, the goods underneath the hood of Pentek’s Colbat FPGA boards, and why membership in the VITA Standards Organization is vital to our community.

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Links for January 22, 2016

More information about Embedded Tech Trends 2016

More information about Pentek

Pentek Adds VITA 49 Protocol Engine to Cobalt FPGA Boards

More information about Curtiss-Wright

Curtiss-Wright Announces Support for New VITA 48.8 Air Flow Through (AFT) Cooling Standard Effort

In this week’s Fish Fry, we’re exploring everyone’s favorite non-volatile memory technology: flash. (And not just any old kind of flash!) Scott Nelson from Toshiba gives us the scoop on a new 3D flash memory technology. We discuss the advantages of 3D flash memory and look at how 3D flash memory will change how we use memory technology in the future. Keeping with our 3D theme, we also check out a new 3D printing technique developed at Northwestern University that aims to make metallic 3D printing cheaper, faster, and more robust than ever before.

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Links for January 15, 2016 

More information about Toshiba's 3D Flash Memory 

Metallic Architectures from 3D-Printed Powder-Based Liquid Inks (Research Paper)

Nestled in the rain shadow (and yes, that really is a thing) between the Cascade Range and Siskiyou Mountains, sits a very unique foundry. A foundry that specializes in semiconductor, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and MEMS services for companies large, small, and everywhere in between. In this week’s Fish Fry, we take a closer look at Medford, Oregon-based Rogue Valley Microelectronics. Jessica Gomez (CEO - Rogue Valley Microelectronics) joins Fish Fry to discuss the many flavors of foundry services offered at Rogue Valley Micro, how their specialized R&D helps design dreams come true, and why they chose Medford for their foundry's home base. Also this week, we check out a new technology developed at the Tyndall National Institute that will revolutionize how we monitor radiation exposure in space.  

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Links for January 8, 2016

More information about Rogue Valley Microdevices

Groundbreaking Radiation Detector developed by Irish Researchers to Protect Astronauts will be space bound by June 2016

More information about the Tyndall National Institute 

Whitepaper: European Crew Personal Active Dosimeters (EuCPAD)

The recent data breach at VTech brought IoT security issues roaring back into mainstream media, but here at EEJournal we've been tackling the perils of IoT security for years. In this week's Fish Fry, we welcome John Sirianni from Webroot to discuss the current landscape of IoT security, the specific challenges facing OEMs and system engineers when designing Industrial IoT applications, and why he thinks the number of IoT security breaches is increasing. Also this week, we take a look at a groundbreaking new algorithm developed by MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab that hopes to solve the not so age-old question: "Is this selfie any good?"

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Links for December 18, 2015

More information about Webroot

More information about LaMEM (Large-scale Image Memorability)

Understanding and Predicting Image Memorability at a Large Scale (whitepaper)

LaMEM Demo 

It’s time to break out our connected crystal balls my friends! This week Fish Fry looks into the future of MEMS with Karen Lightman of the MEMS and Sensors Industry Group. Karen and I dig into the world according to MEMS: where MEMS design is headed, what hurdles we will need to overcome, and how we'll make the world a better place along the way. Also this week, we investigate the special challenges and considerations for high speed analog-to-digital conversion designs.  

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Links for December 11, 2015

More information about the MEMS and Sensors Industry Group

New Episode of Chalk Talk: Analog to Digital Conversion

In this week’s Fish Fry, we investigate an innovative new solution called the Sensara Senior Lifestyle System from GreenPeak Technologies. This new sensor-assisted program brings together sensors and smart cloud technologies to create a service application that helps elderly people live more securely in their homes, while also providing peace of mind to their loved ones and caretakers. Cees Links (CEO - GreenPeak Technologies) joins Fish Fry to explain how this new system works and why in this case, the idea of Big Brother might not be that bad. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t use a camera!

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Links for December 4, 2015

More information about GreenPeak Technologies

Senior Lifestyle, a new Internet of Things application, enables seniors to live longer independently at home! (GreenPeak Whitepaper)

New Episode of Chalk Talk: M8/M12 Connector System

Their bow shreds the digital waves like a knife. They will take no prisoners. It’s the thrill of the kill they seek and they will stop at nothing until the software is theirs. In this week’s Fish Fry, we are thwarting those dastardly cyber pirates with a mighty sword - a SmartFlow sword. Ted Miracco, CEO of SmartFlow Compliance Solutions, joins Fish Fry and we’re diving into the deep murky waters of cyber security in high tech. (I also ask him what’s it’s like to play football with Alec Baldwin!) Also this week, we check out a new retro DIY gaming system on Kickstarter called Tiny Arcade.

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Links for November 27, 2015

More information about SmartFlow Compliance Solutions

Kickstarter Corner: The Tiny Arcade

In this week’s episode of Fish Fry we’re letting loose some LUTs, bringing up the bitstream, and cramming in some configuration with Mick Posner from Synopsys. Mick joins Fish Fry to discuss the many uses of FPGA prototyping, the growing importance of embedded software in SoC design, and the evolution of prototyping strategies. Keeping with our FPGA theme, we also take a closer look at ARTY - Xilinx’s new $99 FPGA development Kit.

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Links for November 19, 2015

More information about FPGA-based prototpying from Synopsys

New Episode of Chalk Talk - Meet ARTY: the $99 FPGA Development Kit from Xilinx

End of an era: Sony to stop making Betamax tapes