Consumer

July 2014
element14, along with partners EnOcean, Tektronix, the Raspberry Pi Foundation and the Eclipse Foundation, has selected 15 finalists in the “Forget Me Not” design challenge, a global design competition which will encourage participating engineers to develop pioneering applications in the field of home monitoring an
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Date:
07/31/2014
Logic PD, a product innovation and realization company for connected devices, has introduced a Wearable Device Blueprint™, a step-by-step application guide for the development of products in the $70 billion wearable device market. A development-ready foundation, Logic PD’s Blueprint framework provides companies en
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Date:
07/31/2014
Isola announced the availability of a free Impedance and Power-Handling Calculator that predicts the design attributes for microstrips and striplines based on the design’s target impedance and dielectric properties of the company’s RF, microwave and millimeter-wave laminate materials. This new tool supports Is
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Date:
07/29/2014
Rigid-flex printed circuit board proves its reliably in every curve

Motorcycle sport is notorious for complex technology and the highest material requirements

Motorcycle sport is notorious for complex technology and the highest material requirements: rapid pace, extreme load changes in corners, high summer heat, mud, dust, dirt - all this has a significant influence on the machine and especially on its highly sensitive electronics. Together with GCD-PCB-Design in Er
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Date:
07/28/2014
littleBits' cloudBit gives you the power to connect any object to the cloud

cloudBit gives people the power to turn any object into an internet­-connected device

littleBits Electronics, a company making hardware limitless, announced the launch of the cloudBit. First previewed at TED 2014, the cloudBit adds a new dimension to the littleBits library, letting you “snap the internet to anything”. Mapping to littleBits’ mission of putting the power of electronics in th
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Date:
07/28/2014
The rapid advances being made in handheld consumer products, such as smartphones, netbooks, and tablet PCs are placing increasingly stringent demands on the Li-ion batteries that act as their power source. Engineering teams need to contend with users’ desires for prolonged run times, as well as the increasing po
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Date:
07/27/2014
“Globally, legislation continues to drive the development of next generation vehicle technology, offering further enhancements to emissions control and safety. Industry competition and consumer expectations are leading to higher levels of vehicle connectivity to the cloud and personal portable devices. As a
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Date:
07/27/2014
Newark element14 announces the addition of Honeywell’s Nanopower Anisotropic Magnetoresistive Sensor ICs to its product line today – the industry’s first of its kind. The new ICs provide the highest level of magnetic sensitivity, as low as 7 Gauss typical, while requiring nanopower up to 360 nA in value. The Nanopower
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Date:
07/25/2014
The element14 engineering community has announced two winners in its “Beyond the Phone” Wireless Power Challenge. They were chosen out of 12 finalists from around the world who built wireless power solutions for everyday purposes using technology from Wuerth Elektronik and Texas Instruments. Eduardo Iscar Rul
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Date:
07/24/2014
Imagination Technologies unveiled their Ensigma Series4 'Whisper' low-power radio processing unit (RPU) architecture, designed to drive a new generation of wearables, IoT and other connected devices where ultra-low power consumption and low cost points are key. Tomorrow's IoT, wearables and other connected
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Date:
07/24/2014
Some portable applications need to be powered up from an external +5V wall adapter supply and still require a +5V system voltage when in battery-backup mode. This design provides a simple method of switching between the external +5V supply and a rechargeable single-cell Lithium-ion (Li+) battery. The design wi
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Date:
07/23/2014
“Vampire energy” is power used by appliances when they are “off.”  Unplugging your cell phone charger saves about 500 watt-hours per year.  Multiplied by millions of wall-warts, that is significant. On the other hand, we give far too little attention to the energy that we flush down the drain.  Ne
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Date:
07/23/2014
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced it will produce the 2015 International CES Asia scheduled to run May 25-27 in Shanghai, China. This inaugural event will take place at the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC) and will draw global businesses to showcase the latest products and technologies en
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Date:
07/23/2014
element14 and their partner Adafruit announced the launch of their “Hats Off” international design challenge. Participants will re-imagine the hat into new wearable technology solutions that provide real-world functionality using the Adafruit GEMMA and an accompanying accessory pack. The Adafruit GEMMA is
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Date:
07/23/2014
IDTechEx's Wearable Technology LIVE! international tradeshow and conference is focused on wearable technologies with a particular emphasis on the critical enabling technologies that will shape the future of wearable devices. IDTechEx forecasts that the wearable technologies market, as defined by its analysts, wil
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Date:
07/17/2014
Dialog Semiconductor, a provider of highly integrated power management, AC/DC, solid state lighting and short-range wireless technologies, unveilied the first AC/DC rapid charge controller compatible with MediaTek’s new Pump Express™ fast charge protocol. The iW1680 is a single-chip solution that uses Dialog’s inte
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Date:
07/17/2014
STMicro's long-life paper-thin EFL700A39 EnFilm rechargeable batteries now at Mouser

STMicroelectronics' EFL700A39 EnFilm™ Rechargeable Lithium Batteries

Mouser Electronics is now shipping STMicroelectronics' EFL700A39 EnFilm™ Rechargeable Lithium Batteries. At 25.7x25.7mm, these batteries are about the size of a postage stamp and are almost as thin, with a thickness of only 0.22mm. Nominal battery voltage is 3.9V with a capacity of 0.7mAh. This battery can sup
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Date:
07/16/2014
Conductive nanoparticle ink for printed electronics needs no high-temperature annealing

Fully printed organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) on a paper substrate. (a) Schematic of the device structure for a fully printed OTFT on paper. (b) Arrays of fully printed OTFTs fabricated on a paper substrate inkjet printed with the NIMS logo before adding the device. (c) An optical microscope image of fully-printed OTFT arrays. (d) A magnified optical microscope image of the individual device

Printing semiconductor devices are considered to provide low-cost high performance flexible electronics that outperform amorphous silicon thin film transistors currently limiting developments in display technology. However the nanoparticle inks developed so far have required annealing, which limits them to substrates th
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Date:
07/16/2014
Agilent Technologies presented the industry’s most accurate test solution for characterizing USB 3.1 receivers. Using the Agilent USB 3.1 receiver test set, design and test engineers in the semiconductor and computer industry can now accurately characterize and verify USB 3.1 receiver ports in ASICs and chipsets. USB interface
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Date:
07/16/2014
Summer is here, which means it’s time for grilling, pool parties and other outdoor fun with friends and family. element14, Plotly and Texas Instruments are proud to announce a new competition designed to take summer activities to the next level: the Internet of the Backyard. During this unique design competition, de
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Date:
07/16/2014
EPC releases A4WP-compliant high-efficiency wireless power demo Kit

EPC demonstration wireless power transfer kit.

Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) announced the immediate availability of a complete demonstration wireless power transfer kit. The 40 V (EPC9111) or 100 V (EPC9112) wireless kits have three components: • Source (or amplifier) board • Class 3 A4WP compliant source (or transmit) coil • Cat
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Date:
07/15/2014
Newark element14 has announced the launch of the Texas Instruments MSP430 ULP (ultra low power) FRAM LaunchPad, a development platform which combines embedded FRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory) and a holistic ultra low-power system architecture. The new addition to the LaunchPad family, MSP-EXP430FR5969 -
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Date:
07/10/2014
Vishay Sprague TANTAMOUNT SMT molded tantalum chip capacitors now available from TTI

Vishay Sprague TANTAMOUNT SMT molded tantalum chip capacitors

Vishay Sprague’s TL3 Series of TANTAMOUNT surface-mount tantalum moulded chip capacitors is available now from TTI, a leading specialist distributor of passive, connector, electromechanical and discrete components. The TL3 Series enables systems designers to extend the battery run-time of portable devices, th
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Date:
07/09/2014
Digital-to-analog converters are widely used in many different applications and an amplifier often accompanies them to signal-condition the output. The amplifier functions to increase output current drive, to convert differential to single ended output, to isolate the downstream signal path, or to provide a co
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Date:
07/08/2014
Let me start by saying that Google Glass is a very powerful tool even as a beta device, and this essay is intended more to enlighten than complain. However, being an early adopter of disruptive technology is a very interesting (and awkward) experience, especially when traveling in a foreign country. In my case, I
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Date:
07/08/2014
 TI's fast-charge Qi wireless power receivers cut loss by 50%
Texas Instruments introduced the industry’s most power-efficient 5-watt wireless power receivers that support the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) Qi 1.1 standard. TI’s new bq51020 and bq51021 allow consumers to charge their Qi-compliant mobile phones, tablets, power banks and other electronics faster, cooler an
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Date:
07/08/2014
Will we see mass adoption of wireless charging soon?

Ryan Sanderson, IHS

The market for wireless charging hasn’t quite taken off as quickly as many in the industry had hoped. Last year, shipments of wireless power receivers grew to 20 million units. These included receivers in accessory/add-on products, and those built into to a device so it’s enabled to charge wirelessly straight out
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Date:
07/08/2014
Infineon Technologies complements its portfolio of Reverse Conducting (RC) Soft Switching IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) introducing a 1350V device with a monolithic integrated reverse conduction diode in 20A current class. The  20A RC-H5 devices extend Infineon`s performance leadership of the RC
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Date:
07/08/2014
Freescale Semiconductor announced the addition of the MMPF0200 device to its PF Series of highly programmable power management ICs (PMICs). Optimized to work seamlessly in systems based on Freescale’s i.MX 6Solo, i.MX 6SoloLite and i.MX 6DualLite applications processors, the exceptional configurability and qu
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Date:
07/08/2014
Driving consumer devices cleanly and efficiently is more important now than ever before, because of the growing amount of functionality being put into products today. From our telecommunications infrastructure to power recliners, people are getting used to an increased level of functionality and interoperability in
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Date:
07/08/2014
For more than a decade, energy consumption in low-power and standby modes has been recognized as an important issue. Standby power measurement is a challenge because most power meters on the market today do not have the accuracy to measure low power values accurately - especially at high crest factors and low po
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Date:
07/07/2014
Some portable applications need to be powered up from an external +5V wall adapter supply and still require a +5V system voltage when in battery-backup mode. This design provides a simple method of switching between the external +5V supply and a rechargeable single-cell Lithium-ion (Li+) battery. The design wi
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Date:
07/07/2014
In recent years the development of information technology, artificial intelligence, sensor techniques and mobile-robot technology has led to intelligent systems being applied to smaller household appliances. One of the most representative products of this trend is the robot vacuum. Since the launch of the very fi
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Date:
07/05/2014
As with many other applications, low power precision components have enabled rapid growth of mobile devices. However, unlike many other applications, portable products targeted at industrial, medical and military applications typically have much higher standards for reliability, run time and robustness.  Mu
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Date:
07/05/2014
Lithium-ion batteries have made portable, rechargeable electronics commonplace. Unfortunately, they do have some glaring drawbacks, including heat issues, being made with rare, toxic elements, and the fact the technology doesn't scale up very well, which limits applications. A team of scientists at the University of
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Date:
07/04/2014
Nordic's Bluetooth smart protocol stack enables wearable hubs that don't need smartphones

The S130 SoftDevice is a Bluetooth v4.1 compliant protocol stack and includes all Bluetooth Smart protocol layers up to and including GATT/GAP

Ultra low power (ULP) RF specialist Nordic Semiconductor announced the launch of its most advanced, feature-rich Bluetooth® Smart (formerly known as Bluetooth low energy) protocol stack to date - the S130 SoftDevice - that allows the development of Nordic nRF51 Series SoC-based advanced wearable Bluetooth Smart hu
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Date:
07/03/2014
There are a handful of naturally occurring materials, known as piezoelectric materials, that generate electricity if you bend, stretch or apply another mechanical force to them, and vice versa - if you apply a voltage across them, they'll deform accordingly. These materials are currently the subject of intense res
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Date:
07/03/2014
Paultre on Power - Heinz Oyrer von ams ams über Sensoren in Energiemanagement (German Language Podcast)

Heinz Oyrer von ams

In diesem Podcast spricht Heinz Oyrer von ams mit Alix Paultre von Power Systems-Design über die Rolle von Sensoren in Energiemanagement-und Bewegungssteuerung die sich in komplexen und anspruchsvollen Umgebungen befinden, wie zum Beispiel in Automotive und Industrie Applikationen. ams ist ein Marktführer in
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Date:
07/02/2014
(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp has joined Qualcomm Inc and other technology companies in a bid to establish standard ways for household devices like light bulbs and thermostats to talk to each other. The Qualcomm-backed AllSeen Alliance is among a growing number of efforts for companies working alone or in groups to
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Date:
07/02/2014
X-REL Semiconductor extends XTR2N0x MOSFET transistors family

XTR2N family high-temperature MOSFET

X-REL Semiconductor, a specialist in high-reliability and extreme-temperature integrated circuits, has broadened its XTR2N family of high-temperature MOSFETs by introducing two mid-power P-channel and two small-signal P- and N-channel transistors. Intended for high-reliability, extreme temperature and extended li
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Date:
07/01/2014
Wuerth Elektronik eiSos expands wireless power coil offering

Wuerth Elektronik expands its Wireless Power Coil program

Wuerth Elektronik expands its Wireless Power Coil program with three transmitter coils and one receiver coil. The new round transmitter coils 760 308 100 110 (A10) and 760 308 100 111 (A11) comply with the Qi standard of the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). The ferrite pot core shape has major advantages
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Date:
07/01/2014
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