Elektor Business Edition 4/2018 Now Available: Automotive

The Arduino and Raspberry Pi have revolutionized the field of embedded systems design. One area of widespread applicability for both devices has been motor control. But if you would like to learn more about Arduino- and Raspberry Pi-based motor control applications, a quick search on the Internet will only complicate things. You’ll find thousands of motor control projects based on these popular platforms. The problem, of course, is locating high-quality, well-tested motor control projects from reliable sources, which is hard to do because do-it-yourselfers and students are uploading new Arduino and Raspberry Pi-based projects to the Internet each day. Fortunately, Dogan Ibrahim had the foresight to write a comprehensive book on DC motor control designs featuring the Arduino platform and Raspberry Pi Zero W single-board computer (SBC).

The YDLidar X4 is a very affordable Lidar that is mainly intended for applications in robots. The software is targeted at Visual Studio 2010 and there are demo applications for Windows and Linux. All necessary libraries are freely available, of course. The Lidar measures 360 degrees around and detects obstacles from 12 cm to more than 10 meters.

The M5Stack takes a different approach to ESP32 prototyping as projects developed on it are finished products at the same time. This is possible because the board is built into a nice-looking enclosure including a graphical display, pushbuttons, microSD card slot, USB-C, and loudspeaker. But there is much more...

Taking full advantage of the Raspberry Pi’s open architecture, you can customise and program the NanoSound HiFi DAC. With the Volumio software or any other player software and the Infrared Remote Control, NanoSound gives you the best audio performance and experience you can expect from such an audio player.

The RPi doesn't actually need a push to boost its popularity. Nevertheless, this new way of providing a plug-and-play setup for this platform will substantially widen the circle of friends. Even the timidest beginner will find in it a comfortable environment for programming his own Pi-driven hard- and software. Many programming languages are available. For a start, tinker around with existing ready-to-go projects, and soon you will follow your own ideas.

Black Magic Probe – JTAG & SWD ARM debugger is a very small and lightweigh board designed for more efficient embedded programming. When you run into a problem with a program you are writing, the Black Magic Probe allows you to follow the execution step by step. Run your program in real-time and interrupt it at any step to inspect and modify CPU registers or variables or watch them as they change. You can also inspect the Function Call Stack and much more. You'll do the right things right in time! Instead of complex and expensive proprietary black-box tools, you’ll find openness, simplicity, and reliability. Forget about difficult to set up and maintain open source solutions.

You must have heard about the SmartScope, the little box that liberated Measuring Man from the wall outlet. Since it became available, anyone can take his 'scope on the road: a single cable turns a tablet, a laptop or a smartphone into an oscilloscope. Despite its colour, it ain't no black box. By giving full access to the software framework of the SmartScope, a whole new dimension of possibilities is opening up.

Each week, the Elektor Business curates noteworthy electronics industry-related news items from the past several days. Review the following news items and then contact our editors and engineers on social media if you have any questions or comments.

The Elektor Team works hard each day to engage its constantly growing community of maker pros, electrical engineers, students, and electronics enthusiasts. This month, we are excited to be running two contests and a group buy. We encourage everyone to check out the following offerings and share your thoughts with the Elektor community on social media.

Microchip Technology Inc. announces the new CryptoAutomotive™ In-Vehicle Network (IVN) TrustAnchor/Border Security Device (TA/BSD) development kit. This tool enables OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to introduce security to networked vehicle systems, starting in areas of priority, with the highest level of protection and without disruption elsewhere.

MAGMENT is a Germany-based startup that produces magnetizable concrete material — either cement- or asphalt-based. CEO Mauricio Esguerra describes the company’s patented technology.