Elektor Business News Roundup (April 19, 2018)

Gone are the days of tech companies focusing solely on their core product offerings. Today, chip makers are working on artificial intelligence projects, IP vendors are investing in IoT security research, and social media giants are looking into silicon design (and even FPGAs). We believe these are positive signs pointing to a healthy, evolving industry. Let’s review some of the most compelling electronics industry news stories from the past week.

Along with increasing levels of “analogue talk” in the labs I was happy to hear a motto again from the old days of electronics: “your circuit is as good as its power supply”. Unfortunately, the AC power supply in particular is one of the least appealing circuits to study let alone develop, build, optimize and hopefully sell on the market. After all, this is electronics, right? Not electrical engineering, and there’s always 230 V or so on the wall outlet. True, but In practice much DC to AC conversion and vice versa will remain necessary in the coming years, and that is one of the key points covered by Würth Elektronik’s “Red Expert” online product.

Analog System Lab Kit PRO is a 14-step learning-by-experimenting program in analog electronics. It provides students with a solid and engaging framework. All experiments are based on general purpose integrated circuits. Main topics are: amplifiers, feedback, multivibrators. Integrators, differentiators, analogue filters, function generators, V-C oscillators, Phase Lock Loop (PLL), Automatic Gain Control, Automatic Volume Control, DC-DC Converter, (LDO) regulator Digitally Controlled Gain Stage Amplifier, Digitally Programmable Square and Triangular wave generator/oscillator.

Taiwanese startup Cubiio Muherz ran a successful crowdfunding campaign last year on Indiegogo to finance a mini desktop laser engraver. By campaign end, it had raised 55 times the target to fund production of the project, but there are still a few perks available on the campaign page...

Depending on their location, Elektor GOLD members may already have received their copy of Elektor Magazine edition 3/2018 covering May and June. This news item is to announce that the new edition is also available for non-members to purchase. You can either choose to get your copy in print, posted directly to your door completely free of charge, or purchase the digital edition (PDF). Elektor Magazine is not available from bookstores or kiosks.

Nordic Automation Systems have released an LED street light wireless luminaire controller compliant with the LoRa wide area network (WAN) standard. The new Zhaga 18 Luminaire Controller is compliant with the Zhaga Consortium’s ”Book 18 LED luminaire interface standard” and measures just 40 x 19mm. According to Nordic Automation Systems the Zhaga 18 is easy to fit not only mechanically in various designs in street luminaires but also electronically with the controller supporting customisable dimming profiles and a DALI interface. Control through a DALI-2 interface (or optionally with a DALI bridge as well) permits users to add more addresses on a single DALI network.

Physicists from the University of Groningen have, with colleagues from Nijmegen and Hong Kong, fabricated a superconducting, 1-molecule-thick layer of tungsten-disulphide that is activated with an electric field. By gradually increasing the field strength, they demonstrated that the material changed from an insulator to a superconductor and beyond that into an insulator again. Their measurements clearly show the 'dome shaped' superconducting phase; they were the first to come up with an explanation for this phenomenon...

Besides small SUVs, crossovers are also filters used in audio to divide the audio signal into two or more frequency bands. A typical example is a home cinema audio system where a subwoofer handles the low bass frequencies while other speakers handle the mid and high frequencies. Here is an active 3-way crossover design with three or four stages based on state-variable filters.

Elektor Business Edition (EBE) offers innovators, electronics engineers and startup companies essential information and insights into the latest products, research and intelligence from the industry. Elektor Business Edition 2/2018 for April and May has a focus on Industry 4.0 and Automation.

Electric vehicles have seen an impressive growth the last few years. But how green are electric cars? Let’s compare electric cars with internal combustion engines during their lifetime.