Biometrics: You are your password For verifying your identity, your physical attributes are better in many ways than a
password. But which attributes to use and what mass-market products should be the first to
use this technology are provoking a spirited debate in the biometrics community. --Dan Strassberg, Senior Technical Editor
Design Features
EDN's Innovation Campaign winners Your votes have been tallied in EDN's annual campaign to recognize innovative
people and products. We are proud to present the winners and congratulate all the
nominations in a strong field of entries.
EDN's Hands-On Project: Getting a
handle on HDLs Programmable-logic chips and designs are growing more complex. As a result, you'll
sooner or later need to add HDL expertise to your skills if you want to keep hitting those
project deadlines. For this Hands-On proj-ect, I learn VHDL, complete a mixed logic and
embedded-memory design in an FPGA, and share observations along the way. --Brian Dipert, Technical Editor
Defibrillator technology: help in a
heartbeat Advances in medicine normally come from the laboratories of white-coated scientists
and physicians. This time, designers can take the credit for an evolutionary step in
automatic-defibrillator technology that could save as many as 100,000 lives a year. --Warren Webb, Technical Editor
Power-factor correction: Rx for medical power
supplies A power-factor-corrected power supply allows more instruments to plug into a single
outlet, which is an important consideration for both industrial and medical settings.
Power-factor correction also ensures adherence to international harmonic-current
regulations. --Danis Carter, Principal Engineer, Nellcor Puritan-Bennett
Versatile ICs enable chemistry-independent
battery charging Fast-moving battery technology poses a question for designers: whether to choose the
latest technology for maximum performance or to sacrifice performance for a mature and
more reliable technology. The advent of chemistry-independent battery chargers helps to
resolve this problem. --Matt Schindler, Maxim Integrated Products
