Processor-based Design

QorIQ moves Power architecture to multicore 6/16/2008

Freescale’s QorIQ next-generation PowerQUICC (quad-integrated-communications-controller) processor line provides a migration path for embedded-multicore designs.

Flexis adds EMC/EMI support to microcontroller family 6/16/2008

Freescale’s Flexis AC family of microcontrollers is the third member of the Flexis series, and it adds support for quiet EMC (electromagnetic-compatibility)/EMI (electromagnetic-interference) performance to both the 8- and 32-bit devices.

Network processor integrates programmable Ethernet switch 6/16/2008

Xelerated’s next-generation HX300 network-processor family integrates traffic management and fully programmable Ethernet switches.

Intel’s Atom came with a fight 6/11/2008

Kicking off its annual research event, Intel Senior Fellow and CTO Justin Rattner called attention to products and technologies that form the basis of the company’s direction, the latest being the Atom processor, which had a bit of a rocky start. According to Rattner, there were at least 3 attempts to sell the company on building a low-power IA processor.

Microcontroller family extends performance of ultralow-power devices 6/9/2008

Texas Instruments’ MSP430F5xx family of 16-bit microcontrollers improves peak processing performance over previous-generation MSP430 devices by more than 50% with a maximum operating frequency of 25 MHz.

Multicore-programming frameworks for embedded-multimedia applications 5/29/2008

Understanding the data-access pattern of an application can help you effectively use the memory and system resources of the underlying architecture to develop a scalable parallel application.

Embedded software development tools make for more flexible silicon 5/15/2008

Evolving approaches to software development go beyond simply making processor-based design faster and easier. An emerging trend sees vendors making hardware more flexible and providing software that allows designers to more easily explore options and move among processing choices.

The case of the 'bad' memory chip 3/20/2008

Tales From The Cube: Is this switch failure due to bad hardware, or a previously dormant software bug?

The 2008 EDN DSP directory 3/20/2008

This year's directory can help you to peel away the layers of complexity to find the perfect digital-signal processor for your project.

Robots on the march, part two 2/7/2008

Evolving robotic-development platforms primarily focus on how to jump-start developers, but they also provide much-needed mechanisms to reuse the software components from one robotic project to another.

EDN Innovation: Awards season comes to technology 2/6/2008

Engineers rarely receive the same fame as those that toil in some higher profile professions. But I don't know of a job that demands a better combination of technical savvy, theoretical knowledge, and creative thought process.

AMD: Fading fast, nearly fini? 12/14/2007

At the moment, AMD is reeling on a number of fronts due to a number of factors. My prognosis for the troubled chipmaker has worsened.

Development boards speed learning and product-development cycle 12/3/2007

How do you use development boards? Complete our survey on development-board usage, and you'll enter a drawing for a special development prize.

H1-B questions hit EDN readers' hot button 10/18/2007

Our online career-oriented survey revealed engineers' strong feelings on outsourcing, education, and the profession most would still choose if they had it to do all over again.

The Intel Developer Forum: ARM-wrestling 9/21/2007

Analysis: Intel's strategy for handheld communications-plus-computing takes aim at ARM and aspires to deliver a true Internet experience to pocketable devices.

Hot-swap circuit allows two computers to monitor an RS-232 channel 5/29/2008

A hot-swap serial-interface circuit allows two computers to monitor all the traffic on an RS-232 port.

Tiny microcontroller hosts dual dc/dc-boost converters 5/15/2008

An Atmel AVR microcontroller can serve as the PWM controller for two dc/dc converters that provide high voltages from a two-cell supply.

Microcontroller displays multiple chart or oscilloscope timing ticks 5/1/2008

A crystal controlled microcontroller generates precise timing ticks.

Microcontroller moving-dot display interface uses three I/O lines 5/1/2008

A moving-dot LED-display interface to a microcontroller uses only three output pins.

Circuit and software provide accurate recalibration for baseline PIC microcontroller’s internal oscillator 5/1/2008

A simple circuit and an assembly-language program allow you to recalibrate the internal oscillator of a PIC microcontroller.