A number of trends in electronics have changed the nature of digital signal processors (DSPs). The automotive industry is going through a transformation toward energy efficiency, from hybrids to hydrogen-powered vehicles. Electronics are central to the radical revamp of cars. Power efficiency is becoming important in virtually all products. Smart electronics have become key to that change. New DSPs are designed to deliver greater power efficiency in smaller sizes, which is critical for handheld devices such as smart phones and home-based medical instruments.
The auto industry is using a greater assortment of microcontrollers from engine performance control to entertainment systems inside the passenger compartment. “Automotive systems such as network-management, comfort and security are now ready for the high-performance 32-bit power architecture,” says Comenico Bille, general manager of the Car Body Div. at STMicroelectronics. “By providing application-optimized platforms that enable engineers to maximize investment in software and hardware development, new microcontrollers will accelerate delivery of greater performance to end users.”
Microcontrollers are also critical in the development of small, power-saving devices such as smart phones that have become tiny entertainment devices and handheld medical devices for home use. “In recent years, customers big and small have approached us with a focus on pure performance, but there has been a shift in the last year or so and developers' first question is now, 'This is my power budget — how can you help me do more with it?'” says Gene Frantz, TI's principal fellow. “The answer is somewhat simple — decades of experience allow us to cut power consumption, improve ease-of-use and drive performance within the controller's architecture through better technology, peripheral integration, parallel processing, analog, connectivity and power management software and tools.”
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
Designing and filling a new type of water bottle might take less engineering work, but the description will help kids understand how science, math, and engineering influence their lives even through things that seem mundane.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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