TI has has announced their MSP430FR57xx ultra-low-power ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) line of 16-bit microcontrollers. Their stated benefits are the ability to write data more than 100 times faster with power consumption of 250 times less than flash- and EEPROM-based microcontrollers. They are also code compatible with other MSP platforms. The on-chip FRAM allows […]
Category Archives: News
Setup MSP430 peripherals with point and click GUI
TI launched a new point and click GUI that configures MSP430 peripherals. Just select your options and C configuration code is generated. This could be a huge time saver for even experienced developers. Less time digging in a datasheet? Sign us up: the Grace software platform [is] a free visual plug-in that enables developers to […]
Energy harvesting wireless sensors use TCP/IP
EnOcean has introduced a line of energy harvesting wireless sensor modules. Designed to function without the need for an external power source, these modules, ranging from a simple push button to transceiver gateways and programmable system components, are designed to operate in the 315 MHz and 868 MHz unlicensed bands. Unlike sensors using proprietary RF […]
Open source program reveals iPhone tracker data
Reportedly since the release of iOS4 Apple has had software on iPhones allowing their location to be tracked and logged for statistical purposes. Here’s an open-source application that maps the information that your iPhone is recording about your movements. It doesn’t record anything itself, it only displays files that are already hidden on your computer. […]
New State of Electronics documentary trailer
There’s a new preview for the State of Electronics a documentary about open hardware. The first trailer is here The producer hopes a network will be interested if there are a lot of youtube views, your extra hit could make it possible. Interesting fact: filmed with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital camera. Video […]
What does a $7,500 dev kit look like?
We’re all familiar with CPLD and FPGA. Now Tabula, Inc., has debuted their line of 3PLD chips. Known as the ABAX product family and presently targeted primarily at communications equipment vendors, the chips are said to employ an innovative architecture called Spacetime that enables the devices to achieve superior density and capability for logic, memory, […]
Verizon 2011 data breach report
Verizon has released their 2011 Data Breach Investigations Report, a 74 page PDF cataloging the various type of cyber attacks they encountered in 2010. It resulted from a study conducted by the Verizon RISK Team with cooperation from the U.S. Secret Service and the Dutch High Tech Crime Unit. Despite the cool cover, it’s mostly […]
MachXO2 Pico Development Kit promo
Remember the Lattice MachXO2 PLD we mentioned back in December? Well the MachXO2 Pico Development Kits are now available from Lattice Semi! The MachXO2 Pico Development Kit features the MachXO2 LCMXO2-1200ZE device, 1 Mbit SPI Flash, I2C temperature sensor, an expansion header for JTAG, SPI, I2C and GPIO interfaces, an LCD display and capacitive touch […]
Dayton Hamvention May 20-22, 2011
The 60th annual Dayton Hamvention, a three-day amateur radio, computer and technology gathering is set this year for May 20-22, 2011, at the Dayton Hara Arena, 1001 Shiloh Springs Road, Dayton, OH 45415. Dozens of commercial radio and electronics vendors as well as numerous individual flea market vendors will be in attendance. While this is […]
How cops hack your cellphone in 90 seconds
You may have seen reports in the media recently, such as this MSNBC report highlighting the practice by police of extracting data from the cellphones of innocent civilians. While we’re not going to discuss the political or legal aspects of this practice, from a hacker perspective it’s interesting to know what type of tools and […]
The MAKE Volume 27 Robot Contest!
Tinkering with a cool robotics project? Then polish off your creation and submit it to the MAKE Robot Contest! In preparation for Volume 27 (the Robot issue) MAKE is holding a contest for robot enthusiasts to see who can build the “most entertaining” robot. The rules are: 1. Come up with an entertaining, original robot […]
Millimeter-scale implantable computing system
This tiny sensor system is an implantable device to monitor eye pressure in glaucoma patients: Researchers from the University of Michigan at ISSCC discuss a prototype implantable eye pressure monitor for glaucoma patients that is believed to contain the first complete millimeter-scale computing system. Thanks bearmos! Via the contact form.
Philliebot throws out first pitch
At this afternoon’s game the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team will have the opening pitch thrown out by none other than Philliebot, part of science day at the ballpark. The bot was assembled in just six weeks by the engineers at the University of Pennsylvania’s General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception Laboratory. The robot’s computer brain […]
‘Robot Journalist’ out-writes human sports reporter
Here’s an article from NPR noting the progress that’s been made in the little known area of robotic writing. In this account a software program by the Narrative Science company was able to write a sports story combining facts and highlighting topics appropriately, producing an article judged superior to the work of a human writer […]
Altera breaks industry record for most transistors on an IC
Altera today issued a press release announcing that it set an industry milestone in semiconductor technology by delivering the most transistors ever packed onto an integrated circuit. Altera’s 28-nm Stratix® V FPGAs are the semiconductor industry’s first devices to feature 3.9 billion transistors. “Altera surpassed the known record for transistors when it taped out Stratix […]
TI TMS320C5000 DSP dev-board
TI has new credit card sized dev-boards for the TMS320C5000 digital signal processor (DSP): The C5502 eZdsp development tool, which includes a range of integrated peripheral devices along with an XDS100v2 JTAG emulator, a complete version of the industry-leading CCS IDE v4 and access to chip support, optimized DSP, Image and Telecom library with source […]
FCC adopts spread spectrum rules changes
According to the ARRL, the FCC has adopted changes to the rules governing the use of spread spectrum radio transmissions by US Amateur Radio operators. The rule changes, which take effect April 29, 2011, eliminate the requirement that amateur stations transmitting Spread Spectrum use Automatic Power Control (APC) to reduce transmitter power. This requirement proved […]
Radiation sensor board for Arduino
David writes: We are very glad to announce we have just uploaded all the information of the Radiation Sensor Board The main finality of the Radiation Sensor Board for Arduino is to help people in Japan to measure the levels of radiation in their everyday life after the unfortunate earthquake and tsunami struck Japan in […]
Microsoft demos a Kinect-driven armchair
Microsoft demoed a Kinect-driven armchair at the MIX11 conference in Las Vegas. This proof of concept device controls a motorized platform armchair using hand gestures. The source code for this project will reportedly be made available with Microsoft’s release this Spring of its Kinect for Windows SDK which will open up development using Visual Basic, […]
FCC launches beta of new website
The FCC has launched the beta version of its newly redesigned website. New tools for exploring spectrum allocation, radio frequency licenses, rules and more. According to their press release:This beta launch isn’t a beta in a traditional sense. FCC.gov will change again — and quickly. It’s an approach that’s fairly foreign to the way most […]