Featured Products Supplement: November 2015

A monthly selection of the latest products from EEWeb

FEATURED PRODUCTSNovember 2015S U P P L E M E N T

Oculus Rift DK2

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2D Speed and Direction Sensor ICAllegro MicroSystems, LLC announced the availability of a unique dual-channel Hall-effect latch featuring two-dimensional (2D) sensing via a combination of vertical Hall and planar Hall elements. The quadrature outputs of the A1262 allow rotation direction and position to be determined, such as when sensing a rotating ring-magnet target...Read More

Liquid Level ControllerThe EC110 from LCR is a liquid level controller board designed for foodservice OEM equipment industry such as coffee makers and powder mix dispensers. The controller has a maximum power consumption of 5 Watts with an input voltage of 120 or 208/240 VAC. It is to operate at a temperature condition of – 40 ºC to 85 ºC...Read More

Digi-Key Offers ‘Lab-in-a-Box’Digi-Key announces its partnership with the ARM University Program to offer the innovative ‘Lab-in-a-Box’ (LiB) to participating universities worldwide. The LiB is a ARM-based technology training modules equipped to support electronics and computer engineering courses. The partnership it said to greatly benefit university professors and students in their journey to design and create technologies that will impact the world...Read More

Time-of-Flight IC Signal Processing ICIntersil Corporation rolled out its innovative time-of-flight (ToF) signal processing IC that provides a complete object detection and distance measurement solution when combined with an external emitter (LED or laser) and photodiode. The ISL29501 ToF device offers one-of-a-kind functionality, including ultra-small size, low-power consumption and superior performance ideal for connected devices that make up the Internet of Things (IoT), as well as consumer mobile devices and the emerging commercial drone market...Read More

FEATURED PRODUCTS SUPPLEMENT

5

225 A Laser Diode DriverThe PCX-7451 is a high power pulsed current source featuring microprocessor-controlled front panel and RS232 interface that provides individual control of each function, while the backlit display provides immediate visual confirmation of all operating parameters. The driver also delivers current pulses variable from 20 A to 225 A, and pulse repetition frequencies variable from single shot to 5 kHz...Read More

SCR/Diode Plastic Encapsulated ModuleThe MSK 4891 is a Silicon-controlled rectifier/Diode plastic encapsulated module (PEM) intended for use in military, aerospace and other severe environment applications. The SCR/DIODE configuration and 600 volt/300 amp rating make it ideal for use in high current motor drive and inverter brake applications. The Aluminum Silicon Carbide (AlSiC) baseplate offers superior flatness and light weight; far better than the copper or copper alloys found in most high power plastic modules...Read More

Silver Coated Nickel Filled Epoxy SystemMaster Bond EP79FL is a two component, silver coated nickel conductive adhesive for high performance bonding and sealing applications. It features convenient handling, exceptionally low volume resistivity and high flexibility. This formulation also promotes cost-effectiveness when compared to silver conductive systems...Read More

High Precision Power PCB TransformerThe AH/ADH are high precision power PCB transformers with dielectric strength of 2500 Vrms. The devices are designed with molded-in terminals and standard dual secondaries for a variety of applications. These power transformers are available in six standard sizes in either single 115 V and dual 115/230 V primaries at 56/60 Hz...Read More

6

BLDC Motor Gate Driver with Power ModuleThe MCP8024 is a three-phase brushless DC motor gate driver with power module. This device incorporates three half-bridge driver to drive external NMOS/NMOS transistor pairs configured to drive a three-phase BLDc motor, a comparator, a voltage regulator to provide bias to a companion microcontroller, power monitoring comparators, an overtemperature sensor, two level translators and three operational amplifiers for motor current monitoring...Read More

Multiple Function Sensor Development ToolThe SENSOR-PUCK (634-SENSOR-PUCK) is a development tool developed by Silicon Labs featuring sensor demonstration application the runs from internal memory on the Gecko microcontroller. The product also offers Silicon Lab’s advantages on battery-powered applications, with all of its key components operating low power consumptions...Read More

Low-Power Single 3-Input AND GateThe 74AXP1G11 low-power single 3-input AND gate is fully specified for partial power down applications. The device operates across the entire VCC range from 0.7 V to 2.75 V and ensures very low and dynamic power consumption. The circuit is also tolerant to slower input rise and fall times with its Schmitt-trigger action at all inputs... Read More

Optimizing Hearing Aid Design StrategyDesigning a hearing aid has never been an easy task, but with today’s competing demands of size, power consumption, design costs, design flexibility and processing ability, architecting a product that will remain viable long enough to achieve significant returns on investment is an even more Herculean task...Read More

FEATURED PRODUCTS SUPPLEMENT

7

SCD Series Industrial DC to DC ConverterOnlinecomponents.com, an authorized distributor of Sola HD, features the SCD series. The rugged DC to Dc converters are power supplies designed to power industrial control instrumentation devices and equipment wherein AC power is not convenient or accessible. These units can operate through most difficult factory floor conditions around the globe for they feature a wide input range and high reliability...Read More

Flyback Switcher ICs for Auxiliary and Stand-by Power SuppliesPower Integrations rolled out the InnoSwitchTM-EP family of off-line CV/CC flyback switching ICs. Featuring an integrated 725 V MOSFET, synchronous rectification and precise secondary-side feedback sensing control, the new IC family delivers excellent multi-output cross-regulation with full line protection and instantaneous transient response with less than 10mW no load consumption...Read More

Input and Output Filtering - Chapter 5All DC/DC converters have an output ripple voltage due to the charging and discharging of the output capacitor with each pulse of energy from the internal oscillator. This output ripple has a frequency of either the same or double the main oscillation frequency, depending on the topology, and is typically in the 100-200kHz region. Superimposed on this ripple voltage are switching voltage spikes with a much higher frequency, typically in the MHz range... Read More

Tri-Axis Magnetometer and AccelerometerKionix, a ROHM Group Company, features the KMX62. The device is a 6 degrees-of-freedom inertial sensor system which features a 14-bit digital output that can be accessed through I²C communication. Moreover, the device is a sensor that consists of a tri-axial magnetometer plus a tri-axial accelerometer coupled with an ASIC...Read More

8

USB RAID HDD ASSP ICsThe MB86E501 series are USB 3.0 -SATA Bridge ICs intended for USB RAID HDD unit. It enables easy integration and upgrade from legacy USB 2.0 to the up-to-date USB 3.0 storage units. The MB86E501has integrated all necessary functions for RAID Storage using SATA devices into one chip...Read More

1.4 A Bipolar Stepper Motor DriverThe DRV8846 is a 1.4 A bipolar stepper motor driver with on-chip microstepping indexer (Step/Dir Ctrl). This device is intended for cameras, printers, projectors, and other automated equipment applications. It has two H-bridges and a microstepping indexer and is intended to drive a bipolar stepper motor. The output block of each H-bridge driver consists of N-channel and P-channel power MOSFETs configured as full H-bridges to drive the motor windings...Read More

Low Voltage Six Channel LED DriverThe ZLED7022 is a low-noise, constant-frequency charge pump DC/DC converter that can drive up to six LED channels, providing a programmable constant current level ranging from 1.8 mA to 20 mA per LED channel. It has 14 programmable current levels for achieving real-time control of effects such as LED fade-out or sudden changes in brightness. The ZLED7022 features low quiescent current in low-current shutdown mode to approximately 1 µA...Read More

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Oculus Rift DK2

It’s the virtual reality headset that is making waves in the industry. The immense hype for the Oculus Rift began when a prototype of the headset debuted on Kickstarter back in 2012 in development kit form. In 2014, the company released the updated DK2 platform for users to start developing virtual reality games and apps before the headset became available for commercial release. The Oculus Rift boasts unprecedented low-latency visuals and stereoscopic 3D screens that offer the most immersive virtual reality experience to date. So what’s behind the success of the Rift? In today’s TechXposed Teardown, we will take a look at what makes this virtual reality headset work so effectively.

Sponsored by

Source: Sebastian Stabinger, Wikimedia Commons

Source: Ats Kurvet , Wikimedia Commons

FEATURED PRODUCTS SUPPLEMENT

11

Oculus Rift DK2

It’s the virtual reality headset that is making waves in the industry. The immense hype for the Oculus Rift began when a prototype of the headset debuted on Kickstarter back in 2012 in development kit form. In 2014, the company released the updated DK2 platform for users to start developing virtual reality games and apps before the headset became available for commercial release. The Oculus Rift boasts unprecedented low-latency visuals and stereoscopic 3D screens that offer the most immersive virtual reality experience to date. So what’s behind the success of the Rift? In today’s TechXposed Teardown, we will take a look at what makes this virtual reality headset work so effectively.

Sponsored by

Source: Sebastian Stabinger, Wikimedia Commons

Source: Ats Kurvet , Wikimedia Commons

12

OCULUS RIFT DK2

To watch the video teardown of the Oculus Rift DK2, click the image above.

Oculus Rift DK2Product Features • Built-in Latency Tester

• Positional Tracking

• Low Persistence OLED Display

• USB/HDMI Cables

To see what makes this virtual reality headset work, you will need to remove the USB and HDMI cables, which provide power and video to the headset.

Inside the headset, a set of lenses can be twisted out, and then you’ll need to remove the four screws holding the headset together. Four more screws are under plugs that can be pried out.

Separate the plastic shell to reveal the electronics and disconnect the flex circuit holding the two pieces together. You can see the flex circuit covers nearly the entire outer shell. The flex circuit powers 40 infrared LEDs used by the positioning tracking camera.

The logic board is held in place by three screws and a flex circuit threaded through it that connects to the display. The HDMI signal is passed through a Toshiba HDMI interface bridge and then to the display. Five STMicroelectronics low-voltage constant current LED sink drivers drive the 40 IR LEDs. An STM32L100 ARM Cortex-M3 and a Cypress USB 2.0 hub controller round out the logic board. Other than the Oculus logo, there’s not much to see on the back.

Removing a few more screws frees the display from its housing and exposes a few Samsung logos and a Synaptics touch controller. After peeling off the rubber enclosure, we find a complete Samsung screen from the Galaxy Note 3, a 5.7-inch full HD super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen.

Finally, to get inside the positional tracker, pull off the stand, pry off the faceplate, twist off the IR lens filter, and remove some screws. Inside, you’ll find the imager, lens, and an LED board.

For more product teardowns and overviews, visit: http://www.eeweb.com/videos/browse/product_overview/

Lens Assembly Board

Logic Board

Capacitative Touch Screen

http://www.eeweb.com/videos/browse/product_overview/

CC

FEATURED PRODUCTS SUPPLEMENT

13

OCULUS RIFT DK2

To watch the video teardown of the Oculus Rift DK2, click the image above.

Oculus Rift DK2Product Features • Built-in Latency Tester

• Positional Tracking

• Low Persistence OLED Display

• USB/HDMI Cables

To see what makes this virtual reality headset work, you will need to remove the USB and HDMI cables, which provide power and video to the headset.

Inside the headset, a set of lenses can be twisted out, and then you’ll need to remove the four screws holding the headset together. Four more screws are under plugs that can be pried out.

Separate the plastic shell to reveal the electronics and disconnect the flex circuit holding the two pieces together. You can see the flex circuit covers nearly the entire outer shell. The flex circuit powers 40 infrared LEDs used by the positioning tracking camera.

The logic board is held in place by three screws and a flex circuit threaded through it that connects to the display. The HDMI signal is passed through a Toshiba HDMI interface bridge and then to the display. Five STMicroelectronics low-voltage constant current LED sink drivers drive the 40 IR LEDs. An STM32L100 ARM Cortex-M3 and a Cypress USB 2.0 hub controller round out the logic board. Other than the Oculus logo, there’s not much to see on the back.

Removing a few more screws frees the display from its housing and exposes a few Samsung logos and a Synaptics touch controller. After peeling off the rubber enclosure, we find a complete Samsung screen from the Galaxy Note 3, a 5.7-inch full HD super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen.

Finally, to get inside the positional tracker, pull off the stand, pry off the faceplate, twist off the IR lens filter, and remove some screws. Inside, you’ll find the imager, lens, and an LED board.

For more product teardowns and overviews, visit: http://www.eeweb.com/videos/browse/product_overview/

Lens Assembly Board

Logic Board

Capacitative Touch Screen

14

Rittal Enables the

Industry 4.0Revolution

In the 1700s, man harnessed water and steam

to start the industrial revolution. The second

industrial revolution brought us mass production,

while the third increased industrial output through

automation. We are now on the cusp of the fourth

industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, where industrial

decision-making and logistics moves to the

cyber-physical level.

FEATURED PRODUCTS SUPPLEMENT

15

Rittal Enables the

Industry 4.0Revolution

In the 1700s, man harnessed water and steam

to start the industrial revolution. The second

industrial revolution brought us mass production,

while the third increased industrial output through

automation. We are now on the cusp of the fourth

industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, where industrial

decision-making and logistics moves to the

cyber-physical level.

16

» Mechanical or process engineers created designs requiring actuators for automated actions and installation steps.

» Electrical engineers created schematics with wiring and connectivity information for the devices to be installed in these automated steps.

» Between engineering and purchasing, all devices defined in the electrical schematics were ordered. Bills of material were generated, with purchasing departments often recreating orders for each device and supplier.

» Shop workers printed all necessary

The Friedhelm-Loh group of companies works together to simplify and unite the design and manufacturing process—a major portion of Industry 4.0. EPLAN’s Computer Aided Engineering Environment enables designers to pull in an actuator along with its manufacturer-provided attributes—auto-populating the electrical and mechanical design with parts as well as creating a bill of materials that interacts with supply chain and inventory software.

Component interferences within the enclosure can then be simulated to ensure proper interaction and operation and the design can be thermally simulated for excessive heat loads between components and within the enclosure, ensuring that finished products will function exactly as intended upon installation.

Once the design is completed, a modular Rittal enclosure is selected for its ease in hardware and cooling systems installation. Adding custom holes and installing enclosure electronics

is automated thanks to Kiesling’s panel cutting and wiring machines. This interconnection simplifies the original design and enables automatic updating of the complete design if the first step ever changes. From wiring diagrams to custom holes—automatic updates tremendously decrease design iteration time.

EPLAN also interacts with other manufacturer’s equipment to increase efficiencies—like the Clip Project from Phoenix Contact that automatically selects correct terminals and marks labels. EPLAN, Kiesling, and Rittal’s tools can be used separately, but their greatest benefit is when used together synergistically.

Spend less engineering time dealing with repetitive details and iterations, and have faster production turn-around times via the innovative Industry 4.0 tools of the Friedhelm-Loh group. To learn more, read Rittal’s white paper.

This was a labor-intensive process with multiple opportunities for errors and tremendous rework required for simple design changes:

internal, wire, and cable labels according to end customer specs.

» A panel builder or electrician identified the devices required, designed how to fit components in the smallest enclosure possible, and manually cut holes based on schematics.

» Panel builders or electricians utilized the schematics to assemble and wire the components inside the enclosure. Each wire was handled and marked off so all wires were installed correctly, or the controls would not work.

» Finally, everything outside the enclosure was wired to field devices.

Once the design is completed, a modular Rittal enclosure is selected for its ease in hardware and cooling systems installation.

The Friedhelm-Loh group of companies works

together to simplify and unite the design and

manufacturing process.

Previously, every step of design and production for electric, hydraulic, and pneumatic control systems was separate and autonomous.

Rittal's white paper

FEATURED PRODUCTS SUPPLEMENT

17

» Mechanical or process engineers created designs requiring actuators for automated actions and installation steps.

» Electrical engineers created schematics with wiring and connectivity information for the devices to be installed in these automated steps.

» Between engineering and purchasing, all devices defined in the electrical schematics were ordered. Bills of material were generated, with purchasing departments often recreating orders for each device and supplier.

» Shop workers printed all necessary

The Friedhelm-Loh group of companies works together to simplify and unite the design and manufacturing process—a major portion of Industry 4.0. EPLAN’s Computer Aided Engineering Environment enables designers to pull in an actuator along with its manufacturer-provided attributes—auto-populating the electrical and mechanical design with parts as well as creating a bill of materials that interacts with supply chain and inventory software.

Component interferences within the enclosure can then be simulated to ensure proper interaction and operation and the design can be thermally simulated for excessive heat loads between components and within the enclosure, ensuring that finished products will function exactly as intended upon installation.

Once the design is completed, a modular Rittal enclosure is selected for its ease in hardware and cooling systems installation. Adding custom holes and installing enclosure electronics

is automated thanks to Kiesling’s panel cutting and wiring machines. This interconnection simplifies the original design and enables automatic updating of the complete design if the first step ever changes. From wiring diagrams to custom holes—automatic updates tremendously decrease design iteration time.

EPLAN also interacts with other manufacturer’s equipment to increase efficiencies—like the Clip Project from Phoenix Contact that automatically selects correct terminals and marks labels. EPLAN, Kiesling, and Rittal’s tools can be used separately, but their greatest benefit is when used together synergistically.

Spend less engineering time dealing with repetitive details and iterations, and have faster production turn-around times via the innovative Industry 4.0 tools of the Friedhelm-Loh group. To learn more, read Rittal’s white paper.

This was a labor-intensive process with multiple opportunities for errors and tremendous rework required for simple design changes:

internal, wire, and cable labels according to end customer specs.

» A panel builder or electrician identified the devices required, designed how to fit components in the smallest enclosure possible, and manually cut holes based on schematics.

» Panel builders or electricians utilized the schematics to assemble and wire the components inside the enclosure. Each wire was handled and marked off so all wires were installed correctly, or the controls would not work.

» Finally, everything outside the enclosure was wired to field devices.

Once the design is completed, a modular Rittal enclosure is selected for its ease in hardware and cooling systems installation.

The Friedhelm-Loh group of companies works

together to simplify and unite the design and

manufacturing process.

Previously, every step of design and production for electric, hydraulic, and pneumatic control systems was separate and autonomous.

18

“Bud’s rapid turnaround is two to three times faster than most enclosure suppliers, which cover holes,

slots, or other cutouts in the enclosure at no additional cost.”

As your design work on your great new project is wrapping up, you realize that you need an enclosure. In the past, when time was tight you would have to purchase a standard box and then send it out to either your local job shop or the shop in the back of your facility to have the holes and slots put in for such things as connectors, power cords, readouts, or whatever else might be needed. This was either expensive or pulled your employees away from other jobs that they could be doing, but you really didn’t have a choice because getting a custom product out of a typical enclosure manufacturer was harder than getting a bill through Congress.

Today, you have a great alternative—Bud Industries has pioneered rapid turnaround for modifications to its broad line of standard enclosures. Here are the quick steps to making it happen:

First, use Bud’s product selector to choose the product that best matches your needs. Then, check with Bud or your local distributor to be sure it is in stock. Once you’ve found the right enclosure, send us a drawing of required modifications to the box. Of course CAD or 3D models are great, but Bud can also work with as little as a sketch.

When Bud receives your information, they will quickly get a quote out to you; then, as soon as you place your order, Bud will rapidly create a detailed drawing for you to approve. Once you confirm the drawings, Bud will complete

your customized order in 6 days for the first run, and 5 days for repeat orders. This is two to three times faster than most enclosure suppliers, which covers holes, slots, or other cutouts in the enclosure at no additional cost. Additional modifications are also available and include silk screening, plating, special colors, and even special dimensions. Just note that these might add a bit more time to your order.

If you’d like more information on rapid turnaround enclosures or other enclosure modifications, please contact your local Bud distributor or the Bud factory sales team.

Discover the Bud difference at www.BudIND.com.

RAPIDEnclosure Modifications

www.budind.com

FEATURED PRODUCTS SUPPLEMENT

19

“Bud’s rapid turnaround is two to three times faster than most enclosure suppliers, which cover holes,

slots, or other cutouts in the enclosure at no additional cost.”

As your design work on your great new project is wrapping up, you realize that you need an enclosure. In the past, when time was tight you would have to purchase a standard box and then send it out to either your local job shop or the shop in the back of your facility to have the holes and slots put in for such things as connectors, power cords, readouts, or whatever else might be needed. This was either expensive or pulled your employees away from other jobs that they could be doing, but you really didn’t have a choice because getting a custom product out of a typical enclosure manufacturer was harder than getting a bill through Congress.

Today, you have a great alternative—Bud Industries has pioneered rapid turnaround for modifications to its broad line of standard enclosures. Here are the quick steps to making it happen:

First, use Bud’s product selector to choose the product that best matches your needs. Then, check with Bud or your local distributor to be sure it is in stock. Once you’ve found the right enclosure, send us a drawing of required modifications to the box. Of course CAD or 3D models are great, but Bud can also work with as little as a sketch.

When Bud receives your information, they will quickly get a quote out to you; then, as soon as you place your order, Bud will rapidly create a detailed drawing for you to approve. Once you confirm the drawings, Bud will complete

your customized order in 6 days for the first run, and 5 days for repeat orders. This is two to three times faster than most enclosure suppliers, which covers holes, slots, or other cutouts in the enclosure at no additional cost. Additional modifications are also available and include silk screening, plating, special colors, and even special dimensions. Just note that these might add a bit more time to your order.

If you’d like more information on rapid turnaround enclosures or other enclosure modifications, please contact your local Bud distributor or the Bud factory sales team.

Discover the Bud difference at www.BudIND.com.

RAPIDEnclosure Modifications

20

TapTapTech

By Josh Bishop

Sponsored by

Autonomous Vehicles

Nearly ten years ago, I was watching a Nova special, the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, where DARPA was offering a lot of money to the fastest team that could successfully have an autonomous vehicle drive a little over a hundred and thirty miles in the desert. While it was incredibly fascinating to see the thought process the different teams put into their vehicles and all of the challenges I’d never considered, the craziest thing to me is that the 2005 Grand Challenge happened only because the 2004 Grand Challenge didn’t have a single vehicle finish the course. The farthest vehicle made it less than ten miles. Now, ten years later, we have autonomous vehicles driving on public roads in cities—significantly more difficult situations than an empty desert.

The winner, 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge —Stanford’s Stanley (courtesy DARPA)

FEATURED PRODUCTS SUPPLEMENT

21

TapTapTech

By Josh Bishop

Sponsored by

Autonomous Vehicles

Nearly ten years ago, I was watching a Nova special, the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, where DARPA was offering a lot of money to the fastest team that could successfully have an autonomous vehicle drive a little over a hundred and thirty miles in the desert. While it was incredibly fascinating to see the thought process the different teams put into their vehicles and all of the challenges I’d never considered, the craziest thing to me is that the 2005 Grand Challenge happened only because the 2004 Grand Challenge didn’t have a single vehicle finish the course. The farthest vehicle made it less than ten miles. Now, ten years later, we have autonomous vehicles driving on public roads in cities—significantly more difficult situations than an empty desert.

The winner, 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge —Stanford’s Stanley (courtesy DARPA)

22

It wasn’t an immediate jump from no autonomy to complete autonomy. Cars have seen increased autonomy for years now, and researchers have been working on various forms for decades. Even the ubiquitous cruise control is really a form of autonomy. But now automatic braking, lane correction, and automatic parking aren’t really uncommon. Even hearing the latest exploits of Google’s Self Driving Car, unsurprisingly led by the team leader of the 2005 Grand Challenge’s winner, is pretty normal news.

However, despite the incredibly fast progress of the last decade, there are still concerns that need to be addressed. Autonomous cars don’t do well with variations in the road—poor visibility, policemen giving signals, construction or temporary signs. And as Jeep has

demonstrated very recently, any security flaws could be incredibly scary. Also, legal liability is still a quagmire that has yet to be sorted out—is it the car manufacturer’s fault for a crash or the owner’s? These are just a few of the problems still faced by autonomous cars.

There are some people who are saddened by this loss of control and I can understand that sensation. Personally, though, I have two big reasons I’m very much looking forward to this. First—I’m lazy and I’d love to be able to read or take a nap instead of driving. Second—my oldest is turning eight very soon, so I have another eight years before I become the typical worrying dad of a driving teen. Here’s crossing my fingers that I can get her a driverless car by that time.

Lexus RX450h retrofitted by Google for its driverless car fleet. Photo by Steve Jurvetson.

Legal liability is still a quagmire that has yet to be sorted out—is it the car manufacturer’s fault for a crash, or the owner’s?

FEATURED PRODUCTS SUPPLEMENT

23

It wasn’t an immediate jump from no autonomy to complete autonomy. Cars have seen increased autonomy for years now, and researchers have been working on various forms for decades. Even the ubiquitous cruise control is really a form of autonomy. But now automatic braking, lane correction, and automatic parking aren’t really uncommon. Even hearing the latest exploits of Google’s Self Driving Car, unsurprisingly led by the team leader of the 2005 Grand Challenge’s winner, is pretty normal news.

However, despite the incredibly fast progress of the last decade, there are still concerns that need to be addressed. Autonomous cars don’t do well with variations in the road—poor visibility, policemen giving signals, construction or temporary signs. And as Jeep has

demonstrated very recently, any security flaws could be incredibly scary. Also, legal liability is still a quagmire that has yet to be sorted out—is it the car manufacturer’s fault for a crash or the owner’s? These are just a few of the problems still faced by autonomous cars.

There are some people who are saddened by this loss of control and I can understand that sensation. Personally, though, I have two big reasons I’m very much looking forward to this. First—I’m lazy and I’d love to be able to read or take a nap instead of driving. Second—my oldest is turning eight very soon, so I have another eight years before I become the typical worrying dad of a driving teen. Here’s crossing my fingers that I can get her a driverless car by that time.

Lexus RX450h retrofitted by Google for its driverless car fleet. Photo by Steve Jurvetson.

Legal liability is still a quagmire that has yet to be sorted out—is it the car manufacturer’s fault for a crash, or the owner’s?

Sierra Circuits:A Complete PCB Resource

PLUS: The Ground ” Myth in PrintedCircuits

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PCB Resin Reactor+

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Let There Be

How Cree reinvented the light bulb

LIGHT

David ElienVP of Marketing & Business

Development, Cree, Inc.

New LED Filament Tower

Cutting Edge Flatscreen Technologies

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FUTURE— Hugo van Nispen, COO of DNV KEMA

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TQ-Group’s Comprehensive Design Process

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