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| EDA Alert e-Newsletter |
June 17, 2008
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Webinar: Supercharging Products with Embedded RFID
June 26 @ 2 pm ET
Sponsored by SkyeTek
They may still look the same on the outside, but embedded RFID readers
and software can transform products from the inside, offering
manufacturers, OEMs, and product designers new opportunities for
competitive advantage through increased efficiency, accuracy and product
differentiation. With an seemingly unending list of products, RFID is a
key technique to adding new functionality, increasing reliability and
enhancing the user experience. At this webinar and interactive Q&A
session learn the difference between RFID and existing barcode and
contact technologies; and how embedded RFID has new applications in
disposable authentication, smart shelves and cabinets, contactless
payments, tracking, inventory and stock, and customizable
configurations. Also catch up on unique technical and business
considerations for embedded RFID and companies that are already
implanting the technology.
Register now!
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A 45th DAC Post-Mortem
By David Maliniak, EDA Editor
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Last week’s 45th Design Automation Conference (DAC) in Anaheim was
my twelfth consecutive DAC, and it was surely the most interesting and
different I’ve experienced in journalistic terms. Yeah, that was me
traipsing around the show floor with my colleague Damian Mendez in tow,
toting a great big video camera. It was my first experience in
documenting DAC in video, and I would term it a success.
Read the
full article...
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This year's DAC, held in Anaheim earlier this month, lived up to all
the expectations from this blockbuster event. Large exhibits, great
panels, and technology galore. EDA Editor David Maliniak was there with
a camera in hand. Check out our exclusive DAC page and catch up on all
the highlights.
SID 2008
Display Week, also known as SID 2008, left some clear impressions about
the state of display technologies. Various forms of LCDs created most
show activity. This is a mature and dominant technology, widely used in
television sets, computer displays, and handheld products. Check out the
highlights from the show.
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The Stanford Testbed of Autonomous Rotorcraft for Multi-Agent
Control (STARMAC) is a multi-vehicle testbed used to demonstrate new
concepts in multi-agent control on a real-world platform. In order to
make such a testbed easy to use, the Stanford team focused on a small,
light, low-cost design, which presented numerous opportunities for
innovative work. STARMAC consists of up to eight quadrotor vehicles that
autonomously track a given waypoint trajectory. On board components
include: Robostix for inner loop control from Gumstix, Stargate SBC from
Crossbow (based on the Intel Xscale PXA255 microprocessor) with a
Netgear MA701 Compact Flash Wifi card, PC104 for high level planning and
automation, a Superstar II Differential GPS receiver from Novatel
(outputs 10 Hz carrier phase measurement data), a 3DM-GX1 Inertial
Measurement Unit from MicroStrain, a Sonic Rangefinder from Acroname,
and caps, resistors, voltage regulators from Digikey.
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Rev up fuel efficiency and win $10,000
Design an energy-saving solution for automotive applications
Infineon and Auto Electronics invite you to participate in the “REV UP
FUEL EFFICIENCY†design contest. Take “the green challenge†and
design a solution using Infineon products that enables or improves
energy efficiency for automotive applications. You could win a grand
prize of $10,000, a second prize of $5,000 or a third prize of
$2,000.
The three winners will get an all-expenses-paid trip to the Infineon and
Auto Electronics Contest Award Ceremony at Convergence 2008. In
addition, your winning design will be featured at the Infineon booth
during the show. Submit your entry by August 15, 2008.
See you at CONVERGENCE 2008, Booth 409.
For complete contest rules or to take the design challenge, go to http://autoelectronics.com/contest/rev-up
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RF Design Environment Gains Improved User
Interface
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Version 2008 of AWR’s Microwave Office design environment includes
more than 100 enhancements and sweeping changes to the user interface
that dramatically increase its flexibility for the user. Features such
as project, elements, layout tabs, and the status window are now fully
dockable and floatable, providing a design environment that is fully
configurable to suit personal preferences.
Read the
full article...
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Algorithmic Synthesis Is Extended To
FPGAs
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Building on the strength of its PICO Extreme algorithmic synthesis
tool for SoCs, Synfora’s PICO Extreme FPGA extends algorithmic
synthesis technology to FPGA devices. PICO Extreme FPGA enables the
implementation of dramatically larger and more complex FPGA subsystems
such as video codecs, wireless modems, or imaging pipelines and ensures
more efficient implementation of complex algorithms than any other
synthesis capability, according to Synfora.
Read the
full article...
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I/O Fabric Generator Spins Complex SoC
Designs
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The Spinner I/O fabric generation tool for automated, bug-free I/O
fabric synthesis of complex SoCs is said to automatically generate and
validate the RTL for the complete I/O layer of an IC from a
single-source specification.
Read the
full article...
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Flow-Optimization Suite Spurs Technology
Donation
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The Magillem flow-optimization suite is comprised of an IP-XACT
packager, platform assembly tool, complete development environment, flow
control tool, and a register view kit. The Magillem suite enables
homogeneous design flow integration for various targets such as ASICs,
FPGAs, electronic boards, analog/mixed-signal systems, and other complex
systems. Adaptation kits have been developed for each target.
Read the
full article...
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The latest Apple iPhone will hit the
market on July 11. Will you get one?
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- Yes! I can't wait for its 3G services.
- I'll wait for prices to come down and/or the bugs to reveal
themselves.
- No. My current cell phone works just fine, thanks.
Click here to
take the poll. Remember to scroll down, the poll is at the bottom of the
page.
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Your Ideas For Design Can Win $500
Send us your Ideas for Design and we'll pay you $150 for every Idea for
Design that we publish. In addition, the year's top design as selected
by our readers will earn an additional $500, with two runners-up each
receiving $250. You can submit your Ideas for Design via e-mail to: dbs@penton.com or, mail your material
to:
Ideas for Design
Electronic Design
45 Eisenhower Dr., Suite 550
Paramus, NJ 07652
Click here for our guidelines on Ideas for Design...
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Inside Steve’s Brain
By Leander Kahney
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Each chapter of Inside Steve’s Brain explores a different
facet of what’s made Jobs and Apple (not to mention Pixar) so
successful: organizational genius, perfectionism, elitism, despotism,
passion, inventiveness. It also looks at some of the traits that have
made him a legend in Silicon Valley.
Read the
full article...
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