What do you think of when you hear the word “gateway”? The literal definition, “an opening that can be closed by a gate” or “a means of access or entry to a place,” makes sense in the context of electronics and our connected world, where a gateway provides a local network with access to another network or to the internet. In this article, I’ll explain some…

Matter, formerly known as Project Connected Home over IP (CHIP), is a royalty-free connectivity standard developed within the Connectivity Standards Alliance, formerly the Zigbee Alliance. Matter runs on Thread and Wi-Fi® network layers and uses&...

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries in 2018. As design engineers, we often think about our world – or more specifically, the applications we develop – in binary code: 1s an...

Imagine a design where you can reduce the number of analog components and shrink your board size. A design where you can customize features for your specific application and optimize your system for performance, power, size, and cost. Did you know th...

The world population is 7.8 billion and is on the rise, with an estimate of 10 billion by 2050. The growing population needs basic necessities such as food, clothing and ever-increasing comforts safely and securely. Industry 4.0 technologies today and upcoming Industry 5.0 innovations in smart manufacturing, smart buildings and smart grid can serve these…

Other Parts Discussed in Post: BQ79616-Q1, CC2662R-Q1The year 2019 marked more than 2 million sales of electric vehicles(EVs), and reports indicate sales may reach as high as 8 million annually in the next few years, with China leading the way. Batte...

Gallium nitride (GaN) field-effect transistors (FETs) provide drastically improved switching losses and higher power density over silicon-carbide and silicon-based FETs, respectively. These traits can be particularly helpful in high-switching-frequency applications such as digital power converters, where they can help reduce the size of the magnetics.

Designers…

TI Arm Clang is a new set of compiler tools for TI Arm Cortex microcontrollers and represents the future of the TI Arm compiler. This new toolchain is based on the LLVM project and uses Clang as the C/C++ front end.  Ultimately this new toolch...

When designing a system, the main goal is to meet high performance requirements at a low overall cost. It’s a delicate balance that influences the architecture of the whole system. Many systems, such as field transmitters, thermometers and electricity meters (also called e-meters) include at least one sensor, which may require an analog front end (AFE) as well. However, simply…

Most modern Internet-of-Things appliances and devices can be monitored, controlled and activated from anywhere in the world. These things generate data regularly, and collectively they account for a massive amount of data. To access information and services quickly and reliably, companies across all sectors are more invested in connectivity, which entails faster, more reliable networks and better encryption and security…

You probably find it challenging to set up the various components for your designs. Software development can often be daunting in its complexity, and the added effort of figuring out every component in a system can be intimidating when beginning a design. In order to speed time to market and simplify the software development process when interfacing embedded processing components…

You’re probably constantly looking for ways to optimize your printed circuit board (PCB) designs. From reducing board size to lowering costs and component count, maximizing efficiency is a requirement for almost any design.

Adding a small, low-cost microcontroller (MCU) for simple housekeeping functions…

With its low-cost and low-power features, Bluetooth® Low Energy technology has become the foundation for a wide range of applications. One example is using Bluetooth beacons to create a real-time location system, which is a positioning system that can monitor the whereabouts of equipment or people.

So what role does Bluetooth play in this type of application? Asset tracking uses Bluetooth tags that communicate with…

Bluetooth® connects us to the world through our smartphone. We can interface with door locks, thermostats or even our cars. But is all Bluetooth the same? Do you unlock your car with the same Bluetooth that you used to stream music from your phone to a smart speaker?

The answer is yes – and no. Bluetooth Low Energy is a standards-based…

As soon as you receive a new development kit, you want to get started developing as quickly as possible, right? Searching for all of the right tools and resources can be a daunting task that slows you down – unless the tools you are using could determine the resources you need automatically.

Using TI’s cloud-based development tools, it is possible to plug in your LaunchPad…

In just a few decades, the world has seen the replacement of human-operated machinery and vehicles with intelligent versions now operated autonomously or with less human intervention. With such rapid growth, the industrial and automotive markets hav...

Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as sensor nodes are often cost-sensitive and commonly utilize resource-constrained wireless microcontrollers (MCUs). These resource constraints, including limited on-chip memory and security features, may prevent the use of some security standards available in desktop or server environments. However, as they connect to the Internet and often reside in unsecured locations, IoT devices…

Tim Simerly co-authored this technical article

In a twist of irony, the massive technological expansion of the telephone system – which led to the creation of the internet and all of its features and benefits – enables millions of simultaneous transactions without requiring a single human conversation. Yet in this efficiency-focused 21st century world, the plethora of voice-activated smart home devices confirms that…

A consumer’s first impression is often based on two things: what a product looks like and how they interact with it. Strong first impressions are important. High-performance capacitive touch and proximity-sensing technologies enable product designers to make bold statements to consumers, not only improving how their products look, but refining how they interact with the product.

The process of implementing a capacitive…

Hi. Nick here for TI Connect...The Podcast. TI's beloved Connect video series, covering all things connectivity, is now available as a Podcast. Don't worry - the Connect video series isn't going anywhere. There will still be new Connect episodes exploring the latest industry trends, TI's Connectivity technology, demos, training and more. But now you can also listen and learn on the go from our experts with…

 

Wireless technologies are the backbone of our rapidly evolving, connected world. These technologies push different boundaries around communication speed, range and integration. Developers and manufacturers are looking for standardized solutions that offer a simplified approach to Internet of Things (IoT) design.

 

While communication speed has been a priority…

Wouldn’t it be nice to know the condition of parts in your car exposed to mechanical vibrations or shock from the engine, or to get information about the status of systems operating under severe mechanical vibration conditions in an automated factory? With this information, you could perform predictive maintenance and replace fatigued parts before they fail completely, substantially…

  Innovation in the semiconductor industry is often about adding on to an existing product, but less is more when it comes to design. At TI, we looked at the electronic build of materials (BOM) surrounding our SimpleLinkTM wireless MCUs and dec...

Employing machine learning and neural networks in factories improves applications like machine vision, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and robotics by making them smarter, which improves operational efficiency. Embedded microcontrollers and processors have been used for decades in manufacturing to automate repetitive processes, but deploying machine-learning algorithms to…

 

In a world where just about everything is connected, design engineers are always looking for new ways to enable wireless technology without compromising range or performance. Many thermostats or heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) controllers have built-in wireless technology, enabling homeowners to communicate with their smart home by simply using their cellphone…