Traction inverters are the main consumer of battery power in electric vehicles (EVs), with power levels reaching 150 kW or higher. The efficiency and performance of traction inverters directly impact an EV’s driving range on a single charge. Therefore, to build the next generation of these systems, the industry has widely adopted silicon carbide (SiC) field-effect transistors…
Think of a passenger car as a collection of electronic control units (ECUs) that are distributed across the length and breadth of the car and that talk to each other using different networks. When adding more advanced automotive electronics for vehicle-to-everything (V2X), automated driving and vehicle electrification, the number of ECUs increases and the amount of data exchanged grows.
The domain architecture explained…
In Industry 4.0, the amount of diagnostic data is growing each year, enabling systems to become smarter, remain online longer and – in the end – increase productivity. In programmable logic controller (PLC) systems, robotics and machine tools, one area that is still traditionally lacking diagnostic data is 24-VDC power, which distributes power to different control systems…
In the satellite industry, dramatic increases in local data processing, support for higher throughput communication links and the rapid adoption of electrical propulsion systems are driving demand for much higher performance electrical power systems (EPSs). The EPS is part of the bus section of a satellite, providing structural support and housing subsystems such as power, thermal…
Wi-Fi® is increasingly available and even expected in many of today’s settings, from a simple at-home blood pressure monitor to a company’s network of devices and entire public utility grids. With Wi-Fi, homeowners can safely and securely control smart ovens, electric vehicle charging stations or sprinkler systems to save time and energy. Building managers can implement remote lighting…
Co-authored by Abby Kainer
In the past decade, radar-sensing technology began replacing traditional automotive-sensing modalities given its many advantages – which include long-range detection, higher resolution and increased accuracy – for the implementation of driver safety features, autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance systems.
Radar technology…
Automotive on-board chargers and server power supplies are highly constrained system environments where power density is a primary metric. It’s important to reduce the volume of the electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter components so that the solution can fit into demanding form factors.
Common-mode (CM) filters for these and other high-density applications…
With the trendiness of the term “edge AI” or talk of “having more intelligence at the network edge,” it’s easy to lose sight of the benefits of having more local, real-time processing that doesn’t rely on cloud-based resources to run artificial intelligence (AI) models. By enabling the electronics we interact with daily to make decisions in the real world…
For more than a decade, TI’s Power Stage Designer tool has been a great design aid for electrical engineers when calculating the currents and voltages of different power-supply topologies. I believe it is an easy tool to start a new power-supply design, because it executes all calculations in real time, and you get direct feedback.
Our latest version of Power Stage Designer includes a new topology and two new design…
Microcontrollers (MCUs) in embedded systems are the equivalent of air traffic control in a busy airport. MCUs sense their operating environment, take actions based on those observations, and communicate with related systems. They manage and control signals in an almost endless list of electronics, from digital thermometers to smoke detectors to heating, ventilation and air-conditioning…
With energy storage systems prices becoming more affordable and electricity prices going up, the demand for renewable energy sources is increasing. Many residences now use a combined solar energy generation and battery energy storage system to make energy available when solar power is not sufficient to support demand. Figure 1 illustrates a residential use case and…
Among all of the buzzwords to describe the increased electrification of our world, one term should stand out more: current sensing. Few of the innovations you hear about in solar power arrays, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations or robotics would be possible if current-sensing technology wasn’t reliable, accurate and easy to design with…
Size and power consumption are two of the key design aspects for circuits used in low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. These systems require components that are:
Co-authored by Kevin Stauder.
With the continued worldwide growth of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs), now more than ever, automotive developers are innovating to stay ahead of the game. While differentiating HEV/EV powertrain systems has traditionally been a key focus area, market leaders now cannot afford to neglect differentiating their HEV…
Previously published on Electronic Products. Co-authored by Kishore Ramaiah.
When shopping for new cars, safety-minded consumers can review New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) ratings to see how cars compare NCAP ratings vary by region, but Euro NCAP has been driving the initiative for child presence detection inside cars as part of its roadmap.
Going into 2025 and beyond, only direct…
As electric vehicles (EVs) become more popular, the challenge for automakers is to reflect true range while making the vehicle more affordable. This translates into making the battery packs lower cost with higher energy densities. Every single watt-hour stored and retrieved from the cells is critical to extend the driving range.
The main function of a battery…
Ultrasonic lens cleaning: A solid-state technology you didn’t know you needed
If you’re old enough to have owned a portable CD player, you might remember how the music would skip if the CD got scratched or dirty. Or maybe you remember how VHS tapes had winding issues, tape deterioration and poor image quality. Flash memory made these complicated mechanical storage methods obsolete…
