Electronics ‘Missing Link’ United With Rest of the Family

sparky3887 — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:35:06 +0000

Memristors were identified by Hewlett-Packard (HP) as the missing link of electronics 18 months ago, and since then the same team of HP researchers has upgraded a standard silicon chip with a layer of memristors to demonstrate that the component can integrate well with existing computing hardware. Like resistors, memristors develop a resistance to electrical current that is proportional to the current passing by at any moment, while also being capable of recalling the last current they experienced. “Each memristor can take the place of seven to 12 transistors,” says HP researcher Stan Williams. Furthermore, the memristor can retain its memory in the absence of power. A memristor’s memory of its last current can be read by observing how it creates a new memory in response to a new current, and these memories are fashioned from a double layer of semiconducting titanium dioxide. “The new hybrid system lifts the data-routing network and the switches out of the [complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)] plane,” Williams says. “This will greatly free up the space on the CMOS layer for more devices, effectively increasing the density of circuits” without the need for further transistor miniaturization. Williams speculates that similarities between memristive circuits and the behavior of some simple life forms imply that the hybrid devices also could help lead to neuromorphic computing in which computers learn for themselves.

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Embedded Electronics–Cars Get Cooperative

sparky3887 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:03:56 +0000

The European EMMA project has developed a new middleware platform for embedded sensors called EM2P that acts as an interface between designers and the electronics. The project’s researchers say that EM2P could lead to thousands of new applications in a variety of industries, starting with in-car electronics. Embedded sensor systems are often designed for a single task, but that functionality, such as detecting a sudden deceleration, could be used for a variety of other purposes and used with other sensors to create new applications. “We sought to hide the underlying complexity of in-car embedded sensors so that developers could quickly design new applications with existing electronics,” says EMMA coordinator Antonio Marques Moreno. “EMMA will foster cost-efficient ambient intelligence systems with optimal performance, high reliability, reduced time-to-market, and faster deployment.” Project participants hope that hiding the complexity of the infrastructure will open up interfaces to third parties. The EMMA project focused on transportation to test its system, since vehicles offer numerous opportunities to enhance road safety, such as creating communication channels between sensors within a car and other cars or street signs. Marques says one of EM2P’s major strengths is scalability, since it has been designed to be able to work with an entire city’s vehicle population.

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Electronics ‘Missing Link’ United With Rest of the Family

Embedded Electronics–Cars Get Cooperative