Archive : 16 October 2014 год

More than half (52%) of UK school children want to pursue a career in STEM, but feel they are being held back from doing so by a lack of access to technology in the classroom.

That's according to a new survey released today by software giant Autodesk. 

The company spoke to 1000 pupils aged between 11 and 18. The majority (78%) said they had better access to technology at home than at school. 

A third (33%) said they didn't feel their school knew enough about new technology. 

Commenting on the findings, Pete Baxter, head of Autodesk UK, said: "We've heard for a long time about a growing STEM skills gap in the UK, but this research shows a real enthusiasm for careers in these industries amongst the next generation. 

"However, as a country we should be doing everything we can to nurture this enthusiasm within our classrooms so that we can develop the skilled workforce we need to succeed in the future." 

Baxter stressed the importance of giving younger students regular, hands on access to "highly creative and visual tools and technologies". 

"Older students need access to professional tools and techniques to ensure they hit the ground running when they begin their STEM career," he added.

Author
Laura Hopperton

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

A new Wi-Fi technology has been developed by Samsung that enables data transmission speeds of up to 4.6Gb/s – five times faster than the 866Mb/s currently achievable.

The company claims the 802.11ad standard, 60GHz Wi-Fi technology will soon allow users to download a 1GB movie in less than three seconds. 

It will also enable maximum speed irrespective of the number of devices connected to the same network, the firm said in a statement. 

"Samsung has successfully overcome the barriers to the commercialization of 60GHz millimetre wave band WiFi technology, and looks forward to commercialising this breakthrough technology," noted Kim Chang Yong, head of DMC R&D Centre of Samsung Electronics. "New and innovative changes await Samsung's next generation devices, while new possibilities have been opened up for the future development of WiFi technology." 

As is the case with the 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrum, the 60GHz is an unlicensed band spectrum across the world, and commercialisation is expected as early as next year. 

Samsung says it plans to apply this new technology to a range of products, including audio visual and medical devices, as well as telecommunications equipment and initiatives related to the Internet of Things (IoT).

Author
Laura Hopperton

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

In less than a week's time, the Electronics Design Show will open its doors to some 4,000 design engineers and over 200 exhibitors.

The Show will give engineering professionals working in the electronics sector the chance to meet, learn and solve their design challenges. 

They'll also be able to talk with industry leading suppliers at a dedicated exhibition and attend as many workshop and conference sessions as they wish. 

Co-located with the Embedded Design Show and Engineering Design Show, the Electronics Design Show is completely free to attend and conveniently located at Coventry's Ricoh Arena. 

"We know that time is a precious commodity for engineers," said Ed Tranter, executive director of event organiser Findlay Media. "For that reason, we've made it our aim to create an event that is exclusively catered to their needs and their needs alone." 

Reasons to attend 
1. Review the latest techniques and technology from more than 200 market leading suppliers 
2. Attend FREE practical technology workshops and get information to help you with your design projects 
3. Get inspired at our dedicated Innovation Zone 
4. Learn from industry giants at the dedicated New Electronics conference 
5. Network with other design engineers and solve your design challenges 

The Electronics Design Show will take place at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry between 22-23 October. 

Author
Laura Hopperton

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

Volvo has developed a new safety feature that it believes has the potential to eliminate deaths and injuries by its cars and trucks by 2020.

Created as part of the Non-Hit Car and Truck project, the 360° system acts as a virtual co-driver by using a suite of discrete sensors to provide comprehensive 360° coverage of the immediate area around the car every 25ms. 

Volvo says it can detect threats that may be invisible to the driver up to five seconds ahead. The system can even assist with auto-braking and steering. 

"With the Non-Hit Car and Truck project, we've taken a significant step towards realising the vision that by 2020 no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car," said Anders Almevad, project manager for the Non-Hit Car Project at Volvo Cars. 

"Our primary objective is to focus on preventing different types of accident scenarios. But going forward, we will also continue to work on developing cars that adapt to each individual driver's unique behaviour." 

Key to the technology is a centralised Sensor Fusion framework that allows data from radar, cameras, lidar, GPS and other sensors to be shared efficiently. 

Two prototype vehicles have so far been built, with the technology due to be employed in the next five years. 

Author
Laura Hopperton

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

Scalable Devices Offered in EMIPAK Packages for NPC Topologies, 3-Level Inverters, and Multi-Boost Converters

MALVERN, Pa. - Oct. 15, 2014 - Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (NYSE: VSH) today introduced four new IGBT power modules designed specifically for string solar inverters and medium-power-range uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). Combining Ultrafast Trench IGBTs, high-efficiency HEXFRED® and FRED Pt® diode technologies, and thermistors for easy thermal management in single packages featuring pressfit technology, the Vishay Semiconductor modules offer complete integrated solutions for inverters based on 3-level neutral point clamp (NPC) topologies and interleaved multiple-channel MPPT (maximum power point tracking) boost converters. 

With their integrated design, the devices released today help designers reduce time to market and improve overall system performance. For 3-level NPC topologies, the VS-ENQ030L120S provides a collector-to-emitter breakdown voltage of 1200 V and a collector current rating of 30 A. Designed for 3-level inverter stages, the VS-ETF075Y60U and VS-ETF150Y65U offer designers a choice of 75 A and 150 A collector current ratings and 600 V and 650 V collector-to-emitter breakdown voltages, respectively, and provide high-temperature performance to +175 °C. Optimized for double boost converters, the 15 A VS-ETL015Y120H features a collector-to-emitter breakdown voltage of 1200 V, high-efficiency silicon boost diodes, integrated 62 A bypass diodes, and panel short-circuit full-current reverse polarity protection diodes. All devices offer a modular and scalable design to fit higher power level applications. 

Offered in the EMIPAK-1B (VS-ENQ030L120S) and EMIPAK-2B (VS-ETF075Y60U, VS-ETF150Y65U, and VS-ETL015Y120H) packages, the power modules' solderless pressfit technology allows for easy PCB mounting, while an exposed DBC substrate enables low thermal resistance. The devices provide low internal inductance and switching losses while offering operating frequencies up to 20 kHz. The modules' optimized layout helps to minimize stray parameters for better EMI performance. 

The RoHS-compliant devices are UL-approved file E78996 (approval pending for the VS-ENQ030L120S). Vishay's power modules are compliant to industry standards, and custom solutions can be tailored to meet specific application requirements.

Samples and production quantities of the new IGBT power modules are available now, with lead times of 10 to 12 weeks for larger orders. 

Source: www.vishay.com.

MALVERN, Pa. - Oct. 15, 2014 - Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE: VPG) today announced that Netherlands-based electronic components distributor Added Value Electronics (AVE) has bolstered its portfolio of VPG components with the addition of Powertron and Vishay Foil Resistor brand (VFR) resistors. Joining AVE's existing offering of Alpha Electronics Bulk Metal® Foil resistors, the Powertron and VFR devices bring the precision of foil current sense resistors and VPG's next-generation Z1-Foil technology to the Dutch market. 

"In the Netherlands, the increasing number of semiconductor manufacturers and test and measurement companies is creating a high demand for ultra-precision resistors," said Yuval Hernik, senior director of application engineering for VFR. "AVE is a known and trusted name in the Dutch electronics market, and we are very excited they have added our Powertron and VFR current sense resistors to their offering to meet this need. For the company's customers, having such benchmark precision levels readily available will ensure application stability while reducing costs by eliminating the need for corrective circuitry."

AVE serves a high-end customer base across the industrial, aerospace, military, consumer, medical, and automotive industries, providing quick delivery of products and samples to help its customers realize a faster time to market for their applications. The company was founded in 1991 in Dordrecht, Netherlands. In 2012 AVE moved to its current location in Alblasserdam to accommodate its rapid growth and need for a more spacious and efficient warehouse. 

AVE's offering of VPG solutions includes devices made in Germany and Japan. Featured in the Powertron components now available through the company is the new S Series of precision foil current sense resistors and resistor networks. S Series devices offer exceptionally low TCR of ±2 ppm/°C and a wide range of power ratings from 1.5 W in free air to 2500 W when mounted on a heatsink. The resistors feature low resistance values from 0.002 Ω to 50 Ω, tight tolerances to ±0.1%, and low thermal EMF of <1 µV/°C. With load stability to 0.1% for up to 2,000 hours, the devices provide highly accurate and reliable current sensing in industrial power supplies, digital multimeters, current control systems, medical equipment, solar and wind inverters, AC/DC converters, and battery chargers. 

In addition to current sense resistors built on Z1-Foil technology - which excel over all previous stability standards for precision resistors with an order of magnitude improvement in temperature stability, load-life stability, and moisture resistance - VFR products available from AVE include the Bulk Metal Foil RTD Simulator resistor with built-in climate control. Designed to simulate resistance temperature detector (RTD) PT-100 and PT-1000 outputs for the calibration of RTD instruments, the device features a low nominal TCR of ±1 ppm/°C from -55°C to +125°C, +25°C ref., a resistance range from 10 Ω to 5 kΩ with tight resistance tolerance to ±0.005% (50 ppm), and load-life stability of ±0.005% after 2,000 hours of rated power at +70°C. The RTD Simulator provides a faster, easier, and far less expensive alternative to decade boxes and electronic simulators for the calibration of transmitters, controllers, data acquisition, process control, and lab equipment in the field, shop, or control room. 

Source: www.ave-nl.com

Described as a "game changer for the cable industry", the UltraCMOS PE42722 from Peregrine Semiconductor is a high linearity RF switch that enables a dual upstream/downstream band architecture in cable customer premises equipment (CPE) devices.

According to Peregrine, the DOCSIS 3.1 compliant switch marks the first time that dual upstream/downstream bands can reside in the same CPE device. Once CPE devices are equipped with it, the company says the exchanging of hardware will no longer be necessary. 

"The PE42722 is a game changer for the cable industry," claimed Kinana Hussain, Peregrine's senior marketing manager. "By enabling a dual band architecture, customers will be able to make a simple phone call to their cable service provider, who can then, with the flip of a switch, upgrade their customer's high speed data service plan." 

Author
Laura Hopperton

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk