August 26 2014 Issue 127

Silicon Cloud Reigns with

Lumineq Displays Shine in Extreme Environments

Vehicle Seats Sense Slumbering Drivers

Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

CLOUD COMPUTING

High-Performance

eewebcomregister

Join Today

eewebcomregister

Join Today

CONTENTSPULSE

eewebcomregister

4

10

18

22

30

By Alex Maddalena Contributing Writer

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERSeries Part 1

Surface-Damage DetectorULTRASONICFloating Transducer Has Commercial Applications

From memory foam to MRI machines NASArsquos contributions to

commercial technology are as numerous as its contributions

to space exploration These ldquospinoffrdquo technologies have led to

unique partnerships between NASA and various research companies

that provide an array of new products NASArsquos Technology Transfer

Program facilitates the commercialization of NASA-sponsored

technology and licensing EEWebrsquos Technology Transfer series will

highlight unique NASA technologies that have broad applications

both in the commercial marketplace and in space This installment

will take a look at a new floating ultrasonic transducer which

determines subsurface damage to various structuresSITTING SMART

To address this threat researchers at Britainrsquos Nottingham Trent University are designing ldquointelligentrdquo car seats that can warn vehicle operators when they are beginning to fall asleep at the wheel Using assistance from UK firm Plessey Semiconductor who manufacture a semiconductor device that can detect heart rhythms from noncontact sensors the Nottingham team plans to build these electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor systems into vehicle seats to sense a driverrsquos heart rate and activate an alert if the driver starts to become too sleepy The proposed design would activate cruise control or lane departure systems if these warnings are ignored The sensor itself is a variation of Plesseyrsquos award winning electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) sensor technology Capacitive electrodes can register ECG signals without conductive contact to the bodymdasheven through clothes EPIC is a completely new sensor technology resulting from research at the University of Sussex UK Novel ultrahigh-impedance EPIC sensors measure electric field changes without

requiring physical or resistive contact and therefore the ability to measure ECGs without direct skin contact By adjusting the digital signal processor (DSP) and amplification circuitry the sensors can be tuned for detection at a distance as required for differing automotive applications EPIC sensor electrodes can be easily and discretely incorporated inside car seat backs to acquire the necessary biometric data

HEART TO SEAT

A parameter called heart-rate variability is a measure of how stable the heart rate is from beat to beat and the back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepy Signals measured on the human body always include a significant amount of noise and measurements such as ECG depend on being able to extract the small electrophysiological signals from the much larger noise signals In noncontact ECG measurement there ismdashby definitionmdashno skin contact and thus no direct connection can be made between the subjectrsquos body and the system ground In order to reduce the ambient and power line noise

one method utilizes an approach very similar to the ldquodriven right legrdquo (DRL) system that is used in commercial ECG measurement techniques In conventional ECG situations the DRL signal is coupled directly to the patientrsquos skin The DRL signal reduces power line noise on the sensor signals by feeding back an inverted average of the signals from two sensors on to the patientrsquos body In noncontact ECG the generated DRL signal can be capacitively coupled to the body through clothing via a piece of conductive material placed for instance on the seat or back of a chair Movement noise can be minimized by placing the sensors away from the shoulders on the lower part of the seat back The proposed capacitive-driven ground plane would be invisibly placed under the seat cover fabric Professor Dias who is leading the Nottingham study said ldquoPlessey has already demonstrated that cardiac signals can be measured unobtrusively using capacitive sensors mounted within the driverrsquos seat the requirement now is to improve the consistency and reliability of the data so that it can be used for the intended purposerdquo

ldquoThe back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepyrdquo

Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

Silicon Cloud

High-Performance

CLOUD COMPUTING

Reigns with Silicon Cloud International provides a secure private and high-performance cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications The

company is establishing cloud-computing centers with turnkey semiconductor-design work flows for universities and research institutions across the world

In an interview with EEWeb Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International discussed the cloud revolution data security and the benefits of using cloud-based solutions Chian also addressed his companyrsquos work with universities and how that will affect engineering programs

Rugged technology at the core of product reliability

By Suzanne Touchette Kelso Contributing Writer

Extreme conditions call for extreme equipment Lumineqreg rivals such conditions by

delivering electroluminescent displays designed to excel in harsh environments Lumineqreg Displays a business unit of Beneq is a premier manufacturer and developer of thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) displays Lumineqreg TFEL nontransparent displays are used in mining marine military medical and many other demanding environments TFEL displays are robust and reliable usually used in extreme conditions where traditional displays cannot cope

in Extreme Environments

Lumineqreg Displays

FEATURED PRODUCTSThis Weeks Latest Productsfrom EEWeb

TECH ARTICLEAsleep at the Wheel No More

TECH ARTICLETechnology Transfer (Part 1)Ultrasonic Surface-Damage Detector

TECH ARTICLELumineq Displays in Extreme EnvironmentsRugged Technology at the Core of Product Reliability

COVER INTERVIEWHigh Performace Cloud Computing Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

3Visit eewebcom

4 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Wide Input Voltage 2A Buck RegulatorAllegro MicroSystems has released the A8585 a 20 A buck regulator that features wide input voltage and low IQ mode perfect for automotive applications such as car audio and infotainment systems with low power supply requirements This product has been on the market for three months now The A8585 is a highly efficient converter focused on automotive and industrial markets with end applications including automotive infotainment instrumentation clusters center stack applications and advanced driver assistance systemsRead More

Breakthrough Flash Controller PerformanceThe SF3700 performance and endurance represents a substantial improvement over competitive flash controller designs Unlike current solutions the SF3700 controller is optimized and architected for bi-directional PCIe traffic unlocking the maximum performance capability to meet requirements for client and enterprise applicationsOptimized for performance endurance and reliability enterprise-class SandForcereg flash controllers enable solid state drives for IO intensive business applications The SF3700 family is the third generation of LSIreg SandForcereg flash controllers that enables SSD manufacturers to build robust PCIe and SATA flash storage solutionsRead More

High Throughput AD ConvertersThe CS556x7x8x families of high-throughput analog-to-digital converters are high-speed delta-sigma analog-to-digital converters featuring digital filter flat to near-Nyquist rate It offers self-calibrating architecture that maintains accuracy over time and temperature as well as high-impedance buffered differentialThe CS556x family of Delta-Sigma-based industrial analog-to-digital converters sets new industry performance standards This new family of high-precision analog converters combines the high-bandwidth low-distortion performance of a SAR converter with high-resolution low-noise performance that is the hallmark of Delta-Sigma ADCsRead More

Single Output Medical Grade Power SupplyThe STR4A100 series are off-line PWM controllers with integrated sensing MOSFET intended for switching power supplies The device features an automatic standby function with no load power consumption of less than 10 mW current-mode type PWM control random switching function slope compensation function and leading edge blanking functionRead More

SMT Current Sensor TransformersThe CST4835 series are surface-mount technology (SMT) current sensing transformers designed for 50 kHz to 1 MHz applications It can sense current of up to 7 Amps and features 500 Vac isolation winding to winding It has 9-turns ratios to meet variety of requirements with silver over nickel over phos over bronze terminationsRead More

4 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Wide Input Voltage 2A Buck RegulatorAllegro MicroSystems has released the A8585 a 20 A buck regulator that features wide input voltage and low IQ mode perfect for automotive applications such as car audio and infotainment systems with low power supply requirements This product has been on the market for three months now The A8585 is a highly efficient converter focused on automotive and industrial markets with end applications including automotive infotainment instrumentation clusters center stack applications and advanced driver assistance systemsRead More

Breakthrough Flash Controller PerformanceThe SF3700 performance and endurance represents a substantial improvement over competitive flash controller designs Unlike current solutions the SF3700 controller is optimized and architected for bi-directional PCIe traffic unlocking the maximum performance capability to meet requirements for client and enterprise applicationsOptimized for performance endurance and reliability enterprise-class SandForcereg flash controllers enable solid state drives for IO intensive business applications The SF3700 family is the third generation of LSIreg SandForcereg flash controllers that enables SSD manufacturers to build robust PCIe and SATA flash storage solutionsRead More

High Throughput AD ConvertersThe CS556x7x8x families of high-throughput analog-to-digital converters are high-speed delta-sigma analog-to-digital converters featuring digital filter flat to near-Nyquist rate It offers self-calibrating architecture that maintains accuracy over time and temperature as well as high-impedance buffered differentialThe CS556x family of Delta-Sigma-based industrial analog-to-digital converters sets new industry performance standards This new family of high-precision analog converters combines the high-bandwidth low-distortion performance of a SAR converter with high-resolution low-noise performance that is the hallmark of Delta-Sigma ADCsRead More

Single Output Medical Grade Power SupplyThe STR4A100 series are off-line PWM controllers with integrated sensing MOSFET intended for switching power supplies The device features an automatic standby function with no load power consumption of less than 10 mW current-mode type PWM control random switching function slope compensation function and leading edge blanking functionRead More

SMT Current Sensor TransformersThe CST4835 series are surface-mount technology (SMT) current sensing transformers designed for 50 kHz to 1 MHz applications It can sense current of up to 7 Amps and features 500 Vac isolation winding to winding It has 9-turns ratios to meet variety of requirements with silver over nickel over phos over bronze terminationsRead More

5Visit eewebcom

FEATURED PRODUCTS

Dual Model BLE SolutionsBlueCreation and Digi-Key signed a formal agreement for the global distribution of BlueCreationrsquos products through Digi-Key BlueCreation is an industry that manufactures dual-model BLE solutions BlueCreation is an United Kingdom based company that helps customers especially with their Bluetooth Bluetooth Low Energy WiFi and other embedded wireless technologies that they needThe company offers an industry leading Bluetooth Low Energy offering providing a dual-model BLE solution with concurrent stack that can run both BLE and standard Bluetooth This solution provides access to a wider range of application profiles than any other company in the industryRead More

USB or Charger and Overvoltage DetectorThe FAN3988 is used in USB connections to detect continuities of the line This device operates within the supply voltage range of 27 V ndash 200 V and efficiently functions on the wide temperature range of -40ordmC to +85ordmCThe FAN3988 is a USB-connection-monitoring device used to determine if a standard USB device or a battery-charging device is connectedRead More

PRIMEQUEST High-End ServerPRIMEQUEST 1800E2 is one of Fujitsursquos Mission Critical IA server that provides high-end server functionality It has the best characteristics of a mainframe and UNIX server reliability With the flexibility benefits of open systems this product is cost effectiveIt has a CPU of either Intelreg Xeonreg Processor E7-8870 or Intelreg Xeonreg Processor E7-8830 This system can hold a number of CPU which range from 1 (8 core) to 8 (80 cores) and has a memory of 2 TB in 128 bit systemRead More

EAPP Hybrid 4-Phase PWM ControllerThe ISL6381 is an Enhanced Active Pulse Positioning (EAPP) hybrid digital four-phase green pulse-width modulation (PWM) controller intended for digital power manage-ment of core and memory with auto phase shedding The device complies with Intelrsquos VR125VR12 voltage regulation specifications It includes programmable functions and telemetries for easy use high system flexibility and overclocking applications using SMBus PMBus or I2C interface which is designed to be conflict free with CPUrsquos SVID bus This hybrid digital approach eliminates the need of NVM and Firmware often seen in a full digital solution and significantly reduces design complexity inventory and manufacturing costsRead More

HDX Robust 50 mm Transponder The NCD1015-50RO is a contactless sequential power and data transmission (HDX) 500 transponder operating at radio frequency 1342 kHz It has 64 bits of data and associated 16 bits CRCNCD1015-50RO is a contact-less Read Only RFID device for single transponder applications in the area of electronic identification operating in the low frequency (1342 kHz) range supporting ISO-1178485 standardsRead More

6 Visit eewebcom

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Toughened Heat Resistant Epoxy AdhesiveThe Supreme 46HT-2 is a two part toughened heat resistance epoxy adhesive for high performance structural bonding sealing and coating It features serviceability up to 500 ordmF because of its superior shear and peel strengths and has superior thermal cycling capabilities This epoxy adhesive is 100 reactive and does not consist of any solvents or diluentsRead More

MLX90121 Development KitThe DVK90121 is a development kit developed for MLX9012 applications It has a standard ISO communications and RS233 serial communication It has a dedicated 6- to 9-V power supply with a dedicated instruction setThe development kit DVK90121 has been developed by Melexis to create specific applications using ISO 1356 MHz protocols and to evaluate the advantages and the high flexibility of the MLX90121 1356 MHz multinorms RFID transceiver The DVK90121 consists of the evaluation board EVB90121 connected to the universal development board which contains the firmware for the communication with the MLX90121 and the communication with a computer through the RS232 serial interfaceRead More

Low-Cost PIC32 Bluetooth Starter KitMicrochip Technology introduced the DM320018 PIC32 Bluetoothreg Starter Kit This kit is a cost-effective full featured development platform that boasts a PIC32 microcontroller (MCU) HCI-based Bluetooth radio Cree high-output multi-color LED 3 standard single-color LEDs an analog 3-axis accelerometer analog temper-ature sensor and 5 push buttons for user-defined inputs Additionally a PICkittrade On Board (PKOB) which eliminates the need for an external debuggerprogrammer USB connectivity and GPIOs for rapid development of Bluetooth Serial Port Profile (SPP) USB and general-purpose applicationsRead More

CDMA IF VGAs and IQ DemodulatorsMaxim Integratedrsquos MAX2306 is an IF receiver used for dual band triple mode with two IF VCOs with an input frequency range of 40 MHz to 300 MHz The device includes an IF variable-gain amplifier quadrature demodulator dual VCOs and dual-frequency synthesizers Dual VCOs are provided for applications using different IF frequencies for each mode or band of operation The MAX2306 family provides a VGA with exceptional gain rangeRead More

25 W Single and Dual Output DCDC ConvertersThe F2500RU is a series of wide 41 input dcdc converters capable of both single and dual output The series outputs rated power of 25W and has an isolation voltage of 1500 VDC Input voltage range choice of the products is between 100-400 VDC or 180 VDC-750 VDC All models under the series comes up with a continous (autorecovery) short circuit protection and are guaranteed to operate effectively at temperature range of -40ordmC to +50ordmCRead More

7Visit eewebcom

FEATURED PRODUCTS

Current Sensing Integrated CircuitThe IR25750LPBF (Mouser Part Number 942-IR25750LTRPBF) is a Small Outline Transistor (SOT) current sensing integrated circuit designed for use in MOSFET DirectFET and IGBT current sensing It has integrated ESD protections and eliminates external current sensing resistorsRead More

Quarter Brick DCDC ConverterMurata Power Solutions presents the HPQ series a series of ultra-high power isolated 300 W quarter brick DC-DC converters With a wide range of input voltage of 36 to 75 Vdc with 2250 V basic isolation it can deliver a fixed output voltage of 12 Vdc and a current of up to 25 A This component has a measurement of 23rdquo x 145rdquo x 049rdquoRead More

Dual Channel BCD CounterThe HEF4518B is a dual channel 4-bit synchronous BCD counter This device is tolerant of slow clock rise and fall times It features fully static operation 5 V 10 V and 15 V parametric ratings and standardized symmetrical output characteristics It operates in a temperature range from -40 ordmC to +85 ordmC The coun-ter has an active HIGH clock input (nCP0) and an active LOW clock input (nCP1) buffered outputs from all four bit positions (nQ0 to nQ3) and an active HIGH overriding asynchronous master reset input (nMR)Read More

Two-Layer Dual Channel Reference BoardThe 2RT0108T is a two-channel reference board dedicated for 2SC0108T SCALEtrade-2 dual-driver core This is a two-layer board intended to drive 1200 V and 1700 V IGBT modules such as 34 mm 62 mm and others This base board is assembled with THT-components using a two-layer PCB The plug-and-play capability (only the gate resistors and the resistors Raclx for the effectiveness of the active clamping are missing) makes it ready to operate immediately after mounting The user needs to invest almost no effort in designing or adjusting it to a specific applicationRead More

Smartcard RTC for Battery Operation The PCA8802 is a Smartcard real time clock (RTC) that has an ultra low power oscillator with integrated counter for initiating one time password generation This integrated circuit is suitable for battery operation commonly supplied by button cells or flexible polymer batteries The circuit is optimized for a quartz with 6 pF load capacitance specification Higher values can also be used with the addition of external load capacitorsRead More

8 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

High Class 3000 Watt Power SupplyThe PFE3000-12-069RA is a high class power supply that is both an ACDC and DCDC converter perfect to use on applications requiring high accuracy This power supply is rated with platinum-level efficiency best-in class version that guarantees to meet the high standards of the industry todayRead More

PNP Silicon Expitaxial TransistorThe 2SA1010 is a PNP silicon epitaxial transistor for high-voltage high-speed switching that features low collector saturation voltage It has fast switching speed with 2CS2334 as a complementary transistorThe 2SA1010 is a mold power transistor developed for high voltage high speed switching and is ideal for use as a driver in devices such as switching regulators DCDC converters and high-frequency power amplifiersRead More

50 MHz Mixed Signal OscilloscopeThe DS1052D under the DS1000D Series is a mixed signal oscilloscope that caters 50 MHz Bandwidth of measurement This device is capable of a real time sample rate of 1 GSas for a single channel and 500 MSas for dual channels The oscilloscope can be operated in manual track or auto measure modesThe DS1000D Series Mixed Signal Oscilloscopes sets a new standard for technology and capability With features including 16 Channel Logic Analyzer 1 million points of deep memory FFTs record and replay roll mode alternate trigger mode and adjustable trigger sensitivity the DS1000D is the new bench standardRead More

8-Bit MCU with Built-In LCD DriverThe ML610400 series is high performance CMOS 8-bit microcontrollers equipped with LAPIS Semiconductorrsquos original RISC 8bit CPU ldquo U8 Core ldquo The CPU core is capable of efficient instruction execution in one-instruction one cycle by 3-stage pipelined architecture parallel processing The clock generation circuit is applied the dual clock composition and operates in low-speed mode and power-saving mode This family products are popular for the battery-driven hand-held type applications and in a variegated fieldRead More

9Visit eewebcom

FEATURED PRODUCTS

eewebcomregister

Join Today

GDT protected Analog Linecards TE Connectivityrsquos Circuit Protection Section introduces GTCA36-900M-R02 It is a type of Gas Discharge Tube that has 2 electrodes 500 mm of diameter 90 VDC sparkover impulse discharge current of 25 kA and axial leaded An example of application of a GDT are analog linecardsOvervoltage protection devices help protect not only telecommunica-tions circuits but also maintenance personnel and subscribers When an overvoltage event occurs the device changes its impedance to direct current around the protection circuit to groundRead More

40 V LED Driver with Internal SwitchThe ZLED7000 is a 40-V LED Driver with internal switch featuring 95 efficiency capability It operates in continuous mode and features built-in thermal shutdown and open circuit protectionThe ZLED7000 one of our ZLED Family of LED control ICs is an inductive step-down converter that is optimal for driving a single LED or multiple LEDs (connected in series) from a voltage source greater than the voltage rating of the LED The ZLED7000 operates in continuous mode Capable of operating efficiently with voltage supplies ranging from 6 VDC to 40 VDC it is ideal for low-voltage lighting applications The ZLED7000 minimizes current consumption by remaining in a low current standby mode (output is off) until a voltage of ge03V is applied to the ADJ pinRead More

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PULSE

By Alan Lowne Saelig Company

Falling asleep while driving can be dangerous both personally and for others on the road Feeling drowsy behind the wheel is a very common phenomenonmdashthe National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration conservatively estimates that 100000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year This results in an estimated 1550 deaths 71000 injuries and $125 billion in financial losses These figures may be conservative since it is difficult to attribute crash causes to sleepiness While most of us know when itrsquos time to pull over for a rest and some coffee others ignore the signs and put themselves and others in danger by continuing to drive while sleepymdashas dangerous as driving drunk

ASLEEP at the Wheel

NO MORE

11Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

By Alan Lowne Saelig Company

Falling asleep while driving can be dangerous both personally and for others on the road Feeling drowsy behind the wheel is a very common phenomenonmdashthe National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration conservatively estimates that 100000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year This results in an estimated 1550 deaths 71000 injuries and $125 billion in financial losses These figures may be conservative since it is difficult to attribute crash causes to sleepiness While most of us know when itrsquos time to pull over for a rest and some coffee others ignore the signs and put themselves and others in danger by continuing to drive while sleepymdashas dangerous as driving drunk

ASLEEP at the Wheel

NO MORE

12 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

SITTING SMART

To address this threat researchers at Britainrsquos Nottingham Trent University are designing ldquointelligentrdquo car seats that can warn vehicle operators when they are beginning to fall asleep at the wheel Using assistance from UK firm Plessey Semiconductor who manufacture a semiconductor device that can detect heart rhythms from noncontact sensors the Nottingham team plans to build these electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor systems into vehicle seats to sense a driverrsquos heart rate and activate an alert if the driver starts to become too sleepy The proposed design would activate cruise control or lane departure systems if these warnings are ignored The sensor itself is a variation of Plesseyrsquos award winning electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) sensor technology Capacitive electrodes can register ECG signals without conductive contact to the bodymdasheven through clothes EPIC is a completely new sensor technology resulting from research at the University of Sussex UK Novel ultrahigh-impedance EPIC sensors measure electric field changes without

requiring physical or resistive contact and therefore the ability to measure ECGs without direct skin contact By adjusting the digital signal processor (DSP) and amplification circuitry the sensors can be tuned for detection at a distance as required for differing automotive applications EPIC sensor electrodes can be easily and discretely incorporated inside car seat backs to acquire the necessary biometric data

HEART TO SEAT

A parameter called heart-rate variability is a measure of how stable the heart rate is from beat to beat and the back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepy Signals measured on the human body always include a significant amount of noise and measurements such as ECG depend on being able to extract the small electrophysiological signals from the much larger noise signals In noncontact ECG measurement there ismdashby definitionmdashno skin contact and thus no direct connection can be made between the subjectrsquos body and the system ground In order to reduce the ambient and power line noise

one method utilizes an approach very similar to the ldquodriven right legrdquo (DRL) system that is used in commercial ECG measurement techniques In conventional ECG situations the DRL signal is coupled directly to the patientrsquos skin The DRL signal reduces power line noise on the sensor signals by feeding back an inverted average of the signals from two sensors on to the patientrsquos body In noncontact ECG the generated DRL signal can be capacitively coupled to the body through clothing via a piece of conductive material placed for instance on the seat or back of a chair Movement noise can be minimized by placing the sensors away from the shoulders on the lower part of the seat back The proposed capacitive-driven ground plane would be invisibly placed under the seat cover fabric Professor Dias who is leading the Nottingham study said ldquoPlessey has already demonstrated that cardiac signals can be measured unobtrusively using capacitive sensors mounted within the driverrsquos seat the requirement now is to improve the consistency and reliability of the data so that it can be used for the intended purposerdquo

ldquoThe back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepyrdquo

13Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

SITTING SMART

To address this threat researchers at Britainrsquos Nottingham Trent University are designing ldquointelligentrdquo car seats that can warn vehicle operators when they are beginning to fall asleep at the wheel Using assistance from UK firm Plessey Semiconductor who manufacture a semiconductor device that can detect heart rhythms from noncontact sensors the Nottingham team plans to build these electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor systems into vehicle seats to sense a driverrsquos heart rate and activate an alert if the driver starts to become too sleepy The proposed design would activate cruise control or lane departure systems if these warnings are ignored The sensor itself is a variation of Plesseyrsquos award winning electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) sensor technology Capacitive electrodes can register ECG signals without conductive contact to the bodymdasheven through clothes EPIC is a completely new sensor technology resulting from research at the University of Sussex UK Novel ultrahigh-impedance EPIC sensors measure electric field changes without

requiring physical or resistive contact and therefore the ability to measure ECGs without direct skin contact By adjusting the digital signal processor (DSP) and amplification circuitry the sensors can be tuned for detection at a distance as required for differing automotive applications EPIC sensor electrodes can be easily and discretely incorporated inside car seat backs to acquire the necessary biometric data

HEART TO SEAT

A parameter called heart-rate variability is a measure of how stable the heart rate is from beat to beat and the back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepy Signals measured on the human body always include a significant amount of noise and measurements such as ECG depend on being able to extract the small electrophysiological signals from the much larger noise signals In noncontact ECG measurement there ismdashby definitionmdashno skin contact and thus no direct connection can be made between the subjectrsquos body and the system ground In order to reduce the ambient and power line noise

one method utilizes an approach very similar to the ldquodriven right legrdquo (DRL) system that is used in commercial ECG measurement techniques In conventional ECG situations the DRL signal is coupled directly to the patientrsquos skin The DRL signal reduces power line noise on the sensor signals by feeding back an inverted average of the signals from two sensors on to the patientrsquos body In noncontact ECG the generated DRL signal can be capacitively coupled to the body through clothing via a piece of conductive material placed for instance on the seat or back of a chair Movement noise can be minimized by placing the sensors away from the shoulders on the lower part of the seat back The proposed capacitive-driven ground plane would be invisibly placed under the seat cover fabric Professor Dias who is leading the Nottingham study said ldquoPlessey has already demonstrated that cardiac signals can be measured unobtrusively using capacitive sensors mounted within the driverrsquos seat the requirement now is to improve the consistency and reliability of the data so that it can be used for the intended purposerdquo

ldquoThe back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepyrdquo

14 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

LONG-HAUL ALERT

The technology is initially being targeted at long-distance truck drivers with plans to extend it to the luxury car market later Steve Cliffe Plesseyrsquos business development director commented ldquoWe are extremely excited to be working with Nottingham Trent University on this program For the first time it will be possible to reliably and robustly extract electrophysiology signals using Plessey EPIC sensors in an automotive environment without direct contact with the bodyrdquo

With driver fatigue a contributory factor in one in five highway accidents the aim is to design a manufacturable embedded sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertness The system would send a warning signal to the driver to pull over but if the warning is ignored the vehicle could automatically slow to prevent accidents and the information sent over a wireless network to a control center to take further action

SENSE AND SEATING

Additionally Nottingham Trent Universityrsquos own novel knitted conductive textile technology offers the potential to produce robust electrodes that can be easily incorporated into automotive seats The Nottingham Trent University and Plessey project was one of eleven to receive funding through the UKrsquos Technology Strategy Board which has committed more than $140000 to the Nottingham investigation as part of its investment in feasibility studies to develop Internet sensors which allow machines and appliances to intercommunicate In another study the EU-funded HARKEN Project is also investigating adding integrated EPIC sensors and a signal-processing unit into driving seat covers and seatbelts to measure the cardiac and respiratory rhythms that indicate the onset of fatigue Injuries and fatalities caused by fatigue-related accidents could also be curtailed with sensors embedded into seatbelts Researchers from project partners at the Instituto de Biomecaacutenica de Valencia (Biomechanics Institute Valencia) say that heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been long studied in relation with driverrsquos fatigue and alertness HR decreases and HRV increases when a driver is fatigued or distracted

CONCLUSION

The human heartbeat is arguably the single most important diagnostic indicator and ECGs are one of the most significant diagnostic methods in that they monitor heart function ECGs are not only used in a clinical setting but are increasingly seen in personal health devices Now for the first time noncontact measurement of electrophysiological signals can be used for monitoring vehicle drivers for health and alertness by detecting heart rate and respiration or determining car occupancy to adjust the ride handling and air bag deployment with the varying size and location of occupants The vast potential market for driver drowsiness detection is presently untapped can save lives and is very likely to appear in vehicles within the next few years

ldquoThe aim is to design a manufacturable embedded

sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart

signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertnessrdquo

15Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

LONG-HAUL ALERT

The technology is initially being targeted at long-distance truck drivers with plans to extend it to the luxury car market later Steve Cliffe Plesseyrsquos business development director commented ldquoWe are extremely excited to be working with Nottingham Trent University on this program For the first time it will be possible to reliably and robustly extract electrophysiology signals using Plessey EPIC sensors in an automotive environment without direct contact with the bodyrdquo

With driver fatigue a contributory factor in one in five highway accidents the aim is to design a manufacturable embedded sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertness The system would send a warning signal to the driver to pull over but if the warning is ignored the vehicle could automatically slow to prevent accidents and the information sent over a wireless network to a control center to take further action

SENSE AND SEATING

Additionally Nottingham Trent Universityrsquos own novel knitted conductive textile technology offers the potential to produce robust electrodes that can be easily incorporated into automotive seats The Nottingham Trent University and Plessey project was one of eleven to receive funding through the UKrsquos Technology Strategy Board which has committed more than $140000 to the Nottingham investigation as part of its investment in feasibility studies to develop Internet sensors which allow machines and appliances to intercommunicate In another study the EU-funded HARKEN Project is also investigating adding integrated EPIC sensors and a signal-processing unit into driving seat covers and seatbelts to measure the cardiac and respiratory rhythms that indicate the onset of fatigue Injuries and fatalities caused by fatigue-related accidents could also be curtailed with sensors embedded into seatbelts Researchers from project partners at the Instituto de Biomecaacutenica de Valencia (Biomechanics Institute Valencia) say that heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been long studied in relation with driverrsquos fatigue and alertness HR decreases and HRV increases when a driver is fatigued or distracted

CONCLUSION

The human heartbeat is arguably the single most important diagnostic indicator and ECGs are one of the most significant diagnostic methods in that they monitor heart function ECGs are not only used in a clinical setting but are increasingly seen in personal health devices Now for the first time noncontact measurement of electrophysiological signals can be used for monitoring vehicle drivers for health and alertness by detecting heart rate and respiration or determining car occupancy to adjust the ride handling and air bag deployment with the varying size and location of occupants The vast potential market for driver drowsiness detection is presently untapped can save lives and is very likely to appear in vehicles within the next few years

ldquoThe aim is to design a manufacturable embedded

sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart

signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertnessrdquo

11Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

By Alan Lowne Saelig Company

Falling asleep while driving can be dangerous both personally and for others on the road Feeling drowsy behind the wheel is a very common phenomenonmdashthe National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration conservatively estimates that 100000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year This results in an estimated 1550 deaths 71000 injuries and $125 billion in financial losses These figures may be conservative since it is difficult to attribute crash causes to sleepiness While most of us know when itrsquos time to pull over for a rest and some coffee others ignore the signs and put themselves and others in danger by continuing to drive while sleepymdashas dangerous as driving drunk

ASLEEP at the Wheel

NO MORE

12 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

SITTING SMART

To address this threat researchers at Britainrsquos Nottingham Trent University are designing ldquointelligentrdquo car seats that can warn vehicle operators when they are beginning to fall asleep at the wheel Using assistance from UK firm Plessey Semiconductor who manufacture a semiconductor device that can detect heart rhythms from noncontact sensors the Nottingham team plans to build these electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor systems into vehicle seats to sense a driverrsquos heart rate and activate an alert if the driver starts to become too sleepy The proposed design would activate cruise control or lane departure systems if these warnings are ignored The sensor itself is a variation of Plesseyrsquos award winning electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) sensor technology Capacitive electrodes can register ECG signals without conductive contact to the bodymdasheven through clothes EPIC is a completely new sensor technology resulting from research at the University of Sussex UK Novel ultrahigh-impedance EPIC sensors measure electric field changes without

requiring physical or resistive contact and therefore the ability to measure ECGs without direct skin contact By adjusting the digital signal processor (DSP) and amplification circuitry the sensors can be tuned for detection at a distance as required for differing automotive applications EPIC sensor electrodes can be easily and discretely incorporated inside car seat backs to acquire the necessary biometric data

HEART TO SEAT

A parameter called heart-rate variability is a measure of how stable the heart rate is from beat to beat and the back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepy Signals measured on the human body always include a significant amount of noise and measurements such as ECG depend on being able to extract the small electrophysiological signals from the much larger noise signals In noncontact ECG measurement there ismdashby definitionmdashno skin contact and thus no direct connection can be made between the subjectrsquos body and the system ground In order to reduce the ambient and power line noise

one method utilizes an approach very similar to the ldquodriven right legrdquo (DRL) system that is used in commercial ECG measurement techniques In conventional ECG situations the DRL signal is coupled directly to the patientrsquos skin The DRL signal reduces power line noise on the sensor signals by feeding back an inverted average of the signals from two sensors on to the patientrsquos body In noncontact ECG the generated DRL signal can be capacitively coupled to the body through clothing via a piece of conductive material placed for instance on the seat or back of a chair Movement noise can be minimized by placing the sensors away from the shoulders on the lower part of the seat back The proposed capacitive-driven ground plane would be invisibly placed under the seat cover fabric Professor Dias who is leading the Nottingham study said ldquoPlessey has already demonstrated that cardiac signals can be measured unobtrusively using capacitive sensors mounted within the driverrsquos seat the requirement now is to improve the consistency and reliability of the data so that it can be used for the intended purposerdquo

ldquoThe back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepyrdquo

13Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

SITTING SMART

To address this threat researchers at Britainrsquos Nottingham Trent University are designing ldquointelligentrdquo car seats that can warn vehicle operators when they are beginning to fall asleep at the wheel Using assistance from UK firm Plessey Semiconductor who manufacture a semiconductor device that can detect heart rhythms from noncontact sensors the Nottingham team plans to build these electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor systems into vehicle seats to sense a driverrsquos heart rate and activate an alert if the driver starts to become too sleepy The proposed design would activate cruise control or lane departure systems if these warnings are ignored The sensor itself is a variation of Plesseyrsquos award winning electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) sensor technology Capacitive electrodes can register ECG signals without conductive contact to the bodymdasheven through clothes EPIC is a completely new sensor technology resulting from research at the University of Sussex UK Novel ultrahigh-impedance EPIC sensors measure electric field changes without

requiring physical or resistive contact and therefore the ability to measure ECGs without direct skin contact By adjusting the digital signal processor (DSP) and amplification circuitry the sensors can be tuned for detection at a distance as required for differing automotive applications EPIC sensor electrodes can be easily and discretely incorporated inside car seat backs to acquire the necessary biometric data

HEART TO SEAT

A parameter called heart-rate variability is a measure of how stable the heart rate is from beat to beat and the back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepy Signals measured on the human body always include a significant amount of noise and measurements such as ECG depend on being able to extract the small electrophysiological signals from the much larger noise signals In noncontact ECG measurement there ismdashby definitionmdashno skin contact and thus no direct connection can be made between the subjectrsquos body and the system ground In order to reduce the ambient and power line noise

one method utilizes an approach very similar to the ldquodriven right legrdquo (DRL) system that is used in commercial ECG measurement techniques In conventional ECG situations the DRL signal is coupled directly to the patientrsquos skin The DRL signal reduces power line noise on the sensor signals by feeding back an inverted average of the signals from two sensors on to the patientrsquos body In noncontact ECG the generated DRL signal can be capacitively coupled to the body through clothing via a piece of conductive material placed for instance on the seat or back of a chair Movement noise can be minimized by placing the sensors away from the shoulders on the lower part of the seat back The proposed capacitive-driven ground plane would be invisibly placed under the seat cover fabric Professor Dias who is leading the Nottingham study said ldquoPlessey has already demonstrated that cardiac signals can be measured unobtrusively using capacitive sensors mounted within the driverrsquos seat the requirement now is to improve the consistency and reliability of the data so that it can be used for the intended purposerdquo

ldquoThe back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepyrdquo

14 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

LONG-HAUL ALERT

The technology is initially being targeted at long-distance truck drivers with plans to extend it to the luxury car market later Steve Cliffe Plesseyrsquos business development director commented ldquoWe are extremely excited to be working with Nottingham Trent University on this program For the first time it will be possible to reliably and robustly extract electrophysiology signals using Plessey EPIC sensors in an automotive environment without direct contact with the bodyrdquo

With driver fatigue a contributory factor in one in five highway accidents the aim is to design a manufacturable embedded sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertness The system would send a warning signal to the driver to pull over but if the warning is ignored the vehicle could automatically slow to prevent accidents and the information sent over a wireless network to a control center to take further action

SENSE AND SEATING

Additionally Nottingham Trent Universityrsquos own novel knitted conductive textile technology offers the potential to produce robust electrodes that can be easily incorporated into automotive seats The Nottingham Trent University and Plessey project was one of eleven to receive funding through the UKrsquos Technology Strategy Board which has committed more than $140000 to the Nottingham investigation as part of its investment in feasibility studies to develop Internet sensors which allow machines and appliances to intercommunicate In another study the EU-funded HARKEN Project is also investigating adding integrated EPIC sensors and a signal-processing unit into driving seat covers and seatbelts to measure the cardiac and respiratory rhythms that indicate the onset of fatigue Injuries and fatalities caused by fatigue-related accidents could also be curtailed with sensors embedded into seatbelts Researchers from project partners at the Instituto de Biomecaacutenica de Valencia (Biomechanics Institute Valencia) say that heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been long studied in relation with driverrsquos fatigue and alertness HR decreases and HRV increases when a driver is fatigued or distracted

CONCLUSION

The human heartbeat is arguably the single most important diagnostic indicator and ECGs are one of the most significant diagnostic methods in that they monitor heart function ECGs are not only used in a clinical setting but are increasingly seen in personal health devices Now for the first time noncontact measurement of electrophysiological signals can be used for monitoring vehicle drivers for health and alertness by detecting heart rate and respiration or determining car occupancy to adjust the ride handling and air bag deployment with the varying size and location of occupants The vast potential market for driver drowsiness detection is presently untapped can save lives and is very likely to appear in vehicles within the next few years

ldquoThe aim is to design a manufacturable embedded

sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart

signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertnessrdquo

15Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

LONG-HAUL ALERT

The technology is initially being targeted at long-distance truck drivers with plans to extend it to the luxury car market later Steve Cliffe Plesseyrsquos business development director commented ldquoWe are extremely excited to be working with Nottingham Trent University on this program For the first time it will be possible to reliably and robustly extract electrophysiology signals using Plessey EPIC sensors in an automotive environment without direct contact with the bodyrdquo

With driver fatigue a contributory factor in one in five highway accidents the aim is to design a manufacturable embedded sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertness The system would send a warning signal to the driver to pull over but if the warning is ignored the vehicle could automatically slow to prevent accidents and the information sent over a wireless network to a control center to take further action

SENSE AND SEATING

Additionally Nottingham Trent Universityrsquos own novel knitted conductive textile technology offers the potential to produce robust electrodes that can be easily incorporated into automotive seats The Nottingham Trent University and Plessey project was one of eleven to receive funding through the UKrsquos Technology Strategy Board which has committed more than $140000 to the Nottingham investigation as part of its investment in feasibility studies to develop Internet sensors which allow machines and appliances to intercommunicate In another study the EU-funded HARKEN Project is also investigating adding integrated EPIC sensors and a signal-processing unit into driving seat covers and seatbelts to measure the cardiac and respiratory rhythms that indicate the onset of fatigue Injuries and fatalities caused by fatigue-related accidents could also be curtailed with sensors embedded into seatbelts Researchers from project partners at the Instituto de Biomecaacutenica de Valencia (Biomechanics Institute Valencia) say that heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been long studied in relation with driverrsquos fatigue and alertness HR decreases and HRV increases when a driver is fatigued or distracted

CONCLUSION

The human heartbeat is arguably the single most important diagnostic indicator and ECGs are one of the most significant diagnostic methods in that they monitor heart function ECGs are not only used in a clinical setting but are increasingly seen in personal health devices Now for the first time noncontact measurement of electrophysiological signals can be used for monitoring vehicle drivers for health and alertness by detecting heart rate and respiration or determining car occupancy to adjust the ride handling and air bag deployment with the varying size and location of occupants The vast potential market for driver drowsiness detection is presently untapped can save lives and is very likely to appear in vehicles within the next few years

ldquoThe aim is to design a manufacturable embedded

sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart

signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertnessrdquo

12 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

SITTING SMART

To address this threat researchers at Britainrsquos Nottingham Trent University are designing ldquointelligentrdquo car seats that can warn vehicle operators when they are beginning to fall asleep at the wheel Using assistance from UK firm Plessey Semiconductor who manufacture a semiconductor device that can detect heart rhythms from noncontact sensors the Nottingham team plans to build these electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor systems into vehicle seats to sense a driverrsquos heart rate and activate an alert if the driver starts to become too sleepy The proposed design would activate cruise control or lane departure systems if these warnings are ignored The sensor itself is a variation of Plesseyrsquos award winning electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) sensor technology Capacitive electrodes can register ECG signals without conductive contact to the bodymdasheven through clothes EPIC is a completely new sensor technology resulting from research at the University of Sussex UK Novel ultrahigh-impedance EPIC sensors measure electric field changes without

requiring physical or resistive contact and therefore the ability to measure ECGs without direct skin contact By adjusting the digital signal processor (DSP) and amplification circuitry the sensors can be tuned for detection at a distance as required for differing automotive applications EPIC sensor electrodes can be easily and discretely incorporated inside car seat backs to acquire the necessary biometric data

HEART TO SEAT

A parameter called heart-rate variability is a measure of how stable the heart rate is from beat to beat and the back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepy Signals measured on the human body always include a significant amount of noise and measurements such as ECG depend on being able to extract the small electrophysiological signals from the much larger noise signals In noncontact ECG measurement there ismdashby definitionmdashno skin contact and thus no direct connection can be made between the subjectrsquos body and the system ground In order to reduce the ambient and power line noise

one method utilizes an approach very similar to the ldquodriven right legrdquo (DRL) system that is used in commercial ECG measurement techniques In conventional ECG situations the DRL signal is coupled directly to the patientrsquos skin The DRL signal reduces power line noise on the sensor signals by feeding back an inverted average of the signals from two sensors on to the patientrsquos body In noncontact ECG the generated DRL signal can be capacitively coupled to the body through clothing via a piece of conductive material placed for instance on the seat or back of a chair Movement noise can be minimized by placing the sensors away from the shoulders on the lower part of the seat back The proposed capacitive-driven ground plane would be invisibly placed under the seat cover fabric Professor Dias who is leading the Nottingham study said ldquoPlessey has already demonstrated that cardiac signals can be measured unobtrusively using capacitive sensors mounted within the driverrsquos seat the requirement now is to improve the consistency and reliability of the data so that it can be used for the intended purposerdquo

ldquoThe back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepyrdquo

13Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

SITTING SMART

To address this threat researchers at Britainrsquos Nottingham Trent University are designing ldquointelligentrdquo car seats that can warn vehicle operators when they are beginning to fall asleep at the wheel Using assistance from UK firm Plessey Semiconductor who manufacture a semiconductor device that can detect heart rhythms from noncontact sensors the Nottingham team plans to build these electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor systems into vehicle seats to sense a driverrsquos heart rate and activate an alert if the driver starts to become too sleepy The proposed design would activate cruise control or lane departure systems if these warnings are ignored The sensor itself is a variation of Plesseyrsquos award winning electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) sensor technology Capacitive electrodes can register ECG signals without conductive contact to the bodymdasheven through clothes EPIC is a completely new sensor technology resulting from research at the University of Sussex UK Novel ultrahigh-impedance EPIC sensors measure electric field changes without

requiring physical or resistive contact and therefore the ability to measure ECGs without direct skin contact By adjusting the digital signal processor (DSP) and amplification circuitry the sensors can be tuned for detection at a distance as required for differing automotive applications EPIC sensor electrodes can be easily and discretely incorporated inside car seat backs to acquire the necessary biometric data

HEART TO SEAT

A parameter called heart-rate variability is a measure of how stable the heart rate is from beat to beat and the back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepy Signals measured on the human body always include a significant amount of noise and measurements such as ECG depend on being able to extract the small electrophysiological signals from the much larger noise signals In noncontact ECG measurement there ismdashby definitionmdashno skin contact and thus no direct connection can be made between the subjectrsquos body and the system ground In order to reduce the ambient and power line noise

one method utilizes an approach very similar to the ldquodriven right legrdquo (DRL) system that is used in commercial ECG measurement techniques In conventional ECG situations the DRL signal is coupled directly to the patientrsquos skin The DRL signal reduces power line noise on the sensor signals by feeding back an inverted average of the signals from two sensors on to the patientrsquos body In noncontact ECG the generated DRL signal can be capacitively coupled to the body through clothing via a piece of conductive material placed for instance on the seat or back of a chair Movement noise can be minimized by placing the sensors away from the shoulders on the lower part of the seat back The proposed capacitive-driven ground plane would be invisibly placed under the seat cover fabric Professor Dias who is leading the Nottingham study said ldquoPlessey has already demonstrated that cardiac signals can be measured unobtrusively using capacitive sensors mounted within the driverrsquos seat the requirement now is to improve the consistency and reliability of the data so that it can be used for the intended purposerdquo

ldquoThe back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepyrdquo

14 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

LONG-HAUL ALERT

The technology is initially being targeted at long-distance truck drivers with plans to extend it to the luxury car market later Steve Cliffe Plesseyrsquos business development director commented ldquoWe are extremely excited to be working with Nottingham Trent University on this program For the first time it will be possible to reliably and robustly extract electrophysiology signals using Plessey EPIC sensors in an automotive environment without direct contact with the bodyrdquo

With driver fatigue a contributory factor in one in five highway accidents the aim is to design a manufacturable embedded sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertness The system would send a warning signal to the driver to pull over but if the warning is ignored the vehicle could automatically slow to prevent accidents and the information sent over a wireless network to a control center to take further action

SENSE AND SEATING

Additionally Nottingham Trent Universityrsquos own novel knitted conductive textile technology offers the potential to produce robust electrodes that can be easily incorporated into automotive seats The Nottingham Trent University and Plessey project was one of eleven to receive funding through the UKrsquos Technology Strategy Board which has committed more than $140000 to the Nottingham investigation as part of its investment in feasibility studies to develop Internet sensors which allow machines and appliances to intercommunicate In another study the EU-funded HARKEN Project is also investigating adding integrated EPIC sensors and a signal-processing unit into driving seat covers and seatbelts to measure the cardiac and respiratory rhythms that indicate the onset of fatigue Injuries and fatalities caused by fatigue-related accidents could also be curtailed with sensors embedded into seatbelts Researchers from project partners at the Instituto de Biomecaacutenica de Valencia (Biomechanics Institute Valencia) say that heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been long studied in relation with driverrsquos fatigue and alertness HR decreases and HRV increases when a driver is fatigued or distracted

CONCLUSION

The human heartbeat is arguably the single most important diagnostic indicator and ECGs are one of the most significant diagnostic methods in that they monitor heart function ECGs are not only used in a clinical setting but are increasingly seen in personal health devices Now for the first time noncontact measurement of electrophysiological signals can be used for monitoring vehicle drivers for health and alertness by detecting heart rate and respiration or determining car occupancy to adjust the ride handling and air bag deployment with the varying size and location of occupants The vast potential market for driver drowsiness detection is presently untapped can save lives and is very likely to appear in vehicles within the next few years

ldquoThe aim is to design a manufacturable embedded

sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart

signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertnessrdquo

15Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

LONG-HAUL ALERT

The technology is initially being targeted at long-distance truck drivers with plans to extend it to the luxury car market later Steve Cliffe Plesseyrsquos business development director commented ldquoWe are extremely excited to be working with Nottingham Trent University on this program For the first time it will be possible to reliably and robustly extract electrophysiology signals using Plessey EPIC sensors in an automotive environment without direct contact with the bodyrdquo

With driver fatigue a contributory factor in one in five highway accidents the aim is to design a manufacturable embedded sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertness The system would send a warning signal to the driver to pull over but if the warning is ignored the vehicle could automatically slow to prevent accidents and the information sent over a wireless network to a control center to take further action

SENSE AND SEATING

Additionally Nottingham Trent Universityrsquos own novel knitted conductive textile technology offers the potential to produce robust electrodes that can be easily incorporated into automotive seats The Nottingham Trent University and Plessey project was one of eleven to receive funding through the UKrsquos Technology Strategy Board which has committed more than $140000 to the Nottingham investigation as part of its investment in feasibility studies to develop Internet sensors which allow machines and appliances to intercommunicate In another study the EU-funded HARKEN Project is also investigating adding integrated EPIC sensors and a signal-processing unit into driving seat covers and seatbelts to measure the cardiac and respiratory rhythms that indicate the onset of fatigue Injuries and fatalities caused by fatigue-related accidents could also be curtailed with sensors embedded into seatbelts Researchers from project partners at the Instituto de Biomecaacutenica de Valencia (Biomechanics Institute Valencia) say that heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been long studied in relation with driverrsquos fatigue and alertness HR decreases and HRV increases when a driver is fatigued or distracted

CONCLUSION

The human heartbeat is arguably the single most important diagnostic indicator and ECGs are one of the most significant diagnostic methods in that they monitor heart function ECGs are not only used in a clinical setting but are increasingly seen in personal health devices Now for the first time noncontact measurement of electrophysiological signals can be used for monitoring vehicle drivers for health and alertness by detecting heart rate and respiration or determining car occupancy to adjust the ride handling and air bag deployment with the varying size and location of occupants The vast potential market for driver drowsiness detection is presently untapped can save lives and is very likely to appear in vehicles within the next few years

ldquoThe aim is to design a manufacturable embedded

sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart

signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertnessrdquo

13Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

SITTING SMART

To address this threat researchers at Britainrsquos Nottingham Trent University are designing ldquointelligentrdquo car seats that can warn vehicle operators when they are beginning to fall asleep at the wheel Using assistance from UK firm Plessey Semiconductor who manufacture a semiconductor device that can detect heart rhythms from noncontact sensors the Nottingham team plans to build these electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor systems into vehicle seats to sense a driverrsquos heart rate and activate an alert if the driver starts to become too sleepy The proposed design would activate cruise control or lane departure systems if these warnings are ignored The sensor itself is a variation of Plesseyrsquos award winning electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) sensor technology Capacitive electrodes can register ECG signals without conductive contact to the bodymdasheven through clothes EPIC is a completely new sensor technology resulting from research at the University of Sussex UK Novel ultrahigh-impedance EPIC sensors measure electric field changes without

requiring physical or resistive contact and therefore the ability to measure ECGs without direct skin contact By adjusting the digital signal processor (DSP) and amplification circuitry the sensors can be tuned for detection at a distance as required for differing automotive applications EPIC sensor electrodes can be easily and discretely incorporated inside car seat backs to acquire the necessary biometric data

HEART TO SEAT

A parameter called heart-rate variability is a measure of how stable the heart rate is from beat to beat and the back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepy Signals measured on the human body always include a significant amount of noise and measurements such as ECG depend on being able to extract the small electrophysiological signals from the much larger noise signals In noncontact ECG measurement there ismdashby definitionmdashno skin contact and thus no direct connection can be made between the subjectrsquos body and the system ground In order to reduce the ambient and power line noise

one method utilizes an approach very similar to the ldquodriven right legrdquo (DRL) system that is used in commercial ECG measurement techniques In conventional ECG situations the DRL signal is coupled directly to the patientrsquos skin The DRL signal reduces power line noise on the sensor signals by feeding back an inverted average of the signals from two sensors on to the patientrsquos body In noncontact ECG the generated DRL signal can be capacitively coupled to the body through clothing via a piece of conductive material placed for instance on the seat or back of a chair Movement noise can be minimized by placing the sensors away from the shoulders on the lower part of the seat back The proposed capacitive-driven ground plane would be invisibly placed under the seat cover fabric Professor Dias who is leading the Nottingham study said ldquoPlessey has already demonstrated that cardiac signals can be measured unobtrusively using capacitive sensors mounted within the driverrsquos seat the requirement now is to improve the consistency and reliability of the data so that it can be used for the intended purposerdquo

ldquoThe back-of-seat sensors can feed an intelligent system that would indicate when the driver is starting to become sleepyrdquo

14 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

LONG-HAUL ALERT

The technology is initially being targeted at long-distance truck drivers with plans to extend it to the luxury car market later Steve Cliffe Plesseyrsquos business development director commented ldquoWe are extremely excited to be working with Nottingham Trent University on this program For the first time it will be possible to reliably and robustly extract electrophysiology signals using Plessey EPIC sensors in an automotive environment without direct contact with the bodyrdquo

With driver fatigue a contributory factor in one in five highway accidents the aim is to design a manufacturable embedded sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertness The system would send a warning signal to the driver to pull over but if the warning is ignored the vehicle could automatically slow to prevent accidents and the information sent over a wireless network to a control center to take further action

SENSE AND SEATING

Additionally Nottingham Trent Universityrsquos own novel knitted conductive textile technology offers the potential to produce robust electrodes that can be easily incorporated into automotive seats The Nottingham Trent University and Plessey project was one of eleven to receive funding through the UKrsquos Technology Strategy Board which has committed more than $140000 to the Nottingham investigation as part of its investment in feasibility studies to develop Internet sensors which allow machines and appliances to intercommunicate In another study the EU-funded HARKEN Project is also investigating adding integrated EPIC sensors and a signal-processing unit into driving seat covers and seatbelts to measure the cardiac and respiratory rhythms that indicate the onset of fatigue Injuries and fatalities caused by fatigue-related accidents could also be curtailed with sensors embedded into seatbelts Researchers from project partners at the Instituto de Biomecaacutenica de Valencia (Biomechanics Institute Valencia) say that heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been long studied in relation with driverrsquos fatigue and alertness HR decreases and HRV increases when a driver is fatigued or distracted

CONCLUSION

The human heartbeat is arguably the single most important diagnostic indicator and ECGs are one of the most significant diagnostic methods in that they monitor heart function ECGs are not only used in a clinical setting but are increasingly seen in personal health devices Now for the first time noncontact measurement of electrophysiological signals can be used for monitoring vehicle drivers for health and alertness by detecting heart rate and respiration or determining car occupancy to adjust the ride handling and air bag deployment with the varying size and location of occupants The vast potential market for driver drowsiness detection is presently untapped can save lives and is very likely to appear in vehicles within the next few years

ldquoThe aim is to design a manufacturable embedded

sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart

signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertnessrdquo

15Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

LONG-HAUL ALERT

The technology is initially being targeted at long-distance truck drivers with plans to extend it to the luxury car market later Steve Cliffe Plesseyrsquos business development director commented ldquoWe are extremely excited to be working with Nottingham Trent University on this program For the first time it will be possible to reliably and robustly extract electrophysiology signals using Plessey EPIC sensors in an automotive environment without direct contact with the bodyrdquo

With driver fatigue a contributory factor in one in five highway accidents the aim is to design a manufacturable embedded sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertness The system would send a warning signal to the driver to pull over but if the warning is ignored the vehicle could automatically slow to prevent accidents and the information sent over a wireless network to a control center to take further action

SENSE AND SEATING

Additionally Nottingham Trent Universityrsquos own novel knitted conductive textile technology offers the potential to produce robust electrodes that can be easily incorporated into automotive seats The Nottingham Trent University and Plessey project was one of eleven to receive funding through the UKrsquos Technology Strategy Board which has committed more than $140000 to the Nottingham investigation as part of its investment in feasibility studies to develop Internet sensors which allow machines and appliances to intercommunicate In another study the EU-funded HARKEN Project is also investigating adding integrated EPIC sensors and a signal-processing unit into driving seat covers and seatbelts to measure the cardiac and respiratory rhythms that indicate the onset of fatigue Injuries and fatalities caused by fatigue-related accidents could also be curtailed with sensors embedded into seatbelts Researchers from project partners at the Instituto de Biomecaacutenica de Valencia (Biomechanics Institute Valencia) say that heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been long studied in relation with driverrsquos fatigue and alertness HR decreases and HRV increases when a driver is fatigued or distracted

CONCLUSION

The human heartbeat is arguably the single most important diagnostic indicator and ECGs are one of the most significant diagnostic methods in that they monitor heart function ECGs are not only used in a clinical setting but are increasingly seen in personal health devices Now for the first time noncontact measurement of electrophysiological signals can be used for monitoring vehicle drivers for health and alertness by detecting heart rate and respiration or determining car occupancy to adjust the ride handling and air bag deployment with the varying size and location of occupants The vast potential market for driver drowsiness detection is presently untapped can save lives and is very likely to appear in vehicles within the next few years

ldquoThe aim is to design a manufacturable embedded

sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart

signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertnessrdquo

14 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

LONG-HAUL ALERT

The technology is initially being targeted at long-distance truck drivers with plans to extend it to the luxury car market later Steve Cliffe Plesseyrsquos business development director commented ldquoWe are extremely excited to be working with Nottingham Trent University on this program For the first time it will be possible to reliably and robustly extract electrophysiology signals using Plessey EPIC sensors in an automotive environment without direct contact with the bodyrdquo

With driver fatigue a contributory factor in one in five highway accidents the aim is to design a manufacturable embedded sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertness The system would send a warning signal to the driver to pull over but if the warning is ignored the vehicle could automatically slow to prevent accidents and the information sent over a wireless network to a control center to take further action

SENSE AND SEATING

Additionally Nottingham Trent Universityrsquos own novel knitted conductive textile technology offers the potential to produce robust electrodes that can be easily incorporated into automotive seats The Nottingham Trent University and Plessey project was one of eleven to receive funding through the UKrsquos Technology Strategy Board which has committed more than $140000 to the Nottingham investigation as part of its investment in feasibility studies to develop Internet sensors which allow machines and appliances to intercommunicate In another study the EU-funded HARKEN Project is also investigating adding integrated EPIC sensors and a signal-processing unit into driving seat covers and seatbelts to measure the cardiac and respiratory rhythms that indicate the onset of fatigue Injuries and fatalities caused by fatigue-related accidents could also be curtailed with sensors embedded into seatbelts Researchers from project partners at the Instituto de Biomecaacutenica de Valencia (Biomechanics Institute Valencia) say that heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been long studied in relation with driverrsquos fatigue and alertness HR decreases and HRV increases when a driver is fatigued or distracted

CONCLUSION

The human heartbeat is arguably the single most important diagnostic indicator and ECGs are one of the most significant diagnostic methods in that they monitor heart function ECGs are not only used in a clinical setting but are increasingly seen in personal health devices Now for the first time noncontact measurement of electrophysiological signals can be used for monitoring vehicle drivers for health and alertness by detecting heart rate and respiration or determining car occupancy to adjust the ride handling and air bag deployment with the varying size and location of occupants The vast potential market for driver drowsiness detection is presently untapped can save lives and is very likely to appear in vehicles within the next few years

ldquoThe aim is to design a manufacturable embedded

sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart

signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertnessrdquo

15Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

LONG-HAUL ALERT

The technology is initially being targeted at long-distance truck drivers with plans to extend it to the luxury car market later Steve Cliffe Plesseyrsquos business development director commented ldquoWe are extremely excited to be working with Nottingham Trent University on this program For the first time it will be possible to reliably and robustly extract electrophysiology signals using Plessey EPIC sensors in an automotive environment without direct contact with the bodyrdquo

With driver fatigue a contributory factor in one in five highway accidents the aim is to design a manufacturable embedded sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertness The system would send a warning signal to the driver to pull over but if the warning is ignored the vehicle could automatically slow to prevent accidents and the information sent over a wireless network to a control center to take further action

SENSE AND SEATING

Additionally Nottingham Trent Universityrsquos own novel knitted conductive textile technology offers the potential to produce robust electrodes that can be easily incorporated into automotive seats The Nottingham Trent University and Plessey project was one of eleven to receive funding through the UKrsquos Technology Strategy Board which has committed more than $140000 to the Nottingham investigation as part of its investment in feasibility studies to develop Internet sensors which allow machines and appliances to intercommunicate In another study the EU-funded HARKEN Project is also investigating adding integrated EPIC sensors and a signal-processing unit into driving seat covers and seatbelts to measure the cardiac and respiratory rhythms that indicate the onset of fatigue Injuries and fatalities caused by fatigue-related accidents could also be curtailed with sensors embedded into seatbelts Researchers from project partners at the Instituto de Biomecaacutenica de Valencia (Biomechanics Institute Valencia) say that heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been long studied in relation with driverrsquos fatigue and alertness HR decreases and HRV increases when a driver is fatigued or distracted

CONCLUSION

The human heartbeat is arguably the single most important diagnostic indicator and ECGs are one of the most significant diagnostic methods in that they monitor heart function ECGs are not only used in a clinical setting but are increasingly seen in personal health devices Now for the first time noncontact measurement of electrophysiological signals can be used for monitoring vehicle drivers for health and alertness by detecting heart rate and respiration or determining car occupancy to adjust the ride handling and air bag deployment with the varying size and location of occupants The vast potential market for driver drowsiness detection is presently untapped can save lives and is very likely to appear in vehicles within the next few years

ldquoThe aim is to design a manufacturable embedded

sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart

signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertnessrdquo

15Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

LONG-HAUL ALERT

The technology is initially being targeted at long-distance truck drivers with plans to extend it to the luxury car market later Steve Cliffe Plesseyrsquos business development director commented ldquoWe are extremely excited to be working with Nottingham Trent University on this program For the first time it will be possible to reliably and robustly extract electrophysiology signals using Plessey EPIC sensors in an automotive environment without direct contact with the bodyrdquo

With driver fatigue a contributory factor in one in five highway accidents the aim is to design a manufacturable embedded sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertness The system would send a warning signal to the driver to pull over but if the warning is ignored the vehicle could automatically slow to prevent accidents and the information sent over a wireless network to a control center to take further action

SENSE AND SEATING

Additionally Nottingham Trent Universityrsquos own novel knitted conductive textile technology offers the potential to produce robust electrodes that can be easily incorporated into automotive seats The Nottingham Trent University and Plessey project was one of eleven to receive funding through the UKrsquos Technology Strategy Board which has committed more than $140000 to the Nottingham investigation as part of its investment in feasibility studies to develop Internet sensors which allow machines and appliances to intercommunicate In another study the EU-funded HARKEN Project is also investigating adding integrated EPIC sensors and a signal-processing unit into driving seat covers and seatbelts to measure the cardiac and respiratory rhythms that indicate the onset of fatigue Injuries and fatalities caused by fatigue-related accidents could also be curtailed with sensors embedded into seatbelts Researchers from project partners at the Instituto de Biomecaacutenica de Valencia (Biomechanics Institute Valencia) say that heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been long studied in relation with driverrsquos fatigue and alertness HR decreases and HRV increases when a driver is fatigued or distracted

CONCLUSION

The human heartbeat is arguably the single most important diagnostic indicator and ECGs are one of the most significant diagnostic methods in that they monitor heart function ECGs are not only used in a clinical setting but are increasingly seen in personal health devices Now for the first time noncontact measurement of electrophysiological signals can be used for monitoring vehicle drivers for health and alertness by detecting heart rate and respiration or determining car occupancy to adjust the ride handling and air bag deployment with the varying size and location of occupants The vast potential market for driver drowsiness detection is presently untapped can save lives and is very likely to appear in vehicles within the next few years

ldquoThe aim is to design a manufacturable embedded

sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart

signals that indicate a driverrsquos decreased alertnessrdquo

18 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

By Alex Maddalena Contributing Writer

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERSeries Part 1

Surface-Damage DetectorULTRASONICFloating Transducer Has Commercial Applications

From memory foam to MRI machines NASArsquos contributions to

commercial technology are as numerous as its contributions

to space exploration These ldquospinoffrdquo technologies have led to

unique partnerships between NASA and various research companies

that provide an array of new products NASArsquos Technology Transfer

Program facilitates the commercialization of NASA-sponsored

technology and licensing EEWebrsquos Technology Transfer series will

highlight unique NASA technologies that have broad applications

both in the commercial marketplace and in space This installment

will take a look at a new floating ultrasonic transducer which

determines subsurface damage to various structures

19Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

By Alex Maddalena Contributing Writer

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERSeries Part 1

Surface-Damage DetectorULTRASONICFloating Transducer Has Commercial Applications

From memory foam to MRI machines NASArsquos contributions to

commercial technology are as numerous as its contributions

to space exploration These ldquospinoffrdquo technologies have led to

unique partnerships between NASA and various research companies

that provide an array of new products NASArsquos Technology Transfer

Program facilitates the commercialization of NASA-sponsored

technology and licensing EEWebrsquos Technology Transfer series will

highlight unique NASA technologies that have broad applications

both in the commercial marketplace and in space This installment

will take a look at a new floating ultrasonic transducer which

determines subsurface damage to various structures

20 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER Joe Zalameda is one of NASArsquos leading experts in nondestructive evaluation and the inventor of a new ultrasonic transducer By utilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surface detecting any damage within the structure The idea for this transducer came from a demonstration that Zalameda attended at an army base The demonstration involved a handheld ultrasonic device that inspected a helicopter fuselage repaired with composite patches The inspection would determine if the repair would hold up ldquoThe technician pushed the device down and moved it along lines of taperdquo Zalameda recalled ldquokeeping it as straight as he could Then he moved over to the next line and repeated the processrdquo However in order for the process to work the technician had to apply an exact amount of hand pressure to the surface ldquoAfter seeing this demonstrationrdquo Zalameda said ldquoI thought that there had to be a better way to do thisrdquo As it turns out he was right

Traditional inspection tools use a wet coupling method which is as messy as it sounds Aircraft inspection tools involve a device that covers the surface in water an on-site transducer and a collection system The transducer would then

RISKY ENVIRONMENTSFor a typical inspection routine the operator would interrogate the integrity of a structure looking for defects dents or other potential hazards in high-risk environments For example if a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wing ldquoIt can find subsurface damage such as in-plane cracks delamination material variations and other abnormalities in structuresrdquo Zalameda noted

While NASArsquos Technology Transfer program focuses on the private sector there is certainly a place for the floating transducer technology

ldquoUtilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surfacerdquo

ldquoIf a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wingrdquo

in the space program If an orbiting spacecraft is struck by debris the astronaut can gauge the damage and determine what repairs need to be made However the technology is not yet space-ready ldquoWe have to make sure we synchronize the signals to the scanning systemrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoThe transducer needs to be normal with the surface or else it will send signals back and forth at an anglerdquo said Zalameda who is working on adjustments utilizing linear bearings which keep the apparatus straight for normal orientation to the inspected surface Thanks to such tireless effort from NASA it will only be a matter of time before astronauts can safely determine repairs while orbiting Earth

couple with the wet surface The difficulty is that the operator has to maintain a constant amount of water on the surface while simultaneously conducting the inspectionmdasha task that can be time consuming

ldquoAt NASA we are trying to simplify the ultrasound inspection processrdquo Zalameda stated With his dry-coupling transducer Zalameda has created a nonimmersion technique that couples with the composite structure that is being inspected ldquoIn order to complete the couplingrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoyou have to apply pressure which is why wersquove implemented a voice-coil motorrdquo The end result is a device that can inspect a structure without a liquid couplant providing a more practical inspection Because the pressure is applied momentarily it allows the user to easily move the transducer across the surface Another boon for the dry-coupling technique is that in space water cannot be applied to any surface This new technique could potentially enable astronauts to conduct structural-integrity inspections without having to use messy gels or substances

Close-up view of ultrasonic transducer and liner voice-coil motor

Overall proof of concept of ultrasonic system setup

21Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER Joe Zalameda is one of NASArsquos leading experts in nondestructive evaluation and the inventor of a new ultrasonic transducer By utilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surface detecting any damage within the structure The idea for this transducer came from a demonstration that Zalameda attended at an army base The demonstration involved a handheld ultrasonic device that inspected a helicopter fuselage repaired with composite patches The inspection would determine if the repair would hold up ldquoThe technician pushed the device down and moved it along lines of taperdquo Zalameda recalled ldquokeeping it as straight as he could Then he moved over to the next line and repeated the processrdquo However in order for the process to work the technician had to apply an exact amount of hand pressure to the surface ldquoAfter seeing this demonstrationrdquo Zalameda said ldquoI thought that there had to be a better way to do thisrdquo As it turns out he was right

Traditional inspection tools use a wet coupling method which is as messy as it sounds Aircraft inspection tools involve a device that covers the surface in water an on-site transducer and a collection system The transducer would then

RISKY ENVIRONMENTSFor a typical inspection routine the operator would interrogate the integrity of a structure looking for defects dents or other potential hazards in high-risk environments For example if a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wing ldquoIt can find subsurface damage such as in-plane cracks delamination material variations and other abnormalities in structuresrdquo Zalameda noted

While NASArsquos Technology Transfer program focuses on the private sector there is certainly a place for the floating transducer technology

ldquoUtilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surfacerdquo

ldquoIf a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wingrdquo

in the space program If an orbiting spacecraft is struck by debris the astronaut can gauge the damage and determine what repairs need to be made However the technology is not yet space-ready ldquoWe have to make sure we synchronize the signals to the scanning systemrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoThe transducer needs to be normal with the surface or else it will send signals back and forth at an anglerdquo said Zalameda who is working on adjustments utilizing linear bearings which keep the apparatus straight for normal orientation to the inspected surface Thanks to such tireless effort from NASA it will only be a matter of time before astronauts can safely determine repairs while orbiting Earth

couple with the wet surface The difficulty is that the operator has to maintain a constant amount of water on the surface while simultaneously conducting the inspectionmdasha task that can be time consuming

ldquoAt NASA we are trying to simplify the ultrasound inspection processrdquo Zalameda stated With his dry-coupling transducer Zalameda has created a nonimmersion technique that couples with the composite structure that is being inspected ldquoIn order to complete the couplingrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoyou have to apply pressure which is why wersquove implemented a voice-coil motorrdquo The end result is a device that can inspect a structure without a liquid couplant providing a more practical inspection Because the pressure is applied momentarily it allows the user to easily move the transducer across the surface Another boon for the dry-coupling technique is that in space water cannot be applied to any surface This new technique could potentially enable astronauts to conduct structural-integrity inspections without having to use messy gels or substances

Close-up view of ultrasonic transducer and liner voice-coil motor

Overall proof of concept of ultrasonic system setup

22 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

Silicon Cloud

High-Performance

CLOUD COMPUTING

Reigns with Silicon Cloud International provides a secure private and high-performance cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications The

company is establishing cloud-computing centers with turnkey semiconductor-design work flows for universities and research institutions across the world

In an interview with EEWeb Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International discussed the cloud revolution data security and the benefits of using cloud-based solutions Chian also addressed his companyrsquos work with universities and how that will affect engineering programs

23Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

Silicon Cloud

High-Performance

CLOUD COMPUTING

Reigns with Silicon Cloud International provides a secure private and high-performance cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications The

company is establishing cloud-computing centers with turnkey semiconductor-design work flows for universities and research institutions across the world

In an interview with EEWeb Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International discussed the cloud revolution data security and the benefits of using cloud-based solutions Chian also addressed his companyrsquos work with universities and how that will affect engineering programs

24 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

25Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

26 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

27Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

Find us at Booth 613PCB West 2014

19Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

By Alex Maddalena Contributing Writer

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERSeries Part 1

Surface-Damage DetectorULTRASONICFloating Transducer Has Commercial Applications

From memory foam to MRI machines NASArsquos contributions to

commercial technology are as numerous as its contributions

to space exploration These ldquospinoffrdquo technologies have led to

unique partnerships between NASA and various research companies

that provide an array of new products NASArsquos Technology Transfer

Program facilitates the commercialization of NASA-sponsored

technology and licensing EEWebrsquos Technology Transfer series will

highlight unique NASA technologies that have broad applications

both in the commercial marketplace and in space This installment

will take a look at a new floating ultrasonic transducer which

determines subsurface damage to various structures

20 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER Joe Zalameda is one of NASArsquos leading experts in nondestructive evaluation and the inventor of a new ultrasonic transducer By utilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surface detecting any damage within the structure The idea for this transducer came from a demonstration that Zalameda attended at an army base The demonstration involved a handheld ultrasonic device that inspected a helicopter fuselage repaired with composite patches The inspection would determine if the repair would hold up ldquoThe technician pushed the device down and moved it along lines of taperdquo Zalameda recalled ldquokeeping it as straight as he could Then he moved over to the next line and repeated the processrdquo However in order for the process to work the technician had to apply an exact amount of hand pressure to the surface ldquoAfter seeing this demonstrationrdquo Zalameda said ldquoI thought that there had to be a better way to do thisrdquo As it turns out he was right

Traditional inspection tools use a wet coupling method which is as messy as it sounds Aircraft inspection tools involve a device that covers the surface in water an on-site transducer and a collection system The transducer would then

RISKY ENVIRONMENTSFor a typical inspection routine the operator would interrogate the integrity of a structure looking for defects dents or other potential hazards in high-risk environments For example if a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wing ldquoIt can find subsurface damage such as in-plane cracks delamination material variations and other abnormalities in structuresrdquo Zalameda noted

While NASArsquos Technology Transfer program focuses on the private sector there is certainly a place for the floating transducer technology

ldquoUtilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surfacerdquo

ldquoIf a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wingrdquo

in the space program If an orbiting spacecraft is struck by debris the astronaut can gauge the damage and determine what repairs need to be made However the technology is not yet space-ready ldquoWe have to make sure we synchronize the signals to the scanning systemrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoThe transducer needs to be normal with the surface or else it will send signals back and forth at an anglerdquo said Zalameda who is working on adjustments utilizing linear bearings which keep the apparatus straight for normal orientation to the inspected surface Thanks to such tireless effort from NASA it will only be a matter of time before astronauts can safely determine repairs while orbiting Earth

couple with the wet surface The difficulty is that the operator has to maintain a constant amount of water on the surface while simultaneously conducting the inspectionmdasha task that can be time consuming

ldquoAt NASA we are trying to simplify the ultrasound inspection processrdquo Zalameda stated With his dry-coupling transducer Zalameda has created a nonimmersion technique that couples with the composite structure that is being inspected ldquoIn order to complete the couplingrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoyou have to apply pressure which is why wersquove implemented a voice-coil motorrdquo The end result is a device that can inspect a structure without a liquid couplant providing a more practical inspection Because the pressure is applied momentarily it allows the user to easily move the transducer across the surface Another boon for the dry-coupling technique is that in space water cannot be applied to any surface This new technique could potentially enable astronauts to conduct structural-integrity inspections without having to use messy gels or substances

Close-up view of ultrasonic transducer and liner voice-coil motor

Overall proof of concept of ultrasonic system setup

21Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER Joe Zalameda is one of NASArsquos leading experts in nondestructive evaluation and the inventor of a new ultrasonic transducer By utilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surface detecting any damage within the structure The idea for this transducer came from a demonstration that Zalameda attended at an army base The demonstration involved a handheld ultrasonic device that inspected a helicopter fuselage repaired with composite patches The inspection would determine if the repair would hold up ldquoThe technician pushed the device down and moved it along lines of taperdquo Zalameda recalled ldquokeeping it as straight as he could Then he moved over to the next line and repeated the processrdquo However in order for the process to work the technician had to apply an exact amount of hand pressure to the surface ldquoAfter seeing this demonstrationrdquo Zalameda said ldquoI thought that there had to be a better way to do thisrdquo As it turns out he was right

Traditional inspection tools use a wet coupling method which is as messy as it sounds Aircraft inspection tools involve a device that covers the surface in water an on-site transducer and a collection system The transducer would then

RISKY ENVIRONMENTSFor a typical inspection routine the operator would interrogate the integrity of a structure looking for defects dents or other potential hazards in high-risk environments For example if a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wing ldquoIt can find subsurface damage such as in-plane cracks delamination material variations and other abnormalities in structuresrdquo Zalameda noted

While NASArsquos Technology Transfer program focuses on the private sector there is certainly a place for the floating transducer technology

ldquoUtilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surfacerdquo

ldquoIf a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wingrdquo

in the space program If an orbiting spacecraft is struck by debris the astronaut can gauge the damage and determine what repairs need to be made However the technology is not yet space-ready ldquoWe have to make sure we synchronize the signals to the scanning systemrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoThe transducer needs to be normal with the surface or else it will send signals back and forth at an anglerdquo said Zalameda who is working on adjustments utilizing linear bearings which keep the apparatus straight for normal orientation to the inspected surface Thanks to such tireless effort from NASA it will only be a matter of time before astronauts can safely determine repairs while orbiting Earth

couple with the wet surface The difficulty is that the operator has to maintain a constant amount of water on the surface while simultaneously conducting the inspectionmdasha task that can be time consuming

ldquoAt NASA we are trying to simplify the ultrasound inspection processrdquo Zalameda stated With his dry-coupling transducer Zalameda has created a nonimmersion technique that couples with the composite structure that is being inspected ldquoIn order to complete the couplingrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoyou have to apply pressure which is why wersquove implemented a voice-coil motorrdquo The end result is a device that can inspect a structure without a liquid couplant providing a more practical inspection Because the pressure is applied momentarily it allows the user to easily move the transducer across the surface Another boon for the dry-coupling technique is that in space water cannot be applied to any surface This new technique could potentially enable astronauts to conduct structural-integrity inspections without having to use messy gels or substances

Close-up view of ultrasonic transducer and liner voice-coil motor

Overall proof of concept of ultrasonic system setup

22 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

Silicon Cloud

High-Performance

CLOUD COMPUTING

Reigns with Silicon Cloud International provides a secure private and high-performance cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications The

company is establishing cloud-computing centers with turnkey semiconductor-design work flows for universities and research institutions across the world

In an interview with EEWeb Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International discussed the cloud revolution data security and the benefits of using cloud-based solutions Chian also addressed his companyrsquos work with universities and how that will affect engineering programs

23Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

Silicon Cloud

High-Performance

CLOUD COMPUTING

Reigns with Silicon Cloud International provides a secure private and high-performance cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications The

company is establishing cloud-computing centers with turnkey semiconductor-design work flows for universities and research institutions across the world

In an interview with EEWeb Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International discussed the cloud revolution data security and the benefits of using cloud-based solutions Chian also addressed his companyrsquos work with universities and how that will affect engineering programs

24 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

25Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

26 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

27Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

Find us at Booth 613PCB West 2014

20 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER Joe Zalameda is one of NASArsquos leading experts in nondestructive evaluation and the inventor of a new ultrasonic transducer By utilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surface detecting any damage within the structure The idea for this transducer came from a demonstration that Zalameda attended at an army base The demonstration involved a handheld ultrasonic device that inspected a helicopter fuselage repaired with composite patches The inspection would determine if the repair would hold up ldquoThe technician pushed the device down and moved it along lines of taperdquo Zalameda recalled ldquokeeping it as straight as he could Then he moved over to the next line and repeated the processrdquo However in order for the process to work the technician had to apply an exact amount of hand pressure to the surface ldquoAfter seeing this demonstrationrdquo Zalameda said ldquoI thought that there had to be a better way to do thisrdquo As it turns out he was right

Traditional inspection tools use a wet coupling method which is as messy as it sounds Aircraft inspection tools involve a device that covers the surface in water an on-site transducer and a collection system The transducer would then

RISKY ENVIRONMENTSFor a typical inspection routine the operator would interrogate the integrity of a structure looking for defects dents or other potential hazards in high-risk environments For example if a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wing ldquoIt can find subsurface damage such as in-plane cracks delamination material variations and other abnormalities in structuresrdquo Zalameda noted

While NASArsquos Technology Transfer program focuses on the private sector there is certainly a place for the floating transducer technology

ldquoUtilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surfacerdquo

ldquoIf a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wingrdquo

in the space program If an orbiting spacecraft is struck by debris the astronaut can gauge the damage and determine what repairs need to be made However the technology is not yet space-ready ldquoWe have to make sure we synchronize the signals to the scanning systemrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoThe transducer needs to be normal with the surface or else it will send signals back and forth at an anglerdquo said Zalameda who is working on adjustments utilizing linear bearings which keep the apparatus straight for normal orientation to the inspected surface Thanks to such tireless effort from NASA it will only be a matter of time before astronauts can safely determine repairs while orbiting Earth

couple with the wet surface The difficulty is that the operator has to maintain a constant amount of water on the surface while simultaneously conducting the inspectionmdasha task that can be time consuming

ldquoAt NASA we are trying to simplify the ultrasound inspection processrdquo Zalameda stated With his dry-coupling transducer Zalameda has created a nonimmersion technique that couples with the composite structure that is being inspected ldquoIn order to complete the couplingrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoyou have to apply pressure which is why wersquove implemented a voice-coil motorrdquo The end result is a device that can inspect a structure without a liquid couplant providing a more practical inspection Because the pressure is applied momentarily it allows the user to easily move the transducer across the surface Another boon for the dry-coupling technique is that in space water cannot be applied to any surface This new technique could potentially enable astronauts to conduct structural-integrity inspections without having to use messy gels or substances

Close-up view of ultrasonic transducer and liner voice-coil motor

Overall proof of concept of ultrasonic system setup

21Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER Joe Zalameda is one of NASArsquos leading experts in nondestructive evaluation and the inventor of a new ultrasonic transducer By utilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surface detecting any damage within the structure The idea for this transducer came from a demonstration that Zalameda attended at an army base The demonstration involved a handheld ultrasonic device that inspected a helicopter fuselage repaired with composite patches The inspection would determine if the repair would hold up ldquoThe technician pushed the device down and moved it along lines of taperdquo Zalameda recalled ldquokeeping it as straight as he could Then he moved over to the next line and repeated the processrdquo However in order for the process to work the technician had to apply an exact amount of hand pressure to the surface ldquoAfter seeing this demonstrationrdquo Zalameda said ldquoI thought that there had to be a better way to do thisrdquo As it turns out he was right

Traditional inspection tools use a wet coupling method which is as messy as it sounds Aircraft inspection tools involve a device that covers the surface in water an on-site transducer and a collection system The transducer would then

RISKY ENVIRONMENTSFor a typical inspection routine the operator would interrogate the integrity of a structure looking for defects dents or other potential hazards in high-risk environments For example if a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wing ldquoIt can find subsurface damage such as in-plane cracks delamination material variations and other abnormalities in structuresrdquo Zalameda noted

While NASArsquos Technology Transfer program focuses on the private sector there is certainly a place for the floating transducer technology

ldquoUtilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surfacerdquo

ldquoIf a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wingrdquo

in the space program If an orbiting spacecraft is struck by debris the astronaut can gauge the damage and determine what repairs need to be made However the technology is not yet space-ready ldquoWe have to make sure we synchronize the signals to the scanning systemrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoThe transducer needs to be normal with the surface or else it will send signals back and forth at an anglerdquo said Zalameda who is working on adjustments utilizing linear bearings which keep the apparatus straight for normal orientation to the inspected surface Thanks to such tireless effort from NASA it will only be a matter of time before astronauts can safely determine repairs while orbiting Earth

couple with the wet surface The difficulty is that the operator has to maintain a constant amount of water on the surface while simultaneously conducting the inspectionmdasha task that can be time consuming

ldquoAt NASA we are trying to simplify the ultrasound inspection processrdquo Zalameda stated With his dry-coupling transducer Zalameda has created a nonimmersion technique that couples with the composite structure that is being inspected ldquoIn order to complete the couplingrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoyou have to apply pressure which is why wersquove implemented a voice-coil motorrdquo The end result is a device that can inspect a structure without a liquid couplant providing a more practical inspection Because the pressure is applied momentarily it allows the user to easily move the transducer across the surface Another boon for the dry-coupling technique is that in space water cannot be applied to any surface This new technique could potentially enable astronauts to conduct structural-integrity inspections without having to use messy gels or substances

Close-up view of ultrasonic transducer and liner voice-coil motor

Overall proof of concept of ultrasonic system setup

22 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

Silicon Cloud

High-Performance

CLOUD COMPUTING

Reigns with Silicon Cloud International provides a secure private and high-performance cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications The

company is establishing cloud-computing centers with turnkey semiconductor-design work flows for universities and research institutions across the world

In an interview with EEWeb Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International discussed the cloud revolution data security and the benefits of using cloud-based solutions Chian also addressed his companyrsquos work with universities and how that will affect engineering programs

23Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

Silicon Cloud

High-Performance

CLOUD COMPUTING

Reigns with Silicon Cloud International provides a secure private and high-performance cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications The

company is establishing cloud-computing centers with turnkey semiconductor-design work flows for universities and research institutions across the world

In an interview with EEWeb Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International discussed the cloud revolution data security and the benefits of using cloud-based solutions Chian also addressed his companyrsquos work with universities and how that will affect engineering programs

24 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

25Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

26 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

27Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

Find us at Booth 613PCB West 2014

21Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER Joe Zalameda is one of NASArsquos leading experts in nondestructive evaluation and the inventor of a new ultrasonic transducer By utilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surface detecting any damage within the structure The idea for this transducer came from a demonstration that Zalameda attended at an army base The demonstration involved a handheld ultrasonic device that inspected a helicopter fuselage repaired with composite patches The inspection would determine if the repair would hold up ldquoThe technician pushed the device down and moved it along lines of taperdquo Zalameda recalled ldquokeeping it as straight as he could Then he moved over to the next line and repeated the processrdquo However in order for the process to work the technician had to apply an exact amount of hand pressure to the surface ldquoAfter seeing this demonstrationrdquo Zalameda said ldquoI thought that there had to be a better way to do thisrdquo As it turns out he was right

Traditional inspection tools use a wet coupling method which is as messy as it sounds Aircraft inspection tools involve a device that covers the surface in water an on-site transducer and a collection system The transducer would then

RISKY ENVIRONMENTSFor a typical inspection routine the operator would interrogate the integrity of a structure looking for defects dents or other potential hazards in high-risk environments For example if a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wing ldquoIt can find subsurface damage such as in-plane cracks delamination material variations and other abnormalities in structuresrdquo Zalameda noted

While NASArsquos Technology Transfer program focuses on the private sector there is certainly a place for the floating transducer technology

ldquoUtilizing a dry-coupling technique in conjunction with pulsations the transducer is able to seamlessly float across a surfacerdquo

ldquoIf a plane were exposed to a hail storm an operator would use the ultrasonic transducer to inspect a dimple in the wingrdquo

in the space program If an orbiting spacecraft is struck by debris the astronaut can gauge the damage and determine what repairs need to be made However the technology is not yet space-ready ldquoWe have to make sure we synchronize the signals to the scanning systemrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoThe transducer needs to be normal with the surface or else it will send signals back and forth at an anglerdquo said Zalameda who is working on adjustments utilizing linear bearings which keep the apparatus straight for normal orientation to the inspected surface Thanks to such tireless effort from NASA it will only be a matter of time before astronauts can safely determine repairs while orbiting Earth

couple with the wet surface The difficulty is that the operator has to maintain a constant amount of water on the surface while simultaneously conducting the inspectionmdasha task that can be time consuming

ldquoAt NASA we are trying to simplify the ultrasound inspection processrdquo Zalameda stated With his dry-coupling transducer Zalameda has created a nonimmersion technique that couples with the composite structure that is being inspected ldquoIn order to complete the couplingrdquo Zalameda explained ldquoyou have to apply pressure which is why wersquove implemented a voice-coil motorrdquo The end result is a device that can inspect a structure without a liquid couplant providing a more practical inspection Because the pressure is applied momentarily it allows the user to easily move the transducer across the surface Another boon for the dry-coupling technique is that in space water cannot be applied to any surface This new technique could potentially enable astronauts to conduct structural-integrity inspections without having to use messy gels or substances

Close-up view of ultrasonic transducer and liner voice-coil motor

Overall proof of concept of ultrasonic system setup

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PULSE

Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

Silicon Cloud

High-Performance

CLOUD COMPUTING

Reigns with Silicon Cloud International provides a secure private and high-performance cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications The

company is establishing cloud-computing centers with turnkey semiconductor-design work flows for universities and research institutions across the world

In an interview with EEWeb Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International discussed the cloud revolution data security and the benefits of using cloud-based solutions Chian also addressed his companyrsquos work with universities and how that will affect engineering programs

23Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

Silicon Cloud

High-Performance

CLOUD COMPUTING

Reigns with Silicon Cloud International provides a secure private and high-performance cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications The

company is establishing cloud-computing centers with turnkey semiconductor-design work flows for universities and research institutions across the world

In an interview with EEWeb Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International discussed the cloud revolution data security and the benefits of using cloud-based solutions Chian also addressed his companyrsquos work with universities and how that will affect engineering programs

24 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

25Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

26 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

27Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

Find us at Booth 613PCB West 2014

22 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

Silicon Cloud

High-Performance

CLOUD COMPUTING

Reigns with Silicon Cloud International provides a secure private and high-performance cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications The

company is establishing cloud-computing centers with turnkey semiconductor-design work flows for universities and research institutions across the world

In an interview with EEWeb Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International discussed the cloud revolution data security and the benefits of using cloud-based solutions Chian also addressed his companyrsquos work with universities and how that will affect engineering programs

23Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

Silicon Cloud

High-Performance

CLOUD COMPUTING

Reigns with Silicon Cloud International provides a secure private and high-performance cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications The

company is establishing cloud-computing centers with turnkey semiconductor-design work flows for universities and research institutions across the world

In an interview with EEWeb Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International discussed the cloud revolution data security and the benefits of using cloud-based solutions Chian also addressed his companyrsquos work with universities and how that will affect engineering programs

24 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

25Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

26 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

27Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

Find us at Booth 613PCB West 2014

23Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Interview with Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International

Silicon Cloud

High-Performance

CLOUD COMPUTING

Reigns with Silicon Cloud International provides a secure private and high-performance cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications The

company is establishing cloud-computing centers with turnkey semiconductor-design work flows for universities and research institutions across the world

In an interview with EEWeb Mojy Chian CEO of Silicon Cloud International discussed the cloud revolution data security and the benefits of using cloud-based solutions Chian also addressed his companyrsquos work with universities and how that will affect engineering programs

24 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

25Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

26 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

27Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

Find us at Booth 613PCB West 2014

24 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

25Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

26 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

27Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

Find us at Booth 613PCB West 2014

25Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Could you give us a background of Silicon Cloud

Silicon Cloud International (SCI) provides cloud-computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering applications such as chip design We donrsquot do chip design but we provide the infrastructure for those who do The major part of our value proposition is based on work flow performance data protection and security Our cloud computing is based on a private cloud so we donrsquot use a public cloud like Amazon or other e-commerce cloud companies Another important factor is our use of a very thin client architecture which means that everything is in the cloud For chip design this means we store design databases tools work flows and any other resources in the cloud We issue a very thin client which allows a user to connect to the private cloud

We specifically adopted this feature for two reasons First of all because everything is in the cloud network bandwidth data is not an issue Data does not go back and forth between the client machines and the cloud All that goes back and forth are the pixels of the screen The second reason is data protection we donrsquot allow users to download which is a major data protection factor Using the SCI cloud means there is no need for uploading and downloading of design data or any other information

What is the focus of Silicon Cloudrsquos applications

The first application we are focusing on is a cloud-based turnkey integrated circuit (IC) design infrastructure for universities We are targeting universities in developing countries such as Singapore UAE Malaysia Pakistan Brazil and Algeria These countries have identified semiconductors and chip design as a way to move their economies to a knowledge-based economy and increase the per-capita income We are working with the governments of these nations to build national cloud centers for their leading universities The cloud will have a complete turnkey IC design infrastructure allowing for comprehensive training and researach within the universities

ldquoThe chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolutionrdquo

ldquoWe provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design

IPmdasheverythingrdquo

What was the impetus for starting a cloud-based IC design infrastructure company

When we founded the company we felt that the chip-design business was missing out on the cloud revolution Right now there isnrsquot any successful model for chip design in the cloud There are a few reasons for thatmdashone being data bandwidth Another factor is data protection The third factor is that chip design is a space that requires coming together of many semiconductor ecosystem players To enable widespread use of chip design in the cloud you need entities that address the technical issues and fit those pieces together

What are the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for chip design

For universities there are several benefits from using our cloud-based solution We provide the entire design flow and infrastructure Most chip-design companies have a computer-aided design (CAD) group whose main job is to get the electronic design automation (EDA) tools from the EDA provider the process design kit (PDK) from the foundries the intellectual property (IP) from the IP providers and put them all together This is not a simple taskmdashcompanies put a good portion of their revenue in the CAD group because it is an essential part of chip design We provide a complete turnkey design infrastructuremdashthe EDA tools PDK and design IPmdasheverything That is a big advantage for our users Because of the way we set up our

Design Start Creation Flow

3 Silicon Cloud International Confidential

IC Design Education in Universities IC Designers

Design Starts

To Large Semi

To Small Fabless

To Universities

IoT Paradigm

Design Enablement For Universities

- Cloud - EDA Tools - PDK - Training - Local Support

Design starts are enabled by universities Huge potential in developing countries

26 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

27Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

Find us at Booth 613PCB West 2014

26 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

27Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

Find us at Booth 613PCB West 2014

27Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

infrastructure they can access process technologies that they would ordinarily not have Today there are less than a handful of universities that have this kind of technology The reason is that silicon foundries do not trust the current university design environmentmdashanybody can download a PDK to a flash drive and send it to competitors We solved this problem because we donrsquot allow downloads to any usersrsquo machines

Another benefit of our system is the scalability of software and hardware The user can launch one simulation or a hundred simulations Further virtualized hardware allows the user to ldquobuildrdquo a specific machine or machines for a specific application The cloud also provides a global collaboration platform which is particularly attractive to universities If university A wants to work with university B though theyrsquore in different countries they still use the same cloud-based environments with all of the design infrastructures and databases One user can be in Singapore and the other in the US and they can do interactive design at the same time on the same database

How do you ensure security both on the client side and the server side

In many cloud applications the main issue is tampering In IC design a more important security issue is data protection for PDKs Another case is design IP

protection The customers of design IP typically would like to run some test cases before they purchase the IP Currently the design IP companies have to let the potential customers download the design IP to their local systems to run test cases This is a major intellectual property protection issue for the IP providers as they have to trust their customers with the IP This is something that secure cloud computing can solve The customers can check the design IP within our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do verifications to see how things work Nothing gets downloaded to anybodyrsquos local machine so the data is secure in the evaluation phase

This is also true for EDA tools Unauthorized use of EDA tools and license file tampering is a main concern When EDA providers give EDA tools to universities they are given at a huge discount because they are supposed to be used for educational and research purposes Once a university downloads the EDA tools the tools canrsquot be controlled or tracked EDA providers do not actually know whether their tools are used for research or education or even if the tools have been used at all By having all the data tools and the tasks in the cloud significant operational data is generated Data analytics provides an unprecedented level of observability control and protection for EDA providers semiconductor foundries and design IP companies

ldquoCustomers can check the design IP within

our secure Silicon Cloud do simulations and do

verifications to see how things workrdquo

Turn-key IC design infrastructure

Cloud Access Thin Clients

Design Databases Workflows

Design IP amp PDK EDA Tools

Virtual Machines

Cloud User Portal

Private amp Secure Cloud

SCI establishes maintains and supports the entire IC design infrastructure in the cloud The infrastructure is set up once and used by many users The centers include HW design flows training local support ndash per country

Silicon Cloud International Confidential

Find us at Booth 613PCB West 2014

Find us at Booth 613PCB West 2014

Your Circuit Starts HereSign up to design share and collaborate

on your next projectmdashbig or small

Click Here to Sign Up

30 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Rugged technology at the core of product reliability

By Suzanne Touchette Kelso Contributing Writer

Extreme conditions call for extreme equipment Lumineqreg rivals such conditions by

delivering electroluminescent displays designed to excel in harsh environments Lumineqreg Displays a business unit of Beneq is a premier manufacturer and developer of thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) displays Lumineqreg TFEL nontransparent displays are used in mining marine military medical and many other demanding environments TFEL displays are robust and reliable usually used in extreme conditions where traditional displays cannot cope

in Extreme Environments

Lumineqreg Displays

31Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Rugged technology at the core of product reliability

By Suzanne Touchette Kelso Contributing Writer

Extreme conditions call for extreme equipment Lumineqreg rivals such conditions by

delivering electroluminescent displays designed to excel in harsh environments Lumineqreg Displays a business unit of Beneq is a premier manufacturer and developer of thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) displays Lumineqreg TFEL nontransparent displays are used in mining marine military medical and many other demanding environments TFEL displays are robust and reliable usually used in extreme conditions where traditional displays cannot cope

in Extreme Environments

Lumineqreg Displays

32 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Since Lumineqreg is based in Finland known for its arctic wintertime temperatures it is no surprise that

the company excels at producing harsh-environment displays that withstand extreme temperatures as well as a host of other grueling conditions EEWeb spoke with Scott Vahlsing technical sales director at Lumineqreg about designing displays for extreme conditions and how these durable displays deliver

Harsh Temperatures and Monster HumidityLumineqreg is primarily known for harsh-environment displays The success of their displays is founded on thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) display

technology Compared to liquid-crystal displays (LCD) TFEL display technology is unrivaled for embedded display because of its ruggedness and longevity TFEL technology is the over 30-year-old original flat panel which ldquobeing emissive it works more like a cathode-ray tube (CRT) than an LCDrdquo comments Vahlsing Emissive displays have unparalled at-a-glance viewability

Lumineqreg TFEL displays comprise a solid-state glass panel an electronic control circuit and a power supply The TFEL glass panel which is the heart of the assembly consists of a luminescent phosphorous layer sandwiched between transparent dielectric layers and a

matrix of row and column electrodes (see diagram) The circuit board which contains the drive and control electronics is connected directly to the back of the glass panel Applying voltage to the row and column electrodes lights a pixel on the display This causes the area of intersection to emit light

Thin-Film Electroluminescent Displays

ldquoOne of the significant applications we have is a portable defibrillator The company that builds the

defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them

throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the

defibrillator still workedrdquo

ldquoTFEL is very rugged

being solid-state Itrsquos unaffected by temperature and

vibrationrdquo

33Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Since Lumineqreg is based in Finland known for its arctic wintertime temperatures it is no surprise that

the company excels at producing harsh-environment displays that withstand extreme temperatures as well as a host of other grueling conditions EEWeb spoke with Scott Vahlsing technical sales director at Lumineqreg about designing displays for extreme conditions and how these durable displays deliver

Harsh Temperatures and Monster HumidityLumineqreg is primarily known for harsh-environment displays The success of their displays is founded on thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) display

technology Compared to liquid-crystal displays (LCD) TFEL display technology is unrivaled for embedded display because of its ruggedness and longevity TFEL technology is the over 30-year-old original flat panel which ldquobeing emissive it works more like a cathode-ray tube (CRT) than an LCDrdquo comments Vahlsing Emissive displays have unparalled at-a-glance viewability

Lumineqreg TFEL displays comprise a solid-state glass panel an electronic control circuit and a power supply The TFEL glass panel which is the heart of the assembly consists of a luminescent phosphorous layer sandwiched between transparent dielectric layers and a

matrix of row and column electrodes (see diagram) The circuit board which contains the drive and control electronics is connected directly to the back of the glass panel Applying voltage to the row and column electrodes lights a pixel on the display This causes the area of intersection to emit light

Thin-Film Electroluminescent Displays

ldquoOne of the significant applications we have is a portable defibrillator The company that builds the

defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them

throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the

defibrillator still workedrdquo

ldquoTFEL is very rugged

being solid-state Itrsquos unaffected by temperature and

vibrationrdquo

34 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

ldquoTFEL is very rugged being solid-staterdquo maintains Vahlsing ldquoItrsquos really unaffected by temperature and vibration as opposed to LCDs which have films with fluid running in between them Thatrsquos why LCDs are so affected by temperature changerdquo The fact that TFEL is a solid-state material makes the display contrast and performance virtually temperature independent ldquoOur glass will work from -100degC to 100degC and runs at 180V ACrdquo adds Vahlsing Also the driver electronics are built to meet the specifications for extreme operating conditions As a result Lumineqreg focuses on the niche categories of very rugged monochrome displays

Not only superior in harsh temperatures TFEL has few humidity issues compared to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) OLED is done on a plastic film whereas TFEL is on glass Because of Lumineqreg core technology atomic layer deposition (ALD) TFEL is well encapsulated This ALD technology encapsulates the phosphors so well that TFEL displays do not have the humidity issues that OLED displays have

Radical G-Force EnduranceIn addition to handling excessive temperate and humidity TFEL displays also withstand high-speed vibration Because of the solid nature of the glass used in displays there is no air gap or fluid gap This allows the display to be more resistant to different types of vibration Reliable response under extreme vibration is critical in many high-risk military and mining applications To say

that Lumineqreg embedded TFEL displays are durable is an understatementmdashthe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force shock and a staggering 250000-hour mean time between failures (MTBF) for the display glass

Defibrillators and Delis Lumineq displays are designed into a variety of unique applications ldquoOne of the significant applicationsrdquo reports Vahlsing ldquois a portable defibrillator The company that builds the defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the defibrillator still worked This is really rugged display technologyrdquo Another distinctive aspect of Lumineqreg display technology is the ability to make the electroluminescent display fully transparent Interestingly one of the products these transparent displays is used in is a deli scale This provides total freedom of design Vahlsing elaborates that ldquoyou can put the meat on the deli scale and see both the meat and the price come uprdquo

Test of TimeWhile there are other solutions that can withstand a harsh environment Vahlsing maintains that Lumineqreg displays have proven reliability ldquoThere are 30 years of history behind Lumineqreg displaysrdquo he says ldquoWith most of these types of products that need to be rugged

and last a long time we just keep building them without modification For the Taiwanese industrial thin-film transistor (TFTLCDs)rdquo he notes ldquothe typical lifespan of the product is three to five years and they call that an industrial displayrdquo Lumineqreg has products that they have been building for 20 years and will continue to produce for at least another 10 years Because changing modules is expensive Lumineqreg shines in lifecycle management and obsolescence issues Vahlsing explains ldquoWe are working on a display on a military missile program that was built 20 years ago and we took the product to end-of-life because of restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and some components Lumineqreg is now refurbishing the product in order to keep it active for the US government Vahlsing concludes that Lumineqreg is ldquosmall enough to be flexible and we keep our projects going and going and goingrdquo

ldquoOur glass will work from

-100degC to 100degCrdquo

ldquoThe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force

shockrdquoDynacon winch with Lumineq display on a shipCourtesy of Measurement Technology NorthWest

35Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

ldquoTFEL is very rugged being solid-staterdquo maintains Vahlsing ldquoItrsquos really unaffected by temperature and vibration as opposed to LCDs which have films with fluid running in between them Thatrsquos why LCDs are so affected by temperature changerdquo The fact that TFEL is a solid-state material makes the display contrast and performance virtually temperature independent ldquoOur glass will work from -100degC to 100degC and runs at 180V ACrdquo adds Vahlsing Also the driver electronics are built to meet the specifications for extreme operating conditions As a result Lumineqreg focuses on the niche categories of very rugged monochrome displays

Not only superior in harsh temperatures TFEL has few humidity issues compared to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) OLED is done on a plastic film whereas TFEL is on glass Because of Lumineqreg core technology atomic layer deposition (ALD) TFEL is well encapsulated This ALD technology encapsulates the phosphors so well that TFEL displays do not have the humidity issues that OLED displays have

Radical G-Force EnduranceIn addition to handling excessive temperate and humidity TFEL displays also withstand high-speed vibration Because of the solid nature of the glass used in displays there is no air gap or fluid gap This allows the display to be more resistant to different types of vibration Reliable response under extreme vibration is critical in many high-risk military and mining applications To say

that Lumineqreg embedded TFEL displays are durable is an understatementmdashthe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force shock and a staggering 250000-hour mean time between failures (MTBF) for the display glass

Defibrillators and Delis Lumineq displays are designed into a variety of unique applications ldquoOne of the significant applicationsrdquo reports Vahlsing ldquois a portable defibrillator The company that builds the defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the defibrillator still worked This is really rugged display technologyrdquo Another distinctive aspect of Lumineqreg display technology is the ability to make the electroluminescent display fully transparent Interestingly one of the products these transparent displays is used in is a deli scale This provides total freedom of design Vahlsing elaborates that ldquoyou can put the meat on the deli scale and see both the meat and the price come uprdquo

Test of TimeWhile there are other solutions that can withstand a harsh environment Vahlsing maintains that Lumineqreg displays have proven reliability ldquoThere are 30 years of history behind Lumineqreg displaysrdquo he says ldquoWith most of these types of products that need to be rugged

and last a long time we just keep building them without modification For the Taiwanese industrial thin-film transistor (TFTLCDs)rdquo he notes ldquothe typical lifespan of the product is three to five years and they call that an industrial displayrdquo Lumineqreg has products that they have been building for 20 years and will continue to produce for at least another 10 years Because changing modules is expensive Lumineqreg shines in lifecycle management and obsolescence issues Vahlsing explains ldquoWe are working on a display on a military missile program that was built 20 years ago and we took the product to end-of-life because of restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and some components Lumineqreg is now refurbishing the product in order to keep it active for the US government Vahlsing concludes that Lumineqreg is ldquosmall enough to be flexible and we keep our projects going and going and goingrdquo

ldquoOur glass will work from

-100degC to 100degCrdquo

ldquoThe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force

shockrdquoDynacon winch with Lumineq display on a shipCourtesy of Measurement Technology NorthWest

GRAND PRIZEClemens ValensMultipurpose PWM Wave Shaper

Engineers all over the world participated in our AXP Logic contest In January 2014 we asked

contestants to use our new AXP1G57 low-power configurable multiple-function logic gate as a design platform Completed entries submitted before the closing deadline had the opportunity to win one of several prizes

Contestants were requested to go to the AXP Design Contest landing page on EEWeb answering some industry survey questions on their use of logic devices

After contestants fulfilled this requirement we would then ship a free 35 by 4 inch AXP1G57GM eval board with four configurable logic devices on-board power supply decoupling and the ability to configure each of four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven unique functions Full documentation and design tips were provided along with online design support The contest was also promoted at the Embedded World event in February 2014

The contest ran for six months and garnered some impressive stats and even greater results Just over 650 people registered online and a number of excellent designs were submitted The eventual winners are listed on the right

WINNERS

HONORABLE MENTIONYuri TikhonovA Smarter nanoRobot

HONORABLE MENTIONRobert KongWireless Sensors Using NXP 74AXP1G57 Devices

Announcing the

Download the Contest Winnersrsquo Work

click here

AXP Logic 2014 Design Contest

THIRD PLACEA YoussefDry Soil and High Temperature Circuit Warning

SECOND PLACEMonte ChanWide Voltage Range Inductorless LED Driver

FIRST PLACERyszard MilewiczLight Sensor and Photosound

New AXP low-power logic

stimulates engineerrsquos

high-powered creativity

Six months six continents six hundred contestants and six winners later

the results of the high-powered creativity contest werewelllogical

Launched in January of this year the

2014 AXP Logic Design Contest billed as

Our Low-power Logic and your High-

power Creativity used the AXP1G57

Low-Power configurable multiple func-

tion gate as a design platform

Designed and produced by Convergence

Promotions and Aspen Labs for NXP

Logic division the contest ran for six

months and garnered some impressive

stats--and even more impressive results

This article details the unbelievable

amount of creativity the contestants

delivered to win thousands of dollars in

prizes and made the contest a success

Phase one of the contest was registra-

tion and contestants were required to go

to the AXP Design Contest landing page

on EEWeb and answer some industry

survey questions on logic devices

In phase two they were shipped a free

35 inch by 4 inch AXP1G57GM Eval

Board with four configurable logic de-

vices on-board power supply decou-

pling and the ability to configure each of

four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven

unique functions

Full documentation and some design tips

were provided along with on-line design

support From there--the game was on1

31Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Rugged technology at the core of product reliability

By Suzanne Touchette Kelso Contributing Writer

Extreme conditions call for extreme equipment Lumineqreg rivals such conditions by

delivering electroluminescent displays designed to excel in harsh environments Lumineqreg Displays a business unit of Beneq is a premier manufacturer and developer of thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) displays Lumineqreg TFEL nontransparent displays are used in mining marine military medical and many other demanding environments TFEL displays are robust and reliable usually used in extreme conditions where traditional displays cannot cope

in Extreme Environments

Lumineqreg Displays

32 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Since Lumineqreg is based in Finland known for its arctic wintertime temperatures it is no surprise that

the company excels at producing harsh-environment displays that withstand extreme temperatures as well as a host of other grueling conditions EEWeb spoke with Scott Vahlsing technical sales director at Lumineqreg about designing displays for extreme conditions and how these durable displays deliver

Harsh Temperatures and Monster HumidityLumineqreg is primarily known for harsh-environment displays The success of their displays is founded on thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) display

technology Compared to liquid-crystal displays (LCD) TFEL display technology is unrivaled for embedded display because of its ruggedness and longevity TFEL technology is the over 30-year-old original flat panel which ldquobeing emissive it works more like a cathode-ray tube (CRT) than an LCDrdquo comments Vahlsing Emissive displays have unparalled at-a-glance viewability

Lumineqreg TFEL displays comprise a solid-state glass panel an electronic control circuit and a power supply The TFEL glass panel which is the heart of the assembly consists of a luminescent phosphorous layer sandwiched between transparent dielectric layers and a

matrix of row and column electrodes (see diagram) The circuit board which contains the drive and control electronics is connected directly to the back of the glass panel Applying voltage to the row and column electrodes lights a pixel on the display This causes the area of intersection to emit light

Thin-Film Electroluminescent Displays

ldquoOne of the significant applications we have is a portable defibrillator The company that builds the

defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them

throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the

defibrillator still workedrdquo

ldquoTFEL is very rugged

being solid-state Itrsquos unaffected by temperature and

vibrationrdquo

33Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Since Lumineqreg is based in Finland known for its arctic wintertime temperatures it is no surprise that

the company excels at producing harsh-environment displays that withstand extreme temperatures as well as a host of other grueling conditions EEWeb spoke with Scott Vahlsing technical sales director at Lumineqreg about designing displays for extreme conditions and how these durable displays deliver

Harsh Temperatures and Monster HumidityLumineqreg is primarily known for harsh-environment displays The success of their displays is founded on thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) display

technology Compared to liquid-crystal displays (LCD) TFEL display technology is unrivaled for embedded display because of its ruggedness and longevity TFEL technology is the over 30-year-old original flat panel which ldquobeing emissive it works more like a cathode-ray tube (CRT) than an LCDrdquo comments Vahlsing Emissive displays have unparalled at-a-glance viewability

Lumineqreg TFEL displays comprise a solid-state glass panel an electronic control circuit and a power supply The TFEL glass panel which is the heart of the assembly consists of a luminescent phosphorous layer sandwiched between transparent dielectric layers and a

matrix of row and column electrodes (see diagram) The circuit board which contains the drive and control electronics is connected directly to the back of the glass panel Applying voltage to the row and column electrodes lights a pixel on the display This causes the area of intersection to emit light

Thin-Film Electroluminescent Displays

ldquoOne of the significant applications we have is a portable defibrillator The company that builds the

defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them

throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the

defibrillator still workedrdquo

ldquoTFEL is very rugged

being solid-state Itrsquos unaffected by temperature and

vibrationrdquo

34 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

ldquoTFEL is very rugged being solid-staterdquo maintains Vahlsing ldquoItrsquos really unaffected by temperature and vibration as opposed to LCDs which have films with fluid running in between them Thatrsquos why LCDs are so affected by temperature changerdquo The fact that TFEL is a solid-state material makes the display contrast and performance virtually temperature independent ldquoOur glass will work from -100degC to 100degC and runs at 180V ACrdquo adds Vahlsing Also the driver electronics are built to meet the specifications for extreme operating conditions As a result Lumineqreg focuses on the niche categories of very rugged monochrome displays

Not only superior in harsh temperatures TFEL has few humidity issues compared to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) OLED is done on a plastic film whereas TFEL is on glass Because of Lumineqreg core technology atomic layer deposition (ALD) TFEL is well encapsulated This ALD technology encapsulates the phosphors so well that TFEL displays do not have the humidity issues that OLED displays have

Radical G-Force EnduranceIn addition to handling excessive temperate and humidity TFEL displays also withstand high-speed vibration Because of the solid nature of the glass used in displays there is no air gap or fluid gap This allows the display to be more resistant to different types of vibration Reliable response under extreme vibration is critical in many high-risk military and mining applications To say

that Lumineqreg embedded TFEL displays are durable is an understatementmdashthe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force shock and a staggering 250000-hour mean time between failures (MTBF) for the display glass

Defibrillators and Delis Lumineq displays are designed into a variety of unique applications ldquoOne of the significant applicationsrdquo reports Vahlsing ldquois a portable defibrillator The company that builds the defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the defibrillator still worked This is really rugged display technologyrdquo Another distinctive aspect of Lumineqreg display technology is the ability to make the electroluminescent display fully transparent Interestingly one of the products these transparent displays is used in is a deli scale This provides total freedom of design Vahlsing elaborates that ldquoyou can put the meat on the deli scale and see both the meat and the price come uprdquo

Test of TimeWhile there are other solutions that can withstand a harsh environment Vahlsing maintains that Lumineqreg displays have proven reliability ldquoThere are 30 years of history behind Lumineqreg displaysrdquo he says ldquoWith most of these types of products that need to be rugged

and last a long time we just keep building them without modification For the Taiwanese industrial thin-film transistor (TFTLCDs)rdquo he notes ldquothe typical lifespan of the product is three to five years and they call that an industrial displayrdquo Lumineqreg has products that they have been building for 20 years and will continue to produce for at least another 10 years Because changing modules is expensive Lumineqreg shines in lifecycle management and obsolescence issues Vahlsing explains ldquoWe are working on a display on a military missile program that was built 20 years ago and we took the product to end-of-life because of restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and some components Lumineqreg is now refurbishing the product in order to keep it active for the US government Vahlsing concludes that Lumineqreg is ldquosmall enough to be flexible and we keep our projects going and going and goingrdquo

ldquoOur glass will work from

-100degC to 100degCrdquo

ldquoThe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force

shockrdquoDynacon winch with Lumineq display on a shipCourtesy of Measurement Technology NorthWest

35Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

ldquoTFEL is very rugged being solid-staterdquo maintains Vahlsing ldquoItrsquos really unaffected by temperature and vibration as opposed to LCDs which have films with fluid running in between them Thatrsquos why LCDs are so affected by temperature changerdquo The fact that TFEL is a solid-state material makes the display contrast and performance virtually temperature independent ldquoOur glass will work from -100degC to 100degC and runs at 180V ACrdquo adds Vahlsing Also the driver electronics are built to meet the specifications for extreme operating conditions As a result Lumineqreg focuses on the niche categories of very rugged monochrome displays

Not only superior in harsh temperatures TFEL has few humidity issues compared to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) OLED is done on a plastic film whereas TFEL is on glass Because of Lumineqreg core technology atomic layer deposition (ALD) TFEL is well encapsulated This ALD technology encapsulates the phosphors so well that TFEL displays do not have the humidity issues that OLED displays have

Radical G-Force EnduranceIn addition to handling excessive temperate and humidity TFEL displays also withstand high-speed vibration Because of the solid nature of the glass used in displays there is no air gap or fluid gap This allows the display to be more resistant to different types of vibration Reliable response under extreme vibration is critical in many high-risk military and mining applications To say

that Lumineqreg embedded TFEL displays are durable is an understatementmdashthe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force shock and a staggering 250000-hour mean time between failures (MTBF) for the display glass

Defibrillators and Delis Lumineq displays are designed into a variety of unique applications ldquoOne of the significant applicationsrdquo reports Vahlsing ldquois a portable defibrillator The company that builds the defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the defibrillator still worked This is really rugged display technologyrdquo Another distinctive aspect of Lumineqreg display technology is the ability to make the electroluminescent display fully transparent Interestingly one of the products these transparent displays is used in is a deli scale This provides total freedom of design Vahlsing elaborates that ldquoyou can put the meat on the deli scale and see both the meat and the price come uprdquo

Test of TimeWhile there are other solutions that can withstand a harsh environment Vahlsing maintains that Lumineqreg displays have proven reliability ldquoThere are 30 years of history behind Lumineqreg displaysrdquo he says ldquoWith most of these types of products that need to be rugged

and last a long time we just keep building them without modification For the Taiwanese industrial thin-film transistor (TFTLCDs)rdquo he notes ldquothe typical lifespan of the product is three to five years and they call that an industrial displayrdquo Lumineqreg has products that they have been building for 20 years and will continue to produce for at least another 10 years Because changing modules is expensive Lumineqreg shines in lifecycle management and obsolescence issues Vahlsing explains ldquoWe are working on a display on a military missile program that was built 20 years ago and we took the product to end-of-life because of restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and some components Lumineqreg is now refurbishing the product in order to keep it active for the US government Vahlsing concludes that Lumineqreg is ldquosmall enough to be flexible and we keep our projects going and going and goingrdquo

ldquoOur glass will work from

-100degC to 100degCrdquo

ldquoThe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force

shockrdquoDynacon winch with Lumineq display on a shipCourtesy of Measurement Technology NorthWest

GRAND PRIZEClemens ValensMultipurpose PWM Wave Shaper

Engineers all over the world participated in our AXP Logic contest In January 2014 we asked

contestants to use our new AXP1G57 low-power configurable multiple-function logic gate as a design platform Completed entries submitted before the closing deadline had the opportunity to win one of several prizes

Contestants were requested to go to the AXP Design Contest landing page on EEWeb answering some industry survey questions on their use of logic devices

After contestants fulfilled this requirement we would then ship a free 35 by 4 inch AXP1G57GM eval board with four configurable logic devices on-board power supply decoupling and the ability to configure each of four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven unique functions Full documentation and design tips were provided along with online design support The contest was also promoted at the Embedded World event in February 2014

The contest ran for six months and garnered some impressive stats and even greater results Just over 650 people registered online and a number of excellent designs were submitted The eventual winners are listed on the right

WINNERS

HONORABLE MENTIONYuri TikhonovA Smarter nanoRobot

HONORABLE MENTIONRobert KongWireless Sensors Using NXP 74AXP1G57 Devices

Announcing the

Download the Contest Winnersrsquo Work

click here

AXP Logic 2014 Design Contest

THIRD PLACEA YoussefDry Soil and High Temperature Circuit Warning

SECOND PLACEMonte ChanWide Voltage Range Inductorless LED Driver

FIRST PLACERyszard MilewiczLight Sensor and Photosound

New AXP low-power logic

stimulates engineerrsquos

high-powered creativity

Six months six continents six hundred contestants and six winners later

the results of the high-powered creativity contest werewelllogical

Launched in January of this year the

2014 AXP Logic Design Contest billed as

Our Low-power Logic and your High-

power Creativity used the AXP1G57

Low-Power configurable multiple func-

tion gate as a design platform

Designed and produced by Convergence

Promotions and Aspen Labs for NXP

Logic division the contest ran for six

months and garnered some impressive

stats--and even more impressive results

This article details the unbelievable

amount of creativity the contestants

delivered to win thousands of dollars in

prizes and made the contest a success

Phase one of the contest was registra-

tion and contestants were required to go

to the AXP Design Contest landing page

on EEWeb and answer some industry

survey questions on logic devices

In phase two they were shipped a free

35 inch by 4 inch AXP1G57GM Eval

Board with four configurable logic de-

vices on-board power supply decou-

pling and the ability to configure each of

four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven

unique functions

Full documentation and some design tips

were provided along with on-line design

support From there--the game was on1

32 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

Since Lumineqreg is based in Finland known for its arctic wintertime temperatures it is no surprise that

the company excels at producing harsh-environment displays that withstand extreme temperatures as well as a host of other grueling conditions EEWeb spoke with Scott Vahlsing technical sales director at Lumineqreg about designing displays for extreme conditions and how these durable displays deliver

Harsh Temperatures and Monster HumidityLumineqreg is primarily known for harsh-environment displays The success of their displays is founded on thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) display

technology Compared to liquid-crystal displays (LCD) TFEL display technology is unrivaled for embedded display because of its ruggedness and longevity TFEL technology is the over 30-year-old original flat panel which ldquobeing emissive it works more like a cathode-ray tube (CRT) than an LCDrdquo comments Vahlsing Emissive displays have unparalled at-a-glance viewability

Lumineqreg TFEL displays comprise a solid-state glass panel an electronic control circuit and a power supply The TFEL glass panel which is the heart of the assembly consists of a luminescent phosphorous layer sandwiched between transparent dielectric layers and a

matrix of row and column electrodes (see diagram) The circuit board which contains the drive and control electronics is connected directly to the back of the glass panel Applying voltage to the row and column electrodes lights a pixel on the display This causes the area of intersection to emit light

Thin-Film Electroluminescent Displays

ldquoOne of the significant applications we have is a portable defibrillator The company that builds the

defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them

throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the

defibrillator still workedrdquo

ldquoTFEL is very rugged

being solid-state Itrsquos unaffected by temperature and

vibrationrdquo

33Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Since Lumineqreg is based in Finland known for its arctic wintertime temperatures it is no surprise that

the company excels at producing harsh-environment displays that withstand extreme temperatures as well as a host of other grueling conditions EEWeb spoke with Scott Vahlsing technical sales director at Lumineqreg about designing displays for extreme conditions and how these durable displays deliver

Harsh Temperatures and Monster HumidityLumineqreg is primarily known for harsh-environment displays The success of their displays is founded on thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) display

technology Compared to liquid-crystal displays (LCD) TFEL display technology is unrivaled for embedded display because of its ruggedness and longevity TFEL technology is the over 30-year-old original flat panel which ldquobeing emissive it works more like a cathode-ray tube (CRT) than an LCDrdquo comments Vahlsing Emissive displays have unparalled at-a-glance viewability

Lumineqreg TFEL displays comprise a solid-state glass panel an electronic control circuit and a power supply The TFEL glass panel which is the heart of the assembly consists of a luminescent phosphorous layer sandwiched between transparent dielectric layers and a

matrix of row and column electrodes (see diagram) The circuit board which contains the drive and control electronics is connected directly to the back of the glass panel Applying voltage to the row and column electrodes lights a pixel on the display This causes the area of intersection to emit light

Thin-Film Electroluminescent Displays

ldquoOne of the significant applications we have is a portable defibrillator The company that builds the

defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them

throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the

defibrillator still workedrdquo

ldquoTFEL is very rugged

being solid-state Itrsquos unaffected by temperature and

vibrationrdquo

34 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

ldquoTFEL is very rugged being solid-staterdquo maintains Vahlsing ldquoItrsquos really unaffected by temperature and vibration as opposed to LCDs which have films with fluid running in between them Thatrsquos why LCDs are so affected by temperature changerdquo The fact that TFEL is a solid-state material makes the display contrast and performance virtually temperature independent ldquoOur glass will work from -100degC to 100degC and runs at 180V ACrdquo adds Vahlsing Also the driver electronics are built to meet the specifications for extreme operating conditions As a result Lumineqreg focuses on the niche categories of very rugged monochrome displays

Not only superior in harsh temperatures TFEL has few humidity issues compared to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) OLED is done on a plastic film whereas TFEL is on glass Because of Lumineqreg core technology atomic layer deposition (ALD) TFEL is well encapsulated This ALD technology encapsulates the phosphors so well that TFEL displays do not have the humidity issues that OLED displays have

Radical G-Force EnduranceIn addition to handling excessive temperate and humidity TFEL displays also withstand high-speed vibration Because of the solid nature of the glass used in displays there is no air gap or fluid gap This allows the display to be more resistant to different types of vibration Reliable response under extreme vibration is critical in many high-risk military and mining applications To say

that Lumineqreg embedded TFEL displays are durable is an understatementmdashthe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force shock and a staggering 250000-hour mean time between failures (MTBF) for the display glass

Defibrillators and Delis Lumineq displays are designed into a variety of unique applications ldquoOne of the significant applicationsrdquo reports Vahlsing ldquois a portable defibrillator The company that builds the defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the defibrillator still worked This is really rugged display technologyrdquo Another distinctive aspect of Lumineqreg display technology is the ability to make the electroluminescent display fully transparent Interestingly one of the products these transparent displays is used in is a deli scale This provides total freedom of design Vahlsing elaborates that ldquoyou can put the meat on the deli scale and see both the meat and the price come uprdquo

Test of TimeWhile there are other solutions that can withstand a harsh environment Vahlsing maintains that Lumineqreg displays have proven reliability ldquoThere are 30 years of history behind Lumineqreg displaysrdquo he says ldquoWith most of these types of products that need to be rugged

and last a long time we just keep building them without modification For the Taiwanese industrial thin-film transistor (TFTLCDs)rdquo he notes ldquothe typical lifespan of the product is three to five years and they call that an industrial displayrdquo Lumineqreg has products that they have been building for 20 years and will continue to produce for at least another 10 years Because changing modules is expensive Lumineqreg shines in lifecycle management and obsolescence issues Vahlsing explains ldquoWe are working on a display on a military missile program that was built 20 years ago and we took the product to end-of-life because of restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and some components Lumineqreg is now refurbishing the product in order to keep it active for the US government Vahlsing concludes that Lumineqreg is ldquosmall enough to be flexible and we keep our projects going and going and goingrdquo

ldquoOur glass will work from

-100degC to 100degCrdquo

ldquoThe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force

shockrdquoDynacon winch with Lumineq display on a shipCourtesy of Measurement Technology NorthWest

35Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

ldquoTFEL is very rugged being solid-staterdquo maintains Vahlsing ldquoItrsquos really unaffected by temperature and vibration as opposed to LCDs which have films with fluid running in between them Thatrsquos why LCDs are so affected by temperature changerdquo The fact that TFEL is a solid-state material makes the display contrast and performance virtually temperature independent ldquoOur glass will work from -100degC to 100degC and runs at 180V ACrdquo adds Vahlsing Also the driver electronics are built to meet the specifications for extreme operating conditions As a result Lumineqreg focuses on the niche categories of very rugged monochrome displays

Not only superior in harsh temperatures TFEL has few humidity issues compared to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) OLED is done on a plastic film whereas TFEL is on glass Because of Lumineqreg core technology atomic layer deposition (ALD) TFEL is well encapsulated This ALD technology encapsulates the phosphors so well that TFEL displays do not have the humidity issues that OLED displays have

Radical G-Force EnduranceIn addition to handling excessive temperate and humidity TFEL displays also withstand high-speed vibration Because of the solid nature of the glass used in displays there is no air gap or fluid gap This allows the display to be more resistant to different types of vibration Reliable response under extreme vibration is critical in many high-risk military and mining applications To say

that Lumineqreg embedded TFEL displays are durable is an understatementmdashthe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force shock and a staggering 250000-hour mean time between failures (MTBF) for the display glass

Defibrillators and Delis Lumineq displays are designed into a variety of unique applications ldquoOne of the significant applicationsrdquo reports Vahlsing ldquois a portable defibrillator The company that builds the defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the defibrillator still worked This is really rugged display technologyrdquo Another distinctive aspect of Lumineqreg display technology is the ability to make the electroluminescent display fully transparent Interestingly one of the products these transparent displays is used in is a deli scale This provides total freedom of design Vahlsing elaborates that ldquoyou can put the meat on the deli scale and see both the meat and the price come uprdquo

Test of TimeWhile there are other solutions that can withstand a harsh environment Vahlsing maintains that Lumineqreg displays have proven reliability ldquoThere are 30 years of history behind Lumineqreg displaysrdquo he says ldquoWith most of these types of products that need to be rugged

and last a long time we just keep building them without modification For the Taiwanese industrial thin-film transistor (TFTLCDs)rdquo he notes ldquothe typical lifespan of the product is three to five years and they call that an industrial displayrdquo Lumineqreg has products that they have been building for 20 years and will continue to produce for at least another 10 years Because changing modules is expensive Lumineqreg shines in lifecycle management and obsolescence issues Vahlsing explains ldquoWe are working on a display on a military missile program that was built 20 years ago and we took the product to end-of-life because of restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and some components Lumineqreg is now refurbishing the product in order to keep it active for the US government Vahlsing concludes that Lumineqreg is ldquosmall enough to be flexible and we keep our projects going and going and goingrdquo

ldquoOur glass will work from

-100degC to 100degCrdquo

ldquoThe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force

shockrdquoDynacon winch with Lumineq display on a shipCourtesy of Measurement Technology NorthWest

GRAND PRIZEClemens ValensMultipurpose PWM Wave Shaper

Engineers all over the world participated in our AXP Logic contest In January 2014 we asked

contestants to use our new AXP1G57 low-power configurable multiple-function logic gate as a design platform Completed entries submitted before the closing deadline had the opportunity to win one of several prizes

Contestants were requested to go to the AXP Design Contest landing page on EEWeb answering some industry survey questions on their use of logic devices

After contestants fulfilled this requirement we would then ship a free 35 by 4 inch AXP1G57GM eval board with four configurable logic devices on-board power supply decoupling and the ability to configure each of four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven unique functions Full documentation and design tips were provided along with online design support The contest was also promoted at the Embedded World event in February 2014

The contest ran for six months and garnered some impressive stats and even greater results Just over 650 people registered online and a number of excellent designs were submitted The eventual winners are listed on the right

WINNERS

HONORABLE MENTIONYuri TikhonovA Smarter nanoRobot

HONORABLE MENTIONRobert KongWireless Sensors Using NXP 74AXP1G57 Devices

Announcing the

Download the Contest Winnersrsquo Work

click here

AXP Logic 2014 Design Contest

THIRD PLACEA YoussefDry Soil and High Temperature Circuit Warning

SECOND PLACEMonte ChanWide Voltage Range Inductorless LED Driver

FIRST PLACERyszard MilewiczLight Sensor and Photosound

New AXP low-power logic

stimulates engineerrsquos

high-powered creativity

Six months six continents six hundred contestants and six winners later

the results of the high-powered creativity contest werewelllogical

Launched in January of this year the

2014 AXP Logic Design Contest billed as

Our Low-power Logic and your High-

power Creativity used the AXP1G57

Low-Power configurable multiple func-

tion gate as a design platform

Designed and produced by Convergence

Promotions and Aspen Labs for NXP

Logic division the contest ran for six

months and garnered some impressive

stats--and even more impressive results

This article details the unbelievable

amount of creativity the contestants

delivered to win thousands of dollars in

prizes and made the contest a success

Phase one of the contest was registra-

tion and contestants were required to go

to the AXP Design Contest landing page

on EEWeb and answer some industry

survey questions on logic devices

In phase two they were shipped a free

35 inch by 4 inch AXP1G57GM Eval

Board with four configurable logic de-

vices on-board power supply decou-

pling and the ability to configure each of

four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven

unique functions

Full documentation and some design tips

were provided along with on-line design

support From there--the game was on1

33Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

Since Lumineqreg is based in Finland known for its arctic wintertime temperatures it is no surprise that

the company excels at producing harsh-environment displays that withstand extreme temperatures as well as a host of other grueling conditions EEWeb spoke with Scott Vahlsing technical sales director at Lumineqreg about designing displays for extreme conditions and how these durable displays deliver

Harsh Temperatures and Monster HumidityLumineqreg is primarily known for harsh-environment displays The success of their displays is founded on thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) display

technology Compared to liquid-crystal displays (LCD) TFEL display technology is unrivaled for embedded display because of its ruggedness and longevity TFEL technology is the over 30-year-old original flat panel which ldquobeing emissive it works more like a cathode-ray tube (CRT) than an LCDrdquo comments Vahlsing Emissive displays have unparalled at-a-glance viewability

Lumineqreg TFEL displays comprise a solid-state glass panel an electronic control circuit and a power supply The TFEL glass panel which is the heart of the assembly consists of a luminescent phosphorous layer sandwiched between transparent dielectric layers and a

matrix of row and column electrodes (see diagram) The circuit board which contains the drive and control electronics is connected directly to the back of the glass panel Applying voltage to the row and column electrodes lights a pixel on the display This causes the area of intersection to emit light

Thin-Film Electroluminescent Displays

ldquoOne of the significant applications we have is a portable defibrillator The company that builds the

defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them

throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the

defibrillator still workedrdquo

ldquoTFEL is very rugged

being solid-state Itrsquos unaffected by temperature and

vibrationrdquo

34 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

ldquoTFEL is very rugged being solid-staterdquo maintains Vahlsing ldquoItrsquos really unaffected by temperature and vibration as opposed to LCDs which have films with fluid running in between them Thatrsquos why LCDs are so affected by temperature changerdquo The fact that TFEL is a solid-state material makes the display contrast and performance virtually temperature independent ldquoOur glass will work from -100degC to 100degC and runs at 180V ACrdquo adds Vahlsing Also the driver electronics are built to meet the specifications for extreme operating conditions As a result Lumineqreg focuses on the niche categories of very rugged monochrome displays

Not only superior in harsh temperatures TFEL has few humidity issues compared to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) OLED is done on a plastic film whereas TFEL is on glass Because of Lumineqreg core technology atomic layer deposition (ALD) TFEL is well encapsulated This ALD technology encapsulates the phosphors so well that TFEL displays do not have the humidity issues that OLED displays have

Radical G-Force EnduranceIn addition to handling excessive temperate and humidity TFEL displays also withstand high-speed vibration Because of the solid nature of the glass used in displays there is no air gap or fluid gap This allows the display to be more resistant to different types of vibration Reliable response under extreme vibration is critical in many high-risk military and mining applications To say

that Lumineqreg embedded TFEL displays are durable is an understatementmdashthe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force shock and a staggering 250000-hour mean time between failures (MTBF) for the display glass

Defibrillators and Delis Lumineq displays are designed into a variety of unique applications ldquoOne of the significant applicationsrdquo reports Vahlsing ldquois a portable defibrillator The company that builds the defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the defibrillator still worked This is really rugged display technologyrdquo Another distinctive aspect of Lumineqreg display technology is the ability to make the electroluminescent display fully transparent Interestingly one of the products these transparent displays is used in is a deli scale This provides total freedom of design Vahlsing elaborates that ldquoyou can put the meat on the deli scale and see both the meat and the price come uprdquo

Test of TimeWhile there are other solutions that can withstand a harsh environment Vahlsing maintains that Lumineqreg displays have proven reliability ldquoThere are 30 years of history behind Lumineqreg displaysrdquo he says ldquoWith most of these types of products that need to be rugged

and last a long time we just keep building them without modification For the Taiwanese industrial thin-film transistor (TFTLCDs)rdquo he notes ldquothe typical lifespan of the product is three to five years and they call that an industrial displayrdquo Lumineqreg has products that they have been building for 20 years and will continue to produce for at least another 10 years Because changing modules is expensive Lumineqreg shines in lifecycle management and obsolescence issues Vahlsing explains ldquoWe are working on a display on a military missile program that was built 20 years ago and we took the product to end-of-life because of restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and some components Lumineqreg is now refurbishing the product in order to keep it active for the US government Vahlsing concludes that Lumineqreg is ldquosmall enough to be flexible and we keep our projects going and going and goingrdquo

ldquoOur glass will work from

-100degC to 100degCrdquo

ldquoThe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force

shockrdquoDynacon winch with Lumineq display on a shipCourtesy of Measurement Technology NorthWest

35Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

ldquoTFEL is very rugged being solid-staterdquo maintains Vahlsing ldquoItrsquos really unaffected by temperature and vibration as opposed to LCDs which have films with fluid running in between them Thatrsquos why LCDs are so affected by temperature changerdquo The fact that TFEL is a solid-state material makes the display contrast and performance virtually temperature independent ldquoOur glass will work from -100degC to 100degC and runs at 180V ACrdquo adds Vahlsing Also the driver electronics are built to meet the specifications for extreme operating conditions As a result Lumineqreg focuses on the niche categories of very rugged monochrome displays

Not only superior in harsh temperatures TFEL has few humidity issues compared to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) OLED is done on a plastic film whereas TFEL is on glass Because of Lumineqreg core technology atomic layer deposition (ALD) TFEL is well encapsulated This ALD technology encapsulates the phosphors so well that TFEL displays do not have the humidity issues that OLED displays have

Radical G-Force EnduranceIn addition to handling excessive temperate and humidity TFEL displays also withstand high-speed vibration Because of the solid nature of the glass used in displays there is no air gap or fluid gap This allows the display to be more resistant to different types of vibration Reliable response under extreme vibration is critical in many high-risk military and mining applications To say

that Lumineqreg embedded TFEL displays are durable is an understatementmdashthe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force shock and a staggering 250000-hour mean time between failures (MTBF) for the display glass

Defibrillators and Delis Lumineq displays are designed into a variety of unique applications ldquoOne of the significant applicationsrdquo reports Vahlsing ldquois a portable defibrillator The company that builds the defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the defibrillator still worked This is really rugged display technologyrdquo Another distinctive aspect of Lumineqreg display technology is the ability to make the electroluminescent display fully transparent Interestingly one of the products these transparent displays is used in is a deli scale This provides total freedom of design Vahlsing elaborates that ldquoyou can put the meat on the deli scale and see both the meat and the price come uprdquo

Test of TimeWhile there are other solutions that can withstand a harsh environment Vahlsing maintains that Lumineqreg displays have proven reliability ldquoThere are 30 years of history behind Lumineqreg displaysrdquo he says ldquoWith most of these types of products that need to be rugged

and last a long time we just keep building them without modification For the Taiwanese industrial thin-film transistor (TFTLCDs)rdquo he notes ldquothe typical lifespan of the product is three to five years and they call that an industrial displayrdquo Lumineqreg has products that they have been building for 20 years and will continue to produce for at least another 10 years Because changing modules is expensive Lumineqreg shines in lifecycle management and obsolescence issues Vahlsing explains ldquoWe are working on a display on a military missile program that was built 20 years ago and we took the product to end-of-life because of restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and some components Lumineqreg is now refurbishing the product in order to keep it active for the US government Vahlsing concludes that Lumineqreg is ldquosmall enough to be flexible and we keep our projects going and going and goingrdquo

ldquoOur glass will work from

-100degC to 100degCrdquo

ldquoThe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force

shockrdquoDynacon winch with Lumineq display on a shipCourtesy of Measurement Technology NorthWest

GRAND PRIZEClemens ValensMultipurpose PWM Wave Shaper

Engineers all over the world participated in our AXP Logic contest In January 2014 we asked

contestants to use our new AXP1G57 low-power configurable multiple-function logic gate as a design platform Completed entries submitted before the closing deadline had the opportunity to win one of several prizes

Contestants were requested to go to the AXP Design Contest landing page on EEWeb answering some industry survey questions on their use of logic devices

After contestants fulfilled this requirement we would then ship a free 35 by 4 inch AXP1G57GM eval board with four configurable logic devices on-board power supply decoupling and the ability to configure each of four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven unique functions Full documentation and design tips were provided along with online design support The contest was also promoted at the Embedded World event in February 2014

The contest ran for six months and garnered some impressive stats and even greater results Just over 650 people registered online and a number of excellent designs were submitted The eventual winners are listed on the right

WINNERS

HONORABLE MENTIONYuri TikhonovA Smarter nanoRobot

HONORABLE MENTIONRobert KongWireless Sensors Using NXP 74AXP1G57 Devices

Announcing the

Download the Contest Winnersrsquo Work

click here

AXP Logic 2014 Design Contest

THIRD PLACEA YoussefDry Soil and High Temperature Circuit Warning

SECOND PLACEMonte ChanWide Voltage Range Inductorless LED Driver

FIRST PLACERyszard MilewiczLight Sensor and Photosound

New AXP low-power logic

stimulates engineerrsquos

high-powered creativity

Six months six continents six hundred contestants and six winners later

the results of the high-powered creativity contest werewelllogical

Launched in January of this year the

2014 AXP Logic Design Contest billed as

Our Low-power Logic and your High-

power Creativity used the AXP1G57

Low-Power configurable multiple func-

tion gate as a design platform

Designed and produced by Convergence

Promotions and Aspen Labs for NXP

Logic division the contest ran for six

months and garnered some impressive

stats--and even more impressive results

This article details the unbelievable

amount of creativity the contestants

delivered to win thousands of dollars in

prizes and made the contest a success

Phase one of the contest was registra-

tion and contestants were required to go

to the AXP Design Contest landing page

on EEWeb and answer some industry

survey questions on logic devices

In phase two they were shipped a free

35 inch by 4 inch AXP1G57GM Eval

Board with four configurable logic de-

vices on-board power supply decou-

pling and the ability to configure each of

four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven

unique functions

Full documentation and some design tips

were provided along with on-line design

support From there--the game was on1

34 Visit eewebcom

PULSE

ldquoTFEL is very rugged being solid-staterdquo maintains Vahlsing ldquoItrsquos really unaffected by temperature and vibration as opposed to LCDs which have films with fluid running in between them Thatrsquos why LCDs are so affected by temperature changerdquo The fact that TFEL is a solid-state material makes the display contrast and performance virtually temperature independent ldquoOur glass will work from -100degC to 100degC and runs at 180V ACrdquo adds Vahlsing Also the driver electronics are built to meet the specifications for extreme operating conditions As a result Lumineqreg focuses on the niche categories of very rugged monochrome displays

Not only superior in harsh temperatures TFEL has few humidity issues compared to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) OLED is done on a plastic film whereas TFEL is on glass Because of Lumineqreg core technology atomic layer deposition (ALD) TFEL is well encapsulated This ALD technology encapsulates the phosphors so well that TFEL displays do not have the humidity issues that OLED displays have

Radical G-Force EnduranceIn addition to handling excessive temperate and humidity TFEL displays also withstand high-speed vibration Because of the solid nature of the glass used in displays there is no air gap or fluid gap This allows the display to be more resistant to different types of vibration Reliable response under extreme vibration is critical in many high-risk military and mining applications To say

that Lumineqreg embedded TFEL displays are durable is an understatementmdashthe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force shock and a staggering 250000-hour mean time between failures (MTBF) for the display glass

Defibrillators and Delis Lumineq displays are designed into a variety of unique applications ldquoOne of the significant applicationsrdquo reports Vahlsing ldquois a portable defibrillator The company that builds the defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the defibrillator still worked This is really rugged display technologyrdquo Another distinctive aspect of Lumineqreg display technology is the ability to make the electroluminescent display fully transparent Interestingly one of the products these transparent displays is used in is a deli scale This provides total freedom of design Vahlsing elaborates that ldquoyou can put the meat on the deli scale and see both the meat and the price come uprdquo

Test of TimeWhile there are other solutions that can withstand a harsh environment Vahlsing maintains that Lumineqreg displays have proven reliability ldquoThere are 30 years of history behind Lumineqreg displaysrdquo he says ldquoWith most of these types of products that need to be rugged

and last a long time we just keep building them without modification For the Taiwanese industrial thin-film transistor (TFTLCDs)rdquo he notes ldquothe typical lifespan of the product is three to five years and they call that an industrial displayrdquo Lumineqreg has products that they have been building for 20 years and will continue to produce for at least another 10 years Because changing modules is expensive Lumineqreg shines in lifecycle management and obsolescence issues Vahlsing explains ldquoWe are working on a display on a military missile program that was built 20 years ago and we took the product to end-of-life because of restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and some components Lumineqreg is now refurbishing the product in order to keep it active for the US government Vahlsing concludes that Lumineqreg is ldquosmall enough to be flexible and we keep our projects going and going and goingrdquo

ldquoOur glass will work from

-100degC to 100degCrdquo

ldquoThe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force

shockrdquoDynacon winch with Lumineq display on a shipCourtesy of Measurement Technology NorthWest

35Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

ldquoTFEL is very rugged being solid-staterdquo maintains Vahlsing ldquoItrsquos really unaffected by temperature and vibration as opposed to LCDs which have films with fluid running in between them Thatrsquos why LCDs are so affected by temperature changerdquo The fact that TFEL is a solid-state material makes the display contrast and performance virtually temperature independent ldquoOur glass will work from -100degC to 100degC and runs at 180V ACrdquo adds Vahlsing Also the driver electronics are built to meet the specifications for extreme operating conditions As a result Lumineqreg focuses on the niche categories of very rugged monochrome displays

Not only superior in harsh temperatures TFEL has few humidity issues compared to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) OLED is done on a plastic film whereas TFEL is on glass Because of Lumineqreg core technology atomic layer deposition (ALD) TFEL is well encapsulated This ALD technology encapsulates the phosphors so well that TFEL displays do not have the humidity issues that OLED displays have

Radical G-Force EnduranceIn addition to handling excessive temperate and humidity TFEL displays also withstand high-speed vibration Because of the solid nature of the glass used in displays there is no air gap or fluid gap This allows the display to be more resistant to different types of vibration Reliable response under extreme vibration is critical in many high-risk military and mining applications To say

that Lumineqreg embedded TFEL displays are durable is an understatementmdashthe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force shock and a staggering 250000-hour mean time between failures (MTBF) for the display glass

Defibrillators and Delis Lumineq displays are designed into a variety of unique applications ldquoOne of the significant applicationsrdquo reports Vahlsing ldquois a portable defibrillator The company that builds the defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the defibrillator still worked This is really rugged display technologyrdquo Another distinctive aspect of Lumineqreg display technology is the ability to make the electroluminescent display fully transparent Interestingly one of the products these transparent displays is used in is a deli scale This provides total freedom of design Vahlsing elaborates that ldquoyou can put the meat on the deli scale and see both the meat and the price come uprdquo

Test of TimeWhile there are other solutions that can withstand a harsh environment Vahlsing maintains that Lumineqreg displays have proven reliability ldquoThere are 30 years of history behind Lumineqreg displaysrdquo he says ldquoWith most of these types of products that need to be rugged

and last a long time we just keep building them without modification For the Taiwanese industrial thin-film transistor (TFTLCDs)rdquo he notes ldquothe typical lifespan of the product is three to five years and they call that an industrial displayrdquo Lumineqreg has products that they have been building for 20 years and will continue to produce for at least another 10 years Because changing modules is expensive Lumineqreg shines in lifecycle management and obsolescence issues Vahlsing explains ldquoWe are working on a display on a military missile program that was built 20 years ago and we took the product to end-of-life because of restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and some components Lumineqreg is now refurbishing the product in order to keep it active for the US government Vahlsing concludes that Lumineqreg is ldquosmall enough to be flexible and we keep our projects going and going and goingrdquo

ldquoOur glass will work from

-100degC to 100degCrdquo

ldquoThe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force

shockrdquoDynacon winch with Lumineq display on a shipCourtesy of Measurement Technology NorthWest

GRAND PRIZEClemens ValensMultipurpose PWM Wave Shaper

Engineers all over the world participated in our AXP Logic contest In January 2014 we asked

contestants to use our new AXP1G57 low-power configurable multiple-function logic gate as a design platform Completed entries submitted before the closing deadline had the opportunity to win one of several prizes

Contestants were requested to go to the AXP Design Contest landing page on EEWeb answering some industry survey questions on their use of logic devices

After contestants fulfilled this requirement we would then ship a free 35 by 4 inch AXP1G57GM eval board with four configurable logic devices on-board power supply decoupling and the ability to configure each of four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven unique functions Full documentation and design tips were provided along with online design support The contest was also promoted at the Embedded World event in February 2014

The contest ran for six months and garnered some impressive stats and even greater results Just over 650 people registered online and a number of excellent designs were submitted The eventual winners are listed on the right

WINNERS

HONORABLE MENTIONYuri TikhonovA Smarter nanoRobot

HONORABLE MENTIONRobert KongWireless Sensors Using NXP 74AXP1G57 Devices

Announcing the

Download the Contest Winnersrsquo Work

click here

AXP Logic 2014 Design Contest

THIRD PLACEA YoussefDry Soil and High Temperature Circuit Warning

SECOND PLACEMonte ChanWide Voltage Range Inductorless LED Driver

FIRST PLACERyszard MilewiczLight Sensor and Photosound

New AXP low-power logic

stimulates engineerrsquos

high-powered creativity

Six months six continents six hundred contestants and six winners later

the results of the high-powered creativity contest werewelllogical

Launched in January of this year the

2014 AXP Logic Design Contest billed as

Our Low-power Logic and your High-

power Creativity used the AXP1G57

Low-Power configurable multiple func-

tion gate as a design platform

Designed and produced by Convergence

Promotions and Aspen Labs for NXP

Logic division the contest ran for six

months and garnered some impressive

stats--and even more impressive results

This article details the unbelievable

amount of creativity the contestants

delivered to win thousands of dollars in

prizes and made the contest a success

Phase one of the contest was registra-

tion and contestants were required to go

to the AXP Design Contest landing page

on EEWeb and answer some industry

survey questions on logic devices

In phase two they were shipped a free

35 inch by 4 inch AXP1G57GM Eval

Board with four configurable logic de-

vices on-board power supply decou-

pling and the ability to configure each of

four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven

unique functions

Full documentation and some design tips

were provided along with on-line design

support From there--the game was on1

35Visit eewebcom

TECH ARTICLE

ldquoTFEL is very rugged being solid-staterdquo maintains Vahlsing ldquoItrsquos really unaffected by temperature and vibration as opposed to LCDs which have films with fluid running in between them Thatrsquos why LCDs are so affected by temperature changerdquo The fact that TFEL is a solid-state material makes the display contrast and performance virtually temperature independent ldquoOur glass will work from -100degC to 100degC and runs at 180V ACrdquo adds Vahlsing Also the driver electronics are built to meet the specifications for extreme operating conditions As a result Lumineqreg focuses on the niche categories of very rugged monochrome displays

Not only superior in harsh temperatures TFEL has few humidity issues compared to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) OLED is done on a plastic film whereas TFEL is on glass Because of Lumineqreg core technology atomic layer deposition (ALD) TFEL is well encapsulated This ALD technology encapsulates the phosphors so well that TFEL displays do not have the humidity issues that OLED displays have

Radical G-Force EnduranceIn addition to handling excessive temperate and humidity TFEL displays also withstand high-speed vibration Because of the solid nature of the glass used in displays there is no air gap or fluid gap This allows the display to be more resistant to different types of vibration Reliable response under extreme vibration is critical in many high-risk military and mining applications To say

that Lumineqreg embedded TFEL displays are durable is an understatementmdashthe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force shock and a staggering 250000-hour mean time between failures (MTBF) for the display glass

Defibrillators and Delis Lumineq displays are designed into a variety of unique applications ldquoOne of the significant applicationsrdquo reports Vahlsing ldquois a portable defibrillator The company that builds the defibrillator shared a video with us that shows them throwing it off a two-story buildingmdashand the defibrillator still worked This is really rugged display technologyrdquo Another distinctive aspect of Lumineqreg display technology is the ability to make the electroluminescent display fully transparent Interestingly one of the products these transparent displays is used in is a deli scale This provides total freedom of design Vahlsing elaborates that ldquoyou can put the meat on the deli scale and see both the meat and the price come uprdquo

Test of TimeWhile there are other solutions that can withstand a harsh environment Vahlsing maintains that Lumineqreg displays have proven reliability ldquoThere are 30 years of history behind Lumineqreg displaysrdquo he says ldquoWith most of these types of products that need to be rugged

and last a long time we just keep building them without modification For the Taiwanese industrial thin-film transistor (TFTLCDs)rdquo he notes ldquothe typical lifespan of the product is three to five years and they call that an industrial displayrdquo Lumineqreg has products that they have been building for 20 years and will continue to produce for at least another 10 years Because changing modules is expensive Lumineqreg shines in lifecycle management and obsolescence issues Vahlsing explains ldquoWe are working on a display on a military missile program that was built 20 years ago and we took the product to end-of-life because of restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and some components Lumineqreg is now refurbishing the product in order to keep it active for the US government Vahlsing concludes that Lumineqreg is ldquosmall enough to be flexible and we keep our projects going and going and goingrdquo

ldquoOur glass will work from

-100degC to 100degCrdquo

ldquoThe displays are proven to survive up to 200 g-force

shockrdquoDynacon winch with Lumineq display on a shipCourtesy of Measurement Technology NorthWest

GRAND PRIZEClemens ValensMultipurpose PWM Wave Shaper

Engineers all over the world participated in our AXP Logic contest In January 2014 we asked

contestants to use our new AXP1G57 low-power configurable multiple-function logic gate as a design platform Completed entries submitted before the closing deadline had the opportunity to win one of several prizes

Contestants were requested to go to the AXP Design Contest landing page on EEWeb answering some industry survey questions on their use of logic devices

After contestants fulfilled this requirement we would then ship a free 35 by 4 inch AXP1G57GM eval board with four configurable logic devices on-board power supply decoupling and the ability to configure each of four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven unique functions Full documentation and design tips were provided along with online design support The contest was also promoted at the Embedded World event in February 2014

The contest ran for six months and garnered some impressive stats and even greater results Just over 650 people registered online and a number of excellent designs were submitted The eventual winners are listed on the right

WINNERS

HONORABLE MENTIONYuri TikhonovA Smarter nanoRobot

HONORABLE MENTIONRobert KongWireless Sensors Using NXP 74AXP1G57 Devices

Announcing the

Download the Contest Winnersrsquo Work

click here

AXP Logic 2014 Design Contest

THIRD PLACEA YoussefDry Soil and High Temperature Circuit Warning

SECOND PLACEMonte ChanWide Voltage Range Inductorless LED Driver

FIRST PLACERyszard MilewiczLight Sensor and Photosound

New AXP low-power logic

stimulates engineerrsquos

high-powered creativity

Six months six continents six hundred contestants and six winners later

the results of the high-powered creativity contest werewelllogical

Launched in January of this year the

2014 AXP Logic Design Contest billed as

Our Low-power Logic and your High-

power Creativity used the AXP1G57

Low-Power configurable multiple func-

tion gate as a design platform

Designed and produced by Convergence

Promotions and Aspen Labs for NXP

Logic division the contest ran for six

months and garnered some impressive

stats--and even more impressive results

This article details the unbelievable

amount of creativity the contestants

delivered to win thousands of dollars in

prizes and made the contest a success

Phase one of the contest was registra-

tion and contestants were required to go

to the AXP Design Contest landing page

on EEWeb and answer some industry

survey questions on logic devices

In phase two they were shipped a free

35 inch by 4 inch AXP1G57GM Eval

Board with four configurable logic de-

vices on-board power supply decou-

pling and the ability to configure each of

four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven

unique functions

Full documentation and some design tips

were provided along with on-line design

support From there--the game was on1

GRAND PRIZEClemens ValensMultipurpose PWM Wave Shaper

Engineers all over the world participated in our AXP Logic contest In January 2014 we asked

contestants to use our new AXP1G57 low-power configurable multiple-function logic gate as a design platform Completed entries submitted before the closing deadline had the opportunity to win one of several prizes

Contestants were requested to go to the AXP Design Contest landing page on EEWeb answering some industry survey questions on their use of logic devices

After contestants fulfilled this requirement we would then ship a free 35 by 4 inch AXP1G57GM eval board with four configurable logic devices on-board power supply decoupling and the ability to configure each of four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven unique functions Full documentation and design tips were provided along with online design support The contest was also promoted at the Embedded World event in February 2014

The contest ran for six months and garnered some impressive stats and even greater results Just over 650 people registered online and a number of excellent designs were submitted The eventual winners are listed on the right

WINNERS

HONORABLE MENTIONYuri TikhonovA Smarter nanoRobot

HONORABLE MENTIONRobert KongWireless Sensors Using NXP 74AXP1G57 Devices

Announcing the

Download the Contest Winnersrsquo Work

click here

AXP Logic 2014 Design Contest

THIRD PLACEA YoussefDry Soil and High Temperature Circuit Warning

SECOND PLACEMonte ChanWide Voltage Range Inductorless LED Driver

FIRST PLACERyszard MilewiczLight Sensor and Photosound

New AXP low-power logic

stimulates engineerrsquos

high-powered creativity

Six months six continents six hundred contestants and six winners later

the results of the high-powered creativity contest werewelllogical

Launched in January of this year the

2014 AXP Logic Design Contest billed as

Our Low-power Logic and your High-

power Creativity used the AXP1G57

Low-Power configurable multiple func-

tion gate as a design platform

Designed and produced by Convergence

Promotions and Aspen Labs for NXP

Logic division the contest ran for six

months and garnered some impressive

stats--and even more impressive results

This article details the unbelievable

amount of creativity the contestants

delivered to win thousands of dollars in

prizes and made the contest a success

Phase one of the contest was registra-

tion and contestants were required to go

to the AXP Design Contest landing page

on EEWeb and answer some industry

survey questions on logic devices

In phase two they were shipped a free

35 inch by 4 inch AXP1G57GM Eval

Board with four configurable logic de-

vices on-board power supply decou-

pling and the ability to configure each of

four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven

unique functions

Full documentation and some design tips

were provided along with on-line design

support From there--the game was on1

eewebcomregister

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