Power Bits: Feb. 9
Saving heat but losing money; cheap solar; nano security
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Blogs
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Editor's Note
Power is driving some unusual combinations of engineering and scientific disciplines, and this is only the beginning.…
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Barry's Power Points
A Brief History Of Power Formats
The frantic rivalry over power formats has finally settled down. A look at why it happened and where we are now.…
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JB's Circuit
A lot of stories pass through my email in any given week. Here’s a collection of those bits that caught my attenti…
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Everything Low Power
Why virtual domains are so important for complex power architectures, how to use them in UPF and what to watch out for.…
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Power Awareness
The Low Power-System Level Connection
The problems have been identified and are being worked on. This is very good news. …
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ROI: Rowen On Innovation
Applying Steve Jobs’ philosophy to advanced computational imaging and video analysis.…
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Voltedge
We need a better way of verifying power of devices by accurately measuring usage models.…
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Absolute Power
No more batteries. But at least initially, do most of your talking outside.…
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Power Source
A Smart System Technology Renaissance
Electronics are getting far more interesting, but they will require effective thermal and power management and a good pl…
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Power Source
The Essentials Of Power Budgeting
It all comes down to predictability, efficiency, consistency and integrity.…
News Stories
Power Bits: Feb. 3
Documenting the value of electric trucks; wireless car chargers; lessons learned from snake movements.
Power Bits: Advanced Research
Graphene magnets, more efficient highways and better solar panels
Top Stories
Mechanical Meets Electrical
After decades of limited interaction teams of mechanical and electrical engineers are starting to work together. Results are surprising.
Step Away From the Spreadsheet
Complex system-level power analysis requires more than just a worst-case scenario. Planning for power needs to happen earlier in the design process.
Margin Of Error
Guard-banding makes integration easier and faster, but too much margin is a bad thing. Why it’s becoming difficult to keep it under control.
Experts At The Table: Low-Power Verification
First of three parts: Functional vs. physical verification; power boosts design complexity; explosion in power domains; creating a good test plan; how to know when it’s done; the impact of IP.
Processor Subject To Change
Customizable processors leverage the best of power management; a variety of approaches combine energy efficiency without sacrificing performance.
Power Forces Changes In Portable Audio Design
While lowering the voltage isn’t much of a challenge in the digital world, it’s a new issue in analog; low-power digital cores become essential.
Rethinking Good Enough
Power consumption is now considered a feature; it’s also something that is being used as a tradeoff for other features.
The Next Big Challenge
Integration of different operating systems across SoCs with a focus on power is forcing some unusual combinations—and lots of headaches.
When Worlds Collide: Saving Power In Communications Applications
Understanding total energy consumption puts a new emphasis on understanding the impact of the software used in a system. A single application can throw off everything.
What Happens When The Plug Is Pulled
Peripherals have always had the luxury of design without concern for power. As devices become more mobile that’s changing.
Technology Features
Round Tables
Experts At The Table: Making Software More Energy-Efficient
First of three parts: Understanding the differences between software and hardware; what the software engineer sees and can do about it; when to tackle the problem; what’s missing.
Experts At The Table: Making Software More Energy-Efficient
Second of three parts: Providing enough information to software teams; modeling realistic scenarios; optimizing subsystems; changing attitudes among software developers; real optimization from further down in the stack.
Experts At The Table: Making Software More Energy-Efficient
Last of three parts: What drains the battery; how software can impact system-level energy consumption; where to find the low-hanging fruit.
Experts At The Table: Managing Power At Higher Levels Of Abstraction
First of three parts: Redefining the system for power; power estimation vs. real measurements and optimization; accuracy vs. relative accuracy; the impact of increasing complexity on estimates.
Experts At The Table: Managing Power At Higher Levels Of Abstraction
Second of three parts: The challenge of user profiles; two-way communication in a hierarchical flow; power vs. energy; the uncertainties of software.
Experts At The Table: Managing Power At Higher Levels Of Abstraction
Last of three parts: What’s missing; optimization vs. analysis; challenges of mixing old IP with new IP; the increasing value of high-level synthesis for power estimation beyond 45nm.
Experts At The Table: Mobile Design Challenges
First of three parts: Power displaces performance as top priority; iPhone vs. Android; cloud-based video; the advantages of stacked die; defining the next killer app.
Experts At The Table: Mobile Design Challenges
Second of three parts: The impact of radios on power; thinking bigger and more holistically; making medical devices more mobile; new methodologies and tools.
Experts At The Table: Mobile Design Challenges
Last of three parts: Wide I/O and FinFETs; changes in mixed-signal designs; one CPU vs. distributed cores; re-thinking optimal design; minimum voltages.
Experts At The Table: Retrofitting Older Process Nodes
Second of two parts: EDA’s role at different nodes; why power is now important at older nodes; the impact of multiple foundries using mature processes.
Podcasts/Videos/Webcasts
Low-Power Verification
Power is an additional challenge at advanced process nodes and in stacked die. What can be done about it?
Making Software Better
What do software engineering teams need to deliver more efficient software? It isn’t always about more time.
Comparing Smart Phones
Battery life is now a competitive weapon in the mobile device market, but what really makes one phone last longer on a charge than another?
Using High-Level Synthesis To Manage Power
The benefits of looking at power much, much earlier in the design flow.
Embedded Migration
Intel’s Max Domeika talks about migration techniques for the embedded Atom processor.
One-On-One: Aart de Geus
A look at the future of EDA, IP, power, stacked die and the relentless pressure of Moore’s Law.
Power Budgets: Where Is The Low-Hanging Fruit?
What can be done to cut the power for a reasonable cost, and how do you get there?
Verification At 28nm And Beyond
New challenges grow at advanced geometries.
Billion-Gate Chips
A look at the issues facing designers at 28nm, 22nm, and in 3D stacking.
Concurrent Design
Why this approach is suddenly becoming very necessary to SoC engineers.