Archive for the ‘Brief’ Category
Friday, May 20th, 2022
We frequently see DDR SDRAMs as a key specification of computers and digital devices. In this two-part guest commentary, Ben Miller from Keysight Technologies shares his insights into the design of DDR SDRAMs (Part 1) and how faster memory speeds shape the future (Part 2).
DDR5 is still in the early phases of adoption. JEDEC released the standard in July 2020. The first CPU platform to support DDR5 was released in early 2022.
However, this platform still includes DDR4 support, so it could be some time before the industry accepts DDR5 as the de-facto memory standard and fully transitions memory systems to the new standard.
Faster memory enables the future
Over the next couple of years, more personal computers, servers, and embedded systems will take advantage of the higher speed, lower power, and greater memory capacity available with DDR5.
(more…)
Tags:byline, commentary, DDR, interviews, Keysight, memory, opinion, RAM, SDRAM, Tech Focus, technology
Posted in Brief, Business IT, Enterprise IT, Interview, Keysight, Opinion, Tech Focus, Technology | 2 Comments »
Thursday, May 19th, 2022
We frequently see DDR SDRAMs as a key specification of computers and digital devices. In this two-part guest commentary, Ben Miller from Keysight Technologies shares his insights into the design of DDR SDRAMs (Part 1) and how faster memory speeds shape the future (Part 2).
Faster data processing requires faster memory.
Double data rate synchronous dynamic random-access memory (DDR SDRAM) enables the world’s computers to work with the data in memory.
Faster, not wider
Since the origins of SDRAM, engineers have faced challenges with increasing memory speeds.
Figure 1: DDR has both one-way control signals and bidirectional data buses. Click to enlarge.
DDR emerged as a faster, more efficient way to handle memory, while providing a universal standard between chip designers and device manufacturers.
As shown in Figure 1, DDR memory consists of a memory controller which transmits clock, address and control signals, and a series of DRAM chips which store the data.
In a write operation, the controller sends data and strobe signals to the DRAM; in a read operation, the DRAM sends data and strobe signals back over the same bi-directional line.
DDR SDRAM became the standard in the late 1990s and has since been improved upon many times over.
Prior to DDR, memory speeds maxed out in the range of 100 MT/s.
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Tags:byline, commentary, DDR, interviews, Keysight, memory, opinion, RAM, SDRAM, Tech Focus, technology
Posted in Brief, Enterprise IT, Interview, Keysight, Opinion, Tech Focus, Technology | 3 Comments »
Saturday, May 7th, 2022
Huawei held a special sneak preview for select media on some of the health and fitness wearables that they plan to launch later this month.
The new Huawei Watch GT3 Pro in Titanium (Left) and Ceramic White.
The wearables featured during the briefing included the following.
- Huawei Watch GT3 Pro
- Huawei Band 7
- Huawei Watch Fit 2
- Huawei Watch D
Huawei Watch Fit 2, Active Edition in Isle Blue Silicone Strap.
The new products covered a large spectrum of people ranging from those who just want some basic health data, to fitness enthusiasts who want in-depth data to hone their training; as well as the health conscious who want to measure detailed data about their health, such as blood pressure and heartbeat characteristics.
Later in the month, Huawei is expected to officially launch these devices together with additional products such as the Huawei Mate Xs 2 folding phablet and the Huawei S-Tag tagging accessory.
(more…)
Tags:fitness, health, Health Tech, Huawei, new arrivals, previews, smartwatches, watches, wearables
Posted in Accessories, Brief, Events, events, fitness watches, Gadgets, gadgets, Healthcare, Huawei, newArrivals, Online, smartwatches, Sports, trackers, Watches | 3 Comments »
Thursday, March 31st, 2022
The losses were due to system crashes, human error and cyberattacks. The Acronis Cyber Protection Week Global Report 2022 highlights growing threats and need for integrated cyber protection solutions.
The annual Cyber Protection Week Global Report 2022 surveyed more than 6,200 IT users and IT managers from small businesses to enterprises across 22 countries.
Acronis has released its annual Cyber Protection Week Global Report 2022 timed to this year’s World Backup Day.
“As the entire world is increasingly at risk from different types of attacks, accelerating to universal all-in-one solutions is the only way to achieve truly complete cyber protection. And that’s precisely the problem Acronis has set out to solve. Attackers don’t discriminate when it comes to means or targets, so strong and reliable security is no longer an option, it’s a necessity,” says Candid Wuest, Acronis V.P. of Cyber Protection Research.
The report exposes some of the most critical shortcomings appearing in cyber protection practices today and examines why they’re appearing, offering guidance on how they can be fixed.
One of the key findings last year was that 80% of organizations ran as many as 10 solutions simultaneously for data protection and cybersecurity — yet more than half of them suffered downtime because of data loss.
So more solutions do not necessarily translate into more protection.
This year, the trend seems to be getting worse.
While 78% of organizations globally run as many as 10 different solutions, 76% of organizations experienced downtime due to data loss — a 25% increase from 2021.
(more…)
Tags:Acronis, Cyber security, reports, security, software, study
Posted in Acronis, Brief, Business IT, Figures, Press Release, Security, Software, Study | 3 Comments »
Friday, December 17th, 2021
In this two-part guest commentary, Carrie Browen and Kevin Kershner from Keysight Technologies share their insights into the future of high speed in-vehicle display and sensor connections. You may find Part 1 here.
For this second half of our commentary, we begin with an introduction of SerDes.
In today’s infotainment systems, it is common for in-vehicle cameras and displays to be connected to the image-processing electronic control unit (ECU) via a SerDes (serializer/deserializer) connection.
Future Prediction
More cameras, more connections, and more sensors with greater accuracy, less weight, and increased safety.
Undoubtedly, there will be a need for an in-vehicle network to seamlessly handle these challenges.
Those in-vehicle networks will need to be tested, they will need to be interoperable, and they will need to be secure.
Today, they are delivered by individual vendors using closed, proprietary standards.
Extending the reach of feature-rich SerDes links can require operating at lower Baud rates and higher order modulations (e.g. PAM-4).
In addition, it will require higher bandwidth Ethernet links as primary interconnects between zones, perhaps with 802.3ch support up to 10 Gbps throughput.
Emerging SerDes standards like mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) A-PHY (MIPI A-PHY is a physical layer specification targeted for ADAS/ADS surround sensor applications and Infotainment display applications in automotive) and Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA) will be implemented by multiple silicon vendors.
This will create a competitive market that acts to drive down the cost while delivering application specific features.
(more…)
Tags:insights, Keysight, opinions, SerDes, Tech Focus, technology, testing, vehTech
Posted in Automobile, Brief, Internet of Things, Interview, IoT, Keysight, Motoring, Opinion, Tech Focus | No Comments »
Thursday, December 16th, 2021
In this two-part guest commentary, Carrie Browen and Kevin Kershner from Keysight Technologies share their insights into the future of high speed in-vehicle display and sensor connections.
A conceptual diagram of a zone-based in vehicle network architecture. Image: Keysight Technologies.
It is no secret the pace of innovation in the automotive industry is exploding.
If the last 20 years have been linear in the development of electrification, the last two to three years have been exponential.
Bandwidth Requirements
To get a better understanding of the bandwidth requirements, remember that the approximate bit rate of a video stream can be calculated as follows.
- Frame Size = Resolution x Color Depth
- Bit Rate = Frame Size x Frame rate
So, for an ADAS camera capturing a 1080p image, with a color depth of 24-bits and transmitting at 30fps, the bit rate to be supported equals:
- Frame Size = 1920 x 1080 x 24 = 49,766,400
- Bit Rate = 49,766,400 x 30 = 1,493 Mbps
It used to be that a car was a means of getting from A to B.
Now, we can safely say that is not true for the vehicles of today and certainly not for the new vehicles of tomorrow.
Just about every new car on the market has a backup camera, park assist, and blind spot monitoring.
Some offer a 360-degree view.
Other features offer real-time traffic updates, cellular connection to potential hazards, other road users, vehicles, or pedestrians.
There are features that can detect if a driver is distracted or tired.
Meanwhile, the people in the car are often unaware of driving conditions, while they enjoy infotainment systems.
These features are delivered through a mixture of sensors, cameras, and networks.
As demands go up, next-generation advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) require camera and radar systems with increasingly high resolution.
(more…)
Tags:insights, Keysight, opinions, SerDes, Tech Focus, technology, vehTech
Posted in audioVisual, Brief, Cameras, Internet of Things, IoT, Keysight, Motoring, Opinion, Tech Focus | No Comments »
Friday, November 26th, 2021
The new Huawei Health Lab in Songshan Lake in Dongguan, China is the third and largest so far and was officially unveiled on 22 October, 2021, during the first day of the Huawei Developer Conference. I was invited to visit (virtually) the facility as part of the showcase to select media from APAC.
The new Huawei Health Lab in Songshan Lake in Dongguan, China
In its efforts to lead the industry with continuous technological innovation, Huawei opened its first Health Lab in Shenzhen in 2016.
The 700 sqm facility focussed on research on testing and technology of sports and health products.
Huawei Health Labs help the company lead the industry with continuous technological innovation. * Click to enlarge.
The next Health Lab was built in Xi’an in 2020.
The bigger 1,100 sqm facility explored the innovation and application of sports and health technologies, to help more people to work out scientifically and live a healthy life.
The latest Health Lab in Songshan Lake, Dongguan, is by far the largest – at 4,380 sqm.
(more…)
Tags:China, health, Health Tech, Huawei, Office, wearables
Posted in Brief, Events, events, Healthcare, Huawei, Online, Sports, travel, Visits | 2 Comments »
Thursday, November 18th, 2021
HOPES is the first entry from Singapore to win the international top prize in the 17 years’ history of the James Dyson Award.
* This story was first published on Haleness Me.
HOPES, (which stands for Home eye Pressure E-skin Sensor) is a wearable biomedical device for pain-free, low cost, at-home IOP testing.
HOPES is a wearable biomedical device for pain-free, low cost, at-home intra-ocular pressure (IOP) testing.
This year’s International winner of the James Dyson Award was inspired by one of the inventors’, Kelu, father’s diagnosis of glaucoma.
The Problem
After witnessing his discomfort and multiple hospital visits, she realised there is a global need for a less invasive and more accessible method for Intraocular Pressure (IOP) monitoring.
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide.
(more…)
Tags:award, competition, Dyson, education, engineering, Med Tech, medical, science, Singapore
Posted in Accessories, Announce, Brief, Contest, Dyson, Gadgets, gadgets, Healthcare, Medical | No Comments »
Friday, October 29th, 2021
Three rapidly advancing technologies are driving this collective race towards zero-emission e-mobility: wide-bandgap (WBG) devices, more power-dense batteries, and faster charging capabilities.
In this guest commentary, Hwee Yng Yeo from Keysight Technologies shares her insights into the great EV race.
GaN and SiC wide-bandgap power semiconductors facilitate a host of onboard EV power conversion applications. Image credit: Keysight Technologies.
Since its inception on a paper napkin more than a decade ago, Formula E has evolved rapidly as a motorsport with a mission.
Entertainment aside, this electric streetcar racing’s founding mission is to showcase sustainable mobility to the world, and it has done pretty well.
Editor’s Comments
The Electric Vehicle (EV) is the future of the automotive industry and Tesla has this week just become the first carmaker to be valued at US$1 trillion – the sixth American company to hit a trillion-dollar valuation.
The company is now worth more than the next nine most valuable public carmakers combined.
It’s the only motorsport to have ISO 20121 certification for net zero carbon footprint since its first race in Shanghai in 2014.
Getting the Formula E car into pole-position entails a lot of hardware and software technology to extract maximum efficiency from the electric vehicle’s (EV) powertrain and battery.
For the key automotive OEMs, it’s not just about getting their car across the checkered flag first.
With billions of R&D dollars poured into developing better EVs, the goal of participating automakers goes beyond the championship trophy.
Learnings from these high-intensity races are applied to improve electromobility technologies back in the R&D labs.
Three rapidly advancing technologies are driving this collective race towards zero-emission e-mobility:
- wide-bandgap (WBG) devices
- more power-dense batteries
- faster charging capabilities
Efficient power conversion with WBG devices
A lot of power conversion takes place in the EV.
A DC-DC converter for example, steps down the power from the high-voltage EV battery to 12 V, with further conversions to run onboard systems like lighting, radio, and air-conditioning (see the diagram above).
The author of this article is Hwee Yng Yeo, the industry solutions manager for Automotive and Energy at Keysight Technologies.
WBG devices such as Silicon carbide (SiC) and Gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors are used in transistors to facilitate this power conversion throughout the vehicle.
GaN applications are an emerging technology area, and developers find it hard to validate their design for these high-performance power converters.
Increased frequency and higher power affect the reliability of measurements needed to characterise the device’s performance.
It can be hard to distinguish whether the measured signal is the device’s characteristic or caused by the measurement setup.
(more…)
Tags:EV, Keysight, Tech Focus, technology, vehTech
Posted in Automobile, Brief, Business IT, Interview, Keysight, Opinion, Tech Focus, Technology, VehTech | 2 Comments »
Thursday, October 14th, 2021
Dell Technologies has announced new edge innovations as part of the company’s strategy to build new growth areas that help organisations accelerate their digital transformation. These new solutions and updates were revealed during the 2021 Dell Technologies Summit (13-14 October).
New additions to the Dell Technologies edge portfolio. With 69% of the Fortune 100 already using Dell Technologies edge solutions, the company supports data life cycle needs for what is becoming the next major technology frontier.
The latest edge advancements by Dell Technologies include innovations across its infrastructure and PC portfolio to help organisations simplify deployments and capture more value from data generated and processed outside the traditional data center and public cloud — from rugged and remote locations to retail stores and factory floors.
- Dell EMC VxRail satellite nodes, which extend automation and lifecycle management capabilities to smallest configuration to date for edge workloads.
- Dell Technologies Validated Design for Manufacturing Edge with Litmus, which helps manufacturers make quick decisions to improve quality and reduce costs.
- Dell EMC Edge Gateway, which connects multiple edge devices across operational technology and IT environments to deliver real-time data insights.
- Dell EMC Streaming Data Platform, which optimises GPUs to ingest streaming video and supports real-time analytics on Dell EMC VxRail and PowerEdge systems.
- Dell Latitude Rugged laptops, which can withstand harsh edge environments while maintaining high levels of performance and connectivity.
More details below from the press release.
(more…)
Tags:Business IT, DELL, edge, EMC, IDC
Posted in Brief, Business IT, Dell, Enterprise IT, Events, events, Internet of Things, IoT, Online, Press Release | No Comments »
Tech Focus: DDR5 – How Faster Memory Speeds Shape the Future (Part 2 of 2)
Friday, May 20th, 2022We frequently see DDR SDRAMs as a key specification of computers and digital devices. In this two-part guest commentary, Ben Miller from Keysight Technologies shares his insights into the design of DDR SDRAMs (Part 1) and how faster memory speeds shape the future (Part 2).
Keysight Technologies is heavily engaged with JEDEC and early adoption partners of the DDR5 standard.
DDR5 is still in the early phases of adoption. JEDEC released the standard in July 2020. The first CPU platform to support DDR5 was released in early 2022.
However, this platform still includes DDR4 support, so it could be some time before the industry accepts DDR5 as the de-facto memory standard and fully transitions memory systems to the new standard.
Faster memory enables the future
Over the next couple of years, more personal computers, servers, and embedded systems will take advantage of the higher speed, lower power, and greater memory capacity available with DDR5.
(more…)
Tags:byline, commentary, DDR, interviews, Keysight, memory, opinion, RAM, SDRAM, Tech Focus, technology
Posted in Brief, Business IT, Enterprise IT, Interview, Keysight, Opinion, Tech Focus, Technology | 2 Comments »