Know Engineering

Tesla Electric Cars

2010-09-10T09:48:00.000-07:00

Jason Mendez is a Development Engineer at Tesla Motors. He explains how the electric car from Tesla works.

There is shown how the car could be charged even from house, and he talks about the battery, the electric motor that make the movement possible, the circuitry that supplies the battery and the circuitry that controls the motor, the cooling system and so on.

Here is a video about that:

And here is another presentation about Tesla electric car:

What it Takes to Build Windows 7?

2010-09-03T02:50:00.000-07:00

Istvan Cseri is a build engineer in the main Windows build lab and burn lab. He knows what it means to build Windows 7. It takes a lot of time to compile a huge amount of source code on a lot of different types of machines. Just for compilation of a build of windows it takes about 12 hours. Watch this interview:

And some more videos about Windows 7:

A Digital Pen

2010-08-27T12:05:00.000-07:00

This is about a pen that could record what you say while writing on a paper. You could listen what is recorded by pointing the pen on the drawing point on the paper. There are available apps for the pen like translation of the words you write, play piano with the pen and so on. Watch the video clip below:

Here is a example of pencast:

ANT RACE Demo - 2010-01-22
brought to you by Livescribe

What could be its future? Find in the second part of this video:

A New Approach to Social Networking That Could Revolutionize the Way We Interact

2010-08-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

This is about integrating more social platforms on a single place that is your site. It is a web toolbar that could integrate twitter, facebook and so on, very simple. This is wibiya. More of this you can find from the video clip below with Dror Ceder, CEO and co-founder wibiya:

Also, Dror Ceder is a co-founder joongel, a website for using different search engines from one place. Here he talks about it:

Dror Ceder's twitter account here.

Robert Noyce, the Co-founder of Intel Corporation, About the First Stages of Silicon Chips

2010-08-11T06:23:00.000-07:00

Robert Noyce was a co-inventor of integrated circuit along with Jack Kilby. He is also a co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel.

Here, he talks about the first times of the integrated circuits. First, there were transistors on germanium semiconductor, then on silicon semiconductor. After that, they put more transistors on a piece of wafer. There apeared problems like impurity at the surface of semiconductor, power dissipation, costs and so on, but by solving these problems, the number of transistors per silicon chip increased considerably. Here appeared again the notion of tyranny of numbers. Then, they made unique circuits that could apply for a wide variety of applications. Controllers and processors appeared.

Below, there is a video clip with Robert Noyce talking about these things:

And here you can find a videoclip about more of his life:
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTM2ODI3NDA0.html

Harry Gries, an EDA Consultant

2010-08-07T01:46:00.000-07:00

Harry Gries has 20 years experience in electronics. He is an ASIC designer, application engineer and consultant. Now, he runs a blog that you can find it here. Here is his twitter account.

He talks what he know from his experience.

Harry said that in the past, semiconductor companies had their fabrication systems and tools. Now, they are assured by EDA companies. The company culture does not differ so much from company to coompany, but it is driven by their leader. There could be more technology focused leaders or win at any cost leaders.

He said that working in EDA, means you need soft skils like dealing with people. Also, you need to understand the sales process.

Small EDA companies would like to be bought by bigger companies, or would go forward being helped by other companies like Xuropa to sell their products to worldwide customers.

Mr. Gries also said that the key customers will have a huge word of what requirements are needed, especially if the provider is a small company. Small costumers will have a word to say, but they have not so much influence.

Here are a few ideas from the interview with Mr. Harry Gries. To read all that he said, go to the original article.

A videoclip about what EDA means:

Jack Kilby, the Inventor of the Integrated Circuit (IC)

2010-08-01T01:04:00.000-07:00

Jack Kilby took over 50 patents, he got National Medal of Science and was in National Inventors Hall of Fame, but all of these was based on a single event: the invention of the integrated circuit (IC).

The beginning of Jack’s interest in electronics was when his father, running a power company, faced a big ice storm that took down telephone and power lines and could not communicate, so he began to work with amateur radio operators to be able to communicate. He observed that electronics is fascinating.

At the time when he was interviewed, Jack has been occupied with consulting, somewhat retired and with being director of a company or two. Most of the companies who received his consultation, was dealing with semiconductors in one way or another.

Even if Jack Kilby realized that the invention of IC will have a significance in electronics, he did not realize that electronic components will be so cheap, guiding a trend to be used in so different applications like personal computers in about every home, electronic watches, calculators and so on. If a single silicon transistor was not very good sold for $10, in modern times with $10 you could buy 20 million transistors, an equal number of passive components and all circuit interconnections that make a useful memory chip. Jack Kilby is sure that no one anticipated that.

The idea of IC belong to him, but what we see today include the work of many engineers, concentrating on improving products, reducing costs and so on. What Jack did with the invention of IC, was a new approach of electronic circuits, but a lot progress was made possible by others.

How did this idea come to his mind? He was working in a company that made packed circuits. When he moved on Texas Instruments, seeing the company’s capabilities, he observed that circuits could somehow be packed in a single semiconductor wafer.

One of the inventions he took part in was hand-held calculator. Its cost was $400 or $500 but in modern days its cost dropped to $4 or $5.

What means the tyranny of numbers? It means that if you want to produce what exists today with the 50s technology, it would take too much money and power and would be too big and heavy. The number of parts would be prohibitive.

When Jack Kilby arrived at Texas Instruments, this was a small company. It changed rapidly when he was there in the first period, growing up. This company has been changing over time. Now its changes are maybe even greater but maybe of the same kind. Texas Instruments began to work in digital signal processing and Jack Kilby thinks that it would have a bright future. Digital signal processing is something basic and powerful. His point of view is that even if most of input and many of output signals in electronic devices are analog, these signals will have to be converted in digital form and to be processed. Cell phones are very dependent by digital signal processing and they changed the way we communicate.

In 50s, engineers were not trained as semiconductor engineers. They had different backgrounds. Now, they are specialized in a given area. Perhaps, that concentration on a particular area is necessary, but perhaps it prohibits innovation.

It is dangerous to make predictions about where the IC will go. Its history is longer then vacuum tube’s history, and that surprises Jack Kilby.

This was a description of the original article.

A video clip with the recreation of Jack Kilby’s lab:

Narration: Jack Kilby's Lab for Texas Instruments from Don Smith on Vimeo.

A page from BBC about Jack Kilby: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/sci_tech/highlights/001019_kilby.shtml

A video clip about how do they do semiconductor chips at Texas Instruments:

(Note: If you do could not watch the clip below, click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Z3D_o8m5s&feature=player_embedded)

What an “Engineer” or “Engineering” Means?

2010-08-01T00:52:00.000-07:00

If you look on Wikipedia, you can find some theoretical concepts about what is an engineer, what is engineering and what financial engineering means.

A cook, might be a food engineer in kitchen, a carpenter might be a wood engineer and a driver might be an engineer who operates an engine.

Those things read above might be abusive or not. A lecturer said that an engineer without a thought is not an engineer, but is an operator of something. Interesting.

Read the original article.

An Interview With an Electronics Industry Analyst

2010-08-01T00:40:00.000-07:00

Mike Demler grew up in the city of Buffalo, the place of US space program. His father worked part time on repairing business. So, even when he was young, he took contact with the technical world, and studied electronics in high school and University of Buffalo. After taking contact with Analog Integrated Circuit Design book, he decided to design integrated circuits.

First he worked as an Product Engineer at Texas Instruments, completed his Master of Science of Electrical Engineering, worked for General Electric in Research and Development laboratories, where developed very advanced analog technology for that time. After that, he worked for Unitrode-Micro Networks, where he wrote High-Speed Analog to Digital Conversion. He moved to Electronic design automation (EDA) industry and worked for other companies, taking contact with sales and vertical market strategy, too. Now, he works on disruptive technology for mobile wireless as an Industry Analyst. He works on analyzing Android ecosystem, focusing on wireless industry.

As an industry analyst, credibility comes when the predictions are confirmed. For credibility, what is important is the source of information you have. There are informations provided by companies under non-disclosure agreement. And, there are unofficial sources that you could learn what of them you should trust.

His blog is called “The World is Analog“, because in fact everything is in reality analog. Even digital systems can not ignore the analog physical aspects.

In the future, over 5 years he said, the wireless technology will have a big grow. And not just in smartphones, but in bioelectronics and in transportations (embedded systems in cars are just the beginning).

Mike Demler is an Electronics Industry Analyst at DIGDIA, runs The World is Analog blog, and created some presentations. He has a twitter account, too.

That is all I presented about Mike. To view the original article, click here.

To Stop or Not to Stop Your Ideas Getting Spread Online?

2010-08-01T00:38:00.000-07:00

You could try to protect our ideas using trademark law or copyright law. But, in fact, words, symbols and ideas are not protected. You may protect just what you do with your idea, for example a physical thing. Or you may protect a particular succession of words or sounds.

Also, you may protect by using patents, but this is an expensive way. It is risky to use patents for ideas. Using patents fits on physical things created with your ideas.

It is a good thing when you do not stop your ideas from spreading online, but you spread them more. That is because, in this way you could have relationships with people who has the same passion with you.

I personally think that creating a link from your page to the source is a situation where both parts can win. That is a reason why I created this link for you, so you could read the original article.

Tom Cruz, Electrical Engineer at IBM Corporation

2010-08-01T00:34:00.000-07:00

His advice to students: “You need to enjoy what you’re doing. I think that’s more important than salary.”

He worked 17 years for IBM. He prefer to stay technical and not to work in managerial area because it’s a lot more fun on technical side. He say that in managerial area you have to deal more with personnel problems and you have to go to a lot of meetings, but now he just has to go to one meeting per week and keep open communication with colleagues to get the work done.

Cruz worked for IBM enough time to see significant changes that took place. One of them is the rise of personal computer. The other is that he saw three rounds of downsizing in his organisation. He was lucky that he was not fired, but he felt bad for those fired.

Click here for more.

Network Makes the Difference

2010-08-01T00:17:00.000-07:00

This is an article about finding jobs, written by somebody who has found his jobs at Google and Microsoft.

I add the following to this article:

He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Keep Experienced People in Development Teams Intact

2010-08-01T00:15:00.000-07:00

Article review:

That is because they develop a ‘feel for the user’, that is hard to transfer from person to person. After working for several projects over time he understands better the development process.

When you release a product, you should consider it as a version release, not a definitive product.

Comment review:

When someone makes a mistake, do not fire him immediately, because he could learn from his mistake.

The original article.

Advice on How to Become an Excellent Engineer

2010-08-01T00:10:00.000-07:00

Begin with a hobby, building a project on your own. For more, click here.

Solving Problems or Creating Solutions?

2010-08-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

Article review:

When you think at solving problems, you narrow your mind focusing more on finding the cause of the problem first, then solving the problem as quick as possible.

When you think at creating solutions, you must see the bigger picture of the problem. You must look from different perspectives and sources.

We should be switching between these two ways of thinking in order to better find solutions for problems. And it is important to stay focus on having happy customers.

Comments review:

You should pay attention on requirements too when creating solutions. But requirements should be refined over time depending on what the customer wants, standards and what competition is doing.

For more, go to original article.

Hello World!

2010-08-01T00:03:00.000-07:00

This is the first post. I hope you like my blog. Thanks for visiting.