Engineers Garage

Most engineers start their journey in embedded systems with microcontrollers. With microcontrollers, one gets a complete miniature computing system on a single integrated circuit. The CPU, RAM, ROM and Input / Output peripherals all on a single thumb size SoC. This very popular approach to learning embedded design and development is in fact just the one side of the complete picture. Working with microcontrollers (and microprocessors) is all about software-based embedded design. 

For a long time, humans have dreamt about virtual reality. When you think about a VR headset, you probably desire of something more hi-tech and practical. You didn’t know that even the guys at Google are thinking the same. Though Facebook brought into VR or Virtual Reality technology for $2 billion, Google has settled things a little simpler. Nobody has ever imagined that Google could actually create a VR headset out of something that is simple, practical, and inexpensive, and this is a piece of cardboard!

Engineering is one of those rare fields that could lead to path-breaking solutionstowards real world problems. A highly lucrative field for its practitioners, it has virtually transformed the world that surrounds us.The continuous technological advancement and upgradation have made it possible for the electronics sector in India to flourish in the vastly competitiveglobal market. 

The FPGA is one of the technologies which let an embedded engineer access hardware design of an embedded system. Its greatest advantages include multi-threading, real-time processing, wide scope for custom ASIC design (within available logic blocks on the FPGA chip), reusability and single chip solution. It is highly recommended to get hands dirty on an FPGA board after some work on microcontrollers. After all, hardware design is just another essential twin to software design in embedded engineering discipline.

There has been so much hype around Intelligence Augmentation and Artificial Intelligence over the past few years. Most of the people believe these two as present and futuristic technologies for the world. But there are still lots of people who are unsure why we need them and what exact role each of the technology can play into their lives. This post will roll you over comparing Artificial Intelligence and Intelligence Augmentation and use of each in some real-time applications. 

Internet of Things is a vast field that is growing rapidly and aggressively engaged by big industrial players. With large industrial participation, the number of available development boards for IoT is also daunting. There are several microcontroller boards, daughter boards (Single Board Computers), System on Chip boards and Application Specific ICs available that have on-board Wi-Fi Radios, Bluetooth, other connectivity interfaces and large number of GPIO pins to interface sensors. 

Use of sensors is pretty common in industries and organizations. But, Internet of Things (IoT) has put the usage of sensors at a completely different level. Again, the entire concept of IoT exists and survived because of sensors. What role does sensors play in IoT? Simply answered, they are the medium through which various physical objects are connected through Internet. IoT platforms function and deliver various kinds of intelligence and data using a variety of sensors. The world has gone digital and “smarter” through the interconnection of things via Internet through sensors. 

Just like artificial intelligence, drones, and IoT, facial recognition technology is also defining our millenium. Initially it was only used among military services and It is finally making its way into the mainstream world. Now even the most commonly used devices like our smartphones are making use of facial recognition while cameras are using it for identifying faces that need to be captured for photo. Now, we also have those cameras that recognize faces of pets like dogs and cats. 

Ingmar excels in building most interesting electronic projects like machine learning, robotics, differential GPS, and others. The one we are talking about here is a small GPS navigation system that can be used for small sized systems like robotic cars. The most usual problem faced with respect to such devices is that the accuracy gets compromised over 4-5 meters distance when filters aren’t used.   

Every scientific innovation is result of a fictional concept that was considered as pure magic in past. Take mobile phones, for example, it is a common part of our lives now, but ask someone who was there 50 years back, a device like this existed nowhere else then their biggest fantasies. So, it got me to a question – what can be the biggest fantasy for medical world? There were several ideas that came to my mind but than the James Cameron’s masterpiece “Avatar” caught our attention.  

Heated bed is an added module to 3D printer, that ensures a controlled printing process. It assists in improving the print quality drastically by maintaining ideal conditions for the printer to function. This DIY heated bed is designed to monitor and set up the print bed temperature. Temperature plays an important role in the printing process; too hot or too cold temperature can lead to a mess. Additionally, the heated bed would provide extra power supply to the printer so that overload can be avoided and would give over-temperature protection beyond the usual monitoring.

This cardboard based coin sorting machine will calculate and display total value of coins. It will also sort the coins by value. It seems to be an inexpensive fit for every bank and cashier of the company and can be built on their own. Ikhsan Ismail, a DIY maker has come up with yet another interesting DIY project.This simple machine is build around a few things like an Arduino Nano R3, 3 TCRT5000 IR Sensors, 12C LCD Module, 9V Battery, One Switch, Adafruit Standard LCD – 16 x 2 White on Blue, 3 x 10 Ohm Resistor, One Full Size Cardboard, Jumper Wires, Resistor 10k Ohm, and a 10 Ohm Resistor.

Call it urge to innovate or sheer laziness that gave birth to automation. And now it is transforming our lives in an unbelievable way. It’s no longer a dream to connect the entire home through smart devices and then control it through a single app on our smartphones. Look back a few decades when people could not even imagine controlling devices remotely. Automation has taken all that we ever could have imagined to the next level – Thanks to Internet of Things, smart homes are a reality now. These top 10 home automation ideas prove how comfortable our lives have become.

Accessing the internet is normal and to a great extent safe if you do it within the confined boundaries of your house. It is secure, easy to connect to, and quite uncongested unless the entire family is using the Wi-Fi connection for streaming applications. When you venture outdoors though, it is an absolutely different story. There are public Wi-Fi connections available more than ever, allowing you to stay in touch with work or entertainment from just anywhere you happen to be. 

The convergence of different technologies always have unexpected and interesting results. The concept of altered reality is a perfect example of such convergence. There was a time when desktop computing was the only flagship of the computing world. In the era of desktop computing, the computers were meant to store and process real-world data and input-output devices were meant to let humans interact with computers.  

You definitely think that the phone you are carrying in your pocket is a feature loaded gadget that allows you not just to make calls, but to play games, watch videos, listen to music, make video chats, and download innumerable apps that further enhances its functionality. But how you would feel if I tell you that you can actually do some really cool science experiments with your phone? Sure, you would be amazed!  

Are Electric Vehicles really the future of the automotive industry? Some battery-powered cars are already running quite successfully on the roads, breaking the prejudices and presumptions about the electric vehicles that were voiced in the early years of 21st century. According to LMC Automotive Forecast, by the year 2025, still the 85% of new cars in the USA will be powered by internal combustion engines. The share of electric cars by the year 2025, after a steady growth, will still be 15% in the region.

There are very few match-ups in the world of technology that present a tough predicament like this one for buyers. The war between android and iOS is one of the most talked about ones and has points that balance the pros and cons of both sides. This incredibly complex question cannot be answered clearly by anyone because the final conclusion is more of a matter of perception than anything else.