You’ve written firmware for your USB device and are ready to test it. You attach the device to a PC and the hardware wizard announces: “The device didn’t start.” Or, the device installs but doesn’t send or receive data. Or, … Continue reading →

James Kim—a biomedical student at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada—recently submitted an update on the status of an interesting prosthetic arm design project. The design features a Freescale 9S12 microcontroller and a Microsoft Kinect, which tracks arm movements that are … Continue reading →

Domotics (home automation) control systems are among the most innovative and rewarding design projects creative electrical engineers can undertake. Let’s take a look at an innovative Beagle Board-based control system that enables a user to control lights with a 10.1˝ capacitive touchscreen. … Continue reading →

German engineer Jens Altenburg’s solar-powered hidden observing vehicle system (SOPHECLES) is an innovative gas-detecting mobile robot. When the Texas Instruments MSP430-based mobile robot detects noxious gas, it transmits a notification alert to a PC, Altenburg explains in his article, “SOPHOCLES: … Continue reading →

I get to meet and interact with creative engineers and researchers around the world who are working on innovative MCU-based projects. Some of them show up at our office to chat. Others I meet with when I travel to California … Continue reading →