Rugged design is a key requirement for many embedded applications, including industrial automation , mil/aero , and energy . The basic techniques for ruggedization – such as fanless design and minimized component counts – are well understood, but these techniques often conflict with other requirements such as high performance , flexibility , and short time-to-market . For example, it can be difficult to achieve high performance without using power-hungry parts that requir...Read More

“Always-on” Internet services are becoming critical to the small and medium business (SMB) sector. Not only are these businesses increasingly data-driven, they depend on reliable Internet access to deliver functions such as voice communications, streaming video and social networks. Security is an integral part of reliability – both for preventing denial-of-service (DoS) and other attacks that can disrupt service, and for creating the confidence necessary to leverage advanced s...Read More

Forgetting to take your meds or not having time to get to the gym no longer cut it as excuses for not maintaining your health. With all the mobile health (mHealth) products available today – from wearable devices that measure vital signs to pills that send texts about missed doses to a host of gaming apps to track fitness or disease management activities – consumers have an arsenal of resources for promoting their well-being.   It’s a lack of motivation, not informa...Read More

Anonymous viewer analytics (AVA) lets signs see their audience—meaning advertisers can customize their messages and measure the results. What’s more, new features in the future 3rd generation Intel® Core™ processor family can cut signage operators’ costs. Emerson Network Power has all the details in its new Embedded Innovator article .     For more articles like this, subscribe to the Embedded Innovator . Subscribers receive a bi-annual magazine and q...Read More

  As you probably heard, and if not, now you are, Carl Hayden won again the regional competition here in Arizona in March 2012. As you know, Carl Hayden is in the Phoenix inner city, mostly Latino, English Learning, immigrant environment, low income. In spite of that (or maybe because of that, the Lord acts in mysterious ways) they have been able to be one of the most competitive teams in Arizona, they have a yearlong program on robotics, mentor the community so that more minority young...Read More

The story of the current economic recovery is largely one of rising manufacturing productivity. In the US, for example, investment in manufacturing technology has grown an astounding 35% over 2011 levels. This trend looks likely to continue as first-world nations seek ways to compete with developing regions, and as those developing nations face soaring labor costs .   These trends present a huge opportunity for developers creating factory automation equipment. To take advantage of this ...Read More

Retail is a tough industry – consumer tastes are fickle, margins are often razor-thin, and employee turnover can be high, making it difficult to improve staff expertise and efficiency. Fortunately, intelligent retail system can address all of these problems, helping retailers grow and prosper even in today’s middling economy. In this blog, we will look at three particularly hot technologies: digital signage with viewer analytics , retail systems that combine entry-level prices ...Read More

In our everyday world, failing batteries represent little more than a nuisance, something that may require us to actually get up off the couch and change the channel. But in the medical field, a weak or dead battery can cause more than a minor inconvenience; it can cost a human life.   Medical systems, and particularly those that are portable such as a nursing cart, require long battery life to sustain device operation throughout the period of care delivery – say, a nurse’s ent...Read More