A lot has been written and even more spoken about artificial intelligence (AI) and its uses. Case in point, the use of AI to make autonomous vehicles (AV) a reality. But, surprisingly, not much is discussed on pre-processing the inputs feeding AI algorithms. Understanding how input signals are generated, pre-processed and used… Read More
Low Power and RISC-V Talks at DAC2020, Hosted by Mentor
I’m going to get to low power and RISC-V, but first I’m trying out virtual DAC this year. Seems to be working smoothly, aside from some glitches in registration. But maybe that’s just me – I switched email addresses in the middle of the process. Some sessions are live, many pre-recorded, not quite the same interactive experience… Read More
Cars and COVID-19 Uncertainty
A funny thing happens when you let car makers make cars and car dealers sell cars – people start buying cars. With the U.S. economy at least partially re-opening nationwide car buyers have returned to the market and, finding a limited supply of new cars and disappointing incentives, have turned, in part, to used cars. This … Read More
Novel DFT Approach for Automotive Vision SoCs
You may have seen a recent announcement from Mentor, a Siemens business, regarding the use of their Tessent DFT software by Ambarella for automotive applications. The announcement is a good example of how Mentor works with their customers to assure design success. On the surface the announcement comes across as a nice block and… Read More
Menta CEO Update 2020
What products are Menta offering today?
Menta is a semiconductor IP provider. We are the only proven European provider of programmable logic to be embedded inside customers’ SoCs and ASICs. This programmable logic is in the form of embedded FPGA IP. So, we offer our customers the possibility to have a small portion of their SoC as… Read More
The Time Has Arrived for AI Based Data Twinning! Shrink the Pipe while Increasing Data Fidelity
Time to Change our Thinking:
It is time to work the other side of the communications equation. Send less data. But apply new synthetic data science and machine learning to get more and richer information: a way that requires the transfer of radically fewer actual bits – perhaps 1 or 2% of the bits – but with higher model fidelity.… Read More
COVID-19: Through the Rearview Mirror
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the business of reporting news into a funhouse mirror where reality is distorted, up is down, and hopes for improving health and marketplace conditions are simultaneously raised and dashed on a daily basis. The latest news-driven whiplash moment arrived this morning care of the Detroit Free Press
Uber: Pariah to Paragon
For years, the lords of Lyft and Uber have declaimed their intention to vanquish car ownership and displace public transportation. It really was as simple and as blunt as that. For sure there would be collateral damage including rental car companies and taxi operators and millions of under-compensated drivers – but the bottom
Cruise Controlling Its Destiny
The Information tells us that General Motors’ Cruise Automation self-driving car unit has acquired automotive radar maker Astyx. The move can be seen as a simple defensive move to preserve access to valuable radar technology along the path to realizing Cruise’s vision of a robotaxi infused future.
There are a variety
Where’s the Value in Next-Gen Cars?
Value chains can be very robust and seemingly unbreakable – until they’re not. One we’ve taken for granted for many years is the chain for electronics systems in cars. The auto OEM, e.g. Toyota, gets electronics module from a Tier-1 supplier such as Denso. They, in turn, build their modules using chips from a semiconductor chip maker… Read More


TSMC vs Intel Foundry vs Samsung Foundry 2026