Edge Devices Rely on Intelligent MEMS Based Sensors

Edge Devices Rely on Intelligent MEMS Based Sensors
by Tom Simon on 03-29-2018 at 12:00 pm

MEMS sensors play a huge role in intelligent systems these days. Mobile and IoT devices would essentially be blind if not for the rich variety of MEMS sensors integrated into them. The MEMS sensor market is growing rapidly, topping $10B in 2016 and slated to exceed $20B by 2020. MEMS is also growing in the RF market, where they are providing… Read More


Don’t Stand Between The Anonymous Bug and Tape-Out (Part 2 of 2)

Don’t Stand Between The Anonymous Bug and Tape-Out (Part 2 of 2)
by Alex Tan on 03-16-2018 at 7:00 am


The second panel is about system coverage and big data. Coverage metrics have been used to gauge the quality of verification efforts during development. At system level, there are still no standardized metrics to measure full coverage. The emergence of PSS, better formal verification, enhanced emulation and prototyping techniques… Read More


Computer Vision and High-Level Synthesis

Computer Vision and High-Level Synthesis
by Daniel Payne on 03-15-2018 at 12:00 pm

Computer vision as a research topic has been around since the 1960’s and we are enjoying the benefits of this work in modern-day products all around us as robots with computer vision are performing an increasing number of tasks, even our farmers are using computer vision systems to become more productive:

  • AgEagle® has a drone
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Don’t Stand Between The Anonymous Bug and Tape-Out (Part 1 of 2)

Don’t Stand Between The Anonymous Bug and Tape-Out (Part 1 of 2)
by Alex Tan on 03-09-2018 at 7:00 am

In the EDA space, nothing seems to be more fragmented in-term of solutions than in the Design Verification (DV) ecosystem. This was my apparent impression from attending the four panel sessions plus numerous paper presentations given during DVCon 2018 held in San Jose. Both key management and technical leads from DV users communityRead More


EDA and Semiconductor — Is There Growth In The Ecosystem?

EDA and Semiconductor — Is There Growth In The Ecosystem?
by Alex Tan on 03-07-2018 at 12:00 pm


The semiconductor industry has gone through several major transitions driven by different dynamics such as shift in business models (fab-centric to fab-less), product segmentation (system design house, IP developers) and end market applications (PC to cloud; and recently, to both automotive and Internet of Things — IOT’s,Read More


Robust Reliability Verification – A Critical Addition To Baseline Checks

Robust Reliability Verification – A Critical Addition To Baseline Checks
by Alex Tan on 03-01-2018 at 12:00 pm

Design process retargeting is acommon recurrence based on scaling orBOM(Bill-Of-Material) cost improvement needs. This occursnot only with the availability of foundry process refresh to a more advanced node,but also to any new derivative process node tailored towards matching design complexity, power profile or reliabilityRead More


Developing Affordable IoT Systems

Developing Affordable IoT Systems
by Daniel Payne on 02-26-2018 at 12:00 pm

The IoT market opportunities in segments like wearables, vehicles, home, cities and industrial are all growing thanks to the combination of semiconductors, sensors, software and systems technology. New hardware designs for IoT edge devices appear on a daily basis, and the companies behind these new products can often be start-ups… Read More


Designing an SoC for 3D TV Without using the Funny Glasses

Designing an SoC for 3D TV Without using the Funny Glasses
by Daniel Payne on 01-24-2018 at 12:00 pm

In the blur of activities at DAC last year I visited the Mentor booth a few times and had just a few minutes to glance at a 3D TV display that didn’t require me to wear any funny glasses, kind of novel I thought at the time because I’ve read that the market of 3D TV sets is being hampered by requiring viewers to wear glasses. The… Read More


Autonomous Vehicles Upending Automotive Design Process

Autonomous Vehicles Upending Automotive Design Process
by Tom Simon on 12-28-2017 at 12:00 pm

The automotive industry has a history of bringing about disruptive technological advances. One only needs to look at the invention of the assembly line by Henry Ford to understand the origins of this phenomenon. Today we stand on the brink of a massive change in how cars operate and consequently how they are built. A number of automotive… Read More


High Calibre Development Keeps Mentor on Top of the Game

High Calibre Development Keeps Mentor on Top of the Game
by Tom Simon on 12-07-2017 at 12:00 pm

One might be tempted to think that technology driven gains in computer performance might be enough to keep up with the needs of design and verification tools. We know that design complexity is increasing at a rate predicted by Moore’s Law. We also know that the performance of the computers used during IC development benefit from … Read More