Figure 1: Replacing conventional, discrete power conversion with power modules throughout the vehicle provides significant cost and weight savings in EVs
Greg Green, Director of Automotive Marketing, Vicor
The electrification of the automobile is presenting new challenges for power system designers in achieving the highest power density at the lowest weight possible, eliminating compromises in vehicle range and overall performance. Designers of power delivery networks (PDNs) are also tasked with designing safe, effici
Now more than ever, the blooming of the Internet of Things (IoT) has been putting emphasis on the longevity of battery life. Every IoT node demands a battery to operate. A household of two people can have anywhere from 20 to 60 batteries in use at any time, and consumers can’t be burdened with the need to ch
Isolated power supply systems are prevalent in server systems, industrial applications, and telecommunication and networking equipment. In this bandwidth-hungry age of the Internet of Things (IoT), a growing number of these systems need to be efficiently powered, driving up the need for power-efficient, cost-effective so
In the age of the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) economy, smartphones are replacing hotel keys, and facilities managers (FM) are beginning to notice the reward in using big data to monitor customer behavior in hotels, shops and restaurants, as well as monitoring employee engagement and wellbeing in offices. By
Part 1 of this article provided an overview of TT Electronics’ AEC Q200 qualified and certified transformers, which are optimized for use with a gate drive optocoupler to improve and simplify the design of isolated power supplies. This introduction looked at the theory of operation and how this impacts on ke
Overvoltages and the associated high surge currents can damage, or even destroy electrical and electronic devices. Reliable overvoltage protection is therefore essential. On the basis of a new ceramic material, TDK has now developed a high-surge series of multilayer varistors that combine compact dimensions wi
By Siegfried Krainer and Michael Thomas, Infineon Technologies and Ronald Staerz, MCI Innsbruck
Initially regarded as toys, multicopters are now serious business. From simple surveying to future delivery solutions, entire businesses are emerging around the design, supply and use of multicopters. With increased adoption comes increased regulation and the multicopter itself needs to be capable of being piloted in
Grainne Murphy and Colm Prendergast, Analog Devices
The Internet-of-Things (IoT) is simply the concept of connecting any device with a sensor or controller to the Internet (and/or to each other). This includes everything from cell phones, appliances, cars machines, components of machines, wearable devices and anything else you can think of. But the principle of
Lemuel Thompson and Roy Alan Hastings, Texas Instruments
The term “hot swap” refers to the practice of inserting or removing modules from a powered system. Hot-swap controllers are sometimes categorized together with power distribution switches; however, there are key differences that must be understood for proper system design. A hot-swap controller uses an external se
Being a Sci-Fi geek, I am a fan of the late 1950’s Hollywood “cheesy” low budget Ed Wood movies typical of this genre. One of my favorite films is “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” in which aliens come to Earth to stop humanity from building a doomsday weapon that could destroy the entire universe. However, th
