Mentor Blogs

I have often observed that the world of embedded software is usually dominated by a small number of “fashionable” topics – technology that everybody is talking and/or concerned about. The key one just now, which I have discussed before, is the influence that software has on device power consumption. This is a topic to which I will certainly return. A number of the Mentor Embedded … Read More

Freescale, FTF, RTOS, Low Power, Nucleus

Nowadays, there is a perception that the higher end embedded CPU is dominated by ARM. Obviously, these devices are very popular, as evidenced by the various ARM Tech Con events around the world. However, I remember the world before ARM, when “embedded 32-bit device” meant Motorola 68000 family. Motorola Semiconductor became Freescale, who are still a force to be reckoned with. Freescale’s … Read More

Freescale, FTF, Low Power, Nucleus

STMicroelectronics said this week that it will increase its MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) production capacity to more than three million sensors a day by the end of 2011 based on “exploding” demand from industrial, healthcare, and automotive customers. Automotive applications for MEMS devices include airbags, navigation systems, electronic stability control, and tire pressure monitoring systems. … Read More

Infineon, IHS iSuppli, MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems), CEA-Leti, automotive MEMS devices, Sensata, Freescale, STMicroelectronics, high-g accelerometer, DENSO, tire pressure monitoring systems, electronic stability control

Who do you like in the EcoCAR 2, the three-year collegiate automotive engineering competition that began during the SAE World Congress in Detroit earlier this month? The 16 teams that qualified for the competition are Cal State, Colorado State, Embry-Riddle, Mississippi State, NC State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rose-Hulman, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Tennessee, … Read More

EcoCAR 2, Clean Cities, Virginia Tech, Vector CANtech, Robert Bosch LLC, CD-Adapco, University of Waterloo, Siemens PLM, Freescale, Ohio State, Penn State, California Air Resources Board, Rose-Hulman, Embry-Riddle, Snap-On Tools, EcoCAR 1, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Colorado State, Saturn Vue, dSPACE, Tennessee, General Motors, Purdue, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Victoria, AVL Powertrain Engineering, Chevrolet Malibu, Washington, MathWorks, Mississippi State, Cal State, Natural Resources Canada, Wayne State, NC State, A123Systems

Mentor Graphics is an EDA [Electronic Design Automation] company, which means that the core of the business is supplying [software] tools to facilitate the development [design, implementation and deployment] of electronic systems. Traditionally, this meant hardware design. But, over the last 20 years, there has been an enormous escalation in the use of microprocessors and microcontrollers and embedded … Read More

Freescale

You might think, if you didn’t know better, that all of the cutting-edge work in the automotive industry is focused on hybrid and electric vehicles. Not so, says Rod Beazley, director of the Spark Ignited Engines Product Group at Ricardo plc and head of Ricardo’s Ethanol Boost Direct Injection (EBDI) engine program. Why bother with ethanol, you might ask. It may reduce emissions but it also reduces … Read More

Freescale, Infineon, ethanol boost direct injection (EBDI), Rod Beazley, Karina Morley, Ricardo plc

Strategy Analytics announced that Infineon edged Freescale in automotive semiconductor revenues last year to take the number one spot. The research firm said Infineon achieved $1.31 billion in revenues for calendar 2009 compared with $1.16 billion for Freescale, amounting to market shares of 9% and 8% respectively. But Strategy Analytics also said that semiconductor suppliers suffered an average year-on-year … Read More

Freescale, Ian Riches, Chris Webber, Strategy Analytics, Infineon