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FPGA In Layman''S Terms

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FPGA is an Integrated Circuit which can be reconfigured again and again to perform different tasks as desired. For example, an FPGA can be configured to function as a processor, and then it can be reconfigured to function as a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), or hardware video encoder, or something else. The point is that FPGA can theoretically be programmed to function as any other Digital Integrated Circuit. Think of FPGA as a breadboard for Digital Circuits. All the gates and flip-flops are present on the FPGA, and there are wires going through the complete chip. Circuits are made by connecting these wires to the relevant gates or flip-flops as per intended design. Instead of connecting the gates/flip-flops using a physical wire as in a breadboard, FPGAs has programmable interconnects that can be rewired programmatically. There are dedicated wires/routes for clock signals and only a selected number of FPGA pins are allowed to drive those global clock routing wires. FPGA Vs Microcontr...
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BOARD BRING-UP

Board bring-up is the process of checking and validating a PCB assembly for the first time. The aim is to make sure that the board has been manufactured and assembled correctly and that all of the subsections of the design work as intended. This can be a nervous time for an electronics designer as it is a key proof point that many weeks or months of work has been successful. Note that bring-up is not the same as validating an entire product or system – it is usually limited to validating the hardware. Writing firmware will likely be a part of the process, but only to the extent required to ensure the processor, its peripherals and external circuitry connected to them are working as expected. Board Bring-up process. 1. Visual Inspection: Print out assembly drawing with all the components and test points to have a quick reference during validation. All the components are placed correctly. All the PINs 1 are placed correctly. There are no visible short circuits between PADS. Are pads sold...
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Design Innovation: Think, Make, Break, Repeat

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  The world around us is becoming more complex and humanity is facing unprecedented global challenges. Using design for finding innovative solutions that can make a difference will continue to play a vital part in the economic, cultural, social, and environmental prosperity of our planet.  Design innovation is all about generating ideas that we know will help customers as they move forward in their work. It doesn't have to be something massive completely new; it can be a more intuitive experience. Design and innovation are really a process that we go through to extract insights and understanding from the real world to deliver products, services, digital solutions that they can then take, and extract commercial value from. It's about making sure that the user who is at the end of our products or uses them every day feels like they are doing their best work. But what is design? And what exactly is its role in the innovation landscape? Design is associated with the success of lar...
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The Rise of technology- VR,AR & MR

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Virtual Reality  (VR) Virtual Reality  is a completely immersive digital experience. It is when the images and sounds around you are replaced by virtual content, generated and managed by a computer.    It aids in the creation of realistic simulations and the “immersion” of the spectator through the use of computers and sensory instruments such as headsets and gloves.   This simulated environment can be totally different than the reality of this world and yet you can perceive it as reality. So Virtual Reality is really just that, a  “Virtual Reality”  that you can move around in and experience as if you were really there.  Virtual reality (VR) indicates a complete involvement experience that shuts out the physical world.  Virtual reality is utilized for training, education, and science in addition to gaming and enjoyment.  You can view Virtual Reality using a  VR headset  such as the  Oculus Rift S e tc.     ...
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Potential Use Case of Augmented Reality in Medical Imaging

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Augmented Reality (AR) is a constantly growing field in computer science. Research efforts have been continually intensified and solutions have been developed for various domains such as entertainment, education, navigation, medicine, and other different areas. Augmented Reality (AR) merges virtual objects, in either 2 or 3 dimensions, with the real world. By extending the real world with virtual, computer-generated information, the perception of natural environments can be enriched, and the surrounding world can be interactively manipulated.                                                                         An AR showroom demo developed by Microsoft and Volvo provides an X-ray view of the engine, source: ref 1 To understand AR in a more easy way, let's take an example of an Instagram video calling. As ex...
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Case Study: Role of Analytic Model for Predictive Maintenance of Medical devices

“Knowing that a machine will soon break down and preventing this at the right moment saves companies time and money. To get this knowledge, analytical evaluation of the existing data is decisive.” Case Study 1: Large medical devices such as Diagnostic Imaging, CT scanners, and magnetic resonance imaging systems are a major investment for doctors’ practices and hospitals. Unexpected breakdowns don’t just cause huge costs but also jeopardize patients’ medical care. For manufacturers, this means many spare parts must be kept in stock permanently, resulting in high capital tie-ups. If a device breaks down, the technicians have to take numerous spare parts with them to the customer on spec. And if the parts aren’t needed, they have to be thoroughly checked before they can be restocked. Goals Predict the failure probability of large medical devices Optimize stockholding for replacement parts and operations management Improve customer service and reduce downtimes Approach Read system logs and...
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FPGA Design Flow

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The complete FPGA flow including the synthesis process of HDL code consists of a number of processes which are:- source:https://allaboutfpga.com/fpga-design-flow/ 1] Design This is the first process in the FPGA design flow. From the specification, several factors need to be determined first such as complexity of the block, total number of I/O's, frequency of the block, and power consumption along with optimization. There are several methods for design entry. It can be schematic-based with the help of GUI and then needs to be invoked using instance name and proper instance name. The design can also be entered using HDL based entry. Depending on the complexity of the block, one can choose. 2] Logic Synthesis The whole process of converting an RTL code either a Verilog/VHDL code into a gate-level the netlist can be broadly classified into the following three processes:- Translate Optimization Gate level mapping So let's start with each of the processes:- The first process combine...
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