VoltJots Issue 32

Issue 32

Author

VoltJots
March 13, 2025

Welcome to the latest edition of the VoltJots newsletter - it’s a bit of a bumper issue, so hopefully will have a little something of interest for everyone.

Hope you enjoy! Until next week,

VoltJots

NEWS & ARTICLES

Duane Benson gave "Copilot's latest upgrade a trial run to see if artificial intelligence could take a circuit from idea to PCB layout." What did he find?

Take a look at ten women engineers making significant contributions in various fields, showcasing their innovative work and leadership in technology and engineering.

There's a growing interest in designing 48V low-voltage systems - explore the benefits and challenges of adopting this technology.

The Arduino team is excited to announce the 20th-anniversary celebration of Arduino Day, a free online event happening on March 21-22, 2025, featuring talks, product announcements, and community showcases.

Renesas 365 is a digital platform that helps developers streamline the process of creating electronic systems by connecting hardware, software, and lifecycle data into a single environment.

ARM has introduced its next-gen IoT platform based on the ARMv9 architecture, featuring enhanced security, improved performance for edge AI applications, and support for advanced machine learning capabilities.

Smart home devices are getting smarter, but integrating AI into them is a complex challenge that requires careful thought.

ON Semiconductor is looking into acquiring Allegro MicroSystems to enhance its analog sensing and power management capabilities, but Allegro has rejected its latest offer.

Hackaday discusses the varying degrees of openness in open-source hardware, highlighting the importance of releasing complete source files for a project to be considered truly open-source hardware.

PROJECTS & TUTORIALS

Turn your Raspberry Pi Pico into a USB-HID device with a touchscreen interface!

Build a 2.4GHz wireless network analyzer that doubles as a Long Range (LoRa) transceiver to dispatch independent encrypted wireless commands.

This IoT AC energy meter project uses a PZEM-004T energy monitoring module and an ESP32 microcontroller to display energy consumption data on a web server.

The fish food dispenser features a 3D-printed hopper, a servo motor for dispensing, and is controlled via an ESP8266 with a real-time clock module for scheduled feeding.

Build a temperature gun using a Raspberry Pi PICO 2 and a GY-906 infrared temperature sensor to take temperature readings and display them on an SSD1306 OLED screen.

Here's a neat project showing how to integrate a 1.3-inch SSD1306 I2C OLED display with an STM32 microcontroller using LVGL and FreeRTOS.

PRODUCTS

LilyGO's T-Connect Pro features a DIN mountable design, a 4.3-inch touchscreen, and supports various industrial protocols like Modbus and MQTT for automation applications.

Check out these microcontrollers if you're designing ultra-low power IoT devices with wireless connectivity and the ability to operate for long periods without maintenance.

Raspberry Pi has released new variants of the Compute Module 4 with an operating temperature range of -40°C to +85°C, making it suitable for use in some seriously harsh environments.

TDK has released a new series of super-compact gate drive transformers called EP9, designed for automotive applications and suitable for use with IGBTs and MOSFETs, with some pretty impressive specs.

The MPLAB PICkit Basic is a budget-friendly, high-performance debugger that offers easy connectivity, compatibility with a wide range of microcontrollers, and advanced features like automatic device selection.

Metis Engineering has launched a new line of sensors that can monitor safety parameters and emissions in various systems, with three specialized sensors for lithium-ion battery health, hydrogen detection, and air quality monitoring.

The iWave Systems iW-RainboW-G54S is a compact, industrial-grade single-board computer with a powerful STM32MP13x processor.

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