Who? What? Why? Where? When? and How?
Following the rules
Steve Rogerson’s round-up of last month’s news and events, including some that may have slipped under the radar
B
eing in charge of a body making rules that it expects others to obey must give one a certain perspective when it comes to disobeying rules from different sources. So I discovered at last month’s Embedded World exhibition in Nuremberg where I had arranged to meet in the press office Steve Montgomery, chair of the working group that has just published the latest version of the rules that must be followed for software developers to claim their code is Misra C compliant. The appointed time came and went, and I was twiddling my thumbs thinking I’d been stood up. Salvation came some 15 minutes later when Mr Montgomery was spotted outside the press office where he had stood for the past quarter of an hour not knowing what to do about the sign that said “Journalists only”. I assured the poor chap that this was one of the rules with allowed deviations and escorted him through the door.
For the next event I attend, maybe I should pay more attention to the regular bulletins I receive from the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET), especially as my main hobby is reading and watching science fiction and attending conventions and meetings about the same. A recent email from the institution was about an evening talk on 1st May (I would have been suspicious if it had been 1st April) at The Adelaide pub on Park Road in Teddington. The talk is called “Where are the aliens?” and will be given by Professor Andy Augousti from Kingston University. The key question he will be debating is if aliens exist why have we not detected or established contact with them. I hope if he decides to take the talk on tour that he includes Nottingham among his venues. Meanwhile, if any readers are planning on attending, a report would be appreciated. An event I did attend recently was
Redemption, this is a science fiction convention held every two years and I am one of the organisers. The next one will be in February 2015. One of the regular items at the convention is a performance of a Blake’s 7 script that was never used. This is called “Man of Iron” and was written by Paul Darrow, one of the leading actors in the programme. Watching the performance, one soon realises why it was rejected. It concerns an evil robot they have to battle, and Avon (the character played by Darrow) works out that as the robot is full of electronics all they have to do is lure it into water and it will stop working. Clever stuff, eh? Oddly, the day after said performance, I
received a press release from Leeds University about their wet computer server. This uses about 80 per cent less energy because all the electronics components are kept cool by being in direct contact with liquid. The release gives little details about what the liquid is other than to describe it as “extraordinary stuff”, claiming you could throw your mobile phone into a tub of it and it would still work. Apparently, they are preparing a video to demonstrate this.
As someone who has written off mobile phones both by dropping them in the bath and the toilet, I was curious. I mean, is this liquid cheap and safe enough to bathe in and be used to flush the loo? If so, they could be onto a winner. On the other hand, a waterproof mobile phone surely is not beyond the industry’s capabilities. And they could then go on and design a waterproof robot and programme it to write a better version of “Man of Iron”. If they manage it, I’ll arrange a performance at the next Redemption, but be careful with the programming; make sure it follows all the rules and is Misra compliant or the robot may be disabled by the first “no entry” sign it comes across.
This was one of the more unusual
characters I spotted while wandering around Embedded World in Nuremberg last month. I did try to ask him why he was dressed as a bear, but a combination of a German accent and the muffling effects of the mask meant I left none the wiser.
42 March 2013 Components in Electronics
element14 celebrates Raspberry Pi’s first birthday
A
s Raspberry Pi celebrates its first birthday, element14 has launched “Raspberry Pi Month” with a series of initiatives to celebrate the success of the microcomputer. Raspberry Pi made its European debut on the element14 stand at Embedded World 2012.
The success of the Raspberry Pi and the
related accessories has been stunning over the last twelve months. When the Model B board launched in 2012 there were 500,000 hits on the element14 website every 15 minutes with 600 orders, pre- orders or hits on the site every second. As part of Raspberry Pi month element14 is asking people to vote for their favourite project using the microcomputer and accessories. ‘MyPi’ will highlight ten of the top projects that will be promoted via the community and members will be asked to discuss and select their favourite as well as put forward their own outstanding projects. Throughout March various roadtests of the PiFace and Gertboard will be taking place on the element14 Community and for those new to the accessories a PiFace and Gertboard webinar will take place on 20th March. Claire Doyle, Global Head of Raspberry Pi at element14, said: “When we launched Raspberry Pi a year ago who would have believed the phenomenal response this micro computer would have generated. It has been a fantastic year and one we have been privileged to be a part of. The activities arranged for Raspberry Pi month show our ongoing commitment to the Foundation and all the customers that have created ingenious projects with their boards.” With over 9 million views of the Raspberry Pi group on the element14 Community the success of the micro- computer is clear for everyone to see. To join the conversation, go to
http://www.element14.com/raspberrypi
ST Microelectronics claims that ones of its MEMS devices is the first chip ever to climb Mount Everest unaided. However, as one can see from the picture, the chip is a little on the large size, thus making the claim a bit dubious. More believable is the claim that the company has shipped three billion MEMS sensors to date and that if they were piled on top of each other edge to edge the rather unstable pillar would actually be taller than the famous mountain. The company even backs it up with numbers. The chips are 3mm wide and three billion of them make 9km; the world’s tallest mountain is a mere 8.85km.
www.cieonline.co.uk
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