Taking the Measure
Rick Nelson, editor in chief of Test & Measurement World and EDN, comments on test, globalization, measurement, machine vision, economics, nanotechnology, the engineering profession, and topics of general interest.
Accelerating toward $1 million prize
You might want to intentionally cause some sudden unintended acceleration–you could win some money. Edmunds.com is offering a $1 million prize to researchers who can address unanswered questions about unintended acceleration. Rules will be announced shortly.Meanwhile, Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive of Edmunds.com, takes to the pages of the Washington Post to address the issue. First, he note ...... Read More
Comments (10)It's the car! No, it's the driver! Wait, it doesn't matter!
Controversy continues to swirl around Toyota and its sudden acceleration problem. What’s wrong? Is it the floor mats or a sticky pedal? What about drive-by-wire and related software? How about driver error? Does it really matter?That last question may sound like a strange one, and I’ll get to it in a minute. First, floor mats. Perhaps the floor mats are exactly what’s been cau ...... Read More
Comments (14)Driving while talking or walking the dog
I’ve been commenting on the safety aspects of talking while driving at least since 2002, when researchers produced a study indicating that talking while driving is a net benefit (that apparently should be encouraged). The study claimed that banning talking while driving would cost Americans many billions of dollars annually. (This study with its improbable results no longer seems to be onli ...... Read More
Comments (8)Apex summit on PCB- and system-test challenges of 3-D chips
IPC has announced that its annual Test & Inspection Summit will be held Tuesday April 6 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Apex Expo in Las Vegas. Building on the 2009 Summit, a panel of experts will discuss the latest test challenges and the technologies that are emerging to deal with challenges board and system designers will face with the emergences of 3-D chips. The panelists will discuss the rol ...... Read More
Comments (0)Global teams support innovation
Innovation is necessary but not sufficient to support a national economy. That’s a point I emphasized in a post earlier this week, in which I noted that the US cannot be successful selling innovation and buying the products of that innovation. And furthermore, it’s not as if the US has a monopoly on innovation.That point is clear from recent interviews with engineers at US-based com ...... Read More
Comments (0)Social media fail
OK, now social media has jumped the shark. The site failin.gs lets you ask the question, “What is wrong with me?” Your friends, colleagues, competitors, and enemies can respond anonymously. Kevin Huffman in the Washington Post says the new tool might help US Senators improve their behavior: “Sen. Bunning, it hurts my feelings when you curse at my friends.’ Or, ‘S ...... Read More
Comments (0)Is innovation enough?
As manufacturing moves from North America and Europe to Asia, conventional wisdom has it that developed, high-wage countries can succeed through innovation. Thomas Friedman in the New York Times makes that case with respect to clean power. He advocates a partnership between America and China, in which the US specializes in research, innovation, investment, and services while China specializes in m ...... Read More
Comments (5)To boldly go where we went in 1969?
Test & Measurement World’s March issue is online now, and its cover story profiles engineers at Alliance Spacesystems, which makes, among other things, robotic arms for Mars missions. In the same issue, I comment in my Editor’s Note on the future of manned space flight in light of the Obama administration’s withdrawal of support for NASA’s Constellation program. In ...... Read More
Comments (8)Be a stand-up engineer
Do you spend a lot of time sitting at your desk or lab bench? If so, you could be doing serious damage to your health, regardless of your activity level outside the office or lab. Writes Olivia Judson in the New York Times, “…irrespective of whether you exercise vigorously, sitting for long periods is bad for you.” And it’s not just your habits at work. She adds, ȁ ...... Read More
Comments (5)OTA emulator makes wireless test truly wireless
Wireless test is going truly wireless with EB Elektrobit’s new EB Propsim F8 MIMO OTA emulator, which the company says is the industry’s first commercially available MIMO OTA (over-the-air) emulator that supports the increased the performance and data rates of MIMO mobile terminals. Janne Kolu, director of product management for wireless communications tools, said the company has del ...... Read More
Comments (0)Automation takes the stage
In a recent post, I cited some jobs that are most likely to be immune from being lost to automation, mentioning, for example, performers and commission sales people. With respect to performers, perhaps I spoke too soon. As the Huffington Post reports, South Korean robot actress EveR-3 (Eve Robot 3) has made her stage debut in a government-sponsored production of “Robot Princess and the Seve ...... Read More
Comments (1)Volcker bemoans lack of interest in real engineering
I just saw Paul Volcker on CNN this morning, chatting with Fareed Zakaria and bemoaning the fact that young people don’t want to go into mechanical or civil or chemical engineering—they want to head to Wall Street instead. He repeated his assertion that the ATM is the most significant financial innovation of recent times, and he pointed out that it’s actually the result of ...... Read More
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