⚡️The Analog #70
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Highlights this week: 🦟 A semiconductor bug-eye 🛩 The world’s fastest racing drone 📰 More on the transformer shortage.
📝 Featured Article: Cofactr and Octopart have announced a partnership! Allowing for an Altium365 integration and the Nexar supply chain resilience tool.
👩🔧 Featured job: Allspice is looking for a principal/lead full stack engineer.
🎪 Featured event: On 3/6, WVU Industrial Extension will be hosting the Manufacturing Roundtable & Supply Chain Elements Overview with talks from Jim Linsenmeyer, Adam Cope, and Jamie Lough.
Interesting Links 🏭
[manufacturing]: A playlist of Coonrod’s Corner, from the Rogers Corporation. With over 60 videos spanning more than a decade this is a trove of knowledge. If you are new to the show this overview of how PCB fabrication can affect RF performance is a good place to start.
[engineering]: The National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) is a network of more than 100 sensors which can detect lightning strikes in about 97% of the United States. How is a strike measured? In the simple case of a single bolt the NLDN looks for a signal strong enough to indicate that a threshold of 10kA peak current, and 10us duration is reached. Sensitivity graph of detection in Figure 3 of this paper.
[manufacturing]: (From FiveFlute’s latest newsletter): The Odds and Ends Machining channel has a great series on casting an engine at home. It’s particularly admirable as the post machining of the cast block components are done on a homemade CNC mill. The anticipated shrinkage when the casting cools is ~1.3% by volume. Foundries have shrinkage rules associated with different types of materials.
[engineering]: A good paper from TI on DC/DC converter designs when using a battery as a power source. A quick review of some core power electronics topologies and then the guide discusses some finer points such as light load efficiency, voltage regulation, and battery impedance. Low temperature, and low SOC lead to high cell impedance which directly impacts overall efficiency.
[engineering]: Researchers from KAIST have developed a new semiconductor which can perform visual intelligence operations by creating a neuromorphic circuit which mimics the operation of insect vision. Researchers fabricated a network of memristors which delay and integrate the visual signal to perform intelligence operations with 92% less energy than conventional methods.
[engineering]: Red Bull has developed the world's fastest drone equipped with a camera. Drone legend Ralph Hogenbirk was brought in to help consult on the project along with Dutch Drone Gods and ultimately developed a drone with a 350km/hr top speed at 6G peak acceleration, weighing just under 1kg.
[engineering]: The CEO of AstroMecha posted a viral video demonstrating a new type of electric jet motor. A good thread explaining the fundamental principles of the adaptive cycle jet engine which uses a standard turbine in a generator configuration to operate a compressor which is used to generate through. The secret sauce is having a power electronics drive that can operate the compressor at maximum efficiency across a range of atmospheric pressures.
[manufacturing]: More analysis on the transformer shortage. Last week Brian Potter’s Construction Physics published a concise essay explaining the supply chain crisis causing the shortage. Prelude Ventures also interviewed Tim Mills, CEO of ERMCO, a major transformer manufacturer. Tim provides a good play-by-play of the industry through covid with some interesting thoughts on how new technologies can help overcome the crisis at the end.
[engineering]: Researchers at UBC Okanagan have developed a new type of waveguide that can be applied as a polymer coating. Intended for space applications in low-Earth orbit the coating has a 93% transmission coefficient in the 8-33GHz band, which is optimal for LEO applications.
Startup News 🚀💰:
LIFT Aircraft raised $6.6M in an equity crowdfunding round. The company is developing a small one passenger VTOL aircraft which it claims will not require a pilot's license or runway to use. This is conceivable if operated indoors under current regulations.
Taalas emerges from stealth with $50M in funding and a groundbreaking silicon AI technology. The round was led by Pierre Lamond and Quiet Capital.
Buzz Solutions recently raised a $5M Venture round announced via Form D. The company offers software products which help with the maintenance of electrical energy infrastructure such as transmission lines, etc. One product, PowerAI, uses artificial intelligence to assist with visual inspections.
Medical Micro Instruments raised a $110M Series C for its line of miniaturized robotic surgical instruments.
Adagy Robotics (YCW24) have launched. The company is developing an intervention service for autonomous robots (freeing them when stuck, etc).
Interesting Jobs 👩🔧:
Altitude AI is looking for a hardware engineer - autonomous robots.
GITAI is looking for a junior electrical engineer - space robotics.
Rigetti is looking for a quantum integrated (IC) designer.
Dexterity is looking for a hardware engineer, architect.
Heliox Energy is looking for an electrical hardware engineer.
VergeSense is looking for a hardware engineer.
Pivotal is looking for a hardware engineer - design.
Aerovel is looking for an electrical engineer.
Internships 📚:
Skydio is looking for an electrical engineer intern.
SambaNova Systems is looking for a hardware engineer intern.
Pivotal is looking for electrical and manufacturing interns.
To see previous jobs that may still be open, check out our previous issues! Want to share an exciting role at your company? Reach out to us at info@theanalog.io.
Featured Job: Technical Writer (part-time) at The Analog. Come work with us!
The SR-71 Blackbird Astro-Nav System worked by tracking the stars (even during the day, pre-satellite)
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