Hardware Podcasts

Smart Meters and Super Smart Babies

EE Times Current · 10 Nov 2018 · 59m

What this episode covers

Vipin Bothra, Director of Market Development at STMicroelectronics, explains the technical evolution of smart meters, focusing on the shift toward higher accuracy (0.2%) and power quality measurement (harmonics, power factor) driven by regulatory and grid efficiency demands. He details how semiconductor trends, such as integrated sigma-delta converters with isolation barriers and high-voltage power management devices (up to 1700V), enable these capabilities while managing noise and cost. The episode also features musician Dani Rabin of the band Marvin, who discusses his philosophy on improvisation, emphasizing the importance of physical practice and live testing over purely analytical study to develop a unique musical voice.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
STMicroelectronics, Silicon Labs, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Products
Marvin
Chips
STM32F4, Cortex-M4, Cortex-A7

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Moore's Lobby · 58m

    Energizing the Future: Real-Time Precision in Renewable Energy Management

    Henrik Mannesson, General Manager of Grid Infrastructure and Power Delivery at Texas Instruments, discusses the evolution of smart grids, emphasizing the shift from simple metering to real-time energy management. He details how semiconductors like wide band gap devices (GaN) and precision current sensing are enabling higher efficiency in solar, EV charging, and grid stabilization. Mannesson explains the technical requirements for bi-directional power flow, dynamic pricing, and the increasing role of edge processing and AI in balancing generation and consumption.

    Energy & climate techAnalog & power electronics
    8 chapters

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 04m

    216: Bavarian Folk Metal

    Carmen Parisi, a Senior Applications Engineer at Texas Instruments and co-host of The Engineering Commons podcast, explains the transition from linear regulators to switching regulators (switchers) for power management. He details the efficiency benefits of buck and boost converters, the role of PMBus for digital control, and the increasing complexity of modern power ICs. Parisi also shares career advice for embedded engineers, emphasizing the importance of reading application notes, understanding component trade-offs, and learning from failures during validation.

    Analog & power electronicsEmbedded firmware
    8 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 12m

    An Interview With Joe Bamberg

    Joe Bamberg, who worked in Analog Devices' energy metering group and later at Sense, explains the evolution of power monitoring from electromechanical meters to modern smart meters using fixed-function DSP and high-bandwidth signal processing. He details how Sense uses current transformers (CTs), Rogowski coils, and shunts to capture data, leveraging machine learning for energy disaggregation to identify individual appliance usage from total household consumption. Bamberg discusses the hardware constraints of fitting the Sense device into electrical panels, including compliance with NEC, UL, and FCC standards, and the decision to run a full Linux OS on an i.MX 6 processor for edge processing. The conversation highlights the shift from simple watt-hour measurement to complex signal analysis involving Hilbert filters and FFT, enabling features like safety alerts and utility demand response integration.

    PCB design & layoutSensors & measurement in products
    10 chapters

  • The Circuit · 31m

    Episode 14: The Wide World of Sensors

    Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the resurgence of the sensor market, driven by the transition from analog to digital and the falling costs of semiconductor manufacturing. They highlight how companies like Texas Instruments, NXP, and STMicroelectronics are leveraging legacy analog capacity and RISC-V architectures to create high-performance, low-cost sensors. The hosts argue that advances in AI and software analytics have finally made the value of this data clear, turning sensors from commodities into strategic assets for industrial IoT and automotive applications.

    Sensors & measurement in productsConnected products & IoT
    8 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 09m

    Solar, FPGAs and Maxim Integrated - Solar Shopper Sickness

    Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss Jones's new 3kW LG solar power system, analyzing net vs. gross feed-in tariffs and the economics of smart meters. They review MyHDL, a Python-to-hardware compiler for FPGAs, and critique CircuitLab's new monetization strategy of watermarking free outputs. The episode concludes with a look at Maxim Integrated's industrial powerline modem and solder stencil fabrication techniques.

    Energy & climate techEDA & CAD tools
    6 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by EE Times Current. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.