GreenPAK for Automotive: Reliability, Integration & Real-World Demos

OnTrack · 17 Mar 2026 · 45m · Episode 336

What this episode covers

Michele Deviato and Oleh Saphia from Renesas explain how Automotive GreenPAK differs from industrial components through AEC-Q100 qualification, vibration-resistant packaging, and rigorous reliability testing. They demonstrate how the configurable mixed-signal IC consolidates discrete components to reduce BOM cost and board area by up to 90%, while eliminating the need for firmware via the Go Configure software. Oleh provides a live demo of building an LED animation circuit in minutes, highlighting the tool's ease of use and the chip's ability to replace microcontrollers in specific logic applications.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 04m

    294: Ludicrous Numbers of LEDs (Repeat)

    Mike Harrison, founder of White Wing Logic and host of the YouTube channel Mike's Electric Stuff, discusses his work designing large-scale architectural lighting installations using Microchip PIC microcontrollers and Texas Instruments TLC5971 LED drivers. He explains why he prefers white LEDs and RS485 daisy-chained architectures over NeoPixels for permanent, high-reliability projects, citing issues with reliability and color mixing. Harrison also details the logistical advantages of the PIC ecosystem, including Microchip's pre-programming services and the integrated MPLAB toolchain, which simplify production for his consultancy. The conversation covers his transition from general electronics consultancy to a niche in lighting design, his approach to managing power and voltage drops in large arrays, and his hobby of teardowns on obsolete scientific equipment like DNA analyzers.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 10m

    Slapping Industries

    Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss the practical realities of buying a desktop pick-and-place machine, with Jones recounting a failed eBay purchase of a Chinese machine with Yamaha feeders and Gammell advising him to build a design first. They then review new hardware, including the WCH CH32V003 RISC-V microcontroller, which suffers from a lack of open-source tooling, and the Sony ALTI1350 IoT chip featuring integrated cellular, GPS, and satellite connectivity. The conversation shifts to industrial automation with the Arduino Opta micro PLC, noting its support for ladder logic, and concludes with a discussion on grid security and physical infrastructure vulnerabilities based on the book The Grid by Alexandra Lange.

  • Embedded.fm · 52m

    218: Neutron Star of Dev Boards

    Dirk Akeman, partnership marketing manager at SEGGER, explains the architecture and evolution of J-Link debuggers, detailing how internal microcontrollers and FPGAs enable high-speed communication and features like ETM trace. He discusses the company's rigorous testing methodology, which involves maintaining a library of nearly 3,000 evaluation boards and using their own tools for internal development to ensure reliability. Akeman also highlights the shift from reactive debugging to proactive verification using tools like Ozone and SystemView, which allow engineers to profile code coverage and trace interrupts in real-time to prevent bugs before delivery.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 18m

    The Automation Amish

    Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss the failure of TI's 80 GHz radar eval kit, the shutdown of Intel's IoT dev boards (Galileo, Edison), and the insolvency of Jerry Morris's company Cast AR. They also cover the teardown of the Batteriser chip, the history of the 555 timer, and the enduring popularity of the SparkFun 130-in-1 electronics kit.

  • The Amp Hour

    Compact High Speed Design with Lukas Henkel

    Lukas Henkel, CEO of OV Tech, discusses the design of high-density, open-source System-in-Package (SIP) modules and a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4) replacement called PyMix 8. He explains the engineering challenges of miniaturization, such as using standard PCB processes to manage costs versus moving to interposer-level packaging, and the strategic benefits of open-source hardware for supply chain resilience. The conversation also covers the use of open-source simulation tools like OpenEMS and Elmer for signal integrity and thermal analysis, visualized via FreeCAD and Blender.

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