# Get Smart About Automation - Caducous Cyborg Concerns

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2014-10-08
- Length: 1h 11m
- Episode: 219
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-10-08-get-smart-about-automation-caducous-cyborg-concerns
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/219-get-smart-about-automation-caducous-cyborg-concerns/

## Summary

Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss the viability of online CAD tools by testing them in an isolated environment, specifically on an airplane, comparing local tools like KiCad and Altium with cloud-based options like CircuitMaker and Upverter. They analyze the economic impact of automation on electronics design, noting how integration on silicon reduces the need for dedicated hardware engineers, and review SparkFun's data on engineering time allocation. The conversation concludes with a review of the Intel MAX 10 FPGA, the open-sourced Parallax Propeller chip, and broader concerns about the rising costs of semiconductor manufacturing at companies like Samsung.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-10-08-get-smart-about-automation-caducous-cyborg-concerns#t=0) Introduction: Internet outages and the airplane experiment
- [3:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-10-08-get-smart-about-automation-caducous-cyborg-concerns#t=230) Testing online CAD tools: CircuitMaker, Upverter, and KiCad on a plane
- [17:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-10-08-get-smart-about-automation-caducous-cyborg-concerns#t=1025) The white van speaker scam and crowdfunding failures like The Printier
- [24:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-10-08-get-smart-about-automation-caducous-cyborg-concerns#t=1492) Samsung fab costs and the economic impact of automation on jobs
- [36:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-10-08-get-smart-about-automation-caducous-cyborg-concerns#t=2187) SparkFun engineering time breakdown: Documentation vs. Hardware Design
- [53:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-10-08-get-smart-about-automation-caducous-cyborg-concerns#t=3193) Chip of the Week: Intel MAX 10 FPGA and Parallax Propeller open source
- [1:04:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-10-08-get-smart-about-automation-caducous-cyborg-concerns#t=3848) Microcontroller platforms: PIC, Atmel, and online IDEs

## Topics

- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- KiCad (tool)
- Altium (tool)
- CircuitMaker (tool)
- Upverter (tool)
- Octopart (other)
- Samsung (company)
- Intel (company)
- MAX 10 (chip)
- Parallax (company)
- Propeller (chip)
- SparkFun (company)
- The Printier (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [20: Soldered Together By Monkeys](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2013-09-26-20-soldered-together-by-monkeys) (Embedded.fm)
- [Code-Based PCB Design with AI: Inside atopile](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2026-06-23-code-based-pcb-design-with-ai-inside-atopile) (OnTrack)
- [PCB East 2025: Exhibitors, AI Trends & Networking Opportunities](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2025-05-09-pcb-east-2025-exhibitors-ai-trends-networking-opportunities) (OnTrack)
- [539: My Ai Powered Ergonomic Chair](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2026-09-25-539-my-ai-powered-ergonomic-chair) (Making It)
- [Can AI Design IoT Hardware? | Flux's Matthias Wagner | Internet of Things Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2026-04-14-can-ai-design-iot-hardware-fluxs-matthias-wagner-internet-of-things-podcast) (IoT For All Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-10-08-get-smart-about-automation-caducous-cyborg-concerns. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Amp Hour.