# Back Into The Swing Of Things

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2017-05-14
- Length: 1h 10m
- Episode: 344
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-05-14-back-into-the-swing-of-things
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/344-back-into-the-swing-of-things/

## Summary

Hosts Chris Gammell and Dave Jones return to the podcast to discuss a wide range of topics, including Gammell's new Contextual Electronics course and Jones's hiring of a full-time employee. They analyze the rising costs of engineering education, the technical details of Nvidia's new Volta GPU for AI, and the shift in robotics from reverse kinematics to visual feedback. The conversation also covers the sale of the MIPS architecture, the success of RISC-V startup SiFive, and upcoming events like Maker Faire.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-05-14-back-into-the-swing-of-things#t=0) Introduction and Contextual Electronics
- [3:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-05-14-back-into-the-swing-of-things#t=239) Engineering Education Costs and Survey Data
- [11:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-05-14-back-into-the-swing-of-things#t=679) EEV Blog Business and Voyager Probe Physics
- [23:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-05-14-back-into-the-swing-of-things#t=1396) Nvidia Volta GPU and AI Precision
- [26:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-05-14-back-into-the-swing-of-things#t=1610) Robotics: Reverse Kinematics vs. Visual Feedback
- [33:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-05-14-back-into-the-swing-of-things#t=2031) Work Experience Students and Internships
- [48:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-05-14-back-into-the-swing-of-things#t=2917) PCB Manufacturing and Laser Cutters
- [55:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-05-14-back-into-the-swing-of-things#t=3343) Maker Spaces and TED Talk Parody
- [1:04:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-05-14-back-into-the-swing-of-things#t=3898) MIPS Sale, SiFive, and Maker Faire

## Topics

- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)
- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Maker community & events](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/maker-community)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Contextual Electronics (company)
- EEV blog (company)
- Nvidia (company)
- Volta (chip)
- V100 Tesla (chip)
- TSMC (company)
- MIPS (chip)
- Imagination Technology (company)
- SiFive (company)
- RISC-V (chip)
- Elikro (company)
- Altium (tool)
- KiCad (tool)
- Maker Faire (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Risking RISC-V | Engineers & the Gig Economy | Chiplets](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2019-06-14-risking-risc-v-engineers-the-gig-economy-chiplets) (EE Times Current)
- [Live from LA - Matt and Scotty’s Austin and LA adventures, plus NVIDIA and Google power plays](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-07-30-live-from-la-matt-and-scottys-austin-and-la-adventures-plus-nvidia-and-google-po) (Built 2 Scale)
- [NVIDIA GTC24 and R-24 recap](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2024-03-22-nvidia-gtc24-and-r-24-recap) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [NVIDIA's Trojan horse, Yann LeCun Timebomb, 8 Sleep Mega Raise and the Physical AI Boom](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-08-22-nvidias-trojan-horse-yann-lecun-timebomb-8-sleep-mega-raise-and-the-physical-ai) (Built 2 Scale)
- [2025 Finale: Yann LeCun Raises $3B, Domain Addiction Confessions & Built 2 Scale Year Wrap](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-12-22-2025-finale-yann-lecun-raises-3b-domain-addiction-confessions-built-2-scale-year) (Built 2 Scale)

## 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/2017-05-14-back-into-the-swing-of-things. 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.