Software Defined Power Supplies with Werner Johansson

The Amp Hour · 25 Jul 2023 · 1h 11m · Episode 640

What this episode covers

Werner Johansson of Qoitech discusses the design and application of software-defined power supplies, specifically the ARC and ACE programmable power supplies and electronic loads. He explains how these devices enable firmware teams to characterize battery behavior, simulate battery profiles, and automate testing by integrating high-speed power measurement with GPIO and serial port data. The conversation covers the technical challenges of digital control loops, USB-C power delivery security, and the importance of simultaneous sampling for accurate power calculation.

Mentioned

Companies
Qoitech, Keysight, Keithley
Products
ARC, ACE, Analog Discovery
Chips
Microchip Xmega, NXP i.MX RT1060
Also
USB-C PD

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 06m

    278: Bricks' Batteries Last Forever (Repeat)

    Matt Liberty, founder of Jet Perch, discusses the design and development of Joulescope, a high-precision current measurement tool launching via Kickstarter. He explains the engineering challenges of measuring dynamic ranges spanning nine orders of magnitude, from nanoamp sleep states to amp-level active currents, and how standard multimeters fail due to burden voltage and resolution limits. The conversation covers software strategies for low-power embedded design, such as managing GPIO states and clock speeds, and details the hardware innovations in Joulescope, including its auto-ranging shunt resistors and electrical isolation.

  • IoT For All Podcast · 17m

    Software-Defined IoT and Sustainable Design | MicroEJ's Semir Haddad | Internet of Things Podcast

    Semir Haddad, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at MicroEJ, explains the concept of software-defined IoT, where devices are treated as flexible software products rather than static hardware. He details how MicroEJ's MICROEJ VEE container allows developers to port high-level code to microcontrollers, enabling post-shipment customization and new service monetization for companies like Zebra and Long Distance Gear. Haddad argues that sustainable design requires optimizing software for low-power hardware, citing Polar's smartwatch as an example of extending battery life from one day to seven days by avoiding resource-heavy platforms like Android or Linux.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 15m

    304: ADC Channel Six

    Gregory Gluszek, who created the OpenSteamController project, and Jeff Keyzer, the former lead electrical engineer at Valve, discuss the reverse engineering and original design of the Steam Controller. They detail how Gluszek used pinkySim and GDB to reverse engineer the firmware without schematics, while Keyzer explains the hardware challenges of alkaline battery management and the design philosophy of making the device unbrickable and open to modification. The conversation covers the technical trade-offs of using AA batteries versus lithium, the role of test points in manufacturing versus development, and the ethical implications of open-sourcing hardware designs.

  • 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.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 05m

    170: Electron Gnomes

    Hosts Elecia White and Christopher White discuss the hidden complexities of embedded software engineering in preparation for Elecia's upcoming IEEE presentation on 'The Tricky Parts' of embedded systems. They cover specific technical challenges including the difficulty of debugging with limited visibility, the counterintuitive nature of power optimization (such as balancing sleep states against wake-up costs), and the pain of managing unstable SDKs and sample code from vendors like Nordic and NXP. The conversation also touches on the necessity of understanding map files for memory management and the importance of using test equipment like oscilloscopes for accurate timing analysis.

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