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КПІ посилює присутність у Європейському дослідницькому просторі та залучає міжнародні гранти для розвитку науки й інновацій KPI4U-2 вт, 09/01/2026 - 11:22

Electronic waste has the potential to be a source of valuable metals because a group of scientists have developed an experimental method for recovering gold from electronic waste. A research group at ETH Zurich has identified an experimental way to selectively recover gold from e-waste and have then gone on to converted the recovered material into a gold containing nugget.

Gold’s properties of electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion make it ideal for use in components in semiconductor devices. Unfortunately, recovering gold from old computer circuit boards can be challenging, and old methods can use up huge amounts of electricity with and also harmful chemicals which generate hazardous waste and potentially harmful emissions that can pollute the environment and pose risks to human health.

How the Gold Recovery Process Works

A team of researchers at ETH Zurich manufactured a porous protein-based aerogel which is selective in terms of gold ion binding from solutions that contain metals recovered from discarded computer equipment. The team recovered metal material from 20 computer motherboards, dissolved them in an acid solution and tested how selective was the recovered material.

The solution obtained now consisted of several species of metal ions. The researchers then added the aerogel. The aerogel captured the gold ions from the solution. The captured gold was subsequently converted into flakes, and melted to produce a solid gold nugget.

The reported experiment produced approximately 450 mg of a metal nugget from 20 discarded computer motherboards, containing 91% gold and 9% copper, corresponding to approximately 21-22 carats. This research demonstrated a gold absorption capacity on the scale of 166.7 mg/g of aerogel which is considerably high.

Potential for Sustainable E-Waste Recycling

The technology could create a method for extracting precious metals from abandoned PCs and other electronic waste items and help further a circular economy in the process. According to the ETH Zurich economic analysis, the cost of combined material sourcing and energy during recovery of precious metals were substantially lower than the value of the recovered gold under the study’s assumptions.

The post Researchers Develop New Method to Recover Gold from Electronic Waste appeared first on ELE Times.

The EV charging infrastructure sector in India is moving away from merely providing hardware to offering digitally connected and interoperable charging services. A prime example of this transition is the recent partnership between Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) and Jio-bp, aiming to combine the EV charging infrastructure with its digital platform, making it easier for EV users to discover and access charging stations.

As part of the new collaboration, Hyundai Motor India will now be connecting over 7,000 Jio-bp pulse charging points across more than 300 Indian cities directly into its myHyundai application. Through this, the total number of available charging points through myHyundai app grows to more than 37,000, thereby making charging options readily available for EV customers at one place.

From Charger Hardware to Software-Driven Charging

The primary purpose of this collaboration is to offer improved accessibility and convenience for EV charging stations using a digitally integrated approach. Rather than drivers having to search across multiple charging apps, the myHyundai platform can allow drivers to be connected to more of the charging network through a single platform.

This highlights the increasing significance of interoperability within the EV ecosystem. With individual charge point operators running their own networks, apps and payment systems, incompatible digital ecosystems can fragment the public charging experience for EV drivers. Software linking networks together can reduce this fragmentation.

 

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Driven by the need for alternatives to traditional lithium-ion solutions, India’s push for the indigenous iron-air battery system utility-scale testing is to begin at NTPC’s Simhadri Super Thermal Power Station (STPS) in Andhra Pradesh. To be executed under the aegis of the Atal Incubation Centre – Anna University (AIC-AU) and scheduled to commence in August 2026, the pilot will test deep-tech start up Meine Electric’s long-duration energy storage (LDES) solution.

From Iron and Air to Long-Duration Storage

Iron-air batteries generate stores and release electrical energy through an electrochemical reaction that undergoes oxidation and reduction reactions an iron-based negative electrode and utilizing oxygen contained in ambient air. Discharging occurs by oxidizing iron to produce electricity and during the charge step the iron-containing reaction products are reduced, regenerating iron. This chemistry adds an alternative approach to long-duration energy storage with the potential for high power or long cycle life applications beyond those readily delivered today by current lithium-ion technologies.

According to Meine Electric, the Fast Charge Long Discharge is a six-hour charge and eighteen-hour discharge cycle. In addition, Meine Electric’s technology was also independently tested by CES and evaluated on performance in terms of electrochemistry as well as operational durability and capacity retention.

Why It Matters for India’s EV Ecosystem

At present, the applications of the Simhadi pilot are more focused on stationary energy storage than on the EV traction applications, but it has future relevance to electric mobility since long-duration storage technology could enable the use of renewables, increase grid flexibility, and provide more reliable power supply.

In the future, with EV charging networks scaling up in India, large scale storage could eventually help charging infrastructure to balance the variations between renewable electricity generation and EV demand. This is especially the case in higher power charging hubs and corporate EV fleets.

The post Beyond Lithium-Ion: India Tests Indigenous Iron-Air Batteries for Long-Duration Energy Storage appeared first on ELE Times.

With the increasing growth rate of electrical vehicle adoption in India, a paramount concern of battery reliability, safety and lifespan arises. Conventionally, Battery Management Systems (BMS) have monitored parameters such as voltage, current and temperature constantly. But with the modern technology approach of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), battery management could be transformed from conventional monitoring into a predictive system capable of identifying degradation patterns, detecting abnormalities, estimating battery health, and supporting predictive maintenance.

One key application is a State of Health (SoH) prediction, that represents the state of the battery compared to their original state of capacity or performance. ML models can be used with charging and discharging curves, temperature, current, voltage and past usage history to predict battery degradation, avoiding periodic physical tests.

Likewise, Data-driven algorithms are also useful for the estimation of state of charge (SOC). To accurately estimate the remaining usable energy is crucial in order to enhance driving range prediction. ML models can be a good supplement to current approaches (such as coulomb counting, model-based estimation), especially in varying conditions.

Other applications being developed include remaining useful life (RUL) prediction. Algorithms trained on historical data for degradation behaviour may use battery performance to determine how long a battery or cell could last before a certain level of performance was reached. This might enable predictive maintenance and warranty management.

As a part of the growing Indian EV manufacturing community shifting to connected cars and data-driven fleet management it is possible that an AI-based BMS might evolve as one more layer within the EV system. High-performance prediction would again depend on accuracy of the sensor inputs, quality of algorithm and computational capacity available and to be validated across various conditions.

The post AI-Powered BMS: How Machine Learning Is Changing EV Battery Health Prediction appeared first on ELE Times.

The Blooper is an open-source USB looper that brings back the null modem concept for modern USB-C connections, enabling UART serial debugging, device emulation, and network-free file transfers between two hosts.

The Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) recently hosted its 15th Annual Conclave 2026 in New Delhi. The conclave brought together more than 500 representatives from government, industry, academia and the automotive sector to deliberate on the skills required to support India’s evolving automotive industry. The theme of then event was: “Skilled Hands, Strong Nation: Building India’s Automotive Future.” The conclave was inaugurated by Shri H. D. Kumaraswamy, Union Minister of Heavy Industries, who underlined the importance of preparing India’s workforce for emerging technologies.

Addressing the gathering, the union minister said, “India’s automotive sector is a powerful engine of growth, creating opportunities across engineering, electronics, components, logistics, software, services and employment. As India expands its manufacturing capabilities and global value-chain presence, developing a skilled workforce that meets global standards of quality, productivity, safety and innovation is critical.”

He highlighted that the shift to electric mobility is creating new opportunities while increasing demand for skilled professionals in battery technology, high-voltage systems, power electronics and advanced diagnostics. Strengthening the link between education, skilling and employment must therefore remain a national priority. Through the Skill India Mission, the Government is committed to building a future-ready automotive workforce and positioning India as a global hub for skilled talent, contributing to the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat @2047.’

Focusing on Global Capability Building

Speaking at the conclave, Vinkesh Gulati, Chairperson, Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC), said, “India’s automotive industry is at an important inflection point, with electric mobility, advanced manufacturing, AI and Industry 4.0 rapidly reshaping not only vehicles and factories, but also the skills required across the automotive value chain. Our focus at ASDC is to ensure that skilling evolves at the same pace as technology. The real measure of our success is not just the number of people trained, but how effectively those skills translate into employability, productivity and meaningful career opportunities.”

Highlighting ASDC’s increasing focus on future technologies and global capability building, he spoke about the development of seven EV skill labs across India and internationally, including facilities in Chennai, Vadodara and South Africa. These initiatives are aimed at providing hands-on exposure to emerging automotive technologies and creating a workforce equipped to meet both domestic and global industry requirements. Gulati also presented ASDC’s Performance Report for 2025–26, highlighting the Council’s expanding initiatives across industry partnerships, women’s participation, academia-industry collaboration, emerging technologies and employment-linked skilling.

As India aspires to become a global automotive and mobility hub, our competitive advantage cannot come from manufacturing scale alone. It must also come from the quality of our talent, mentioned Gulati. “Future-ready vehicles will need a future-ready workforce, and India has the opportunity to become not only a global manufacturing hub, but also a global talent hub for the automotive industry.”

Key Highlights of the ASDC Conclave

The conclave emphasized on strengthening partnerships between the skilling ecosystem and industry. The event saw MOU exchanges with Kia Motors India Private Limited; Kukje Business Solution Private Limited and Rossik East Europe SRL; Shell India; and Lucas India Service Limited. The conclave further marked important milestones in ASDC’s skilling and employment journey through the launch of its Annual Report 2025-26, the flag-off of candidates proceeding to Romania and a convocation ceremony.

Attendees witnessed two high-level industry panels addressing critical challenges across the automotive skills and employment ecosystem. The first panel, “The Last Mile Workforce: Building a Pipeline of Technicians and Entrepreneurs,” examined the need to create a robust pipeline of skilled technicians and entrepreneurs capable of supporting the industry’s expanding requirements. The second panel, “From Training to Employment: Strengthening the Skill-to-Industry Pipeline,” focused on strengthening the connection between training and actual employment opportunities, with discussions around industry requirements, job readiness and the need for greater alignment across the skill-to-employment value chain.

The post ASDC Conclave Focuses on Future-Ready Skills as Auto Sector Shifts to EVs, Industry 4.0 appeared first on ELE Times.

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the premier telecom R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, Government of India, celebrated its 43rd Foundation Day on 25 August 2026 at BHIM Hall, Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi. The occasion marked 42 years of C-DOT’s contribution to the development of indigenous telecom technologies since its establishment in 1984.

Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Hon’ble Union Minister of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region; Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Hon’ble Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development; and Shri Amit Agarwal, Secretary (Telecom) and Chairman, Digital Communications Commission, graced the occasion along with other senior officials, industry representatives and distinguished guests. The Foundation Day exhibition was inaugurated by both the ministers.

The Ministers also unveiled the Quantum Products Wall, showcasing C-DOT’s indigenous Quantum Series comprising of 14 products covering both Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) solutions developed to strengthen the security and resilience of India’s communication networks in the emerging quantum era. The product showcase at the exhibition, provided an opportunity to showcase C-DOT’s indigenous technologies and solutions across various domains of telecommunications. The dignitaries thereafter were briefed at the exhibition on the various indigenous telecom technologies and solutions developed by C-DOT.

C-DOT: Setting the Stage

During the inaugural session, the Hon’ble Ministers and senior dignitaries launched a Quantum Product booklet, which is a consolidation of C-DOT’s indigenous quantum solutions. The booklet presents C-DOT’s work in Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC), highlighting the Centre’s efforts towards developing secure, resilient and future-ready communication technologies.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Hon’ble Union Minister of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, lauded C-DOT as an institution with the potential to transform not only India but also contribute to shaping the technological landscape globally. Highlighting C-DOT’s work in 5G, 6G, cybersecurity and disaster resilience, he emphasised the importance of taking indigenous innovations from the laboratory to the market. The Minister also highlighted the importance of strengthening indigenous research and innovation to create technologies that can serve national requirements and also position Indian technologies on the global stage.

He said that the spirit of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” and “Make in India” would attain its true potential when India not only develops technologies domestically but also “makes for the world”. Dedicating the occasion to C-DOT’s young engineers and researchers, he highlighted the true reflection of each letter of the name C-DOT in their Curiosity, spirit of Disruption, Ownership and Tenacity. He urged them to nurture their thirst for invention, challenge boundaries and harness their courage and capabilities to build technologies for the future, observing that the spirit of “Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan” lies within the young minds of C-DOT.

Beyond Connectivity: Secure, Trusted and Intelligent Communication

The Foundation Day celebrations focused around a day-long conference themed “Beyond Connectivity: Secure, Trusted and Intelligent Communication”. It brought together senior government officials, policy makers, industry leaders, technology experts and academia to deliberate on emerging technologies and the evolving communication landscape.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay, CEO, C-DOT, said, “C-DOT’s journey over the past 42 years has been driven by its commitment to developing indigenous technologies for the nation. As telecommunications move beyond conventional connectivity, our focus is expanding towards secure, trusted and intelligent communication systems. Through our work in cybersecurity, quantum-secure communications, 6G and other emerging areas, C-DOT remains committed to strengthening India’s technological self-reliance and contributing to the development of globally competitive telecom technologies.”

The 43rd Foundation Day celebrations showcased C-DOT’s commitment to advancing indigenous research and innovation and contributing to the development of a secure, trusted and future-ready digital communications ecosystem. As it enters its 43rd year, C-DOT continues its research and development efforts in 6G, quantum-secure communications and other emerging technologies. This is in line with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and India’s ambition of positioning the country as a global leader in next-generation, trusted connectivity.

Quantum Product Series Unveiled at C-DOT at Foundation Day

Q-AKSHAY CD is a compact, fibre-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system based on Coherent One Way (COW) and Differential Phase Shift (DPS) protocols in a compact 1U size. It enables secure quantum key generation and distribution over fibre networks.

Q-AKSHAY MD is a fibre-based QKD system based on the Measurement Device Independent (MDI) protocol, offering enhanced security against vulnerabilities associated with measurement devices. It represents C-DOT’s next-generation approach to secure quantum key distribution.

C-SPD is a Single-Photon Detector, a critical sub-module used in quantum communication systems.

C-RD is a wideband RF driver designed to drive intensity and phase modulators used in quantum communication systems. It serves as a critical sub-module for enabling high-performance quantum communication applications.

Q-SETU is a quantum-safe encryptor designed to secure Layer 3 communications with a throughput of up to 80 Mbps. It incorporates NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms to protect data against emerging quantum-era threats.

Q-MAHASETU is a next-generation, commercial-grade quantum-safe encryptor supporting Layer 2/3 networks with throughput of up to 40 Gbps. It uses NIST PQC algorithms to provide high-speed, quantum-resistant protection for enterprise and critical communication networks.

Q-VIKRAM is a defence-grade quantum-safe encryptor providing up to 1 Gbps throughput for Layer 2/3 networks. It incorporates NIST PQC algorithms to provide enhanced protection for sensitive and strategic communications.

Q-AMOGH is a high-speed quantum-safe optical encryptor providing up to 200 Gbps throughput at Layer 1. Based on NIST PQC algorithms, it is designed to secure high-capacity optical communication links against emerging quantum threats.

Q-DARSHAN is a quantum-safe video IP phone incorporating NIST PQC algorithms to protect voice and video communications. It brings quantum-safe security directly into IP-based communication systems.

Q-VACHAN is quantum-safe In-line node for IP phone, NIST PQC algorithms, it can upgrade existing IP phones with quantum security.

Q-RAQSHAK is a quantum-safe enterprise network solution designed to protect enterprise communications and network infrastructure. It incorporates NIST PQC algorithms to provide protection against current and future cryptographic threats.

Q-VAAYU is a quantum-safe wireless point-to-point network solution designed to secure wireless communication links. It uses NIST PQC algorithms to provide quantum-resistant security for wireless connectivity.

Q-VAJRA1000 is a quantum-safe access node designed to upgrade existing communication networks with quantum security. It can support technologies such as GPON and wireless radios, enabling quantum-safe protection to be integrated into existing network infrastructure.

Q-PARAKRAM is a defence-grade quantum-safe encryptor providing up to 1 Gbps throughput for Layer 2/3 networks. It incorporates NIST PQC algorithms and is designed to provide robust quantum-resistant security for strategic and defence communications.

The post C-DOT, the Premier R&D Centre of DoT, Celebrates Its 43rd Foundation Day appeared first on ELE Times.

submitted by /u/elcoanlanka [link] [comments]

My brother (stupidly) had his PS5 on a floating shelf which gave way a couple of days ago. We found his PS5 dangling down by just the HDMI cord. Luckily, it mostly still worked but the HDMI port was damaged and the image was very poor and glitchy. I’ve been into electronics (mostly Arduino) for a couple of years now and even though I bought myself a hot air rework station a long time ago, it was my first time using it this weekend. We got a replacement HDMI kit from amazon and I did the replacement this evening. It took me quite a while to figure out the process but I’m glad to say he’s now gaming with a good image once again! submitted by /u/BaileyEP [link] [comments]

Важливі оновлення та новини корпоративного середовища Google Workspace for Education (домени @edu.kpi.ua та @lll.kpi.ua) для студентів і викладачів KPI4U-2 пн, 08/31/2026 - 21:10

Japan-based Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd has established mass production of 4-inch indium phosphide (InP) epitaxial wafers at its Ibaraki Works in Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, and has begun selling the new products...

A hands-on test of a small lamp powered by the heat of a candle through thermoelectric generator (TEG) modules, measuring real performance, efficiency limits, and practical off-grid applications.

For coverage of all the key business and technology developments in compound semiconductors and advanced silicon materials and devices over the last month...

The maximum boost ratio achievable with a single stage, normally cited as 8-to-9, can be much higher if you keep important design considerations in mind.

In single-cell battery applications such as personal electronics or power tools, where the input voltage is less than 4V, you may need a high output voltage to reduce current in the system in order to provide higher power density, faster charging, improved efficiency and a small form factor. High-boost-factor designs allow a high ratio between the input and output voltage. This article discusses the process for designing a high-duty-cycle boost topology suitable for high-output-voltage applications, while showing the limits of achievable duty cycles and boost factors.

As a rule of thumb, the maximum boost ratio practically achievable with a single boost stage using regular silicon switches is often cited as 8-to-9. Much higher ratios are still possible, however, if you keep important design considerations in mind.

High-duty-cycle considerations

A boost converter can operate in either continuous conduction mode (CCM) or discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). In DCM, the inductor current reaches zero every switching cycle, whereas in CCM current always flows through the inductor. When operating in DCM, a combination of small inductance, low output current and low switching frequencies helps achieve a high boost ratio, as expressed by Equation 1.

Achieving a high boost ratio in CCM requires a high duty cycle, as shown by Equation 2.

While in theory a duty cycle of 99.9% (and a boost factor of 1,000) is possible, practical limitations exist. Most boost controller or converter integrated circuits have a maximum duty cycle dependent on switching frequency – typically in the range of 92% to 98%. Gate charge and other parasitics of the field-effect transistors (FETs) and printed circuit board traces limit the maximum duty cycle. Additionally, the higher the duty cycle, the lower the right-half-plane zero frequency becomes, which can result in a very slow regulation loop.

Choosing the switching frequency

Selecting a switching frequency involves a trade-off between efficiency and solution size. For a high boost ratio, a lower switching frequency is preferable. When designing for DCM, the frequency must be low enough to maintain DCM operation for a given inductance value. Thus, a lower switching frequency directly helps achieve a higher boost factor in DCM.

In CCM, the switching frequency theoretically does not influence the maximum boost factor, but drive strength and metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) turnon and turnoff time will limit it in practice. If the driver is weak and the MOSFET switching speed is low, a lower switching frequency is better.

Choosing the inductor

As a rule of thumb, in CCM, an inductor current ripple between 15% and 40% of the maximum load current is preferable. A higher inductance value tends to increase peak efficiency, while a lower inductance value can achieve higher full-load efficiency.

For high boost ratios in CCM, the inductance may need to be high enough so that the internal slope compensation ramp is sufficient. As shown by Equation 3, the slope compensation ramp needs to be at least half of the sensed inductor current’s falling slope.

For a DCM design, the inductance needs to be small enough to operate in DCM at a full load for the given frequency. This can result in high peak currents. Operating in DCM is advantageous because it allows you to achieve a higher boost ratio. Typically, the inductor DC resistance (DCR) must remain small, since DCR has a strong effect on achievable performance.

Component-level design considerations

For the MOSFET, the drain-to-source on-resistance (RDS(on)) must be small, since it has a strong influence on the achievable boost factor. Gate-drain (Qgd) and gate-source (Qgs) charges directly affect the rise and fall time of the switch, respectively, and become a limiting factor for achieving a high boost factor when the driver is weak or the switching frequency is too high.

The total gate charge (Qgate) compounds this issue further, demanding a stronger driver simply to keep switching losses and timing under control. The FET output capacitance, Coss, has a small impact on the maximum achievable boost factor, as long as it does not limit the duty cycle to a lower value than necessary.

This is precisely where gallium nitride (GaN) FETs offer a decisive advantage over silicon MOSFETs: their substantially lower Coss, Qgd, Qgs and Qgate enable much faster switching without requiring an oversized driver, removing this bottleneck and unlocking higher achievable boost ratios.

The output diode in synchronous designs does not significantly influence the boost factor, since its voltage drop occurs on the output side of the converter. A synchronous or nonsynchronous topology also has low impact in this regard.

Finally, both the output capacitor and input capacitor have low impact on the boost factor; for the input capacitor, this holds true as long as the input source is strong, meaning that it has low impedance.

High-boost-ratio design example

Figure 1 shows a single-cell, 3V-to-42V boost converter using the LMG5126 integrated GaN boost converter from Texas Instruments (TI).

Figure 1 The TI 3V to 42V Synchronous GaN Boost Converter Reference Design uses the LMG5126 boost converter with integrated GaN FETs. Source: Texas Instruments

This design achieves an ultra-high-boost ratio of 14-to-1 while delivering up to 20W of output power and maintaining efficiency over 84%, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 GaN FETs ensure over 84% efficiency at 600kHz. Source: Texas Instruments

To avoid the high peak currents associated with DCM operation, the converter operates in CCM, requiring a duty cycle of 93%. A 600kHz switching frequency minimizes the overall solution size. Figure 3 shows the resulting high-duty-cycle switch-node voltage.

Figure 3 This graph shows the LMG5126 boost converter’s switch-node voltage for VIN = 3V. Source: Texas Instruments

Conclusion

Inductor DCR and MOSFET RDS(on) have a high impact on achievable boost factor and should be priorities during component selection. FET rise and fall time may limit the maximum boost factor, and are closely tied to driver strength, gate resistor and FET parasitics. GaN FETs can help enable higher switching frequencies and will increase the boost factor.

Finally, it is essential to check the controller’s maximum duty cycle rating, since this may depend on switching frequency or other design parameters. Following these tips will help ensure success on your next high-boost-ratio converter design.

 

Florian Mueller is a systems engineer and Member Group Technical Staff in TI’s Power Supply Design Services group. He has a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Haag, Germany. Florian’s main focus lies on industrial high-voltage designs for different end equipment.

Moritz Mueller is an applications engineer at Texas Instruments. He has a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Landshut, and mainly works on synchronous and nonsynchronous boost converter and flyback designs.

 

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• Should you operate your step-down converter in power-save or forced PWM mode?

The post Power Tips #156: How to design a high-boost-ratio boost converter appeared first on EDN.

Abhishek Pandey | Sub-Editor | ELETimes

​“How little smart robots in swarms are revolutionizing farming; one field at a time.”

Agriculture’s history has always been based on years of experience, sheer muscle, and eventually- better machines. Farming tools like tractors grew bigger, irrigation more complex, and harvest more automated. But even with all this progress, many of today’s agriculture issues- labour scarcity, inclement weather, skyrocket costs, depleted soil and the demand for more food- seems harder than ever to solve.

What if the future farming technology wasn’t about big machines and instead would use thousands of smaller ones to collaborate like an ant colony?

But this isn’t just future science fiction anymore. We already see teams of robotics swarmer’s-teams of small, autonomous bots working together in a group to coordinate actions, communicate, and make collective decisions-at the hands of university researchers and agricultural tech firms. Using cutting- edge AI and loT, a tight wireless connection, Edge AI, these minute devices are re-shaping how we cultivate, protect, watch, and harvest our food.

Farmers of the future will perhaps abandon expensive machinery in favour of a hundred robots the size of shoebox collaborating with a hive mind, say scientists who drew inspiration for their robot swarm from living creatures. It will adapt and regroup on the fly, even if one of its number malfunctions.

Teamwork: A Lesson from Nature’s Strongest Alliance

It might therefore surprise you that swarm robotics didn’t start out in some engineering lab. Instead, it began with observation in nature. Bees build intricate underground nests that never had any leader to order each individual around. They would fly in coordinated swarms to protect their nest and gather food. Bees have the ability to marshal thousands of workers together and fly in formations, their flight directions will adjust by themselves depending on the directions of adjacent rather than order from the commander.

Together that enables an extraordinary smart system to function based on a number of individuals’ quite simple activities. Inspired by such an instinct, the engineers adopted the concept of the design to implement the concept of swarm robotics- a discipline that entails many-or sometimes a hundred-small robots units working together for tasks that could otherwise not be achieved by a solitary unit. Each unit senses the surrounding, communicates it to its close peers and modifies its behaviour according to the information aggregated.

This collective intelligence, known as a “Hive Mind” is swarm robots, is one of the reasons that this emerging field of robots, sometimes referred to as swarm intelligence, is such a rapidly growing area for research and robotics in general.

The Need for a New Agriculture

The amount of pressure being placed on modern day farming today is huge. Weather and the climate have become increasingly unpredictable with climate change. Water resources are dwindling in many regions. There is a global need for increased food production with fewer resources, in a manner that protects the environment.

Meanwhile, many countries are encountering shortages in labour supplies and there have always been issues finding workers to support agriculture planting and harvesting. Many traditional solutions to some of these issues create others, though. Large tractors can pack the soil, guzzle a lot of fuel and often approach entire fields in the same manner, even when the crop will not require the same treatment for every square foot of the field.

This is exactly where precise agriculture starts to kick into gear. So instead of spraying a field with one spray the technology can be used to determine exactly what the individual part needs for precision agriculture. Robot swarms take it to the extreme allowing thousands of small decisions to be made constantly throughout a field.

Small Bots with Huge Responsibilities

It’s not the one machine to do it all that is forming the basis for the agriculture robot swarms. Instead, responsibilities are shared.

The robot inspects the moisture level of the soil or checks the nutrients level of the plants. Other robots can scan fields to pinpoint weeds or monitor crop health from up in the air using drones and look at single plants up close with robots on the ground. Some even deliver a precise dose of pesticides or fertilizer just where the plant needs it.

If one robot detects something abnormal, it alerts its robot peers, which can help further assess the situation, and coordinate actions. This constant communication ensures that the farms are able to respond in a far more dynamic way that older farming systems ever could.

The Role of AI and Edge Computing

The brain power comes in the form of AI and Edge AI technology for these robots. Instead of transmitting all images and sensor data back to faraway cloud servers, the majority of robots process them in real-time, so they can react to shifting field conditions. If, for instance, a robot notices a weird pattern in leaf discoloration, it doesn’t need to pause for seconds or minutes while it’s being told what to do.

The robot can scan a picture, compare it to its earlier recordings, and can send nearby robots the signal nearly in real time. Combining this local knowledge with the power of coordinated communication enables the development of a quicker and more robust farming system.

Precision Farming Done Right

The great thing about swarm robotics is that they are capable of being very precise. Some traditional spray equipment has the capacity to apply treatment across a whole field without differentiating between individual plants. But there are many plants which will never receive a benefit from pesticide or fertilizer applications. On the other hand, swarm robot design is more open.

Through the use of cameras, sensors, and artificial-intelligence image recognition, they can tell weeds apart from the plants or can identify if the plant has deficiency and needs more food. Why spray everything on the meter area, when it is not necessarily the problem. This leads to less chemical input, more healthy soil, reduced production costs and increased crop quality. That adds up to more efficient farming- while keeping it sustainable.

Benefits Even Beyond Work Productivity

However, the benefit of robotic swarms isn’t only to increase output. Heavy machinery for agriculture presses on the ground with more weight, while light weights robots make less pressure on the soil thus saving the structure for a long time.

Their electric system reduces reliance on the combustion of fossil fuel, which means lower emissions of carbon dioxide. As farmers always keep an eye on their crop, they are alerted of potential pests, diseases, lack of water or deficiency in any of the necessary nutrients at a much early stage. The very fact that problems can be spotted much easier ensures that they don’t snowball into big losses.

Swarm systems collect useful information to make better planning for the future as well. A farmer will know better on how his performance has been during a season and identify the repetitive problems encountered each season so as to have a better planning on what he or she needs to harvest next.

Trails That May Be Faced on the Journey Forward

While the technology is promising, the applications of swarm robotics are still a work in progress. The difficult and complex engineering task of producing low-cost, robust robots capable of withstanding challenging weather is a key priority for robotics researchers worldwide. Harsh environments-characterized by dust, rain, mud, rough terrain-pose significant hurdles for autonomous machines. Battery power is also another issue which limits how long robots, particularly small, heavy robots equipped with sensors, can be operational.

Hundreds of autonomous machines to stay secure, reliable and resilient, as cybersecurity is rapidly becoming a vital aspect of every automation process. There are also questions of economic nature. Despite the fact that robotic swarms help cut down expenses in the long run, a farmer on a small scale might find a steep initial investment to be a burden if they can’t obtain funding, or set up a cooperative model to share these expenses.

A Smart Future for Farming

The researchers think that it is early days for the technology. In the future, farming might involve integrated networks of autonomous tractors, swarms of robotics weeders and harvesters, aerial drones, satellites, weather models, and AI-powered analytics, forming a smart farming ecosystem.

Rather than being a substitute for farmers, these tools will likely be excellent decision-making support tools that enable the farmers to use their experience, intuition, and judgement along with robots taking care of very specific, laborious, and highly repeatable and high precision tasks. Technologies are being rapidly developed in the 5G, Edge AI, robotics and sensor spheres that are making fully integrated smart farming closer than ever.

Conclusion

For centuries, technology has been driving innovation in agriculture, from handheld implements and animal-powered plows to automated machinery and GPS-guided tractors. This latest agriculture revolution may not come in larger machines, but in millions of smaller, more intelligent ones.

Bur swarm robotics, artificial intelligence-assisted farming and precision agriculture, for example, indicate that the ways in which we can grow food in the future could be entirely different, with help from miniature robots coordinated like nature’s own organized swarms and ant colonies. The key: They’re showing that smart behaviour doesn’t always reside within an individual, highly intelligent system, but can be generated from multiple, cooperating units working together towards a collective objective.

And if this picture continues to evolve, the farm of tomorrow won’t just be automatic, but cooperative, fluid, connected and profoundly effective. Tomorrow, the tiniest hands can get the biggest job done in a field.​

The post The Tiny Robot Revolution: Farming With a ‘HiveMind’ appeared first on ELE Times.

Build a compact smart greenhouse with an ESP32-C3 Super Mini, environmental sensors, and actuators, all integrated with ESPHome and Home Assistant for real-time monitoring and automation.

Prashant Verma | Sub-Editor | ELETimes

Modern electronic devices are becoming smart and more efficient with the passage of time. They give high-performance computing power, 5G speed network support, auto pilot mode in EVs like Tesla, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and cloud computing. These features have made human life more comfortable than before because now modern processors can integrate tens of billions of transistors on a single silicon die by using advanced manufacturing nodes. These innovations in semiconductors significantly improve computational performance. However, they also introduce a critical engineering challenge such as managing heat while maintaining a stable power supply throughout the chip.

A single operation in electronic devices can allow billions of transistors to operate simultaneously at frequencies exceeding several gigahertz and thus generate a substantial amount of heat. If the generated heat is not effectively dissipated, the chip’s temperature rises which can cause performance degradation or lagging of a system. Thus, thermal management plays a significant role in maintaining the temperature of semiconductor devices to ensure that the chip’s temperature is constant throughout the operation.

Understanding Heat Generation in Semiconductor Devices​

Heat in semiconductor devices is produced by the flow of electrical current during transistor operation. As electrons move through the semiconductor material, some kinetic energy is converted into heat because of the device’s internal resistance.

Modern digital electronics use CMOS transistors because of their high integration density and low power dissipation. It is used to manufacture nearly all integrated circuits (ICs). Every CMOS transistor consumes power through two primary mechanisms which contribute to heat generation.

• Dynamic Power
• Leakage Power

Dynamic Power: It is the energy consumed when a circuit actively switches between logic states (0 and 1). The primary role of dynamic power is to provide energy for switching the transistor between logic states. The higher the operating frequency and switching activity, the greater will be the consumption of dynamic power which will generate more heat.

Thermal management controls this heat through the following methods:

1. System-Level Active Cooling: It provides cooling through fans or circulating dielectric liquid.
2.  Circuit and Architecture-Level Management: It lowers the supply voltage and clock frequency when there is less workload on the system.
3. Semiconductor and Packaging-Level Dissipation: It includes dummy metals placed below hot CMOS junctions to draw heat away from the microscopic transistor level.

Leakage Power: It is defined as the electrical energy wasted as heat due to continuous current flowing through the semiconductor device even when the device is in idle state. Several physical mechanisms generate leakage in modern transistors such as subthreshold leakage, reverse-bias PN junction, and gate oxide tunneling. It is a major challenging problem in thermal management.

Methods to Manage Leakage Heat

1.   Power Gating: It is a circuit design technique that reduces power consumption by completely shutting off the power supply to idle regions of the chip.
2. Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling: Lowering the supply voltage and clock frequency during tasks that require low computation power to reduce overall power and subsequently lower operating temperature.
3. Thermal Floor planning: It is a chip design technique to minimize leakage heat by strategically arranging different heat generating circuits across the chip.    Thermal Management plays an important role in maintaining the optimal temperature of electronic devices.

What is Power Integrity?

While thermal management focuses on removing heat, power integrity focuses on delivering required stable power to every transistor on the chip. This ensures that the device operates efficiently under all operating conditions.

Why Power Integrity is required in Semiconductor Devices?

The major requirement of power integrity is to prevent voltage fluctuations and noise that can cause logic errors, timing failures, and performance degradation. Following are the list of primary reasons why power integrity is essential in modern semiconductor devices:

• Preventing Voltage Drop: Voltage practically drops when millions of transistors switch simultaneously. Power integrity minimizes voltage drop by minimizing the impedance of the Power Distribution Network (PDN).
• Controlling Clock Jitter: Clock jitter is the unwanted, short-term variation in the clock signal caused by noise sources such as power supply variations and electromagnetic interference.
• Reducing Electromagnetic Interference (EMI): A well-designed Power Distribution Network (PDN) delivers suitable power across the transistors of the chip that reduces electromagnetic interference which eventually reduces power consumption and improves thermal performance.

Major Power Integrity Challenges

Modern semiconductor devices deliver enhanced computational power. However, they also face critical power integrity challenges such as ensuring suitable power delivery across a chip, despite shrinking transistors size and massive current surge. Following are the key challenges in Power Integrity:

1. IR Drop: Current flowing through the resistance (metal interconnects) causes voltage loss. This voltage reduction is known as IR Drop. In semiconductors, a higher current flowing through a resistive interconnect results in a large voltage drop. If the voltage reaching a functional block falls below its required operating level, functional errors may occur. Engineers must therefore optimize​ the power grid to minimize IR drop across the chip.
2. Simultaneous Switching Noise (SSN): It is the voltage fluctuations created within the power delivery network when multiple transistors switch simultaneously creating a sudden surge in current demand. If SSN is not controlled, it can cause timing errors, signal integrity issues, and unreliable operation. Engineers minimize Simultaneous Switching Noise (SSN) by optimizing the Power Delivery Network (PDN) and controlling on-chip switching dynamics.
3. Power Supply Noise: It is defined as an unwanted variation in current and voltage on a DC power line. It includes high frequency spikes and voltage drops caused by switching regulators and high-speed switching of transistors inside the chip.

Power supplies are never perfectly stable. Without sufficient decoupling capacitance and well-designed power distribution network, Power Supply Noise occurs as voltage ripple across the chip. One of the major challenges in modern semiconductor devices occurs due to the simultaneous switching of billions of transistors, lower operating voltages, increasing clock frequencies, and high-power density. Engineers reduce power supply noise by building on-chip decoupling capacitance, using thicker metal power grids to lower resistance, and integrating voltage regulators directly onto the chip.

Conclusion

Thermal management and Power integrity are closely linked to each other. As power delivery losses generate heat and increasing temperature slows down electrical efficiency and increases resistance. To prevent any hindrance in the performance of a system, it is essential to perfectly balance these two disciplines during the design process.

Modern semiconductor companies treat both thermal management and power integrity as a single discipline while evaluating throughout the design process using advanced Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools. This co-optimization approach enables engineers to achieve higher performance, lower power consumption, and improved long-term reliability in advanced semiconductor devices.

The post Thermal Management and Power Integrity in High-Performance Semiconductor Devices appeared first on ELE Times.

З днем народження, Альма-матер! KPI4U-2 пн, 08/31/2026 - 12:00