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reward of the group as opposed to the
reward of the individual.”
Model cars built by the researchers
use the new ASIC to take information
from inertial and ultrasound sensors
to determine their location and detect
objects around them. The ASIC is also
continuously communicating with chips
in other cars. The goal for the chip is
to steer the car to find a target while
avoiding traffic cones and other cars.
Three major subsystems consume
power in each car: the motors and
controllers used to drive and steer the
wheels, the processor, and the sensors.
Because the ASIC uses little power,the motors consume the bulk of the
power. “We have been able to push the
computing power down to a level where
the budget is dominated by the needs of
the motors,” he says.
The team is now developing micro-
electromechanical (MEMS) motors
that operate with much less power than
conventional motors. They are also
trying to combine the computation and
control circuitry on a single chip.
“We want to build a car in which
sensors, communications, computers,
and actuation are at about the same
power level, on the order of hundreds of
milliwatts,” says Raychowdhury. “If we
do, the cars should run of several hours
on two AA batteries. We now have an
idea what kind of computing platforms
we need, but we still need the other
components to catch up.”NewsMECHANICAL
“FREQUENCY COMB”
Responds to Signals in
an Entirely New WayA TEAM LEAD by scientists at the
Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM)
located in Argonne National Laboratory
have developed a device that could
improve a range of electronics. Their
micromechanical resonator responds to
external signals in an entirely new way.
“The novelty here is if you excite this
resonator in the right way, it vibrates with
a spectrum consisting of several evenly
spaced frequencies, in spite of the fact it
is driven by a single frequency,” says team
leader Daniel Lopez.
A typical resonator in an electronic
device responds to a signal with a
corresponding frequency. In wristwatches,
for example, a quartz resonator vibrates
at a specific frequency when a certain
voltage is applied, and that vibration is
used to mark the time. But a multitasking
network of devices might require
responses at more than one frequency.
That’s where things get tricky.14 MAY 2019 MACHINE DESIGN