3 Engineering Gadgets To Invest In This Year

Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. In today's tutorial, we will have a look at 3 Engineering Gadgets To Invest In This Year. At present, there are more than 1.6 million engineers employed in the USA, according to the U.S.  Bureau of Labor Statistics. As we become increasingly reliant on technology, engineers will become progressively more important, and more students will study towards a suitable qualification. Although the engineering field is immensely diverse, there is one thing that every engineer is in need of – a set of useful tools and gadgets to help them solve problems, create prototypes, create advanced technologies, and even explore new worlds. Here is a closer look at three  engineering gadgets well worth investing in this year.

Flexible borescopes are surprisingly versatile

A flexible borescope gives an engineer  visual access to remote areas that are normally unreachable by both hand and eye. They are ideal for troubleshooting problems before spending unnecessary time (and money) on opening up a machine or engine. At present, some of the most common borescope applications include aircraft turbines, large diesel engines, wind turbines, bearings and gearboxes, heat exchangers and boilers, and electronic assemblies. Rigid borescopes are also being increasingly used in arms manufacturing, quality assurance inspections, and routine maintenance inspections, making them the perfect addition to any engineering toolkit. While the market is slowly becoming inundated with a range of borescope brands, it is essential to not part with any money unless you have conducted sufficient research into the various makes and models available and what each brings to the table. Flexible borescopes can have a price tag of anywhere between $100 and $60,000, all depending on their features and durability.

Pocket oscilloscopes are ideal for engineers on the go

Although benchtop oscilloscopes feature in most engineering labs, an increasing number of engineers and engineering students are embracing the value of a portable tool. Portable oscilloscopes are typically equipped with built-in batteries that eliminate the need of an external power supply. They are, obviously, a lot smaller than their desktop counterparts, making them the tool of choice for the engineer on the go. When looking for a quality pocket oscilloscope, seek out one that is not only sturdy but boasts a varied range of features as well. Apart from responding exceptionally well to touch and taking precise measurements, an investment-worthy device will also boast various menus and measurement modes, despite often being as  small as a deck of cards. Pocket oscilloscopes typically retail for anywhere between $100 and $1,000.

3D printers brought on a sea of change

3D printers are still considered to be one of the most innovative pieces of engineering equipment available today, despite dating back all the way to 1983. Despite being in existence for nearly 40 years, these printers remain somewhat of a novelty to many. For engineers, however, 3D printers have become a staple tool that enables them to create models, prototypes, and various products out of materials including metal and plastic. Prior to the wide-spread use of this technology, engineers often had great difficulty conveying the potential of their product design to potential clients. While industrial 3D printers are being used increasingly in manufacturing centers, smaller desk-top printers are ideal for in-office or at-home use. Regardless of the branch of engineering you are involved in, you will be in need of a range of tools. Having the right tools on hand will not only make your job easier, but will also allow you to develop your skills on an ongoing basis.

Guidelines for Writing an excellent Homework Paper

For most university students in Australia, dealing with all their homework is difficult. Australian universities have a very good reputation as education and research institutions. However, to get a degree from one of these universities, students have to work hard. And doing many assignments is part of this hard work. This is why many students entertain the idea of paying for help when they have a difficult assignment. Some students would like to ask someone to “do my assignment for me Australia, please.” You can pay to Assigncode to get a paper that you can use as an example to do your homework. This is a good solution when you do not know how to start writing. It is much easier to write a difficult assignment when you have some guidelines. Writing from scratch requires advanced writing skills. Some students lack such skills. It is fine. In such a case, paying for help is legit. An experienced writer can write for you a paper about difficult topics like math or physics. This company hires writers with proven experience and education to do your assignments with good quality. If you pay for help, you must get the service you deserve. This is not a problem with this company. They have a very professional approach. They do their best to ensure all students are satisfied with the papers they get. Besides good writing, the writer in charge of your order will include different math examples when it is necessary. For example, algebra equations, statistics, and other technical content can be included upon request. Do not worry. All the writers can craft a technically sound paper for you. Thus, do not hesitate to contact this company and ask, can you help me to do my homework?”

What if Submission Deadline is Short?

Yes, you can trust on Assigncode as it's a reliable company. This company offers several guarantees to make your experience with it more satisfactory. The following are some of them:
  • Punctual delivery. You can count on your paper for the date and time that you agreed with the writer. This is a guarantee. This company has managed to deliver 98.35% of all its orders on time;
  • Affordable prices. In most cases, prices are flexible and you can find very cheap deals. A technical paper for the undergraduate level usually commands a price of $29 a page with a 240-hour deadline. Prices increase if the deadline is shorter. Hence, you can save some money by placing your order with a reasonable deadline. Do not wait until the last moment to ask for help;
  • Experienced writers. This company hires former professors and researchers in AU to help students with their homework. Currently, the company has 324 active writers. Their expertise covers several technical disciplines. These experts are recruited through a very selective process that tests their different skills.
Place an order. You can count on your paper on the date you need it. Moreover, it will be done according to your specifications. There are some other advantages to using the service by Assigncode. One of them is privacy and confidentiality. Most students do not want anybody else knows that they paid for help with their assignments. As mentioned previously, this service is legit. There is nothing wrong with it. Unfortunately, many professors still frown on this type of assignment help service. Do not worry. This company has a very strict data protection policy. All the information you provide while placing an order is confidential. The company will use this information to complete your paper according to your needs. However, the information will never be shared with others outside the writer. Hence, you can confidently ask this company, “please, help me to do my assignment.” Whenever you say to yourself, “I need some help with my technical assignment,” contact this company. You can contact the 24/7 customer support. You can give them a call and discuss the paper you need. Or you can write them a message with the title “help me, please.” Placing an order online is not difficult. First, you have to create a personal account. You fill out an order form with the details about the paper that you need and some writers will contact you. You will be able to choose the writer that you deem most convenient. Then, you will get the paper you asked for.

Efficiency? Meet HVAC – The Air Conditioning Revolution

Hello everyone, I hope you all are doing great. In today's tutorial, we will have a look at the Air Conditioning revolution brought by HVAC. Air conditioning is a mainstream engineering wonder, and much of the world relies on their HVAC for comfort and day-to-day living. Unfortunately, as a study in the Journal of Energy and Buildings found, HVAC systems come with a high environmental cost amounting to 40% of energy consumption in all residential sectors. This comes chiefly from heat transfer, but also from air cleaning processes and lost energy. Clearly, huge efficiencies need to be found in the HVAC/air conditioning sector – and innovation is providing.

The air we breathe

A large component of the inefficiency of HVAC is through the air filtration it undertakes. As outlined by Consumer Reports, air purifiers have a high energy cost when run consistently – and HVAC will often have them running throughout the year. Technology often achieves progress through miniaturization, and the same is true with HVAC. New 16x20x1 air filters and similar configurations work with HEPA technology to provide air filtration in a more efficient and less cumbersome way than current filter types. This means less need for strong airflow, less work for the HVAC system, and less energy input overall – meaning a more environmentally friendly solution.

The heat exchange

The other energy-costly component of HVAC is heat exchange. New innovation could lead to a huge overhaul in how this process is conducted. This, in turn, will lead to more efficiency and a lower carbon footprint for HVAC systems. A report by Brown University in Phys.org outlined the use of an organic solvent that could help to rapidly convert water temperatures, boosting heat transfer capacity by 500%. This means that the energy requirements of HVAC systems can be vastly reduced. While work remains to be done to achieve the engineering framework required to make this work, it is “on its way.” Noting that other methods, such as antiparticle additives, are about a 10 th as effective as this, Phys.org reckon that these new methods of operating the internal systems of an HVAC could have a transformative effect on the energy requirements of the industry – if mass produced.

Moving away from HVAC

What about other methods for cooling the air? Increasingly, airflow management in new build homes is being developed through integrated engineering. The Harvard HouseZero eschews the use of expensive HVAC in favour of low-energy integrated sensors within the home that can detect and calculate how best to address heat fluctuations. Using sophisticated air modeling and flow algorithms, it might open a window in a seemingly unrelated part of the home to cool a different room, and close it for the converse. Smart engineering may ultimately render the need for HVAC unnecessary, as homes can be effectively conditioned using only warm (or cold) outside airflow. For the time being, however, HVAC is king, and finding efficiencies within its build will be important to maintain comfort while tackling climate change. Fortunately, there is clearly a lot going on already. This is the case, whether it be in simple replacement of inefficient filters or micro-scale heat exchange engineering.

How To Stay Calm During A Complicated Project

Taking a break from work might seem like a burden, but no matter how much you love your job or believe that you are the only one who is capable of doing it, it’s important to give your body and your mind a break. Sometimes people get so caught up in their work that they forget to take a moment to recharge.

A break can be beneficial to those who work long hours or to those who work seven days a week. Some might see a break as a time to kick-back and watch work flow by, but relaxing can provide an uptick in motivation, creativity, and productivity. Everyone relaxes in their own way: some people exercise and some meditate. Regardless of your method, it’s important to have something that takes your mind off your job. There’s an assortment of ways to stay relaxed during stressful projects.

Stay Active

Work can be extremely stressful on the mind, but it can also take a toll on the body. Science has proven that one of the best ways to combat stress and the symptoms that go along with it is with exercise.

Exercising also changes the brain in ways that protect memory and improve critical thinking skills. Researchers have found that regular aerobic exercise appears to boost the size of the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the brain area involved in verbal memory and learning. On top of improving the brain’s functionality, exercising also improves sleep and reduces stress and anxiety. All of these areas lead to positive work output. No matter what industry you work in, whether you specialize in contract management or industrial engineering, exercising improves all human bodies and therefore improves the work functionality of any employee.

Meditation

Another way to relax that has gained immense popularity over the past decade is meditation. To improve your ability to meditate try using Nag Champa incense, which has a great history of high-quality products. It seems like every week a new study emerges to illustrate a new benefit of meditation. Researchers all over the world, including some from prestigious institutions, are studying meditation’s benefits and the results are widespread. Similar to exercising, meditation reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety, improves the brain’s functionality, and helps our overall psychological well-being. Another benefit of meditation is the improvements to concentration and attention. Since the strong focus of attention is one of the central aims of meditation, it shouldn’t be surprising that meditation helps people achieve better focus at their jobs. There are many types of meditation, so it’s important to hop on a search engine and figure out which meditation method is best for you.

Relaxing Is Important

Complicated projects can cause workers mental and physical pain. There are many ways to prevent this pain from happening in the first place. Methods like consistent exercise, meditation etc. usage all show promising benefits to the human body. It’s important to research them, read about their application, and figure out which, if any, fit best into your lifestyle. It’s also important to treat your body and mind with care, especially when work is coming down on you the hardest.

Introduction to Control Systems

Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. Today, I am going to start this new tutorial series on Control Systems. I will start from the very basics and will slowly move towards complex concepts. I'll not only cover the theoretical control systems, but will also focus on their practical implementation. Throughout this tutorial series, I will use MATLAB software (where required) to solve & plot different features of control systems.

As it's our first tutorial, so today, we will have a look at a detailed Introduction to Control systems. Before starting with technical details, I would like to simplify things, by first providing the basic concept of a Control System. So, let's get started:

Introduction to Control Systems

  • A system, whose output can be managed, controlled or regulated by varying its input is called Control System.
  • If we look around, we will find many control systems in our surroundings i.e. Refrigerator, Air Conditions, Washing Machines etc.
  • A control system can also be a combination of smaller control systems and is normally used to get desired/required output.
  • Its block diagram is shown in the below figure:
  • The above figure represents a simple control system and we can think of this control system as a mathematical equation i.e.

 X + 5 = Y

where, X is input, Y is output and Constant 5 is acting as a Control System.

  • So, by changing the value of the input parameter ( X ), we can change our output value (Y).
  • Similarly, if we want a particular output value, we can achieve it by fixing the input value.

Real Life Example of a Control System

As I have mentioned earlier, we are literally surrounded by control systems, these days. Keeping this simple, let's have a look at the example of a smart fan, which regulates its spinning speed with respect to atmospheric temperature.

  • A pre-installed Temperature sensor reads the temperature, which is then fed into Comparator.
  • The comparator compares current temperature with user-inputted temperature value and then regulates the Fan speed.

Hence the input parameter i.e. temperature helped us in changing the system's output i.e. Spinning Speed. Below is the block diagram for representing the control system of a smart fan:

Now I hope that you can quite easily find different control systems in your surroundings. Now let's have a look at Main two Types of Control Systems:

Types of Control Systems

Control Systems are classified into two main categories, which are:

  • Open Loop.
  • Closed Loop.

Let's discuss them one by one, in detail:

Open Loop Control System

  • In Open Loop Control Systems, we have three main components i.e. Input, Controller & Output.
  • Input signal is directly fed to the controller, which utilizes it and generates the required output.
  • In Open Loop systems, generated output has no affect on the Input signal i.e. no feedback provided.
Example

Here we will be discussing two examples of open loop control systems, to get a better understanding of the process.

Clothes Dryer is a very simple example of an open loop system. When damp clothes are put in the dryer machine, the operator/user sets the time for drying the clothes. This time acts as the input signal for the dryer. Correspondingly at the end of that time, the machine stops and clothes can be taken out. Now the thing to be noted here is that no matter if the clothes are dry enough or not, the machine will stop because of the time (input signal) fed to it. So the output of the system does not affect the input in this case. For a better understanding the block diagram of a cloth dryer control system is shown below:

Traffic Light system is another easy-to-understand example of an open loop system. Certain input signals are fed to the controller, which then displays one of the three lights at the output turn by turn. The direct input signals can be altered to change the output light but the output has no affect on the input. As we are not passing any feedback i.e. which light turned ON or OFF.

Closed Loop Control System

  • Closed Loop Control System (Feedback control system) is an advanced automated system, which generates the desired output by using inputs, Controllers and feedback elements.
  • These systems use feedback elements to fed the Output back to the controller. By doing that, we can compare the current output with input to get errors.
  • Here's the block diagram of a Closed Loop Control System:

The block diagram above is an excellent representation of a closed loop control system. As seen, the system output is being fed back to the controller through an error detector. The function of the error detector is to find the difference in the input and output signal, and feed this difference to the controller so that the output can be adjusted. In this way, the system output is being automatically adjusted all the time with the help of the feedback signal and the operator does not have to worry about it.

Example

The air conditioner is a very typical example of a closed loop control system. The input signal in the form of required room temperature is fed into the controller of the air conditioner. The compressor along with its various electrical and mechanical components helps in achieving the required temperature. Now, whenever the room temperature changes, the temperature sensor at the output senses the change in the room temperature and the signal from the sensor is calculated by the error detector and fed back to the controller through the feedback loop to maintain the required room temperature. In this way, the required output is always maintained automatically without any manual interference. The block diagram illustration of this process is shown below:

Pros and Cons of Open and Closed loop

  • It must have been cleared by now that wherever an accurate and precise system is required, feedback closed-loop control system is the answer, as they provide the feedback and thus automatically reduces the error while open loop control systems are not reliable enough to provide an accurate output.
  • However another thing to be kept in mind here is the cost of the system. More precision and complexity mean a greater cost. So closed-loop control systems are clearly more expensive than open loop control systems. Open loop control systems are cheaper and cost effective.
  • Last but not the least, Open loop control systems are also simpler to design as compared to closed loop control systems.
So, fellows, this was all about Open and closed loop control systems. I hope things are much clearer now and we can move to another set of classification of the control systems.

SISO and MIMO Control Systems

Control systems are also classified into these two categories, named as:
  • SIngle Input Single Output systems. (SISO)
  • Multiple Input Multiple Output systems. (MISO)
SISO, as the name suggests, is a simple control system which has a single input signal and give out a single output signal. They are easy to design/implement and are used for most basic applications due to their Input/output simplicity. MIMO, as the name indicates, are complex types of control systems having multiple input signals triggering the system controller and in return generating multiple system outputs. These are larger and complex systems used in industrial applications mostly, which require a series of outputs.

Examples of SISO and MIMO Control Systems:

A fan speed control is a very common example of a Single Input Single Output system. A single input in terms of voltage is supplied to the system which in turn results in the fan working. On the other hand, a Radio system is a typical example of a Multiple Inputs Multiple Outputs system. A combination of Input signals is applied and transmitted over multiple lines to produce the required communication signals at the output. So this was all about SISO and MIMO control systems. The concept is pretty much basic but the same statement cannot be true for their applications. They are very versatile and at the same time very much used around us in our daily lives. So being done with these for now, I think it's time to move on to another interesting classification of the control systems.

Continuous and Discrete Time Control System

Before discussing the continuous and discrete time control system, it is important to understand the concept of a continuous time signal and a discrete time signal:
  • A continuous time signal refers to a signal, which is continuous in the time domain.
  • On the other hand, when a signal is discrete in the time domain, i.e. it can be obtained at discrete time intervals, it is called a discrete time signal.
The figure below represents continuous and discrete-time signals and will help you understand the concept much better.

So now coming towards the continuous-time control system and a discrete-time control system:

  • As we know the difference, the only thing needed to understand is that in a continuous time control system, all the signals (including the input & output signals) are continuous in time.
  • Whereas in a discrete time control system, all the signals of the control system (including the input and output signals) are discrete time signals.

So guys, this was all about the basics of control systems today. This topic is very elaborate including the different types of controllers and their design and everything, but I have tried to keep it simple and introductory as per the topic's name. For an in depth study of control systems and their controller design, stay tuned with this control systems tutorial by email. In the next lecture, we will have a look at the detailed Introduction to Transfer Functions. For now, I'm hoping that this would prove helpful for your basic concept and understanding. Till next tutorial, take care & have fun !!! :)

Majority Cloud Users Have Suffered a Data Breach

Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. Organizations are increasingly adopting cloud computing. It provides a number of benefits, including decreased cost and overhead and increased scalability and flexibility. However, the cloud is not an ideal solution for every organization and use case. As companies continue to store sensitive data in the cloud, data security is becoming a significant concern. For many organizations who have moved to the cloud without implementing proper security controls, sensitive data is being leaked or stolen from their cloud environments.

Challenges of Cloud Security

While many organizations are moving to cloud deployments, they often struggle with securing their new investment. Each cloud represents a new environment to operate and secure, and the organization’s security responsibilities are determined by the cloud shared responsibility model. Since many organizations operate multiple clouds, securing an entire cloud deployment becomes an even more complex challenge.

A New Operating Environment

Many organizations, when they move to a cloud environment, treat it as similar to their existing on-premises deployment. Applications “lifted” to the cloud are often identical to the versions running on-premises, which can create inefficiencies when optimizations and workflows that worked on-premises do not translate well to the cloud. Moving to the cloud without adapting to the cloud can also create security issues for an organization. In most on-premises environments, internal applications are not accessible from the public Internet except through the organization’s firewall and other cybersecurity defenses. In the cloud, which is not located behind these same defenses, a vulnerability in an application could be potentially exploited by an external attacker when it may not have been accessible before.

The Cloud Shared Responsibility Model

A common challenge among security teams is a lack of understanding of the cloud shared responsibility model. In an on-premises deployment, an organization owns their entire infrastructure stack, giving them full visibility into it and control over its configuration. In cloud environments, an organization is leasing infrastructure from their cloud service provider (CSP), meaning that they share security responsibility with their provider. For the 73% of security professionals who struggle to understand the cloud shared responsibility model, securing data in their organizations’ cloud deployments can be a challenge. This model defines which security responsibilities belong to the CSP, customer, or are shared between them. A lack of understanding of these responsibilities and the tools that a CSP provides to secure a cloud deployment can leave an organization open to attack.

A Multitude of Cloud Services

For security professionals struggling to secure a single cloud deployment, the fact that most organizations have a multi-cloud deployment only complicates the issue. For each cloud environment, the security team needs to learn how to properly configure the security controls provided by the CSP. Since these security controls vary from CSP to CSP, the learning curve for securing an organization’s entire range of cloud resources can be extremely steep. And this only covers the cloud-based resources that the organization’s security team has authorized and has visibility and control over. In many organizations, employees trying to more efficiently perform their job responsibilities may move sensitive data to the cloud without authorization. These cloud resources make it easy to share data with other authorized parties through sharing links, but these same links (which make the data accessible to anyone with the URL) also make the data much more vulnerable to being breached.

The Cloud and Data Protection

One of the clearest indicators of the challenges of securing the cloud is the number of cloud users who have been the victim of a data breach. Over half of companies with a cloud deployment have breached sensitive data through their cloud services. However, this high rate of data breaches is not surprising considering how organizations use their cloud deployments:
  • 26% of companies store sensitive data in the cloud.
  • 49% of data in the cloud is eventually shared.
  • 10% of data shared in the cloud uses a public link.
  • 91% of cloud users do not encrypt data in the cloud.
The cloud provides a great deal of valuable functionality to its users. However, it also represents a significant threat to an organization’s data security. A platform located outside of the organization’s network that is accessible via the public Internet and has built-in collaboration capabilities that easily enable insecure data sharing make it extremely easy for sensitive data stored there to be breached.

Securing Your Cloud Deployment

When securing a cloud deployment, especially one spanning multiple different CSPs’ platforms, it is important to design and deploy a cloud-focused security strategy. While CSPs commonly offer configuration settings to secure data and applications stored on their infrastructure, the available settings vary from provider to provider, making it difficult to enforce consistent security policies and controls across an organization’s entire network environment. Securing the cloud requires cloud-focused and cloud-native solutions. As many organizations use the cloud to host web applications, a cloud-native web application firewall (WAF) is essential for protecting these cloud-based resources. Organizations also require data security solutions to ensure that data is properly encrypted in the cloud and monitored to ensure that it is not being inappropriately uploaded to the cloud or shared using cloud collaboration tools. With over half of cloud users experiencing a data breach, protecting data in the cloud is a serious problem. Any organization using cloud computing must evaluate how they are currently securing their cloud resources and deploy defenses to close any gaps endangering their sensitive and valuable data.

IR Proximity Sensor Library for Proteus

Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. In today's tutorial, I am going to share a new IR Proximity Sensor Library for Proteus. Proximity Sensors are not available in Proteus and we are sharing its Proteus library for the first time. So far, I have only shared Proteus Libraries of digital sensors but today I am sharing an analog sensor, so too excited about it. In the next few days, I will keep on sharing Proteus Libraries of different analog sensors, so if you want any sensor in Proteus, then let me know in the comments. IR Proximity Sensors are used to detect hurdles/obstacles placed in their path. They are normally used on robots for path navigation and obstacle avoidance. So, let's have a look at How to download and simulate IR Proximity Sensor Library for Proteus: Note:

IR Proximity Sensor Library for Proteus

  • First of all, download this IR Proximity Sensor Library for Proteus, by clicking the below button:
IR Proximity Sensor Library for Proteus
  • It's a .zip file, which will have two folders in it i.e. Proteus Library & Proteus Simulation.
  • Open Proteus Library Folder, it will have 3 files, named as:
    • IRProximitySensorTEP.IDX
    • IRProximitySensorTEP.LIB
    • IRProximitySensorTEP.HEX
  • Place these three files in the Library folder of your Proteus software.
Note:
  • After adding these library files, open your Proteus ISIS software, or restart it if it's already open.
  • In the component's search box, make a search for IR Proximity.
  • If you have installed the Library successfully, then you will get similar results, as shown in the below figure:
  • As you can see in the above figure that we have two IR Proximity sensors.
  • When it comes to functionality, both sensors are exactly the same, they just have different colors.
  • Now simply place these IR Proximity Sensors in your Proteus workspace, as shown in the below figure:
  • As you can see in the above figure, I have placed both of these IR Proximity sensors in my Proteus workspace.
  • This sensor has 4 pins in total, which are:
    • V ( Vcc ): We need to provide +5V here.
    • G ( Gnd ): We need to provide Ground here.
    • O ( Out ): It's an analog output signal from the sensor.
    • TestPin: It's solely for simulation purposes, we don't have this pin in a real IR sensor.
  • As we can't actually place an obstacle in front of this sensor in Proteus simulation, that's why I have used this TestPin.
  • If we change the value of TestPin from 0V to 5V then that means the obstacle is coming close.

Adding Sensor's Hex File

  • Lastly, we need to add the Sensor's Hex File, which we have downloaded and placed in the Library folder.
  • So, in order to do that, right-click on your IR sensor and then click on Edit Properties.
  • You can also open the Properties Panel by double-clicking on the sensor.
  • Here, in the Properties Panel, you will find Sensor's Hex File Section.
  • Click on the Browse button and add IRProximitySensorTEP.HEX file here, as shown in the below figure:
  • After adding the Sensor's Hex File, click on the OK button to close the Properties Panel.
  • Our IR Proximity Sensor is now ready to simulate in Proteus ISIS.
  • Let's design a small circuit, in order to understand the working of this IR Proximity Sensor.

Proteus Simulation of IR Proximity Sensor

  • First of all, let's design a simple circuit, where I am attaching a variable resistor with the Test Pin & I am adding a Voltmeter at the Output pin, as shown in the below figure:
  • Using this variable resistance, we can change the voltage on Test Pin.
    • If TestPin has 0V, means we don't have any obstacle in front of the sensor.
    • If TestPin has 5V, implies that something's placed right in front of the sensor.
  • So, let's have a look at How the output value will change when we change the voltage on TestPin.
  • At the Output Pin, I have placed an LC filter, which is also not required in real hardware implementation.
  • But I have to use this filter in Proteus Simulation, as Proteus provides the Peak to Peak value and we need to convert that value into Vrms.
  • So, if you are working on a real sensor then you don't need to add this inductor or capacitor.
  • Now, let's run this Proteus Simulation and if you have done everything correctly, then you will get similar results:
  • I have shown three different scenarios in the above figure:
    • In the first image, the variable resistor is at 100%, thus providing 0V at TestPin. That's why we got 0V at Output and hence no obstacle detected.
    • In the second image, the variable resistor is around 50%, thus providing around 2.5V at TestPin. So, we are getting around 2.5V at Output and hence obstacle detected in close range.
    • In the third image, the variable resistor is around 0%, thus providing around 5V at TestPin. So, we are getting around 5V at Output and hence obstacle's just in front of the sensor.
  • I have placed this simulation in the above zip file, so play with it and don't forget to add the Sensor's Hex File.
So, that was all for today. I hope this IR Proximity Sensor Library will help engineering students in simulating their course projects. I will interface this IR sensor with Arduino and other Microcontrollers and will share their simulations. If you have any issues, then ask in the comments and I will help you out.

How Does Bandwidth Affect Website Performance?

Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. In today's tutorial, we will have a look at How Does Bandwidth Affect Website Performance? Today we're going to discuss something that everyday users and new website owners sometimes find confusing i.e. bandwidth. How much bandwidth is enough, and what happens when you have too little. Is it possible to squeeze data through if it's insufficient? Can you get more? Before we get into those questions, it helps to explain what bandwidth is and how it works.

What is Bandwidth?

Simply put, bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that can travel through your internet connection at any given time. For example, a standard gigabit Ethernet connection has a bandwidth of 1000 Mpbs (megabits per second), which means that about 125 megabytes of data can travel through your connection per second. You should note that a megabit and a megabyte are not the same thing. Megabits are the speed data travels within your connection, where magabytes refers to the size of a file. However, having high bandwidth doesn't necessarily equal speed, just capacity. The type and size of files is what determines how fast and efficient your pages load and how well the site functions overall.

How Does Bandwidth Affect Website Performance?

Inadequate bandwidth affects website performance in several ways, including:
  • Download speed, which is the amount of time it takes to download a page or file
  • Latency, which is the amount of time it rakes a query to travel from the browser to the server
  • Bounce rates, which is the rate at which people visit your site and leave immediately
  • User experience (UX), or the amount of enjoyment or usefulness guests experience when visiting your website
All of these things tie together to determine your position in the search engine results (SERPs) and inline reputation. Google and your potential customers take these metrics very seriously, and so should you.

How Much Bandwidth Do You Need?

When determining your internet requirements, you want to have enough space to create new projects without affecting core function or draining resources. Text-only websites require very little bandwidth. You can usually get away with about 25 Mbps. The more bells and whistles you add, the more you’re going to need to depend upon the allotted resources of your hosting service and ISP. However, content on your website isn't the only thing that affects site speed. Ads and other external content play their part in slowing you down. In order to calculate the amount of bandwidth to keep your traffic happy and pages fast and efficient, measure the average size of your web pages in kilobytes, multiply that figure by the average number of visitors per month, and multiply the result by the average number of page views per visitor. That equation should give you a pretty good estimate, but bandwidth can be eaten up by other factors that you will need to control in order to get the level of data transfer you're paying for.

How to Optimize Your Bandwidth

Changes in layout, such as adding a new theme or features, content type, traffic flow, and scalability also affect bandwidth, speed, and latency. Even bad neighbors can affect your website performance if you're on a shared hosting plan. When you're building a website, it's essential to test it to determine what components, if any, are affecting speed and latency. A decent hosting service should include speed tests as a feature in your plan, If not, there are various plugins for web builders like WordPress as well as some standalone testing tools. One of the best is Pingdom, and it's free. Outside of buying enough bandwidth to cover your requirements, there are several ways that you can tweak your website and improve performance.
  • Enable caching: When you enable caching, the user-side browser won't have to keep loading your page every time someone visits your page.
  • Optimize images: Bigger images eat up bandwidth. Reduce file sizes, convert files to Jpeg, or consider using only one featured image rather than a gallery.
  • Move some media offsite: Consider linking video thumbnails to Your YouTube channel and create a gallery that's accessible from your Instagram. Get rid of any gifs or other cute but unnecessary animations, and don't use flash.
  • Optimize HTML and other coding: Minify JS and CSS code, get rid of HTML that isn't needed, remove comments, and eliminate any unnecessary tags or white space.
With the above tips and information, you should be able to create a website that's functional, fast, and aesthetically pleasing.

Final Thoughts

The bandwidth requirements for website hosting are not the same as what you would need from an internet service provider for routine browsing or even gaming and steaming at home. While it's inconvenient to have your browser freeze or system crash at the critical part of a movie, having this happen while customers are trying to place an order will adversely affect your whole business. In addition to speed and reliability, your website should be secure. Using plugins and antivirus/anti-malware apps is a start, but you can further harden your website by installing a VPN on your router and any device you use to access your website. This is an especially good practice for developers, who often require stricter privacy during app production and may have multiple clients or team members accessing works in progress. Just remember to use security best practices like setting permissions according to role, use two factor authentication to limit access, remove the default login, and set parameters to lock the login after a small number of failed attempts and you should be fine. Bandwidth determines how fast your website performs and can affect reliability. In order to make the best hosting and design decisions, you need to know how much bandwidth is adequate for optimal performance with room to scale or handle unexpected traffic spikes without crashing or freezing.

Engineering Risk Management: How Professionals Approach Potential Pitfalls

Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. In today's tutorial, we will have a look at Engineering Risk Management in detail. Risk management is a process used by companies to identify and avoid potential costs, schedule as well as technical/performance risks to a system. Once that is done, a proactive and structured approach is taken to be able to manage the number of negative impacts it may have to a company, respond immediately upon their occurrence and identify potential causes as to why such a thing happened. In other words, risk management involves minimizing potential risks before they occur throughout the life of a project or a product. And it’s not a one-time process, it involves a continuous approach to anticipating and averting an engineering risk so that a project isn’t adversely affected. The definitions, goals, and methods of risk management vary in the context of security, engineering, project management, Financial portfolios, public health, and safety, or industrial processes. To make things less complicated, let’s go over exactly how a risk management process works:

Risk? ?Management? ?Process?

The process of risk management involves the following steps:
  • Risk identification
  • Risk analysis
  • Risk mitigation
  • Making a plan
  • Risk monitoring

Risk Identification

The first step in the engineering risk management process is risk identification. The aim of this process is to obviously identify potential and or possible risks to a product or project. This is done by examining the projects, processes as well as requirements to identify and document those risks. Some Industries end companies established risk checklists based on experience from previous projects. These checklists are very useful to the project team and project manager in determining the risks on the checklist and expanding the team’s thinking. Past experiences can be very valuable resources and identifying possible risks on projects. Another method in identifying potential risks involves identifying the sources of the risks by category. Some potential risk categories include:
  • Cost
  • Technical
  • Client
  • Schedule
  • Weather
  • Contractual
  • Political
  • Financial
  • People
  • Environmental

Risk Analysis

Once the risks have been identified, the next step in the process is engineering risk analysis. This involves systematically evaluating each of the risks that have been identified and approved in order to estimate the chances of occurrence and consequences of the occurrence. Measuring the risks can either be simple like when it concerns the value of a lost building, or even difficult or impossible like when it comes to the probability of an unlikely event that would occur in the future. There is no best approach for a certain risk category. Risk analysis approaches are sometimes lumped into quantitative and qualitative methods. There are some risk events that are more likely to occur than others, and the cost of each risk varies greatly. That’s why it’s important to make the best-educated guess as possible so that proper implementation of the risk management plan can be prioritized. To learn more about how you can make a proper plan to avoid injuries and other adverse impacts, click here.

Risk Mitigation

Now that the risk has been identified and analyzed, the company constructs a risk mitigation strategy, which falls into four of the following main categories:
Risk Avoidance
This means making another type of strategy with a high chance of success but I don’t much deeper cost. This process usually involves using existing technologies other than new ones, even if the new methods may prove to have better results and lower costs. Avoiding might also me preventing risks, but it also means missing out on possible gains as well, such as more profits and low cost.
Risk-Sharing
This is when organizations partner with others to share the responsibility of any risk that may occur. Most companies that work on International projects, reduce legal, labor, political, and other types of risks by making a joint venture with a company within that nation.
Risk Reduction
This is when a company invests funds to reduce a project’s risks. A project manager could hire an expert to review a project’s technical plans or cost estimate to boost confidence in the plan as well as reduce the likelihood of the risk occurring.
Risk Transfer
This means that the risks involved with a project are shifted to another party. One example of a risk-transferring method is by purchasing insurance on particular items.

Making? ?A? ?Plan?

Now comes the part where you make a plan and choose the most suitable countermeasures or controls to reduce the severity of each risk. This includes having plans developed for high, medium, and low-level risks. In other words, you and your team need to develop a contingency plan when a potential risk is likely to occur and could very well impede the chances of success for that particular project or goal. For example, the risk of being struck by truck drivers can be averted by taking the train to transport essential equipment for the project.

Risk Monitoring?

Lastly, there is risk monitoring which can also be known as engineering risk assessment. This helps us evaluate a risk handling activity’s effectiveness against established metrics and provide us with feedback on other risk management process steps. Monitoring may also provide us with the means to update our risk-mitigating plans, where we can develop additional mitigating strategies and preventive measures.

Factors To Assess While Looking For Software Outsourcing

Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. In today's tutorial, we will have a look at Factors To Assess While Looking For Software Outsourcing. When you decide to outsource the software development of your company, there's a lot of factors you need to consider before making a decision. There should be a thorough research of options available, and shortlisted names should be the best for you. You need to look for the desired features that you can get in the decided budget. It's essential to not be in haste while taking a decision and understanding each factor as it determines your company's future and efficiency. Here's a list of critical factors you need to assess while looking for software outsourcing -

Experience in the industry

Looking for experts with innate expertise in a specific sector increases the chance of the final product being flawless. Be proactive and look for companies that list down the industries they specialize in. For example, a company dealing with healthcare software will be your best choice when looking for designing specific health-related software. Getting along with a highly customized and specialized company like BairesDev is your chance to get an excellent service.

Required technical skills and expertise

A crucial factor in determining what company is best for you is going through the technical skills and knowledge they offer. When looking for a perfect choice first, it's essential to survey what you need and what each candidate's portfolio provides. The technical skills can be designing the logistics of software, speed-related issues, or creating specific functions. This factor is crucial as you need to go to someone who will deliver your desired results.

Quality provided 

If there's one thing that cannot be compromised is on is the variety offered. You have to be extremely sure and cross-check from reviews and other customers regarding the quality provided. Software outsourcing is tedious, and you need to be sure that your efforts to select someone don't go to waste. The selected candidates should conduct frequent checks that ensure quality is not compromised. Sometimes the right quality product can cost you a higher amount, but it is always worth it.

Cost 

The most significant factor that needs to be considered while outsourcing software development for your company is the cost. You should determine a specific budget and stick to it. It's also essential to remember that the cheapest product is not always the best and the highest paid product can cause problems too. Cost is a function of all the other factors, and it's dependent on what type of skills, expertise level, and quality you seek. Decide the cost based on the fact that all your requirements are met.

Geography of the provider

The market today is flooded with thousands of options for software outsourcing. It's important to remember the geography and where your work will be done. Effective communication is essential and selecting a company that has the same time zone as you can be the right choice. Other factors that are determined by geography are low inflation rates, political stability, and how compatible both cultures are.

Learn more about the providers 

It's crucial to put each of your candidates to the test. Learn more about their strengths and weaknesses. You also need to take into consideration what is their approach towards software development, their experience in this industry, the last projects, risks involved, and how they stand apart from their competitors. Before finalizing someone, ask them to walk you through how they work and what it is that they value the most. Before you brief them on the project, be sure not to give them complete details of your project. Don't get too technical until cultural and methodological compatibilities are met.

Engagement models

Software outsourcing is an important decision, and understanding the business strategy of the company is crucial. You also need to decide on single sourcing or multiple sourcing. In complete outsourcing, you save a lot of money, and the supplier bears the risk.

Flexibility and scalability 

When outsourcing, you need to ensure that flexibility and scalability parameters are met. You can assess the flexibility by examining ease of work done, deadlines meeting capacity, ease of exit, and robustness.

Change management and handling 

Many times there might be frequent changes from your side, and the supplier must ensure all the desired changes are made. Your decision and changes required should be the most valued, and you should be delighted with the end product.

Intellectual property protection

Software outsourcing is a huge decision, and you need to be very sure of the company's privacy policy. Intellectual property protection of any company is essential, and the company must respect the sanctity of your data. From a business perspective, you need to ensure all standards are met.

Partnership contract

Your software outsourcing partner should ensure that a legal partnership contract is signed. Since your requirements may change, it is essential to put down everything in your agreement about how you will function and what you need.

Team interaction

Excellent communication is crucial for team interaction between the supplier. Multiple time zones, numerous locations, and frequent changes may hamper team interaction, and your candidate must provide ways to bridge the gap. There should be a collaborative approach to make sure everything works out well, and the entire process is seamless.

Effective design 

You need to answer some critical questions like - Do the design elements of the system address your goals?  Is your mission aligned with that of the provider? Misalignment of design and business objectives can cause disruptions in the outsourcing process.

Choosing the developers

It is always recommended to select a team and not a freelancer to make sure everyone works from one space, and all issues are resolved. The team leader should be responsible for carrying out all the coordination between different levels. Thus, when looking for outsourcing software development, be sure to analyze each of the following factors, and make effective decisions. Do not outsource to third-party providers without verifying their credibility. Outsourcing can save you a lot of time and money and give you the best product you desire.
Syed Zain Nasir

I am Syed Zain Nasir, the founder of <a href=https://www.TheEngineeringProjects.com/>The Engineering Projects</a> (TEP). I am a programmer since 2009 before that I just search things, make small projects and now I am sharing my knowledge through this platform.I also work as a freelancer and did many projects related to programming and electrical circuitry. <a href=https://plus.google.com/+SyedZainNasir/>My Google Profile+</a>

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Syed Zain Nasir