Max Maxfield
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Articles by Max Maxfield
Making the Impossible Possible in Augmented Reality
As I’ve previously mentioned on more than one occasion, I’m always impressed by folks who can predict the technical trends of the future, especially the ones that get it right. For example, take Florian Haspinger and Alexander Werlberger, who co-founded Hololight in 2015. I just had a really interesting and informative chat with Florian.
Psst! Where Did Your Secrets Go?
As I may have mentioned in previous columns, my first position after graduating from university in 1980 was on a team designing central processing units (CPUs) for mainframe computers. Part of this involved developing custom silicon chips in the form of ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits). We designed these using pencil and paper as schematics of logic gates and registers. We didn’t have any design tools, which only added to the fun and frivolity.
From Months to Days, and Days to Hours: AI Comes to FPGA Design
It seems like every day I’m delighted and enthralled by some new use of AI that makes me exclaim, “No! What? Wow!” For example, I was recently introduced to the world’s first AI electric screwdriver. The full title of this Kickstarter project is The World’s First AI Electric Screwdriver with Eyes and a Brain. At the time of this writing, they’ve already got $188,000+ pledged against their original $11,500 goal, and they still have 29 days to go.
AI-Based Electronic Design for When Failure Is Not an Option
Artificial intelligence is making its presence felt in just about every corner of electronic design, but there’s a world of difference between generating a circuit and creating one you can trust. What happens when the stakes are high, the designs are complex, and getting things wrong simply isn’t an option? In my recent column, No Engineer Is an Island (The Butterfly Effect: Engineering Edition), I noted how none of us exists in isolation.
What If Your Memory Could Think?
October 29, 2026 - By Max Maxfield, EE Journal The concept of analog artificial intelligence (AI) implemented using flash memory as the core compute element first impinged itself on my consciousness way back in the mists of time that we used to call the early 2020s (which is effectively a bygone era, the way things are racing along these days).
What If Your Memory Could Think?
The concept of analog artificial intelligence (AI) implemented using flash memory as the core compute element first impinged itself on my consciousness way back in the mists of time that we used to call the early 2020s (which is effectively a bygone era, the way things are racing along these days).
The Rising Tide of Haptic Interfaces
I have a feeling that we’ll be hearing (and feeling) a lot about haptics in the not-so-distant future. With this in mind, it behooves us to prepare ourselves for the onslaught to come.
Synaptics and Google Are Bringing Edge AI to Life
As you feast your orbs on these words (assuming you’re feasting them early in the morning of October 20, 2026), magnificent marvels of modern engineering are being unveiled at Synaptics Tech Day 2026. Before we delve into these technological treasures, however, it behooves one of us to set the scene… OK, I’ll do it if you insist. As a species, we’ve been getting up to all sorts of mischief since our ancestors first ventured down from the trees some six million years ago.
No Engineer Is an Island (The Butterfly Effect: Engineering Edition)
I often hear (or read) someone saying something that really strikes a chord, like the lyric “I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then” from Toby Keith’s 1994 single Wish I Didn’t Know Now.
Now ANY Bluetooth Device Can Enjoy Satellite Connectivity
I find it hard to wrap my brain around how something as innocuous as Bluetooth can suddenly start impinging on my consciousness (and my Bluetooth-equipped devices) from all directions, including—it now turns out—from satellites whizzing around above our heads in low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Using Vacuum Fluorescent Displays (VFDs), Part 3
A vacuum fluorescent display tube with 19 pins: two for the filament/heater, eight for the common anodes, and nine for the individual grids. JOE FARR Hello there, and welcome to the third installment of our mega-mini-series on vacuum fluorescent displays (VFDs), with a particular focus on using them to give our hobby projects a retro-steampunk aesthetic.
50+ km Bluetooth? You Want to Do What?
About 4,500 years ago (give or take), the ancient Egyptians took it upon themselves to stack approximately 2.3 million enormous blocks of stone to create what we now know as the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Meet Phonely, the AI That Talks Like a Person
Imagine your father is a vet in a rural area. (If only I had a coconut for every time someone has said that to me… I wouldn’t have many coconuts… but that’s not important right now.) Also assume your father is essentially a one-man show. Unlike James Alfred Wight and Donald Sinclair (better known as James Herriot and Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small), your family doesn’t live at the veterinary clinic, which means your dad isn’t available to answer his business phone 24/7/365.
Harnessing AI (and Humans)
I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to feel like I need to run twice as fast just to keep up with everything that’s happening in AI space (where no one can hear you scream). No sooner do I wrap my brain around one concept than someone ambles into my life and introduces me to something else I didn’t even know I didn’t know. A case in point is something called an AI agent harness (aka AI harness, agent harness, agentic harness…). Do you know what this is? I didn’t use to.
Using Vacuum Fluorescent Displays (VFDs), Part 2
As we discussed in Part 1 of this new mega-mini-series, I was recently introduced to vacuum fluorescent displays (VFDs). These vintage VFD tubes aren’t manufactured anymore, but they are readily available as new old stock (NOS) from specialist suppliers and places like eBay. They are cheaper than Nixie tubes and operate at much lower voltages while still maintaining a delightful retro-futuristic steampunk aesthetic. My current project is called the Chronological Contraption.
Move Over, HAL. New AI Thinks Like a Chip Designer
It just struck me that—although we don’t yet have things like Jetson-style flying cars—some of the technologies we do have go way beyond what was considered to be in the realm of science fiction when I was a young sprout. Actually, as an aside, just thinking about The Jetsons made me glance up at the futuristic-looking TV sitting on top of one of the bookshelves in my office.
Instant Access to Infinite Storage with Zero Bytes Stored on Your Local Disk
In the grand scheme of things, I don’t pay much attention to business announcements about funding, mergers, acquisitions, promotions, partnerships, or other corporate comings and goings. But there’s always “the exception that proves the rule,” as they say.
New Agentic AI Engine Takes the Reins on Marketing Campaigns
As I’ve mentioned in previous pieces, I’m constantly amazed by my ongoing discoveries of all the things I don’t know, and that’s just in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) domains. Things become even more dire when we consider other realms, such as marketing, public relations (PR), and sales.
Using Vacuum Fluorescent Displays (VFDs), Part 1
CLIVE “MAX” MAXFIELD and OSKAR As you may recall, we recently completed a five-part mini-mega-series on the display technologies of yesteryear (see Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5). As part of this, we lightly touched on a wide variety of ingenious technologies. Now it’s time to focus our attention on one that caught my eye (no pun intended). For the past few years, when it comes to my own hobby projects, my retro-futuristic display of choice has been Nixie tubes.
AI’s Missing Link
I love all that modern technology has to offer, and I’m blown away by how far we’ve come so fast. For example, I commenced my career in 1980 as a member of a team designing central processing units (CPUs) for mainframe computers. At that time, most computers sat in splendid isolation. Personal computers like the Apple II were starting to appear in people’s homes, but few of us had any idea where things were heading.
New Semiconductor Tech Slashes AI Power from the Cloud to the Edge
I get to hear a lot of things in my self-appointed role as collector, curator, and communicator of technological information. Sometimes things seem too good to be true, causing me to raise a quizzical eyebrow. For example, some companies come to me saying they’ve got a great solution for reducing AI power consumption in the cloud (i.e., data centers).
Welcome to the Materials Age (We Hope You’ll Enjoy Your Stay)
When you come to think about it, many of the early ages of human development were defined by the materials people used, such as the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. Much later came the Industrial Revolution and the Industrial Age. This was followed by a succession of increasingly overlapping technological eras—the Machine Age, the Atomic Age, the Space Age, the Computer Age, and the Information Age, to name but a few.
Are You Conversing with a Human or an AI?
I just received a phone call from a famous company whose name we shall not speak lest they turn their corporate frowny face in my general direction.
Is It Better to Live with AI Running Amok or Without AI at All? (Part 2)
In Part 1 of this 2-part mini-series, we cogitated, contemplated, ruminated, and reflected on our increasing dependence on artificial intelligence (AI). In particular, we pondered what might happen if our AIs suddenly stopped working for one reason or another. We’ve already reached the stage where many people are unable to navigate from A to B without GPS. Can we envisage a future in which people are unable to navigate their daily existence without AI?
Is It Better to Live with AI Running Amok or Without AI at All? (Part 1)
I was chatting with a friend the other day (stop laughing, it’s true, I do have friends). We were discussing the ever-increasing use of AI. A couple of topics particularly piqued my interest: what would happen if AI were to run amok, and what would we all do if AI were to suddenly become unavailable. I love today’s technology, but I’m sort of glad that I grew up in the days before it became so pervasive. We didn’t even have access to electronic pocket calculators when I started high school in 1968.
Can Metaspectral Analysis Help Save the Planet?
I think it’s fair to say that I’ve been blessed with a cheerful and optimistic disposition. I fully relate to the classic Always Look on the Bright Side of Life song from Monty Python’s Life of Brian movie. If you ever wondered about the origin of this song, I recommend Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography by Eric Idle, but I fear we’ve already meandered into our first digression.
Self-Publishing a Book Is Easier (and Harder) Than You Think (Part 2)
As you may recall, we ended Part 1 of this two-part series in proud possession of our book manuscript in Word and our front and back covers as PNG files. All that remains is to actually publish the little scamp, a process with certain foibles that need to be overcome. In my case, I wished to publish both eBook and paperback versions of my masterpiece.
Self-Publishing a Book Is Easier (and Harder) Than You Think (Part 1)
I have exciting news! Well, it’s exciting for me. As I pen these words, I’ve just self-published my first book: The Life of Clive. Now, this isn’t the first book I’ve had published (search for “Clive Maxfield” on Amazon if you want to see more), but it’s the first one I’ve published myself, a process that’s proved to be both easier and harder than you might think.
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility hosts change of command ceremony
Capt. William Sumsion became the 53rd commander of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility during a change of command ceremony Aug. 14, at the shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. Sumsion relieved outgoing commander Capt. JD Crinklaw, who led PSNS & IMF and its more than 15,000 employees and Sailors since May 2023. Shipyard employees and invited guests from the community attended the event, held in the shipyard’s historic Building 460.
Verific Is Even More Terrific Than You Thought
If you cast your mind back to the 1980s and 1990s, the electronic design automation (EDA) landscape was a very different place to the one we find ourselves in today. There were lots and lots of small EDA companies, each beavering away on some clever new tool or technology. It was an exciting time to be involved in the industry. Sadly, most of those companies are no longer with us.
The Internet: If A Wants to Talk to B, Why Does C Need to Be Involved?
The folks at NetcoreNetwork think it’s time to rethink how our increasingly powerful devices can discover, authenticate, and communicate directly with each other without needing to go through a third party that may be harvesting, storing, or snooping on our data as it passes through. I was just thinking that it’s amazing how blasé we’ve become about the internet. It’s easy to forget just how extraordinary it is.
Practical AI: Don’t Work Harder; Work Smarter
For the past three years, almost every discussion I’ve had about AI processors and accelerators has eventually devolved into someone jumping up and down (metaphorically speaking) waving around bigger and bigger numbers: more parameters, more memory bandwidth, more TOPS, more… well… you name it, and they’ve got more of it.
Want to Deploy a Robotic Workforce Today? Here’s How!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but things of a workforce nature are in flux, and not in a good way. Currently, the US population is estimated to be around 342 million people, give or take. Of these, about 170 million are either in the civilian labor force or actively looking for work. One problem is that the average age of the population is rising and more people are retiring, resulting in fewer workers being available to fill essential jobs.
When Chatbots Start Chatting to Each Other
One of the many things I haven’t really thought much about before is how people test websites these days. I know how we used to do it in the early days of the public-facing internet (when dinosaurs roamed the Earth). This was long before things like AI-assisted vibe coding were a twinkle in anyone’s eye. Basically, someone would code the website by hand, with assistance from graphic artists and content creators.
2,000 AI-Routed PCBs a Week!
I can’t believe that the Design Automation Conference (DAC) has rolled around once again. Also, I can’t believe that, in conversation, some people remain blissfully unaware that you can pronounce this as “DAC” (to rhyme with “quack”), or spell it out as “D-A-C.” And to top it all off, I can’t believe I’m not there to see the latest and greatest offerings in Electronic Design Automation (EDA), such as DeepPCB’s AI-powered, cloud-native PCB routing software on display at Booth 1561.
The Rise of Generative Test Instrumentation
I’ve just seen the future of test and instrumentation and test, and it’s awesome, let me tell you! Yes, I know I said, “test and instrumentation and test.” Do I look like the sort of man who wouldn’t know if he said, “test and instrumentation and test”? (Don’t answer that.) The thing is that there is a subtle difference between “test and instrumentation” and “instrumentation and test.” What’s that, you say? You are agog with excitement at the prospect of hearing more.
It’s RAINing RFID
I must admit that I was tempted to title this column “It’s RAINing RFID! Hallelujah!” But then I thought you’d probably spend the rest of the day with the Weather Girls song rattling around in your head, so I decided against it. You’re welcome. I flatter myself that I know as much about RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) as the next man (or woman). Unfortunately, that really isn’t saying much, because most people don’t have much of a clue about what RFID is, what it does, or how it does it.
Innovative Display Technologies of Yesteryear, Part 5
Over the past four installments in this mini-mega-series, we've wandered through well over a century of display technology (see Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4). We began with elegant analog meters and then progressed through ingenious electromechanical displays driven by gears, springs, relays, and solenoids.
AI Changes the Conversation: The Network-on-Chip Strikes Back
I bet you woke up this morning saying something like, “I wonder what the latest and greatest interconnect technologies are for System-on-Chip (SoC) devices and multi-die system (MDS) solutions.” Well, this is your lucky day because I’m about to reveal all.
The Big Five-Oh-Oh!
My first column on EEJournal, The Artificial Intelligence Apocalypse (Part 1), was posted on September 19, 2019. That’s almost seven years ago as I pen these words. Things are moving so fast these days that I find it hard to wrap my brain around how much the technology landscape has changed since those far-off times. Take AI, for example.
Innovative Display Technologies of Yesteryear, Part 4
A countdown timer prototype.JOE FARR As a brief reminder before we hurl ourselves into the fray with gusto and abandon (and aplomb, of course), in Part 1, we perused and pondered the use of analog meters; in Part 2, we turned our attention to digital displays implemented using a variety of electromechanical technologies; and in Part 3, we contemplated large-scale electromechanical displays (scoreboards, split-flap, flip-card, flip-dot).
We’re One Step Closer to Drag-and-Drop Off-the-Shelf Chiplet-Based Design
Close your eyes and imagine the following scene. No. That won’t work, will it? Let’s try doing this a different way. Keep your eyes open and imagine they’re closed. Visualize a future timeline where you use a GUI to drag-and-drop chiplets onto an active silicon substrate, run simulations and profiling, fine-tune your design, pick a package type, assign package pins, press the “Go” button, then sit back and wait for your new masterpiece to arrive back from the foundry.
The Dawn of Agentic AI Super-Agents
On the one hand, I think I’m taking the incredible advances we’re currently seeing in Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools in my stride, striving to maintain a dignified persona as the latest and greatest marvels unfold before my eyes.
Are Modulated Ultrasound MEMS Speakers the Future of Speakers?
Engineers tend to be traditional. Once we’ve found a way of doing something that works, we can happily keep on doing it the same way for decades. Loudspeakers are a perfect example. Whether they’re found in earbuds, smartphones, televisions, or concert halls, almost all of them still rely on the same basic principle: mechanically moving air at the frequencies we want to hear, but that’s not the only way to make sound. Intrigued? Read on… About three years ago, I wrote a column about SonicEdge.
English Is the New C++: Building Physical AI in Hours, Not Months
It’s a bit embarrassing to realize that you’ve been wrong about something for several years, but that’s the position in which I currently find myself (don’t tell my dear old mum or I’ll never hear the end of it). Ever since I was first introduced to the folks at SiMa Technologies (SiMa.ai), I’ve been under the mistaken impression that they are a hardware company focused on making system-on-chip (SoC) devices to power artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications.
Space Isn’t What It Used to Be: The Final Frontier Has Gone Commercial
I was just chatting with Tim Morin, who is Senior Director of Marketing and Applications at Microchip Technology. Unlike many of my conversations with technology companies, Tim didn’t have a particular axe to grind. Instead, he took the time to bring me up to date with Microchip’s space strategy. As an aside, Tim has been around the block a few times.
Innovative Display Technologies of Yesteryear, Part 3
Displays are cool!Clive "Max" Maxfield Good grief! I can’t believe we’ve already reached Part 3 of our retrospective on the cunning display technologies employed by the ancients in the 19th and 20th centuries. As you may recall, in Part 1, after discussing how vintage displays can add retro-futuristic charm to modern hobby projects, we perused and pondered the use of analog meters.
Is it a Bird? Is it a Drone? Neuromorphic Edge AI Knows
Suppose you find yourself on a battlefield facing an incoming swarm of drones. Let’s assume you’re reasonably confident that most of them are decoys or spoofing drones, while only a select few are carrying payloads designed to introduce a brief but memorable period of excitement into your life. Unfortunately, your ability to shoot these little scamps out of the sky is limited. You don’t have enough ammunition, missiles, lasers, or whatever your weapon of choice might be to engage every target.
Addressing the Disconnect Between AI Speed and Wet Lab Reality
In some cases, AI can speed things up tremendously; in other cases, not so much. Take protein folding, for example. A highly simplistic view of the way things work is that human DNA contains roughly 20,000 protein-encoding genes, and the proteins encoded by these genes serve as the molecular machines that drive the chemistry of life. As a reminder, each gene is encoded as a sequence of four chemical bases—adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T)—arranged along a DNA strand.
Giving Physical AI Systems Better Hearing
Do you remember when you were a kid, and you were first taught that humans have five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch? I remember how this all seemed so obvious when I first heard about it (no pun intended).
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