Muse

  MUSINGS OF AN ELECTRONICS ENGINEER                                                 D.BASU.                        As   an   old   timer   who   started   his   professional   career   in   the  1960's,   I   have   witnessed   sweeping   changes   take   place   in   the  field of electronics in a manner that no forecaster in those  days might have prophesied. The world of electronic design that  I stepped into was far removed from the laboratories of today  where   attractive   engineers   in   designer   clothes   reside   in  immaculately   clean   and   organised   work   areas,   effortlessly  "creating".   Those   were   the   days   when   digital   computers   were  looked   upon   with   awe,   a   large   and   complicated   machine   used  mostly   for   performing   complex   calculations   and   payroll  operations.  Integrated circuits (ICs) in their most primitive  forms (like  a Quad 2­input NAND gate or a Dual J­K Flip Flop)  were   making   waves   and   I   can   still   recollect   the   excitement  that overwhelmed us when the first consignment of ICs arrived  in our laboratory. That excitement is understandable because I  had   by   that   time   gone   through   the   mill   of   building   a  transistorised version of a full adder which occupied a printed  circuit   board   space   of   about   10   square   inches!   Digital  voltmeters were just coming into the market and were replacing  the more ubiquitous vacuum tube voltmeters known as VTVMs. The  present   day   acronyms   such   as   RAM,   PROM,   ASIC,   SCSI,   PCMCIA,  etc.  made   little   or   no   sense   to  the   most   knowledgeable     and  the   letter   C   had   no   more   importance   than   its   other   25   peers  that   constitute   the   building   blocks   of   the   English   language.  PNP was a jargon used to classify a transistor by the polarity  of   its   majority   carrier.   The   yuppies   of   today's   electronics 

industry   feel   that   PnP   is   an   acronym   best   used   to   describe  "plug   and   play".   Mercifully,   for   sentimentalists   of   my  generation, the letter "n" used by them is in italics. Or, if I  am   permitted   to   borrow   a   phrase   from   my   younger   colleagues,  the acronyms have been chosen to be made case­sensitive. But then those were the days when the world around us was so  different.     Televisions   and   VCRs   were   not   around   but   the  availability   of   the   basic   amenities   of   life   like   electricity  and   water   was   more   plentiful.       I   am   not   saying   that   the  general   quality   of   life   has   not   improved   during   the   last   30  years. The  miracles  of  science and technology  in  general  and  computers in particular have had a visible impact in improving  our living conditions. What has gone unnoticed is the way in  which   this   has   changed   the   attitude   of   the   modern  practitioners     of   engineering.   Those   were   the   days   when  engineers   used   to   combine  reasoning  ability  with  an  intimacy  felt   towards   their   design   ­   a   deep   understanding   of   the  behaviour of the various components ­ to the point where they  could  begin to  personify their designs. I recall an incident  in   which   a   contemporary   of   mine   while   explaining   the  metastability of a flip flop circuit had the  following to say  :"As   is   common   knowledge,   it's   considered   'mean'   to  simultaneously   assert   Set   and   Reset   as   no   self   ­respecting  binary device can respond with dignity to a command to be both  on and off at the same time." Today the interest seems to be  more in  what a  packaged  Computer Aided Design (CAD) software  can do for us. For the most part, the concerns of yesteryears  about   Ohm's   law   &   Kirchoff's   law,   of   Thevenin's   &   Norton's  theorems and of Maxwell's electromagnetic  equations have been  understood   and   worked   out   by   the   very   select   few   and   either 

embedded   in   the   CAD   software   or   buried   deep   in   the  functionality of an IC. Today's mainstream designers, whether  they are designing a complex board level product or an ASIC,  do   not   need   to   fuss   with   electronics.   Databases,   expert  systems,   routers,   models,   simulators   and   a   lot   of   other  abstruse   concepts   coalesce   to   eliminate     workbenches   ,  soldering irons and above all those endearing bread boards. In  the rush to design efficiently, we may eliminate time and sweat  at the expense of excellence. This according to me is the road  to intellectual bankruptcy. Maybe my acerbic musings are simply  the   cynicism   coated   fears   of   a   bench   hacker   confronting   the  computer age.  If the above has caused a feeling of gratification among the  senior readers, I have not yet concluded what I wanted to say.  Today, in the era of high speed multi­million transistor ICs,  design engineers are constantly facing new challenges.   Among  the most trying are the transmission line and electromagnetic  compatibility   effects   in   high   speed   digital   circuits   and  megabytes of firmware for embedded systems. The first of these  actually takes engineers back to fundamentals that are part of  an   engineer's   education   and   this   is   something   which   I   have  emphasised   so   far.   The   second,   however,   takes   engineers   into  newer   and   deeper   waters.   It   is   not   without   any   reason   that  software   design   is   gaining   importance   and   in   many   cases  eclipsing   hardware   design.     Therefore   just   as   the   new  generation   of   engineers   have   to   brush   up   their   fundamentals,  their   predecessors   must   adapt   with   the   changing   environment.  Their ignorance of modern tools and methods is more alarming  than the lack of interest of the young engineer in the basics.  It   is   only   when   this   generation   gap   among   the   fraternity   of  electronic engineers can be bridged that we shall have a system 

that is totally satisfactory. Having   dealt   with   the   past   and   present,   let   me   venture   into  making   some   predictions   about   the   future   designs.   I   believe  that the machine to human interface will change significantly.  As   systems   become   more   complex,   this   interface   must   be   made  more natural. When the operator does not know what he has to  do,   the   designer   of   the   future   must   help   the   operator   to  understand   what   is   required.   That   is   an   extension   of   the  'context sensitive help' that is an integral part of most of  the   application   software   packages   of   today.   The   world   of  virtual   reality   will   change   almost   all   aspects   of   society.  Sitting   at   home   the   consumer   of   the   future   will   be   able   to  visit any market or shopping complex of his choice and order  the   items   to   be   delivered   to   his   home.   The   technology   of  teleconferencing will allow the future citizen to confer with  his   colleagues   from   his   workplace.   Important   telephone  messages would get automatically recorded and displayed on his  computer   screen   without   disrupting   his   meeting.   And   the  electronics   engineer   of   the   future   will   have     to   play   a  leading   role   in   making   this   happen   without   ignoring   the  fundamental principles involved.   I   have   attempted   to   portray   the   characteristics   of   an   ideal  engineer   by   highlighting   the   difference   in   the   mindsets     of  the two generations  of the engineers . I have also emphasized  that these two view points should merge, each benefitting from  the  strength  of  the  other. Now, I request your  indulgence to  end on a philosophical note by observing that notwithstanding  these   differences   there   is   a   certain   element   of   timelessness  about some of the wonderful things around us today that have  been   passed   on   to   us   by   the   ages   .   Predictably,   these   will 

remain   unchanged.   Therefore,   tomorrow's   engineers   (just   like  the young and old of today) while returning home from a hard  day's   work   will   still   witness   the   soft   orange   glow   of   the  setting sun light up the windows of his city. The shout of the  neighbourhood   children   playing   in   the   fading   light   and   the  distant call of a cuckoo will help his spirits soar. And back  at   home   his   most   delightful   way   of   unwinding   himself   would  still continue to be the loud recital of   his most favourite  verses from Wordsworth or Shelley while taking his shower.