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About Author
Martin Keenan -
Technical Director, Avnet Abacus
at Avnet Abacus
As Technical Director, Martin is responsible for technical marketing strategy across IP&E, power and battery products into key market segments. Martin has over 15 years' experience in electronics having begun his career at Nortel Networks, and since occupied roles at RS Components, Avnet and Altera.
More From Author
The evolution of connectivity for building automation
By
Martin Keenan
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September 20, 2021
Buildings are evolving rapidly as developers try to maximise their returns, users’ expectations change, and climate-change mitigation becomes urgent. Building automation systems are being updated to address these concerns.
Technical article
Advances in avionics
By
Martin Keenan
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March 24, 2021
Avionics sits at the heart of the aerospace industry. Here Martin Keenan investigates the latest advances in technology and the innovations that are likely to follow.
Technical article
Connecting the IIoT: an introduction to single-pair Ethernet
By
Martin Keenan
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February 17, 2021
Single Pair Ethernet is the perfect power delivery and data networking method for IIoT. Learn why in this introduction to SPE.
Technical article
From trace to interconnect: a quick guide to optimising high-speed signal-path design
By
Martin Keenan
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November 23, 2020
In high-speed applications, effects such as common-mode noise, crosstalk, and losses due to signal-path impedances can challenge signal integrity. Here Martin Keenan explains how connector choice and signal path design can offset these issues.
Technical article
The evolution of cellular networks
By
Martin Keenan
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April 29, 2020
Since the first 5G services were launched in the USA by Verizon and AT&T, 5G networks have been rolled out in a further 17 countries with South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States leading the charge and China catching up fast.
Technical article
Extending battery lifetime in wireless applications using supercapacitors
By
Martin Keenan
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April 20, 2020
This article describes how supercapacitors can be deployed in conjunction with batteries to extend their operational life and reduce maintenance and replacement costs.
Technical article
V2X: The future of vehicle communications
By
Martin Keenan
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December 10, 2019
Vehicles are about to become a lot more communicative: with other road users, with the infrastructure they pass on their journeys, with cloud-based services, and even with the energy grid. This communication should make vehicles more economical to operate...
Technical article
Switching high voltages and currents with PCB-mounted relays
By
Martin Keenan
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November 8, 2019
The growing demand for safe, robust and energy-efficient ways to switch relatively large amounts of power means that relays have an important role to play in a wide range of modern applications.
Technical article
Pressure sensors: Why you should consider going digital
By
Martin Keenan
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May 9, 2019
To give the electronic systems we design the ability to detect changes to what is around them we need analogue sensors. But the processing that sits behind those sensors is in almost every case going to be in the digital domain.
Technical article
What the growing pressure sensor market means for electronics
By
Martin Keenan
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May 8, 2019
Pressure sensors became to automotive systems in the early 1990s, but as the rate of adoption of these components increases Martin Keenan investigates why.
Technical article
Design trends: Automotive passives
By
Martin Keenan
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November 29, 2018
Cars used to be little more than four wheels, four seats, an internal combustion engine, and enough electronics to get a spark to each plug at the right time. Today’s vehicles are radically more complex.
Technical article
Security and surveillance: Two sides of the coin in smart homes
By
Martin Keenan
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July 9, 2018
The new era of home security won’t just be an alarm that rings when a lock is picked or a window broken. With the rise of new technology comes the added need to protect a home’s hardware and its software.
Technical article
Wireless modules point the way for IoT connectivity
By
Martin Keenan
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June 26, 2018
You've selected your wireless protocol, and you're ready to start designing. But should you take the modular route or build a discrete solution?
Technical article
Let your home do the work so you don't have to
By
Martin Keenan
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March 29, 2018
Today, we need to interact with connected products in the home deliberately. But it does not have to stay this way.
Technical article
Adapting PIR sensor technology to new applications
By
Martin Keenan
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February 7, 2018
The passive infrared sensor (PIR) seems so familiar that it is easy to miss the many applications that exist for it and the subtleties of engineering that guide the best ways in which to use it.
Technical article
Balancing performance, speed and cost for rugged interconnect technologies
By
Martin Keenan
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November 2, 2017
Connector manufacturers are working hard to enhance the performance of rugged connectors, writes Martin Keenan, Avnet Abacus
Technical article
How wireless power transfer can help make the world’s lithium go further
By
Martin Keenan
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September 19, 2017
As pressure on the world’s lithium reserves increases, wireless power transfer simplifies charging and enables designers to use lower-capacity batteries and create new types of smart devices.
Technical article
State-of-the-art wireless modules save time, space and money
By
Martin Keenan
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September 12, 2017
Thanks to the emergence of the internet of things (IoT), almost all of today’s electronic device designs will have to integrate some form of wireless connectivity or other. The easiest, quickest and cheapest way to do this is with wireless modules.
Technical article
Customising and optimising antennas with materials science and manufacturing techniques
By
Martin Keenan
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July 14, 2017
In an increasingly connected world, performance demands on antennas are greater than ever. These increased performance demands also have to be balanced with cost, and of course, the limits imposed by the laws of physics, which make antenna design a t
Technical article
Hybrid capacitors combine technologies to get the best of both worlds
By
Martin Keenan
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March 15, 2017
Supercapacitors are commonly used as an alternative to a rechargeable battery wherever a quick energy boost is needed, however there is another type of device on the market which combines the best features of EDLCs and Li-ion batteries.
Technical article
Sensor Fusion: The future of intelligent devices
By
Martin Keenan
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March 14, 2017
Combining the data from multiple sensors can tell us a great deal more about the application environment than each sensor could on its own.
Technical article
Designing for LoRaWAN - Murata wireless modules
By
Martin Keenan
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December 1, 2016
As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of wireless modules for smartphones, including supplying some of the very biggest names in the market, Murata knows a thing or two about wireless technologies, and also about manufacturing modules.
Technical article
NFC vs. Bluetooth beacons: More different than similar
By
Martin Keenan
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August 12, 2016
Bluetooth Beacons and NFC (Near Field Communication) are often mentioned in the same breath, but in terms of technology and applications, they are not really that similar.
Technical article
Evolving component technologies will make Industry 4.0 viable
By
Martin Keenan
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May 22, 2016
Industry 4.0 and the digitisation of the manufacturing sector will have repercussions for all sectors of industrial electronics.
Technical article
The internet of medical things (IoMT) bringing better healthcare for all
By
Martin Keenan
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April 8, 2016
The Internet of Things (IoT) combines pervasive connectivity to control devices remotely with Big Data applications in The Cloud capable of organising vast quantities of information and extracting information hidden in the data to enable new services
Technical article