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.