Inside Electronics

The IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) 2026 was held this year in San Antonio, Texas, bringing together people from around the world to learn from, network, and do business with one another. A world-class exhibition of the latest in power electronics solutions, there was also a host of other activities at APEC, well worth looking into.

This year, there were 5,452 registrations, a record, with an increase in exhibitors, 319 vs. 314 in 2025. In this podcast, a group of editors who attended the event, Alix Paultre, Lee Goldberg, and James Morra, talk about the show and the technology trends they saw there.

Physical AI is the latest term for robot and drones with a mix of AI allowing them to be smarter and more robust. The latest crop of physical AI devices include more sensors that feed more AI models to provide the robot with a better understanding of its environment. These sensors often include cameras and distance sensors like LiDAR and radar. In this episode, Yaniv Sulkes, Vice President of Physical AI at Hailo, talks about issues and solutions related to physical AI systems.

This episode of Inside Electronics, sponsored by DigiKey and Wurth Elektronik, focuses on flyback power electronics and how they are applied across different power-supply designs, especially power over Ethernet and offline AC/DC systems.

Host Alix Paultre introduces the topic and guides the discussion, while Jared Birk, Technical Marketing Engineer with Wurth Elektronik, shares his technical perspective and practical design experience. 

Alix and Jared discuss why flybacks remain important despite being an older topology: they are simple, versatile, efficient across a wide input range, and useful for both low-power and isolated applications.

The conversation emphasizes the trade-offs engineers face, including EMI, thermal limits, switching losses, parasitic effects, and safety isolation requirements. Jared stresses that design success depends on balancing these constraints and consulting component suppliers early. The episode closes with an encouraging message that flyback design is both practical and fun.

National Instruments (NI) was started 50 years ago by Dr. Truchard—known to many as "Dr. T"—along with Jeff Kodosky and Bill Nowlin.". NI recently became part of Emerson. He was joined by Ritu Favre, President, Test and Measurement Business Group, and Kevin Schultz (CTO) at this year’s NI Connect 2026 in Fort Worth, TX. In this episode of Inside Electronics, we talk with Ritu Favre about NI in general and about LabVIEW’s Nigel AI.

This episode of Inside Electronics, sponsored by DigiKey and RECOM Power, focuses on next-generation power solutions and the tradeoffs between modular and discrete power designs. The episode also covers key topologies, and how engineers can optimize for cost, size, efficiency, and time to market.

Host Alix Paultre introduces the topic and interviews Steve Roberts, Innovation Manager at RECOM Power. The conversation covers why power supply design is moving earlier in the product-development process, how modular solutions speed prototyping, and how discrete solutions can reduce cost and enable more customized, compact designs at higher volumes.

Alix and Steve also cover the main topologies—push-pull, full bridge, and flyback—and how RECOM Power supports engineers with preselected parts, evaluation boards, and combined driver/transformer solutions.