From HTTPS to SSO: How RSA, SHA-256, JWT, OAuth, and TLS Fit Together

There are lot of terms like RSA, SHA-256, JWT, OAuth, OpenID Connect, SSO, TLS, and HTTPS. At first they seemed like a collection of unrelated technologies. In fact, they sit at different layers and solve different problems. The easiest way to understand them is to start with the cryptographic building blocks. RSA is a public/private-key … Continue reading From HTTPS to SSO: How RSA, SHA-256, JWT, OAuth, and TLS Fit Together

How Machines and Computers Communicate

Machines and computers use different communication protocols because they have different communication requirements. CAN, Modbus, EtherCAT, IP, TCP, UDP, HTTP, and TLS are examples of protocols that operate at different levels and solve different problems. CAN (Controller Area Network) is designed for multiple electronic controllers to communicate over a shared bus. It is widely used … Continue reading How Machines and Computers Communicate

PLC: From Relay Wiring to Programmable Logic

Before PLCs, industrial machines were controlled largely by physical relays. A relay is essentially an electrically controlled switch. Engineers could connect hundreds or thousands of relays, buttons, sensors, and motors to build the machine's control logic. The problem was that the wiring itself became the program. If the machine's behavior needed to change, engineers had … Continue reading PLC: From Relay Wiring to Programmable Logic

From CAN Bus to RTOS to PLC: Making Robots Work Reliably 02

A digital signal may look like a clean square wave on a circuit diagram, but after traveling through a long wire surrounded by motors, power electronics, and electromagnetic interference, the signal can become distorted or rounded. At some point, the receiver may no longer be able to reliably distinguish a 1 from a 0. One … Continue reading From CAN Bus to RTOS to PLC: Making Robots Work Reliably 02

Learning PLC, Embedded Engineering to Robot Hardware 01

I have started learning PLC and embedded engineering as a way to get closer to the actual hardware of robots. I have spent a lot of time thinking about AI agents, but an AI agent ultimately has to cross a very different boundary: from software into electricity, motors, sensors, and physical movement. The microcontroller (MCU) … Continue reading Learning PLC, Embedded Engineering to Robot Hardware 01