Viewpoints

Among all the internet of things (IoT) designs that we’ve been working on, some clear patterns are starting to emerge. Customers start by looking at point-point M2M (machine-to-machine)connections and move to full IoT implementations. The driver for adopting M2M is the opportunity to eliminate the user interface, and many customers are replacing it with a smartphone app. This not only ...

Currently the IoT playing field is a massive free-for-all mix-up, with hints of star players but no real team spirit. The goal of winning the IoT match looks to be years away due to a lack of agreed-upon rules and a secure playing field. Penalty flags are flying because devices are divisive and exclusivity is the call of the day. ...

For as long as many of us can remember, the PCB has been at the centre of the product design process. This PCB-centric design approach is characterised by PCB, mechanical and supply chain teams working in silos until the all the pieces come together at the prototype stage. If something doesn’t fit or a cost target is missed, recovery is ...

The rising demands will increase the need for automated quality checks. Actually, I believe that code analysis included in the day-to-day development work will soon cease to be an option and instead become a given. It’s already mandatory in many areas of the embedded industry to prove compliance with coding standards such as MISRA-C and international functional safety standards such ...

  There will be a number of technologies that seem destined to have huge influence on the test and measurement sector during the course of 2015. Some have already started to see significant uptake, while others are only just beginning to emerge. There is no doubt that, given its early successes, the roll-out of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) across Europe will continue ...

There are many areas within the automotive electronics market where there will be considerable progression during 2015. Automobile manufacturers are starting to introduce models that have semi-autonomous control. External sensors are helping ensure against road fatalities. Via the capture accurate data regarding possible hazards, automated driver assistance systems (ADAS) can evaluate whether emergency manoeuvres are necessary or not. At the ...

We have historically experienced that while every technological advance brings its own fresh opportunities; it also creates an additional series of technological challenges for system designers. They must develop new products while addressing issues, such as power consumption, reliability, and especially security. In our hyperconnected world, it is essential that all new designs be protected from being cloned, reverse engineered, ...

We definitely see a trend emerging this year for smart operation of instruments, featuring capacitive touch screens, known from smartphones/tablets and going beyond the legacy resistive touch screens already available for some time. Oscilloscopes and other instruments are available which allow the user a multi-touch/gesture operation via their graphical user interfaces (GUI) on the instrument screen itself. However, we are ...

Robots in the home and the widespread availability of low-cost development boards are two of the  opportunities for electronics firms in 2015, writes Ashley Evans, director of electronics, techUK 1) Investment in capacity From 2015 and onwards we will see a resurgence of investment into capacity to build the next generation of nano-electronics manufacturing fabs in Europe and in North ...

Looking ahead to 2015 in the electronics industry, I see a shift left. To explain, let me back up a bit. Whether it’s the automotive electronics segment, the internet of things (IoT), or mobile devices, the consumer now dictates design in a way he or she hasn’t historically. Consumers of electronics technology now expect amazing new functionality each year, because ...