EE Times Current

The automotive industry was once so wrapped up in fully autonomous driving that it still hasn’t quite figured out what should be doing today now that full autonomy has been pushed back. The near-term focus has shifted to assisted driving (or ADAS), but one industry expert thinks ADAS won’t work nearly as well as it could unless it is paired with driver monitoring systems. This week, a conversation with the opinionated and persuasive Colin Barnden.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: The wearables category is one of the hottest new markets in electronics; we talk with Jérôme Mouly, an analyst with Yole Développement about how the market is going to get hotter. Also, a report from the Double Summits in Shenzhen. The CEO Summit brings some of the top industry leaders from around the world, while the Distribution Summit provides insights into the unglamorous but absolutely critical business of maintaining global supply chains.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: The U.S. election dragged on far longer than usual, in part to count mail-in ballots, and in part because of the controversy regarding mail-in voting. This week we talk with the company that safeguards mail-in ballots with AI-based signature verification technology, and also with a policy expert about the ramifications of using that technology.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: It is almost impossible to create a modern product in a reasonable amount of time without models of hardware, or models of software, or – increasingly – models of both before anything is actually built or coded. How that works in practice is one of the marvels of modern engineering. A discussion with Altair SVP Pete Darnell. Also, Leti in France just began collaborating with Intel on advanced chip packaging. A discussion with EE Times newest contributor, Don Scansen.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: AMD is buying Xilinx for $35B. Does the deal make sense? A chat with Tirias Research analyst Kevin Krewell. Also, a discussion with execs from IBM and Synopsys on their ambitious plans to create an entire ecosystem for artificial intelligence research. With IBM Research VP Mukesh Khare and Synopsys VP Arun Venkatachar.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: It is the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the word “robot.” This week, a free-wheeling conversation with science fiction author Mark Niemann-Ross about robots, fictional and real. Also, EE Times has just published a book that we’re rather proud of. Called “Sensors in Automotive.” We talk about that.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: Uri Adoni has been a CEO of MSN Israel, a partner in one of the more prominent venture capital funds in Israel, and is the author of the new book “The Unstoppable Startup; Mastering Israel’s Secret Rules of Chutzpah.” We talk about why startups succeed – or fail, why some countries are better at supporting startups than others, and (of course) what “chutzpah” actually means.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: An interview with Keith Jackson, who in 2002 was named CEO of On Semiconductor, basically the shell of what had been Motorola’s Semiconductor Component Group, and grew it into a Fortune 500 company. He just announced his retirement. Also, we talk with Intel Mobileye executive Jack Weast about a new formalized approach to safer autonomous driving. And, what to expect at the IoT Security Virtual Conference & Expo.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: Congress is trying to figure out how to shore up the U.S. semiconductor industry. We talk with renowned economic historian Chris Miller about the best way to do that. Also, a discussion with IBM Research VP Jeff Wesler about five enormous global challenges that stand a good chance of being solved in the next 5 years.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: We interview Georgia Tech professor Ayanna Howard. Howard is an expert in AI, in robotics, and in how people relate to technology. Also, there’s been a lot of innovative new semiconductor memories, which have not seen a lot of sales – at least not yet. EE Times contributor Gary Hilson covers the memory market; we talk to him about emerging memories. Also, EE Times Editor Nitin Dahad on what to expect from the Boards and Solutions Conference coming up in October.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: There are scores of companies making AI chips, but Mythic stands out with its approach to AI inference that relies on analog computing techniques – an interview with Mythic co-founder and CEO Mike Henry. Also, Nvidia finally announced it will be buying Arm, a few weeks after the first reports that such a deal might be pending. We weren’t sure if it was a good deal then, and we’re not sure it’s a good deal now – a conversation with Tirias Research analyst Kevin Krewell.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: Within 10 years, there will be 50 connected devices per person on earth, most estimates agree. In this episode, we speak with Tyson Tuttle, CEO of Silicon Labs, about the Internet of things and the prep work the electronics industry is doing to get the IoT ready for a significant expansion. Also, the automotive market is making some incredible advances with machine vision systems. We talk with Rob Stead, the guy who has been helping to teach the automotive industry how to see.

Cameras are already nearly everywhere recording images, but machine vision takes it all to a new level — vision implies machines actually seeing (or “seeing,” if you prefer). We talk with machine vision expert Jeff Bier about how embedded vision systems are on the verge of becoming ubiquitous. Also, distribution is about as a prosaic a business as exists. We talk with Jens Gamperl about how his company, Sourceability, is shaking up a business where innovation is uncommon.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: What makes engineers tick? We’ve been doing these surveys, called the Mind of the Engineer, every two years going on nearly three decades now. Jim Warrick of Beacon Technology Partners did the most recent survey for us, and it is chock-full of useful data. We talk with Jim about what’s behind the numbers. Also, the electronics industry loves to establish benchmarks — and then trash them for being insufficient for one reason or another. Junko talks with Ian Riches, who just wrote a report on using TOPS (trillions of operations per second) as a measure for AI processors and accelerators.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: When did our electronics become so hard to use? Junko & I lament the sorry state of nominally “smart” phones, “smart” homes, and other “smart” gadgets. Also, the Hot Chips conference was this week — we discuss the designs that surprised and astounded with Tirias Research analyst Kevin Krewell.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: The AAA just evaluated some of the newest driver-assist features in new cars and it was very, very unimpressed. A discussion on why driver assist is so surprisingly bad, with Junko Yoshida, who wrote the story for us. Also, virtual reality – the technology and the art. The VR film The Great C was entered into competition at the Cannes XR festival and emerged as the winner of the Positron Visionary Award. We have a conversation with two of the creators of the Great C, Luke Van Osch and Steve Miller.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: The semiconductor industry is negotiating two seismic events. First, Arm Holdings, one of the most important suppliers of semiconductor IP in the world, is reportedly up for sale, and the likeliest buyer is Nvidia – with Kevin Krewell (Tirias Research). Second, in the midst of a pandemic, a trade war, and supply-chain disruption, US politicians are working on legislation to encourage more domestic semiconductor technology development – with Dan Hutcheson (VLSI Research), James Lewis (Center for Strategic and International Studies), and Jeff Rittener (Intel).

The Weekly Briefing podcast: Reviving semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. This week, we interview Adam Khan, founder and CEO of Akhan Semiconductor; he is joined by Akhan board member vice admiral Charles “Willy” Moore. We talk about manufacturing capabilities, the increasing interest in semiconductors other than silicon, and the requirements of the U.S. military for advanced electronics. Also, we discuss Intel’s intimation it might stop developing new process technologies and what that might mean for semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. – and also speculate how Intel might prosper operating a full-time, leading-edge foundry.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: Cadence exec Tom Wong wrote an op-ed for us about how Moore’s Law still pertains. We talk with Wong about More Than Moore, and Beyond Moore – where the IC industry is going, and how it’s going to get there. And auto makers are famous – or infamous – for keeping their options open for as long as possible. So why did Ford just put all of its driver-assist eggs in Mobileye’s basket? A discussion with Junko Yoshida.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: Analog Devices buying Maxim Integrated is the largest corporate takeover initiated in the semiconductor industry in four years, but it’s not immediately clear why it has to happen. We talk with veteran business journalist Bolaji Ojo who explains why this is a brilliant maneuver by ADI. Also, the world creates 50 million tons of electronic waste every year; we talk with Back Market, a young company formalizing a process for refurbishing electronic devices so they won’t get trashed.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: Auto expert Egil Juliussen has crunched the numbers, and he believes that completely battery-operated cars will be more cost-efficient than vehicles with internal combustion engines within 5 years. We talk to him about that. Also, with a trade war going on, managing the supply chain is suddenly a huge priority. How’s that going? We decided to start at the beginning: basic materials.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: We just published the Silicon 100, our annual list of the most dynamic, interesting and important startups in the electronics industry. A talk with Silicon 100 editor Peter Clarke about the the evolving role of startups over the years. Also, humanitarian engineering is formally A Thing now. A discussion with Mary Pilotte, a professor in Purdue’s engineering department, on engineers helping to make the world a better place.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: The top supercomputer in the world, and displacing Intel at Apple? Arm had a very, very good Monday. We talk with Tirias analyst Kevin Krewell about it. Also, Mercedes-Benz decided to rely entirely on Nvidia for its vehicle electronics network. What can we expect now? EPISODE LINK: https://www.eetimes.com/podcasts/weeklybriefing-062620

The Weekly Briefing podcast: Conversations with ace auto market analyst Egil Juliussen on the pandemic-related recession in the automotive market, Michael Hurlston, the CEO of Synaptics, about smartphones, vehicles, and consumer electronics, and how we interact with our stuff.

The Weekly Briefing podcast: This week our guests include Arm vice president Chet Babla, who talks with us about the electric vehicle market; cars are increasingly becoming computers on wheels and Arm is deeply involved in that process. Also Kristie Mann, who works for Intel as senior director of one of the company’s newest and weirdest products, the Optane memory chip line. Those two interviews and more. EPISODE LINK: https://www.eetimes.com/podcasts/eetoa-061220/

The Weekly Briefing podcast: Junko Yoshida interviews Kurt Sievers, the new CEO of NXP, who discusses where NXP is going, and how he’s going to get it there. Also, quantum computers are likely to blow right past security algorithms thought unbreakable just a few years ago. We interview a crypto specialist from Rambus, which is participating in NIST’s program to create quantum-resistant algorithms. EPISODE LINK: https://www.eetimes.com/podcasts/wb060520/

This week: an interview with Daniel Cooley, the chief strategy officer of Silicon Labs. Cooley says there is a radical change in the electronics business as companies expand outside their normal domains; he also opines on media coverage of AI and of security technology. Also: auto industry expert Colin Barnden on empty promises, and author David Benjamin on the book “The Great Influenza,” and what the world has learned about pandemics. EPISODE LINK: https://bit.ly/2MbDi6M

Providing effective internet of things (IoT) security in new product development involves planning for more than just the hardware design – much thinking needs to be done around modeling of risks and vulnerabilities that the device might experience through the entire lifetime of the product, all the way to obsolescence. In this episode of embedded edge with Nitin, we explore issues around implementing security, understanding safety, vulnerabilities, threat modeling and a holistic ecosystem approach to planning for IoT security in product development. We also look at this in the context of connected medical device security.

Legislation is beginning to be enacted around the world to protect data privacy. The issues are: what data is collected about you, and who has access to it? The answers have ramifications for everything from our smartphones to communications network architectures. Jack Ogawa is senior director of embedded security products at Cypress Semiconductor. We talk with Jack about the legislation that's popping up, and how the electronics industry is responding. Also, TSMC, the most successful IC foundry in the world, is based in Taiwan, and it just announced it may build a new fab in the US. This could be tremendously important for many reasons; we discuss why. EPISODE LINK: https://bit.ly/2Zvt0Ge

Lars Reger, senior vice president and chief technical officer of NXP Semiconductors, expounds on the relationship between product security and safety, managing the development of safe & secure products, going green, the music of Queen, cars, and more. Also, a discussion with EE Times international editor Junko Yoshida on a resurgent HiSilicon and the semiconductor market in China. EPISODE LINK: https://bit.ly/2yFdMmZ

James is the former president of Intel and currently the CEO of one of the startups looking to take on Intel in the market for data center servers. The difference between Ampere and other would-be Intel competitors is that Ampere has actual silicon in hand. An exclusive interview with Renee James. Also: Tirias Research analyst Kevin Krewell on using Arm cores to compete with Intel in the server market. EPISODE LINK: https://bit.ly/2yFdMmZ

Engineering students demand immediate hands-on experience; the electronics industry needs people versed in fundamentals — something’s gotta give. An interview with Georgia Tech professor Arijit Raychowdhury on educating a modern engineer. Also: The traditional economic model for products ends up with a lot of waste. Engineer Michael Kirschner on why and how the electronics industry is going to have to change. And: EE Times editor Sally Ward-Foxton introduces our Weekend Edition.

Protecting data systems is a never-ending cat-and-mouse game. What if the data could just protect itself? An interview with security expert and Keyavi CEO Elliot Lewis. Also, the trade war exposed the peril of off-shoring production – a lesson the pandemic hammered home. How can the U.S. bring back manufacturing? An interview with international production expert Dan Breznitz. EPISODE LINK: https://www.eetimes.com/podcasts/self-protecting-data-how-to-bring-back-u-s-manufacturing-galvanized/

Several secretive AI startups finally revealed what they’re doing – a conversation with analyst Kevin Krewell about the revelations from the Spring Linley Conference. Imagination Technologies got itself embroiled in international intrigue – what’s going on there? And the Great Lockdown has had many profound consequences, including effects on what we hear every day – EE Times editors compile a global audio essay.

Advancements in a half-dozen different technologies are leading to a new generation of medical devices that promise improvements not only in medical monitoring to diagnostics, but increasingly active treatment. Waymo tends to be ahead of the curve on autonomous driving technology; right now it is loading its vehicles with sensors – but is that practical?

In 1965, the IC business was dead in the water. Andy Grove had half the solution, and Steve Hofstein had the other half. Their exchange of half a dozen words in a pool in Las Vegas changed the course of history. An interview with industry legend Steve Hofstein. Also, a report on election hacking; we know what the solution is. And, as the world has been upended by the coronavirus, engineers in high places have been stepping up to fill the leadership vacuum.

In the podcast this week: a discussion of Intel’s massive leap to a neuromorphic system with as many neurons as a small rodent; an interview with the programming whiz who put together a web-based multimedia presentation of one of NASA’s biggest disasters and most stunning triumphs; and a virtual conference for the coronavirus era.

Of course the pandemic disrupted the supply chain. But what about what happened after that? EE Times editors get together to discuss how the coronavirus has affected the technology industry and far beyond. Our colleagues from China report on what the rest of us can expect to experience in the next 4 to 8 weeks. And if you’re quarantined, our staff film mavens offer a list of recommended films for home viewing.

Europe is betting on hydrogen fuel. What’s the agenda —and how do hydrogen cars work anyway? Also, holograms were a huge fad in the ‘70s; now the technology appears to be on the verge of a commercial comeback. Also, AMD emerged as the big winner as supercomputers move into the Exaflops Era.

In an insanely complicated maneuver, Northrup Grumman repaired a satellite in orbit; Maxim Integrated come up with a unique way to protect IoT devices; and System Plus goes way, way beyond simple teardowns.

Sample a smorgasbord of stories from Germany, the U.S., Spain, and parts beyond. Subjects include a unique AI that can be trained on an edge device (no, really!), a ferroelectric memory, designing semiconductor wafers for 5G, and more.

Proponents of autonomous vehicles are selling a dream they’re hoping you won’t notice is unachievable until it’s too late. In this episode: why that is, and the better alternative. Also, a good chunk of the semiconductor industry seems to be pivoting toward audio. A roundtable on voice recognition, and who’s really listening when we talk to our ovens.

This week: A deep discussion on the semantics and semiotics of virtual reality and augmented reality (with a whole lot about VR/AR technology too). Also, XMOS just released a “crossover processor” for voice applications. We talk to XMOS’ CEO to find out what that means.

A new coronavirus emerged in China less than three weeks ago, and already it is disrupting business and affecting the global supply chain; we assess the damage so far, and get a live report from China. Also, the semiconductor industry creates a significant amount of toxic waste; we discuss a new process to reduce semiconductor waste dramatically.

This week...the Trump Administration has been pressuring economic allies to ban the installation of Huawei 5G network equipment. The United Kingdom just said that it will not accede to that demand. But the story is actually a little more complicated than that. Also, there are efforts all over the world aimed at building a thriving high-tech economy. It’s not as easy as it sounds, however. France is deliberately trying to emulate the organic processes that resulted in Silicon Valley.

This week we’ve got an interview with AMD CTO Mark Papermaster, one of the architects of the bold new AMD…also – a conversation with Ron Black, the CEO of Imagination Technologies, which seems to have its fingers in nearly every emerging technological trend out there. And, our editorial director, Bolaji Ojo checks in with the key question for the electronics industry in 2020 – where should everyone spend their money?

A company called Prophesee has developed a completely new way to capture video with what it calls an event-based sensor. At the recent CES show, we caught up with Prophesee’s CEO, Luca Verre. Today you’ll hear our interview with him. Also, the Consumer Electronics Show. It's vast. CES 2020 was last week. EE Times editors saw more products and technologies, and sat in on more sessions, than we had time to write about. We got together to discuss some of the most fascinating things we saw at the show, including the Prophesee event-based sensor, autonomous boats, data privacy chips, quantum computers, smart toilets, automated cocktail shakers, farm equipment, AI-powered toothbrushes… and more!

Day Three of our special series of podcasts reporting live from the Consumer Electronics Show in the Mojave Desert. In the past couple of years, the automotive industry has dominated CES, and this year it’s happening again. In today’s episode: Qualcomm made some headline news, announcing it is burrowing deeper into the automotive market. Also, a live interview with executives from Infineon and Texas Instruments about adding autonomous functions to cars equipped with driver assist capabilities. Plus, an analysis of a novel approach for autonomous vehicles from Intel’s MobilEye unit; and finally, and finally, Toyota surprised show-goers with a plan for smart cities.

Part 2 of our continued coverage of CES Unveiled. In this episode, we interview NXP CTO Lars Reger and talk with an executive of Atmosic, which has created a nifty new Bluetooth device that harvests energy from its environment to power – well – all sorts of things. Also, a live interview with the developers of a squishable portable speaker and a quick recap from the press events held by AMD, which wowed the crowd, and by Intel, which… didn’t.

This is a special edition of our podcast, with reporting live from the Consumer Electronics Show in fabulous Las Vegas!