John Koon

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John Koon is a technology editor at Semiconductor Engineering.

Author's Latest Posts

Memory-Based Cyberattacks Become More Complex, Difficult To Detect
By John Koon - 03 Nov, 2022 - Comments: 0

Memories are becoming entry points for cyber attacks, raising concerns about system-level security because memories are nearly ubiquitous in electronics and breaches are difficult to detect. There is no end in sight with hackers taking aim at almost every consumer, industrial, and commercial segment, and a growing number of those devices connected to the internet and to each other. According... » read more

Complex Tradeoffs In Inferencing Chips
By John Koon - 17 Oct, 2022 - Comments: 0

Designing AI/ML inferencing chips is emerging as a huge challenge due to the variety of applications and the highly specific power and performance needs for each of them. Put simply, one size does not fit all, and not all applications can afford a custom design. For example, in retail store tracking, it's acceptable to have a 5% or 10% margin of error for customers passing by a certain aisle... » read more

Auto Safety Tech Adds New IC Design Challenges
By John Koon - 06 Oct, 2022 - Comments: 1

The role of AI/ML in automobiles is widening as chipmakers incorporate more intelligence into chips used in vehicles, setting the stage for much safer vehicles, fewer accidents, but much more complex electronic systems. While full autonomy is still on the distant horizon, the short-term focus involves making sure drivers are aware of what's going on around them — pedestrians, objects, or o... » read more

How Memory Design Optimizes System Performance
By John Koon - 21 Sep, 2022 - Comments: 0

Exponential increases in data and demand for improved performance to process that data has spawned a variety of new approaches to processor design and packaging, but it also is driving big changes on the memory side. While the underlying technology still looks very familiar, the real shift is in the way those memories are connected to processing elements and various components within a syste... » read more

Challenges Mount In New Autos
By John Koon - 06 Sep, 2022 - Comments: 0

Electronics are becoming the primary differentiator for carmakers, adding an array of options that can alter everything from how a vehicle's occupants interact with their surroundings to how the vehicle drives. But the infrastructure needed to support these features also raises a slew of technology and business questions for which there are no simple answers today. For example, how will new ... » read more

Design And Security Challenges for VR
By John Koon - 10 Aug, 2022 - Comments: 0

Virtual reality is no longer just for gamers, and as this technology is deployed in everything from health care to industrial training, the requirements for processing more data faster over a high-speed connection are growing. Designing these devices continues to be a study in contradictions. They must be extremely low power, with a small enough batteries to make them comfortable to wear. Bu... » read more

Telecare Challenges: Secure, Reliable, Lower Power
By John Koon - 20 Jul, 2022 - Comments: 0

The adoption of telecare using a variety of connected digital devices is opening the door to much more rapid response to medical emergencies, as well as more consistent monitoring, but it also is adding new challenges involving connectivity, security, and power consumption. Telecare has been on the horizon for the better part of two decades, but it really began ramping with improvements in s... » read more

Using AI To Speed Up Edge Computing
By John Koon - 19 Jul, 2022 - Comments: 0

AI is being designed into a growing number of chips and systems at the edge, where it is being used to speed up the processing of massive amounts of data, and to reduce power by partitioning and prioritization. That, in turn, allows systems to act upon that data more rapidly. Processing data at the edge rather than in the cloud provides a number of well-documented benefits. Because the physi... » read more

Risks Rise As Robotic Surgery Goes Mainstream
By John Koon - 30 Jun, 2022 - Comments: 1

As robotic-assisted surgery moves into the mainstream, so do concerns about security breaches, latency, and system performance. In the operating room, every second is critical, and technology failures or delays can be life-threatening. Robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) has around for a couple decades, but it is becoming more prevalent and significantly more complex. The technology often include... » read more

Chips Can Boost Malware Immunity
By John Koon - 15 Jun, 2022 - Comments: 0

Security is becoming an increasingly important design element, fueled by increasingly sophisticated attacks, the growing use of technology in safety-critical applications, and the rising value of data nearly everywhere. Hackers can unlock automobiles, phones, and smart locks by exploiting system design soft spots. They even can hack some mobile phones through always-on circuits when they are... » read more

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