Blog Review: June 28

Mentor’s Craig Armenti notes the benefits, and challenges, of investing in modular design in the PCB domain.

Cadence’s Paul McLellan covers a DAC chat with CEO Lip-Bu Tan on the rise of advanced packaging and investments in AI and autonomous driving.

Synopsys’ Jim Hartnett examines some of the challenges and tradeoffs involved in building good security practices in hospital environments.

Applied’s Er-Xuan Ping chats about new demands on memory and strategies to alleviate the memory bottleneck with VLSIresearch’s G. Dan Hutcheson.

On the heels of several high-profile ransomware attacks, Rambus’ Aharon Etengoff warns of potential security vulnerabilities opening connected vehicles’ software to similar malware.

Ansys’ Gilles Eggenspieler takes a look at how one America’s Cup team uses simulation to design a winning racing boat.

ARM’s Stephanie Usher observes that IoT security is on many people’s minds from the plethora of discussions about it at DAC.

Intel’s Ron Wilson examines latency problems in data centers and a push to store all data in main memory.

Samsung’s Jim Elliott notes how memory advancements have made big data analytics possible.

Marvell’s Donna Yasay argues that all the technologies required for vehicle communication and autonomy will turn cars into a “data center on wheels.”

NXP’s Monica Davis considers the trolley problem as it relates to ethical issues of autonomous cars, with a discussion between IEEE’s John C. Havens and NXP’s Lars Reger.

A Lam Research staff writer checks out smart shoes designed to track athletes as well as an aid to the visually impaired.

Verification blogger Tudor Timi returns to the topic of unit testing interface UVCs with an examination of SVA properties and sequences.

Silicon Labs’ Deirdre Walsh chats with Marina Nikeschina of e-Senses about a ring that tracks sun exposure and Vitamin D, plus the challenges associated with developing it.

Cadence’s Meera Collier looks at evolving approaches to verification including machine learning, plus how design is like cooking.

Mentor’s Colin Walls considers whether a single return from C/C++ functions is a good idea, and proposes an alternative.

Synopsys’ Ankur Jain shares highlights from the PCI-SIG Developers Conference 2017, including the newly announced Gen 5 specification.

Looking for more to read? Check out Brian Bailey’s reports from DAC, why the transition from planar to 3D NAND is harder than expected, and the new security demands on safety-critical markets.