Functional Safety: Current Status And Perspectives With A View Toward Standardization Bodies


Functional safety is a topic highly driven by standards. This is due in part to legislation and regulation, but it also arises from the fact that functional safety spans a wide range of fields. Even before specific standards were introduced, there were products that met the social consensus on safety. For example, carmakers were making cars that were safe and incorporated electrical and elec... » read more

Getting Realistic About AI


By Olaf Enge-Rosenblatt and Andy Heinig The topic of artificial intelligence (AI) is omnipresent today, both in the news and on popular science shows. The number of possibilities for AI methods to assist people in making decisions are expanding rapidly. There are three main reasons for this: The development of new AI methods (deep learning, reinforcement learning); The continuous ... » read more

Virtual Prototyping In SoC Development


Modern semiconductor technologies enable manufacturers to pack more and more functions and memory into a single silicon die. While steadily advancing microintegration based on Moore’s Law just a few years ago mainly focused on increasing the clock frequency of integrated circuits (IC), today, it’s the design complexity and number of blocks that enable new IC functions. More and more logic b... » read more

Chiplets: A Solution For The Shortage Of Chips


These days, there are new reports on the shortage of chips almost every day. Currently, this issue is affecting mainly car manufacturers such as Audi, Ford, and more. But other system manufacturers, such as in the machine construction industry, are also facing this challenge. Even manufacturers of mass-produced articles such as game consoles are reporting the same problems. The problem is sure ... » read more

Improving Industrial Processes


Industrial image processing is one of the most important drivers of manufacturing automation today. The requirements on the cameras differ considerably depending on the application. Different measurement methods (2D, 2.5D, 3D), spatial and temporal resolution and scan rates can be employed. The resolution and dynamic range of the sensor are critical for optical inspection on manufacturing lines... » read more

Design Support For A Green IoT


By Dirk Mayer and Roland Jancke The Internet of Things (IoT) is growing rapidly all around the world. New devices are continually being added, all collecting a variety of data and transmitting them (often wirelessly) to edge devices, which in turn relay the data to the cloud for further processing. It is estimated that in a few years IoT devices will be responsible for over 20% of global ene... » read more

Functional Safety For Fail-Operational Systems


Functional safety issues have long been an important part of product development wherever machine operations that are potentially dangerous for humans are carried out unattended. However, in terms of electrical and electronic systems, the need has been limited to a few industries such as medical technology and aerospace. Apart from that, the functional safety concepts were only used for niche p... » read more

Electronics For Quantum Communications


Our secure digital communications so far have functioned on the principle of key-based encryption. This involves generating a key of appropriate length, which is then used to encrypt the data. Because distributing the keys is difficult, the keys are reused rather than regularly generating new ones. The regular use of the keys opens up the encryption process to attacks by mathematical methods... » read more

Analog Chip Layout: Creativity Vs. Deadlines


The entire design of integrated circuits, from the specification onward, depends on successful validation by measurement of microchips. One key milestone in this process is the completion of the layout. However, the path to reach this point can be quite difficult as many iterations are usually required. It includes: Iterations with the customer to finalize the specification. Iteratio... » read more

Mission Profiles In The Automotive Development Process


The automotive industry's roadmap for the coming years is e-mobility and autonomous driving. Its implementation is likely to bring about changes on a par with the invention of the automobile itself. While the motor vehicle used to be primarily a mechanical product, it is now an entirely electronic system. Many of the new functions increase the safety of the driver and other road users, and t... » read more

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