New IP Risks


The world is being flooded with Internet-enabled devices, from smart toothbrushes to smart appliances to smart aircraft, and everything in between. Some of this is expected to be connected to the Internet, and some has been for quite some time. But devices such as smart toothbrushes and smart socks pose a whole new challenge. The issue is that even low-end chips need some sort of IP, but if ... » read more

Innovation Matters


Innovation is not something that just happens. It requires a culture that rewards innovation, and the only way to make that happen is with buy-in at every level. What's needed is a climate for building, inventing and designing ICs and systems that push technology boundaries and help move the industry forward. This is a key ingredient for innovation that has been used across the globe to brin... » read more

Can The IoE Ever Be Secure?


There are many different opinions about how the [getkc id="76" comment="Internet of Things"]/[getkc id="260" comment="Internet of Everything"] ultimately will look, who is best positioned to take advantage of it, and how processing will be split between local devices, the cloud, and everything in between. But there is almost universal agreement on one point: It's not secure enough. "In the p... » read more

Laws Don’t Apply Anymore


One of the nifty things about technology is that it's always new and always being refreshed. That creates problems, though. The speed with which technology is overhauled or changed out is so much faster than the social and legal infrastructure built to support and protect the people buying it, that the two worlds are now years, if not decades, out of sync. The first whiff of this came in 198... » read more

Super Wi-Fi For The IoE


From time to time the term “white space” may have popped up in wireless spectrum discussions. Generally, white space describes parts of the licensed radio spectrum that are unassigned, unused, only used part time by the licensees, or not used by them in certain geographic locations. Virtually every country in the world has some of this. Most of this exists in the television spectrum, and is... » read more

How To Model Cars


The most technologically advanced and comprehensive consumer product in the world today is not the smartphone. It's the automobile. This is easier to see once the hood is up and you can take a peek around. Today’s cars contain sophisticated motion systems, crash safety systems, climate control systems, driver assistance, and infotainment, to name a few. In semiconductor design, one of the ... » read more

OTP Dynamic Power Cut By Factor Of 10


Of the challenges being addressed by Internet of Things (IoT) designers around the globe, none is more pressing than the need to reduce edge-node power. While eyes often turn to the radio as primary consumer of energy, memory, including NVM memory, also contributes a substantial portion of the energy consumed by an edge node. Power reductions in all memories will be essential for meeting this c... » read more

Scare Of The Month: Whitebox Cryptography


A debate has been raging for some time about whether hardware is more secure than software. This story should provide plenty of fuel for debate. A few years ago, something called White Box Cryptography (WBC) was developed. This is a rather novel approach that attempts to implement cryptography algorithms in software, rather than hardware. The idea is to keep the cryptographic assets secure a... » read more

Intelligent Autonomous IoT


Last month I discussed what new markets and winners IoT would produce. Sensors and devices, the edge, server chips and the cloud, are obvious winners. However, it’s not so clear who the winner is in the middle, the realm of gateways and embedded software. These technologies are critical to connecting existing infrastructure to the world of IoT and enabling a whole new category of IoT solution... » read more

Addressing The Challenges Of IoT Design


Internet of Things (IoT) designs mesh together several design domains in order to successfully develop a product. Individually, these design domains are challenging. Bringing them all together to create an IoT product can place extreme pressure on design teams. The Tanner design flow is architected to seamlessly work in any of these design domains by employing an integrated design flow for desi... » read more

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