Chip Substitutions Raising Security Concerns


Substituting chips is becoming more common in the electronics industry as shortages drag on, allowing systems vendors to continue selling everything from cars to manufacturing equipment and printer cartridges without waiting for a commoditized part. But substitutions aren't always an even swap, and they increase security risks in ways that may take years to show up or fully understand. So fa... » read more

Automotive Bandwidth Issues Grow As Data Skyrockets


Bandwidth requirements for future vehicles are set to explode as the amount of data moving within vehicles, between vehicles, and between vehicles and infrastructure, continues to grow rapidly. That data will be necessary for a variety of functions, some of which are here today and many of which are still in development. On the safety side, that includes everything from early warning systems... » read more

Sensors In Fire Detection


The last 10 years or so have produced some colossal and deadly fire events that have destroyed whole towns, burned a record amount of acreage, and polluted skies for weeks. And wildfires are not just happening in the Western United States but have burnt out of control in Europe, the Amazon, and Australia. Early wildfire detection and forest management via controlled burns are two ways to pre... » read more

Software-Defined Cars


Automotive architectures are becoming increasingly software-driven, a shift that simplifies upgrades and makes it easier to add new features into vehicles. All of this is enabled by the increasing digitalization of automotive functions and features, shifting from mechanical to electrical design, and increasingly from analog to digital data. That enables OEMs to add or up-sell features years ... » read more

Building Security Into ICs From The Ground Up


Cyberattacks are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated, but they also are starting to compromise platforms that until recently were considered unbreakable. Consider blockchains, for example, which were developed as secure, distributed ledger platforms. All of them must be updated with the same data for a transaction to proceed. But earlier this year a blockchain bridge platform calle... » read more

Digitalizing Water Monitoring


Managing water resources has always been important, but that monitoring is becoming increasingly high-tech and much more useful. Rather than a spot check at the tap, or a crude measurement of water levels in a reservoir, chips are making it possible to monitor and measure water quantity and quality at the source, wherever it is stored, the spigot, and in the wastewater systems. As climate ch... » read more

Making More Reliable And More Efficient Auto ICs


Sam Geha, executive vice president of memory solutions at Infineon Technologies, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about automotive chips, supply chain issues, and integration challenges. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: How do you build an automotive chip that will work in any environment? Geha: The automotive market is, of course, one of the most demand... » read more

New Challenges For Connected Vehicles


Connected vehicles are all about convenience and safety. Modern vehicles are connected to the Internet via wireless networks, consumer apps, and infotainment systems, and there is work underway to connect them over 5G to guided driving. But there also are challenges to making all of this work securely, safely, and as expected throughout the expected lifetimes of chips and systems. The goal i... » read more

Battery Management Getting Competitive For EVs


The success or failure of future electric vehicles will depend on where and how those cars are used, as well as significant advances in battery materials, energy density, and some very complex battery management systems. Battery power needs to be balanced, stored for extended times, and delivered to wherever it is needed most in real time. This is a huge challenge, and nearly everything in a... » read more

Electric Planes Taking Off


As the aeronautics industry and aviation startups design and test zero-emissions aircraft, they are solving problems beyond just adapting to fuel sources that cut greenhouse gas emissions. Problems of weight, noise, redundancy, refueling, cost, and turnaround time are being tackled one airline seat at time. Powerful tools can help aircraft designers look at the aircraft system as a whole, fe... » read more

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