Shifting Toward Software-Defined Vehicles


Apple reportedly is developing a software-defined vehicle. But so are Renault, Hyundai, General Motors, and just about everyone else. Some of the benefits of SDVs include increased comfort, convenience, safety, reliability, and remote software and firmware updates. Preventive and predictive maintenance, and remote diagnostics, can be done more conveniently over the air, while vehicle behavio... » read more

Robots Become More Useful In Factories


Most people associate factory automation with large robotic machines, such as those that weld automobile chassis on assembly lines. But as prices drop and technology improves, robots are being deployed for smaller and more varied tasks, and they are getting better at all of them. Inside of factories, robots can significantly improve output, consistency, and reliability. They can work around ... » read more

Zonal Architectures Play Key Role In Vehicle Security


The automotive ecosystem is starting to shift toward zonal architectures, making vehicle functionality less dependent on the underlying hardware and allowing more flexibility in what gets processed where. The impact of that shift is both broad and significant. For carmakers, it could lead to hardware consolidation and more options for failovers in case something goes wrong with any system in... » read more

Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto


Internet of Things Is Google developing a Pixel Watch wearable? Perhaps, if recent job listings are any indication. The company recently was looking to hire someone as vice president of hardware engineering, wearables. Last month, Fossil Group sold smartwatch technology intellectual property to Google for $40 million, while Google hired certain members of Fossil’s wearables R&D team. ... » read more

Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto


Internet of Things Tony Franklin, Intel’s general manager for Internet of Things Segments, is interviewed by Lorin Fries on how the chipmaker is helping to develop smart farming applications. “We focus primarily on high-performance computer technologies, as well as communication technologies, which have great applicability for food systems. We work closely with a broad ecosystem of partner... » read more

Why The IIoT Is Not Secure


The Internet of Things is famously insecure, but not because the technology to build it or secure it is immature. Likewise, severely insufficient security on the Industrial IoT suffers from a lack of will. Neither tech buyers nor providers have yet invested the same effort expended in other areas of the tech world to create and adopt steps that will make everyone safer, according to chipmakers ... » read more

Designing Hardware For Security


By Ed Sperling and Kevin Fogarty Cyber criminals are beginning to target weaknesses in hardware to take control of devices, rather than using the hardware as a stepping stone to access to the software. This shift underscores a significant increase in the sophistication of the attackers, as evidenced by the discovery of Spectre and Meltdown by Google Project Zero in 2017 (made public in Ja... » read more

Built-In Security For Auto Chips


The road to autonomous vehicles depends upon components that are secured against hacking and other outside interference. The cybersecurity precautions necessary for self-driving cars must be embedded in chips and systems from the beginning of the supply chain. Automotive manufacturers and their Tier 1 suppliers are counting on their electronics vendors to provide products that can withst... » read more

Where Is Energy Harvesting?


With power management a top priority in sensor networks, why is energy harvesting—a proven technology with diverse energy sources—conspicuously absent from sensor designs that are the foundation of the Internet of Things? [getkc id="165" kc_name="Energy harvesting"] always has been a promising answer to the limits of battery power. The idea that a device can run for much longer periods o... » read more

Creating Software Separation For Mixed Criticality Systems


The continued evolution of powerful embedded processors is enabling more functionality to be consolidated into single heterogeneous multicore devices. Mixed criticality designs, those designs which contain both safety-critical and non-safety critical processes, can successfully leverage these devices and meet the regulatory requirements for IEC safety standards and the highest level of ISO. Thi... » read more

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