Auto OEMs Face New Competitive Threats


Automotive design and manufacturing are undergoing a fundamental shift to the left as cars increasingly are electrified and chips take over more functions formerly done by mechanical parts, setting the stage for massive disruption across a supply chain that has been in place for decades. The success of Tesla — a company that had never actually built a chip or a car — was both a surprise ... » read more

Firmware Skills Shortage


Good hardware without good software is a waste of silicon, but with so many new processors and accelerator architectures being created, and so many new skills required, companies are finding it hard to hire enough engineers with low-level software expertise to satisfy the demand. Writing compilers, mappers and optimization software does not have the same level of pizazz as developing new AI ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers and OEMs A severe winter storm has hit many parts of the United States, including Texas. In Austin, utility providers are prioritizing service to residential areas. As a result, electricity and natural gas providers have temporarily suspended service to Austin’s semiconductor manufacturers, including Samsung and NXP. "Due to the recent blackouts in Texas, Samsung Austin Semicon... » read more

A Look Inside ADAS Modules


You glance down at your phone while rolling in slow-moving traffic. Against your better judgment, you proceed to read your latest email, oblivious to the fact that the car in front of you has braked. In the nick of time, your car starts beeping and flashing. You look up and slam the brakes. Whew! That was close. If this has happened to you, don't forget to thank the radar and camera modules in ... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive/Mobility Tesla has to recall 158,000 2012-2018 Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles because of an eMMC NAND flash memory chip. The chip can cause the touchscreen to stop working when the memory reaches its limit of writes. According to a story in Reuters, the United States NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is insisting on the recall because many of Tesla contr... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive/Mobility Autonomous car company Waymo is making a point of not calling itself a self-driving car company because the company said in a blog to do so would be a dangerously misleading. Waymo says it will instead call its technology ‘fully autonomous driving technology.’ “Unfortunately, we see that some automakers use the term ‘self-driving’ in an inaccurate way, giving cons... » read more

Car Industry Changing Under The Hood


After an initial burst of autonomous activity, the automotive ecosystem regrouped, re-evaluated its goals, and is now ready to begin deploying new technologies made possible by modern development approaches and forward-looking vehicle architectures. The pandemic hurt vehicle sales in 2020, but it also gave the OEMs a chance to catch their breath. Panic over announcements from other carmakers... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive/Mobility Apple wants to have self-driving cars in production by 2024, and that timeframe includes having its own battery technology, according to Reuters. Project Titan, the name of Apple’s automotive efforts, has seen its ups and downs, but now Apple has a clearer view of what its strength and niche will be — consumer self-driving cars with a longer range, less expensive batter... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers SMIC’s shares fell following the resignation of the company co-CEO, according to a report from Bloomberg. Liang Mong Song, co-CEO of the Chinese foundry company, has proposed to resign and the company has become aware of Liang’s intention of conditional resignation, according to a filing. A former technologist at TSMC and Samsung, Liang has opposed the appointment of a new board... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive, automation General Motors is planning a third electric-vehicle plant. The former Saturn factory will make first fully electric Cadillac, in the former Saturn assembly line. Tesla is allowing some customers to beta test its Full Self-Driving (FSD), according to The Verge. The company pushed the software update to some early access customers to do some real world beta test. Some o... » read more

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