That trend toward tighter integration is only going to accelerate. The time to get your product to market is shrinking, so you need to have software designed while the hardware is being designed. In many instances, the software demands at the user level are dictating what the chip design will be. Before, it was the other way around.
What are today’s biggest challenges in systems modeling, integration, and designing for the user?
You see it in cell phones. The end-user input must come early in the design cycle as it will affect both the software and electrical-mechanical subsystems. Further, everything has to be low-power and green. You have a mountain of considerations, aside from just getting the product to work.
This is why we’re seeing a growing awareness of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) issues across engineering disciplines. So many pieces have to come together at the same time, and PLM is a big help with that challenge.
The term ‘cyber-physical system’ (CPS) is often used to describe the coordination of a system’s computational and physical elements. How do you see this trend developing?
You can even extend that to biology. There’s definitely a move to link the genetic space and the electronic space, to see more electronics embedded in the human body. These systems can get pretty sci-fi-ish, where even cells will be used as transistors.
“In many instances, the software demands at the user level are dictating what the chip design will be. Before, it was the other way around.”
John Blyler
High-Tech Editor & Educator
What about the wireless chip market?
That leads to a discussion of how to power these sensors. Energy scavengers are devices that grab energy from the environment, such as the rotation of the tire. Or out in the crop field, you could use solar, or you could get energy from the pH (acidity/alkalinity) differences between the soil and the plant to power a little RF (radio frequency) circuit and send the information eventually back to the cloud.
It’s all very exciting, and yet high tech is desperate to attract workers. How can the industry motivate students to go into high-tech careers?
“We’re living in a world where sensors will be everywhere, and the sensors themselves have intelligence.”
John Blyler
High-Tech Editor & Educator
One factor that’s often ignored when talking about high-tech careers is people skills. We need for technically savvy folks to also have good people skills and solid emotional IQ. I think the online push and social media take away a little bit from interpersonal skills. In a global environment, we need interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity. We can’t only focus on the technical side of high tech.