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On this episode, the Insiders ponder the future of embedded engineering in light of Arm’s release of its Total Solutions for IoT. How far along in the development process can engineers get virtually, before they even have silicon in their hands?

Next, Brandon, Rich, and guest speakers Kurt Lender and Ishwar Agarwal from the CXL Consortium get into the nitty gritty of what Compute Express Link is, how it works, and what its future holds.

Finally, associate editor Tiera Oliver enters the software development lifecycle, where, according to survey responses from PractiTest's Ninth Annual State of Testing Report, software testers in the field are reporting big changes that are paving the way for newer, more integrated testing dynamics.

For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

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On this episode of Embedded Insiders, Brandon and Rich are addressing the increasingly political aspect of the semiconductor supply chain issues running rampant across the globe, and the danger of those issues reaching all the way up to the semiconductor manufacturing equipment itself.

Next, Associate Editor Tiera Oliver is joined by Pat Wilbur, Hologram CTO and Co-Founder, to talk about the retirement of 3G networks by some of the U.S.’s largest wireless carriers, also known as the 3G sunset.

Finally, Assistant Editor Taryn Engmark will be providing a breakdown of three must-know secure IT technologies to fill out a good Industry 4.0-ready toolbox.

For more information about Hologram's cellular connectivity options for the IoT, visit: https://www.hologram.io/

For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

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On this episode of Embedded Insiders, Brandon and Rich recap a recent visit to DesignCon 2022, where Brandon highlights one of the embedded engineering industry’s rising stars, the Compute Express Link open standard.

Next, Neil Trevett, President of the Khronos Group, joins the Insiders to discuss the recent release of Vulkan SC 1.0, a new specification based off of the Vulkan 1.2 API made specifically for the needs of safety-critical applications.

Finally, ECD Associate Editor Tiera Oliver is joined by Xavier Rottenberg, scientific director for the OMUS project and Imec fellow, to discuss Imec’s recent demonstration of an ultra-sensitive, small optomechanical ultrasound sensor in silicon photonics.

For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

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On this episode of the Embedded Insiders, Brandon and Rich review the recent Applied Power Electronics Conference, or APEC, as a proxy for how the industry works post-pandemic and the reality of supply chain demand.

Then, Scot Morrison, Vice President and General Manager of Siemens Digital Industries Software, formerly Mentor Embedded Software, shines a light on the future of embedded operating systems and how the industry will balance features, flexibility, and openness moving forward.

Later, Assistant Editor Taryn Engmark analyzes advances in genomic sequencing being driven by advances in data analysis, and where that leaves us on the road to precision medicine.

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On this episode of the Embedded Insiders, Brandon and Rich discuss the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the electronics industry. Rapidly rising gas prices are fueling interest in electric vehicles but also highlighting supply chain issues and semiconductor shortages that can’t be overcome in a snap. They also consider how the conflict is affecting engineering resources in Eastern Europe and what that could mean for developers worldwide.

Next, Calista Redmond, CEO of RISC-V International, joins to discuss how Intel, more specifically its foundry division, recently doubled down on its commitment to the open-source ISA. She goes on to explain open-source tools initiatives they’re establishing for the RISC-V community and how developers will benefit.

For more information about RISC-V International, visit: riscv.org.

Finally, assistant editor Taryn Engmark journeys north into the world of polar bears. As climate change threatens these animals’ natural habitats, the World Wildlife Fund needed to upgrade tracking technology that would better monitor their health and whereabouts. MistyWest, an engineering design services firm focused on sustainability projects, responded.

For more information about MistyWest’s tracking device, visit: mistywest.com/posts/project/wwf-polar-bear-tracker/

To purchase or learn more about the open-source Argos transmitter board, check out sparkfun.com/products/17236

Additional resources can be found on embeddedcomputing.com under “Success Story: How an Industry Collab Helped the World Wildlife Fund Upgrade Polar Bear Tracking Tags”

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On this episode, Brandon and Rich review highlights from Smart Manufacturing Day, including a debate on what Industry 5.0 truly means, and discuss the potential peril of code-heavy software-defined factories and vehicles.

Next, Associate Editor Tiera Oliver is joined by BlackBerry Technology Solutions CTO Adam Boulton, who reveals all the different types of software automotive OEMs and suppliers believe are in modern vehicles and all the different types of software that actually are in their vehicles. Hint: The two lists are not the same. To reconcile this, BlackBerry is leading the emerging field of software composition analysis (SCA).

For more information on the BlackBerry Jarvis software composition analysis tool, visit blackberry.qnx.com/en/products/security/blackberry-jarvis

Finally, Assistant Editor Taryn Engmark discusses the plastic pollution in the world’s oceans, and two companies’ efforts to combat it. Tune in to learn how a Microsoft initiative to become carbon neutral by 2030 became a project to develop component materials made of 10% recycled ocean plastic with chemical company SABIC, which turned into the outer shell of the Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse that demonstrates it is possible to go green and stay profitable.

To learn more, visit www.sabic.com/en/news/30776-sabic-and-microsoft-collaborate-to-create-microsoft-s-first-product-made-with-recycled-ocean-plastic 

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The NVIDIA/Arm transaction may have fallen through, but that isn’t the only momentous merger and acquisition that’s been on the table in the embedded technology space. Xilinx is now officially part of AMD, and Wind River has been purchased by Aptiv from venture capital firm TPG. Will these deals turn out better than some of their predecessors? Only time will tell, but the Insiders’ have some predictions.

After, Mike Henry, founder and CEO of Mythic AI, joins Brandon and Rich to discuss the new dawn of analog computing. From searching for any government funding they could to destroying the competition in executing the original AlexNet imaging convolutional neural network (CNN), Mike explains how his company got to the forefront of a technology that offers a much-needed path forward for computing – and how they’re integrating digital technologies that today’s engineers understand.

To learn more about Mythic’s approach to analog computing, visit mythic-ai.com.

Finally, Brandon continues his investigation of what it takes to build scalable smart sensors. After analyzing requirements for translating data models into smart sensor firmware, he goes into tools and techniques available through the PICMG IoT.1 specification that help automate the process. By the end, you should have all the knowledge – and most of the resources – to build a no-code smart sensor of your own.

For more information, visit the PICMG GitHub at https://github.com/picmg, where you can find repositories for the iot_builder, iot_configurator, iot_firmware, and more.

For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com

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On this episode of Embedded Insiders, Brandon and Rich ponder the possible reasons NVIDIA’s acquisition of Arm is on the brink of collapse. After considering how difficult the IP company is to move to other semiconductor giants, they recall how Venkat Matella, former CEO and founder of Redpine Signals, was able to move some of his IP to Silicon Labs. But the operative word there is some, as he’s using what remains to launch a new launch a new low-energy supercomputing chip startup.
 
For more on Matella’s latest venture, Ceremorphic, Inc., visit ceremorphic.com.

Then, Steve Douglas, Head of Market Strategy at Spirent, talks to Associate Editor Tiera Oliver about the 5G trends we can expect to impact the embedded edge in 2022. It’s not about how connected you are, it’s about how connected you (and your devices) are gonna be with tech from 3GPP Release 17, Release 18, and beyond.

For more information on the global 5G rollout, check out Spirent’s 2021 5G Report at spirent.com/assets/the-spirent-2021-5g-report-mid-year-addendum.

Finally, have you ever tried to build a smart sensor? If you’re not steeped in writing sensor firmware, even if you have tried, you probably didn’t get very far. But if we can’t create smart sensors quickly and at scale, how will we ever realize the full potential of IoT? It’s standardization time, as Brandon reveals the latest specification from the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturer’s Group, or PICMG, which is designed to make smart sensor configuration so simple even a product manager could do it.

For more on PICMG IoT.1, including detailed explanations, code samples, diagrams, and more, read the series “Make Any Sensor a Smart Sensor with PICMG IoT.1” on the embeddedcomputing.com website or find a full-picture description of PICMG’s Industrial IoT initiatives at picmg.org/industrial-iot-overview.

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This week, the Insiders recap a COVID-era Consumer Electronics Show and debate one of CES’s hottest topics: the metaverse. Broadly speaking, the metaverse could be an in-between where physical reality and virtual reality collide, or it could be an entirely digital alternate universe. Of course, the definition is open for interpretation because the metaverse is still very conceptual — so what does the metaverse mean to you?

Next, Dunstan Power, Director at ByteSnap Design, discusses the role just-in-time manufacturing played in the global semiconductor shortage and whether, when the world emerges on the other side of it, manufacturers will fall back into old habits.

Finally, ECD Associate Editor Tiera Oliver dives even deeper into the shortage, and one solution that’s underway to help solve it — a joint data-sharing ecosystem created by Palantir and Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany known as Athinia.

For more information about ByteSnap Design, visit: www.bytesnap.com

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On this episode, the Insiders debate whether AI is an application or a tool. Then Arvind Rao, Global Director and Head of Product Management and Industry Solutions at Rockwell Automation joins Brandon and Rich to discuss how the automation equipment supplier and its customers are faring with smart technology rollouts in the manufacturing sector. The three discuss the most successful starting points, potential roadblocks, and ways that internal and external Rockwell customers have successfully implemented Industrial IoT technology in new and legacy installations.

Later, Associate Editor Tiera Oliver asks a philosophical question: Can an AI create? There is significant litigation around patents filed on behalf of an AI called DABUS as technologists, researchers, and courts worldwide dispute whether patents should be awarded entities other than natural persons. Tiera takes a deep dive into how this debate is unfolding in South Africa, where a legal team from the University of Surrey has brought the case in front of the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission.

For more information, visit embeddedcomputing.com