Automotive took over electronica 2016

21 November, 2016

Israeli attendants were numerous. A third of the exhibition pavilions showcased automotive related technologies

Israeli attendants were numerous. A third of the exhibition pavilions showcased automotive related technologies

qualcomm-car
Qualcomm chose to emphasize the electric car, not on 5th generation smartphones

After four year of domination, IoT – the uncontested queen of industrial electronic trends – has been succeeded by a new star: the automotive industry, or more accurately – the auto market, is becoming the most lucrative market for electronic developers and producers.  This trend has become ever more apparent in the electronica 2016 exhibition held in Munich earlier this month.

This year, some 2,900 companies from over 50 countries chose to participate in the exhibition. Among these were 10 Israeli companies. The event attracted 73,000 visitors from over 80 countries. According to the estimates of the organizers, Israelis were among the 10 most represented nationalities among the visitors, together with American, British, French, Austrian, Irish, Swiss, Russian and Polish nationals.

nxp-car
The automotive industry “took over” electronica 2016

The new domination of the automotive industry was apparent virtually everywhere: cars, concept cars. Virtual cars and huge images of, well, cars dominates the exhibition scape. Actually, the Manager of the Munich exhibition center (Messe München) estimated that a third of the pavilions showcased new automotive related technologies. A further estimation is that chip and electronics industries are responsible for 80% of new technologies in the automotive arena.

Linear Technology presented a new series of analog vehicle components, showcasing an impressing new mythology for car battery management. In cooperation with Lion Smart, the company developed a wireless battery charging unit system. The system is based on the use of a monitoring component and Linear’s SmartMesh network, Lion’s Open BMS management software and Kreisel Electric’s battery array. Together, the three companies created a battery array which was integrated in a BMW i3 electric car.

linear
Ran Spirman of Linear Israel

By using wireless management and discharge of car batteries, avoiding the use of cables, three companies have managed to make the use of batteries more efficient, managing to complete the charging of a 55kWh battery in 15 minutes, allowing a 400 km range, which is competitive with common technologies in use today. According to Ran Spirman of Linear Israel, this is an unprecedented achievement for an electric vehicle.

Almost all the leading chip producers presented chip solutions for the automotive industry: Osram presented a LIDAR laser system based on Infineon MEMS components, which can a car from over 200 meter, and a pedestrian from a 70 meter distance. Texas Instruments announced a new component that processes 4 camera feeds simultaneously, as well as a new reference design for rapid charging of electric vehicle batteries.

NXP revealed its cooperation with Siemens in the field of infrastructure-car communications, as well as multi-core micro-processors specifically designed for autonomous driving applications. Big names such as STMicroelectronics and On Semiconductors argued over who supplies more chips for the auto industry.

Even Keysight, a well-established producer of measurement and testing instruments announced a new strategy due to the developments in the automotive field, and the formation of a new auto and energy solutions division in the company.

fairchild
Teh aftermath of the latest wave of mergers – Fairchilds empty pavilion

Nevertheless, at the coolers, everybody was talking about the current tide in the semiconductor industry, and the influence the latest wave of acquisitions will have on the industry in the near future. Rick Kalmar made a brief comment on the Qualcomm merger saying that it “will enable the company to take a lead in all the fields, from machine learning to communication and security”.

At the Linear pavilion, everybody was talking about the expected merger with Analog devices while Fairchild’s mammoth pavilion became the Mecca for souvenir hunters: the company reserved the exhibition space in 2014, but could not fill it due to its recent acquisition by ON Semiconductors – all that was left was a huge Fairchild logo, and a sign referring visitors to On’s exhibition booth.

Share via Whatsapp

Posted in: News

Other articles you might like

Hailo Closed $120 Million Funding Round

Carrar Raises $5.3 Million to Deliver Long-Lifetime Battery for EVs

Nemo Nanomaterials Unveils 50-Ton Production Line