Why are you hearing so much about sensors? According to Machine Design, sensors are going to be a critical part of the Internet of Things (IoT). Big Data, neural networks, smart machines, and artificial intelligence all require “source data.” In short, a great amount of the IoT discussion comes down to sensors.

Sensors of all types and sizes will be needed to generate the source data upon which the IoT’s intelligence will largely be built. Companies that make the most progress in the next 10 years in embedding and augmenting their hardware and electronics with data gathering and generating capabilities will likely be the market leaders in the following decade. What exists today is perhaps a tenth of what is coming.

Morgan Stanley echoes the significance of sensors in the near future. It points out that microcontrollers (MCUs), the tiny sensors that enable connectivity and control in all the “things” around us, have now become so inexpensive—at around $1 apiece—that they can be incorporated in just about everything, from industrial machinery and home appliances to wearable devices and even clothing.

In a recent survey of more than 100 key decision-makers who represented automotive, consumer electronics and industrial manufacturing companies, Morgan Stanley Research found that more than 90 percent of them are baking connectivity technologies into their designs. This marks a turning point for IoT, the next generation of personal computing, users and their environment.

Consumers and companies ultimately stand to reap the benefits of this new technology. In the near term, the semiconductor industry could be one of the biggest winners. Every 10 percent increase in connectivity using MCUs could add roughly $1 billion to the chip-making industry.

Given the preceding information, sensors clearly are expected to play a significant role in IoT which helps consumers, companies and industries. However, we should still look at them from an objective viewpoint, because they can mislead. Sensors, like the devices, machines, etc. that incorporate them, can make errors.

As Martin Willcox of Teradata points out, sensors sometimes lie. This often comes as a big surprise to business and IT people who tend to believe everything smart devices record can be assumed to be true, because smart devices never come to work hungover or distracted. Talk to the engineers who build and deploy sensor networks and you will rapidly discover that nothing could be further from the truth.

Willcox illustrates his point about sensor fallibility with heart-rate-monitor and desert-oil-field examples. More specifically, his heart-rate monitor falsely showed – in the middle of a 30-minute treadmill workout – that his heart rate was 70 bpm and stayed exactly that same way for several minutes. With desert oil field sensors, he explained that the extreme temperature range that the sensors endure often leads them to “drift” almost as soon as they are deployed and installed.

Consequently, sensors and sensor data do hold great promise, but they still require pragmatic oversight. Willcox emphasizes you can’t assume that machine-generated data are accurate, complete and consistent, just because they are produced by a machine. Furthermore, don’t assume that a low per-unit cost makes sensors easy to replace if they consistently make errors (i.e., fail). In some cases (e.g., desert oil field sensors), the cost of lost production time needed to replace them may not be so low.

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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti

(Photo: Arenas of IoT, Flickr)

Why should you care about counterfeit semiconductors? Semiconductors are embedded into numerous products and systems that perform critical functions in our daily lives, and the failure of a single component in one of these products or systems can have dire health and safety consequences.  Here are some key examples discovered by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA):

• A counterfeit semiconductor component was identified in an automated external defibrillator (AED) that is used with heart attack victims, resulting in a defibrillator over-voltage condition.
• A broker shipped counterfeit microcontrollers intended for use in braking systems in high-speed trains across Europe.
• A counterfeit semiconductor failed in a power supply used for airport landing lights.
• A broker shipped counterfeit microprocessors intended for use in automated medication applications, including intravenous (IV) drip machines.

In addition to these public health and safety issues, counterfeit semiconductors pose serious risks to global supply chains and military infrastructure. Counterfeit semiconductors cost the U.S. semiconductor industry an estimated $7.5 billion per year, which translates into nearly 11,000 lost American jobs. They are a growing problem for the U.S. and many other countries, despite gradual improvements in intellectual property rights enforcement around the world. Often harvested from electronic waste, most counterfeit semiconductors are components repackaged to indicate they are newer than the originals or they perform to a higher standard.

Last month, President Obama indicated his concern about this issue when he said he will sign into law a customs bill passed by the U.S. Senate that includes a provision to combat counterfeit semiconductors. The bill, known as the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (H.R. 644/S.1269), mandates that U.S. Customs and Border Protection share information and samples of suspected counterfeit parts for rapid identification of counterfeits.

The bill, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015, had been bogged down in the Senate due to a fight over the extension of a ban on Internet taxes included in the legislation. Fortunately, it passed last month by a 75-20 vote.

SIA president and CEO John Neuffer explained, “Counterfeit chips pose significant risks to public health, safety and national security. The customs bill Congress approved…will help reduce this risk and root out counterfeit semiconductors by ensuring open communication between customs officials and semiconductor manufacturers, who are best-equipped to identify counterfeits.”

According to the SIA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has previously redacted images of suspicious semiconductors and delayed sharing information with companies that play a vital role in determining if parts are counterfeit.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest issued a statement saying, “The legislation would strengthen trade enforcement at our ports and borders and improve our ability to stop evasion of our trade laws; improve transparency, accountability, and coordination in enforcement efforts; and give us unprecedented new tools to address unfair currency practices.”

Related news briefs: Moore’s Law at Age 50

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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti

(Photo: Circuit, Flickr)

April 19^th will be a landmark day in the semiconductor industry. Fifty years ago, Intel cofounder Gordon Moore shared a stunning prediction in Electronics magazine: Silicon chips should double in complexity (i.e., in terms of the number of components on them) every year for the next 10 years. In 1975, based on industry developments, he updated the prediction to doubling every two years and eventually every 18 months. This prediction became known as Moore’s Law. According to the San Jose Mercury News, chipmakers have proved Moore’s forecast to be accurate over the last five decades as new companies were launched that shaped Silicon Valley up to the present day.

Semiconductor analyst Robert Maire pointed out in an EE Times article that Moore’s Law was not just the basis for “ever faster and cheaper computers but an infinite number of new applications from communications and the Internet to smart phones and tablets.” He clarified that “no other industry can claim similar far reaching impact on the lives of so many people…[in] less than a lifespan, more changes in the world can be traced back to the enabling power of the semiconductor industry than any other industry.”

In a Forbes interview, two semiconductor luminaries, Carver Mead and Bill Davidow, talked about the impact of Moore’s Law while attending an event commemorating the 50-year anniversary at the Computer History Museum.
They explained that Moore’s Law applies to other areas beyond silicon electronics. Mead is a semiconductor pioneer and emeritus professor of engineering and applied science at Caltech. He pointed out that the law applies to magnetic recording, optical communications and old-school radio technology. Davidow is a former Intel senior executive and current adviser to his venture capital firm Mohr Davidow. He shared that Moore’s Law even helped to enable the exponential growth in knowledge.

In addition to the positive impact of Moore’s Law that these experts highlight,
IEEE Spectrum reported that the law has had the unintended consequence of raising the expectations for broader technical progress. While silicon chip complexity has increased at a rapid rate, modern life depends on many processes that improve rather slowly such as the production of food and energy as well as the transportation of people and goods. Growth rates in these areas generally range from 1.5 to 3 percent per year which is minimal compared to 46 percent per year that Moore’s Law predicted for microchips.

Some people are critical of the law for raising these expectations which is not really fair. Although Moore’s Law has raised expectations for other areas, logic should help keep things in perspective. There are bound to be differences when comparisons are made across assorted forms of progress. Variability in growth rates is just one of them.

Even if you struggle to make your peace with this variability, it is tough to argue against the benefits of Moore’s Law, especially for business and industry. According to VLSI Research, the market value of companies across the range of technology driven by Moore’s Law amounted to $13 trillion in 2014.

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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti

(Photo: Dollar Photo Club)

In an interview with EE Times, SIA’s CEO, Brian Toohey, shared that sales were very positive across almost all semiconductor product categories with memory products being one of the strongest sectors. Personal computers (PCs) and mobile devices continue to be the two largest semiconductor end use markets. He further explained that PCs remain the largest end product for semiconductors but demand for smartphones and tablets continues to grow. Although these product categories will remain important drivers of market increases, expanding markets such as the Internet of Things, big data and medical technology will help to sustain the strength of the semiconductor industry. For more information see, SIA and EE Times.

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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti

According to Gartner’s vice president of research, Andrew Norwood, 2013 started off slow due to a surplus in inventory and then revenue increased during the middle two quarters before plateauing in the fourth quarter. The revenue growth was primarily due to an inadequate supply instead of a higher demand for memory which resulted in an increase in prices. Moreover, the entire market was dealing with some demand challenges during 2013 including a 9.9% decline in personal computer production and the market for smartphones shifting from premium to lower-priced models.

The top three market share holders for 2013 were Intel, Samsung and Qualcomm. Intel remains in the #1 position for the 22^nd consecutive year holding 15.4% of the market. Samsung sits at the #2 spot for the 12^th year with 9.7% of the market. Qualcomm holds the #3 position with 5.5% of the market. Incidentally, Qualcomm’s semiconductor business grew 30.6% in 2013 due in large part to its leading position in smartphone application processors.

For more details from Gartner’s market share analysis, click on this link: Gartner Semiconductor Analysis

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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti