“The Quintessence” magazine is created and realised by IndustryAgents – a Munich-based advertising agency specialising in technology topics. The agency uses its comprehensive technical expertise and love of impeccable design to write creatively framed, forward-looking stories. Made up of creative minds, specialist editors, and designers, the agency team develops the editorial and visual concept for…
The articles on this online platform were originally written for “The Quintessence”, a print magazine with 13 previous awards to its name. The magazine is published by EBV Elektronik, one of Europe’s leading semiconductor distributors. It presents the biggest future growth markets alongside the latest technological solutions and modules. And the magazine also contains inspiring…
Renesas delivers trusted embedded-design innovation. They include complete semiconductor solutions that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live. One of the leading companies in microcontrollers, analogue, power, and SoC products. The quintessence of our passion for technology is evident in every aspect of the Renesas RA family. Just…
Artificial intelligence (AI), including machine learning (ML) and deep-learning techniques (DL), is poised to become a transformational force in healthcare. The various stakeholders in the ecosystem all stand to benefit from ML-driven tools. From anatomical geometric measurements to cancer detection, radiology, surgery, drug discovery and genomics, the possibilities are endless. ML can lead to increased…
Condition monitoring is a key element of the predictive maintenance approach for industrial installations. When it comes to the design of condition monitoring systems, many different requirements need to be taken into account. The mission profile of the system needs to be explored from the hardware and software perspective. And this, while looking at the…
Connected Lighting is a fast-growing area overall. This is not least because it can return significant cost savings on energy expenditure. More and more countries are introducing laws to enforce responsible energy use in commercial and enterprise buildings. Connected-lighting use is the perfect platform for this by providing the ability to automate-lighting control, a significant…
Micron’s global production network of more than twelve sites worldwide not only enables to efficiently serve a wide-range of customers. But also fosters a culture of collaboration and innovation. A culture that brings together people with diverse backgrounds, expansive knowledge and practical industry experience. Micron has proactively embarked on smart manufacturing projects that use big-data…
Humanity has made phenomenal progress thanks to technology. There are more researchers and developers today than ever before. With their passion for technology, they toil to create solutions for the challenges we will face in the future. The market for AI is growing rapidly The predicted average annual growth rate of the global market…
Mate Rimac is a key figure in the field of electromobility and he is not only building the fastest mass-produced car of all time. But Rimac is also one of the few people to found a successful car company in the past hundred years. Even as a young child, Mate Rimac was already obsessed with…
According to Crunchbase, between 2010 and 2019 over 1.5 trillion dollars was invested in start-ups as risk capital worldwide, most of this in the last few years. Many of these young companies are developing new technologies and exciting tech products for a huge range of applications. Some of these innovations make life easier and provide…
Anyone can get innovative product ideas off the ground nowadays, as Antonio Fernandez and Frank-Steffen Russ from EBV explain. They outline what part semiconductors have to play in the process and how EBV can help as an electronics distributor. Today, thanks to the ever falling cost of electronic components and ever easier access to expertise…
The world in which we live today was and is decisively shaped by technology pioneers and their developments. With their passion and their view of creativity, technology and the world itself, they can be role models for everyone. It is worthwile to heed one or two pieces of advice from them: Twelve advices of…
Johann W. Kolar is a true visionary in the field of power electronics. Having developed several key innovations relating to inverters and energy saving. But his teaching has also had a big impact. Professor Johann W. Kolar is an IEEE Fellow (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). And he is also holder of the professorship…
Juliana Rotich is a Kenyan IT pioneer and an innovative entrepreneur. She shows what can be achieved with good ideas and a passion for technology. In the economic and also in the social area. With a mixture of socio-political intuition and business acumen, Juliana Rotich is helping shape digital transformation in Africa. She believes that…
Digitalisation in industry is not only facilitating more efficient production processes. It is also revolutionising business models. Manufacturers no longer earn money merely from selling a machine. Now they are also paid for related services and they are even paid according to the volume of goods produced on it. Networked machines that communicate with one…
Smart Buildings means that houses and apartments are increasingly being equipped with intelligent technologies. But they not only provide increased convenience. They also help to find answers to fundamental challenges such as the ageing population and climate change. There are several reasons to turn a home into a Smart Home. For most users, the added…
Cities are becoming increasingly intelligent thanks to the use of numerous different technologies. We are seeing the emergence of more sustainable cities that improve their citizens’ quality of life and conserve resources. Cities cover just two percent of our earth’s land mass, but the majority of the world’s population and its economy are concentrated within…
New developments in health technology are increasingly being shaped by digitalisation. There is a wide range of applications for digital solutions. They not only facilitate better medical care, but they also access to healthcare in regions with limited service provision. As smartphones are becoming increasingly widely used and Internet connectivity is advancing, the health system…
Vertical Farming in trend. Robotics, artificial intelligence, LED light, sensors. All kinds of technologies are used to facilitate more sustainable and resource-conserving production of food. One of the major challenges we will face in the future is feeding a global population that continues to expand. Emissions of greenhouse gases from agriculture keep growing all the…
Rapid urbanisation and growing car use have left infrastructure and the environment in many of the world’s regions at breaking point. All kind of solutions for making future mobility more efficient and helping to conserve resources have been proposed by technology companies. Micromobility is only one of the new mobility trends. According to market researchers…
The interplay between innovative technologies and the dramatic rise in technical aids for a large portion of the population will help to satisfy people’s needs, both now and in the future. New technological solutions have the potential to fundamentally transform the economy and society as a whole. Enormous possibilities will be opened up in terms…
LEDs are not only dominating the lighting market, but also carving out a niche in more and more other applications. They impress with their energy efficiency, minuscule size and steadily increasing power. The LED’s success story first gathered steam back in the 1960s. When the yield of light-emitting diodes was increased exponentially from less than…
Sensors and Metrology – Data is the currency of our networked world. To gather this valuable commodity, more and more objects are being kitted out with sensors. The performance of measuring instruments is continuously improving at the same time, despite them often being no larger than a pinhead. Sensor technology and metrology play a key…
Maryam Rofougaran is an inventor, technology manager and entrepreneur. She is also best known as the architect of an entire series of wireless standards and systems-on-a-chip, on which modern smartphones are based. In Maryam Rofougaran’s view, wireless technologies are one of the most significant advances of our age. And after all, they make a huge…
In our interconnected world, there is high demand for a wide range of communication technologies. Today’s market can offer a solution for any application – whether wireless or with physical cables. Whether we are talking about a self-organising production process in Industry 4.0 or highly automated driving in cars. Data is transferred everywhere. At the…
Cybersecurity. As the connectivity of devices increases, the number of potential attack points for hackers also multiplies. A combination of hardware and software solutions enables data to be reliably protected in spite of this. 2019 was a record year for cybercriminals. Experts at F-Secure, a Finnish IT security provider, recorded an all-time high number of…
New processor technologies ensure that sufficient computing power is available for efficiently processing the massive streams of data we will generate in the future. The year is 1965: the world’s first commercial minicomputer is unveiled, the first human walks in space, and Gordon E. Moore makes a prophecy that would define development in the semiconductor…
Electronic devices based on wide-band-gap semiconductors offer a chance to boost the efficiency and power density of power electronics. This makes power-electronics components smaller, faster and more efficient. Smart energy supplies, electromobility, broadband communication systems and AI applications. The number of interacting and interconnected systems is growing all the time. However, as the number of…
SoC and SiP are devices that combine multiple functions in one package provide easy access to innovative semiconductor technologies. The number of devices connected to the internet is constantly growing. A new forecast from the International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that there will be 41.6 billion connected IoT devices in 2025, which will generate 79.4…
Passionate people make a difference to the lives of others. This is especially true for techies – people with a passion for technology. You only have to think of Steve Jobs, James Dyson or Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Internet. Of course, we mustn’t forget Robert Noyce, father of the Silicon Valley and, together…
With the new Heracles 324 module, EBV offers an all-in-one solution for networking Internet of Things products via plug&play. Whereever they are located. The third generation of the module also has a secure element that ensures secure authentication in every kind of applications. The Internet of Things opens up a large range of new applications….
All manner of technologies are used to sate the thirst for energy among the world’s growing population. Here, carbon-neutrality is the main objective. Energy Harvesting is one of the new ways to combine them. But, what ist Energy Harvesting? By 2040, global energy requirements are set to rise by around a third according to BP’s…
Interview with Dr Simon Haddadin, CEO of robotics manufacturer Franka Emika Many innovative technologies like artificial intelligence or machine learning end up on a screen, as Dr Simon Haddadin explains. But he and his team at Franka Emika, develop robots that get technology off the drawing board and into the thick of things in the…
Edge Computing is changing the connected world of tomorrow. It is having a turbo-charged effect on various areas of technology. Future Markets Magazine provides an overview of the most interesting facts and figures about Edge Computing and its impact. The number of networked devices is booming From minuscule chips right through to mighty machines, more…
The concurrent development and design of chips and software has enabled researchers to realise chips that are not only uncommonly small and energy-efficient. But also boast powerful AI capabilities extending right through to training. One possible application scenario might be in nano drones that can navigate their way through a room independently. To the untrained…
Interview with Calista Redmond, CEO of the RISC-V Foundation The success story of Linux – a free, open-source operating system for anyone to work on – began over 20 years ago. These days, Linux is the leading operating system for embedded devices. Calista Redmond now wants to repeat this success story with open-source hardware. Since…
The demands on intralogistics are growing in the Industry 4.0 era. Robust computer systems integrated in transport vehicles ensure that vehicles are flexible and highly available to meet these demands. They even allow assistance systems in forklifts as have only been familiar to date in high-end cars. Maximum availability and flexibility are right at the…
Nowadays, edge devices can run AI applications thanks to increasingly powerful hardware. As such, there is no longer any need to transfer data to the cloud. Which makes AI applications in real time a reality, reduces costs and brings advantages in terms of data security. Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is used in a wide…
ACAPs are highly-integrated, heterogeneous multi-core computing platforms that significantly extend the capabilities of FPGAs and operate more efficiently than others. They are the next generation of even more powerful platforms that are already entering the market. Today’s microprocessors are so powerful and inexpensive that almost any device can be equipped with them. At present, the…
High-speed communication and Edge Computing are closely intertwined – you can’t have one without the other. Ethernet ensures the fastest possible transfer of device data to the edge node. While Edge Computing enables the performance goals of the 5G telecommunications standard to be achieved in the first place. Even if it might be theoretically possible…
Data storage on edge devices need robust and increasingly powerful memory chips. Flash has been a proven solution for many years. But new technologies and materials offer the promise of even faster and more durable memories. Suitable data memories are also needed for processing data on edge devices. But the memory chips must overcome particular…
Embedded Software and its colourful world. Like any other computers, embedded and edge devices also need software to perform their tasks. Whilst a variety of different operating systems and application programs exist today, the prevailing trend is towards open systems. Embedded and edge devices are simply small computers. And like computers, they need software to…
Smart cameras can process imagery autonomously before initiating responses of their own accord. In industrial applications, they are used for quality control or to control plants and systems. As surveillance cameras, they analyse videos themselves and only alert personnel in dangerous situations. Whether used for quality control in industry, building surveillance, or even for automated…
Today’s automated cars are already able to react faster than their human drivers. This is made possible by extremely powerful on-board computers that collate data from all sensor systems, evaluate them in a matter of split seconds and initiate appropriate actions. If a child runs into the road, a human driver takes 1.6 seconds on…
Faster, more reliable, more flexible with the Edge. Edge Computing will continue to grow rapidly in the future. The participants in the TQ expert discussion all agreed on that. However, there are still several obstacles to overcome – for instance, with regard to standardisation or the energy consumption of Edge processors. There are several definitions…
Green, reliable semiconductors are essential for Edge Computing. In conversation with Antonio Fernandez,Vice President Technical Development at EBV Elektronik. Semiconductors are at the heart of each and every edge solution. However, the requirements for embedded systems differ considerably from those of computers or servers, as stressed by Antonio Fernandez, Vice President Technical Development at EBV….
Edge solutions in the consumer sector are possible thanks to increasingly powerful embedded technologies. As a result, they make it possible to equip even everyday devices such as stoves or televisions with edge intelligence. This not only means greater ease of use but also leads to improved operation of the devices. Smart applications with local…
Building automation. Equipped with edge systems and AI, modern buildings not only boast unprecedented sustainability. But also provide occupants with greater convenience and comfort. Building requirements are becoming ever more stringent. Not only are they supposed to offer comfort, convenience and safety to those who live and work in them. But also consume less and…
The Apollo Guidance Computer was invented by Doc Draper, as he was also called by colleagues and employees. He headed the team that developed the guidance, navigation and control system for Apollo 11. Only this made it possible for Apollo 11 to land precisely on the moon. And to bring the astronauts safely back home…
Adamm, Orb and Co. Not only can wearables today record vital data thanks to edge technologies. They can also analyse this information instantly. Smart assistants support employees in healthcare in an incredible variety of ways. Central structures in patient healthcare are reaching their limits when it comes to mastering the challenges in the healthcare sector….
Combining IoT technologies with edge solutions will transform the world of retail. New ways of interacting with consumers are emerging, not to mention means of streamlining retail processes. Together, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) form the technological backbone of the future of retail. Only appropriately digitalised and interconnected stores will be…
In Edge Computing, powerful electronic systems merge with innovative software solutions. This enables numerous emerging companies to develop new products for all kinds of applications. We present six successful start-ups as a representative sample of these many “ones to watch”. Six start-ups with Edge-Computing Power: PCB layouts at the push of a button AI…
What are Human-Machine Interfaces? Data processing and storage takes place directly in the devices on site. As a result, in many cases, a Human-Machine Interface is also required in or on the edge device. Not only does this allow the recorded data and computation results to be displayed. Rather the edge devices can be controlled…
It started around 50 years ago with just a narrow range of applications for the first robots. Since then, they have been growing ever more flexible and cheaper. Robotics applications and market volumes are rising steadily. With the service robots that will soon be on sale, the mechatronic helpers will have finally arrived on the…
Intelligent machines and self-teaching computers will open up exciting prospects for the electronics industry. The idea of thinking, or even feeling, machines was long merely a vision of science-fiction authors. But thanks to rapid developments in semiconductors and new ideas for the programming of self-teaching algorithms, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is today a real market, opening…
Interview with Dr Christoph Ballin, founder and CEO of Torqeedo, about the future of mobility on the water. The whole story began in a small boathouse on Lake Starnberg: when the qualified business economist and former McKinsey consultant, Dr Christoph Ballin, accepted his new job as CEO at Gardena, he moved to the Munich area….
Interview with Prof Ralph Kennel about digitalisation and electric drive technology. The age of motion driven by human labour is coming to an end – it is simply too expensive. Electric drive engineering and power electronics are therefore accordingly of great importance. This is the premise under which Professor Ralph Kennel heads the Chair of…
New ideas and innovative technologies are needed to overcome challenges like Industry 4.0, resource conservation or electromobility. Small and dynamic companies play an important role in this respect. In this edition of the Quintessence, we introduce five startups of digital motor control that contribute to this world in an exciting way with their innovative ideas….
A wide variety of data is available thanks to digital drive technology, which allows operators to keep the status of a drive or machine under constant observation. Combined with suitable analytical tools, this could be even used for predictive maintenance. Traditional maintenance methods, in which systems are inspected at regular, set intervals, are not based…
The car of the year 2019, the Jaguar I-PACE, is the most recent proof that electromobility can be fun. The car’s two electric motors enable the sporty compact SUV to accelerate up to 100 km/h in just 4.8 seconds. This requires particularly strong power electronics. Jaguar’s I-PACE model has been named as the 2019 “Car…
Bus systems are the basic building blocks of communication in a huge variety of applications. They make it possible to efficiently interconnect drives, sensors and control systems. The latest developments in this area are making it possible to achieve higher and higher transmission performance, while facilitating communication between devices made by different manufacturers. For a long…
Wireless technologies are used in a vast range of applications. Innovative start-ups are using them to launch a variety of exciting solutions onto the market. We present a selection of interesting young companies here. Wirelessly STREAMING HDMI images Light painting Keyless entry for bicycles A starter kit for the smart city Cracking down on mould…
Cyber-criminals like to use wireless connections in order to steal data or infiltrate networked systems. Only comprehensive protection can keep wireless technologies safe from hackers. Cybercrime is currently one of the biggest threats for companies worldwide, as well as a serious problem for every individual computer user. The current “Economic Impact of Cybercrime Report” from…
Compared to systems featuring cumbersome wires, wireless systems offer the very highest flexibility and convenience in networking applications. A huge range of technologies is available on the market, each of which is suitable for various applications with correspondingly diverse requirements. Together with Europe’s leading semiconductor distributor, EBV Elektronik, we have developed a table that helps…
For wireless technologies, the main task is to fulfil the specific requirements of an application and also remain future-proof at the same time. Choosing the right standard is crucial for ensuring the success of a networked product, which is why wireless technologies are making up an ever-larger proportion of EBV’s day-to-day business, particularly with regard…
In Star Trek, people are simply beamed from one place to another at the push of a button. What sounds like pure science fiction is actually already reality today thanks to quantum physics … At least, at the level of a single photon. How great would it be if you didn’t have to waste another…
Networked home appliances are not simply a gimmick enjoyed by nerds; they actually offer real benefits in terms of energy efficiency and safety, for instance. However, a seemingly boundless range of devices must be able to communicate with each other in order to realise such benefits. That is where a technology called “thread” comes into…
The Internet of Things is increasingly becoming reality. Ever more machines, devices, objects and – last but not least – people are becoming interlinked. Wireless technologies are making a considerable contribution to this development, as these are what make such simple, flexible networking possible in the first place. Household appliances, cars, machines, wearables – all…
Lighting in apartments, offices or entire buildings can be controlled really conveniently using modern wireless solutions. Not only can a complex lighting mood be created at the press of a button, but the high costs associated with installing cables are also eliminated. All that thanks to “ZigBee”. What is Zigbee? Light creates atmosphere: this is…
What is a Smart Grid? Smart meters are an obvious answer when it comes to reducing energy consumption and incorporating renewable energies. These meters act as the basis for smart grids, which optimise consumption and allow regenerative energies to be meaningfully integrated. The EU Commission is calling for the installation of remotely readable meters so…
What is near field communication? Wearables are increasingly becoming a part of daily life. Wireless technologies are not only used to transmit health and fitness data, but can even be used as electronic wallets. According to market analyst Gartner, more than 310 million “wearables” were sold in 2017. Wearables are small electronic devices which are…
Every kilogram saved on board an aircraft means more efficiency, lower fuel consumption and fewer emissions. Wireless Avionics Intra-Communications (WAIC) and LiFi make it possible to replace the heavy and expensive cabling in aircrafts with wireless systems. Modern aircraft come with highly complex communication systems, which transmit commands to different operating systems and are used…
Knowing where every item is at all times – and better still, knowing its status – is just one prerequisite for an effective logistics process. Various wireless technologies enable goods to be tracked for this purpose; be that within one warehouse or in supply chains that span the globe. In this process, the language often falls…
Wireless is “in”, especially for audio devices – headphones work without any cables at all and smart speakers are networked in the home and offer entirely new sound experiences. Where and how we listen to music is changing. People want to enjoy music quickly, easily and in high quality in any place – be it…
Be it for streaming your favourite music, sending e-mails or getting real-time information on traffic jams: cars have long since played host to mobile Internet. Barely a single car rolls off the production line today without one wireless technology on board, although more often several such systems for car to car communication. In fact, such…
In the 1940s, Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr was known as the most beautiful woman in the world. Quite aside from this, she was also a prolific inventor whose pioneering work helped to revolutionise modern communication. Hedy Lamarr may have been one of the most beautiful women of her time and one of the most glamorous…
Due to the explosion in the number of networked devices and the rapidly increasing data volumes, energy efficiency is becoming increasingly important when it comes to wireless technologies. New materials and intelligent, application-specific wireless processes ensure that, despite increasing networking, power consumption does not increase at the same rate. Networked IT applications can make a…
Smart cities subsist on a large amount of information which is transmitted by people, devices and sensors. A wide range of wireless technologies is used for this purpose, depending on the application in question. The extensive use of digital solutions can noticeably increase the quality of life in cities. In a “smart city”, daily commute…
The continuously increasing data volumes in wireless networks and ever higher connection requirements in terms of latency and stability mean that new technical solutions are needed. New antenna technologies such as MIMO or beamforming are an important building block of such solutions. The problem is a familiar one to every Internet user: the more devices…
Wireless connectivity is an exciting and rapidly growing market for the semiconductor -industry and developers and manufacturers of networked devices alike. According to the market researchers at IHS Markit, 125 billion networked appliances, machines and gadgets are already antici-pated to be in use in 2030; in 2018, that -figure still stood at something in the…
Things are already getting cramped up in the ether: Wi-Fi, ZigBee, mobile networks, RFID – whatever the various wireless technologies are called, they all have to share the very tight bandwidth of radio frequencies. This means that ever fewer free channels are available for the rapidly growing flow of data – and there is an…
Against the backdrop of increasing digitalisation in industry, wireless systems offer a flexible and affordable possibility for networking machines, components and tools. Various solutions ranging from WLAN to Bluetooth and even special industrial systems such as WirelessHART are being used, depending on the requirements involved. What is WirelessHART? A high level of flexibility and productivity…
Sensor fusion allows increasingly accurate images of the environment to be developed by fusing data from different sensors. To achieve faster results and reduce the flood of data, the sensors themselves are becoming intelligent too. Systems with Artificial Intelligence need data. The more data, the better the results. This data can either originate in databases…
Interview With Antonio Fernandez, Vice President Technical Development At EBV Systems with Artificial Intelligence require a wide range of electronic components. This is an area where EBV already has a vast variety of components in its product portfolio, from sensors to FPGAs. However, the new technology poses a challenge for the electronics distributor, as Antonio…
What began in the 1950s with a conference has grown into a key technology. It is already influencing our lives today, and as the intelligence of machines increases in the future that influence is bound to spread much more. But is AI smarter than humans? Smart home assistants order products online on demand. Chatbots talk…
A look at the start-up scene reveals the diversity of the areas in which AI can be used. These young companies are developing products for industries as varied as healthcare, robotics, finance, education, sports, safety, and many more. We present a small selection of interesting start-ups here. Connected Cars for Everyone In the form of…
The brain functions like a machine, or so according to the theory of Marvin Minsky, one of the most important pioneers of artificial intelligence. In other words, it can be recreated – made immortal by backing up its consciousness onto a computer. Could our entire life simply be a computer simulation, like “the Matrix” from…
Developers working on products with integrated AI for the internet of things need time and major resources. This type of product typically requires up to 24 months until it is marketable. With a pre-industrialised software platform, Octonion now plans to reduce this time to only six months. Smaller companies that want to realise products for…
In future, the mechanical helpers will be able to grip different objects without the need for programming, and move about autonomously in complex environments. Robots with artificial intelligence are the future. While robots required complicated programming by experts in the past, the systems will be able to teach themselves how to carry out their tasks…
Cognitive computer assistants are helping clinicians to make diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. They evaluate medical data much faster, while delivering at least the same level of precision. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that, applications with Artificial Intelligence are being used more frequently. Hospitals and doctors’ surgeries have to deal with huge volumes of data: X-ray images, test results, laboratory…