EETimes On Air

This week: an interview with Daniel Cooley, the chief strategy officer of Silicon Labs. Cooley says there is a radical change in the electronics business as companies expand outside their normal domains; he also opines on media coverage of AI and of security technology. Also: auto industry expert Colin Barnden on empty promises, and author David Benjamin on the book “The Great Influenza,” and what the world has learned about pandemics. EPISODE LINK: https://bit.ly/2MbDi6M

Providing effective internet of things (IoT) security in new product development involves planning for more than just the hardware design – much thinking needs to be done around modeling of risks and vulnerabilities that the device might experience through the entire lifetime of the product, all the way to obsolescence. In this episode of embedded edge with Nitin, we explore issues around implementing security, understanding safety, vulnerabilities, threat modeling and a holistic ecosystem approach to planning for IoT security in product development. We also look at this in the context of connected medical device security.

Legislation is beginning to be enacted around the world to protect data privacy. The issues are: what data is collected about you, and who has access to it? The answers have ramifications for everything from our smartphones to communications network architectures. Jack Ogawa is senior director of embedded security products at Cypress Semiconductor. We talk with Jack about the legislation that's popping up, and how the electronics industry is responding. Also, TSMC, the most successful IC foundry in the world, is based in Taiwan, and it just announced it may build a new fab in the US. This could be tremendously important for many reasons; we discuss why. EPISODE LINK: https://bit.ly/2Zvt0Ge

Lars Reger, senior vice president and chief technical officer of NXP Semiconductors, expounds on the relationship between product security and safety, managing the development of safe & secure products, going green, the music of Queen, cars, and more. Also, a discussion with EE Times international editor Junko Yoshida on a resurgent HiSilicon and the semiconductor market in China.   EPISODE LINK: https://bit.ly/2yFdMmZ

James is the former president of Intel and currently the CEO of one of the startups looking to take on Intel in the market for data center servers. The difference between Ampere and other would-be Intel competitors is that Ampere has actual silicon in hand. An exclusive interview with Renee James. Also: Tirias Research analyst Kevin Krewell on using Arm cores to compete with Intel in the server market. EPISODE LINK: https://bit.ly/2yFdMmZ

Engineering students demand immediate hands-on experience; the electronics industry needs people versed in fundamentals — something’s gotta give. An interview with Georgia Tech professor Arijit Raychowdhury on educating a modern engineer. Also: The traditional economic model for products ends up with a lot of waste. Engineer Michael Kirschner on why and how the electronics industry is going to have to change. And: EE Times editor Sally Ward-Foxton introduces our Weekend Edition.

Protecting data systems is a never-ending cat-and-mouse game. What if the data could just protect itself? An interview with security expert and Keyavi CEO Elliot Lewis. Also, the trade war exposed the peril of off-shoring production – a lesson the pandemic hammered home. How can the U.S. bring back manufacturing? An interview with international production expert Dan Breznitz.   EPISODE LINK: https://www.eetimes.com/podcasts/self-protecting-data-how-to-bring-back-u-s-manufacturing-galvanized/

Several secretive AI startups finally revealed what they’re doing – a conversation with analyst Kevin Krewell about the revelations from the Spring Linley Conference. Imagination Technologies got itself embroiled in international intrigue – what’s going on there? And the Great Lockdown has had many profound consequences, including effects on what we hear every day – EE Times editors compile a global audio essay.

Advancements in a half-dozen different technologies are leading to a new generation of medical devices that promise improvements not only in medical monitoring to diagnostics, but increasingly active treatment. Waymo tends to be ahead of the curve on autonomous driving technology; right now it is loading its vehicles with sensors – but is that practical?

In 1965, the IC business was dead in the water. Andy Grove had half the solution, and Steve Hofstein had the other half. Their exchange of half a dozen words in a pool in Las Vegas changed the course of history. An interview with industry legend Steve Hofstein. Also, a report on election hacking; we know what the solution is. And, as the world has been upended by the coronavirus, engineers in high places have been stepping up to fill the leadership vacuum.

In the podcast this week: a discussion of Intel’s massive leap to a neuromorphic system with as many neurons as a small rodent; an interview with the programming whiz who put together a web-based multimedia presentation of one of NASA’s biggest disasters and most stunning triumphs; and a virtual conference for the coronavirus era.

Of course the pandemic disrupted the supply chain. But what about what happened after that? EE Times editors get together to discuss how the coronavirus has affected the technology industry and far beyond. Our colleagues from China report on what the rest of us can expect to experience in the next 4 to 8 weeks. And if you’re quarantined, our staff film mavens offer a list of recommended films for home viewing.

Europe is betting on hydrogen fuel. What’s the agenda —and how do hydrogen cars work anyway? Also, holograms were a huge fad in the ‘70s; now the technology appears to be on the verge of a commercial comeback. Also, AMD emerged as the big winner as supercomputers move into the Exaflops Era.

In an insanely complicated maneuver, Northrup Grumman repaired a satellite in orbit; Maxim Integrated come up with a unique way to protect IoT devices; and System Plus goes way, way beyond simple teardowns.

Sample a smorgasbord of stories from Germany, the U.S., Spain, and parts beyond. Subjects include a unique AI that can be trained on an edge device (no, really!), a ferroelectric memory, designing semiconductor wafers for 5G, and more.

Proponents of autonomous vehicles are selling a dream they’re hoping you won’t notice is unachievable until it’s too late. In this episode: why that is, and the better alternative. Also, a good chunk of the semiconductor industry seems to be pivoting toward audio. A roundtable on voice recognition, and who’s really listening when we talk to our ovens.

This week: A deep discussion on the semantics and semiotics of virtual reality and augmented reality (with a whole lot about VR/AR technology too). Also, XMOS just released a “crossover processor” for voice applications. We talk to XMOS’ CEO to find out what that means.

A new coronavirus emerged in China less than three weeks ago, and already it is disrupting business and affecting the global supply chain; we assess the damage so far, and get a live report from China. Also, the semiconductor industry creates a significant amount of toxic waste; we discuss a new process to reduce semiconductor waste dramatically.

This week...the Trump Administration has been pressuring economic allies to ban the installation of Huawei 5G network equipment. The United Kingdom just said that it will not accede to that demand. But the story is actually a little more complicated than that. Also, there are efforts all over the world aimed at building a thriving high-tech economy. It’s not as easy as it sounds, however. France is deliberately trying to emulate the organic processes that resulted in Silicon Valley.

This week we’ve got an interview with AMD CTO Mark Papermaster, one of the architects of the bold new AMD…also – a conversation with Ron Black, the CEO of Imagination Technologies, which seems to have its fingers in nearly every emerging technological trend out there. And, our editorial director, Bolaji Ojo checks in with the key question for the electronics industry in 2020 – where should everyone spend their money?