VDC Research: Embedded Microprocessor, Board & Systems Market Blog

Four Big Takeaways from the Design West / ESC Show

In this last ESC show related blog, I will summarize several of the discoveries and themes we saw for embedded hardware products. We had lots of great conversations and observed many product demonstrations and presentations. These four takeaways were some of the most interesting.

Disposable Products: Embedded device manufacturers are looking to provide units that minimize power use when operating and virtually eliminate any use when idle. What is driving this is the idea of products like smoke and/or CO detectors lasting for 10 years or more and then being disposable. This allows the units to use different power sources while eliminating battery clips, and simplifying enclosure designs.  If you take it a next step, you could see that some municipalities could ensure that every residence and business would have smoke/CO detector units installed and operational. This would save lives and money.

Microcontrollers (MCU) and Digital Signal Processors (DSP): Embedded computing has gotten a lot more complicated and one place that is representative of this trend is automotive airbag systems. In prior generation designs it was relatively simple in that a MEMs device or some type of impact sensor was connected to an MCU that would in turn trigger the airbag if a well defined set of go/no-go conditions were met. There were several problems that now make this architecture less feasible. Airbags are expensive to replace and, in some cases present dangers of their own. Therefore, you want to be a little more selective about when you want to deploy them. Cars now have multiple airbags and you only want to deploy some of them depending on conditions that might not be a simple MCU driven process. In summary, the airbag trigger process involves more sensors to detect passenger configurations and weights as well as impact sites, directions, magnitudes and whether the vehicle is rolling over. This is why VDC believes that the demand for DSPs in the automotive vertical market will be growing significantly.

Embedded Device Pin counts and Features: During the ESC show we spoke with many embedded controller and processor suppliers and were impressed with the amount of features and capabilities that are increasingly being integrated into these products. By doing so, in many cases it reduces the need for pins that would be needed to connect the device to other devices in a customer’s product. To the embedded device manufacturer this has many possible benefits as it frees up the pins for other functions or eliminates them completely.  Another tangible benefit would be reduced cost of test as the reduced pin count might enable more parallel testing. The design engineers at the customer have to be delighted as they have fewer worries about integrating peripherals and supporting devices and now, less demand for space inside the products they are designing. This is truly a win-win proposition.

Embedded Cloud / Microstrain: In their booth, the CEO Steve Arms was demonstrating their Sensor Cloud service. The demonstration was showing real time and archived data collected wirelessly from an array of sensors at a Vermont winery. This is a classic embedded cloud business model of a company setting up cloud services for customers. Agriculture is always a complicated business and the introduction of this type of service should help lower costs to farmers. Now, imagine a second derivative of the cloud data being aggregated and sold to the financial industry to support decisions about crop futures.

In a blog later this week, I will give some thoughts on the embedded cloud business model and the layers of value that can be extracted.

Design West / ESC Show Highlights - Part 2

In this blog I will continue to explore some of the VDC Embedded Hardware team experience at the Design West ESC show. We saw a lot of great product demonstrations along with some excellent detailed briefings and meetings so it’s difficult to boil it all down to a reasonable size blog but here we go:

AMD: We saw a number of embedded computer products from multiple manufactures that featured AMD processors. Many of these would be great for scalable edge node applications. Heard a bit more about the latest Opteron 3200 series of processors which will likely find many cloud based applications. While at AMD we visited partner Xi3 they have some really nifty looking cube type computers that can be deployed in array like structures. The concept they were showing was a datacenter on wheels.

Atmel: Was showing some new products that seemed really great for embedded M2M type connectivity but, according to the press material I received, the details are embargoed for another week or two.

Digi-International: Digi was a company we covered in the Migrating to the Embedded Cloud report that published this week so we really wanted to stop by and see if there was anything new going on.  What we saw didn’t disappoint as there was a lot of evidence about the partnerships we talk about in the report. Digi and Wind River were announcing a collaboration to deliver M2M wireless connectivity solutions using Intel processors. This is on the heels of a similar partnership that Digi has with Freescale. We saw that Digi was using another company’s embedded computer hardware products as part of the cloud connectivity demonstration but, as that partnership is not announced; I can’t write more about that now.

Integrated Device Technology (IDT): In this booth there was a very impressive demonstration of  serial RapidIO technology being deployed in a number of different companies’ products. This is very important in cellular 3G and 4G deployments. Despite being handled by different protocols, hardware and connection methods the data travelled end-to-end efficiently and, most importantly without being corrupted.

Imagination Technologies:  We saw some really great examples of their IP used in mobile devices and applications. As people become more ingrained with mobile devices, high resolution videos, and larger screen sizes, it takes some pretty complex systems on chip to make it work. The difficult thing is getting the needed performance while not sucking the mobile equipments battery dry.

Inside Secure: As the market for M2M is growing there needs to be ways to ensure of the identity of the machines and people being connected. Inside Secure gave us a briefing on several of their security technologies that can be embedded into products to address these issues.

Lantronix: As an OEM is making design decisions on new products or looking to update older ones adding wired and/or wireless connectivity can be a problem. Lantronix briefed us on several of their products where the connective capability can be added to new designs or even old ones on an as needed basis. Almost as a proof of concept, Lantronix produced xPrintServer using technology they usually sell to OEMs to allow Apple devices to directly connect to existing legacy printers using a downloadable app.

Microchip: The VDC Embedded SW and HW teams had several meetings with Microchip and we were particularly happy to have an opportunity for a great discussion their President and CEO Steve Sanghi. As this blog looks to be running a little long, I will give the special focus to topics we covered with Mr. Sanghi in a blog next week. The hardware team learned a lot about some of the new Microchip MCUs that are adding analog circuitry such as ADCs, DACs, Op-Amps, and Comparators.  This puts more functionality into a single package while, at the same time often reduces device pin count.

Micron: I saw a detailed briefing on the latest about the Micron memory cube product. The through hole vias on the semiconductor dies that make this design possible are interesting in themselves.

National Instruments: This was another company that is covered in the Embedded Cloud report and, we saw that the Compact Rio product has some new, even more compact, product lines extensions. In the booth there was also a mock-up of a Siemens smart grid transmission line breaker module. The N/I Compact Rio was part of the design in that it could capture and transmit events that happened on the transmission lines. One of the neat things is Siemens/NI project is that the breaker can be reset remotely.

Netronome: If you ever want to see a place where powerful embedded processors are used in large quantities in high volume applications, a network flow processor is a good place to look. These impressive units we saw inspect packets and move internet traffic at extremely high rates.

Power.org: An interesting talk with one of the Directors at the IBM booth to learn more about this organization that unifies standards among its members around the Power Architecture technology with a goal of making sure that processors and communications products work efficiently as the scale of connectivity grow ever increasingly higher.

Silex: We saw some product briefings on their connectivity modules. With respect to M2M connectivity this is pretty interesting if for example you are a product designer supporting a legacy product that you want to add M2M services to or, in other cases, you are worried that a particular standard fall out of favor, and you want the product you are designing to be future proof.

SuperMicro: They have a very large line of products and the MicroCloud product was particularly interesting to us because of the embedded cloud report where we had profiled SuperMicro.  The MicroCloud product impressed us with its ability to scale up as a cloud service and/or the amount of machines being supported in an edge node application grows.

Texas Instruments: TI had a lot to show us with all types of embedded hardware products adding GPS and motion sensing as well as Wi-Fi and other connectivity. Anyone that has taken a portable device with GPS applications into a building, large city, or tunnel will realize that these types of products have a waiting market.  We also got briefings on some new process intensive DSP products that are becoming increasingly important to many markets. This is one of the topics I will expand on in the next installment of this blog series.

Next week, I’ll give a few last high level takeaways about things we saw and discussed at the show.

Design West / ESC Show 2012 Highlights - Part 1 The Embeddy

VDC attended the 2012 DESIGN West/Embedded Systems Conference in San Jose from March 27^th through March 30^th and met with more than 30 companies to discuss product announcements and a variety of industry trends impacting the embedded hardware market today.

I wanted to take a few minutes to thank the many outstanding people at the show that provided briefings to the VDC Embedded Hardware team. With our Migrating to the Embedded Cloud report in production, key trend elements we were especially attentive to included M2M connectivity of embedded computing products with cloud based services and infrastructure.

As the first part of this blog, I thought I would give some detail on the Embeddy winner. Then, in a follow up blog that will post next week I will highlight many other companies we met with and some of the new products and trends we heard about.

And now, without further ado, the winner of the VDC Hardware Embeddy award for the 2012 Design West / ESC show was Freescale for their Vybrid family of embedded controller solutions.

There were several things that impressed me about the Vybrid line. First of all there are several different combinations of features and performance that can be selected. This should make them very flexible and cost effective.

The second thing I noted was the heterogeneous architecture for the dual processors inside the device. One processor core was more powerful for the functions that needed it and the other processor core was more economical for less demanding functions. I would think that would make it an good fit in a world that is now demanding more embedded processing power while, at the same time looking for power economy as well.

Freescale looks to be providing product samples later this year and indicates that they will be ramping up production of them in 2013. It will be interesting to see how the market responds.

Deepsea Challenger: Bringing Embedded to the Bottom of the World

Titanic and Avatar director and filmmaker James Cameron recently completed an epic adventure to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest location under the Pacific Ocean. In order to reach this location and survive the crushing pressures of the massive ocean above him, Mr. Cameron rode in a custom designed submarine called the Deepsea Challenger. Equipped with sophisicated video camera technology, Mr. Cameron was able to bring back footage from this alien world that lies nearly 11,000 meters below the surface. A sparse, barren plain devoid of life suggests that the Mariana trench is no place to plan your next vacation. Clearly, Mr. Cameron had some very advanced technology to go explore this place. So, the question from our perspective is, what embedded technology did Mr. Cameron bring with him?

Well, one primary and crucial embedded system is the touch screen that allowed Mr. Cameron to monitor all the critical systems within the Deepsea Challenger submersible, including life support, batteries, thrusters, speed, pressure, orientation, etc. This touch screen no doubt consolidated what would have been a nightmarish ensemble of dials, gauges, and other devices into one interactive screen. No doubt, the first visitors to the bottom of the world, explorers Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, would be envious of the high tech systems that Mr. Cameron had at his disposal. This touch screen system is a good example of what made it possible for Mr. Cameron to attempt this solo journey.

VDC believes touch screen technology is a fast growing market with huge potential. While most of us will probably have to wait a little longer for deep-diving submersibles (SOTS – Submersibles Off-The-Shelf—you heard it here first), the much more common consumer products like iPods and iPhones already incorporate this technology. Appliances like refrigerators are beginning to incorporate these touch screen technologies as well. This is a particularly good business opportunity for embedded microcontroller companies such as Atmel Corporation with its maXTouch family of touchscreen controllers. In fact, VDC will be examining this kind of technology in its upcoming Track 2: Embedded Processing Technologies, Volume 1: Microcontroller Units (MCU) reports.

Market research aside, VDC congratulates Mr. Cameron and his engineering team on a successful and safe return from the bottom of the ocean.

Embedded World 2012: Year of the Microcontroller

According to the lunisolar calendar used in many parts of Asia, this is the Year of the Dragon. During this often revered cycle, VDC visited Germany for embedded world 2012. Held in the city of Nuremberg at the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg, the event features displays of the latest embedded technology and attracts the leading vendors from all over the globe. It was an exciting show, with more than 20,000 attendees. After experiencing the myriad exhibits of embedded technology and getting a feel for the latest trends, VDC’s embedded hardware team would like to propose an alternative hypothesis: this is the Year of the Microcontroller.

Over the course of two days at the event, VDC met with a number of embedded hardware companies including ADLINK Technology, AMD, Atmel, Connect One, Echelon, Eurotech, Freescale, IEI Technology, Kontron, MSC Vertriebs, National Instruments, NXP, SEA, Xilinx and many more. However, one of the most active technology areas that VDC observed at the show was microcontrollers. Microcontroller companies with product announcements at the show included STMicroelectronics, NXP, and Texas Instruments.

STMicroelectronics unveiled its STM32 F0 microcontroller family which is built around the ultra low-power ARM Cortex-M0 (http://www.st.com/internet/com/press_release/p3275.jsp).  The goal of the new microcontroller family is to provide customers with new features that were previously only available at higher price points. This represents a pathway for these customers to migrate from 8-bit and 16-bit MCUs. With its analog features, the STM32 F0 is designed for fast rate sensing and control across multiple channels. Potential applications include industrial controls, building automation, computer printers, and a range of other consumer products. Through the use of the ARM Cortex-M based product, the STM32 F0 can free a customer from dependence on proprietary architectures and accompanying limitations.

Another company showing its microcontroller products was NXP. During the show, NXP announced its LPC1100XL, which also featured the ARM Cortex-M0 technology. This product expands the scalability of the overall processor family and makes power less of a design concern for embedded engineers. The LPX1100XL has “power profiles” which allow for real-time power management. The device also has 256 bytes of page erase which enables field updates without having to erase sectors to write the next page. Typical applications might be in consumer electronics, industrial control, and portable medical technologies.

With so many excellent products at the show and only limited time to see just a selection of them, picking a favorite is always a difficult decision. VDC typically looks for products that address the latest trends and drive cutting edge innovation. However, we must inevitably choose a winner, and so…

BEST IN SHOW AWARD GOES TO (DRUM ROLL):

 

Texas Instruments perhaps had the most visible product launch, with an inflatable promoting the Wolverine microcontroller just outside the exhibit hall’s entrance. Texas Instruments claims their MSP430 micocontroller uses fifty percent less power than any other microcontroller. The microcontroller utilizes a relatively new form of memory known as ferroelectric RAM (FRAM). This memory is non-volatile and helps bring down the power consumption of the overall microcontroller as a result. The design also incorporates ultra low leakage (ULL) process technology. One potential application of this equipment would be wearable medical monitoring technology. Another is sports monitoring equipment that can be attached to running shoes. VDC believes this product addresses many of the significant trends in the market: the quest for ultra low power in various use modes, the need for wearable technologies that do not interfere with humans’ mobility, the need for more innovative types of memory, and having a software ecosystem in place to support the product. Because of the innovative promise of TI’s “Wolverine” microcontroller, VDC designates the MSP430 as the best in show of hardware for embedded world 2012. 

Other microcontroller exhibitors at the exhibition included:

Arrow Central Europe, ATMEL, Avnet Memec, Cypress Semiconductor, Digi International, EBV Elektronik, Echelon, Freescale Halbleiter Europe, Fujitsu Semiconductor Europe, Integrated Device Technology, Infineon, Microchip Technology, Microsemi, MSC Vertriebs, Renesas Electronics Europe, Silica, Silicon Laboratories, Toshiba Electronics Europe and many others.

VDC is currently in the process of researching for its Track 2: Embedded Processing Technologies, Volume 1: Microcontroller Units (MCUs) study. We encourage companies to contact us with relevant product announcements and to set up briefings regarding microcontroller divisions.

Connect with VDC Research Group at the Design West/Embedded Systems Conference 2012!

VDC Research Group will be joining the Design West/Embedded Systems Conference 2012 exhibition and conference.  During the conference, we will be presenting the coveted VDC Embeddy awards to a deserving product in each of the 2 software and hardware categories. To make sure your product is considered, please make sure that:

• The product is formally announced at the show or, has been announced as of January, 2012
• That the VDC Research team will be briefed on the details of the product by your show staff.

VDC’s Embedded Hardware Team will be arriving March 27th and will be at the conference through March 29th.  During that time, we welcome the opportunity to connect with attending vendors.  We look forward to explaining VDC’s research methodology, learning about your latest product releases, and discussing your market research and strategic needs.

If you would like to learn more about the show, please click here.

If you would like to schedule a meeting around Embedded Hardware, please contact:

David Laing, Senior Analyst, Embedded Hardware & Systems Practice, VDC Research Group at: dlaing@vdcresearch.com or 508.653.9000 x146.

Or

Chris Rommel, Vice President, Embedded Hardware & Systems Practice, VDC Research Group at: crommel@vdcresearch.com  or 508.653.9000 x123.

If you would like to schedule a meeting around Embedded Software, please contact:

Jared Weiner, Analyst, Embedded Software & Tools Practice, VDC Research Group at: jweiner@vdcresearch.com  or 508.653.9000 x143.

GE’s 4th Quarter: The Industrial Crystal Ball for Embedded Hardware in 2012?

General Electric released its 4^th Quarter 2011 earnings today. As many know, GE has grown from its humble beginnings in light bulbs to provide a spectrum of products from aircraft engines to financial services. While GE Intelligent Platforms makes embedded hardware, GE as a whole goes far beyond the world of embedded.  As a former GE engineer myself, I have seen firsthand the world-class technology GE brings to market. Since it is a global company with diverse industries, it is typically seen as a bell-weather indicator for the general economy that drives the vertical markets of the embedded industry.

So, what can we glean about the future of the embedded hardware markets from GE’s 4^th Quarter Earnings announcement?

First, off, CEO Jeff Immelt mentions “continued volatility for 2012” and restructuring GE’s business in Europe to match market conditions. Obviously, volatility is never a reassuring term. And the situation in Europe appears uncertain. VDC expects that this will mean fewer embedded hardware shipments to Europe, shifting the market share percentages towards the US and Asia-Pacific regions.

Total GE revenues for the quarter were $38 billion - down from many analysts’ expectations, and down 8% from the 4^th quarter of 2010. However, this was mostly due to the impact of GE’s sale of its majority stake in NBC Universal. GE is most likely making the right decision to focus on its core competency: industrial products.

But, GE’s global direction aside, what do their division results say for the future? Energy Infrastructure was up 16% Y-o-Y, which is promising. This energy infrastructure would have opportunities for a host of embedded processors, from smart grid applications to wind farms to gas power turbines. For GE, that meant $43.7 billion dollars in revenue. Lots of opportunities going forward assuming this kind of growth continues. Aviation and Healthcare were a more modest 7% growth Y-o-Y, but still over $18 billion in revenue for each segment. Surely there is some embedded hardware associated with that project revenue as well: microcontrollers into engine related equipment; CPUs, GPUs, and more into MRI, CT, X-ray, portable medical equipment, etc. Perhaps most impressive from a revenue growth perspective is Transportation: 45% Y-o-Y.  In 2009 and 2010, this segment posted revenue declines. 

What are the embedded hardware opportunities in transportation?  First, a closer look at what GE defines as Transportation.  This segment includes diesel locomotives, transit propulsion equipment, motorized wheels for off-highway vehicles, and a variety of other motor and system devices.  As the BRIC economies continue to expand, they are no doubt demanding a range of transportation technologies such as the ones GE offers, which all will likely require embedded hardware at some point in their deployment, so the opportunities for embedded hardware here are substantial.    

Microcontrollers: Revolutionizing Technology through Power Saving and Security

During this holiday time, as we happily un-wrap our new iPhone, tablet, Nook, or other touch screen device, we will likely be blissfully unaware of the technology under our fingertips.  But inside many of these devices, microcontrollers are hard at work.  Microcontrollers from companies like Freescale, Microchip, Texas Instruments, STMicro, and Atmel Corporation.

Atmel recently released a new series of microcontrollers, specifically in its 32-bit AVR product portfolio.  Atmel has expanded its AVR UC3L and UC3A4 product lines and initiated a new product line called AVR UC3D.   Atmel has updated these product lines as follows:

• AVR UCL3: new memory and USB functionality
• AVR UC3D: new product line for entry-level 32-bit applications and capacitive touch support
• AVR UC3A4:  features high-speed USB and 128kB of SRAM

The first two microcontroller product lines feature an interesting capability called SleepWalking.  This technology allows peripherals to monitor incoming packets and enables these peripherals to decide whether to wake up the CPU or not.  As CPUs and associated RAM consume approximately 60%-70% of a given consumer device’s power, this offers significant potential power savings.  While one device in itself is insignificant, the aggregation of the potential power savings from similar devices across the globe could generate power savings on a meaningful scale. 

Another notable feature of the AVR UC3L microcontroller is the FlashVault code protection.  This technology lets on-chip Flash memory be partially programmed and then locked.  This allows the product to be released to 3^rd party vendors who can then add their own value-added service.  The intellectual property contained in the microcontroller Flash is thus kept secure.

VDC believes that these product lines highlight two of the biggest technology trends of the present and future: power and security.  With the proliferation of devices, power consumption must be reduced both from the individual user standpoint and from a global perspective.  Second, as more and more embedded devices are deployed, the security of the software in these devices is critical.  VDC expects microcontroller companies that address these issues will likely increase interest in their products.

ESC Boston is Coming Soon - Schedule Time to Meet with VDC

The Embedded Systems Conference will be held this month (September 26^th-29^th) at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

VDC will be attending the conference once again this year and will be presenting our 7th annual Embeddy Awards for Best in Show live at the conference. The winners will be announced live ahead of Wednesday's morning keynote session.

So how can your company win the Embeddy award?

To be considered, you must schedule a meeting with VDC to discuss the announcement that you are making at the show. You can arrange a meeting time with VDC by doing one of the following:

Contact Stephen Balacco, Director, Embedded Software & Tools Practice, VDC Research Group by contacting Stephen at: sbalacco@vdcresearch.com or 508.653.9000 x 124.

Still need to register?

Online registration is still open and you can always register in person at the show as well.

We are looking forward to another great show.  See you all in Boston!

Q2 2011 Embedded Processor Market Update: Japan Recovers

The March 2011 disaster that unleashed massive destruction across Japan, clearly inflicted an unconscionable toll on the citizens of the world’s third largest economy.  While we monitor the country’s recovery, VDC Research Group also recently assessed the economic impact on the embedded processor supplier community through a series of executive briefings during Q2 2011.

In order to assess the specific impact of this catastrophe, VDC Research Group was briefed by key suppliers across the embedded processor landscape.  The product spectrum includes leading companies that design and develop central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and microcontroller units (MCUs). 

VDC’s primary objective was to more deeply research and understand the, (a) supply chain impact, (b) manufacturing impact, (c) and the average selling price impact in the second calendar quarter based on the following self-directed impact scale.

 

Our research findings suggest that a number of processor suppliers are currently experiencing only minor disruptions from the disaster, while one supplier, in particular, Renesas recently reported to VDC severe disruptions with their product’s supply chain.
 
To view our complete analysis of the Q2 impact on selected embedded processor suppliers, please download our complementary research note.