MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service), which combines cloud computing, AI, big data, and other technologies, is regarded by national governments and businesses as necessary for realizing a future with smart transportation. Taiwan's MaaS project, which will go online in 2022, integrates various transportation services into a single, convenient platform. The development of this platform was led by Dr. Yi-Chang Chiu, the Founder, and CEO of Metropia. He believes that MaaS needs to aggregate and compute a large amount of information and provide various innovative functions that can quickly respond to user demand. To meet these requirements, Metropia adopted AWS cloud services with the assistance of CKmates.Metropia was founded in the U.S. by a primarily academic team nearly ten years ago when Dr. Chiu was teaching at the University of Arizona. Its core innovation was the creation of a MaaS smart transportation platform that combined mathematical models and modern artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. They set out to help plan operating models for system integrators, and as such, Metropia has robust technical ability in the field of smart transportation. Since its establishment in 2012, Metropia has been devoted to R&D. In 2015, the first version of Metropia's behavior engine was launched, upon which the company was ranked in the Top 100 Government Technology companies by GovTech in the United States. After a decade, Metropia has expanded to many cities in the United States and was invited by the Taiwanese Ministry of Transportation and Communications to return and assist in planning and constructing a smart transportation platform. Currently, its MaaS platform is the largest such platform in the United States and Taiwan.Dr. Chiu further explained how a MaaS platform works. The platform will integrate various traffic data into a single location. If users want to travel to a certain destination, they are presented with information regarding driving, cycling, public transportation, walking, and other modes of transportation. The platform also considers transfer times and the tradeoffs between time and money. While this concept sounds relatively simple, building a service that can accurately and efficiently fulfill this design is incredibly complex and difficult. For example, Dr. Chiu provided an example of a group of students that wanted to travel with a small budget but plenty of time. The platform would provide them with options that mostly included public transportation, such as the Taiwan Railways or passenger transport, with low fares but longer travel times. Conversely, the options would focus on High-Speed Rail and ride-hailing for business professionals with larger budgets but tighter time requirements. In addition, Metropia's MaaS AI engine can learn from its users' travel histories, recommend suitable modes of transportation, and meet travelers' on-the-road payment needs via the integration of third-party cash services and mobile payment platforms.A powerful MaaS platform that integrates food, accommodation, travel, shopping, and transportation can create diverse business models. For example, lifestyle MaaS operators understand users' travel behavior, meaning their data can be used to recommend more accurate products and greatly increase transaction rates. Tourist-type MaaS operators can offer packaged itineraries that combine transportation plans with meals/accommodations/travel/shopping/etc. By working with overseas travel companies, this platform can greatly expand the foreign tourist market and boost revenue.Integrating these technologies has many more applications, such as understanding consumer travel behavior and instantly pushing discounts to consumers for food, accommodation, travel, shopping, and travel. In its latest report, the market research organization Juniper Research predicted that MaaS platform providers would bring in US$53 billion in revenue by 2027, which shows that the appetite for MaaS will only continue to grow.Dr. Chiu pointed out that a fully functional MaaS platform must integrate a large amount of continually updated traffic data and execute AI algorithms that typically require many computing resources. At the same time, the service has to be able to connect with third-party platforms. This all involves very high requirements for IT system performance. In its early days, Metropia's US office used AWS cloud services to deal with rapidly increasing traffic data volume and the computing needs of MaaS. The Taiwan office was originally set up with an onsite backend system. In order to smoothly connect with the US branch, AWS was later imported with the assistance of CKmates.Metropia chose to use AWS mainly due to its focus on diverse services and scalability. Dr. Chiu pointed out that MaaS uses a huge amount of real-time traffic data that can change rapidly. Therefore, it requires an IT system with sufficient storage and computational resources. Building an independent system that can operate smoothly would require a hefty investment of both time and money. Organizing a professional team to develop various functionalities and upgrades and maintaining the software and hardware is quite burdensome for new startups. It is in these very circumstances that AWS helps tremendously.Since AWS already has its own hardware resources and various functional modules, Metropia only needed to select the appropriate software and hardware according to its current needs, which could be immediately brought online. If the user load changes in the future, the service could be increased or decreased accordingly. This feature helped optimize the IT budget efficiency of Metropia, allowing them to expand their IT system according to demand flexibly. Dr. Chiu mentioned that Metropia frequently used the AWS Auto Scaling expansion plan. This function allowed Metropia to automatically search for relevant resources and set expansion plans within a short period of time. This functionality would take a lot of time for an onsite system to develop. The AWS platform comes completely ready to use. In addition, the stability and information security offered by AWS is virtually unmatched.Dr. Chiu advised how to start using AWS based on his experience introducing it to Metropia. He said that with AWS' many functions, it is inevitable that first-time users may be overwhelmed by the many choices. He suggested that businesses cooperate with vendors with professional experience in this area. Metropia sought out CKmates, a business familiar with AWS with long-term experience coaching enterprises to build IT systems. They assisted Metropia in choosing suitable software and hardware services to maximize ROI.With the assistance of CKmates, Metropia has been able to make good use of the various cloud services provided by AWS. Ever since it has focused its enterprise resources on its core business. For future planning, Dr. Chiu revealed that he would continue using AWS's power to improve Taiwan's MaaS platform and provide a convenient and smart transportation service for the people of Taiwan.If you want to know more about metropia, please click the link. https://www.metropia.com/Metropia's Director of Mobility System Jeff Lin (left), Metropia's Technical Director Sibu Wang (middle) and CKmates' Senior Sales Representative Chun-Cheng Zhao (right)
By 2025, we can expect nearly 27 billion connected IoT devices worldwide. Many of those will be smart home products, however currently those products are in varied ecosystems and may be unable to communicate with others, which poses a challenge for consumers looking for products that work with their existing smart home configuration and creates considerable hurdles for developers working to get products to market.The Matter standard is an answer to that challenge, and will be a major driver of growth that helps usher in a new era of IoT connectivity. Matter's release in the fall of 2022 will tear down the boundaries between smart home ecosystems, making smart home connections seamless and giving consumers more product options than ever before.At Silicon Labs, we have been highly invested in Matter's success and creation from the ground up. As an active member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), we are one of the largest code contributors to the platform, and the largest code contributor of any semiconductor vendor. To accelerate its adoption, we have a portfolio of hardware and software solutions for Matter that provide a complete, end-to-end Matter development platform for all ecosystems and wireless protocols.Our Matter Development Platform supports the advancement of smart home technology capabilities, crossing Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE), and Thread. Featuring superior wireless performance and wireless hardware that extends battery life, products built with on the Silicon Labs Matter platform are smart, efficient, and primed for seamless integration into the smart home—which will save consumers costs and frustration.The central component of the Matter platform is our 2.4 GHz wireless MG24 SoC with Bluetooth and multiple-protocol operations. MG24 supports Matter over Thread as a single-chip solution, delivering long range of up to 200 meters indoors, and enabling Bluetooth Low Energy commissioning of new devices using the same chip. MG24 is ready for developers to begin designing Matter-ready products.Our Unify SDK software development platform for Matter provides the environment and the tools needed for developers to bridge Matter to other IoT platforms, including Wi-Fi, Zigbee and Z-Wave. Simplicity Studio and Gecko SDK provide a single development environment for enabling Matter on wireless devices and connecting them to the ecosystem of the consumer's choice.Every Matter solution we offer features Silicon Labs Secure Vault, bringing the industry's highest level IoT security and reliability to devices. The IoT security enabled within our platform will protect these devices and their users against cyberattacks and other potential threats to privacy.This innovative approach to smart home technology will alleviate integration challenges previously encountered by consumers and will give developers the tools to create products that work across ecosystems. Our in-depth system expertise will accelerate the development of high-quality Matter devices to revolutionize the smart home experience.
The word "shortage" has figured prominently in the semiconductor industry over the past several years. From automotive to industrial, very few businesses found themselves with enough chips to keep up regular production. Alongside the chip shortage, an even larger scarcity looms – a rapidly shrinking workforce.As competition for talent intensifies, the US' government and manufacturers with plans to expand domestic semiconductor production are looking for creative ways to close the employment gap. The solution they are pursuing is to invest in programs now to pave the way to the future. How We Got Here and Where We Are GoingIn the 1960s, the US semiconductor industry was bolstered by fiscal spending and contracts from the Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD enforced open communication, which meant technology was shared by large and small firms alike — enabling rapid, cost-effective innovation. This created a healthy labor market responsible for producing groundbreaking technologies.The industry eventually grew beyond a point where the government could regulate firms' agreements and government contracts dropped dramatically in the 1970s. But technology was swiftly integrating into businesses globally, so there was no lack of profit for the semiconductor enterprise.As policies shifted, "champion" and asset-light design firms took over, favoring larger companies. This created supply bottlenecks for those who lacked funds for substantial orders. As global competition increased, fabless firms, which concentrated on design and sale while outsourcing fabrication to semiconductor foundries, were born, and supply chains became further dedicated to aiding more well-funded companies.Other countries increased their design capabilities, and gradually the US market share of electronic component production dropped to today's level of just 12%.However, expansion plans and changes in US policy are shifting the tides yet again.Some of the biggest developments include:Intel pledging upwards of US$20 billion in fabrication plant construction. Micron announcing plans to finance US$40 billion for memory chips. Samsung, Texas Instruments and GlobalFoundries revealing domestic expansion plans for the next 3-5 years. Qualcomm improving domestic production by upwards of 50% over the next five years.The Stats Stacked Against UsThese developments are exciting, but questions remain about where to find employees. Reports from talent management company Eightfold.ai project that the US semiconductor industry needs between 70,000 - 90,000 new workers by 2025. These numbers only satisfy the most critical workforce needs.These positions require highly skilled and trained talent. The semiconductor electrical engineer workforce has grown three times faster than electrical engineering overall, with 78% more job posts in 2021 compared to 2020.The competition from companies both in the US and abroad makes finding trained individuals daunting. The question is, how does the US bring the global talent closer to home and expand the number of candidates to fit the industry's needs?How to Invest in the Future WorkforceOn August 9th, 2022 President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law, allocating US$52.7 billion in federal subsidies to domestic chip manufacturing, with funds earmarked to upskill and expand the industry's workforce.Incentives include US$39 billion for manufacturing and US$13.2 billion for R&D and workforce development. Additional allocations are earmarked to create regional innovation and technology hubs, with the goal of increasing private investment and providing country-wide job opportunities.The burden of investing in education also falls on the manufacturers; Intel has joined with universities and community colleges to devote around US$100 million over the next 10 years for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs.If companies hope to encourage students to pursue a career in the industry and work for them over the competition, they should invest in work training programs, and where possible, allocate charitable giving to education programs.Bridging the Talent GapThere are no quick-fix solutions to the semiconductor and manufacturing workforce shortage. It will take a significant investment of time, money and patience to bridge the gap between demand and personnel availability. If the US hopes to reinvigorate the industry, the government and manufacturing companies will need to work together to build a strong future.
In 2022, as global inflation has been revised up and with the threats of the conflict in Eastern Europe, the world economy is facing an increasingly challenging and uncertain outlook. Although the market seems to be lessening demand for PCs and consumer electronics, the demand for leading-edge process nodes seems to remain high and continues with high attention because this technology powers high performance computing, 5G/6G, advanced servers, and mobile phones in our pockets.According to the SEMI survey report published on July 12th, 2022, titled "GLOBAL TOTAL SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT SALES ON TRACK TO RECORD $118 BILLION IN 2022", Global sales of total semiconductor manufacturing equipment are forecast to reach a record US$117.5 billion in 2022, rising 14.7% from the previous industry high of $102.5 billion in 2021, and increase to $120.8 billion in 2023.This interview with Peter Karl Loewenhardt, Senior Vice President at Tokyo Electron Taiwan (TEL in Taiwan), takes a closer look at the new development of leading-edge nodes and how TEL is fulfilling their customers' demand. For example, the industry has moved towards more three-dimensional transistor structures such as the upcoming introduction of Gate-All-Around (GAA) or Nanosheet FET technologies for producing logic chips of the 3nm or 2nm technology generations.Manufacturability and cost become the key to EUV technologyAs extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography has moved into the mainstream in advanced semiconductor production, the technologies surrounding it such as spin-on resist and post-exposure development continuously are becoming technically more demanding. The industry is developing advanced exposure technologies for the next process nodes. As one keeps moving down the technology process nodes, EUV patterning becomes more and more critical. The leading foundries have moved EUV lithography into production starting at versions of the 7nm node. Nowadays, the 3nm process node is transitioning into the manufacturing stage. The technology is employing further EUV layers to print smaller features and to reduce masks. In fact, High NA is also on the horizon, and TEL should be able to support this effort well as we have our Coater/Developer equipment installed in imec with their high NA EUV tool.There are many challenges for EUV patterning. For example, resist application and pre-treatments as well as the development after exposure are particularly challenging processes that need to be developed very carefully. The process involves many steps before and after EUV exposure that must be done the right way to solve the technical concerns. Additionally, upstream and downstream technologies like vertical etch, deposition and wet cleaning are essential. Furthermore, there has been a growing need for improvements in the trade-off between photoresist sensitivity, resolution, and line edge roughness. With the exploration of upcoming Metal Oxide Resists (MOR), many performance considerations such as EUV dose, line wiggling/roughness, pattern collapse, bridging defects, etc. present opportunities for further EUV performance improvements. TEL has a very good market position for EUV patterning tools including deposition, Coater/Developer, etch, and cleaning systems and continually invests in improvements in both technology and manufacturability.One must not only deliver leading-edge process technology but also excellent manufacturability to be able to have repeatable performance in every manufacturing process. Additionally, for any technology added to the EUV patterning process, the cost is a major factor that must take significant priority. "With respect to manufacturability, focal areas are how to maximize the output of production, minimize the cycle time, and reduce cost. These are all areas where TEL is focusing," he adds.Meanwhile, there is a growing importance of Advanced Packaging and System Integration. 3nm process node can be integrated with other chips manufactured using different technology nodes, continually advancing on-chip technologies. Heterogeneous integration of different dies together in 3D can help continue the density increase in a more economically feasible way. This approach will make future chips more affordable, which will benefit the chip industry and does make it very exciting. This momentum will continue to next process nodes.Continuing ESG initiatives aimed at continuous corporate value enhancementSemiconductor Fabs consume large amounts of electricity, water, and chemicals. While foundries are getting pushed for improving the performance of EUV lithography in the advanced nodes, there are many photoresist materials and specially designed chemicals to be used for solving stochastics defects as a significant concern to enable yield improvement. As a leading equipment manufacturer, TEL contributes by focusing on leading-edge semiconductor production equipment that can solve difficult technical problems and manufacture devices with a continual focus on reducing the impact on the global environment. This way at TEL we can continue to provide differentiated solutions to customers.In the current technological evolution, one of the notable ESG initiatives is focused on the development of EUV lithography in high-volume manufacturing. There are several areas of focus, particularly in the areas of working with various organic photoresist materials and reducing the doses of EUV exposure. These improvements could be very beneficial, most notably shortening the EUV scanning cycle time and maximizing the EUV production output.EUV scanners are especially expensive. Improved usage of EUV scanners is very valuable for customers. TEL helps customers to increase EUV output performance through technical innovation. Technologies such as ESPERT are enablers for driving down EUV related costs and carbon footprint.Future generations of EUV lithography are expected, and there are several challenges to be overcome. The optimization of the many steps of applying photoresist to wafers (including treatments, etc.) with the optimization of the many steps in post-exposure development focus on improving these challenges, improving yield, etc. Additionally the new technologies could potentially reduce chemical and electricity usage to increase environmental performance through the collaboration of supply chains.With sustainable investments becoming more mainstream, in addition to medium-term environmental goals for 2030, TEL set a long-term environmental goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 to take the lead in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in industry-wide. For example TEL's Digital Design Square located in Sapporo city in Japan, is a new base for further digital transformation activities enabling various Artificial Intelligence technologies that have demonstrated reduced resource usage in R&D.TEL will continue to strive to fulfilling its sustainability roles and drive SDGs throughout the efforts to match the targets for improving both technical performance and the environmental performance. At SEMICON Taiwan 2022 Forum events, Loewenhardt is an invited speaker to talk about the EUV patterning technologies and performance improvement. The audience could join the event through the registration of SEMICON Taiwan websites at https://www.semicontaiwan.org/zh/node/4671Peter Karl Loewenhardt, Senior Vice President at Tokyo Electron Taiwan
Digi-Key Electronics, which offers the world's largest selection of electronic components in stock for immediate shipment, announced that the XPLR-IoT-1 explorer kit from u-blox, a global technology leader in positioning and wireless communication, is now available for purchase globally, exclusively from Digi-Key.The XPLR-IoT-1 kit is a ready-to-use development platform with key IoT components and services for many different use cases and applications. The kit includes GNSS, cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth technology, along with cloud communications services.The kit includes everything needed for an out-of-the-box experience and the initial setup is fast and easy. With only a few initial steps, the kit can publish data to the cloud and demonstrate a complete end-to-end solution, and a rechargeable battery allows for portable operation. For position, a low-power GNSS receiver provides accurate data. The explorer kit also has integrated sensors for temperature, humidity, pressure, and ambient light, along with a magnetometer, gyroscope, accelerometer, and battery gauge."The XPLR-IoT-1 explorer kit is so much more than an evaluation board in a box. It has a lot to offer: cellular, short-range, GNSS and cloud," said Josh Mickolio, wireless and IoT business development manager at Digi-Key. "It really is a technology hub that can be used to develop just about any sensor and connectivity application, and is something that engineers can shape to their needs. The flexibility with the usability of this product is exciting - we are thrilled to help launch this product!""We are excited to release the XPLR-IoT-1 kit with Digi-Key, incorporating all four u-blox product centers accelerating sensor to cloud demonstrations to quickly prove design concepts," said Chris Corrado, vice president of global distribution at u-blox. "Whether it is a sensor on the XPLR-IoT-1 or using the XPLR-IoT-1 to connect to a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi sensor, we are excited to see how customers can shorten their proof-of-concept time and try out our latest technologies."Digi-Key now exclusively offers the XPLR-IoT-1 kit from u-blox
KLA is proud to be part of the most significant technological breakthroughs that help create the devices and ideas that transform our current life and shape our future. One of the latest emerging trends is a renewed focus on microLED technology.What is a microLED, and why is the industry focusing on this technology?As the name suggests, a microLED, or µLED, is a light-emitting diode (LED) – roughly 100 times smaller than conventional LEDs. MicroLEDs can be arranged into arrays to make high-resolution displays for applications ranging from smartwatches to very large displays – unlike conventional LEDs, which are suitable only for very large displays like billboards or stadium screens.MicroLED technology was invented in 2000. However, it wasn't until 2012 that a major consumer electronics company demonstrated a 55-inch, high-definition microLED TV. Other companies followed with their own demonstrations in 2018 and 2019 at retail prices of $80,000 for 89-inch models, making the technology out of reach for most consumers. Although microLED can potentially offer significant advantages over LCD or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens, technology issues and production costs have prevented widespread commercialization.KLA – which has supported the global display industry for more than 40 years – has during the past decade been helping leaders in microLED technologies to overcome many of the obstacles to mass production and reduced costs."Our proven process and process control products are designed to meet the unique and demanding challenges of the complex microLED production flow to help accelerate wide market adoption," said Chet Lenox, KLA fellow, industry and customer collaboration.While more products, based on slightly larger "miniLEDs" (typically ~50µm-300µm square), have been brought to market successfully in recent years as a way to improve on traditional LED backlighting for LCD displays, screen manufacturers and their supply chain are still committed to developing the more advanced microLED technology. In addition to the key goal of reducing product cost for consumers, companies are investing heavily in microLEDs for use in small products like watches and augmented reality (AR) headsets because they deliver better energy efficiency, consistent pixel quality and other key benefits as shown in the graphics below.The potential market is huge. Shipping for microLED displays is expected to total 5 million and generate $7 billion in revenue by 2025, rising to more than 11 million units shipped in 2027, according to global technology research firm Omdia.A key factor behind the industry's focus on microLEDs is that LCD and OLED displays are produced on large substrates, where all layers are deposited one after the other. The larger the substrate, the more efficient the process – but large single displays can be difficult to handle and ship. MicroLEDs displays, however, can be produced using seamless tiling of small modules into larger displays.Comparison of MicroLEDs, OLED and LCD DisplaysThe schematic cross-section of a typical microLED display (below) shows the simpler and thinner structure of a microLED compared to a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT LCD) or OLED display, with the red/green/blue LED chips and a single electrode encased between the substrate and glass cover. The precise arrangement of the red, green and blue sub-pixels will vary among models and may even be stacked on top of each other.Schematic (not to scale) cross-section through a typical TFT LCD, OLED and microLED pixel illustrating the relative simplicity of a microLED display.MicroLEDs offer viewing performance equivalent to or, for some criteria such as brightness and refresh rate, better than OLED and LCD technologies. They also offer a longer life than OLED, thinner packaging and generally better energy efficiencies.Relative benefits of microLEDs versus TFT LCD versus OLED technologies and where they overlap.The industry must overcome significant manufacturing challenges to achieve acceptable yields and a viable cost point, including:*Baseline yield optimization at each process step*Selecting known good die with fully functioning red/green/blue microLEDs to be transferred*Flawless backplane circuit design and patterning – in-process inspection, testing and potential repair*Mass transferring millions of micro-sized red, green and blue microLEDs in the desired arrangement and precise locations (Solutions to avoid this might include the use of white or blue microLEDs with color conversion, growing uLEDs directly on silicon backplanes or using wafer-bonding of epi layers on the backplane.) *New manufacturing technology adoption, new supply chains and cost of changeKLA Solutions for MicroLED ManufacturingEach of the above would seem to add cost and make LCDs and OLEDs more economical. However, KLA's metrology, inspection, wafer processing and repair solutions are critical to helping microLED manufacturers address these challenges, optimize yields, reduce the need for built-in redundancy and reduce expenditures to help microLED displays become a viable alternative to the established technologies.KLA's comprehensive portfolio of solutions for microLED manufacturing provides a pathway to yield improvement throughout the entire process – from epitaxy wafer to final display. KLA's proven process and process control products are designed to meet the unique and demanding challenges of complex microLED production.Author: Carolyn Short, technical communications manager, EPC Group, KLA
The electric vehicle (EV) industry has developed a wide range of multi-wheeled electric vehicles, including self-balancing unicycles, two-wheeled scooters, electric motorcycles and bicycles, three-wheeled tuk-tuks and also four-wheeled new energy vehicles. According to TrendForce data, the total global sales of new energy vehicles in the first quarter of 2022 will reach 2 million units, with pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) seeing the strongest growth, with sales reaching 1.5 million units. However, the problem of insufficient charging piles and the inconvenient location of charging stations has created what is known as user "range anxiety". Therefore, the demand for smart home charging and portable EV charging equipment in commercial and residential facilities is rapidly increasing. According to Grand View Research, the global electric vehicle charging infrastructure market size was valued at USD 19.26 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.6% from 2022 to 2030.Holtek Semiconductor has already released and entered volume production of several generations of 8-bit ASSP MCUs directly aimed at one to three-wheeled electric vehicle chargers. This device range is known as the HT45F5Q-x series, for which more information on these complete charger solutions can be found on the Holtek website. To complement this, Holtek also provides a "Charger Development Workshop" which greatly assists customers to rapidly develop their charger products. When used together with the "Charger Volume Production Tool Fixture", it can significantly reduce the time required for factory calibration, thereby increasing production capacity and reducing costs. For four-wheeled electric vehicle charging equipment, HOLTEK has already released different types of Arm Cortex-M core 32-bit based MCUs. These 32-bit devices, such as HT32F50230, HT32F50241, HT32F6771, meet the needs of portable charging guns, wall-mounted chargers and standalone charging pile applications for various types of AC charging equipment. Holtek's HT32 MCU and its NFC Reader controller, the BC45B4523, have already been successfully used in charging equipment products of well-known EV charging companies both in Europe and the US.There are four main common EV charging modes. According to the IEC 61851 specification, the external charging equipment includes:*Mode 1: here the EV is directly connected to a standard home electrical socket via a charging cable (current ≤ 16A). As such cables have no protection features, many countries have banned or restricted their use in public localities.*Mode 2: here the EV is connected to the household AC power grid (current ≤ 32A) via a charging cable equipped with a control and protection device (IC-CPD). This protection device can detect and monitor ground connections, over-current, over-temperature and other protection conditions. This not only ensures safer charging but also complies with electrical specifications. As for common products on the present day market, these include portable charging guns which offer slow AC charging. Mode 3: here the EV is connected to stationary AC power supply equipment (EVSE) through a charging cable. These offer PWM communication, various types of control and a range of protection functions which can meet public safety requirements.*Mode 3 (current ≤ 250A) charging is compatible with Mode 2 (current ≤ 32A) charging. Here common market products include wall-mounted charging piles which have a power of 7KW~11KW and include both AC fast charging and AC slow charging.*Mode 4: this is an external charging device mode which has a DC output. The DC current directly charges the battery without passing through any on-board charger (OBC). Generally, the power provided by EVSE is much larger than that of OBC, which can greatly reduce the required charging time. It requires a higher-level of communication and more stringent safety features. The charging cable is permanently connected to the power supply equipment. A representative product here would be DC super charging piles, which have a general power capability of around 30KW or more, which puts it into the fast DC charging category.Although DC charging piles have high power capabilities and faster charging features, their installation costs are higher and with the number of installation sites being limited, this will make them more difficult to expand. Contrary to this, AC charging equipment has the advantages of lower cost and easier equipment installation. For this reason, wall mounted and standing charging piles will continue to see an increased presence in households, communities, office building and car parks, etc. As for portable AC chargers, in being able to be conveniently carried and the ability to effectively charge almost anywhere, this greatly resolves the mileage anxiety pain experienced when using electric vehicles.HOLTEK is a professional leading MCU IC design company with highly proficient and experienced technical support teams and a global sales and business service system. Holtek's full series of Arm Cortex-M 32-bit MCUs have already entered volume production and have passed UL/IEC 60730-1 Class B software certification, therefore they can provide relevant and complete self-inspection procedures. All of these combined advantages gives Holtek the drive to make serious inroads into the home smart wall-mounted EV charging pile and lightweight portable EV charger market area.HOLTEK 32-bit MCU electric vehicle charging equipment solution
Affected by the epidemic in recent years, not only the commerce and logistics industries but also more and more manufacturers have decided to introduce AGV and AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) to improve production efficiency and reduce human resources or accidents. AMR can assist operators in picking materials and carrying out actions with laser guidance. These robots can also communicate with each other and cooperate to complete tasks. And reducing the flow of people could also save time and costs. It can even combine AMR with robotic arms and apply it to the production line by connecting WMS (Warehouse Management System) and MES (Manufacturing Execution System) in series, which can assist operators in completing material distribution to the machine and -production at the designated location.Such applications are one of most people's expectations for the future of life. From an industrial perspective, various technologies required by robots are gradually available. Still, service-oriented AMR applications are diverse, and the architecture and functions needed for each field are not the same, which hinders the overall development. SINTRONES recently launched the ABOX-5211 series of industrial computers to quickly create a carrier-type or service-type AMR that meets market needs and implements delivery applications such as classified picking, environmental disinfection, and hazardous material removal.SINTRONES' new ABOX-5211 series industrial computer is equipped with the 10th generation Intel Core™ i9 processor, eight GbE, and optional eight PoE (Power-over-Ethernet), the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for various automated factories and mass transportation. Equipped with dual SIM card slots to support 5G and LTE communication, it can quickly achieve stable and efficient wireless network transmission.ABOX-5211 has a unique "One-sided I/O Focusing" integrated design, and all critical external device connection interfaces are designed on the same side, which makes subsequent expansion and maintenance easier. Various arrangements and technical integrations are designed to meet the needs, specially tailored for the advent of the AMR generation.Taiwan's industrial computer industry has attracted worldwide attention. Among the many vertically integrated application fields, smart transportation has always been the main application with much-anticipated profitability. SINTRONES started with the manufacture of In-Vehicle Computing systems. Since its establishment in 2009, it has accumulated more than ten years of complete R&D experience and successfully opened new ground in important markets such as Europe and the United States. Through long-term accumulated design practical experience of cooperating with end customers in Europe and the United States, we get the interaction and inspiration of countless precious customers' first-hand feedback and then continue to accept the next challenge. Continue to develop various vital products that SINTRONES' all products can use in harsh vehicle situations.For more information, please visit the SINTRONES website.https://www.sintrones.com/ABOX-5211.htmlSINTRONES' ABOX-5211 Series, the fanless box PC for edge AI GPU computing, is ideal for factory automation, service robots, smart retail, AIoT, and cellular V2X applications as critical industrial IoT deployments with an operating temperature of -40~70°C.
Digi-Key Electronics, which offers the world's largest selection of electronic components and automation products in stock for immediate shipment, celebrated the ribbon cutting of its Product Distribution Center expansion (PDCe) today, expanding the company's headquarters' footprint by 2.2 million square feet for a combined total of more than 3 million square feet. The new facility allows Digi-Key to pick, pack and ship nearly three times the previous daily average of 27,000 packages to customers in more than 180 countries around the world.Digi-Key celebrated the opening event with an official cutting of tape from a Digi-Reel and ceremonial first package handoffs to each of the company's four carrier partners: DHL, FedEx, UPS and USPS. Remarks were given by Digi-Key President Dave Doherty, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Commissioner Steve Grove, Thief River Falls Mayor Brian Holmer, and several other Digi-Key executives, as well as video messages from U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz."This is a significant milestone for all Digi-Key employees and our community," said Doherty. "Our new product distribution center expansion will help us continue to deliver excellence to our customers for many years to come. As exciting as this expansion is for us, our hope is that our customers truly don't notice a difference – the transition for them should be seamless, and if anything, result in an even better customer service experience than they are already accustomed to. For us, it's deeper roots in Thief River Falls and a commitment to continue investing in this community and the state of Minnesota."The PDCe building was designed by Minnesota-based Widseth, and McShane Construction served as general contractor on the project. KNAPP, a leader in warehouse logistics and automation, partnered with Digi-Key on internal automation and operational equipment."The state of Minnesota is thrilled to celebrate Digi-Key's growth milestone today," said Grove. "Growth at this level is a win for the employees of Digi-Key, it's a win for the Thief River Falls community and it's a win for the state of Minnesota. The opening of this facility is made possible by local and state economic support which will contribute an additional $500 million in economic output, as well as the addition of more than 1,000 new jobs."The opening of the facility comes at a time of record growth for the company – Digi-Key wrapped up 2021 growing faster than ever before with a 65% growth rate, and bookings in 2022 are up more than 25% over last year. This year has also been one of the largest years for supplier additions for the company with 250 suppliers already added for the year. Since construction began in 2018, Digi-Key has added 1,500 suppliers and 1.5 million part numbers to their inventory.The new facility is nearly fully automated, the only task that is truly done by hand is the actual picking of parts. Among the racks of components, carts are wire-guided so that the only thing a cart driver will have to worry about is where to stop. The wire-guided system will save more than 10% of the time and is significantly safer.The product distribution center expansion features two primary conveyor systems to provide redundancy in the case of a breakdown and provide opportunities for future growth. Scalability and growth were top of mind in the plans and design of the new building, and the majority of the fourth floor is currently open for the time being. There are over 27 miles of automated conveyor belts in the new facility, and an average order will travel more than 3,200 feet inside the building.The building features six backup diesel engines and pumps along with a water tank built for fire suppression. It also has its own storm sewer and run-off ponds so as not to contribute to any flooding or storage concerns in the community.The state-of-the-art facility features multiple common work areas and breaks rooms with oversized windows for optimal natural sunlight, as well as the Two Rivers Café that features a range of food options from ready-to-eat salads and wraps to burgers and paninis cooked to order. Local vendor, Las Ranitas, serves authentic Mexican options from the café a couple of days per week as well. Digi-Key is recognized by the state of Minnesota as a Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace and has 16 private Mother's Rooms throughout the PDCe for employees returning to work after parental leave. The building also has a spacious Quiet Room for employees to take their breaks, relax and recharge.Outside of the new building, there is a new Community Garden where employees can adopt a plot for the summer and plant seasonal flowers, fruits, and vegetables. In the Skybridge connecting the original PDC to the PDCe building, there is a "Digi-Walk" mapped out from end to end, offering a great place for employees to get in some extra steps during their breaks.Sustainability was also considered during the planning and construction of the facility. The roof has a white membrane to reflect the sun's heat, sensor-activated LED lights to minimize electricity usage, and a specially designed conveying system that maximizes energy usage as well as efficiency.
As the COVID-19 pandemic starts to level off in 2022s, LitePoint hosts the Innovation and Testing Technology Forum in Taipei and Hsinchu city on August 2 and 4 respectively. This annual event is targeted to share the latest trends in wireless technologies including 5G frequency range expansion, 5G O-RAN white-box solution, the early specification for super-fast Wi-Fi 7 and the latest ultra-wideband (UWB) use case applications. LitePoint provides a complete wireless test solution that enable customers to test wireless devices with optimized test time reduce to capture the latest market trends and opportunities.Elvin Ren, LitePoint's General Manager of Sales in Taiwan, India and South East Asia, gave his welcoming speech to kick-off the forum this year. Driven by 5G and Wi-Fi technologies, Taiwan networking OEM/ODM vendors have a strong growth potential and can benefit from the upcoming location awareness applications with Internet of Things (IoT). LitePoint sees a positive trajectory in business opportunity in wit UWB with many new customers approaching LitePoint for UWB test solutions. To meet the testing challenges and expand business opportunities, LitePoint's strategy help the electronics supply chain accomplish rapid volume manufacturing through optimized test equipment and turnkey test automation.Simplicity Through Innovation to lead test automation developmentThe keynote speech of Dr. Rex Chen, LitePoint's Director of Strategic Business Development for 5G, share insights on the latest trends in 5G mobile, CPE and O-RAN development as well as the challenges ahead in the 5G deployment journey. As global mobile data traffic doubles roughly every three years, the exponential data consumption drives the demand to open up more frequency bands and 5G infrastructure deployments. This has created new opportunity for various wireless products, especially the rapid growth of 5G CPE devices in FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) applications in North America as many households are upgrading their residential broadband Internet access.5G FWA CPE devices integrate both 5G and Wi-Fi technologies into a single device and accelerates the broadband coverage in rural and suburban areas. On the other hand, 5G Small Cells solves the "Density Problem" and small cells play an important role to solve the "5G Infrastructure Problem". Essentially, small cells are enablers for better network coverage, address the high data rate concern, and boosts the business in O-RAN solutions.His presentation also cover several mainstream wireless technologies including the latest development of Wi-Fi technology with Wi-Fi 7 getting the most attention and will debut on the market in 2024 or 2025 for volume production. Another highlight is UWB device shipment growth is expecting a 35% CAGR through 2025. The driving force is the huge adaptation of automotive, mobile payment and IoT applications.Leveraging the product strategy of "Simplicity Through Innovation", LitePoint simplifies wireless testing with a single-box test solution that is easy to use and high optimized for production floor. This approach is expanding the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency bands, supporting accomplish effective mass production through multi-DUT (Devices Under Test), OTA (Over the Air) testing, and production line testing with automated test equipment. LitePoint is monitors the advancement of different wireless technologies closely to move quickly develop a more cost-effective test solutions that customers can benefit from as well.Latest developments of Wi-Fi 7 and testing solutionsYoung Huang, Deputy Manager of LitePoint Application Engineering Department, continue the discussion with Wi-Fi 7. The released Draft 2.0 specification has attractive features with data speed reaching 46 Gbps which is 4.8 times of Wi-Fi 6. New features such as MLO (Multi-Link Operation, will be able to transmit and receive on both the 5 GHz and 6 GHz multiple frequency bands simultaneously and enhance the throughput of a single data session and avoid unpredictable channel blocking or frequency interference. With standard specification of maximum bandwidth at 320MHz and modulation of at 4096 QAM and up to 16×16 MIMO, the technology supports new emerging applications that require very high rate rates such as multiple-user AR/VR, cloud gaming, and 8K media streaming applications.Talking about important testing cases in this session, Huang highlighted technologies such as EHT packet formats, IEEE channel distribution and Wi-Fi 7 data transmission speed. With a denser constellation, test equipment requires higher transmitter accuracy to measure Error Vector Magnitude (EVM)and raise the testing barriers in Wi-Fi 7.With global Wi-Fi 7 chipsets expecting to sample chips in 2023, LitePoint test solution offering ranges from IQxel series models including IQxel-M4W 6G for testing Wi-Fi 6 devices, IQxel-MW 6G, IQxel-MW 7G for testing 160MHz bandwidth feature, and IQxel-MX for testing 320MHz bandwidth requirements. For production, the IQxel-M8X and IQxel-M16X models are will be suitable for volume production.Recent trends and advances in UWB positioningChris Chao, Engineering Manager of LitePoint Application Engineering Department, share insights on Micro-Positioning by connecting the rapid growth of the UWB market. The success of UWB can largely be attributed to the popularity of 3D positioning, indoor precise positioning, smart home applications and automotive use cases. In China, UWB has emerged as a promising navigation technology with a rapid market growth and his talk address the three major product trends in UWB, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 802.11az.Further, Chao introduce four major distance measuring technologies including Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Time of Flight (ToF), Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Channel Sounding/ Phase. UWB chips are integrated with mainstream devices like smartphone, wearable and other mobile devices to provides accurate 3D positioning within 5 to 10 cm accuracy with lower power consumption, high security and high interference resistance functions.The Wi-Fi 802.11az specification, or called Next Generation Positioning (NGP), is highly regarding as next generation positioning technology for indoor use case. The core distance detection scheme is based on ToF. Major Wi-Fi chip makers are preparing to launch new products based on market needs. Another unique feature of 802.11az enabling multiple device positioning identification through one UPLINK signaling sequence in OFDMA and this feature has triggered a surge of versatile new applications in the market.LitePoint provides comprehensive testing solution to test the devices with various mixed positioning technologies. The IQxel-MW 7G and IQxel-MX are targeted for Wi-Fi and BT's high accuracy distance measurement. LitePoint's IQgig-UWB tester is used to fulfill the Conformance Test following FiRa Certification. and for UWB device characterization and design verification in R&D. LitePoint is a market leader and dominant player for UWB test solutions.IQ3107 RF-Port Switch and APLC 2.0 solving more 5G bands and cable lossFrank Hung, LitePoint Senior Engineer, share test solutions that extend beyond 5GHz frequency bands. The 3GPP R17 standard has released new frequency bands including FR1 spectrum band n96 ranging from 5.925 to 7.125 GHz with 1200 MHz bandwidth. 5G FR2 band n263 will extend to 57 to 71 GHz and reserve another 14GHz bandwidth to support new metaverse applications.Overall, the frequency bands for 5G New Radio (5G NR) extends from 400MHz to 70GHz. LitePoint test solution address the entire spectrum covering these 5G frequency ranges with the IQxstream-5G, IQgig-IF and IQgig-5G among its product portfolio.Wider frequency bands combined with more antennas design for user devices have result in new technical challenges for 5G device testing. For example, in production lines more antennas will require test equipment with adequate RF ports. At the same time, it will increase the path loss affecting the measurement accuracy and consume more setup time. To solve these problems, LitePoint's IQ3107 RF-Port switch for RF test port expansion from from 4 to 16. The IQ3107 also enable Multi-DUT device testing to for improve volume test efficiency. To deal with path loss problems in production setup, LitePoint uses Auto Path Loss Calibration(APLC) software to lower setup cost and high precision automatic calibration capabilities.One Box testing solutions for Small Cell and O-RAN RU device TestsThe last speaker was Vito Liao, Deputy Manager of LitePoint Application Engineering Department. His presentation address the topics of CPE, Small Cell and O-RAN Radio Unit device testing solution.Liao introduce the important test items and use cases for small cell and O-RAN testing per 3GPP 38.141 specification. These testing scenarios cover both Tx and Rx such as Total Power Dynamic Range(TPDR), Time Alignment Error(TAE), Cumulated Adjacent Channel Leakage Ratio(CACLR) and Operation Band Unwanted Emission(OBUE) among others.LitePoint's IQxstream-5G+ is a one box tester solution to address these market segments and test requirements such as 1024 QAM modulation and 2x2 MIMO testing. Because the complete setup procedures for each test item is complex to setup and install, LitePoint provides IQfact5G Shop Floor software tool to make the entire procedures easier to manage including calibration and parameter setting. Furthermore, LitePoint's IQmi software tool is designed to support customers to implement customized auto-testing procedures or process flows.The Evolving Roles of Small Cells in Wireless InfrastructureThe last session for the day was an industry panel to discuss the opportunities and challenges of 5G deployment and in particular with Small Cell and O-RAN. Eric Huang, DIGITIMES Vice President moderated this panel among with panelist guests that include Jacky Chou from Qualcomm, Dr. Rex Chen from LitePoint, Selena Hsu, from Auray Technology and Tsaiyu Huang from Alpha Networks. The panel discussed about the industry trends in O-RAN and the requirements for successful roll-out that is scalable and cost effective.The panelists share insights about the role the Taiwan OEM and supply chain can play a role in the overall O-RAN ecosystem. First, system integration is critical to support multi-vendor model across the value chain from both the hardware site as well as software component.. Further, the shift to open software and server-based platforms make O-RAN deployment very cost effective but it also raises quality checks and cybersecurity risk assessment that need to address the critical issue.One way that Taiwan can become a major value chain provider in 5G O-RAN is by establishing local test laboratory and certification capability for the industry. This test service provider can help OEM's and ecosystem partners to verify the compatibility and system performance before launching on a major global telecom network provider. And at the same time, these testing help solution providers to identify and fix issues early on and enable a smoother working relationship with the right partners to penetrate the target global markets.Meanwhile, participating in O-RAN PlugFest events offered by regional telecom operators and players is another way to accelerate development of O-RAN technologies. From LitePoint product offering, a simplified and highly reliable single box test solution simplifies the test challenges for customers in launching their 5G O-RAN and small cell products out in the market.Elvin Ren, LitePoint's General Manager of Sales in TaiwanDr. Rex Chen, LitePoint's Director of Strategic Business Development for 5GYoung Huang, Deputy Manager of LitePoint Application Engineering DepartmentChris Chao, Engineering Manager of LitePoint Application Engineering DepartmentFrank Hung, LitePoint Senior EngineerVito Liao, Deputy Manager of LitePoint Application Engineering DepartmentPanel discussion: Eric Huang, DIGITIMES; Tsaiyu Huang, Alpha Networks; Selena Hsu, Auray Technology; Rex Chen, Ph.D., LitePoint (from left to right)
