The era of AI is coming. It will not be long before our cities operate efficiently with tremendous amounts of devices and robots connected through 5G infrastructure with enough bandwidth for data handling and transferring. In order to analyze the huge amount of data coming from massive amount of edge devices (50B units by 2025), High Performance Computing (HPC) device is one of the key essential elements required for both end-terminals and also edge computing. Hence, the design and assembly of HPC chips is critical for semiconductor industry to address so that the bright AI enabled future for the society can be realized.Heterogeneous integration: A back-end scaling approach to achieve more-than-MooreThe Moore's Law has guided the semiconductor industry for many decades. However, it is approaching to the limit when the node size gets smaller than 14nm/10nm. Meanwhile, advanced node development has to be continued. To reduce the financial commitment for future node development, Heterogeneous Integration (HI) is the way forward. Switching from "only front-end node scaling" to "combination with back-end scaling," HI is a backend approach by means of advanced packaging technologies to integrate multiple chiplets, with different functionalities and each fabricated with best fit node in terms of technology and economic aspects, to reassemble an SoC (System on Chip) like function.Impact of HI evolution to the supply chainWith the continued development of HI, we see significant impact on the supply chain for the industry. In the past, each player such as wafer foundry, OSAT and substrate supplier stays in his or her focus area. Nowadays, with HI, it opens up more business opportunities for each player by enlarging their served available market. Foundry is stepping into the advanced package assembly business; substrate house is also getting into the assembly process by offering passive and active embedding capability along with their substrate business. Although OSATs seem to be in a keen competition from both the foundry and substrate house, they are also pushing the development of more cost effective packaging technology to cope with the emerging but massive requirements of Edge and IoT devices required by the Al world. Without doubt, they will be facing many new technical challenges in the associated processes, critical material and enabling equipment.In order to shorten the development time in the advance packaging, working with a high-end equipment supplier - ASM Pacific Technology Ltd. can share their years-experience in R&D to overcome the challenges and save the cost. To build our AI future and enable the digital world, ASMPT will expect a greater collaboration and co-development work, together with different parties.Please visit https://www.asmpacific.com/en/articles/ for full text.There are different HI approaches currently and some are already in volume production modeImpact of HI evolution to the supply chain

Demand for digital transformations has risen sharply in the post-pandemic era. At the "smart healthcare" sub forum during "AUO Tech Forum 2020," the company and its partners displayed innovative integration of AIoT and display technologies to assist healthcare industries in finding key opportunities for smart upgrades.Displays are key devices in smart hospitals, with 4K and 3D soon to become main streamChang Tsz-yin, leader of the ITRI Biomedical Technology and Device Research Lab was the first to take the stage with an analysis of the current conditions and future outlook of smart healthcare. She pointed out that any ICT technology solutions relating to medical decision-making, enhancing doctor-patient relations, improving operational efficiency, simplifying administrative processes, or optimizing service processes could be selected as long as they solve the problems and pain points in the field of medicine.Chang Tsz-yin mentioned that as we enter the era of healthcare 4.0, there is an emphasis of big data, IoT , AI integrated decision-making and interpretation, as well as connecting different clinical operations and information systems. Medical displays are an indispensable technology in smart hospitals as they assist physicians with visualizing the conditions within a patient's body for clinicopathological diagnosis and displaying treatment progress; 4K and 3D displays are expected to become mainstream in medical imaging applications due to their enhanced clarity.MedicalTek CEO Jack Liu stated that while there are numerous methods of treatment, physicians still rely on surgical treatments at critical junctures; utilizing technology to build safe, high quality surgical models is extremely important.Technological advancements have replaced traditional open surgery with minimally invasive surgeries. Operating theatres have become areas with high display density as physicians utilize endoscopes and displays to view patient lesions, thereby making requirements for picture quality even higher. Display resolutions have gone from SD, 2K all the way to improved full color gamut, improved resolution of reds, and better emphasis of ICG fluorescence in 4K and 8K displays to help doctors identify lesions with enhanced clarity.Eddie Huang, the NVIDIA Solution Architect Director of Healthcare mentioned that models are the soul of AI. When problem solving within industries, single modules are rarely utilized; instead, multiple modules are often linked as jobs, then multiple jobs are linked to form pipelines. Due to this complicated architecture, NVIDIA developed a data center platform architecture to assist users with the acceleration of end-to-end processes; additionally, the NVIDIA Clara framework was developed for healthcare applications. It includes a wealth of reference applications and SDK so that physicians can develop AI autonomously without having to rely on IT.Reliance on professional medical displays to effectively solve pain points within the fieldAUO General Display Business Division Director Jerry Chen elaborated on the new opportunities of medical displays and sensing in the post-pandemic era. This pandemic has driven the medical field to accelerate towards digital transformations based on the theme of "ABCD" (AI, big data, cloud, and displays). AUO has accumulated strong capabilities in research and technology after years of investment in the field of medical applications. Today, the company holds more than 20% of the global market share in both professional medical displays and X-ray sensors.Jerry Chen stated that "physicians have very high expectations for displays in areas such as high definition imaging and color fidelity due to their prolonged periods of daily use". AUO designs human-centric professional medical displays to solve the pain points within the field.By utilizing 4K Deep-Red surgical displays, the company has successfully overcome the restrictions of color gamut with enhanced performance at high saturation to display multiple levels of red so that surgeons can clearly identify the differences between tissues and lesions. Diagnostic displays with high contrast ratio and wide viewing angles utilize enhanced contrast to emphasize light and dark levels so that radiologists can view fine tissue with clarity.AUO offers the world's first "super narrow bezel and true portrait" design, creating a superior visual experience to give radiologists improved image reading quality during diagnosis. A.R.T (Advanced Reflectionless Technology) displays effectively improves the visual comfort of physicians during prolonged viewings by reducing glare and reflections.The event's finale concluded with talks by Yu-li Tsai, Director of the Embedded Platform and Module Department of ADLINK Technology and Ken Yu, Chairman and CEO of imedtac. Yu-li Tsai pointed out that edge computing in medical imaging is the quickest application to land in the field of smart healthcare; While ADLINK Technology first started in designing controllers, the company formed alliances with industry leaders and behemoths such as AUO, Intel, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm. The company developed various AIOM smart modules based on industry standards and combined them with AI-enabled machine vision systems to provide a comprehensive application-ready edge computing platform in the field of healthcare; edge video analysis (EVA) is provided to assist with simple data collection, advanced processing, model training, to complicated processes such as system deployment in healthcare.Ken Yu stated that medical institutions place an emphasis on satisfying the demands of OT (operational technology), yet rarely pay attention to the evolution of IT technologies. The reason that AI, IoT, and robotics can thrive in healthcare is due to their OT value in requiring "less focus", "less attention", and "less effort". Based on this context, imedtac invested in a series of AIoT based smart medical solutions for smart guided treatment, high-quality nursing, smart operating theatres, medical logistics, and green hospitals in the hopes of accessing foreign markets by exporting modules or planning entire hospitals.Hence, the company has held a long-term partnership with AUO as imedtac's product deployment encompasses turnkey solutions for software/hardware integration, touch displays, and the management platform's automated dispensing cabinet (ADC), all of which heavily rely on professional medical displays.Medical IoT is the cornerstone of future hospitals and is critical for conducting broad sensing and data acquisition in key areas such of outpatient clinics, wards, operating theatres, storage, disinfection, and supply rooms. By combining technologies such as AI analytics and displays, the quality and safety of healthcare can be enhanced by assisting physicians and administrators in monitoring medical processes.AUO General Display Business Division Director, Chen Yu-cun, provided a keynote on AUO Tech Forum 2020ADLINK has launched an efficient and safe intelligent diagnosis solutionAUO's professional medical care display technologies are able to assist medical staff in making accurate diagnosis

Aluminum electrolytic capacitor is a popular passive component with unique strengths of high capacitance value and cost advantage. Lelon Electronics is one of the major suppliers in the market. In an interview conducted through video conferencing, Jimmy Wu, CEO of Lelon Electronics, talks about the company's development strategy in response to the coronavirus pandemic.Q: How does Lelon respond the COVID-19 pandemic crisis to support global supply chains fulfilling the urgent orders and demands?A: In fact, the second quarter of 2020 was the peak of the outbreak. In some countries, like Malaysia, with cities on lockdown, the shipments of aluminum electrolytic capacitor had been stuck. The supply of aluminum electrolytic capacitors has been hit hard. Most of Lelon's upper stream material suppliers are from China, and some of the advanced material suppliers are from Japan. Relying on the strong connections with the material suppliers, Lelon had fully support from the material suppliers when the outbreak started. Besides, Lelon always maintains sufficient materials in stock. Therefore, Lelon didn't have any problem with raw materials. In fact, Lelon even had the resources to take a large number of orders to cover the shortage customers were facing.Q: How do you see the new booming demands such as remote office, on-line education and stay-at-home economy?A: Lelon's revenue from telecom and network customers have increased significantly this year, benefiting from the growth of demand for stay-at-home economy, work from home and distance learning amid the pandemic. As 5G going mainstream in China, its base station construction supported by government has become the key driving force for 5G infrastructure businesses. There are more than 600,000 base stations to be built across China major cities in 2020. Apart from 5G base stations, there are other associated facilities such as network equipment and servers boosting further growth of demands. In 2021, the 5G market will continue to have further growth and make Lelon benefiting the strong momentum of 5G infrastructure construction projects around the world. Lelon is the strategic supplier of Chinese and European telecommunication equipment giants. Lelon can capture the opportunities of the fast-growing 5G market.Q: Apart from 5G infrastructure demands, the medical sector seems to have a strong growth, does Lelon benefit from the market?A: The demand of medical equipment has increased due to the pandemic. Lelon's products have been adopted by many medical customers. Some of the global major medical equipment manufacturers used to get aluminum electrolytic capacitors from Japanese makers. Due to the shortage of aluminum electrolytic capacitors caused by the pandemic, we have the opportunity to prove to our European and American medical equipment customers the stability of our product quality and outstanding supply management. It's a good start for further cooperation. In the other hand, talking about China medical equipment market, Mindray, a global medical instrumentation manufacturer based in Shenzhen, selects Lelon as the major supplier of the aluminum electrolytic capacitors. From the beginning of the pandemic, we have given strong support to Mindray and other medical equipment suppliers to try our best to respond to the medical demands amid the pandemic.Q: How do you see the development of China automotive market? Is any chance for Lelon to further boost in the sales?A: For the second half of 2020, our revenue from the market segment of automotive electronics has grown significantly compared to the same period of last year, and it's expected to continue to grow in 2021. Despite significant progresses achieved globally in the struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, the outlook for the pandemic remains uncertain. Therefore, the uncertainty of orders remains high. The current order situation is mostly in rush type of needs. Customers are more conservative than before. The lead time of current orders have been shortened to three to six weeks only. In such a short lead-time condition, Japanese suppliers are difficult to meet the requirements, and Lelon has the strength of flexible response. Lelon is the supplier to many of the world's tier-one automotive electronics manufacturers, at this point Lelon has become the best partner for the manufacturers of automotive electronics in China.We think the sales of the fourth quarter of 2020 is cautiously optimistic. It will compensate the order loss of the first half of 2020. The revenue from automotive electronics customers is expected to maintain 9-11% of total aluminum electrolytic capacitors revenue in 2020. This year, Lelon received "Supplier Quality Excellence Award" from General Motor. This is showcasing Lelon's long time efforts to devote to the continuous product development and quality improvement. These efforts will support Lelon to develop market in the field of automotive electronics in the near future. Energy vehicles will be one of the growth drivers in the future, Lelon has cooperated with many automotive electronics manufacturers to develop the aluminum electrolytic capacitors for 48V power supply systems, and has started shipping products to automotive electronics manufacturers in China.Q: Facing the challenges to management and business fine tuning due to the pandemics, what else does Lelon do for the adjustment?A: In addition to continuous new product development, in response to the rush orders, Lelon has adopted a highly flexible and modularized production mode, with the ability to adjust machines to produce different sizes of aluminum electrolytic capacitors quickly. Our new factory in Suzhou will be completed in the second half of 2021. The third factory in Huizhou is planned to begin operation after receiving approval from the local government. The production capacity ramping up will help Lelon embrace opportunities arising from growing markets of 5G and automotive electronics.For the first half of 2020, Lelon's EMS and distribution customers comprise 34% of the total aluminum electrolytic capacitors revenue, power and green energy customers has 18.8% share, telecom and network is 17.9%, consumer electronics and home appliance is 14.4%, automotive electronics is 7.5%, IT and cloud is 4%, industrial and medical is 3.4%.The above revenue analysis shows Lelon has a wider distribution network and diversified customer base. There is no single customer to occupy big portion of revenue. This strategy helps Lelon to absorb the impacts when a single customer or a market segment fluctuates wildly. Therefore, Lelon has a dynamically stable operation. A stable operation can support Lelon to develop and execute long term strategy for future expansion.Going forward, Lelon will continue to devote time and effort to high-end markets of electronic equipment such as automotive electronics, telecommunication, medical, green energy, cloud computing and industrial robots. Lelon develops new products according to the design requirements of the customers. In the meantime, Lelon keeps improving quality system to deliver products with high reliability to our customers. These efforts give Lelon a leading edge in a highly competitive marketplace and set a new milestone in the next stage of growth for Lelon.The pandemic and trade wars have profound effects on global economy and supply chain. The past experience can't be applied to the rapid-changing operating environment at present. However, Lelon will make the best efforts to fulfill customers' needs with short lead-time and fast services. After the outbreak brought much of the China to a halt in the first month of 2020, Lelon overcame all difficulties to maintain the operation of production lines since Chinese New Year holiday till now. Once you are determined to do something, making efforts and not giving up lead to a good result. The year of 2020 once was a big challenge for Lelon but it has become a milestone for Lelon to turn the tables and step into a new stage of growth.Jimmy Wu, CEO of Lelon ElectronicsLelon's new factory in Suzhou China will be ready for production in the 2H 2021Lelon's latest product lines of aluminum electrolytic capacitors

How do you envision the future? You may find answers at AUO Tech Forum 2020 in October. Joining forces with partners, AUO presented vertical solutions that shape a smart future and enable endless new possibilities for different industries.AUO Tech Forum 2020 was themed on four major smart application trends - smart healthcare, smart retail, smart transportation and smart manufacturing. Before exploring AUO's messages conveyed at AUO Tech Forum 2020, forget what you already know about the company as AUO will transcend from a panel maker to a vertical solution provider.Repositioning itself towards a vertical solution providerIn his opening speech, AUO chairman and CEO Paul Peng said that digital transformation is closely-connected to smart applications. Displays are critical to communication success between human and machine. The value of displays will naturally be re-defined once they are applied to smart vertical solutions.Its two decades of efforts into display manufacturing has allowed AUO to accumulate a wealth of system integration experience, which enables AUO to expand integration services across upstream, midstream and downstream as well as hardware and software sectors to bring value to system-level solutions. Going forward, AUO will work with partners based on the principles of complement, cooperation and co-creation and endeavor to become a vertical solution provider. This is also the sprit driving the "AUO NEXT" transformation.Leveraging display strength to successfully foray into smart verticalsAUO president and COO Frank Ko noted in his speech that the forum was held for the purpose of sharing how AUO can leverage its strength in innovative display technologies to enable and capture opportunities with smart verticals ecosystem partners.He envisions a "Displays Everywhere 2.0" future. With years of devotion in the display industry, AUO has secured a leading position in technologies and applications. "AUO's strength will allow us to connect displays with a range of vertical markets and technological advances including 5G communication and artificial intelligence (AI) to create innovative solutions for a diversity of application fields as the industry moves toward digital transformation," remarked Ko.For example, displays are instrumental to many online and offline integration tools that enable digital communication to break time and space barriers. These devices are critical to meeting surging work-from-home and online learning needs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. AUO's displays for notebook PC, eyecare display and low reflection technology as well as large-sized interactive whiteboards play a vital role in this wave of rising trend. As to smart retail applications, although the e-commerce sector enjoys rapid growth thanks to the thriving stay-home economy, Ko thinks brick-and-mortar stores and restaurants still bring consumers the warm feeling that cannot be replaced. In the post-pandemic era, displays coupled with AI-enabled implementations will be introduced to physical retail locations at an accelerated pace. AUO's smart retail solutions combining hardware and software will expediently realize store owners' expectations.For the world's aging population, digital devices enable a myriad of healthcare innovations. AUO provides professional medical display solutions, which, coupled with 5G/AI technologies, help doctors make more accurate diagnoses. For smart transportation applications that relieve traffic congestion headaches in the process of global urbanization, displays combined with big data analytics can deliver real-time information to not only prevent traffic jams but also enhance road safety.AUO plans to establish a subsidiary in 2021 AUO Display Plus, which will focus on providing services with higher levels of flexibility, creativity and integration to vertical market customers. AUO has also created Edgetech and Mega Insight to offer smart manufacturing services on the foundation of its years of experience in display manufacturing. In addition, AUO will also join forces with ADLINK to form a robust team offering optimized smart manufacturing solutions.Ko set forth three missions that AUO will undertake in the digital transformation era. AUO will stay committed to being an "enabler" of new display technologies. Drawing on its accumulated strength, AUO will uphold its role as a "contributor" to customers' and partners' success. AUO will strive to become the best "partner" to industry members and engage in more collaborations to co-create complete smart eco-systems.Joining efforts with partners to build a smart futureADLINK chairman Jim Liu gave a speech titled "The Edge is Coming" at the forum, shedding light on the development trends of AI-powered edge computing. According to Liu, data is increasingly generated and collected at the edge. In fact, more than 70% of data is processed at the edge and 80% of AI chips are embedded in edge computing devices. He proposed the concept of "edge autonomy," wherein allowing edge devices to act autonomously will create bigger values and enable edge computing to generate maximum benefits.Also delivering a talk at the forum, Far EasTone Telecommunications vice president Eric Li explored innovative applications to be enabled by 5G communication. He highlighted how these applications can help address common challenges facing the manufacturing industry such as labor shortage and factory automation while boosting yields and improving defect detection efficiency.Zse-Hong Tsai, executive secretary, Office of Science and Technology, Executive Yuan, presented the action plans derived from the "Smart Living Display Technology and Application Industry Strategy Review Board Meeting (SRB)" to realize the vision of "Smart Living in Taiwan 2030."Tsai drew the industry's attention to how they can cope with changes in the post-pandemic era as the world moves rapidly toward digitization. "Vendors should make systematic strategic planning and look further into the future, not just two to three years but ten to twenty years, when creating product roadmaps," spoke Tsai.Going forward, AUO looks to join efforts with more partners across different industries to leverage AUO's display strength and the Taiwan government's industrial policy support to create localization opportunities in vertical markets and together drive Taiwan's global expansion.AUO chairman and CEO Paul Peng giving an opening speech, highlighting vertical markets are a strategic focus of the company's "AUO NEXT" transformationAUO president and COO Frank Ko delivering a speech titled "Innovative Display x Smart Verticals - Co-creating Industry Eco-System"Zse-Hong Tsai, executive secretary, Office of Science and Technology, Executive Yuan, sharing the action plans to realize the vision of "Smart Living in Taiwan 2030."

Digi-Key Electronics, who offers the world's largest selection of electronic components in stock for immediate shipment, announced that it will be the exclusive global distributor of the industry's most affordable ready-to-use IoT data management software for the BeagleBone platform, Machinechat JEDI One for BeagleBone."As one of the founding sponsors of BeagleBoard, Digi-Key is pleased to continue to be the leader in supporting BeagleBone developers with innovative solutions that enable them to make their IoT ideas reality," said Robbie Paul, director of IoT business solutions for Digi-Key Electronics. "With the addition of Machinechat's JEDI One for BeagleBone to our product offering, we are continuing our tradition of offering the industry's best-of-breed solutions for the BeagleBoard community."Machinechat's JEDI One is an all-in-one software application for IoT developers and solution architects to provision IoT data collection, visualization, monitoring and local storage capabilities in minutes. Offered as a single binary software application that is installed on-premise, JEDI One for BeagleBone is the industry's most affordable ready-to-use IoT software solution that enables developers and their customers to have complete control over their data, along with an advanced set of data management tools that can be leveraged in minutes."One of the key challenges for any engineer, maker or student is the time and effort it takes to develop an infrastructure for data collection, transformation, monitoring and visualization software for their IoT project," said Robert Nelson, Digi-Key principal applications engineer. "With Machinechat's JEDI One software, these steps are transformed into something that can be done quickly and cost-effectively, while using minimal resources on the BeagleBone platform. This allows all developers to easily add robust data functions into their IoT projects within minutes.""We are excited again to be partnering with Digi-Key to deliver a solution that serves the IoT development community," said E.E. Wang, chief marketing officer for Machinechat. "BeagleBone has long been recognized as one of the leading embedded platforms for developing IoT home, industrial and commercial applications. With the availability of JEDI One for BeagleBone, we are delighted to provide a solution that allows BeagleBone developers and enthusiasts to spend more time inventing and less time, money and resources developing data software for their project."Machinechat JEDI One for BeagleBone is available exclusively through Digi-Key Electronics for a one-time fee of US$39.00 for a single premium license. Each license supports one BeagleBone board and up to 16 devices and sensors.Available exclusively through Digi-Key Electronics for US$39, MachineChat JEDI One for BeagleBone

5G is the hottest topic in the technology industry today and the most interesting trend is the move towards an open, disaggregated white-box solutions, which is expected to bring great business opportunities. While everyone is gearing up for the 5G wave of monetary profits, one Taiwanese company is already ahead of the curve and has started by providing a 5G Cell Site Gateway Router (CSGR) solution to AT&T and other carriers last year (2019). That company is UfiSpace.Founded in 2012, UfiSpace entered the white box market in 2017, providing cost-effective, flexible disaggregated solutions with corresponding solutions from carrier base stations to core networks, which will help carriers meet all requirements for future 5G network deployments and operations.UfiSpace also developed the world's first 400G Distributed Disaggregated Chassis (DDC), which completely overturns the traditional design, and allows telecom operators to incrementally scale up their network capacity from 4Tb to 192Tb at any time according to their business needs. This has impressed many telecom companies and cloud service providers who have enthusiastically began engaging with UfiSpace on proof of concept (POC) projects.In order to increase the efficiency of equipment development, UfiSpace decided to build a 5G performance verification lab last year, which will double as a showroom to provide better customer experience with a more "hands-on" approach. However, with UfiSpace's core competence in research and development, they will constantly add new solutions and their showroom will need to be able to expand dynamically with the possibility of relocating in the future, which made it difficult to build a lab using traditional methods. Thus, UfiSpace decided to implement a pre-assembled micro data center with careful consideration, UfiSpace selected Vertiv's SmartRow data center solution. Vertiv is a global provider of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions covering the cloud to the edge of the network and has built on the Emerson Group's past successes and years of experience in the data center industry. With a focus on data center design and services, Vertiv is able to provide complete data centers from a single rack to the design, commissioning and implementation of complete and deployed data centers, and has served several telecom companies around the world. Therefore, UfiSpace was confident Vertiv can meet their requirements.Vertiv's integrated modules are designed to expand and relocate according to business needs"The telecom industry is a capital-intensive industry, with an emphasis on cost control. However, traditional telecom equipment is a closed system, in which hardware and software are proprietary, resulting in higher costs and limited application scenarios," said Nicole Chen, Marketing Director at UfiSpace. According to Nicole, UfiSpace's disaggregated and open architecture solutions can help telecom operators to achieve economies of scale and reduce future equipment management costs by using the same set of hardware coupled with different software to meet different service applications.To take advantage of the new blue ocean of 5G white box market, UfiSpace planned to establish a showroom and laboratory environment to help with business promotion and speed up product development. The traditional way of building these new environments is not enough to meet the changing needs of a growing organization, and it is difficult to incorporate future plans into the design, additionally UfiSpace needed a solution with the criteria of space saving, energy saving and cost control.Vertiv SmartRow was selected amongst the many data center and telecom infrastructure providers. It perfectly meets UfiSpace's requirements which include space saving, energy saving and cost reduction. SmartRow is a closed-circuit module, including cabinets, air conditioners, UPS, power distribution, facility monitoring and management and other subsystems, all of which can be pre-designed, integrated and tested in Vertiv's factories, which significantly reduces deployment time and footprint. Through high-efficiency power and professional cooling technology management controls, cooling capacity can be provided according to the actual load demand to achieve accurate cooling production, thus increasing cooling efficiency and reducing annual energy consumption by more than 30%. It also improves the predictability of construction schedule and cost performance, and allows for phased renovation and expansion, and is easily relocatable to meet UfiSpace's expectations and needs for showroom and laboratory environments.According to Nicole, with the traditional construction method, after installing the cabinets, additional wiring and other complicated configures are required to integrate power and air conditioning facilities, which often leads to high costs and prolonged installation. On the other hand, the value of SmartRow's all-in-one solution is that everything is integrated at the factory for faster deployment and reduced installation time.UfiSpace's DDC runs at a high data rate of 100G to 400G, with a single DDC router capacity of 4.8Tbs. A chassis cluster can interconnect up to 48 routers for a total of 192Tb switching capacity. All those routers running at the same time can make presentations a bit difficult to hear. Fortunately, the SmartRow's airtight design isolates all sounds inside the cabinet, so UfiSpace's solution presentations will not disturbed, which is highly appreciated by the sales staff. According to Nicole, SmartRow's quiet, energy-saving, space-saving, aesthetically pleasing (its exterior resembles more of a luxury product), and easy relocation features will be of great help to the realization of UfiSpace's showroom promotions.Energy efficient, low noise, space saving, suiting requirements for showroom and lab buildsOverall, Vertiv SmartRow is a great solution for power distribution, heat management, environmental safety, management interfaces, appearance, cable management and installation delivery; all of which provide a new, tighter, more secure, more reliable, more convenient and more aesthetically pleasing server room deployment experience for users. This is due to it not only inheriting the advantages of integrated design, rapid deployment and on-demand expansion, but also considers energy saving, monitoring and management needs, and even effectively solves the problem of lack of space in the server room of ordinary customers. Therefore, UfiSpace sees SmartRow as not just a product, but the delivery of the complete lifecycle of the server room.From the UfiSpace IT management team's point of view, the most notable feature of Smart Row is the enclosed design with strict cooling control and monitoring, which is different from the traditional server room solutions that rely separate systems. In addition, Smart Row is dust-proof, significantly reduces IT equipment failure rates, and reduces system noise, perfectly separating the human-machine environment in the server room. Vertiv is an experienced infrastructure solution provider with expertise in helping customers reduce their energy costs, with energy optimization strategies at every level, whether it's for hosting 5G equipment, infrastructure or network management, or to help UfiSpace with the optimization of TCO.Steven Hou, General Manager of Vertiv Taiwan indicated that his ultimate objective is to build a top-rated, reliable and energy-efficient modular intelligent data center for his customers. More importantly, Vertiv's products support high mobility and flexibility to adapt to different environments and scenarios, a key attribute for UfiSpace, which is constantly and rapidly experimenting with new technology developments to make its mark in the 5G telecom market.UfiSpace implements Vertiv's SmartRow data center solution to create 5G lab and showroomNicole Chen, Marketing Director at UfiSpace

No embedded device manufacturers would claim that the exposure of connected devices to security threats is due to vulnerabilities in the security components available on the market today. This would be ridiculous: it is easy to find specialist components such as secure elements or high-end systems-on-chip (SoCs) which will implement sophisticated forms of cryptography, secure on-chip key storage, power analysis and other security functions. Properly integrated into system designs, these components provide a strong shield for the device which hosts them.So if security components are readily available, why do successful attacks on embedded, connected devices continue on a daily basis? After all, the evidence of cyber attacks on electronics systems is abundant. Independent research shows that the number of cyber attacks on IoT devices in the US surged by 300% in 2019 compared to a year earlier. At the same time, it is estimated that some 57% of US IoT devices are vulnerable to attacks of a medium or high severity, and that each breach of an IoT end-point costs on average $9m.The financial cost of a successful cyber attack is due not only to the loss of revenue caused by service outage. Other costs include damage to the product manufacturer's brand, potential penalties from government authorities for breaching security regulations, and the diversion of skilled and expensive engineering resources from productive development work to urgent recovery and repair measures. Regulation in this area also continues to tighten, forcing IoT device manufacturers to pay attention to compliance requirements. The EU's Cybersecurity Act and China's Cybersecurity Law impose wide-ranging requirements backed by independent testing of device vulnerability, while the California Consumer Privacy Act imposes fines of $2,500 on companies for each unintentional violation.But despite all these costs and rules, compromised end-points remain vulnerable. In some cases, this will be because of a vulnerability in some part of the system beyond the secure element or secure SoC. Most commonly, such a vulnerability is in a standard external Flash memory storing critical code or data.In other cases, a device is exposed to cyber attack because the system has no secure element or secure SoC, and so lacks the sophisticated protection that it would provide.In both cases, the barriers to the implementation of hardware-level security are generally cost and difficulty. And it is true that high-end, payment-grade security components aimed at financial products such as payment terminals and mobile phones are technically complex and difficult for engineers who are not security specialists to implement.But now a new generation of secure Flash memory products has come on to the market to provide a secure hardware foundation for embedded devices which do not require payment-grade protection. Often featuring a standard Flash memory package footprint and pin-out, and controlled via the standard SPI NOR Flash instruction set, these secure Flash memories are easy for general embedded device designers to implement, but provide a comprehensive set of security functions to protect connected devices from attack on a system's integrity or data privacy.Why implement security in a memory device?It's traditional to conceive of non-volatile memory as a simple device: bits are written to it, and the same bits are then read out. It's generally thought of as a store, not a processor.In fact, of course, every NOR Flash memory used for code or application data includes logic to control memory operations and communications with the host via a serial peripheral interface. Secure Flash devices build on and extend this logic block to provide security functions alongside the memory control functions.Flash memory manufacturers such as Winbond have developed this new generation of secure Flash products because of the limitations of the embedded Flash memory provision in microcontrollers and SoCs. While advanced microcontrollers and SoCs have migrated to wafer fabrication processes at nodes smaller than 20nm, the scaling of embedded NOR Flash has not followed suit. This means that in the latest MCUs and SoCs, the embedded floating-gate flash process is not available and the capacity is often not large enough to store the sophisticated software code which they are intended to run.So in today's embedded device designs, application code is more commonly stored in an external Flash memory device. But if the device is connected - particularly if it is an IoT device connected to the internet - the boot code in external Flash is vulnerable to attack, and data is vulnerable to theft or intrusion, unless the memory device itself is shielded by comprehensive security functionality. This is the value of a secure Flash device, complementary to SoC/MCU securityThe key capabilities of secure FlashThe reason for replacing standard external NOR Flash in an IoT end-point with secure Flash, then, is to protect the integrity of boot code and application data. Various secure Flash devices on the market provide some form of secure storage. At its most basic, this security functionality provides for secure, encrypted authentication: this means that the Flash device will only permit the authorised host to perform Read and Write operations, protecting the data from being accessed by any device other than the host SoC.But this provides only a limited form of security protection. To protect against the many types of cyber attack, and to provide for compliance with regulations such as the EU Cybersecurity Law's Basic and Substantial levels of security functionality, Winbond has developed a multi-function secure NOR Flash memory, the W77Q, part of its TrustME family of secure Flash products. In addition to secure authentication, the W77Q provides: -*Resilience: protection, detection and recovery, to ensure that an IoT device can automatically reboot into known safe code even after a cyber attack has attempted to disable it *Root-of-trust to enable authenticated communication with the host SoC and with external systems such as cloud computing services. *Secure data storage *Secure channel from Flash to a trust authority in the cloud for over-the-air firmware updates. This channel means that the memory can update to a new version of boot code independently of the SoC, and even when the SoC has itself been compromised.The W77Q has been assessed by an external, accredited laboratory. It complies with the requirements of the EU's GDPR privacy legislation, and provides the 'Substantial' level of protection as specified by the EU's Cybersecurity Act. It holds security certifications including CC EAL2 (VAN.2), IEC62443, SESIP and the Arm Platform Security Architecture (PSA) certification.Resilience is particularly important for IoT devices - and is a capability missing from most secure Flash products. In some devices, such as utility meters, physical intrusion (tampering) is a common form of attack for which protection is required. Large, very valuable assets such as power generation plants or military bases might be subject to physical intrusion into a local area network.For IoT devices, however, the main threat is a scalable cyber attack exploiting a remote connection via the internet to the entire population of installed devices. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) SP 800-193 standard specifies mechanisms which protect firmware and configuration data from such attacks, and which can detect and recover from successful attacks. The W77Q provides the resilience functions required to conform to this standard. Resilience has three elements: protection against attack, detection of attacks, and recovery from attackFunctions such as encrypted authentication to prevent attempts by unauthorized devices to access data provide protection against attack. An attack might be successfully carried out on the host SoC, however, so the W77Q maintains the ability to detect when an attack has taken place. For instance, it checks that stored code has not been corrupted automatically, whenever the code is updated or accessed. It can also scan code on the instruction of the host device.If the W77Q detects that an attack has been successful and that, for instance, the compromised, authentic SoC has corrupted its own boot code, the Flash device automatically and with proper authentication recovers the platform firmware. It does so via its 'Safe Fallback' function, which reinstates boot code to a known safe version. This Safe Fallback function is backed by an authenticated watchdog timer, which can force the host SoC into a clean boot using the known safe code.Winbond's approach in developing the W77Q has been to provide an off-the-shelf set of layered security capabilities to enable easy deployment by customers. With the W77Q, Winbond provides: *End-to-end, out-of-the-box security, with no need for prior security expertise *Fast deployment *A complete solution backed by compatible products from security software vendors *Simple security certification *Affordability.By providing this comprehensive set of capabilities in a familiar SPI NOR Flash package with a standard footprint, Winbond can help ensure that no IoT device needs to go to market without proper protection against cyber attack.(Note: The author of this article, Hung-Wei Chen, is director of Security Solution Marketing and Application Division at Winbond Electronics.)The W77Q can institute a secure channel to a trust centre in the cloud for over-the-air software updates even when the host SoC has been compromised. (Image credit: Winbond)The W77Q can always be trusted to maintain platform health by protection, detection and recovery. (Image credit: Winbond)Comprehensive protection Comprehensive protection against cyber attacks requires the implementation of a layered set of security capabilities. (Image credit: Winbond)

GlobalPlatform, together with Winbond Electronics Corporation, Arm and Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), hosted the first technology forum in Taiwan. With a mix of local on-site speakers in Taiwan and GlobalPlatform virtual on-line presenters, this event also shows the new normal in the pandemic era.Kevin Gillick, Executive Director of GlobalPlatform, offers two thoughts on IoT Cybersecurity. First of all, information security should not be an afterthought. The Internet of Things (IoT) is greatly expanding the size and scale of electronics devices and use-case scenarios. Security matters and must be taken very seriously. Secondly, to establish trust, independent third-party certification of IoT devices is needed. Performing thorough test procedures to grant certification will protect the brand image in the long run and keep customers satisfied with products.Arm promotes leading use cases of iSIMSamuel Chiang, Senior Business Development Director of IoT BU at Arm, presented the leading use cases of iSIM in the IoT sector. A great amount of NB-IoT devices levering LPWA technologies play an important role in smart city and smart grid applications. These devices, equipped with SIM cards to connect to a carrier's network, enable secure authentication. The physical hardware element, like SIM card, presents and adds an indispensable layer of security. However, SIM card technology has lasted for 25-years. It is starting to transform into a smaller and slimmer form factor of eSIM, which will directly mount to a printed circuit board to have further advantages compared to traditional SIM technology.But Arm takes another approach to introduce eSIM architecture, which is the new design concept leveraging tight integration with communication SoC chips to deliver the same security level as today's SIM technology. The advantages of eSIM technology are more compact, lower cost, and requires less power. Market research indicates that over 40% of IoT devices leverage eSIM technology, creating immense IoT business opportunities in the next decade. The iSIM technology will also unlock IoT hyper-scale opportunities.Arm offers the full silicon IPs and software solutions to build iSIM to meet fast time-to-market demands. This includes Arm core IPs and Kigen operating systems as core architecture. The iSIM Cybersecurity certification is using a composite scheme. The firmware and underlying IC will need to be certified based on the BSI-CC-PP-0084 standard. Then, combined with the operating system, the entire system will need to pass the BSI-CC-PP-0089 standards as a whole for future-proofing in telecom security. And ecosystem partners are ready to deliver the new design.ITRI highlighted whitelisting and VMI technology for blocking cyber attacksTzi-cker Chiueh, ITRI's Vice President and General Director of Information and Communications Research Laboratories, showed recent cybersecurity incidents that revealed a huge increase in hacked and breached data from public organizations. On this serious issue, there are two important lessons to be highlighted. They are (1) BYOD security, and (2) Software Vulnerability.Additionally, recent security research suggests that most companies have unprotected data and poor cybersecurity practices in place, making them vulnerable to data loss. The BYOD policy sometimes becomes one of the major leaks enabling malware, or malicious software to attack corporate internal networks. Chiueh provides a solution by introducing VMI (Virtual Mobile Infrastructure) technology for isolating the problems. The VMI makes smartphone a lower priority (the default policy being the lowest priority) to perform tasks such as making phone calls, running customized APPs and playing context and video audio streaming via cloud services. To reduce cybersecurity threats all internal IT resources, served on various virtual machines, are tightly managed and fully monitored.The basic strategy to prevent malware attacks is to install whitelisting in all products or equipment. Especially the fixed featuring equipment, things like ATM, machinery or equipment will use VMI to protect devices to be attacked. Most important thing for enterprise cybersecurity is draw a clear line of secure zone boundary. Then set the secure policy by consolidating management of multiple security layers, control policy to reduce the attack surface.Winbond presented its secure and certifiable non-volatile memory product portfolioThere are an estimated 5.8 billion connected IoT devices deployed today. And over 57% of these devices have been evaluated as having high security concerns facing software of security-critical backdoors. The system designer implements data security by introducing secure elements into secure storage devices to protect the integrity and confidentiality of code and data, and to avoid further attacks from hackers and malware. And security data payloads are continually on the rise as device manufacturers implement an increasing range of data-heavy functions such as biometric authentication and more complex forms of encryption which are harder for hackers to crack. And Winbond introduces its TrustME Secure Flash Solution.The TrustME Secure Flash devices also feature certified and proven Winbond security features such as cryptography, authentication, key storage, anti-tamper functions and protection against replay attacks. Winbond's TrustME Secure Flash product is the first external Flash memory device to gain a Common Criteria EAL5+ with VAN.5 security grade and PSA Certified Level 2 ready, as required for systems used in payments applications.Meanwhile, security by design is essential to address the security concerns in diverse IoT landscapes. The technology of secure booting and firmware updates will strengthen the robustness of Platform Security Architecture (PSA). To protect the confidentiality and integrity of code and data in IoT devices, Winbond provides series of secure memory product lines and solutions. For example, TrustME security products are the certified secure storage featuring security by design, immutable root of trust, secure boot, firmware confidentiality and integrity, trusted factory initialization of devices, and secure firmware updates. These flexible solutions will fit the requirements and growing demand of IoT security and Cybersecurity certification.GlobalPlatform IoTopia Secure FrameworkIn this forum, GlobalPlatform invited each of its technical committee Chairs to introduce key technology developments from their group. The following paragraphs are short summaries. The first speaker was Russ Gyurek, Chair of the IoTopia committee, which is developing a comprehensive framework for IoT security across industries. IoTopia proposes a common framework for standardizing the design, certification, deployment, and management of IoT devices with four foundational pillars: Secure by Design, Secure Onboarding, Device Intent, and Device Lifecycle Management. IoTopia is bringing together global and regional guidelines and requirements to help device manufacturers build products and services that satisfy regulatory mandates.GlobalPlatform sets the standard for Secure Element (SE)GlobalPlatform defines the SE as a core element to protect confidential and cryptographic data. There are three software execution layers to block the attack sequence. The SE is a physical layer to store and protect important data, such as signal frequency and cryptographic keys, so that hackers cannot exploit system vulnerabilities to attack valuable assets. SE Committee Chair, Karl Eglof-Hartel, presented SE hardware architectures and talked about iSIM technology simultaneously for connecting to Telecom networks.GlobalPlatform Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) standardsTEE Committee Chair, Christophe Colas, provided an update on the TEE TEE for IoT. TEE is an environment for executing code, in which those executing the code can have high levels of trust for accessing and protecting sensitive data against the programs to be run in the REE layers. The TEE is used to ensure a higher level of trust invalidity, isolation, and access control, when compared to more general purpose software environments. There is a specific Application Programmable Interface (API) and clear specification in the TEE Management Framework and Open Trust Protocol (OTrP) Profile for enabling management mechanisms. Global certification agencies use Common Criteria and ISO standards based on ISO/IEC 15408 to certify IoT device security functions. During the Q&A session, the audience asked about the status of the TEE specification for RISC-V platforms. Colas indicated that the work will be completed in 2021.GlobalPlatform Trusted Platform Services (TPS) standardsThe TPS topic was presented by TPS Committee Chair, Jeremy O'Donoghue. TPS provides mechanisms enabling access to platform services, such as Root of Trust (RoT), offered by standardized secure components such as the SE and TEE. And it serves to establish a Chain of Trust extending from the secure component within a device to a secure service. The service makes it easier for service providers and application developers in different market sectors to link together strong security technology offered by secure components in their products.Product CertificationCybersecurity certification is an important role in trust and security irrespective of products, services, and processes in the IoT value chain and ecosystem. GlobalPlatform develops and maintains a Certification Program related to the specifications it manages, to facilitate and assure interoperability within the marketplace. This includes the topic of GlobalPlatform Vice Chairman, Rob Coombs, who presented Platform Security Architecture (PSA), which is a security certification system aiming to build trust through an independent security assessment.GlobalPlatform Technical Director, Gil Bernabeu, highlighted security concerns as cyberattacks now cross between IT and OT networks. Also, governments are proactively and more frequently setting cybersecurity regulations which establish the need for cybersecurity certification schemes to keep up. Moreover, the volume and complexity of IoT products combined with varying regulations and certification frameworks make it challenging for IoT device manufacturers and service providers to validate the security of their products in a cost-efficient way and fit the requirement of Time to Market.Today, about 80% of global cybersecurity regulations are already addressed by GlobalPlatform standards. GlobalPlatform technical specifications are regarded as the industry standard for achieving interoperable, sustainable, and flexible IoT device deployments that support multi-application and multi-business model implementations. It ensures that secure components meet the required levels of security defined for a particular service, enabling service providers to confidently and effectively manage risk and comply with industry requirements. GlobalPlatform will support certification bodies in setting up certification schemes based on the Security Evaluation Standard for IoT Platforms (SESIP) methodology.Member of GlobalPlatform's SESIP sub-Task Force, Mr. Carlos Serratos, talked about SESIP in the last session of the afternoon. SESIP addresses the scale and complexity of the IoT ecosystem with an optimized approach to security evaluation that is designed specifically for IoT platforms and services. GlobalPlatform committees are working to bring consistency and trust to the IoT device security certification process and Cybersecurity standards, and align them with laboratories to drive consistency in product evaluations and certifications across the world. The GlobalPlatform cybersecurity standards are engaging quickly with the global IoT ecosystem.GlobalPlatform, together with Winbond, Arm and ITRI hosted the first technology forum in Taiwan

The combination of Internet of Things (IoT), high-speed 5G communication and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has given rise to a diversity of applications for embedded systems such as automotive electronics and factory automation equipment. For example, rapid advances in autonomous driving and Internet of Vehicles (IoV) have significantly reshaped the automotive market. Advanced Driver Assistant Systems (ADAS) and digital instrument clusters include features that bring entirely new driving experiences to consumers. These are enabled by a myriad of software implementations that play an instrumental role.The demand for large-capacity nonvolatile memory (NVM) used to store software code grows with the increase in the complexity and scale of system application programs. Flash memory devices with more than one Gigabit (Gb) capacities, therefore, become increasingly important, and memory device makers' planning of large-capacity memory products plays a pivotal role helping them expand their market footprint.With years of experience in developing memory solutions for automotive electronics and factory automation equipment, particularly automotive flash memory, leading NVM provider Macronix has made its way into the supply chain of the world's top automakers. Macronix's solutions are being used in subsystems produced by the 10 largest tier-1 suppliers, which includes the growing electric car segment. Its high-density memory product mix now includes five major lines: octaflash, SPI NOR, LybraFlash, SPI NAND (ECC Free) and SPI NAND (host-based ECC). Tailored to suit all types of system application requirements, these Macronix solutions help tier-1 suppliers quickly gain ground in the market.LybraFlas - striking a balance between all critical requirementsThe automotive memory market will see an array of innovative memory solutions emerge to address the challenges facing traditional NOR flash in capacity expansion and market competition. According to Psyche Kuo, deputy director of product marketing at Macronix, automotive electronics manufacturers consider five key factors when choosing flash memory: cost-effectiveness, reliability, usability, access speed and write speed.Limitations in semiconductor manufacturing processes as technology nodes shrink, make capacity expansion for traditional NOR flash cost ineffective. Macronix's innovative LybraFlash intelligently works around these limitations. Aside from enabling cost-effectiveness, I/O performance is another highlight of LybraFlash. An automotive system requires a large amount of program code to be retrieved from flash to system RAM for execution. Although the I/O performance of LybraFlash may not be on par with the industry's fastest NOR flash, like octaflash - it comes close to that of traditional Quad Serial NOR. Furthermore, in the case of a system glitch, data need to be logged quickly, so fast write speeds are essential. LybraFlash enables very fast write, a feature that particularly catches automotive electronics manufacturers' attention, said Kuo. Because automotive systems attach great importance to safety functions, key parameters must be quickly recorded when a system failure occurs for tracking and analytical purposes afterwards. Featuring four times faster write speeds compared to traditional NOR flash, LybraFlash satisfies customers' needs and wins their favor. Last but not least, LybraFlash is built in with the industry's most robust 8-bit (or 12-bit) ECC for serial flash and error status checking, as Macronix considers reliability a top priority for automotive electronics. The integration of innovative memory products in any device requires a certain level of design customization in the end device. To use LybraFlash, customers only need to make small modifications to their software code, which is much easier than incorporating most other advanced memory products.In practice, automotive electronics manufacturers decide on the suitable serial flash to use in consideration of their target application. For example, a full display cluster requires larger flash capacities now than before. Although NOR flash, such as high-density octaflash NOR, provides compelling reliability and access speeds, LybraFlash is an ideal match to automotive market segments that highlight affordability and mid-range specifications, and thus consider cost-effectiveness a major requirement. Apart from striking a strong balance between capacity and access speed, LybraFlash also delivers far superior fast write speed over traditional NOR flash. In general, LybraFlash's benefits can be harnessed through simple code changes; enable a good balance of capacity, cost and performance; and boost the competitive edge of automotive products.Delivering user experience comparable to NOR flash, LybraFlash presents an ideal choice for automotive systemsWhen an automotive system boots up, a large amount of program code is retrieved from flash to system RAM for execution. This is a process where application software plays no role so the flash device must operate in a NOR access mode or something similar. Because LybraFlash is able to operate in an access mode similar to NOR, there is no need to change the automotive system's hardware design, therefore only small modifications to system software are needed. Operating in a continuous access mode similar to NOR and built in with a bad-block link table, LybraFlash delivers a user experience comparable to NOR flash.With respect to error-correcting capabilities critical to memory products' life cycle, LybraFlash is designed with outstanding 8- or 12-bit ECC to significantly reduce errors. On top of that, LybraFlash provides the flexibility for users to configure the Flexible ECC Bit Flip Threshold Setting, for example, setting as 6 to 12-bits; thus, the data is only moved after correction to avoid excessive data moves and to prolong the flash's lifespan.Macronix makes LybraFlash available in 1Gb/2Gb/4Gb capacities, as well as 3V and 1.8V voltages. As an extension to Macronix's NOR flash line, LybraFlash not only meets a specific range of I/O performance and data refresh needs, but also offers large capacities that conventional NOR products rarely achieve. Mainly used in automotive systems such as ADAS and instrument clusters, LybraFlash is undergoing rigorous AEC-Q100 certifications to present the automotive market with an ideal solution combining large-capacity, high-I/O throughput, long lifespan, and optimal reliability. This high reliability feature also makes it well suited for factory automation applications. Sampling of the first-generation LybraFlash MX31 series began in January 2020 for customers' initial design verification. Macronix will continue to expand its high-density memory offerings, aggressively targeting new application markets led by automotive electronics and factory automation equipment.For more product information, please visit the Macronix website.Psyche Kuo, deputy director of Product Marketing, Macronix

How big is the automotive electronics market? According to iKnow, Ministry of Science and Technology, a Level 2 autonomous driving vehicle uses US$580 worth of semiconductor chips and the cost in a Level 4 vehicle runs up to US$1,760. The automotive semiconductor market was valued at more than US$40 billion in 2019, representing nearly 10% of the global semiconductor market. A massive number of vendors are scrambling to grab the enormous opportunity. However, Allan Tseng, assistant vice president, iST (Integrated Service Technology Inc.), advises that Taiwan-based suppliers need to be aware that the automotive industry imposes specific requirements that are quite different from those of consumer electronics which Taiwan-based suppliers are familiar with.Not only are automotive requirements stringent but the verification process also takes a long time. Tseng suggests that suppliers looking to foray into the automotive electronics market work with highly specialized verification service providers and leverage their expertise and experience to help complete product verification in a timely manner.Driven by the automotive and high-tech sectors, the automotive market is advancing toward C.A.S.E - Connectivity, Autonomous, Sharing and Electrification. In keeping up with the trend, automotive industry associations have established standards to ensure vehicles built with innovative capabilities are safe and reliable. Tseng points out those automotive electronics standards, for example ISO 26262, have focused largely on interior components and function modules. Autonomous driving vehicles of the future will extend their capabilities outward to communicate and connect with infrastructure, pedestrians and other vehicles on the road. This is why the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has established ISO 21434, which includes a set of guidelines for Internet of Vehicles (IoV) devices installed in cars to take effect in the first quarter of 2021.Further to ISO 26262 and ISO 21434, which are just given as examples, automotive electronics have a lot more safety and reliability standards for which they have to pass certification. This is a major barrier that suppliers looking to expand into automotive electronics have to overcome. According to Wenston Lin, Industry Service Dept. Manager, iST, the automotive industry imposes rigorous and wide-ranging requirements on the components and modules used in vehicles. In the case that compatibility issues result in interferences, road safety may be compromised. This is the reason why the entire system from components and modules to the complete vehicle must be fully tested and verified.To help high-tech firms successfully pass certification for all types of automotive standards, iST has joined forces with global automotive certification service provider DEKRA. The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in August 2020. The partnership coupled with the previously formed joint venture DEKRA iST makes up a complete platform for automotive electronics testing and verification as well as functional safety consultancy and certification.Lin notes that iST has been making efforts toward the semiconductor industry for years and has built up a solid foundation in electronic device analysis and verification. iST will therefore focus on component analysis and verification for automotive electronics customers. DEKRA iST will focus on the next-level module verification services. Coupled with DEKRA's experience in complete vehicle verification, the three firms will team up and contribute their expertise in their specific field to provide comprehensive analysis and verification services for automotive electronics relevant products.Professionalism and completeness is the biggest advantage of the three firms' service network, says Lin. He thinks although with the rapid growth of the automotive electronics market, every analysis and verification service provider offers safety verification services for automotive electronics but only on a single-product basis. However, overall vehicle safety is a fundamental requirement. Safety of every link from the front-end component to the back-end complete vehicle system must be guaranteed with safety certifications so that customers can rest assured. The platform made of iST, DEKRA iST and DEKRA provides analysis and verification services from the frond-end IC design to the back-end volume production and shipping as well as complete vehicle relevant system level verificationAside from analysis and verification, iST and DEKRA also team up to help Taiwan-based suppliers lower the threshold for compliance with automotive electronics functional safety requirements. iST leverages its extensive experiences to guide suppliers on ISO26262 and ISO 21434 compliance with respect to automotive electronics functional safety management. Then, suppliers enhance functional safety credibility through third-party certification by DEKRA. The service model helps suppliers shorten time-to-market and accelerate market entry. iST and DEKRA are now working together under the service model to help a supplier, which will soon successfully market its product.As a global high-tech hub, Taiwan has strong capabilities in technologies and products. The one-stop service enabled by iST, DEKRA iST and DEKRA will help Taiwan-based suppliers strengthen their competitive advantage and establish dominance in the automotive electronics market, remarks Tseng in talking about future strategic planning.Allan Tseng, assistant vice president, iST (right) and Wenston Lin, Industry Service Dept. manager, iST (left) both noted that professional validation service providers are able to guide suppliers through the convoluted and rigorous process of automotive regulatory compliance and thereby help suppliers shorten time-to-market.