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.

The Europe-Taiwan Smart Manufacturing Supply Chain Application Sharing and Matchmaking Event is holding a webinar on October 29, 2020, 2:30 pm (GMT+8) to share latest use cases and solutions.This webinar will focus on Europe-Taiwan manufacturers in the smart manufacturing supply chain, sharing smart factory and advanced equipment solutions with online showcases, and it will arrange one-on-one online meetings to enhance cooperation between Europe and Taiwan manufacturers.The webinar will feature automation industry leading companies that have successfully built up the automated production at their factories, showcasing 5G use cases, latest robot tactile sensing technology, intelligent cobots, intelligent tool management systems, flexible manufacturing, and advanced smart assets with cloud connection.The speakers will be from Ericsson, ABB, Siemens, Taiwan Touché Solutions, TM ROBOT, and Da Shiang Automation (DSA).Please register for the webinar at: http://www.tairoab2b.com/event/2?locale=enEurope-Taiwan Smart Manufacturing Supply Chain Application Sharing and Matchmaking Event

A global resurgence of COVID-19 cases will again exert extreme pressure on healthcare systems in countries around the world. Medical devices that already have market attention will take center stage once more, buoying market demand for medical power supply systems that are at the core of medical devices.The China International Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF) 2020 is scheduled to open on October 19 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. As a global integrated service platform targeting the entire medical device supply chain, CMEF 2020 will aggregate more than 7,000 medical device suppliers from around the world and host more than 200,000 visitors working in the industry.Having been developing customized power supply solutions for medical devices for more than two decades, Asian Power Devices (APD) has established itself as a leading brand and a long-term strategic partner with global medical device manufacturers. APD plans to showcase its full lineup of medical power solutions at CMEF 2020 and demonstrate their use in major medical applications. It should be noted that another highlight of APD's exhibit at CMEF 2020 will be APD's lithium-ion battery uninterruptible power systems (UPS), which form another core business element of APD.APD presents its complete range of medical power solutions targeting major medical applicationsSpecializing in medical power supply development and manufacturing, APD received certification for compliance with ISO 13485 medical devices/quality management systems standards in 2015. At CMEF 2020, APD will present desktop, wall-mounted and open-frame medical power supply systems, which are all compliant with IEC60601 standards for medical safety. Featuring high electrostatic discharge (ESD) tolerance, over-voltage protection, over-current protection and overheat protection, they can be used in a wide-range of medical devices including resuscitators, oxygen generators, humidifiers, medical displays, nebulizers, blood pressure gauges, infusion pumps, ultrasonic instruments, endoscopes, electric hospital beds and monitoring devices.APD's wall-mounted power supplyLightweight, portability and IP22 water and dust resistance are the eye-catching features of APD's wall-mounted power supply systems. Moreover, a hidden LED light is incorporated as part of the streamline product design that indicates system status without a bright light disturbing patients who need rest. Without the need for Y-capacitors, APD's power supply guarantees low leakage current while ensuring stable power supply for medical devices by providing high peak current up to 300% of rated current, extending product life to five years.APD's open-frame power supplyAPD's open-frame power supply can be used in an environment with or without air flow. It enables optimal adaptability to the operating environment. It can operate with a fanless configuration when embedded in a device without air flow to lower noise and failure rate. Furthermore, its high reliability design caters specifically to medical applications and allows the system to have a long life, long MTBF, low ripples and low leakage current. For protection against electromagnetic interference (EMI), it is built with excellent immunity from lightning surge and ESD.APD's desktop power supplyThe most prominent feature of APD's desktop power supply is its durable anti-friction casing made of fire and water proof materials above safety standards (UL94V0 flame retardant and IPX2 water resistant). It is also built with patented wire with SR structure, which prevents constant bending and twisting from causing damages and cracks when the power supply is used in a portable medical device. Moreover, the power supply is designed with a structure that optimizes heat dissipation and minimizes EMI. Its low-noise operation makes it the best choice for a quiet healing environment.Targeting customized power supply solutions for medical, factory automation and 5G/IoT applications, APD's lithium-ion battery UPS products again catch market attentionAccording to APD managers in charge of power supply products, the UPS market continues to enjoy brisk growth not only in the medical care sector but also in data centers, telecommunication, manufacturing, transportation and power industries. However, APD has bigger goals. It has found a new direction in the growingly intense market competition - to provide more advanced customized lithium-ion battery UPS for medical, factory automation and 5G/IoT applications.Lithium-ion battery UPS systems have twice the life span compared to lead-acid battery UPS systems. They are also not as bulky and heavy (APD's lithium-ion battery UPS is only 30%-50% the size and weight of a lead-acid battery UPS). As such, it imposes a much smaller burden on the technician who conducts maintenance or replacement work. The installation is also much easier. Lithium-ion battery UPS systems are superior to lead-acid battery UPS systems in every way.In view of this, APD's UPS business team has built a series of UL1973 compliant customized lithium-ion battery UPS products based on its robust R&D capabilities. Combining a battery management system (BMS), sophisticated double protection with SOH and SOC calculations, optional network capability and USB communication, APD's lithium-ion battery UPS products are widely used in medical, factory automation and 5G/IoT applications. APD stays committed to providing high-stability, high-quality and comprehensive lithium battery control and protection solutions for customers and Japan-based manufacturing partners.APD's lithium-ion AC UPSAPD's UL 1778 certified lithium-ion AC UPS supports a wide input voltage range and a multilingual user interface on its LCD display panel. Featuring high stability, high reliability, small footprint and light weight, it can satisfy customization requirements for high quality lithium-ion battery UPS and has been put to use in wide-ranging fields including medical devices, factory automation equipment, surveillance systems and transportation applications. It is the best choice for backup power systems today.APD's lithium-ion AC-DC UPSTo meet hospitals' special requirements on fire safety systems and routers, APD introduces its lithium-ion AC-DC UPS, which also features small footprint and light weight similar to the AC series. What's different is that it supplies small current and long-term power while supporting Wi-Fi and Bluetooth expandability as well as UPS status monitoring on mobile phones. Most important of all, APD's UL508 certified lithium-ion AC-DC UPS can accommodate customization needs to meet diverse customer requirements.APD's medical-grade isolation transformerIt should be noted that APD will concurrently exhibit its medical-grade isolation transformers at CMEF 2020. The UL/IEC 60601-1 certified transformers are proven to effectively lower noise and suppress surge. Built with a low leakage (leakage current < 100uA) and floating AC output design, APD's medical-grade isolation transformers can effectively filter out EMI and prevent ground noise coupling at hospitals, thereby safeguarding medical devices.APD will showcase its solutions targeting medical, factory automation and 5G/IoT applications while presenting a full lineup of products encompassing lead-acid battery UPS and lithium-ion battery UPS at CMEF 2020. These exhibits will not only demonstrate APD's world-leading R&D capabilities and achievements but also its commitment as a global brand of customized power supply solutions to continuingly pioneering the energy revolution and reshaping power usage. Its efforts will lead to a brighter future for all.For more information about APD, please visit https://www.apd.com.tw/en/APD grabbed attention at CMEF 2020

People are growingly reliant on the Internet for work, school and daily activities. The impact to people's life will be unthinkable should the Internet suddenly stop working. Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is one of the key elements that allow the Internet to maintain smooth operation. BGP hijacking, whether as a result of intentional attack by hackers or unintentional configuration errors, causes disruption to Internet services and even threats to information security. There can be serious consequences, so every government agency, private corporation and individual are obligated to prevent this from happening.The Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC) has been actively promoting Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) with an aim to enhance Internet routing security since the official signing of TWNIC RPKI Certificate Authority (CA) with the Asia Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC) on September 28, 2018. This is to address security concerns caused by IP address prefix errors. Using RPKI, legitimate holders of number resources are able to control the operation of Internet routing protocols to prevent route hijacking and other attacks.After two years of efforts, 98% of Taiwan's IP address holders have completed the setting of RPKI Route Origin Authorization (ROA) in routers, the highest rate among the top 100 on the list of countries by IP address allocations. This marks the successful completion of TWNIC's phase-one work of the RPKI project. To mark the achievement and to kick off the second phase of the project, TWNIC held Taiwan RPKI Day on September 28, 2020. At the event, TWNIC launched the RPKI Validator service and 46 IP members connected to the Validator server to test the service. They activated the RPKI function of the routers and connected to the TWNIC Validator server, after which they would be able to download the latest ROA data on a regular basis and perform route origin validation.ROA setting rate reaches 98% in Taiwan, far ahead of industrial countriesAccording to Wei-Chung Teng, commissioner, National Communications Commission (NCC), RPKI plays a growingly important role in ensuring smooth Internet routing and preventing BGP hijacking. TWNIC has been making a lot of efforts toward promoting RPKI. Not only does it provide technical support but it has also held six training sessions to guide members on RPKI configurations. These efforts generated impressive results in phase 1 of the project.Teng expects the second phase of TWNIC's RPKI promotion work to create great success as well much like how Taiwan has made itself a role model for pandemic management. Taiwan has limited resources and is often subject to cyberattacks due to its geographical location. As such, rapid RPKI buildup should be a nationwide effort so as to ensure network routing in Taiwan is reliable, trustworthy and untampered.TWNIC chairman Kenny Huang commented that engaging in RPKI promotion for two years, TWNIC issues CA Authorization when providing IP addresses to telecom operators and Internet service providers (ISP) for validation of the route origin. The intention is to address increasing routing security threats. For example, about two years ago, a Google BGP error sent Internet traffic that should have been routed to Japan's major telecom operators to Google. However, Google is not an ISP and thus does not provide transit services, so the Internet traffic ended up going nowhere. This resulted in an eight-hour Internet outage in Japan, disrupting online banking, public transport fare systems, gaming and a slew of other services. Taiwan can learn from the incident.According to Huang, with growing information security awareness and strong support from NCC, TWNIC organized several meetings to encourage ISPs to participate in the RPKI project. Phase-one efforts created a 98% ROA setting rate, leading industrial countries, such as France (77%) and Germany (52%), by a wide margin.Moving forward into third phase - automatically filtering out illegitimate routesAPNIC director general Paul Wilson expressed congratulation to Taiwan RPKI Day in a video. He said after the signing of TWNIC RPKI CA with APNIC two years ago, TWNIC could start to use RPKI Digital Certificates to protect the IP addresses under its management while allowing TWNIC members holding the certificates to protect their route declaration through ROA. This is a critical step on the way to Internet routing security. Taiwan currently has 98% of its IP addresses signed with ROA, which is a remarkable achievement.Going into phase-two execution, about 46 operators will participate in the testing work, which represents the persistent support for Internet security by Taiwan's Internet community. Pau Wilson disclosed that he is aware TWNIC is undertaking phase-three work - comprehensive route filtering. Such forward planning is impressive and serves as a role model for the rest of the world to follow. He urged Taiwan's Internet community to follow TWNIC's lead and take part in not only phase-two testing but also additional trial runs and field operations so as to build a reliable, secure and open Internet environment.Huang reiterated Internet is designed to enable intercommunication, not with security as a top priority. Route declaration based purely on trust is blind and vulnerable to malicious hijacking. RPKI enables authentication and validation of route origin to catch malicious conduct. Then, filtering can follow to prevent hackers from arbitrarily broadcasting routes that they do not possess. TWNIC will be monitoring phase 2 progress and move into phase-three in the case of a high participation in its Validation service, wherein it will encourage its IP members to activate automatic filtering, picking up the pace of building a secure Internet.Taiwan RPKI project has officially entered the second phase

A long-forecast surge in the number of products based on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies is beginning to reach mainstream consumer markets.It is true that research and development teams have found that, in some applications such as autonomous driving, the innate skill and judgement of a human is difficult, or perhaps even impossible, for a machine to learn. But while in some areas the hype around AI has run ahead of the reality, with less fanfare a number of real products based on ML capabilities are beginning to gain widespread interest from consumers. For instance, intelligent vision-based security and home monitoring systems have great potential: analyst firm Strategy Analytics forecasts growth in the home security camera market of more than 50% in the years between 2019 and 2023, from a market value of US$8 billion to US$13 billion.The development of intelligent cameras is possible because one of the functions best suited to ML technology is image and scene recognition. Intelligence in home vision systems can be used to: - Detect when an elderly or vulnerable person has fallen to the ground and is potentially injured- Monitor that the breathing of a sleeping baby is normal- Recognise the face of the resident of a home (in the case of a smart doorbell) or a pet (for instance in a smart cat flap), and automatically allow them to enter- Detect suspicious or unrecognised activity outside the home and trigger an intruder alarmThese new intelligent vision systems for the home, based on advanced image signal processors (ISPs), are in effect function-specific computers. The latest products in this category have adopted computer-like architectures which depend for low latency, highly responsive operation on fast DRAM system memory to store the application code running on the ISP.This article examines the factors affecting the choice of DRAM technology in the emerging category of home vision systems, and describes how DRAM manufacturers are responding to the specific demands of ISP-based architectures.System memory for a full-blown computer-cameraThe latest intelligent cameras for home monitoring use a neural network to perform image or scene recognition. These vision systems include an inference engine: this is a trained software algorithm which has 'learned' to recognise types of images or scenes by viewing and analysing thousands or millions of labelled images contained in a training dataset.Running an inference engine is a computationally heavy workload, so some of the latest home vision systems are based on a powerful integrated ISP with an AI inference engine from chipset manufacturers such as Ambarella. These ISPs typically feature a powerful Arm Cortex-A series applications processor core.Another popular way to implement home security camera designs, an approach known as "light AI," can use smaller, less powerful chipsets from manufacturers such as Omnivision, Kneron and NXP Semiconductors. While Omnivision and NXP are already globally famous suppliers of advanced sensor and processor chips, Kneron is fast emerging as a leader in AI technology - its KL520 was listed by EE Times as one of the top ten chipsets for edge AI applications.So these AI-inspired home vision systems are effectively computer-cameras - a very different kind of device from an old-style closed-circuit TV (CCTV) camera or a security camera which simply records time-stamped video footage of a scene. And so the new generation of home security cameras adopts a computer-style architecture, complete with fast DRAM memory large enough to store the complex inference engine and other application code.But unlike a tablet, smartphone or other general-purpose computer, the home vision system has specific image and inferencing functions for which the components and the system architecture can be optimised. And this means that the DRAM provision is limited to the needs of the image signal processing function, rather than of general computing tasks.As a result, home security camera manufacturers are finding that they can benefit from the use of specialised low- or mid-density LPDRAM, rather than the high-density 4GB, 8GB or 16GB DRAM arrays typically found in smartphones or laptop computers.Low power and long lifetimeThis substantially affects the manufacturer's choice of DRAM type, and of the provider of this DRAM.In high-end computers and tablets, OEMs need to maximise DRAM memory capacity and bandwidth and minimise its cost, which drives them to use the latest DRAM technology fabricated on a leading-edge process.In home security and monitoring cameras, by contrast, the emphasis is on: - Low power consumption - for instance, the design of a smart video doorbell must extend the run-time of its single-use alkaline batteries to minimise the frequency of battery replacement.- Long lifetime - the economics of the home vision system market require that a successful design is on the market for potentially three years or more. Suppliers of the components in these designs therefore need to make a longevity commitment to avoid the need for the OEM to periodically redesign the hardware.- Reliability - a home vision system might be installed in a fixed location and carefully positioned to capture the desired scene. This means that repair and replacement will require a technician to visit the installation - a much more expensive operation than shipping a failed laptop computer to a central repair laboratory. So customers and OEMs will place a high value on the reliability both of individual components and of the entire system.This then determines the key factors which affect the OEM's evaluation of DRAM products and suppliers. And the approach of specialty memory manufacturers will reveal a marked contrast with that of the large DRAM manufacturers fabricating on a leading-edge process and focussed on the PC and server markets.A specialty supplier of DRAM will provide a broad range of products for applications which can operate with legacy DRAM technology, rather than leading-edge products. Winbond, for instance, supplies the DDR, DDR2 and DDR3 standard versions of SDRAM, as well as Low-Power DDR, LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4 and LPDDR4x mobile DRAM for power-conscious designs.The mainstream DRAM manufacturers' fabrication processes are also optimised for memory density and die cost. Manufacturers which choose not to follow the leading edge have the freedom to refine legacy fabrication processes to better meet the needs of customers in industrial, automotive, medical and consumer markets. In Winbond's case, the process implemented at its own mobile DRAM wafer fabrication plant in Taiwan is configured to minimise the devices' power consumption, helping Winbond's standard DRAM products to offer better power performance than competitors' standard products.OEMs operating in the home vision systems market also need to rely on the longevity of their component choices. Here, too, a specialty memory supplier's operation is configured to meet the market requirement. Winbond offers a standard 10-year longevity guarantee on its products from the date of introduction to the market.Finally, while mainstream high-density DRAM features interfaces compatible with the x86 microprocessor architecture used in PCs and servers, specialty DRAM can be adapted to provide for easier integration with other types of processors, and particularly with Arm architecture devices.To ease system integration for makers of home vision systems, Winbond has worked with ISP chipset manufacturers to support the reference design boards which provide the springboard for many security camera design projects. Software and hardware compatibility makes system integration easier for users of Ambarella ISPs in particular.Support for rapid development of new, more advanced vision systemsAs AI and machine learning technologies advance, the requirement for greater signal processing throughput and faster memory to support the ISP will grow. Specialty DRAM roadmaps should include provision for the introduction of new standard technologies, such as LPDDR4/4x, to provide increased bandwidth.Backed by comprehensive documentation and proven, high-quality in-house fabrication, Winbond's DRAM and Flash memory products provide OEMs with the confidence to build new, more intelligent capabilities into home monitoring and security vision systems.(Note: The author of this article, Jacky Tseng, is DRAM marketing manager at Winbond Electronics.)A camera or a computer?