Following the successful launch of its first-generation Ultra-Low-Voltage 1.2V SPI NOR flash in 2018, Macronix is introducing the second-generation ULV 1.2V SPI NOR flash product line in 2020 to meet the low-power consumption requirements by a diverse range of IoT devices. These low power requirements are arising from a wide range of of wireless communication technologies being designed in, including 5G, Wi-Fi, NB-IoT, and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).This new product line is the result of Macronix's efforts to explore innovative technologies that enable significant improvement on power consumption while maintaining high clock frequencies and data rates. Macronix leveraged its advanced process technology to mark a new market milestone with its ultra-low power consumption product line, pushing applications in smart healthcare and IoT devices a big step forward.Donald Huang, PhD, director of product marketing at Macronix, expects continued developments of low power consumption applications and continued strong market demand. According to Huang, not only are 1.2V low-voltage designs gaining visibility, but he's seeing robust growth momentum in applications for popular innovations such as automotive electronics, smart IoT, mobile devices and other high-end consumer electronics. Thanks to advances in semiconductor process technology down to the 7-nm node, logic ICs are largely available with 0.9V or lower core voltages. This enables the explosive growth of semiconductor solutions featuring ULV consumption and miniaturized packages.Consuming 50 percent less power than 1.8V productsWith industry leading multi-national brands aggressively driving innovations in smart applications and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, a plethora of battery-powered and ultra-low power consumption designs are bolstering the popularity of smart healthcare and wearable devices. This trend is also putting memory devices operating at 1.2V at the center of market attention and their demand is rapidly on the rise.Macronix's second-generation 1.2V SPI NOR flash MX25S-x3F features several important breakthroughs. First, it consumes 50 percent less power than the 1.8V series, which means the deep power down current of MX25S-x3F is reduced to 0.05μA and the active current can be as low as 0.27mA (1 MHz).Furthermore, because SPI NOR flash is commonly used to store boot code, the speed of code access is acritical consideration. Supporting an impressive 120 MHz clock rate, the MX25S-x3F stands out from the other 1.2V ULV NOR flash products currently on the market.MX25S-x3F's actual saving in power consumption - combining voltage, current and speed performance - reaches 50 percent compared to the 1.8V series. This is especially significant to battery-powered BLE devices, medical-grade wearable devices and mini-size smart healthcare devices. MX25S-x3F's ticket to wide adoption in mainstream applications will not only be its low voltage but more importantly its ability to maintain an impressive high data rate. Offering the double benefits in power saving and data rate is the purpose of Macronix launching the new 1.2V low-voltage product line.Enabling simpler system design and better cost advantageThe use of Macronix's 1.2V low-voltage NOR flash eliminates the need for some components due to the use of a standard I/O voltage. Implementing a standard streamlined I/O voltage design presents advantages in cost reduction and design flexibility. It allows a design that works in combination with the MCU, DRAM and multi-axis sensors also operating at low voltages.New semiconductor processes continue to improve performance and reduce power consumption. To extend battery life for mini-size electronics and to meet the demand for smaller battery size, the industry has started to adopt new technologies such as zinc-air batteries and metal-air batteries, which work at a wider voltage range. Because of this, Macronix's second-generation 1.2V SPI NOR flash covers a wider operating voltage range, from 1.14V to 1.6V to accelerate market adoption of low-voltage products.Volume production to kick off in second-quarter 2021Second-generation MX25S is planned with density offerings ranging from 1Mb to 256Mb with an initial focus on low- to mid- density models. Ultra-miniature packages including WLCSP, WSON, USON and SOP, as well as Known Good Die (KGD), for use in MCU SiP designs are available to accommodate diverse application requirements.Engineering samples of second-generation MX25S were shipped to major customers for design verification beginning in August 2020. Highlighting ultra-low power consumption applications pioneered by smart healthcare and IoT devices, the entire product line will enter volume production in second-quarter 2021. Leveraging its advances in low-voltage process technologies, Macronix will continue to augment its product portfolio of low-voltage and ultra-low power consumption memory, while stepping up efforts to capture new opportunities arising from smart healthcare and smart home applications, and medical-grade wearable devices featuring ultra-high energy efficiency.Donald Huang, PhD, director of Product Marketing at Macronix

Digi-Key Electronics, who offers the world's largest selection of electronic components in stock for immediate shipment, announced that it has partnered with Machinechat to deliver the industry's most affordable and easy-to-use IoT data management solution to accelerate IoT development and deployments.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. Under terms of the partnership, Digi-Key will be the exclusive distributor of Machinechat's JEDI One."We are excited to partner with Machinechat, an emerging leader in delivering easy-to-use and innovative IoT data management solutions," said Robbie Paul, director of IoT business development for Digi-Key. "The majority of today's IoT projects are stalled or delayed due to the costs and complexity in developing custom software applications for each project, with as much as 50% or more of the cost to develop a prototype for developing custom software to process, store and present IoT data. Machinechat's configurable all-in-one JEDI One IoT solution enables developers to readily integrate data collection, visualization and monitoring into their IoT projects in minutes, saving them thousands of hours of custom software development.""Digi-Key is a global distribution leader in providing best-of-breed technology tools and solutions that are helping to accelerate the development of tomorrow's IoT solutions," said E.E. Wang, chief marketing officer for Machinechat. "We're excited to partner with them to deliver our affordable and robust IoT software to the millions of engineers, developers and makers building IoT projects."For more information about Machinechat and to order JEDI One, please visit the Digi-Key website.Digi-Key Electronics announces global partnership with Machinechat

Electronics systems continue to grow in complexity as automotive electronics and a diverse range of smart applications feature ever higher levels of integration. When artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) Vehicle to Everything (V2X) technologies, and 5G adoption that everyone is talking about, falls in place, it paints a clear picture of people's future for which information security becomes a concern for semiconductor solutions.The implementation of information security has traditionally been dictated by leading processor developers as processors have the computing power to efficiently handle large amounts of data. However, a new trend is emerging; entrusting memory chip suppliers with information protection. Macronix, as a leading manufacturer of nonvolatile memory solutions, has brought to market high-end secure memory ArmorFlash to address users' needs to guarantee the confidentiality, integrity and availability of digital data. With the launch of ArmorFlash, Macronix also looks to satisfy market demand and strengthen long-term partnerships to help customers secure valuable information.In an interview, Donald Huang, PhD, director of product marketing at Macronix, noted that native functionality including data encryption and decryption, identity authentication and anti-tamper protection, combined with a "physical unclonable function" (PUF) code providing a very strong form of unique identification, form the core security technology of ArmorFlash. Designed for wide-ranging information security applications, ArmorFlash is implemented with data encryption, that prevents unauthorized access and features a wide range of data-protection technologies, including native identity authentication, crypto keys and secure boot enhancements.ArmorFlash's security core comprises four design pillars: Monotonic Counter, True Random Number Generator (TRNG), PUF Code, and an AES Hardware Crypto Engine, enabling robust protection against data corruption and malware implants. An example use case is the adoption of ArmorFlash on NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Xavier and Pegasus Platforms in high-performance Level 2+ to Level 5 autonomous driving systems. This partnership sets a good example, where system information reliability is maximized and potential security risks are minimized throughout the product lifecycle from deployment, installation to long-term operation for autonomous driving systems. Moreover, it demonstrates ArmorFlash's tremendous potential for use in other applications such as industrial automation and IoT.Passing CAVP certification, ArmorFlash next targets FIPS 140-2 certificationWith the advent of 5G, network communication will become increasingly open and data exchanges at low latency and high bandwidth will become the norm. This will make digital data ever more vulnerable to security threats. In view of this, Macronix has introduced the MX78 series of its secure ArmorFlash product following the launch of its MX75 ArmorFlash. One of the most important goals for optimum security assurance is to obtain FIPS 140-2 certification. FIPS 140-2, short for Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2, that specifies the standards used by non-military U.S. government agencies and their contractors to approve cryptographic modules. It is also widely accepted by the industry to validate the design and implementation of a cryptographic module.Macronix's ArmorFlash has passed validation testing by laboratories accredited by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP), which is a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) program, and has received Cryptographic Algorithm Validation Program (CAVP) certification. Macronix's ArmorFlash is now included in NIST's validation list. The next step will be to pass FIPS 140-2 Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) certification. Consumers will have more confidence when they choose information security products certified by industry standards.Asymmetric cryptography enables a higher level of data protectionAccording to Huang, MX78 implements asymmetric cryptography, also known as asymmetric Elliptic-curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) key exchange. This can eliminate the risks of a data breach resulting from hardware theft or loss and is a focus of attention among security implementations of electronics hardware components. It allows the system to operate in a protected, isolated environment to allow critical procedures to be executed in a trusted environment that shields against cyber attacks.The MX78 is also certified to be compliant with the rigorous AEC-Q100 standard for automotive applications. Supporting 1.8V and 3V operating voltages, it can be used with mainstream controllers and processors from leading automotive chip suppliers. With a wide operating temperature range between -40 degree C and +125 degree C, The MX78 ideally supports data storage and processing in limited footprint scenarios on automobiles. Sampling of the MX78 is now available to major customers. For example, Macronix is actively seeking opportunities for the integration of the MX78 in high-end autonomous driving systems.Huang highlighted that Macronix is making the the MX75 and MX78 available to meet burgeoning the challenges of designing secure storage in automotive systems. They will also come with a wide range of density offerings to accommodate diverse requirements and applications. Macronix ArmorFlash offers these solutions in BGA, SOP or KGD packages. Macronix is projecting a strong presence in the automotive market while also catering to secure memory requirements in in flourishing IoT, smart home and industrial automation applications.Donald Huang, PhD, director of product marketing at Macronix

As the world emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, it is likely to leave lasting impacts not only on the patients who have been treated by dedicated doctors and nurses, but also generally on the way that medicine is practised.As a leading manufacturer of specialty memory ICs, Winbond is constantly looking ahead to understand the broad trends in areas such as the medical equipment market. It is clear that post-COVID changes in patient health monitoring and in the way that medical services are delivered face-to-face are going to create greater demand for personal and wearable medical devices. This change in the pattern of demand has important implications for users of memory products.As this article argues, the new state of the medical electronics market calls for wide deployment of secure memory devices, and for non-volatile memory chips which can store greater quantities of user data at a lower cost-per-bit.Personal medical devices at risk of intrusion or attackIf COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is the risk to health when large numbers of potentially infected people congregate in a confined space.For the foreseeable future, social distancing is going to continue to be mandatory in indoor spaces for citizens in many countries. Like schools and factories, hospitals too will be looking for ways to reduce the number of people gathered inside at any one time, to make it easier to maintain distance between people.Health systems are therefore going to be giving high priority to technologies which enable monitoring and diagnosis to take place outside the hospital, and which do not require the patient to be admitted to a ward for observation.Consumers are already familiar with wearable activity trackers which monitor physiological signs such as the user's heart rate. Now Winbond expects to see a rapid expansion in the use by medical practitioners of wearable devices for use in the treatment of a range of conditions.Patients can be expected to embrace this new approach to medical treatment. Covid-19 will not be the last novel virus to cause an epidemic: HIV, MERS and SARS are other recent examples, and a growing human population is certain to catch new diseases transferred from wild animals. And through COVID -19 we have learned that we are less likely to suffer if we are healthy at the time we become infected. Activity and health trackers provide a new way for consumers to maintain a more healthy lifestyle and to increase their resistance to new illnesses.So both specialist wearable diagnostic equipment and consumer wearable devices seem likely to become much more widely used post- COVID. This broad expansion of the user of wearable medical technology has huge implications for security, for two reasons:- Specialist medical equipment will in some cases be safety-critical - the user's life will depend on it. So the device must be safe from malicious attacks, such as denial of service attack, which could disable or impair its operation. - Private user data are logged and transmitted by a wearable device, normally over a wireless link such as a Bluetooth® Low Energy radio to a host device such as a smartphone. It is crucial to the user's trust in their device that these data should only be shared with authorized entities such as the user's physician.The risk to connected, wearable devices is real. Official bodies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have issued a stream of warnings to device users and manufacturers about known risks, such as the SweynTooth family of cybersecurity vulnerabilities affecting Bluetooth Low Energy radio chipsets. The FDA's March 2020 announcement about SweynTooth said that 'software to exploit these vulnerabilities in certain situations is already publicly available'.Winbond is ready to help manufacturers of wearable and medical equipment to protect against threats such as SweynTooth by providing secure memory for code and data storage. In medical devices, exposure to threats is greatest when data or code are in transit: for instance, when logged heartbeat measurements are uploaded via a Bluetooth Low Energy link from a wearable heart monitor to the user's smartphone; or when updated firmware is delivered over-the-air from the cloud to the wearable device.In simple wearable products, security provision may be confined to a microcontroller or system-on-chip (SoC), which will include a small on-chip Flash memory area for secure code storage. In more sophisticated devices, however, the size of the code will be too large for the embedded MCU's memory, requiring the use of external Flash for code storage. If this external memory, however, does not provide security functions such as an encryption engine and a root-of-trust, then it will be vulnerable. And no matter how secure the host MCU or SoC, if the external memory is at risk, the whole device and its data are at risk.This is the problem solved by Winbond's TrustME family of secure memory products. The latest TrustME memory product, the W77Q, protects connected devices from remote software attack. By ensuring robust, end-to-end security in connected medical devices it enables:- Secure code updates, including over-the-air updates, via an end-to-end secure channel between an update authority and the W77Q even when the host MCU or SoC has been compromised.- Secure boot and root-of-trust- Authenticated and encrypted data transfer between the Flash device and the host- Execute-in-Place (XiP) of boot and application code- System resilience, enabled by the key security functions of protection, detection and recoveryHow to store a torrent of personal user data at lower costThe use of wearable and in-home patient monitoring equipment will relieve pressure on medical facilities and facilitate social distancing in surgeries and hospitals. But this personal equipment will generate a torrent of personal data. Multi-sensor monitoring equipment is already available to track various vital signs simultaneously, such as heart rate, heart-rate variability, blood oxygen levels, and temperature.Wearable devices cannot be assumed to have continuous access to the internet, so the system architecture has to allow for local storage of these user data. This means that wearable medical devices need high-density, non-volatile memory. And because decisions about a patient's diagnosis and treatment might be based on the data, data integrity is a mission-critical requirement.The traditional choice of memory type for non-volatile, error-free storage of data is NOR Flash. In low densities of below 512Mbits, NOR Flash is a cost-effective choice. When data capacity of 512Mbits or more is required, however, the fabrication process advantage of NAND Flash comes into play.Winbond's outlook on the medical equipment market suggests that high-reliability, high-speed alternatives to NOR Flash for user data are likely to become increasingly popular. This is why Winbond has developed new technologies to increase the Read and Write performance of its reliable Single-Level Cell (SLC) NAND Flash products.For instance, the W25N QspiNAND family is available in densities of 512Mbits, 1Gbit, 2Gbits and 4Gbits. It shares the same interface as conventional SPI NOR Flash for easy replacement in existing designs, and at densities of 512Mbits offers a lower cost-per-bit and a smaller board footprint. The W25N devices also feature fast Program/Erase performance, and high reliability: their specifications include more than 100,000 Program/Erase cycles, and longer than 10 years' data retention. An on-chip Error Correction Code (ECC) engine ensures that data in storage are free of bit errors.Winbond also offers a migration route to higher performance , for medical devices integrating a higher number of sensors and operating at higher sampling speeds: the High-Performance QspiNAND Flash and OctalNAND Flash products offer the same high-reliability SLC NAND Flash quality, but with even higher data bandwidth.A new generation of personal medical devicesThe implications of the Covid-19 pandemic are still emerging, but it is already clear that the medical world will need to embrace the use of more personal and wearable technology. Data are the key to these emerging personal medical devices - and this has huge implications for the design of security and storage systems.Winbond's forward-looking approach to memory technology has seen it take a lead in the development of secure NOR Flash products and high-reliability, high-density QspiNAND Flash. As the market for wearable medical technology evolves, OEMs can expect Winbond to continue to introduce new product types and technologies to meet the latest requirements for secure and low-cost code and data storage.The new state of the medical electronics market calls for wide deployment of secure memory devices, and for non-volatile memory chips which can store greater quantities of user data at a lower cost-per-bit.

Growing maturity of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is enabling leaping advances in automated optical inspection (AOI) for the manufacturing sector. ADLINK is working with leading information technology (IT) provider Fujitsu to introduce a False Call Reduction (FCR) system - a new smart manufacturing solution built with Fujitsu's robust AI computing power and ADLINK's extensive experiences in collecting manufacturing data and developing manufacturing applications. They expect to bring the solution into action on the surface mount technology (SMT) production lines by year end.Quality control is a step in the manufacturing process that is critical to production yield and product quality optimization. It has generally been performed by human workers and automated optical inspection (AOI) until the rise of smart manufacturing wherein AI is reshaping production line systems. As part of its active undertakings in AI-enabled solutions, ADLINK began collaborations with Japan-based IT technology provider Fujitsu in 2020 to integrate Fujitsu Advanced Image Recognition(F|AIR) with ADLINK's edge computing industrial PC (IPC) to boost visual inspection accuracy above 90% and thereby reduce AOI false call rates on SMT production lines so that manufacturers can achieve higher precision quality control.With defect detection being an essential part of quality control, manufacturers have been making use of AOI equipment to help production line workers identify defects at a higher level of accuracy. To make the process more efficient, maturing AI technology is being introduced in AOI to tap the power of deep learning algorithms and make defect detection more intelligent and more accurate.AOI may not necessarily increase production line efficiencyAccording to Ming-Che Cheng, Business Development Director, Smart Factory Business Center, IoT Solutions & Technology Business Unit of ADLINK , when manufacturers incorporate AOI equipment on their SMT production lines for quality control, they generally configure AOI settings with rigorous standards. This results in a high number of false calls, each of which requires reexamination by human workers and manual data update or input. Such added processes not only hinder efficient production line operation but also burden human workers with so much work that they may be prone to misjudge defective products as good products due to fatigue, causing return, rework or even damage to manufacturers' business reputation.ADLINK joins forces with Fujitsu to create a new integrated AI platformADLINK is endeavoring to find a solution to the issue, noted Cheng. After years of development, ADLINK's AI-based inspection hardware has reached maturity. For software capabilities, ADLINK turns to Fujitsu in hopes of leveraging its robust AI software strength to jointly build a hardware-software integrated FCR system. According to Jung-Lang Wang, technical manager, Digital Co-creation, Fujitsu, global IT heavyweights flex their muscles by presenting powerful supercomputers. Fujitsu builds F|AIR on top of its high-performing servers and has put the solution to use at its production bases in Europe. It is then in search of partners to help bring F|AIR to Asia, the world's manufacturing hub. The partnership between ADLINK and Fujitsu is a perfect match. By combining Fujitsu's F|AIR and ADLINK's edge computing IPC, they offer manufacturers engaging in SMT processing an ideal solution that reduces AOI false calls.Boosting the FCR system's adoption by ensuring continuous uptimeFeaturing a non-intrusive design, the partnership FCR system can be installed without having to shut down the SMT line. It can be up and running after simple parameter adjustments, which can be replicated to other production lines. It can learn from the training models about defects in images while in operation and reduce false calls by more than 90% without having to train on a large quantity of images. Then, the significantly reduced number of images determined to have defects are turned over to human inspectors who can take the time to conduct reexamination and improve quality of work. Furthermore, the FCR system can aggregate the reexamination results for subsequent training. Not only is the inspection process made more efficient, manufacturers get to enjoy higher units per hour (UPH). More importantly, all software and hardware run in parallel to existing AOI equipment so manufacturers' past investments will not go to waste.Based on a deep learning algorithm, the FCR system will deliver a higher level of accuracy with a larger quantity and variety of training images. That is, the system will grow in accuracy with the time it runs on the SMT line. Aside from training purposes, the images it collects on the production line can also be used to trace production history for manufacturers to improve product quality and for customers to gain insights into the production process through visual data.The FCR system is built for small-volume large-variety productionThe FCR system now runs on ADLINK's own SMT line. It is especially suitable for small-volume large-variety production, said Wang. Its deep learning implementation allows it to accommodate a diverse range of production requirements. ADLINK and Fujitsu will continue to work together and expand the application scope for the system to help manufacturers address challenges in AI-based visual inspection.ADLINK turns to Fujitsu in hopes of leveraging its robust AI software strength to jointly build a hardware-software integrated FCR systemDaniel Yang, president of ADLINK (left) and Yuguchi Akashi, Fujitsu Taiwan president (right)

Nexcom's Network and Communication Solutions Group (NCS), leading supplier of network appliances, is ready to take on the challenges of 5G technology with its newest uCPE (Universal Customer Premise Equipment) solutions. Under development the past three years, these solutions were developed through NCS' active participation in early access programs of strategic partners in networking technology. These efforts finally materialized this quarter in several 5G proof-of-concept (POC) deployments across different regions of the world.Matthew Liu, NCS' director of Product Line Management, says, "The advent of 5G has become the ultimate driving force to commercialize technologies heartily discussed nowadays, such as AI, IoT, cyber security, and FWA. Due to the requirements of eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband), URLLC (Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications), and mMTC (massive Machine Type Communications), which are all so critical in the 5G world, Nexcom has launched a 100G NIC card and is collaborating with strategic partners to create 200G/400G cards."Nexcom expects that FWA technology will completely change IT infrastructure by using 5G wireless broadband to replace the last mile of fixed physical lines. NCS will soon introduce to the market "NexCPE," a new uCPE product line based on FWA (Fixed Wireless Access), as a welcome addition to Nexcom's product portfolio.Nexcom has additionally rolled out a video to showcase NCS' capabilities in networking. For more information on the Network and Communication Solutions Group, please visit Nexcom's website.Nexcom's Network and Communication Solutions Group (NCS) has a passion for innovation

Digi-Key Electronics, a global electronic components distributor, announced today that it has partnered with Septentrio, a leader in high-precision GNSS positioning solutions. Digi-Key now offers mosaic-X5 globally for customers who need secure and reliable high-accuracy positioning in a compact and low-power form factor.Septentrio's mosaic-X5 features complete multi-frequency multi-constellation technology and tracks every existing and future signal from all Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) constellations. Such signal diversity coupled with advanced anti-jamming technology allows mosaic-X5 to deliver centimeter-level positioning with maximum availability even in challenging industrial environments. This makes mosaic-X5 an ideal positioning solution for applications such as robotics, automation, telematics and many more."Our mosaic-X5 is an advanced GNSS receiver module without performance compromises. With its small form factor and low-power design, mosaic-X5 brings high-performance positioning to volume applications," said Francois Freulon, head of product management for Septentrio. "Having Digi-Key as a distributor enables us to scale and reach out to find new markets and applications where secure high accuracy positioning is required.""Digi-Key is excited about the new partnership with Septentrio," said David Stein, vice president of global supplier management for Digi-Key. "Demand for high-accuracy GNSS receivers with secure and robust positioning is growing strongly, as they continue to be implemented into new applications and devices. Digi-Key offers customers an easy path to order, develop, and deploy with the latest technologies available, including Septentrio's robust and precise GNSS devices, which have the latest anti-jamming and anti-spoofing technology."For more information about Septentrio and to order the mosaic development kit or the mosaic-X5 module, please visit the Digi-Key website.Septentrio mosiac-X5, a high-end GNSS receiver module delivering reliable centimeter-level positioning, is now available on the Digi-Key website

Wireless communication modules are the important and indispensable components of Digital Economics, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data Analytics. The vast business landscape includes consumer electronics, Smart City and Industrial IoT applications. These powerful devices and use cases are eye-catching and also enabling severe competition at the same time. Wireless module makers put immense resources to invest wide-scale deployment for multiple wireless technologies. Other things like passing the telecommunication certifications of global telecom giants will cost a fortune and highly time constraints. The challenges are overwhelming in searching the balance between financial investment and time to market product roadmap.Wireless modules makers are strengthening the competitive edge by strongly manage production costs and manufacturing facilities. Keeping a tight relationship with PCB manufacturers, semiconductor chip makers and other related supply chain partners are essential strategies to drive better time-to-market schedules with massive production capacity and cost effectively while maintaining high quality. These are survival skills in the market. Moreover, because the product differentiation strategy playing a key role to engage business with regional telecoms, the successful business will rely on the broad range of wireless module product offerings plus good branding and company reputation.Founded in 1999, Fibocom is the first wireless modules provider listed in China Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2017. The company's main business of wireless modules have been applied in wide wireless frequency bands to support the needs of various wireless embedded systems, provision of solution plans, sales of parts, components and solutions. Over the years, Fibocom has well developed the modules for wireless broadband ranging from 5G, 4G, 3G, 2G, LTE Cat 1, NB-IoT, LTE Cat M, Android enabling intelligence, automotive grades communication modules, GNSS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules, as well as techniques related to 5G standards of Non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA) architecture. With the commercial launch of 5G licenses globally, Fibocom has accelerated the implementation of 5G applications with its 5G module product lines aiming commercial notebook PC and IoT market sectors.Continuing success in China, Fibocom expanding business in Asia PacificMr. Lingpeng Ying, CEO of Fibocom, talks through this interview. Following its success in the China market, Fibocom is aggressively expanding the business to Asia Pacific regions leveraging the growing 5G ecosystems and booming networking and telecommunication market. Since 2014, Fibocom started to enter a strategic partnership with Taiwan networking & communication, PC and industrial PC companies.Through the early experience from building partnership with global brands, Fibocom invests major engineering resources to support customers. Today, the engineering teams account for roughly 70% of its total workforce. Taking 5G product lines as an example, the multi-mode and multi-band product series need to support a broad range of frequency bands covering FR1 (Sub-6 GHz) and FR2 (millimeter wave or mmWave) spectrums. The certification tests of various telecom networks are time consuming and very costly process. Fibocom has granted global broadband certificates based on 3GPP standards and provided many popular form factors to meet diversified industrial requirements.China 5G roll-out benefiting revenue rising of wireless module makersAfter landing the services of 4G LTE to provide 150Mbps data transmitted speed, China is shifting gears to 5G services quickly for fast upgrade, Ying observed. These bold steps drive big business opportunities. The fancy applications like smart healthcare, remote work and several Smart City use cases are introduced to China market and gaining most attentions. It is obviously that a good user's experience relying on seamless data connectivity. And wireless module makers play a key role to ensure the quality and performance. Being the most disruptive technology and huge China investments of 5G networks, it is to supercharge wireless module makers across the globe.Fibocom quickly grabs the opportunity to take lead in the notebook PCs and tablets market. Through highly cooperative efforts with the PC industry and long-term partnership with Intel, the growth momentum is strong. In the first quarter of 2020 during the global COVID-19 pandemics, the ramping revenue is reaching 50% on-year increases, said Ying. If looking at market sectors of commercial and education notebook PC, Fibocom is even taking 90% of market share. And more positively, the robust demand for commercial notebooks and Chromebooks stoked by coronavirus-induced lockdowns has also added significant growth momentum to the company's shipments in the coming months.Always connect PC for commercial usage is a key driving forceThe impressive sales performance is linked with the strong demands from global PC brands like HP, DELL and Lenovo. Especially in Europe and North America market, although mostly still providing 4G LTE networks right now, the ACPC, meaning "Always Connect PC", is a getting popular product category welcomed by business travelers, IT experts and engineering service teams of global companies. The cross-region internet access service promoted by broadband operators is another big boost for commercial PC brands. Fibocom's wireless module product offerings with full bandwidth support of global 4G bands and dedicated Intel M.2 strategic partnership contribute Chromebook or notebook business to go after big opportunities.Meanwhile, in the industrial PC sectors, there are many production facilities and machinery in the remote geographical places is relying on the connected PC to control critical procedures and systems. All these control requires wireless connectivity to transmit data streams performing the high quality features to fit the industrial requirements or standards. This all contribute a very good results to use Fibocom wireless modules. And furthermore, according to existing order status, the production capacity has been fully booked before end of June (pls update the dates), 2020. Fibocom's notebook wireless module shipments for first-half 2020 are also expected to see a double-digit on-year growth.Non-PC markets boosting big expansion for chasing massive sales growthWith the success in the PC market, Fibocom does not slow down to penetrate the market in the consumer electronics and industrial IoT market. This sector what popular named as "Non-PC" market is becoming another revenue engine for driving consistent revenue generation. The company face the challenges to choose directly compete with key players in the market. The first move is to sign Snapdragon X55 MODEM Chipsets supply and license agreement with Qualcomm. And Fibocom product development teams continue to introduce series 5G wireless modules to the market and embrace Qualcomm ecosystems.Taking recent announced FG150(W) and FM150(W) 5G modules as an example, this series product offerings, both supporting SA & NSA network architectures with solutions of one design for multiple access, are SDX55 chipsets based and supporting all major frequency bands of 5G Sub-6GHz and mmWave networks usage. At the same time, it also provides the compatibility with LTE and WCDMA. Leveraging M.2 interface and LGA packaging design, these series provide several interfacing standards including USB, PCIe and RGMII to support mainstream applications such as ACPC, wireless Access Point or Router, CPE Gateway devices, drone and robotics devices aiming to enable use cases of 5G+8K TV video streaming, smart grid, smart healthcare, smart city, smart manufacturing services. It principally engages in the promotion of Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile Internet wireless communication technologies and applications. With the commercial launch of 5G licenses globally, Fibocom has accelerated the market penetration of 5G applications with its 5G module.Meanwhile, Fibocom invest another technology development by Intel and Mediatek for joining development to use new generation of cost effective 5G chips. This action will invest another round of 5G market campaigns and preparation future business opportunities.Customization design does mattersThe competition between regional Telecoms is very complicated and fierce. To provide customized services targeted for various segmentations will be an essential winning strategy. Ying points out, Fibocom is not only a module maker but also a trustable partner to build a tightly bound for mutual benefits by deeply investing IoT technologies to maintain a long turn strength.For instance, European Telecoms manage providing quality services in vast geographical areas through a wide frequency bands, Ying continues. Some of major Telecoms in South European countries even provide the services including the Latin American region. A single integrated module design to fit those wide ranges of frequency bands will be a powerful differentiation to simplify the product offerings and save the cost. And one of the most important strengths is improving the lead time to meet the market requirements.The Fibocom's offerings could provide products covering the massive and wide frequency bands by solid technology know-how to fit the demands. Using fewer modules means to save more PAs and RFEEs, which will make entire product more competitive and reduce the time to apply Telecom certification. The mix of LGA packaging and M.2 interface is another unique product strength for helping system integrators to quickly search the balance between time to market and best fit pricing considering the scale of production volume. Both LGA and M.2 modules of Fibocom offerings continue to maintain pin-to-pin compatible with existing design. These sincere development considerations from the stages of product initiating to scale mass production are welcomed by customers.Through the technology expertise and engineering support, the company is building its long turn strength and having a better positioning to engage the business with PC or networking ODMs, Ying said proudly.Internet of Things, Robotics and Industrial IoT applications boosting future growthFor better exploring the use cases in IoT, Fibocom continue build stable and reliable embedded wireless modules based on 3GPP 4G LTE and 5G standards. In the recent development of 5G NR technologies, the development of SA mode under 5G networks is getting more attentions. Both NSA and SA technologies can quickly deploy 5G networks to support eMBB, uRLLC and mMTC services. And there are more and more use cases and scenarios to be certified and tested to release high value of 5G applications. For these reasons, Fibocom divides its solutions to four major categories named , MBB (Mobile Broadband) modules, Massive IoT modules, Smart modules and Automotive-grade modules. And each of them is granted industrial safety and telecom certifications in every major country.Having a wide range of product lines increases the chances of wining more customers, Fibocom looks at two most potential market. They are IoV(Internet of Vehicle) and M2M(Machine to Machine) sectors. The IoV development is achieving greater cooperation with global brands. And it is expanding the business with the applications of mobile payment, Vehicle Information System and Smart Grid applications. The global brands such as Lenovo, Amazon, HP and Dell contribute stable revenue growth for corporate operation.New Wi-Fi 6 and blockchain LTE Cat 1 modules to boost 5G landing applicationsRecently, Fibocom new released W600 Wi-Fi 6 module is based on Qualcomm QCA6391 platform, complies with IEEE 802.11. ax standard, supports multiple indoor data communication protocol and intensified wireless connection scenarios. Compared with previous Wi-Fi 5 devices, W600 provides 4 times bigger data transmission capacity, 37% speed increasing and 75% low latency performance improvement.W600 equips with a multiple wireless platform to accommodate WLAN and Bluetooth technologies together through PCIe interface. It cold further link with FG150 5G module to provide 5G capability by connecting to 5G networks to access broadband world. The combination will provide user a complete wireless connection scenario from indoor to outdoor connection.In the other hand, targeting the world's first LTE Cat 1 module with Blockchain inside, Fibocom is launching L610 in the market. Based on UNISOC 8910DM LTE Cat 1 bis chipset and Aitos's BoAT (Blockchain of AI Things) framework, Fibocom L610 combines technologies of IoT and Blockchain, which is providing significant and valuable product suite to the IoT industry in terms of scalability and security concerns. That is, in case of 2G/3G's absence, LTE Cat 4's costiveness, and NB-IoT's lower speed, Fibocom L610 LTE Cat 1 module is a new choice for IoT application requiring medium communication speed. More than that, by leveraging Aitos's BoAT Blockchain SDK at the application layer, L610 affords major Blockchain capabilities including the true value to make the entire transaction ledger visible to all participants.Fibocom invested IoT cloud platforms and software solutions to cultivate industrial solutions targeting typical application scenarios include smart logistics and transportation, assets tracking and connected devices in the industrial usages, which aims to protect and bring out the full potential of the IoT data analytics. The increasing demands for mobile network capacity driven by Industrial IoT applications results in massive business opportunities. With the strong technology support, Fibocom is continuing to develop new wireless products and help ODM partners and system integrators in Asia Pacific region enabling new services and applications and unlock the new potential of future IoT world.Leading in China market by strong product offerings and pushing the further growth across Asia-Pacific regionMr. Lingpeng Ying, CEO of Fibocom

iCatch Technology, a global leader in digital image processing specialized in edge AI, low-power and connected camera devices, today introduces the Ci3 series ISP for OE automotive camera module applications. Ci3 series has incorporated iCatch's 7th generation ISP, which is specially designed for automotive imaging scenario, to support ultra high dynamic range (HDR), LED flicker mitigation (LFM), RGGB/RCCC/RCCB/RGBIR CMOS sensors and advanced dewarping engine to fulfill the stringent image quality requirement by automakers.Ci3 series is designed to support the most advanced automotive grade CMOS sensor to enable ultra high dynamic range (HDR) imaging and LED flicker mitigation (LFM) simultaneously. HDR can help the camera overcome the high contrast scene, such as tunnel or garage entrances, to provide visible information to the driver or the ADAS computing unit. With the adoption of LEDs, traffic lights and car headlight/tail light cause flicker to the video captured by the automotive camera module. LFM can adapt to the a wide range of frequencies to greatly reduce the LED flicker effect to produce a smoother video which is crucial for ADAS processing, such as forward collision warning and traffic sign recognition.Ci3 series also includes iCatch's 2nd generation RGBIR engine. It produces state-of-the-arts color accuracy and image details comparing to existing solutions in the market. With iCatch's Ci3 series ISPs, RGBIR camera module combines both RGB and IR cameras into one to provide accurate RGB imaging for the daytime and IR imaging for the nighttime. This is ideal for in-cabin applications, such as driver monitoring or passenger monitoring systems.In addition to the ISP, Ci3 series also has an embedded dewarping engine. It can be used for lens distortion correction or can generate multiple view angles (Multi-view) from a single camera to assist the driver. For example, the multi-view function can be applied to camera monitoring systems to avoid blind spots or to rear view camera for different backup scenarios.Ci3 series is AEC-Q100 Grade 2 qualified and its small form factor and low power consumption makes it especially suitable for 1080p automotive camera module.For more information, please refer to this link or send us a request via www.icatchtek.com/RequestsCI3 MHDR ConceptCI3 RGBIR DemosaicCi3 Multi-view Dewarp

All supply chains face risks caused by unpredictable events, such as trade wars, natural disasters and data breaches, that often lead to multiple disruptions. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a largescale impact on both demand and supply, exemplifying the need for stronger supply chains.A second wave could result in further global widespread disruption, making supply chain resiliency even more crucial. Despite this, a recent Gartner survey showed that only 21% of respondents stated they have a highly resilient network today, which includes the ability to shift sourcing and manufacturing activities around quickly.In order to successfully accomplish a resilient supply chain, sourcing components from various suppliers and geographically diversifying stages of the production is key. Though supply chain diversification is vital in protecting manufacturers against shocks, its importance is usually only reminded when weaknesses start to show.According to PwC, CFOs expecting to change the breadth of their supply chains went from 30% to 42% from the beginning of March compared to the end of the month. This correlates with the spike in factory shutdowns caused by force majeures put in place by governments around the globe.Paul Romano, COO at Fusion Worldwide, acknowledges, "Companies normally look to introduce secondary suppliers to their supply chains during chaotic events, such as the MLCC shortage in 2018, but quickly forget the necessity once the issue is resolved. With the pandemic, companies will also need to also geographically diversify their supply chains to lessen their dependence on a single location."Geographical diversification is a long-term solution due to the amount of time and investment required. Despite this, it is a powerful step in securing supply chains. By strategically placing and outspreading where product is produced, procured and stored, companies are more able to safeguard against unexpected future catastrophe.China, for instance, is already considered one of the fastest growing sources of foreign direct investment in India. In 2019, Sany, a Chinese multinational manufacturing company, announced the US$140 million expansion of its Pune facility. Tsingshan, a top Chinese stainless-steel producer, also disclosed its US$1 billion investment into the construction of an India plant.In the shorter term, companies can diversify their vendor base and products. In a time of escalating disruption, it is important to start improving strategic sourcing strategies as soon as possible. Vetting processes, especially, need to be conducted without delay to ensure that new suppliers are compliant and reliable.Tobey Gonnerman, EVP of trade at Fusion Worldwide, states "Strong vendor partnership with open market suppliers are critical to an OEM's ability to deal with supply chain adversity. Those who wait until the shortages occur to interact with these suppliers are the ones most severely impacted; both in terms of the over-cost they are faced with and from a quality assurance perspective."To ensure adaptability against shocks, such as a resurgence in COVID-19, below are some risk mitigation strategies:- Establish alternative sources with the ability to supply components normally produced by a single source. Those who depend on a single source will face massive supply chain disruptions if their component source experiences a supply issue.- Expand the allowable number of manufacturers, or AVL. This allows companies to gain more options when supply chain disruptions occur. A company with a large AVL will have the ability to easily solve component shortage issues and is more able to leverage these suppliers to maintain supply.- Understand what critical links in the supply chain are vulnerable to unpredictable events, then promptly set up risk management and contingency plans. It is important that companies have complete awareness of what will be affected in their supply chain, the gravity of the impact and how prepared they are to deal with it. Companies that are more heavily hit by shocks are those who did not set up a resilient supply chain before there was an issue affecting it.- Utilize sources for market intelligence. By closely monitoring market events and the status of their supply chains in relation to it, companies are equipped to take proactive actions and immediately react.- Geographically diversify. With manufacturers of certain components condensed in one region, one type of product will be greatly affected by political events and natural disasters. By spreading out factory and supplier location, companies will be more protected against condensed shocks.By diversifying vendors and locations, manufacturers are not only increasing their ability to be flexible but are also more able to adapt to a constantly changing market. This results in their supply chains being less affected by shocks and gives them a competitive advantage in the availability of materials.Shock proofing your supply chain - A global approachA resurgence in COVID-19 could result in additional lead time and pricing increases. Source: z2data.comThe top three places capacitors are being manufactured account for 56% of its global production.Source: z2data.com