Once a year Nuremberg transforms into a vibrant hub of innovation and business expertise. The occasion? The Embedded World Exhibition and Conference attracts electronics professionals from across Europe and beyond to get a glimpse of new cutting-edge technologies appearing on the horizon. What are the most promising technological gems nowadays to elevate products – in experience, value or performance – and boost your business?
AI is good, but its real value lies in the Edge
Science-fiction film directors often sketch futuristic worlds with self-driving cars, talking robots, and advanced medical facilities. With artificial intelligence (AI) becoming commonplace, we’re closer than ever to reaching this future vision, especially if AI operates at the edge. Embedded World ‘24 focused on the future of Edge AI and its challenges. Edge AI enhances new embedded systems by bringing advanced processing and decision-making capabilities directly into products, reducing reliance on cloud solutions.
AMD-Xilinx identifies key Edge AI challenges: power, throughput, latency, accuracy, environmental interaction, safety, security, workloads, and regulation. Companies address these using low-power chips, energy harvesting methods, Edge AI processors, communication modules able to meet throughput and latency requirements, new time of flight sensors, security devices, etc.
Edge AI empowers embedded systems to operate more autonomously, efficiently and securely. Today’s technology enables Verhaert to integrate Edge AI in new cost-effective products, promising a revolution in the industry, home automation, medical, and automotive sectors.
The EU Cyber Resilience Act and its effect on new products
The European Parliament’s approval of the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) in March ’24 marks a significant step in addressing the security of digital products throughout their lifespan, notably impacting the development of new embedded systems. However, the practical implementation of the law remains uncertain. For sure, manufacturers are prohibited from consciously bringing insecure products on the market. Responsibility is extended across the entire value chain, except for open-source developers, who cannot be held liable for security breaches in their code. To protect the open-source world, the responsibility for potential security leaks lies with the companies using the open-source code.
To navigate the CRA effectively, it’s imperative to incorporate security features into your product design early on. A more security-focused approach in embedded systems development includes: secure coding, data encryption, access control, and vulnerability management. Continuous monitoring and updates are essential to mitigate emerging cyber threats.
Comprehensive documentation, including a general security process, specific features, potential vulnerabilities for each product version, and a hardware and software Bill of Materials (BOM) with security risk assessments, ensures clarity and compliance. Thorough preparation before product launch is key, as severe penalties await those who neglect security. The software lifecycle now requires heightened attention, with bug-free software no longer being sufficient.
Bluetooth is much more than communication
As Bluetooth’s Low Energy version advances, it’s crucial to understand its application-level distinctions and integration benefits. The main innovations are:
- Channel sounding in Bluetooth 5, employing time flight or phase-based running for 10 cm accuracy in localization and tracking.
- Enhanced Bluetooth 5 LE audio offers multichannel streaming and improved sound quality with new audio codec, higher data rates, and increased payload per package.
- Bluetooth 5 introduces Periodic Advertisement with Responses (PaWR) for secure communication with electronic shelf labels in warehouse settings, extending battery life through ultra-low power consumption.
These innovations showcase Bluetooth’s versatility, expanding beyond its conventional services. Channel sounding replaces GPS for indoor localization, enhancing cost-effectiveness through a widely adopted protocol. LE audio enriches user experiences with improved performance and music sharing, while PaWR prioritizes ultra-low power consumption. Bluetooth’s readiness to evolve ensures its prominent role in IoT communications.
Together toward a smart, sustainable and secure future
From AI that’s smarter at the edge to Bluetooth’s indoor magic, music sharing and efficiency! And let’s not forget the EU’s new security-first Cyber Resilience Act: embed, comply, update, navigate. So as embedded systems move to smart, sustainable, secure future features, it’s time to understand what added value you’ll be able to create for your customers. We’re on the edge of a great opportunity!