Feature Topics

Modeling and monitoring in power modules reduces cost. Expected lifetime can be predicted more accurately and the appropriate maintenance measures can be taken. Thus, modules no longer have to be oversized and high costs caused by production losses or even damage to machinery due to un-expected failure can be prevented.

As robots have evolved, they have become more and more autonomous, accelerated in the recent past in particular by the aggressive pace of developments in the automotive industry and the arrival of more and more powerful computers, smartphones, and internet connections.

Progress in our understanding of biological processes and in the miniaturization of electronics have paved the way for bioelectronics as a promising and innovative area for research. The lack of any common ground between biology and electronics is deceptive: Biology seems to deal only with the basic building blocks of life, like cells or proteins, and electronics seems removed from nature with its chips and transistors.

No chain can be stronger than its weakest link: This old adage still applies in the digital world, where even vast sums spent on software security will never guarantee holistic security for the entire system.

The evolution of CPUs and GPUs, packing ever more computing power into ever smaller packages, is inexorably nearing its commercially viable and, soon, physical limits. Chips are still expected to become faster with every generation, but the rate of growth is already slowing. As the technology’s evolution is coming up to this crossroads, chiplets represent the future of processors.

The factories of the future need to be smart, adaptable, efficient, and sustainable. The idea of an Industry 4.0 was born to tackle this technological challenge with its focus on promoting the digitalization and automation of industrial manufacturing.