A base of innovation for 2009
Rick Nelson, Editor in Chief -- Test & Measurement World, 4/1/2009 2:00:00 AM
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Innovation is proceeding despite the economic downturn. We present some of the fruits of innovation from last year in "T&MW announces award winners", where we feature our Best in Test and Test Product of the Year winners. In addition, sibling publication EDN highlights its 19th Annual Innovation Award product and engineering-team winners, which were announced March 30, at www.edn.com/innovation.
Of course, these awards recognize innovations that occurred before the economic downturn hit. But innovations that occurred throughout 2008 represent a level of competence that should make it possible to turn the challenges of 2009 into opportunities.
Some of those challenges stem from environmental regulations—such as hazardous materials restrictions and recycling requirements—likely to be imposed by the Obama administration. But the administration's environmental concerns will also open up new opportunities. “As the recession prolongs, our semiconductor customer community will look at what Uncle Sam is investing in,” said Rajeev Madhavan, chairman and CEO of Magma Design Automation. “Uncle Sam,” Madhavan told me in a recent phone interview, “is going to invest in green energy.”
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You can read Rick Nelson's entire interview with Rajeev Madhavan of Magma Design Automation in our sibling publication EDN. |
The innovation required to meet the needs of green applications, he said, will involve a move from big digital chips to mixed-signal designs. He said he's confident that a new category of electric vehicles are emerging, noting that government financial support for the automakers will probably be tied to whether they come out with electric vehicles. “So we are going to see a big injection of capital from Uncle Sam in these areas,” he said, which will result in semiconductor companies migrating toward mixed-signal SOCs.
Other opportunities for environment-related innovation lie in what Tektronix technical marketing manager Darren McCarthy called “the greening of wireless”—which relates to the low-power infrastructure that can serve the coming wave of cellphone users who live on less than $2 per day. Tektronix is addressing that market, he said, by supporting real-world measurements of the linear and nonlinear performance of power amplifiers and other components necessary for building energy-efficient wireless equipment.
As for the economy, Cascade Microtech president and CEO Geoff Wild told me it's important to emphasize R&D during a recession to address customers' future technological requirements while controlling cost of ownership. He noted that a dialog with customers is critical and that “now is a good time to have that discussion, when people are not rushing around,” and added that Cascade has a good cash position that lets it take advantage of the opportunity. Engineers at the maker of test stations, probes, probe cards, and sockets are emphasizing high-frequency measurements for automotive radar applications while investigating the test requirements of through-silicon vias.
As innovation proceeds in 2009, what we don't need are naysayers. For example, we don't need Parker Brugge, VP of environmental affairs and industry sustainability for the Consumer Electronics Association, complaining that government mandates on power limits for consumer electronics could stifle innovation. Unless the consumer electronics industry wants to go the way of the Detroit auto industry, it needs to look at such potential mandates as opportunities for innovation.
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