Chips, beer & automated cars

What were the best things on show at electronica last week?

As the world's largest event for the electronics industry, electronica 2014 drew 73,000 visitors from over 80 countries and 2,737 exhibitors. Business managers, salespeople, engineers and CEOs convene every two years to network and check on the latest developments in electronic components and applications. With such hordes tramping through the vast Munich exhibition halls, companies are under pressure to demonstrate their technology and products in ever more entertaining ways. Marilyn Monroe lookalikes and supercar giveaways are all very well, but we doubt they will make the lasting impact of a really memorable bit of tech.

So here are some of the highlights from electronica 2014.

Maxim Integrated's Beer Mug Factory

Chips and beer - always a winning combination with thirsty, hungry delegates. IC specialist Maxim Integrated hit upon the perfect way to keep a long line at its stand with a robot which processes and delivers personalised beer tankards. Demonstrating the versatility of Maxim's analog, digital and mixed signal chips, sensors, power supplies and high speed communication products, the beer mug production line is controlled by an iPad; it takes about two and a half minutes to fully process each customer's stein, which is printed with the name of the customer and their favourite beer.

Osram's gesture recognition controller

Imagine being able to spin the globe in Google Earth without clicking a mouse or touching your screen. Osram's new gesture recognition controller enables you to do just that. Containing three Osram IR LEDs and two IR cameras devices, the controllers sense hand movement over a specific point which doubles as the screen of your device. Watch the video here.

The car a quadriplegic can drive 

Arrow Electronics demonstrated SAM, a Corvette Stingray modified to allow Sam Schmidt (right), a former US Indycar driver, the opportunity to drive again. Sam lost the use of his arms and legs after an accident in 2000. Arrow built SAM (semi-autonomous motorcar) so that it can be controlled with just the driver's head. The driver wears a baseball cap with reflective infrared sensors which record the pilot’s head movements, while software translates the head movements into steering wheel impulses. To actuate the brakes, the driver bites on a hose with a pressure sensor.

USB 3.0

Industry foecasts predict that global sales of USB 3.0 enabled devices will reach 3 billion units by 2018. The major market driver is expected to be the need to increase transmission speeds between peripheral devices and computers. FTDI Chip announced its first generation USB 3.0 products at the show. The FT600Q and FT601Q are designed for use in FIFO bridges, featuring support for data bursting rates of up to 3.2 in products such as cameras, printers, scanners and industrial applications.

ut is looking for slots in cameras, printers, scanners and industrial applications which need comms. - See more at: http://www.electronicsweekly.com/mannerisms/consumer/9308-2014-11/#sthash.S6oKxn6e.dpuf

but is looking for slots in cameras, printers, scanners and industrial applications which need comms. - See more at: http://www.electronicsweekly.com/mannerisms/consumer/9308-2014-11/#sthash.S6oKxn6e.dpuf

but is looking for slots in cameras, printers, scanners and industrial applications which need comms. - See more at: http://www.electronicsweekly.com/mannerisms/consumer/9308-2014-11/#sthash.S6oKxn6e.dpuf

IoT is dead; long live US (not The US)

And apparently the IoT is dead. Internet-enabled sensors will so envelop our lives that it will be a world of "ubiquitous sensing". What opportunities and challenges will this present? A roundtable of leading CEOs from the semiconductor industry debated the implications of such connectivity, in particular their concerns about usability, security and what it means for semiconductor manufacturers.

We are moving on to a world where sensors will be monitoring everything and collecting data to a mindboggling degree.
The IoT has morphed into a new phrase “ubiquitous sensing”. This is the important aspect of IoT which was missing and which I can now understand.
Sensors will change our lives. The numbers start to look achievable.
- See more at: http://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/iot-2/comment-iot-rip-2014-11/#sthash.iYILHn2W.dpuf

We are moving on to a world where sensors will be monitoring everything and collecting data to a mindboggling degree.
The IoT has morphed into a new phrase “ubiquitous sensing”. This is the important aspect of IoT which was missing and which I can now understand.
Sensors will change our lives. The numbers start to look achievable.
- See more at: http://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/iot-2/comment-iot-rip-2014-11/#sthash.iYILHn2W.dpuf