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McKinsey Mangles Micromobility

McKinsey Mangles Micromobility
by Roger C. Lanctot on 02-08-2019 at 12:00 pm

Micromobility – characterized by shared bicycles, scooters and other wheeled devices – was all the rage in 2018 and that enthusiasm has carried over into 2019 – if McKinsey is to be believed. McKinsey published a white paper last week touting the glories of micromobility and a potential market of $300B-$500B by 2030.… Read More


Data Management Challenges in Physical Design

Data Management Challenges in Physical Design
by Alex Tan on 02-08-2019 at 7:00 am

IC physical design (PD) teams face several challenges while dealing with tapeout schedules. With shrinking process nodes and stringent PPA targets, the complexity of physical design flows and EDA design tools has increased multifold. In addition the amount of design data that needs to be managed has also increased exponentially.… Read More


Building Better ADAS SOCs

Building Better ADAS SOCs
by Tom Simon on 02-07-2019 at 12:00 pm

Ever since we replaced horses in our personal transportation system, folks have been pining for cars that offer some relief from the constant need for supervision, control and management. Indeed, despite their obvious downsides, horses could be counted on to help with steering and obstacle avoidance. There are even cases when… Read More


Where Circuit Simulation Model Files Come From

Where Circuit Simulation Model Files Come From
by Daniel Payne on 02-07-2019 at 7:00 am

I started out my engineering career by doing transistor-level circuit design and we used a proprietary SPICE circuit simulator. One thing that I quickly realized was that the accuracy of my circuit simulations depended entirely on the model files and parasitics. Here we are 40 years later and the accuracy of SPICE circuit simulations… Read More


Machine Learning and Gödel

Machine Learning and Gödel
by Bernard Murphy on 02-06-2019 at 7:00 am

Scanning ACM tech news recently, I came across a piece that spoke to my inner nerd; I hope it will appeal to some of you also. The discovery will have no impact on markets or investments or probably anyone outside theories of machine learning. Its appeal is simply in the beauty of connecting a profound but obscure corner of mathematical… Read More


Open Letter to the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection

Open Letter to the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection
by Matthew Rosenquist on 02-05-2019 at 12:00 pm

In December 2018 the FTC held hearings on Competition and consumer Protection in the 21st Century. A number of people spoke at the event and the FTC has graciously opened the discussion to public comments. The Federal Trade Commission has interest, certain responsibilities, and can affect changes to how data security evolves.… Read More


How Apple Became a Force in the Semiconductor Industry

How Apple Became a Force in the Semiconductor Industry
by Daniel Nenni on 02-05-2019 at 7:00 am

From our book “Mobile Unleashed”, this is the semiconductor history of Apple computer:

Observed in hindsight after the iPhone, the distant struggles of Apple in 1997 seem strange, almost hard to fathom. Had it not been for the shrewd investment in ARM, Apple may have lacked the cash needed to survive its crisis. However,… Read More


Getting to 56G Takes The Right Stuff

Getting to 56G Takes The Right Stuff
by Tom Simon on 02-04-2019 at 12:00 pm

During the 1940s when aerospace engineers were attempting to break the sound barrier for the first time, they were confronting a slew of new technical issues that had never been dealt with before, and in some cases never seen before. In subsonic flight airflow was predictable and well understood. In crossing the sound barrier, … Read More


Jeephack Repercussions

Jeephack Repercussions
by Roger C. Lanctot on 02-04-2019 at 7:00 am

Automotive cybersecurity is an intractable nightmare with significant though inchoate implications for consumers and existential exposure for auto makers. This reality became painfully clear earlier this month when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear FiatChrysler Automotive’s appeal in a class action lawsuit over … Read More


MENTOR at DVCON 2019

MENTOR at DVCON 2019
by Daniel Nenni on 02-04-2019 at 7:00 am

The semiconductor conference season has started out strong and the premier verification gathering is coming up at the end of this month. SemiWiki bloggers, myself included, will be at the conference covering verification so you don’t have to. Verification is consuming more and more of the design cycle so I expect this event to … Read More