18 22 34

WWW.NEWELECTRONICS.CO.UK AUTONOMOUS CARS EMBEDDED DESIGN MEDICAL TECH

Carmakers look to human How digital twins, games A handheld breath analyser,
VOLUME 55 / ISSUE 01 control to keep plans for full software and the IoT can with AI, is delivering mass
JANUARY 2022 autonomy on the road improve product design screening

10

CES 2022
KEY NEWS, INNOVATIONS AND TRENDS FROM THIS YEAR’S
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW IN LAS VEGAS

A WAKE-UP CALL
FOR SILICON VALLEY
Will the conviction of Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of Theranos, lead to more
transparency when it comes to the claims made for new technology?
E
arlier this month the
founder of the blood
testing company
Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, was
found guilty of fraud in one of
Silicon Valley’s highest profile
trials.
The jury found the former
CEO guilty of committing fraud
against the company’s investors,
while remarkably acquitting her of
conspiracy to defraud patients – what
did the company need to have done
INVESTORS
to have been found guilty on that
AND THE MEDIA count?
NEED TO ASK Theranos and Holmes claimed
to have developed a test for a wide
MORE SENSIBLE range of health conditions using just
QUESTIONS one small pin-prick of blood, opening
WHEN IT COMES the door to predictable diagnostics.
However, it’s now apparent that
TO TECHNOLOGY Theranos had been playing fast
AND THE and loose with FDA regulations,
supplying a device without proper
CLAIMS THAT clearance, amending data and
‘VISIONARIES’ manipulating test results.
MAKE FOR ITXX Classed as laboratory-developed
tests, or LDTs, that are designed,
manufactured and used within a
single laboratory, test results did
not need to be sent to the FDA before
the device was used on patients,
meaning that Theranos did not
require regulatory evaluation of its
tests.
Shockingly over 900,000 such
test results were generated by
Theranos at its peak, many of which
were tampered with, providing
misleading information to both
patients and professionals.
Holmes traded on her claim to
be a ‘visionary’ and played on her
ELIZABETH HOLMES CONVICTION COMMENT
commitment to intelligence and hard
work and took an overly optimistic
view of the technology.
Vast sums of money were raised
based on Holmes’ claims with
little if any scientific proof but as a
photogenic, media-savvy woman
she offered an incredibly attractive
narrative in terms of what this
simple diagnostic tool was going to
deliver.
What does this mean for Silicon
Valley and for the wider technology
sector?
Perhaps companies are going
to have to stop overpromising and
start-up companies are likely to be
advised by their legal teams to be
a lot more careful when it comes to
what they say to investors. There
is certainly a need for greater
transparency, which in turn could
mean that more employees, many of
whom spoke out against the claims
made by Theranos, are taken more
seriously and will be able in future to
speak out about the wrongdoings of
powerful companies.
Despite Holmes’ lies we should
also not forget that while there are a
lot of companies that overpromise,
and that’s unlikely to change, there
are certainly many out there that
are doing truly exciting things
and, if we have learned anything
from all this, it is that investors
and the media need to ask more
sensible questions when it comes
to technology and the claims that
‘visionaries’ make for it.
Neil Tyler, Editor
neil.tyler@markallengroup.com
JANUARY 2022 / 03
 CONTENTS VOLUME 55 / ISSUE 01

New Electronics keeps designers

and managers abreast of the latest
JANUARY ISSUE
developments in the world’s fastest NEWS SECTION BUSINESS & FINANCE
moving industry
06 4D Imaging Radar chip 26 UK technology sector attracts over
Editor Neil Tyler £29bn in investment in 2021
neil.tyler@markallengroup.com 07 AI domain controller SoC family

Contributing Chris Edwards, John Walko 08 Weebit Nano wafers with ReRAM
MEDICAL FLOW SENSORS
Editors editor@newelectronics.co.uk

Art Editor Neil Young COVER 28 Flow sensor solutions

neil.young@markallengroup.com in ventilators
10 Consumer Electronics
Illustrator Phil Holmes As ventilator use grows so a
Show 2022
Sales James Creber CMOSens Technology has
Manager james.creber@markallengroup.com Key trends, innovations and news
es a ishe a ne genera i n f
Publisher Peter Ring from this year’s Consumer Electronics
sensors
peter.ring@markallengroup.com Show is Las Vegas. By Neil Tyler
Managing Jon Benson
Director jon.benson@markallengroup.com SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
AUTOMOTIVE
Production Nicki McKenna 32 Researchers grow germanium thin
Manager nicki.mckenna@markallengroup.com 14 More cameras, more fi m n a e i e yimi e su s ra e
connections, more
New Electronics editorial advisory panel
testing
Trevor Cross, hief echn gy fficer, e e yne e MEDICAL ELECTRONICS
Pete Leonard, Electronics Design Manager, Renishaw High speed in-vehicle displays and
Pete Lomas, Director of Engineering, Norcott sensor connections will need more 34 Delivering mass
Technologies screening
Neil Riddiford, Principal Electronics Engineer, testing, as Carrie Browen and Kevin
Cambridge Consultants Kershner explain How a handheld breath analyser,
Adam Taylor, Embedded Systems Consultant
combined with AI, is delivering mass
ISSN 0047-9624 Online ISSN 2049-2316 screening for infectious diseases.
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
nnua su scri i n issues Neil Tyler talks to SOTECH Health
erseas irmai
18 Many more miles to go
New Electronics, incorporating Electronic Equipment Carmakers look to human control to
News and Electronics News, is published monthly UNIVERSITIES & RESEARCH
by MA Business, Hawley Mill, Hawley Road, Dartford, keep plans for full autonomy on the
road. By Chris Edwards 37 Micro-display devices being
ne mar a engr u c m e e e y heffie researchers
Moving on?
f y u change s r y ur c m any m es, ease EMBEDDED DESIGN
contact circulation@markallengroup.com to SECTOR FOCUS
c n inue recei ing y ur free c y f e ec r nics 22 Improving product
design 40 Delivering
connectivity for rail
Combining digital twins with games
networks
Part of s f are an he can significan y
improve product design, according to The dual polarisation technology
Brad Hart that’s sending rail connections
www.markallengroup.com through the roof. By Daniel
righ s reser e ar f e ec r nics Montagnese
DISPLAYS
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, 24 Holography gets up DIARY EVENTS
rec r ing r any inf rma i n s rage r re rie a sys em,
i h u ermissi n in ri ing fr m he u isher he ie s close
expressed do not necessarily represent those of the editor 42 Out & About
Near-eye displays tuned for
f e ec r nics er isemen s in he urna n
holograms look to solve one of VR’s What’s on and where
im y en rsemen f he r uc s r ser ices a er ise
big problems. Chris Edwards explains around the UK
ease rea ur ri acy icy, y isi ing
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22

28 34

40

JANUARY 2022 / 05
 JANUARY NEWS IMAGING RADAR CHIP
NXP’S 4D IMAGING RADAR CHIP TO BENEFIT L2+ MARKET
NXP SEMICONDUCTORS
has announced two updates
to its automotive radar
portfolio The industr s first
dedicated 16nm imaging
radar processor, the S32R45,
has been released into
mass production, while the
S32R41 has been introduced
to extend 4D imaging radar’s
benefits to a much larger
number of vehicles. Together
these processors will look
to serve the L2+ through L5
autonomy sectors, enabling
4D imaging radar for
360-degree surround sensing.
Imaging radar extends
radar’s ability beyond
detecting bulky objects
to ‘seeing’ a vehicle’s
OLED DDIC TARGETS 3MP RESOLUTION SOC FOR
AUTOMOTIVE DISPLAYS AUTOMOTIVE CAMERAS
MAGNACHIP
SEMICONDUCTOR is
expanding its organic light-
emitting diode display driver
integrated circuit (OLED
DDIC) product line-up by
developing a next-generation
OLED DDIC for automotive
displays.
Magnachip said that the
OLED DDIC for automotive
will be based on the 40nm
process technology,
which is designed for
centre stack displays
and instrument cluster
displays. The company
plans to supply the product
to premium European car
manufacturers in the first
half of 2023.
The next-generation
DDIC supports a wide range
of resolutions including
FHD and it is also suited
for both rigid and e ible
OLED displays. Another
key feature is that it will
06 / JANUARY 2022
PROCESSORS ENABLE 4D IMAGING RADAR FOR
360-DEGREE SURROUND SENSING
environment through fine
resolution point clouds that
enhance environmental
mapping and scene
understanding.
According to NXP its
4D imaging radar is the
first to deliver concurrent
3-in-1 multi-mode radar
sensing across short-,
be made as an “all-in-one
solution,” which means that
source drivers, gate drivers
and timing controllers are
integrated on a single chip
supporting the production
of cost-effective display
panels consisting of fewer
components.
According to Omdia,
a global market research
firm, the automotive display
market is expected to grow
from $8.2 billion in 2021
to $9.7 billion in 2025.
Shipments of OLED panels
are forecast to grow as they
offer much improved levels
of image quality, high
visibility and fast response
times. The revenue of
global automotive OLED
panel market reached
$117 million last year, and
it is expected to increase
approximately 350% to
$524 million in 2025 based
on data supplied by Omdia.
mid- and long-range
operation, enabling the
simultaneous sensing of
a ver ide field of vie
around the car. It does this
by using an architecture
to boost performance
beyond raw sensor
hardware capabilities with
a low-complexity sensor
SOC TO SUPPORT AUTOMOTIVE SVS, RVS AND E-MIRRORS
OMNIVISION HAS launched
the OX03D, a 3 megapixel
(MP) resolution system-on-
chip (SoC) for automotive
surround-view systems (SVS),
rear-view systems (RVS) and
e-mirrors.
A fully integrated image
signal processor (ISP), the
OX03D is capable of 140 dB
high dynamic range (HDR)
and includes next-generation
tone-mapping algorithms to
deliver improved flic er
mitigation (LFM).
Commenting Andy
Hanvey, director of
automotive marketing at
Omnivision said, “Our OX03D
SoC enables automotive
OEM customers to transition
from 1MP to 3MP and
keep the same optical
format and mechanics from
their previous-generation
solutions, helping to
configuration utili ing
virtual antenna channels.
The boost is enabled
by the combination of
proprietary radar hardware
acceleration which can
deliver up to 64x the
compute performance
of standard processors,
super-resolution radar
software algorithms to
achieve sub-degree angular
resolution and advanced
MIMO waveforms that
allow simultaneous
operation of antenna
channels.
This architecture helps
overcome the limitations
of other high-resolution
sensors wher cost and
accelerate time-to-market.”
The OX03D4C includes
both the pixel array and ISP
within a single package. It
features 105 dB motion-free
HDR with a total range of
140 dB and provides HDR
and LFM simultaneously.
It includes a tone-mapping
algorithm for high contrast
images, supports a number
of CFA patterns, and can
output both YUV and RAW
process streams at the same
time.
The OX03D4C provides
four on-screen display overlay
complexity limit their
deployment.
“NXP’s imaging
radar processors are
shaping the way vehicles
understand the world
around them by creating
high resolution images
that enhance the detection
and classification of
objects, a key step in
improving road safety,”
said Torsten Lehmann,
EVP and GM, Radio
Frequency Processing,
NXP. “The extended S32R
family line-up harnesses
our leadership in this
technology to deliver the
benefits of imaging radar
to the L2+ segment.”
layers for driver guidelines, as
well as distortion correction
to straighten any curved
edges from lenses with a
wide viewing angle.
The a- pac age si e
allows for smaller cameras
and the image sensor
is built on Omnivision’s
PureCelPlus-S stacked die
technology.
The OX03D4C SoC
complies with ASIL B
advanced safety standards
and samples are available
with mass production
expected to begin in Q4 2022.

AMBARELLA UNVEILS AI DOMAIN CONTROLLER SOC FAMILY
AMBARELLA, HAS
announced the CV3 AI
domain controller family - a
full scalable flo famil
of SoCs that are said to
provide the automotive
industry’s highest AI
processing performance, at
up to 500 eTOPS.
With up to 16 Arm
Cortex-A78AE CPU cores,
the CV3 provides a 30x
boost in CPU performance
over the prior generation
in support of autonomous
vehicle soft are
applications.
NAVITAS OPENS GAN
IC DESIGN CENTRE
NAVITAS
SEMICONDUCTOR, a
supplier of gallium nitride
a po er s has opened
an electric vehicle (EV)
Design Centre, as it looks to
expand further into higher-
po er a mar ets
GaN-based on-board
chargers (OBCs) are
estimated to charge 3x
faster ith up to energ
savings compared to legacy
silicon solutions and GaN
OBCs, DC-DC converters
and traction inverters are
estimated to extend EV
range or reduce battery costs
b hich ill help to
accelerate the adoption of
s orld ide
An EV-upgrade to GaN
is expected to reduce road-
sector CO2 emissions by
as much as per ear b
2050, the target of the Paris
Accord.
NEW FAMILY OF AI SOCS
PROVIDES EXCEPTIONAL
AI PROCESSING
PERFORMANCE
This family has been
developed to provide
centralised, single-chip
processing for multi-sensor
perception - including high-
resolution vision, radar,
ultrasonic and lidar - as ell
as deep fusion for multiple
sensor modalities and AV
path planning delivering
more robust ADAS and L2+
to Level 4 autonomous
FIRST GAN IC DESIGN
CENTRE DEDICATED TO
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Gallium nitride (GaN)
devices are a po er
semiconductor technology,
operating 20x faster than
traditional silicon chips.
avitas a ast po er s
integrate a po er a
drive, protection and control
providing energy savings, high
po er densit lo er cost and
higher reliability.
The Design Centre,
hich is based in hanghai
China, hosts a highly
experienced team of po er
s stem designers ith
comprehensive capabilities
across electrical, thermal and
mechanical design soft are
development, and complete
simulation and prototyping
capabilities.
customers ill be
supported orld ide b the
ne team from concept
to prototype, through to
full ualification and mass
production.
driving (AD) systems.
ith the e can
run the full ADAS and
stac ith a single
chip hile providing
unprecedented levels of
performance and po er
efficienc said ermi
Wang, President and CEO
of Ambarella.
The CV3 marks the
debut of Ambarella’s
next-generation flo
architecture hich
continues the company’s
algorithm-first design
philosophy. This has
MPLAB ICE 4 DEVELOPMENT TOOL
MICROCHIP HAS unveiled
the MPLAB ICE 4 full in-
circuit emulator, debugging
and programming
development tool for its PIC
and AVR microcontrollers
(MCUs), dsPIC, digital
signal controllers (DSCs),
and SAM MCUs and MPUs.
The In-Circuit Emulator
debugs and programmes
using the powerful,
graphical user interface of
the MPLAB X Integrated
Development Environment
(IDE).
The Emulator provides
a e ible development
environment offering
advanced debugging
capabilities to write power-
efficient code coupled
with all the features
needed to reduce
debugging time.
“Engineers
can e pand their
development capabilities
with this all-in-one,
powerhouse system
that provides new
possibilities and
applications with
enhanced hardware
AI SOC FAMILY
driven the
development of the on-chip
neural vector processor
ith up to
eTOPS of AI compute,
industr -leading po er
efficienc and support for
IN-CIRCUIT EMULATOR
PROVIDES FEATURE-
RICH PROGRAMMING
AND DEBUGGING
and wireless connectivity
options,” said Rodger
Richey, senior director of
Microchip’s development
systems business unit.
“Together with advanced
power monitoring
capabilities, embedded
design engineers will be
able to simultaneously
optimise both hardware
and software for a
comprehensive, power-
efficient design.”
The system connects
using SuperSpeed USB 3.0
JANUARY NEWS
the latest advancements
in neural net or
inferences.
The NVP is also
enhanced to run advanced
radar perception soft are
such as Oculii adaptive AI
soft are algorithms and
is complemented b a ne
floating-point general vector
processor (GVP) designed
to offload classical
computer vision and radar
processing from the NVP
engines and floating-point-
intensive algorithms from
the Arm CPUs.
or High-Speed USB 2.0 with
an option to go wireless
using Ethernet or Wi-Fi
connectivity for greater
e ibility and ease of use.
MPLAB ICE 4’s hardware
integrates with the MPLAB
X CI/CD setup over Ethernet
creating a combination
for hardware-in-the-loop.
Designers can also use
the CI/CD wizard to set up
Jenkins and Docker on the
latest version of MPLAB X
IDE v6.0.
It is also equipped
with power debugging
capabilities to monitor
how power consumption
correlates to code using the
MPLAB Data Visualizer.
JANUARY 2022 / 07
 JANUARY NEWS ReRAM
DEMO WAFERS WITH INTEGRATED RERAM
WEEBIT NANO has received
the first silicon afers that
integrate its embedded
esistive andom- ccess
emor e module
inside complete subs stem
demonstration demo chips
These highl integrated chips
ill no be used for testing
and characterisation as
ell as for demonstration to
potential customers
These demo chips ill
allo customers to run
applications to test eebit s
e technolog ahead of
potential commercial orders
and volume production for
their specific chips
eebit or ed ith
SILICON PHOTONICS PLATFORM UNISOC USES
WITH INTEGRATED III-V LASERS IMAGINATION’S NNA IP
TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR
and uniper et or s have
developed a silicon photonics
i ho foundr -read
process ith integrated -
lasers amplifiers modulators
and detectors
This integrated laser
process addresses optical
connectivit in datacentres
and telecom net or s
as ell as ne emerging
applications in artificial
intelligence i and
other sensors
The platform co-
integrates - lasers
semiconductor optical
amplifiers electro-
absorption modulators
and photodetectors ith
silicon photonics devices
all monolithicall on a single
chip enabling smaller
higher-channel count and
more po er-efficient optical
architectures and solutions
oundr availabilit ill
08 / JANUARY 2022
FIRST SILICON
DEMONSTRATION
WAFERS WITH
INTEGRATED EMBEDDED
RERAM MODULE
its development partner
- eti to manufacture
the demo afers hich
ill no be sliced into
chips pac aged and then
tested characterised and
ualified hips based on
this design ill be used for
the ualification process in
ater Technolog s
production fab The transfer
of eebit s embedded
e technolog to
ater Technolog s
enable a broad arra of
product developers to create
highl integrated photonic
integrated circuits s for
a range of diverse mar ets
rocess design its
are no available and the
first open multi-pro ect afer
run is expected to be
offered shortl
irst samples of full
b s and bs s photonics platform and
reference designs ith
integrated laser are expected
to be available in the second
uarter of
ur partnership ith
uniper on silicon photonics
is bringing a paradigm shift
production fab is said to be
progressing on schedule
ommenting ob
anoch of eebit
ano said The demo chips
integrating eebit s e
module ill support the
adoption of our technolog b
potential customers loo ing
to address the shortcomings
of flash memor e ill no
for product development
across our industr said
ussell ll anger
of To er emiconductor
t is no possible to mix
the advantages of -
semiconductors ith high-
volume silicon photonics
manufacturing eing the
singular open mar et
integrated laser silicon
having a multi- ear advantage
over an potential foundr
competitor e are ointl
creating brea through
products ith trul uni ue
value for our industr and for
the ider societ
be able to provide customers
ith a full functional e
technolog that can be
readil integrated into their
stems-on- hips o s to
facilitate the design of ne
embedded products that are
moving be ond flash
eebit s embedded
e module includes a
b e arra control
IN SOC 5G PLATFORM
IMAGINATION
TECHNOLOGIES has
said that the fabless
semiconductor company,
UNISOC, is using its
Series3NX neural network
accelerator (NNA) IP in its
Tanggula T770 and T760
system-on-chips (SoCs).
The SoCs are part of
UNISOC’s new smartphone
5G platforms and the
Series3NX enables both the
Tanggula T770 and T760
to deliver enhanced AI
capabilities.
The Series3NX
NNA IP is intended for
neural network hardware
acceleration and provides
scalability, enabling SoC
manufacturers to optimise
compute power and
performance across a range
of embedded markets.
With the Series3NX,
Imagination has
logic decoders s nput
utput communication
elements and error
correcting code t is
designed ith patent-pending
analogue and digital smart
circuitr that significantl
enhances the memor
arra s technical parameters
including speed retention
and endurance
n addition to eebit s
e module the demo
chip includes a -
microcontroller
s stem interfaces
and peripherals hich
altogether comprise a full
sub-s stem for embedded
applications
implemented a number of
architectural enhancements
like lossless weight
compression, improving the
performance by 40% in the
same silicon area over the
previous generation, and
helping SoC manufacturers
achieve a 60% improvement
in performance efficiency.
The Series3NX supports
both single core and multi-
core designs. The smallest
single core is smaller
than a pinhead but has a
performance of up to 0.6
tera operations per second
(TOPS). The compute
power of largest single core
reaches up to 10TOPS.
The AX3596 core used
by UNISOC is the highest
performance single core
product and the multi-core
design can scale up to 160
TOPS, making it suitable for
ADAS applications.
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 COVER CES 2022
DID YOU KNOW?
40K
The number
of visitors to
this year’s CES
CONSUMER
ELECTRONICS SHOW
Some of the key trends, innovations and news from
this year’s Consumer Electronics Show is Las Vegas.
By NEIL TYLER
W
hile CES 2022 saw a host
of companies cancel
in-person appearances
amid concerns over the Omicron
Covid-19 variant with the likes of
Amazon, AMD, Facebook, Google,
Intel and Microsoft rethinking the
value of being physically present
at the show and favouring a largely
online presence, it did attract over
2000 companies.
However, attendance was
significantly down at just over
40,000 while those who did attend
talked of walking vast and often
empty floors. But, despite that, there
was still much to see with a host of
new gadgets and technologies on
display and major brands physically
present included the likes of Bosch,
Canon, Hisense, HTC, LG Electronics,
Nvidia, Samsung Electronics, Sony,
Panasonic and Qualcomm.
1 lightbulb from the Chinese company,
10 / JANUARY 2022
1 Robotics 2 John Deere has
company KEENON launched a fully
unveiled a range of autonomous tractor
high-performance which will be available
versatile robots later in 2022
More than 190 automotive
companies exhibited including
BMW, Hyundai, Indy Autonomous
Challenge, Stellantis and VinFast,
Vietnam’s fi rst automaker, while
the show once again played host
to the very latest in telemedicine,
connected health devices and
improved health features on
wearables.
Prevalent throughout the show
was artificial intelligence, making
products and technologies smarter,
more efficient and customisable,
and examples were present in every
major industry from agriculture
to healthcare, automotive,
manufacturing and entertainment.
Among the consumer technology
on display was a smartwatch that
monitors a user’s cortisol levels
to better predict stress levels -
developed by Nowatch with help
from electronics fi rm Philips
- as well as a health-monitoring
Sengled, which is able to track a
person’s body temperature and heart
rate by using radar technology and
artificial intelligence and connects
to the user’s smartphone via an app.
CES certainly continued to live up
to its hype as the home of consumer
electronics.
Other noteworthy technology
on display included PebbleFeel,
from the Japanese company
Shiftall, which was developed for
the immersive world. A device that can be strapped on
to the back of a user it allows a wearer to experience the
temperature of the VR environment they are exploring.
Another device, the Noveto N1 soundbar, has been
designed to transmit music through ultrasound to
‘pockets’ just outside a user’s left and right ear, giving
the effect of wearing headphones, even though no head-
based hardware is involved.
As always technology for the automotive space
loomed large and the IX Flow technology from BMW, that
allows users to change the colour of their car – as long as
it’s black, white or grey – attracted a lot of attention.
While the technology effectively turns the exterior
of the vehicle into ePaper which can then be charged
with a small electric current to change its colour or
create patterns, BMW claimed that it was more than just
a cosmetic development, suggesting that the ability to
change the vehicle’s colour could be used to address
external environmental conditions – deploying a lighter
colour in hot weather, for example.
CES 2022 saw a host of new robots on display with
the focus this year appearing to be on more practical use
cases.
Waiting and fetching seemed particularly popular
with Bear Robotics’ Servi offering to replace human
waiters, while Labrador Systems demonstrated a
Retriever bot, that uses sensors and can be controlled by
voice, that can help older people or those with difficulty
moving retrieve dropped items.
The robot is currently being tested, with the aim of
going into production in 2023.
KEENON unveiled a line-up of high-performance and
versatile robotic products including its Delivery Robot

series, Hotel Robot, Hospitality Robot
and Disinfection Robot, as well as its
next-generation Delivery Robot T8
“As staff-shortage and high labour
costs caused by the pandemic
continue to plague many industries,
KEENON aims to develop reliable
and cost-effective robotic solutions
to ease the pain of hotel operators
and restauranteurs while facilitating
better services for their customers.
We believe that the autonomous
revolution led by intelligent robotics
will keep humans out of tedious,
labour-intensive and dangerous
tasks, allowing us to focus on more
meaningful things in life,” said
Tony Li, Chief Executive Officer of
KEENON Robotics.
The company’s Delivery Robot
series have been designed to help
staff to serve food and pick up used
dishes and cups. They are equipped
with AI technologies including
SLAM automatic positioning and
navigation technology, which allows
them to navigate complex working
environments, while the Hotel Robot
is geared toward hotels looking to
automate and streamline room and
item delivery service.
Developments in drone
technology always loom large at
CES and this year the Southern
California Gas (SoCalGas) joined
Doosan Mobility Innovation (DMI)
and GTI in announcing the launch
of DMI’s fi rst-of-its-kind hydrogen
drone technology.
Supported by SoCalGas and GTI,
DMI’s DS30 drone system is able
to deliver a fuel cell powerpack
performance of up to 120 minutes of
fl ight time along with an 11 pounds
maximum payload.
Powered by hydrogen, the DS30
can monitor a 1-mile-long pipeline in
a single fl ight.
SoCalGas said that it plans to
use the DS30 drone to assist with
natural gas pipeline inspections
providing highly accurate imagery
and aerial mapping services to
further improve pipeline system
maintenance.
The DS30 is intended to provide
close-up digital photography
for locations that are difficult or
hazardous to access and provide
imagery for aerial mapping and
three-dimensional topographic
models which allows for deeper
insight on terrains surrounding
the utility’s operations. The
drone system can also provide a
video record of pipeline routes,
CES 2022 COVER
TURN TO PAGE 14
Read how there will need to be more
testing with the roll-out of high speed
in-vehicle sensor connections
construction sites, open trenches, and working
conditions.
“This hydrogen-powered drone offers an opportunity
to more efficiently monitor our pipelines in hard to
access areas, allowing us to collect more data to quickly
solve potential pipeline integrity issues,” said Neil Navin,
vice president of clean energy innovations for SoCalGas.
“This project is a great demonstration on the versatility
of hydrogen and its broad range of applications as a clean
fuel of the future.”
According to DMI, a market leader of hydrogen fuel
cell drones, these drones can stay airborne for up to two
hours of fl ight time as fuel cells have approximately
4 to 5 times higher energy density when compared
to lithium-ion batteries. On average, fuel cells have
a life span of over 1,000 hours and provide real-time
monitoring of product status through DMI’s remote
system.
AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY
It’s fair to say that John Deere, which revealed a
fully autonomous tractor that’s ready for large-scale
production, garnered considerable media interest.
The machine combines Deere’s 8R Tractor, TruSet-
enabled chisel plough, GPS guidance system, and new
advanced technologies and the autonomous tractor will
be available later this year.
The machine can be activated by smartphone and
uses a combination of cameras and sensors to navigate
farmland. Interestingly the automated functions form
a kit that mean the technology can be added to already
operational tractors.
The autonomous tractor comes with six pairs of
stereo cameras, which enable 360-degree obstacle
detection and the calculation of distance. Images
captured by the cameras are passed through a
deep neural network that classifies each pixel in
approximately 100 milliseconds and determines if
the machine continues to move or stops, depending
on if an obstacle is detected. The autonomous tractor
continuously checks its position relative to a geofence,
ensuring that it is operating where it is supposed to, and
is accurate to within less than 1 inch.
JANUARY 2022 / 11
 COVER CES 2022
PREVALENT THROUGHOUT THE SHOW WAS ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE, MAKING PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGIES
SMARTER, MORE EFFICIENT AND CUSTOMISABLE.XX
According to Deere, autonomous
vehicles will be able to remove
farmers and workers from having
to work in close proximity to heavy
machinery – agriculture is actually
one of the most dangerous sector to
work in, with fatal injuries 20 times
that of many other sectors – while
ensuring that farmers are able to
meet growing demand for food and
help address issues like changing
weather conditions and climate,
variations in soil quality, and the
presence of weeds and pests.
The South Korean company
N.THING, presented a new hybrid
vertical farming solution, the
N.THING CUBE, which is a container-
built vertical farm engineered to
reduce the use of resources and
enhances the production of clean
and safe yields while reducing
pollution and the use of pesticides.
12 / JANUARY 2022
3 Back in 2019 Sony had shown off its electric car
4 located toward the front and rear of the vehicle, which
5 of EVs by rethinking their look and feel as well as
“So far, agricultural
products have been
produced in centralised
protocols and due to its
dependency on location and climate,
tends to be managed in a centralised
and grower-driven manner,” said Leo
Kim, CEO & founder of N.THING.
The CUBE is fully managed by
IoT, cloud computing, and stability
data mining, and the OS and
dashboard allows customers to grow
crops professionally regardless
of their agricultural experience.
Overall, the OS governs the farm,
and provides customers with full
access monitoring in real-time.
AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY
One of the big automotive stories
this year was Sony’s announcement
that it was going to build an electric
vehicle to compete with Tesla and
3 The 4 Chrysler 5 PebbleFeel
CUBE from unveiled allows VR
N.THING is a its new users to
vertical farm AIRFLOW experience
solution EV concept heat sensation
the established automotive giants.
concept, the Vision S, and this year it presented an
SUV model, the Vision S 02 and said that its newly-
formed electric car division - Sony Mobility – would be,
“exploring a commercial launch”.
Motoring giant Chrysler said that it was committed
to delivering a fully electric vehicle line-up by 2028 and
would be using clean manufacturing processes as well
as recyclable and renewable materials. It presented the
Chrysler Airflow Concept, an EV equipped with STLA
AutoDrive, and which will be able to deliver Level 3
autonomous driving capabilities that users can upgrade
via OTA updates.
The concept features all-wheel-drive capability and
is powered by two 150 kW electric drive motors (EDMs),
one in the front and one in the rear. Drive motors are
helps to maximize interior space and enables a much
larger wheel size. The battery has been designed to
achieve between a 350- and 400-mile range on a single
charge.
GM, which recently said that it would be adding to
its range of all-electric vehicles used CES to announce
the addition of the all-new Chevrolet Silverado EV and
unveiled it at the show for the first time.
GM said that it wanted to increase the popularity
providing more flexibility to customise what GM
calls the ‘personality’ of the vehicle. To that end,
the Chevrolet Silverado EV comes with a variety
of options, including a fixed-glass roof and four-
wheel steering.
“Electrification will be a catalyst for a range of
new experiences, and that includes how autonomous
vehicles will transform our daily experience,” said
General Motors’ Chairman and CEO Mary Barra.
Looking beyond the vehicle, ThunderSoft, an
intelligent operating system products and solutions
provider, introduced as advanced parking technology
that can provide contactless parking via a mobile app,
and can also help drivers when confronted with narrow
parking spaces.
While this year’s show came well short of the
171,000 attendees and 4,400 exhibitors seen in January
2020, the 40,000 who did attend got to see some
stunning technology.
Whether CES will ever return to what it was pre-
pandemic remains unclear and the virtual aspect of the
show is set to become more important, but it remains
the number one consumer electronics show in the
world bringing the industry together to discuss and
demonstrate the very latest in technology.
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 AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS TEST & MEASUREMENT

AUTHOR DETAILS AUTHOR DETAILS

Carrie Browen Kevin Kershner
Autonomous Vehicle Business Line esponsible for defining the re uirements for
Product Manager for Keysight Technologies Keysight’s future IVN solutions

MORE CAMERAS,
MORE CONNECTIONS,
MORE TESTING
I
t is no secret the pace With the rapid development and roll-out of high speed in-vehicle
of innovation in the
display and sensor connections so more testing will be required,
automotive industry is
exploding. If the last 20 years have as CARRIE BROWEN and KEVIN KERSHNER explain
been linear in the development
of electrification, the last for networks, switches, and So, for an ADAS camera capturing a 1080p image,
two to three years have been the connections that carry the with a colour depth of 24-bits and transmitting at 30fps,
exponential. data. Innovation in automotive the bit rate to be supported equals:
Today, just about every new technology has rapidly accelerated ● Frame Size = 1920 x 1080 x 24 = 49,766,400

car on the market has a backup to accommodate advanced ● Bit Rate = 49,766,400 x 30 = 1,493 Mbps

camera, park assist, and blind spot automotive technologies that

monitoring. Some offer run at greater than 1 Gbps date INDUSTRY REQUIREMENTS
a 360-degree view. rates over existing cabling The automotive market is driven by many motivators. A
Other features infrastructures. Higher few of the most influential motivators in the automotive
offer real-time bandwidth and lower market include: increasing demand for high bandwidth
traffic updates, latency networking and lightweight materials; rising demand for driver
cellular will play a critical assistance systems; future-proof technology and
connection role in addressing improved data security.
to potential time-sensitive and We have already established the need for high
hazards, other complex automotive bandwidth technologies and keeping weight down to
road users, technologies to come. maximise fuel (or battery) efficiency. All the sensors
vehicles, or Many of these for backup views, parking, and lane-change assist, not
pedestrians. requirements can be met to mention newer heads-up and co-driver displays,
There are features by automotive Ethernet with plus any additional infotainment systems, stems from
that can detect if a driver a bandwidth of up to 10 Gbps but the demand of ADAS and autonomous vehicle (AV)
is distracted or tired. Meanwhile, the when you consider the requirements technologies.
people in the car are often unaware for some of the cameras are up to In addition, network architects need to understand
of driving conditions, while they 3,500 Mbps, we must also consider how the vehicle will be required to scale as the
enjoy infotainment systems. These another technology to move that technology improves. Today, the expectation is that
features are delivered through a data around. you will have a car for 10 to 15 years. If cost-effective
mixture of sensors, cameras, and To get a better understanding interconnect solutions can provide support for additional
networks. of the bandwidth requirements, bandwidth, they may need to consider designing them
As demands go up, remember that the approximate today to allow for added ADAS/AV heavy features
next-generation advanced driver- bit rate of a video stream can be customers will want during the life of the vehicle. And of
assistance systems (ADAS) require calculated as: course, safety is another ultra-important area for vehicle
camera and radar systems with ● Frame Size = Resolution x Colour design.
increasingly high resolution. That Depth Engineers are always trying to reduce complexity, and
means more speed and bandwidth ● Bit Rate = Frame Size x Frame rate this is true with in-vehicle networking.

14 / JANUARY 2022

A zonal architecture will pull
©SergeyBitos - stock.adobe.com
together multiple inputs and
ultimately lower the complexity, cost,
and weight of the wiring harness,
transitioning from a “many to one”
architecture to a daisy-chained,
one-to-one architecture. This is an
example of a zone-based architecture,
while others are considering a
©PALERM089 - stock.adobe.com
domain-based architecture. Both
will aggregate camera and sensor
data, where Ethernet acts as an
interconnect between each zone or
domain. Because a central computing
complex is linked to the sensors and
devices through networked zonal
gateways, a zonal approach can
provide better scalability as well as
improved reliability and functionality.
INTRODUCTION TO SERDES
In today’s infotainment systems, it
is common for in-vehicle cameras
and displays to be connected to the
image-processing electronic control
unit (ECU) via a SerDes (serialiser/
deserialiser) connection. Today, they
are delivered by individual vendors
using closed, proprietary standards.
Extending the reach of feature-
rich SerDes links can require
operating at lower Baud rates
and higher order modulations
(e.g., PAM-4). In addition, it will
require higher bandwidth Ethernet
links as primary interconnects
between zones perhaps with
802.3ch supporting up to 10 Gbps
throughput.
Emerging SerDes standards like
mobile industry processor interface
(MIPI) A-PHY (MIPI A-PHY is a
physical layer specification targeted
for ADAS/ADS surround sensor
applications and infotainment
display applications) and
Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA)
will be implemented by multiple
silicon vendors. This will create a
competitive market driving down
the cost while delivering application
specific features. There is also a
desire to have standardised test
methods throughout the ecosystem
that establish interoperability
requirements. For implementers
and test vendors, this would
unify requirements for silicon,
tier ones and original equipment
manufacturers (OEM’s). Unified test
requirements allow silicon vendors,
tier ones, and OEM’s to accelerate
their development cycle, lower
costs, and improve interoperability
with other commercial devices.
Some of the features of next-gen
TEST & MEASUREMENT AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS
SerDes support the Service Oriented Architecture of the
future with protocol tunnelling and adaptation which
will enable emerging SerDes standards to forward legacy
automotive protocols along daisy-chained links to the
appropriate ECU or bridge device. Stream duplication
provides a means for safety-critical systems to duplicate
themselves if the primary link fails. Daisy-chaining
will allow multiple SerDes ports to be connected back-
to-back, aggregating data on the link, before it arrives at
the ECU. Finally, functional safety is being addressed
by providing end-to-end protection mechanisms that
comply with ISO 26262.
These features are welcome in the next generation
of ADAS/AV developed cars, but there are also a few
challenges to overcome, including different media
dependent interface (MDI) cables and connectors,
securing the network, interoperability with other
vendors and technical concerns of Tx testing ensuring
linearity and PSD of PAM-N networks. It will also be
critical to validate the robustness of receivers against
electromagnetic interference (EMI) to ensure operation
in the harsh automotive environment. This is a complex
measurement that involves injecting pre-defined,
calibrated levels of noise at the RX pin of the SerDes while
monitoring its ability to clock symbols within acceptable
error limits.
IN-VEHICLE NETWORKS WILL NEED
TO BE TESTED, THEY WILL NEED TO BE
INTEROPERABLE, AND THEY WILL
NEED TO BE SECURE
JANUARY 2022 / 15
 AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS TEST & MEASUREMENT
HIGHER BANDWIDTH AND LOWER LATENCY NETWORKING WILL
PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN ADDRESSING TIME-SENSITIVE AND COMPLEX
AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGIES TO COMEXXX
PHYSICAL LAYER TESTING
Interoperability is a real
concern. Transceivers are
sensitive devices that must
operate in the notoriously
harsh automotive environment
that includes heat, vibration,
electro-static discharge (ESD),
and EMI.
We can break this into three
different areas of testing:
transmission – making sure that
what is sent is what you expect.
Receiver capability – how reliably
can your device (gateway, module,
switch, PHY) receive the correct
signals. Finally, the performance of
the passive interconnect between
transceivers known as the link
segment. Physical layer validation
includes all three of these elements.
The ultimate goal for all this
testing is interoperability between
vendors of different devices. There
could be over 100 different vendors
that contribute to one car and
there are standards organisations
that create specifications. These
applications are a way to evaluate
against known standards to ensure
the data integrity is maintained.
TRANSMIT TESTING
In the case of the transmitter, we
are looking to ensure that the signal
characteristic is good. So, we use a
tool that acts as a receiver – in this
case an oscilloscope. The device
under test (DUT) is put into a series
of known states and the acting
receiver makes sure the signal is
‘valid’.
The camera is made by one
vendor, the cable by another vendor,
the switch that routes the signal,
likewise the GPU or ECU that
processes the data, and then the
brakes that ultimately need to stop
the car. These are made by different
vendors and need to work together,
thereby underlining the importance
of interoperability.
In addition, the data rate is going
16 / JANUARY 2022
up >100X->1000X faster than CAN
and growing a lot more complex
when there is a higher speed signal.
The modulation type has become
increasingly complex. Legacy
standards like CAN use NRZ or
PAM-2, as compared to PAM-3 or
PAM-4 4 for Automotive Ethernet
and automotive SerDes. So, these
Tx tests also need to check data
integrity which include: jitter tests
as clock errors can cause transmitter
jitter; power spectral density, which
is a noise measurement over a
frequency range, because PCB traces
can behave as antennas at high
speeds, and linearity tests to look for
any distortion caused by reflections,
which can in turn cause transmitter
errors and bit errors.
Ultimately, we need to ensure
that the data does not cause
radiation emissions, reflections, or
attenuations, and doesn’t interfere
with other circuits. If it doesn’t
pass one of these tests it will lead
to symbol or packet errors that lead
to dropped frames at the receiver,
or lines in the display like we saw
before.
CHANNEL TESTING
The cable, connector, fi xture, or
harness connecting these devices
together is the link or the channel.
A vector network analyser (VNA)
can characterise the impact the
channel has on the signal, making
sure signal integrity is maintained
between the transmitter and
receiver. Given the cable lengths used in the harsh
©PALERM089 - stock.adobe.com
automotive environment, it’s crucial to look at
impedance versus frequency to predict how the
channel will perform within the vehicle.
A link segment consists of cables plus inline
connectors, along with mating connectors at either
end. Ultimately the wire harness is responsible
for moving control and payload data, as well as for
providing DC power to remote sensors.
Channel characterisation for SerDes link
consists of both time domain and frequency
domain analysis. This requires looking at the
cabling system, the MDI, and the fi xturing and test
setup requirements.
The actual MDI connector is not standard, but
there are some rigid specifications to help ensure that
interactions between the MDI and cable are minimised.
When we look at the channel tests, we are looking for
errors such as:
● Impedance mismatch
● Signal distortions or defects
● Cross talk between the cables
RECEIVER TESTING
Receivers are responsible for making sense of the data
sent over the link, then passing it along for further
processing in an ECU or display device. Bit errors at the
receiver result in lost or corrupted data coming from
safety-critical sensors like camera, radar, and Lidar.
Proper receiver functionality becomes increasingly
difficult for complex modulations like PAM-4, especially
when sent over long channels exposed to many
simultaneous sources of noise. To characterise the
receiver’s capabilities, one must measure error levels in
the presence of multiple noise sources, including: narrow
band interference, bulk current injection, transients on-
line and alien cable bundle crosstalk
The measurement setup can include noise sources,
amplifiers, and coupling circuitry that allow precise
levels of noise to be injected onto an active SerDes link.
The DUT’s signal quality registers are then queried
to verify whether the receiver could interpret symbols
correctly in the presence of noise. The emphasis in
receiver testing is to stress the receiver to ensure it can
still maintain BER rates.
IN CONCLUSION
More cameras, more connections, and more sensors
with greater accuracy, less weight, and increased safety.
Undoubtedly, there will be a need for an in-vehicle
network to seamlessly handle these challenges. Those
in-vehicle networks will need to be tested, they will need
to be interoperable, and they will need to be secure.
WHAT IF ENTIRE FACTORIES COULD OPERATE
WITH ULTIMATE PRECISION?
Imagine a robot that was never off by a single millimeter, and never wasted
a milliwatt of energy. Then imagine a factory of them, all working together
with perfect, pinpoint orchestration. By pushing the limits of precision, ADI
is helping tomorrow’s robots work side-by-side with humans to build better,
more reliable futures for us all.

Analog Devices. Where what if becomes what is.

See What If: analog.com/WhatIf
 AUTOMOTIVE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
DID YOU KNOW?
55%
The number of SMEs that believe they
are going to have a fully autonomous
fleet in the next t o decades
MANY MORE
MILES TO GO
Carmakers look to human control to keep plans for
full autonomy on the road. By CHRIS EDWARDS
T
he future is often further
away than it seems.
Opening an International
Federation of Robotics Research
(IFRR) colloquium on the road
to self-driving cars last year,
Henrik Christensen, professor of
computer science at the University
of California at San Diego, pointed
to the work of Ernst Dickmanns
who pioneered the concept of the
self-driving car in the late-1980s
culminating in a demonstration
close to Charles de Gaulle airport
in 1994.
The victim of successive AI
winters, the work in European R&D
circles fell by the wayside in the mid-
1990s and it took another decade
before self-driving cars once again
18 / JANUARY 2022
seemed possible.
Though the fi rst was won by
a team led by a German-born
engineer, Sebastian Thrun, who is
now head of a small-aircraft maker,
the US became the new home of
autonomous driving thanks to
DARPA’s hosting of two Grand
Challenge competitions.
The question now is how many
more decades it might take to
achieve practical autonomy where
the driver is no longer responsible for
what happens in a moving vehicle.
Edwin Olson, professor of electrical
engineering and computer science at
the University of Michigan and CEO
of May Mobility, wrote three years
on what seems to be the equivalent
of Moore’s Law for autonomous
vehicles. In this case, the metric is “miles per
disengagement”, or how far one can go before a human
has to intervene because the software or hardware failed,
even if only momentarily. The human performance level
he set at 100 million miles. Though capability seems to
be doubling every year, the lines do not intersect until
well into the 2030s.
VEHICLE DESIGN
The second question is how this influences vehicle
design: does the industry go through its own AI winter
on the way there that means the manufacturers drop the
programmes or is the scene now set for an evolutionary
path where gradual enhancements lead to a point where
full autonomy is just an incremental change at the end of
many others?
That second path is one that organisations such as
Toyota are currently following, pursuing twin projects
Chauffeur and Guardian.
Speaking at the IFRR colloquium, Wolfram Burgard,
vice president for automated driving technology at
Toyota’s research institute, described one example
where a vehicle automatically accelerates out of a
potential three-car collision caused by two cars slightly
behind it converging on the same lane.
“The Chauffeur and Guardian applications share a
large amount of technology. Prediction and planning
remain largely the same. Though for Guardian you also
have to understand the intent of the user. By working on
Guardian we are able to accelerate the development of
Chauffeur.”
Other manufacturers and market analysts seem

to agree. Speaking during one of
a series of technology forecasts
last autumn, ABI Research
principal analyst James Hodgson
, said: “Autonomous driving is an
opportunity that is going to start
with more of a whimper than a bang.
Fortunately for automakers they
have a second path to market: semi-
autonomous.”
This, he argued, has led to the
emergence of what’s become known
as Level 2+ autonomy. This is
effectively more advanced driver
assistance where the vehicle can
take control but the human behind
the wheel remains engaged at all
times. That contrasts with Level
3 where the car might control the
accelerator, steering and brakes
when driving along a road. The
inclusion of Level 2+ lets automakers
“monetise some of their sizeable
investments so far”, he added.
Aimotive senior vice president
Péter Kovács agrees, though he
notes that for specific applications
manufacturers are looking to higher
levels of autonomy. “L2+ seems to be
the sweet spot that manufacturers
see as a realistic target. But there is
a lot of buzz about L3 for traffic jam
assistance and eventually highway
driving. L4 is also a hot topic for
use in terms of automated valet
parking.”
For its latest generation of silicon,
Ambarella significantly increased
the processing power of its silicon to
handle the space between L2 and L4.
“The performance is 42 times higher
than the current product,” claims
Lazaar Louis, director of product
management and marketing at the
chipmaker.
PROCESSING POWER
One big reason for the seemingly
slow progress on autonomy – though
not necessarily all that sluggish
in the context of when work on
autonomous vehicles started – is the
sheer quantity of processing power
that will be needed, and which drove
Olson’s prediction.
The crossover point occurs
after the number of operations per
AUTONOMOUS DRIVING IS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT IS GOING
TO START WITH MORE OF A WHIMPER THAN A BANG. FORTUNATELY
FOR AUTOMAKERS THEY HAVE A SECOND PATH TO MARKET:
SEMI-AUTONOMOUS JAMES HODGSON
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE AUTOMOTIVE
second surpasses 1 trillion per second, which needs to be
delivered at much greater levels of electrical efficiency
than is possible today.
A further demand on peak processing is driven by
the need for redundancy in implementations where the
driver is not actively driving for long periods. Kovács
says AImotive expects to use dual-SoCs for reasons of
reliability as well as to handle more complex situations.
“For L3 highway modes you have to put a lot of effort into
seeing ahead far enough and you have to be able to deal
with situations where it’s requesting a handover back to
the driver, but the driver does not take over.”
Another driving force for more processing power,
in the near future, is the ability to have more complex
functions running in the background.
“OEMs are implementing some features and then
expect to bring others in over time, using over-the-air
updates. They want to be able to run the next-generation
software in shadow mode, so they plan in some
headroom,” Louis says.
Though there were questions early in the
development of these systems as to how much of the
expected processor performance would be dedicated to
machine learning, the trend seems to be in favour of AI-
heavy implementations.
JANUARY 2022 / 19
 AUTOMOTIVE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

DID YOU KNOW? TURN TO PAGE 24

$54bn
The current value of the global AV Find out how near-eye displays tuned
market, according to autonomous for holograms look to solve one of
vehicle statistics VR’s big problems

“We are seeing a strong move early work, reducing the amount SENSOR MODALITIES
to AI-based compute,” Louis notes. of compute that needs to be done Some efficiencies come from using a mixture of sensor
“Rules-based approaches have to process sensor input to make modalities. Though Tesla declared it favoured camera-
drawbacks in addressing corner the workload manageable, there only setups, manufacturers seem to be consolidating
cases.” is a growing focus on trying to around the combination of cameras and radar in L2+
Kovács points out that building ensure the TOPS in the platform systems with Lidar being added for higher levels of
safety cases under the ISO are not wasted, particularly when autonomy.
26262 standard is difficult if AI it comes to the most CPU-hungry Louis argues that improved signal processing
components are purely responsible inputs: the cameras. A shift to combined with the improved angular resolution of recent
for key decisions, so there remains higher resolutions will increase the radar chips can get to Lidar-equivalent performance.
a need for algorithmic modules to burden. Some see one advantage of adding Lidar is that it
confirm manoeuvres. However, “If you want to process the whole provides an extra degree of redundancy that could be
AImotive sees the same push for image it’s practically linear with vital for L3 and above, with the result that many teams
higher levels of machine learning. the number of pixels. With multiple continue to expect to use it in addition to radar.
“When it comes to the quality of 8-megapixel cameras you want to In principle, it is possible to devolve a lot of recognition
performance point of view, letting make your processing smarter than functions to the sensor modules themselves. However,
the machine do more and more is processing all the pixels, including teams have found that relying on individual sensors to
definitely the way,” he says. the sky, with a single neural build lists of objects can be counterproductive as they
As Dickmanns found in his network,” Kovács says. can wind up providing contradictory information, with
the system not knowing which one is correct. Because
of this, performing sensor fusion relatively early in the
OEMS ARE IMPLEMENTING SOME FEATURES AND pipeline can make more sense.
THEN EXPECT TO BRING OTHERS IN OVER TIME, USING On the way to full autonomy, there will doubtless
be further swings in the use of AI versus algorithmic
OVER-THE-AIR UPDATES. THEY WANT TO BE ABLE TO processing. For the moment, at least, carmakers look
RUN THE NEXT-GENERATION SOFTWARE IN SHADOW to have a commercially viable route to slowly take
over control from human drivers instead of having to
MODE, SO THEY PLAN IN SOME HEADROOM risk making a sudden change in how people use their
LAZAAR LOUIS vehicles.

20 / JANUARY 2022
 EMBEDDED DESIGN PRODUCT DESIGN
AUTHOR DETAILS
Brad Hart
hief Technolog fficer
erforce oft are
USING GAMING
TECH TO IMPROVE
PRODUCT DESIGN
Combining digital twins with games software and
the IoT can help to significantly improve product
design, according to BRAD HART
O
ver the past few years,
game development
technology has
increasingly made its way into
other industries, from in-car
entertainment systems to
manufacturing plant design. Now,
it is beginning to impact electronic
product design, making it easier
to visualise digital twins and
create virtual product prototypes
supported by real-time data
collected by IoT devices.
A digital twin, the process
of creating a digital replica of a
real-world product or system and
collecting and integrating real-
time data sources into the virtual
model, is not a new idea. The fi rst
digital twin was reportedly invented
by NASA to rescue the Apollo 13
astronauts. However, their use has
accelerated rapidly: the global digital
twin market size is anticipated
to reach over $63 billion, with a
GAME DEVELOPMENT ENGINES PROVIDE FAR MORE
REALISTIC VISUALISATIONS AND MAKEDIGITAL TWINS
ACCESSIBLE TO MORE CONTRIBUTORS
22 / JANUARY 2022
growth rate of 41.7 per cent CAGR
between 2021 and 2027, according to
Research and Markets.
The growth of digital twins is
due to the massive benefits in time,
cost and performance they provide,
plus increased access to real-time
data through IoT sensors. They
differ from digital replicas because
they are far more than just accurate
representations: digital twins
continually collect and process data
from their real-world counterparts.
In practice, product designers
can try out new ideas with minimal
cost and risk, uncover problems
earlier, gain insight into how various
parts of the whole interact or how
an item interacts with other parts
of a system. Virtual testing of how a
product performs in the real world,
rather than the old laborious process
of building new physical prototypes,
can save development budget,
improve iteration velocity, speed up
time-to-market and improve product quality.
Digital twins can also be used for predictive
maintenance, balancing corrective maintenance (fi xing
a part once it fails) and preventative maintenance
(fi xing a part before it fails). The billions of IoT sensors
collect data and feed them directly into the digital twin.
As a result, unusual behaviour or sudden surges in usage
can be monitored, and any issues addressed before they
impact production.
DIGITAL TWINS BY MARKET
There are numerous examples in the field across a wide
range of industries from automotive to manufacturing
to aerospace, and there is a strong Digital Twins
Consortium, a global ecosystem comprising industry,
government, and academia. It has an impressively long
list of members, including Dell, Lockheed Martin, and
Microsoft.
Automotive companies use digital twins to build cost-
effective prototypes. Static CAD models with limited
dynamic views are being transformed with real-life
rendering. Crash tests can be simulated more effectively
on different terrains. Manufacturers use augmented
reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for training and
maintenance. Through AR headsets, technicians
can view the latest models of the newest product
specifications before their eyes while working.
Digital twins are being used to predict and improve
the performance of aerospace components. Digital twins
can even help consumers experience a product — for
instance, a car, or a luxury jet — before committing to a
purchase. These real-world or future examples are just
the beginning of what is possible.

GAMES ENGINES
However, if there has been one fault
with digital twins to date, it has
been the difficulty of presenting
information in a way that is context-
rich and easily understandable
visually. Until recently, much digital
twin software has been highly
technical, complex and engineering-
focused. While these traditional
tools have played a valuable role in
the evolution of digital twins, they
have had their limitations.
This is where game development
engines come to the foreground,
providing far more realistic
visualisations and making
digital twins accessible to more
contributors. Popular examples
include Unity or Unreal Engine, but
many more have long been used by
games studios to create compelling
and complex 2D or 3D rendering.
Able to support real-time,
interactive gameplay, games engines
are the ideal foundation for photo-
realistic, immersive simulations of
the real world.
Imagine using the visual impact
of the software used to create Grand
Theft Auto or Call of Duty to support
product development. High-quality
animations provide teams with far
more than just dry data: they make
the experience more immersive and
lifelike. This is something that some
savvy manufacturers have already
realised, with many more beginning
to look at the benefits of games
engines.
For example, according to the
Perforce 2021 State of Automotive
Software Report, 50 per cent of
survey respondents said they
are interested in using games
engines in the near future. Games
engines are reportedly used to
train driver assistance systems
with synthetic sensor data. Unreal
Engine now includes digital twins
for engineering, construction and
architecture as one of its main
solution focus areas.
Across various industries,
we are hearing about games
developers being recruited into
teams to support digital twins,
complementing the skills of existing
employees.
MAIN COMPONENTS
In addition to game engines and
IoT sensors, CAD or 3D modelling
tools are also used to create these
enhanced visual environments.
Designers building digital twins
create software pipelines into which
CAD designs are exported and used
as input data to the game engines.
This pipeline is essential because
integrating different software
elements creates less risk of the same
changes being made twice in two
separate tools. So, if a change is made
in a CAD design, it will be seamlessly
reflected in the digital twin.
Another crucial element is
version control, a type of software
that has long been used in
association with games engines,
ensuring a ‘single source of truth’
of all assets — code, art, sound
fi les and more — across the entire
development pipeline, with a clear
view of what has changed where,
when, how and by who. In electronic
product design, multiple versions
PRODUCT DESIGN EMBEDDED DESIGN
DID YOU KNOW?
$63bn
The expected value
of the global digital
twin market in 2027
of the same digital twin can all be stored and rolled back
to an earlier stage of development if necessary. Version
control also provides an audit trail of the development
process, useful for compliance purposes.
BEST PRACTICE
There are some essential considerations for games
engine-based digital twins to be successful. Common
mistakes include improperly stored data, trying to
achieve too much too quickly, insufficient testing, poor
integration of the various tools involved, and lack of
stakeholder buy-in.
It is vital to create a highly integrated and scalable
software foundation that can accommodate large
volumes of often highly complex data from different
sources. Creating internal standards to ensure that
all the elements can communicate will help prevent
problems down the line. Ensuring a process for
collaboration and dependency management across
teams and data sets is critical.
Given that teams are often geographically dispersed
and working remotely, that infrastructure also needs
to support distributed development, giving individuals
control over their own workspace while maintaining a
centralised system and view of every iteration. Plus, those
contributors may be using their own technology stack, so
the version control system must be technology-agnostic.
Iterate versions and test often, with as much
automation of processes that do not require manual
intervention as possible. From a data security
perspective, the digital twin environment should ensure
that only people who need specific data have access.
Hence, the storage or version control system needs to
provide granular access across user, fi le type, system
and network.
Two fi nal cultural points: as is always the case
with any emerging technology area, communicating
objectives, setting expectations and getting stakeholder
support early will make a huge difference to how well a
project is received internally. So, if any roadblocks occur,
senior management will be more motivated to seek a
solution rather than abandon the idea. For the same
reason, it makes sense to start small by picking a modest
project with achievable goals and then build on that
success.
Digital twins, together with game engines and IoT,
will be part of the bedrock of Industry 4.0, but many
organisations are still at the early stages of the discovery
and learning process. However, investing time now to
understand more about this powerful trio is at the very
least an interesting experiment, and at most, a gateway
to improved electronic development and product
lifecycle management.
JANUARY 2022 / 23
 DISPLAYS VIRTUAL REALITY

JONGHYUN KIM
“Recent computation capabilities
with AI have completely changed
the display game”

V
irtual reality is the
hardy perennial of the
technology sector. It
has made it through numerous
winters and endured long enough
to convince Facebook to rebrand,
along with the technology, around
the concept of the “metaverse”. But
it’s an application that still faces
many problems, not least those
posed by the display technology on
which it relies.
Using conventional 2D displays
in a stereoscopic configuration is
far from ideal when trying to render 1
synthetic 3D imagery. There are two

HOLOGRAPHY
issues at work. One is the response
lag: when the graphics fail to keep up
with rapid head or eye movements.
The second is more subtle. This

is the vergence-accommodation
conflict. Stereoscopic displays have
a focal plane fixed on the display
surface itself. Though the brain can
interpret objects being at different
distances from the eyes based on the
difference in position seen by each
of them, this creates a conflict. This
makes using them far more fatiguing
than interacting with objects in the
real world.
One answer is to move to a true
3D-rendering technology in the
shape of real-time holography. This
uses interference patterns to create
the same light field at the user’s eye
as the one that would be produced by
the real objects were they in view.
“There is so much more in an
image when you perceive it in three
dimensions. The depth cues used
by the brain: holography does them
all because it produces the light that
would be there,” says Tim Wilkinson,
professor of electrical engineering at
the University of Cambridge.
Almost six years ago, Microsoft
Research built the HoloLens, a
prototype of a wearable near-eye
display that has inspired much
of the work in this kind of VR
technology.
The key to the device was to
GETS UP CLOSE
Near-eye displays tuned for holograms look to solve one of VR’s
big problems, as CHRIS EDWARDS explains
use an arrangement of lenses and
mirrors folded into a relatively small
space that bounce light off a spatial
light modulator (SLM). This acts to
alter the amplitude or phase of light
from a laser at the pixel level. The
result is an altered wavefront that
represents the hologram that the
user’s eye sees.
As with stereoscopic displays,
the setup uses eye-tracking to adapt
the focus of different objects in the
scene, so they blur naturally as
that changes. Though the simplest
setup is to use a single laser, using
three lasers in an RGB configuration
provides the ability to render scenes
in colour.
The SLM’s ability to control light
is key to the quality of the pixel
array itself although the nature
of holography means stuck-pixel
defects and similar problems are
nowhere near as troublesome for yield as with panels
designed for 2D use. Wilkinson says in experiments he
once had a projector where every fifth row did not work
properly. “But you could see no effect in the replay field.”
The reason lies in the way that holographic rendering
relies on Fourier transforms to manipulate the light field
into a recognisable image. In principle, light scattered
from every pixel makes a contribution to every light ray
in some way that is projected into the eyebox, the name
for space where the eye can be located while it’s viewing
the rendered scene. It is the sum of all those interfering
light cones that produce the observed output. As a result,
individual pixel errors largely diffract out of view, and
wind up just being a source of background noise. That’s
the good news.
The bad news is that SLM quality and resolution has
yet to reach the level required to render photorealistic
scenes. And the processing power needed to create those
scenes, using conventional methods, is beyond most
portable computers or smartphones.
There are other problems, Jonghyun Kim, Nvidia
senior research scientist, explained at the company’s
technology conference. “The laser causes speckle, and

24 / JANUARY 2022

TIM WILKINSON
“The depth cues used by the brain:
holography does them all, because it
produces the light that would be there”
2 space is being rendered.
the SLM suffers from low
efficiency and crosstalk.” The
SLM tends to create high-order
shadow images and adds noise
to the image that results in
poor contrast. Filtering for
these last two adds weight to
the headset.
IMPROVING SLM IMAGES
Over the past few years, software
techniques have emerged that can
improve the perceived quality of the
SLM images. “Recent computation
capabilities with AI have completely
changed the display game,” Kim
claims.
An approach used by Stanford
University researchers, working
more recently with Nvidia, is to use
camera-in-the-loop measurements
to calibrate a machine-learning
model that performs real-time
corrections when the image is
rendered. This has improved
contrast somewhat and reduced the
speckle from lasers, although recent
work with LEDs has suggested these
might be able to support holography.
The loss of coherence makes the
interference less predictable but
software corrections such as those
developed by Nvidia and Stanford
make consumer-level headsets
viable.
Contrast remains a problem.
1 ML performs corrections in real-time
2 A camera-in-the-loop image
3Using camera-in-the-loop
measurement technology for calibration
3 sees automotive head-up displays, projected from
One answer may lie in the use of
Michelson holography which uses
an additional SLM to provide an
additional source of lightwave
interference. To render dark areas,
the second SLM’s lightwaves are
shifted to those from the primary
SLM. However, this leads to its own
set of aberrations: ripples emanating
from points in the image. Again, Kim
sees machine learning driven by
camera-in-the-loop calibration as
being a way round this problem.
However, all this computation
comes on top of what is already a
very compute-intensive process.
The traditional algorithms for
computer-generated holography rely
on brute force processing of every
point in the eyebox, which can tax
even flagship GPUs for video-rate
operation.
Work by Liang Shi and colleagues
at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology has again used machine
learning as possible workaround.
The AI model they developed can
VIRTUAL REALITY DISPLAYS
DID YOU KNOW?
21.6%
is the compound annual
growth rate for the VR
market from 2020-2027
run on iPhone-class hardware in real time though critics
argue that their approach is not full holography but a
processing of conventional 3D rendering with Fresnel
optics to simulate depth and focus blur. That limits the
field of view but in a system where the eyebox is small,
this may not be an issue in practice.
Like the Stanford team, Shi and others are working to
incorporate SLM correction into their algorithms.
Machine learning is not the only way to cut processing
overhead. University of Cambridge-spinout VividQ
has developed fast holography rendering techniques
optimised for augmented reality, where there will
typically be only a few virtual 3D objects in the scene, in
contrast to the MIT system where a full virtual
Though VR provides an obvious market for
wearable holographic displays, AR may be more
amenable to what hardware is capable of today.
The idea is that these headsets would support
industrial designers and service technicians,
by incorporating virtual objects in a real scene
without the vergence-accommodation problems
of conventional transparent headsets. VividQ
the top of the dashboard, as a potentially large
adjacent market.
If a market for wearable holography does develop,
hardware changes will still be needed, not least the
availability of SLM at price points that can support
consumer-level products. Though SLMs are at their core
liquid-crystal displays, the ideal phase-only reflective
form developed for holography remains an expensive
R&D-level tool.
“Amplitude-only SLMs are basically all the displays
we use today: LCDs,” says Gordon Wetzstein, associate
professor of electrical engineering at Stanford
University. “Phase-only SLMs are typically certain types
of LCoS displays that use the tunable birefringence
properties of liquid crystals to control the phase delay
of a coherent wave. I don’t think there is anything
fundamentally more challenging in designing and
manufacturing phase-only SLMs, it’s primarily a matter
of scale. There just isn’t as much demand today for
phase-only SLMs.”
If a market opens up at least for AR that can use
relatively simple holographic rendering technology, it
may be enough to push more suppliers into the market
for SLMs. That in turn may provide a path towards more
extensive VR systems.
They have heavily entrenched competition in
stereoscopic 2D but if VR again fails to take off because
of its continuing image problems, that may provide the
opening holography needs.
JANUARY 2022 / 25
 NEWS
UK TECH SECTOR ATTRACTS
STRONG INVESTMENT
BUSINESS & FINANCE
LAST YEAR UK tech
companies raised more
than twice the capital they
raised in 2020, according
to research undertaken
by Dealroom. It found that
£29.4 billion had been
raised by U tech firms in
2021, compared to £11.5
billion in 2020.
By contrast German tech
companies raised a total of
£13.5 billion and French tech
companies £8.6 billion.
Nearly £9 billion of all
the VC money invested went
into start-ups and scaleups
based outside London and
the South-East.
The number of UK
unicorns, or start-ups worth
more than $1bn (£750m),
grew to 116, according
to figures published by
the government’s Digital
Economy Council (DEC), an
advisory committee. This
compares with 31 in France
and 56 in Germany, according
HELIX GEOSPACE RAISES
HELIX GEOSPACE, an
innovator in antenna and RF
(radio frequency) technology,
has raised £3 million seed
funding in a round led by Bloc
Ventures, and supported by
the UK Innovation and Science
Seed Fund (UKI2S), managed
by Midven, part of Future
Planet Capital, and private
investors.
A specialist in precision
antennas that enable GNSS
(Global Navigation Satellite
System) product designers to
create smaller, more accurate
26 / JANUARY 2022
RESEARCH FINDS THAT THE SECTOR ATTRACTED OVER
£29BN IN INVESTMENT IN 2021
to the DEC.
Cambridge was the
leading regional tech city in
the UK, ahead of Manchester
and ford, re ecting factors
including its high levels
of venture capital funding
and number of unicorns.
Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast
were also in the top 10.
“The UK is very good
at rearing and cultivating
start-ups and scale-ups into
successful global companies
right across the UK,” said
Gerard Grech, the chief
executive of Tech Nation, a
COMPANY LOOKS TO
TAKE WORLD-LEADING
GPS ANTENNAS INTO
MASS PRODUCTION
positioning, navigation
and time synchronization
products.
PNT (Position, Navigation
and Timing) services delivered
by satellite systems have
become the lynchpin of global
economies, with critical
infrastructure, transportation,
cyber-security and defence
being dependent on them.
salary of £58,405.
Commenting Adzuna’s
© Sikov - stock.adobe.com
co-founder, Andrew Hunter,
said that while there had been
a “surge” in tech hiring across
the U , finding skilled staff
remained a challenge.
“It’s a real struggle for
businesses looking to recruit
skilled staff to fill these
positions,” he said.
Around 30% of the £26bn
government-backed industry in venture capital funding in
group. “A true network of UK tech last year went into
digital excellence is emerging companies outside London
right across the country and south-east England. The
through entrepreneurship, regions were home to nine of
driving new job and wealth the 29 unicorns formed last
creation.” year, including Interactive
The research undertaken Investor in Glasgow – an
by Dealroom and job search online investment platform –
engine Adzuna, found and the electric aircraft firm
that the number of tech Vertical Aerospace in Bristol.
jobs increased by 165% in Most of the venture
Manchester last year while capital money coming into the
the highest tech salaries UK is from the US, accounting
outside London, still the UK’s for 37% of investment, with
main tech hub, were found 28% coming from domestic
in Edinburgh with an average firms.
These dependencies, however, invented and developed
are vulnerable to the operating antenna technology that
environments - busy cities and defends against these
crowded RF spectra - and are vulnerabilities and threats.
under threat from malicious The company’s patented
attack. DielectriX antennas are
Helix Geospace has targeted initially to receive

SPACE FORGE ANNOUNCES
RECORD FUNDING
SPACE FORGE has closed
Europe’s largest ever seed
round for a space tech
company, raising $10.2
million. The over-subscribed
round reached four times the
original target.
Space Forge was
established to help drive the
expansion of the microgravity
market for premium research
and development applications,
helping to lower the barriers
to entry.
Dedicated in-space
manufacturing, coupled
with reliable return, will
enable Space Forge to
leverage the benefits of the
space environment such
as: microgravity, vacuum,
and temperature, to create
products impossible to
manufacture on Earth.
Its focus is on producing
materials and products
which offer game-changing
levels of performance and
efficienc hile reducing
£3M SEED FUNDING
PNT signals from GNSS
(GPS, Galileo, GLONASS,
Beidou) constellations, and
the Satelles STL (Satellite
Time and Location) signals
delivered over the Iridium
constellation as well as
Iridium’s voice and data
network. Future antenna
variants will support LEO (low
earth orbit) PNT services
being planned and built by
private companies as well as
government agencies.
Key capabilities of
DielectriX antennas are their
the environmental impact of
production on earth to unlock
new value and innovation.
Research suggests that
manufacturing these materials
in space could reduce CO2
emissions by 75%.
Space Forge recently
announced that, along with
its partners, it is developing
a orld-first service hich
incorporates both launch and
return of a new small class
of vehicle - the ForgeStar -
that can be deployed from
conventional launchers to
provide reliable and reusable
in-space infrastructure.
This service, which will
enable microgravity research
ability to discriminate true
satellite signals from multi-
path signals, interference
and jamming, delivering high
performance in a compact
and rugged form factor.
Helix’s customers
include defence, automotive,
aerospace and critical
infrastructure sector
companies.
In addition to this £3m
round Helix has previously
raised £2.5m investment from
UKI2S and angel investors,
and has participated in Wayra
on demand, has been awarded
a $2.4m contract through the
European Space Agency’s
Boost! Programme, supported
by the UK Space Agency.
Highlighting the growing
appetite for investment in
space, the funding round
was co-led by US-based
SpaceFund and Type One,
who champion innovation in
space, and the Berlin-based
World Fund, a fund which
backs companies pioneering
climate tech.
US-based funds
were joined by Newable
Ventures, the UK’s early
stage investment network
which works with disruptive,
UK’s Intelligent Mobility
Accelerator programme and
Seraphim Capital’s Space
Camp Mission 6. Helix has
also received additional grant
funding for advanced antenna
development from the
European Space Agency, and
for anti- amming spoofing
technology from UKI2S.
James Lewis, CEO of
Helix, who has founded and
led a series of technology
start-ups said, “We started
manufacturing DielectriX
antennas using state of
BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS
SHORTS
potentially high-growth
companies and Virgin
Galactic’s George T.
Whitesides.
Space Forge said that
it would use the funding to
support the first launch and
return of a ForgeStar.
One of the more unique
aspects of the company’s
business model is the ability
to not only manufacture
materials in space, but the
capability to return those
materials from orbit without
the use of an ablative capsule
- significantl improving the
characteristics of return
from space and aiding
refurbishment.
Commenting Andrew
Bacon, CTO and co-founder
of Space Forge said, “Over
the last three years we have
taken our return technology
from paper designs to real
hardware. This support from
our investors will supercharge
our development plans.”
the art laser/robotics
equipment developed in-
house, and we are now set
to scale up rapidly through
partnerships with electronics
manufacturing service
providers in the UK. Future
manufacturing growth plans
will roll out our ‘factory-
in-a-box’ to deliver global
capability required to meet
the expected demands for
autonomous vehicles and
systems where absolute
resilience and precision of
location data is essential.”
AUTO IC
SHORTAGES
Daimler CTO Markus
Schaefer expects
chip shortages to last
throughout 2022 with
chip scarcity being more
apparent in the first
half of the year. Daimler
produced 23.9% fewer
cars in October 2021 than
the previous year and
21.8% less in November.
APPLE WORTH
$3TRN
pple became the first
company to ever achieve
a market cap of $3
trillion. nly four other
technology companies
have market caps of
over $2 trillion Tesla,
Microsoft, ma on and
lphabet.
CHIPS SALES TO
GROW IN 2022
Semiconductor sales
are expected to grow 9%
in 2022 and cross $600
billion for the first time
according to trade credit
insurer Euler Hermes
which expects demand
to normalise in 2022
with the market driven by
consumer electronics.
STOREDOT
FUNDING ROUND
StoreDot, a pioneer of fast
charging ( F ) battery
technology for electric
vehicles, has closed its
Series D funding round
of $80 million. The round
was led by key strategic
investors, strengthening
StoreDots partnerships
in the global automotive
battery eco-system.
JANUARY 2022 / 27
 MEDICAL FLOW SENSOR SOLUTIONS

FLOW
SENSOR SOLUTIONS
© Valerii - stock.adobe.com

IN VENTILATORS
As the use and spread of ventilators continues to grow so a CMOSens Technology
has established a new generation of flow sensors. By ANDREAS ALT 2

C
ontinuous airflow measurements during
anaesthesia, intensive care treatment as well
as in clinical and ambulatory environments
provide important information for the assessment of
cardiorespiratory and breathing circuit behaviour
and have become indispensable in modern medicine.
Mechanical ventilation systems supply patients
with breathing gas by means of mechanical “air pumps”
and this ventilation technique uses positive pressure to
deliver air to the patient’s lungs.
The increase of intelligent features incorporated into
these ventilators, allow them to automatically adapt to
changes in lung function or patient breathing. Modern
pressure-controlled or volume-controlled ventilation
is therefore now more patient oriented than ever. Since
fewer and fewer ventilation modes are required, due to
the increase in device intelligence, medical ventilators
have overall become less complex to operate.
Non-invasive ventilation refers to ventilation
therapies that are performed using masks or nasal
cannulas. This is often referred to as mask ventilation
or NIV/NPPV (non-invasive ventilation or non-invasive
1 before. Intensive care units, for
positive pressure ventilation).
In invasive ventilation, an
endotracheal tube or a tracheal
cannula is inserted into the trachea
of the patient to supply the lungs
with air. Both types of ventilation
- non-invasive and invasive
- have merit and are used in a
complementary manner.
A factor that should not
be underestimated is the
humidification of the inhaled air
as it goes far beyond mere patient
comfort. Well-humidified and
warmed air contributes significantly
to the success of ventilation therapy
as it improves both secretion
drainage and the tolerance of non-
invasive ventilation therapy.
Current trends in hospitals show
that non-invasive ventilation is
used more frequently today and
for far more symptoms than ever
example, increasingly use non-
invasive ventilation as a fi rst-line of
treatment, which reduces infectious
complications, weaning periods, ICU
stay lengths, intubation rates and
costs.
The key issue for all ventilators
is the accurate measurement of
the breathing gas flow rate and
the volume of breathing gas that
flows in and out of the patient.
These measurements with the
highest sensitivity and accuracy
enable the previously mentioned
and nowadays prevailing patient-
oriented ventilation, which also
better reflects the pathophysiology
of the patient. Figure 1 shows
the schematic construction of a
ventilator with the typical air flow/
sensor positions.
TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
Complex breathing circuits have
a wide range of composition
variability due to the different types
of tubing, humidifiers, fi lters and
adapters used. This often results
in leaks and imperfections, which
is why the inspiratory flow rate (I)
sometimes differs significantly
from the flow rate that actually
reaches the patient. The same
applies to the expiratory flow rate
(E). Airflow measurements are also
hampered by the constant changes
in air temperature, humidity and
breathing gas composition as well
as the contamination of hoses and
sensors with sputum, pathogens and
blood. Due to technical limitations,
measurements of inspiratory (I)

28 / JANUARY 2022

1 Schematic
AUTHOR DETAILS
construction of a
Andreas Alt ventilator with the typical
Sales Director different sensor positions
Medical Sensirion and the use of a humidifier
and expiratory flow rates (E) were
performed inside the ventilator in
the past. The rough flow values were
then corrected as far as possible
using complex and often inaccurate
compensation algorithms.
PROXIMAL SENSORS
Originating from neonatology, it is
accepted that the best measurement
position is as close as possible, i.e.,
proximally (P),
to the patient.
This allows
patients to be
ventilated with
a tidal volume that is as accurate
as possible and the effects of the
ventilation circuit composition
mentioned above are almost entirely
eliminated. Additional advantages
of proximal flow measurement are
the instant detection of respiratory
signals, to which the ventilator can
respond even faster, as well as the
detection of leakages. Particularly
for reducing the effect of leakages
proximal sensors prove helpful
in both volume-controlled and
pressure-controlled ventilation and
help reduce the causes of monitoring
and triggering problems.
The continuous development of
ventilators has always been linked
to the available sensor technology.
A next generation development
of the hot wire anemometer is the
Sensirion CMOSens Technology,
which is used in Sensirion mass
flow sensors and differential
pressure sensors. With the
CMOSens Technology, Sensirion has
developed a sensor range based on
2 Proximal 3 Schematic of a
sensors (single- ventilation setup with
use and reusable) extremely humid air
for adult and a very small tidal
ventilation volume of only 5ml
MEMS technology that now covers
all the modern ventilator sensor
requirements:
● Inspiratory sensor solution (I)
for accurate and
instant fan control
and inspiratory
airflow
monitoring;
● Expiratory sensor
solution (E) for
balancing the
air exhaled by the patient with
inspiratory ventilated air; and
● Proximal sensor solution (P) to
measure inhaled and exhaled air
directly at the patient with the
highest accuracy.
Some of the key differences to
its predecessor technology are
that the modern flow sensor
solutions deliver a digital, fully
calibrated and temperature-
compensated output signal. The
sensors can be directly used with
the patient and thus without prior
time-consuming or periodically
required recalibration. Furthermore,
the sensors allow to measure airflow
symmetrically in both directions.
The robust sensor technology does
not require zero-point adjustment,
does not drift over time and does not
need to be calibrated during the life-
time of the sensor. The technology
also allows hysteresis-free and
position-independent use with a
dynamic measurement range and
a high measurement sensitivity
at all flow ranges. Since the
measurement signal is processed
directly inside the sensor and the
output is digital and temperature
compensated flow values, no further
costly components such as A/D
converters are required. All these
benefits enable the medical staff to
safely and reliably manage patient
ventilation, providing significant
advantages when it comes to
challenging emergency ventilation
as well as in subacute care and
home care settings.
FLOW SENSOR SOLUTIONS MEDICAL
TURN TO PAGE 34
Neil Tyler looks at how
a breath analyser is
delivering mass screening
3
Proximal flow sensors must be reliable and cost
effective, stable long-term and feature numerous
other ventilator-specific features in order to be suited
for modern patient-oriented ventilation. In addition,
particularly stringent requirements for hygienic
sterilization are needed as the sensors come into
contact with air that is potentially contaminated with
pathogens.
The Achilles’ heel of all current air flow sensors
is their use in combination with humidifiers. High
humidity becomes a problem when it leads to
condensation, causing macroscopic water droplets to
rain out in in the cooler parts of the ventilator circuit. As
a solution, all Sensirion proximal and expiratory sensors
come with an additional external heating element.
Operation of this heating element with a maximum of
0.5 W is sufficient to reliably prevent condensation in the
sensor and ensure stable and reliable operation.
The schematic illustrated in Figure 3 shows a
humidifier typically used in ventilator setups to ensure
the breathing air is well humidified. The steel cylinder
in the oven is kept at 37°C and simulates the lungs with
the connected pressure sensor used as a reference.
The controlled valve is closed during the inspiratory
breathing cycle and opened once per second for the
expiratory part of the breathing cycle. Without the
use of the heater, individual drops of water can run
over the sensor element and cause misreading of the
measurement values. This misreading can clearly
be recognised by the deviations of the expiratory/
inspiratory volume from the reference volume.
The use and spread of ventilators will continue
to grow strongly in the future, due to the increasing
number of lung diseases, and modern ventilators place
ever-growing demands on sensors so that the focus can
remain fi rmly on the patient and their therapy.
The CMOSens Technology described here has
established a new generation of reliable flow sensors
and its with this technology that it will be possible for
manufacturers to realise the next quantum leaps in
ventilation.
JANUARY 2022 / 29
 PRODUCTS

PRODUCT ADVERTORIALS
27640_NELE_ManhattenSkyline 07/03/2017 10:18 Page 1

FOR ALL ENQUIRIES CALL: PETER RING OR JAMES CREBER ON: 01322 221144

DIRECT INSIGHT LATTICE SEMICONDUCTOR

New QNX 7 BSP for Boundary Devices’ Nitrogen 8M SSBC from Direct Lattice Expands Automate Solution Stack and Propel
Insight speeds development time Design Tool Capabilities to Accelerate Industrial
● Enables mission-critical product development for Application Development
Industry 4.0, robotics, medical devices and more. ● Improved user experience and more performance for
● Direct Insight, the UK-based, technical systems
applications in robotics, smart factory, and motion control.
integrator and reseller of system-on-module (SoM) ● Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: LSCC), the low power
and other embedded systems, has developed a
programmable leader, today launched the latest version of its Lattice
Board Support Package (BSP) which enables the
Automate™ solution stack for industrial automation systems featuring
use of QNX 7 with the Boundary Devices’ Nitrogen
new real-time networking capabilities, AI-based predictive maintenance,
8M board, an ARM-based single board computer
increased processor performance and scalabilit and more flexible
(SBC) designed to leverage the full capabilities of NXP’s
configurations attice also announced the release of an updated version
i.MX8M Mini Quad processor.
● Designed for mass production with a guaranteed 10 year lifespan, FCC pre-
of the Lattice Propel™ embedded design environment to simplify the
development of industrial automation systems with improved performance
scan results, and a stable supply chain, the Nitrogen 8M is optionally available
and added functionality supporting RISC-V soft processor cores.
with versions that are conformally-coated and meet industrial temperature ● “Enabling our customers to accelerate their development process without
ranges. It can fully customized for cost optimization and industrialization.
● The QNX OS is a perfect match for the Nitrogen 8M, as it suits real time,
sacrificing performance and power is one of our key goals at Lattice,”
said Matt Dobrodziej, Vice President of Segment Marketing and Business
safety critical applications, and the BSP created by Direct Insight enables
Development at Lattice.
designers to get to market quickly with industrial designs.
● Sophia.Hong@latticesemi.com / www.latticesemi.com/Automate
● David.Pashley@directinsight.co.uk / www.directinsight.co.uk

MANHATTAN SKYLINE MIKROE

Click: MIKROE adds high-performance signal generation for $109
● Waveform 4 peripheral development board based on ADI’s AD9106,
quad-channel, 12-bit, 180MSPS waveform generator.
● MikroElektronika (MIKROE), the embedded solutions
company that dramatically cuts development time by
providing innovative hardware and software products
based on proven standards, has launched Waveform
OLED DISPLAY from Manhattan Skyline 4 Click – a member of its +1000-strong Click family of
peripheral development boards – that operates as a
• Thin - no need to have backlight, OLED emits light itself signal generator for high-speed, high-dynamic-range,
• Wide view angle “Up to 175 degrees” multichannel complex waveforms required in applications such as
• Fast response time ultrasound transducer excitation, medical instrumentation, portable
instrumentation, signal generators, and arbitrary waveform generators.
• High brightness ● Waveform 4 Click features Analog Devices’ AD9106, a quad-channel,
• High Contrast Ratio 12-bit, 180MSPS waveform generator that integrates on-chip SRAM and
• Wide operation Temperature direct digital synthesis (DDS) for complex waveform generation. The DDS
• Lower power consumption facilitates a master clock sinewave generator at speeds of up to a 180
• Sunlight readable technology option MHz with a 24-bit tuning word, allowing 10.8 Hz/LSB frequency resolution.
● nw@mansky.co.uk / www.mansky.co.uk / +44 (0)1344 307733 ● teodora.djuric@mikroe.com / www.mikroe.com

NEOCORTEC OKW
NeoCortec signs agreement with Honeywell OKW’s New Smooth-Top SLIM-CASE for
to develop wireless mesh technology for fire Mobile Electronics
● OKW’s innovative and elegant new SLIM-CASE for
detection
● NeoCortec, manufacturer of ultra-low-power
mobile devices is now available in a smooth-top
version for installing displays, push buttons and
bi-directional wireless mesh network modules,
LEDs.
recently signed an agreement with Honeywell ● Ergonomic SLIM-CASE (IP 54/IP 65) is the new-
Building Technologies, a global leader in
generation handheld enclosure for mobile measuring
fire and life safet to develop ireless fire detection devices that
and control applications, wireless communications,
offer higher reliability, ease of installation and commissioning, and
oT oT healthcare laboratories offices safet engineering and
competitive cost of o nership
● eo ortecs eo esh technolog ill be integrated into one ell ireless fire
environmental technology. There is plenty of space inside for PCBs, plug
connectors, interfaces and sensors.
detection products li e smo e detectors modules and audio-visual devices ● In addition to the smooth-top version, there is also a 1 mm recessed top for
● “We are pleased to work with Honeywell to create a new generation of
product labels or a 1.6 mm recessed top for a touchscreen or membrane
wireless detectors that pair our wireless mesh networking protocol and
e pad ach of the three variants can be specified ith or ithout a
stac ith one ells expertise in fire detection said Thomas al ier
soft-touch TPE intermediate ring for extra comfort and impact protection.
eo ortec
● esigned for versatilit and use in different application areas the
SLIM-CASE is moulded from tough, UV-stable ASA+PC-FR (UL 94 V-0) for
indoor and outdoor use.
NeoCortec NeoMesh wireless mesh networking protocol and software
● sales@okw.co.uk / www.okw.co.uk
stac is optimised for ultra-lo po er operation
● csf@neocortec.com / www.neocortec.com

30 / JANUARY 2022
 PRODUCTS

PRODUCT ADVERTORIALS
FOR ALL ENQUIRIES CALL: PETER RING OR JAMES CREBER ON: 01322 221144

PICKERING ELECTRONICS
PICKERING ELECTRONICS PICKERING INTERFACES
Pickering
Pickering Electronics
Electronics SIL/SIP
SIL/SIP reedreedrelays handle
relays handle higher continuous
higher continuous carry
carry New high voltage scalable LXI matrix module from
currents
currents to 3A
to 3A Pickering Interfaces provides e ibility up to 300 4
● Highest
● Highest quality switches
quality switcheswith sputtered
with sputtered ruthenium
ruthenium connections and excellent switching performance
contacts
contacts suitsuit
lowlowlevel ‘dry’‘dry’
level switching
switching ● Cold switching to 750VDC up to 2A at 60 W.
● Pickering
● Pickering Electronics,
Electronics, thethe
reed relay
reed company
relay company ● Pickering Interfaces, the leading supplier of modular
which
whichhashaspioneered
pioneered miniaturization
miniaturization andand high
high signal switching and simulation solutions for use in
performance
performance forfor
over 50 50
over years, hashas
years, launched
launched thethe electronic test and verification toda launched the
Series 100100
Series HCHC high power
high power SIL/SIP
SIL/SIP reedreedrelay thatthat
relay 65-218, a 50x4, 1-pole LXI matrix plug-in modules. Used in conjunction
is rated forfor
is rated 1A 1Aswitching
switching at up to 40W
at up to 40W andandup upto to with the 65-200-002 LXI modular chassis, these modules are part of a
3A 3Acontinuous
continuous carry current.
carry current.Featuring
Featuring thethe
highest
highest scalable, high voltage matrix platform that enables the construction of
quality instrumentation-grade
quality instrumentation-grade switches
switches with
with matrices of up to 300x4 in steps of 50x4. Available in two variants that are
sputtered
sputtered ruthenium
ruthenium contacts,
contacts, Series
Series100100 HCHCrelays
relays capable of delivering cold switching to 400 VDC or 750VDC (1kV pulse) up
areare
suitable
suitableforfor
lowlowlevel or ‘dry’
level switching
or ‘dry’ switching applications.
applications. to s itching or carr ing the single-pole matrix modules use high-
● Commented
● Commented Kevin
KevinMallett,
Mallett,Technical
Technical Specialist
Specialistat Pickering Electronics:
at Pickering Electronics: ualit electromechanical rela s offering a long service life
“The Series
“The 100HC
Series 100HC offers over
offers double
over doublethethecoilcoil
resistance of other
resistance similar
of other similar ● The modular construction of the scalable LXI platform enables great
products
products andand thethe
continuous
continuous carrcarrcurrent
currentspecification
specification of of mps cancan
mps flexibilit as our re uirements evolve additional plug-in modules can
be be
increased
increased in pulsed
in pulsed current
current applications.”
applications.” “The higher
“The coilcoil
higher resistance
resistance be easil added and the control soft are automaticall detects the ne
also results
also in reduced
results in reduced heating
heatinggiving
givingSeries HCHC
Series reed relays
reed a thermal
relays EMF
a thermal EMF configuration The plug-in matrices are loaded into the chassis via the front
performance
performance lessless
thanthan he headds adds panel significantl improving the units ease of maintenance
● poppy.moore@pickeringrelay.com
● poppy.moore@pickeringrelay.com / www.pickeringrelay.com
/ www.pickeringrelay.com ● kim.otte@pickeringtest.com / www.pickeringtest.com

POWELL T T
New range of stainless steel push-button Power Integrations’ New InnoSwitch3-TN ICs
enclosures for hygienic applications from Hammond Slash Energy Waste in Appliance Power Supplies
Manufacturing now available through Powell by 75%
Electronics ● Beyond the buck regulator: Newest
● Designed to withstand high temperatures and high InnoSwitch3 IC family delivers simplicity,
pressure wash-downs. flexibilit and industr -leading efficienc in
● Powell Electronics, the supplier of connectors and high-output-current designs
more for high-rel applications including defence, ● Power Integrations (Nasdaq: POWI), the leader
aerospace and industrial, now has the new HYPB range of IP69/IP69K in high-voltage integrated circuits for energ -efficient po er conversion
stainless steel push-button enclosures for hygienic applications from toda introduced the highl integrated nno itch -T off-line
Hammond Manufacturing in stock. Ideal for applications where maintaining fl bac s itcher ffered in a safet - ualified compact in -
hygiene standards and avoiding contamination are of high importance (e.g. in pac age and incorporating a primar T isolated feedbac
food processing and pharmaceutical manufacturing), HYPB range enclosures s nchronous rectification and secondar -side control nno itch -T s
have been designed for use with hygienic pushbuttons and withstand regular enable power supplies that are simple to design and ideal for appliance and
high temperatures as well as regular high pressure wash-downs. They also industrial auxiliar applications up to
have no areas (like slotted screw heads, quarter turn latches or welded ● ilvestro imiani senior product mar eting manager at o er ntegrations said
mounting brackets) where contaminants can gather and all sides slope to ur ne nno itch -T devices support the high output current needed in
ensure any water quickly drains off. smart-connected appliances at efficiencies of up to compared to traditional
● Gevans@powell.com / www.powell-electronics.eu approaches such as buc regulators that are often less than efficient
● andrew.smith@power.com / www.power.com

SMITHS INTERCONNECT TT
Smiths Interconnect launches new PCB connector for rail Trackwise
TrackwiseIHT IHTe eprinted
printedcircuit
circuittechnology
technologyused used
and industrial applications. Intercompact Series optimized inininnovative
innovativeoiloilandandgas
gasleakleakdetection
detectionsystem systemfromfrom
and ualified for ne t generation Electronic ontrol Units Direct-
Direct-
● Smiths Interconnect, a leading provider of technically ● ● tephen dmondson hief cience fficer irect-
tephen dmondson hief cience fficer irect-
differentiated electronic components, subsystems, Trac
Trac iseise T T illillsignificantl
significantlimprove improve
microwave, optical and radio frequency products robustness
robustnessand andreduce
reduceinstallation
installationcosts costs
● ●Trac ise the innovative manufacturer of specialist products using
for demanding applications announced today the Trac ise the innovative manufacturer of specialist products using
release of its new Intercompact Series, a light weight, printed
printedcircuit
circuittechnolog
technolog has hasannounced
announcedthat that irect-
irect- a a anadian
anadian
compact signal and ethernet PCB connector solution producer
producerofofinnovative
innovativegas gasandandoiloillealeadetection
detections sstems
stemsisisusing
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designed and ualified to provide a stable connection Trac
Trac isesisespatented
patentedmprovedmproved arness arnessTechnolog
Technolog T Ttotoimprove
improvethe the
in demanding rail and industrial applications. ruggedness
ruggednessand andmanufacturabilit
manufacturabilitofofitsits rap rapense
ensesensing
sensingstrip
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andtoto
● The Intercompact Series is Smiths Interconnect’s answer to the rail and industrial reduce
reduceinstallation
installationcosts
costs
● ● rap ense utili es a proprietar nanocomposite hich is specificall
market growing demand for compact, high-speed, and reliable connectivity for rap ense utili es a proprietar nanocomposite hich is specificall
ECU boxes, in the respect of severe material and electric current requirements. designed
designedonl onltotoreact
reacttotoli liuiduidh hdrocarbons
drocarbonsThe Thenanocomposite
nanocompositeisis
● “The new generation of Electronic Control Unit boxes requires a sophisticated applied
appliedasasa acoating
coatingtotoa asubstrate
substrate hich hichalso
alsocontains
containselectronic
electroniccircuitr
circuitr
interconnect solution able to support steadily all I/O signals that the advanced that
thatcan
cancapture
capturethe thedata
dataand andfeed
feedthe theinformation
informationbac bac identif
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devices handle.“ said Mark Kelleher, Vice President and General Manager of the thethepresence
presenceofofa alealea using usingTrac
Trac ises ises T Tflexible
flexibleprinted
printedcircuit
circuit
Connector Business Unit at Smiths Interconnect. technolog
technolog m-long m-longstrips
stripsofof rap rapense ensecancanbebeproduced
produced
● www.smithsinterconnect.com ● ●bartholomew.day trackwise.co.uk www.trackwise.co.uk
bartholomew.day trackwise.co.uk www.trackwise.co.uk

JANUARY 2022 / 31
 NEWS
A FLEXIBLE FUTURE
FOR ELECTRONICS
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
WITH THE demand for
cheap light eight and flexible
devices gro ing researchers
are focusing on efforts to
optimise the semiconductor
materials needed
team of researchers
from the niversit of Tsu uba
have reported a record-
brea ing germanium e thin
film on a plastic substrate that
is both flexible but doesnt
compromise in terms of
performance
e is a popular
semiconductor for use in
transistors because it has
high charge carrier mobilit
and it can be processed at the
SEMICONDUCTORS REACH THE
RESEARCHERS AT the
Paul Scherrer Institute PSI
and Cornell University ihave
identified a composite
material that could integrate
uantum devices into
semiconductor technolog
ma ing electronic
components significantl
more po erful The have
published their findings in the
ournal cience dvances
urrentl the most
important challenges
in semiconductor
electronics include further
improvements that ould
increase the band idth of
data transmission energ
efficienc and information
securit and exploiting
uantum effects is li el to
deliver a brea through in
performance
uantum effects that can
occur in superconducting
materials are of particular
32 / JANUARY 2022
RESEARCHERS GROW A GERMANIUM THIN FILM ON
A FLEXIBLE POLYIMIDE SUBSTRATE, RESULTING IN A
MATERIAL WITH THE HIGHEST HOLE MOBILITY
relativel lo temperature of
and has a lo oungs
modulus hich means it is a
softer alternative to commonl
used materials such as silicon
e thin films can be
gro n using the solid-phase
cr stalli ation techni ue
These films are pol cr stalline
meaning the are made up of
man e cr stals n general
larger cr stals lead to greater
carrier mobilities because
bigger cr stals form fe er
grain boundaries that obstruct
QUANTUM EFFECTS IN
SUPERCONDUCTORS COULD
GIVE SEMICONDUCTOR
TECHNOLOGY A NEW TWIST
interest uperconductors
are materials in hich
the electrical resistance
disappears hen the are
cooled belo a certain
temperature The fact
that uantum effects in
superconductors can be
utilised has alread been
demonstrated in first uantum
computers
To find possible
successors for toda s
semiconductor electronics
some researchers are
investigating so-called
hetero unctions i e structures
made of t o different t pes of
materials ore specificall
the are loo ing at la ered
s stems of superconducting
and semiconducting materials
the current ecent increases
in grain si e have therefore
led to effective e thin-film
transistors on rigid substrates
such as glass
o ever the plastic
substrates used to provide
flexibilit are not resistant to
temperature above
hich ma es it difficult to
gro high ualit cr stals ith
appropriate carrier mobilit
Researchers have
developed a pol imide film that
can ithstand temperatures
t has been no n for
some time that ou have to
select materials ith ver
similar cr stal structures
for this so that there is no
tension in the crystal lattice
at the contact surface
explained ohn right ho
produced the hetero unctions
for the ne stud at ornell
niversit
T o suitable materials
in this respect are the
superconductor niobium
nitride b and the
up to This allo ed post-
annealing treatment of the
films meaning cr stal ualit
as not compromised for
flexibilit
e gre a e x la er
directl on the flexible
pol imide then the e film on
top of that explained stud
lead rofessor aoru To o
x gen that diffused into the
e from the e x la er helped
to achieve large cr stals e
found that the e cr stallinit
as influenced b both the
thic ness of the e x la er
and the temperature at hich
the e la er as gro n
The research team
semiconductor gallium
nitride a The latter
alread pla s an important
role in semiconductor
electronics and is therefore
ell researched ntil no
ho ever it as unclear exactl
ho the electrons behave
at the contact interface of
these t o materials and
hether it is possible that
the electrons from the
semiconductor interfere ith
the superconductivit and thus
obliterate the uantum effects

found that the Ge
crystals observed were
approximately 13 µm in
diameter and grown at
375°C on a 100-nm-thick
GeOx layer. The large grain
si e resulted in the film
having a hole mobility of
cm s hich is
QUANTUM WORLD
“When I came across
the research of the group at
ornell ne here at
e can find the ans er to
this fundamental question
with our spectroscopic
methods at the
beamline said ladimir
trocov researcher at the
nchrotron ight ource
at
In their combined
experiments scientists
found that the electrons
in both materials “keep to
themselves o un anted
interaction that could
potentially spoil the quantum
effects takes place.
The researchers
used a method well-
established at the
beamline of the angle-
resolved photoelectron
spectroscopy using soft
-ra s or - for
short.
the highest value reported
to date for a semiconductor
on an insulating substrate.
“Our record-breaking
film is a significant step
forward for transistor
technolog said
Professor Toko. “Its high
performance combined
ith this method e
can visualise the collective
motion of the electrons
in the material explained
Tianlun u a postdoctoral
researcher in trocovs
team ho carried out the
measurements on the NbN/
GaN heterostructure.
The - method
provides a kind of map
whose spatial coordinates
show the energy of the
electrons in one direction
and something like their
velocity in the other; more
precisel their momentum
n this representation
the electronic states show
up as bright bands in the
map u explained
The crucial research
found that at the material
boundary between the
niobium nitride NbN and
the gallium nitride a
the respective bands
ith its flexibilit
affordabilit and portabilit
make it perfectly suited
to the development of
ne flexible devices such
as wearable electronics
to support future digital
initiatives such as the
internet of things
are clearly separated
from each other. This tells
the researchers that the
electrons remain in their
original material and do not
interact with the electrons
in the neighbouring
material.
“The most important
conclusion for us is that
the superconductivity
in the niobium nitride
remains undisturbed even
if this is placed atom by
atom to match a layer
of gallium nitride said
trocov e continued
ith this e ere able to
provide another piece of
the pu le that confirms
this layer system could
actually lend itself to a new
form of semiconductor
electronics that embeds
and exploits the quantum
effects that happen in
superconductors
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY NEWS
ACTIVE
MATTER
RESEARCH
TMO UNIVERSITY AND BOSCH LAUNCH ACTIVE
MATTER PHYSICS RESEARCH PROJECT
ITMO UNIVERSITY and Bosch have signed an agreement on
conducting research in the field of active matter physics. Within the
joint project, researchers are working with clusters of macro- and
microparticles that can migrate and regroup into new structures.
ccording to the teams involved the project will result in
new technologies for the energy industry, manufacturing, and
healthcare.
ctive matter physics is an emerging field undergoing active
development worldwide. Scientists analyse particles that, like
bacterial colonies or schools of fish, can collectively organise
by transforming their internal energy into mechanical motion.
esearchers hope that by unveiling the fundamental phenomena
in such systems, they will be able to develop smart materials
with controllable properties and functions.
Particle ensembles are an especially promising platform for
applications in microstructuring, energy conversion, targeted
drug delivery, and as a material for creating various sensors and
shape detectors.
“We were lucky to become the first ussian research group
capable of producing active materials on any scale from
robotic ensembles to microparticles. When we make a material
active, the e uations describing it become more comple . They
start describing a lot of interesting physical phenomena that
make it possible to control the spatial organisation of particles.
Together with our collaborators from osch, we will go through
a complete research cycle, from formulating a hypothesis and
running theoretical calculations to numerical modelling and
e perimental implementation of such systems,” said ikita
lekhno, a researcher at ITM s Faculty of Physics.
The planned research project will feature theoretical study
and numerical modelling of systems of particles with different
si es, shapes, and behaviour, then predicted effects will be
tested on systems of macroscopic particles, such as tiny moving
robots whose characteristics can be precisely controlled.
Depending on that stage, ITM s researchers will then implement
the proposed system at the microscale by synthesi ing such
smart materials. These steps can be repeated several times,
depending on the number of interesting effects discovered in the
numerical simulations.
“ s a technological corporation, osch finds it important to
plan how we will act in the future and what kind of technologies
we need to produce in the ne t 50 years. Studying active matter
will open up new opportunities in the most promising fields, such
as healthcare, energy industry, and manufacturing,” concluded
le ander orisov, the director of oschs research department
in ussia.
JANUARY 2022 / 33
 MEDICAL MEDICAL DEVICES

KADE FRANCE DID YOU KNOW?

 14mn
“The objective is to determine at which points an individual with The confirmed cases
COVID is infectious, not just if they have the virus in their body. of in the as
Evidence suggests that other methods fall short in that respect” of an

DELIVERING
MASS SCREENING
How is a handheld breath analyser, combined with AI, delivering on mass screening for
infectious diseases? NEIL TYLER talks to KADE FRANCE, CTO of SOTECH Health, and
BILL WELCH, the former CTO of Phillips-Medisize

W
ith COVID now entering
its third year, having a
rapid, low-cost, portable
technology to conduct mass
screening is seen as a priority by
healthcare professionals, not only
for COVID but for other infectious
diseases too.
By leveraging artificial
intelligence (AI) to drive incremental
predictive insights and outcomes
SOTECH, in collaboration with
Phillips-Medsize, has developed a
hand-held breath analyser solution.
Phillips-Medisize, a global
end-to-end design, development,
and manufacturing organisation,
which is the healthcare division of
Molex, is focused on mechanical/
electromechanical drug delivery
solutions, diagnostic consumables,
and medtech devices.
“We have been working with
SOTECH since mid-2020 and client
interest in the SOTECH solution
has certainly gained momentum,”
said Bill Welch, the former CTO of
Phillips-Medisize.
The breath analyser solution
is a handheld device that allows a
short breath sample from a patient
to be examined, with the sensor
identifying gaseous metabolites
that indicate COVID-19 – it can
be employed for other infectious
diseases as well.
“It differs from the current
approach being used in several
fundamental ways,” explained Kade
France, CTO of SOTECH Health.
“Most importantly it is designed to
act as a screening tool, rather than
a diagnostic tool. Its objective is
to determine at which points an
individual with COVID is infectious,
not just if they have the virus in
their body. Evidence suggests that
other methods fall short in that
respect. That means the risk they
present to the general public cannot
be accurately gauged. The window in
which a COVID positive individual
can infect other people may only
be a few days, but that individual
could still have the virus present
within their body and show a positive PCR test. With our
solution, we are looking to address this disparity. Our
goal is to determine at what point a patient is infectious.
This is done by detecting evidence of the virus within
their body, not the actual virus being there. That is what
makes our approach different, as it is about detecting
a chemical emitted by the respiratory system because
of an immuno-response to the virus. Additionally, our
solution has the advantage of being fully responsive to
all the different COVID variants, whether it is Gamma,
Delta, Omicron, etc.”
The solution comprises of a durable handheld device
and a disposable mouthpiece which is replaced every
time someone is screened.
“While SOTECH was completely responsible for
developing the device concept Phillips-Medisize,
drawing on its experience in volume production, assisted
with the optimisation of the electronics on the handheld,
and design for manufacturability on the mouthpiece,”
explained Welch.
“While there are solutions already on the market
that provide breath-based screening, these rely on
mass spectrometry techniques, which require bulky
equipment - so unlike our solution, they are not really
mobile and take a lot of power,” said France.
The speed of this technology is another important
facet, according to Welch.
“For other methods, the best case is a 30-minute result
time and in some cases, it will be several days. People
could still be out and potentially infecting others in that
period. The short response time represents a significant
breakthrough, with results being obtained in a sub-30
second period. Also, it means that far more results can be
gathered - generating larger datasets to examine so that
trends can be identified more quickly.”
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
While the solution does uses cutting-edge AI, it is not

34 / JANUARY 2022

actually used to detect the virus.
“AI is employed to defi ne what
the thresholds of the algorithm are
in relation to a positive or negative
screening. The AI aspect consists of
two component elements,” explained
France. “First, there is the element
inside the analyser device. Secondly,
there is the element in the cloud.
Everyone’s data is anonymised, of
course, but the breath responses
of patients are all compiled on the
cloud and the cloud element is
continuously learning from all our
endpoint devices. It allows constant
monitoring of positive and negative
individuals so that we can fi ne-tune
our thresholds and home in on what
a positive individual is.”
According to France constant
feedback shows how the virus is
evolving and the cloud can then
update and broadcast information to
all the analyser devices.
“Evidence from various studies
suggests that ethnicity affects how
PCR tests respond. There are slight
variations in PCR thresholds, as to
what constitutes a positive COVID
result or a negative one. Additionally,
as people build antibodies and
they gain immunity to the virus
in different variants, the actual
threshold
of what
constitutes
a true
positive
test on
current
existing
methods is
going to shift higher. Having devices
that are all talking back to the cloud
will be vital in adapting screening
strategies to take factors like these
into account,” added France.
The misuse of home-use medical
equipment is certainly a problem,
as it can result in monitoring data
being inaccurate, or treatments
being less effective.
To address this a lot of user
feedback is built into the device,
with the accompanying app telling
the user if they didn’t exhale hard
enough, or if they did something else
wrong increasing the probability of
delivering accurate results.
Looking to the future rapid
screening and AI learning are likely
to have a significant impact on
future detection devices.
“The primary aspect is
situational awareness for doctors. It
will enable them to access real-time
MEDICAL DEVICES MEDICAL
BILL WELCH
“If you can screen people as fast as it takes to get
through a metal detector or a passport line at an
airport, then that is a real game-changer”
data so that they can examine how the thresholds are
changing and respond accordingly. It doesn’t have the
delay inherent to other techniques,” said France.
Welch added, “The timeframe in which screening
can be completed has clear logistical benefits too. If you
can screen people as fast as it takes to get
through a metal detector or a passport
line at an airport, then that is a real game-
changer.”
While COVID is the current focus,
SOTECH plans to expand the scope of this
analyser device so that it can be applied to
other medical conditions. “It could be used to
determine if a patient has flu or if they have
pneumonia, etc. There are opportunities
that go beyond the respiratory system too.
These pertain to cancer/oncology, as well as
other forms of severe illnesses that could be
detected through the same methods,” said
France.
The use of AI in a medical context is still
relatively new and regulatory bodies are still
exercising caution about its use.
”In a lot of cases, AI is being pushed as a way
to seemingly take physicians out of the loop,
and I don’t think that’s appropriate at this point
in time. I think what we should do is try to screen
with AI, then advise physicians and augment
their capabilities. By its very design, AI is a
black box right now. It is incredibly hard to understand.
However, with explainability being one of the pillars
that will help regulators garner trust in AI, our platform
has algorithms in place that allows our AI to explain
its results. And if you can’t explain your solution, as
a physician can, then there are likely to be ethical
concerns. You put a bunch of data in, you get an answer,
but explaining how that happened is difficult. By using
AI only to assist our device, we are avoiding such ethical
issues,” explained France.
“On top of that, we review our datasets to make sure
that we address them from different angles and remove
bias. Having different engineers and non-technical
people involved brings multiple views over our datasets.
This means any potential bias points can be spotted.”
AI will have an extraordinarily valuable role to play
throughout the healthcare sector and by continuing
to learn and by rapidly updating connected devices,
AI-enabled healthcare solutions will be able to adapt
with people and with changing conditions, according to
France.
“This will make the way that the public is screened,
diagnosed, and treated far more efficient and
accurate,” he concluded.
JANUARY 2022 / 35
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MICRO-DISPLAYS RESEARCH
A NEW way of making
micro-displays, described
as revolutionary, is set to
deliver next generation
smartphones, smartwatches
and VR headsets with
higher resolution, speed
and efficiency.
Researchers at the
University of Sheffield
are looking to integrate
microscale semiconductor
light sources and transistors
on a single chip.
In the £1.9 million
project, funded by the
Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council
(EPSRC), Professor Tao
Wang from the University’s
Department of Electronic
and Electrical Engineering,
in collaboration with Harvard
and MIT, is leading research
into using micro laser
diodes - microLDs - in order
to develop ultimate micro-
display and visible light
DRONES TO SUPPORT
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
ENGINEERS FROM the
University of Southampton,
and conservationists at
Marwell Wildlife have
successfully trialled the use
of drone technology, as a
new approach to assisting
conservation efforts.
The collaboration
between the IRIS Centre
of Excellence, SotonUAV,
Marwell Wildlife and
the School of Biological
Sciences involved several
flight trials at the oo to
test how effective drones
carrying specialist cameras
and noise sensors could
ULTIMATE MICRO-DISPLAYS AND VISIBLE LIGHT
COMMUNICATION DEVICES BEING DEVELOPED BY
SHEFFIELD RESEARCHERS
communication devices.
Visible light
communication technology
has the potential to offer
much greater bandwidth
and efficiency than Wi-Fi or
5G and can be used where
radio frequency emissions
are controlled or do not work
such as in aircraft, hospitals,
underwater and in hazardous
environments.
A key component of both
these technologies are III-
be used in identifying and
monitoring animals from
the air.
The teams conducted
the flights at the end of last
year, performing several
flights above the oos ild
xplorer s paddoc hich
holds herds of critically
endangered animals.
The goal is to employ
these technologies in remote
areas where threatened
animal populations are more
difficult to monitor
r ar ic ering mpact
Acceleration Manager at the
IRIS Centre of Excellence,
nitride visible light-emitting
diodes (LEDs) but using laser
diodes (LDs) instead has the
potential to achieve devices
with even higher resolution,
speed and efficiency.
According to Professor
Wang, “The significantly
increasing demands on
micro displays are pushing
the requirements for
ultra-high resolution and
ultra-high efficiency. Several
fundamental challenges
said: “These trials here at
Marwell allowed us to gather
a great deal of data which
e can no or ith to
loo into things li e image
processing algorithms and
machine learning.”
Visual and thermal
cameras were mounted to
the platforms, as well as
AudioMoth acoustic sensors
to monitor the noise levels
of the drones and record
animal sounds.
The drones were
operated by SotonUAV, an
uncrewed aerial vehicles
(UAV) team at the University
NEWS
with fabrication and
electrical driving methods
cannot be met by existing
UNIVERSITIES & RESEARCH
technologies therefore a
disruptive technology needs
to be developed. Unlike
any existing photonics and
electronics fabrication
approaches, our research will
explore a completely different
approach to monolithically
integrate microscale laser
diodes (μLDs) and high
electron mobility transistors
(HEMTs) on a single chip,
where each μLD is electrically
driven by individual HEMTs.”
The global micro-display
market is predicted to reach
$4.2 billion by 2025 and the
visible light communication
market is expected to exceed
$8 billion by 2030.
The Sheffield-led project
is already being supported
by global tech companies
such as Microsoft, Sony and
Plessey.
of Southampton.
Commenting Dr Mario
Ferraro, a founder of the
SotonUAV group, said: “In
these trials e ve been using
the multi-rotor platform to
carry the sensor where we
needed it hen e or
in a field trial environment
distances are going to be
much larger and we will have
to rel on a different ind of
platform most li el a fixed-
wing drone.”
The flights ere
completed in preparation
for overseas field trials to
protect endangered animals.
JANUARY 2022 / 37
 NEWS
UNIVERSITIES & RESEARCH
©Guang - stock.adobe.com
JOBS BOOST
THE UNIVERSITY of
Birmingham is to offer
hundreds of scholarships to
under-represented groups
in the Midlands to help
them improve their skills
and secure jobs in the
technology sector.
Delivered via £2.4m
funding from the West
Midlands Combined
Authority, there will be 600
scholarships (200 per year
over 3 years) of £4,000 each
available as ‘Women in Tech’
or ‘Diversity in Tech’ awards.
Successful applicants will
attend Boot Camps in either
Full-stack Web Development
(Coding) or Data Analytics.
The intensive 24-week
part time programmes aim
to help adult learners and
working professionals in
under-represented groups
into digital careers, and
students will have the
option of studying remotely
online or in-person at the
University’s new city centre
facility The Exchange.
Eight boot camps will
take place each year over
the next three years, in
partnership with 2U brand
Trilogy Education. Together,
38 / JANUARY 2022
UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM LAUNCHES SCHOLARSHIPS
TO BOOST SKILLS AND SECURE JOBS IN TECHNOLOGY
the University of Birmingham
and Trilogy Education have
successfully delivered Boot
Camps to over 180 people
since 2019.
The courses aim to help
address the digital skills gap
and the gender imbalance by
targeting financial support
to unemployed and under-
employed people, enabling
them to enrol in Boot Camps
and to progress into highly
skilled, digital careers.
Professor Nicola
Wilkin, of the University
of Birmingham, said:
“Birmingham is quickly
becoming a major technology
hub attracting businesses
from across the country.
“As a leading higher
education institution in the
region, we want to ensure
those in under-represented
groups have a pathway into
the lucrative and fulfilling
careers made possible by the
growing technology sector.
“This is a fantastic
opportunity for personal
professional development.
The flexible part-time format
of the Boot Camps makes it
possible for people to diversify
and develop the skills needed
for alternate technical careers
and reflects our commitment
to increasing accessibility and
diversity in the technology
sector.”
Professor Tim Jones,
Provost and Vice-Principal at
the University of Birmingham
added, “We’re already
seeing students who have
graduated from our Boot
Camps progressing in their
careers and contributing to
the regional economy. With
this new funding from the
West Midlands Combined
Authority, we can continue to
develop highly-employable
professionals with much
sought-after digital skills.”
Mayor of the West
Midlands and Chair
of the West Midlands
Combined Authority, Andy
Street, welcomed the
announcement. “Retraining
and upskilling have such
critical roles to play in our
region’s economic recovery
from the coronavirus
pandemic, and are a
cornerstone of my jobs plan
to help 100,000 people into
work in the next two years.
“We know that training
in the skills of the future
that employers want and
need is a crucial way to
help people bounce back
into employment quickly,
and technology is an
area of huge employment
possibilities that we must
help people get the right
skills in.
“The sector offers new,
exciting, and future-proof
jobs, and digital bootcamps
are a great way of helping
local people get involved.”
Boot Camp learners will
also benefit from mentoring
and careers support from
tech companies. A network
of local and national
organisations will offer
careers support, insight
and opportunities helping
learners progress into digital
careers or self-employment,
and achieve higher earnings.
The Boot Camps will
be held both online and in-
person, with classes at the
University’s brand-new The
Exchange building.
 FREE
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 SECTOR FOCUS RAILWAYS
DELIVERING
CONNECTIVITY
FOR RAIL NETWORKS
A
s we start to slowly get
back to more frequent
travel, and as passengers
begin boarding trains once again,
despite the ongoing Covid crisis,
rail operators will have to consider
how to keep their customers happy.
Most travellers want connectivity
to stream movies, scroll on
social media, and chat to friends
- particularly on long haul
journeys – and the pandemic has
also introduced the new remote
working model to many more
workers, which doesn’t look like
it’s going away.
People can now work from
anywhere, not just in their offices
or homes, so passengers can save
time by working while travelling. As
the world is becoming increasingly
digitalised, and the demand for
connectivity any time, any place, is
on the rise, a strong, high-bandwidth
connection will be deemed essential
across rail networks.
Thanks to this growth in demand,
rail operators are going to be faced
with the challenge of keeping
40 / JANUARY 2022
passengers connected whilst on the
move. This can prove difficult on
journeys through rural areas where
connectivity can be less dependable.
To overcome this, operators
are looking to implement high
performance antennas, which have
a vital role to play in the delivery of
reliable connectivity.
Multiple Input, Multiple Output
(MIMO) antennas are providing
rail operators with high bandwidth,
super-fast connectivity, meeting
the needs of passengers today while
preparing for the digital demands of
the future.
Activities that tend to be popular
with travellers often come with
a need for higher bandwidth. For
example, video streaming is popular
for viewing of movies and television,
and for chatting to friends and family
– but this data usage is intensive.
In addition to this, many travellers
now use multiple connected devices,
like phones, laptops, tablets, and
smart watches, further increasing
the bandwidth required. MIMO
antennas have multiple input and
AUTHOR DETAILS
Daniel Montagnese
Head of Product Management
Antennas at HUBER+SUHNER
The dual polarisation
technology that’s sending rail
connections through the roof.
By DANIEL MONTAGNESE
output channels, allowing for data streams to run in
parallel, resulting in higher data throughput. This means
that operators can meet passenger demands for data
intensive, connected applications while on the move.
Internet connectivity is not only used for passenger
Wi-Fi. Internet of Things (IoT) devices are also
increasingly relied on by rail operators for ticketing
and communications. Some operators also employ IoT
to monitor the flow of passengers – waiting at stations,
traveling in each train coach, and to understand when
the dips and peaks occur. Live travel updates such
as delays and cancellations can also be monitored,
allowing operators and passengers to stay informed, and
timetables to run more smoothly. Long term analysis of
this data can guide operators to optimise their schedules
to meet customer needs well into the future.
PROVIDING A RELIABLE CONNECTION
It is essential that antennas are selected with the upmost
care, as they connect moving vehicles to the public
cellular network.
For business operations, reliability is key to avoid
system failures and profit pitfalls. When using the
internet for this as well as passenger connectivity, signals
can become congested and cellular reliability can prove
to be poor.
Most train antennas have a single polarisation only or
have a mixed polarisation (lack of polarisation purity),
which can cause issues for both passenger connectivity

INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) DEVICES ARE
INCREASINGLY RELIED ON BY RAIL OPERATORS
FOR TICKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
and signalling.
By implementing an antenna
with dual polarisation, horizontal
and vertical diversity are introduced.
This means that simultaneous
streams of cellular communication
can exist in parallel, greatly
increasing data throughput rates and
signal reliability. Isolation between
antenna ports ensures that the
electrical signals remain separated
and are not able to interfere. This
keeps passengers connected on the
go, while ensuring customers and
personnel remain safe.
By utilising GNSS navigation,
operators can benefit from greater
accuracy and resilience. Antennas
which provide access to dual-band
GNSS ensure access to the maximum
number of data sources, enabling
operators to provide the best possible
connection. By leaving behind
the legacy GPS navigation system,
which uses much fewer satellites to
determine the antenna’s location,
operators ensure they are future
ready in a move towards the ultimate
end goal of a better connection.
OFFERING RELIABILITY
AND SAFETY
Rooftop antennas are constantly
exposed to the elements, and
encounter a whole host of different
terrains, temperatures, and weather
conditions. It is essential that
they are hardy and resistant to
withstand tough conditions and
offer longevity. Waterproofed and
wind resistant solutions will prevent
operators having to make their own
adaptations or face constant repairs.
Overhead lines can carry up to
25,000 volts, 100 times the supply
received by our homes. For the
safety of passengers and personnel,
this must be redirected from the
catenary line away from the RF path.
Operators should choose external
mountings that have high voltage
and current protection for the
welfare and safety of those on board.
DID YOU KNOW?
1.75bn
There are two common
certifications that rail operators
must comply with. The fi rst is the
European certification EN45545,
while the other is the United States
certification NFPA-130. Products
without both certifications can
cause issues for operators deploying
their trains across the globe. Global
certification will ensure the process
is as efficient as possible, negating
costly delays whilst operators alter
their equipment to comply with
regulations.
Keeping data safe should be
another priority for operators,
who must implement solutions
that protect both the personal
data of passengers and private
business data. Antennas which
support repeater signals are often
the preferred option for this and
are being widely implemented
in regions like Switzerland and
Germany.
The size of the antenna chosen
is also a factor which could impact
its performance – depending on the
location. Low cellular frequencies
allow lower data throughput, but a
much further range, which is why
the wider public network for railway
in rural areas relies heavily on the
bands below 1 GHz, for maximum
RAILWAYS SECTOR FOCUS
The annual number of UK
passengers using the rail
network prior to COVID
coverage. It is also important to note that a larger antenna
is needed to pick up these signals. That means a balance
must be struck, when implementing antennas for rural
use. They must be large enough to offer operators and
passenger the best possible signal, while remaining
aerodynamic and reasonably low-profi le to avoid
damage when passing foliage, tunnel entrances, and
other potential obstructions.
For urban trains such as metros where data
throughput is a higher priority than range, higher
cellular signals above 2 GHz can be deployed. As a result,
those antennas can afford a smaller size, which is useful
in narrow tunnels and built-up areas.
MEETING DIGITAL DEMANDS
As digital demands increase, rail operators must deploy
future ready solutions to ensure customer satisfaction
and safety.
Antennas with high-bandwidth capabilities are
needed to handle modern applications, while dual
polarisation technology ensures on board Wi-Fi will not
interfere with signalling.
Global certification, optimal satellite navigation
systems, and high voltage and current protection will
help to ensure smooth operations and public safety.
Considering the particular use case, whether a train
will be travelling in rural locations or inner-city
environments, will also help operators choose the correct
size antenna for the job.
As 5G and Wi-Fi 6E technology further accelerate
digitalisation, operators must choose the correct
equipment to ensure their operations are optimised.
This is how they can stay ahead of the competition and
continue to meet the expectations of their customers.
JANUARY 2022 / 41
 EVENTS DIARY FEBRUARY 2022 – MAY 2022

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last year

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Week 2021 is a six day
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13-02-2022 motion control. It brings together key Device sectors.
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42 / JANUARY 2022
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