Semiconductors, Computing & AI

Microsoft has tested a prototype of a self-contained data center that can operate hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean, in efforts to reducing the need for expensive air-conditioning.

The first industrial robot, Unimate, went into operation at a General Motors plant in 1961. Over the next few decades the use of industrial robot arms in the automotive industry matured.

Ever since Sony launched the first television with quantum dots in 2013, these highly engineered materials have been back in the spotlight.

Interfacing with machines undergoes a constant evolution, allowing for wider adoption of computing devices over time, as interaction becomes more "natural". According to IDTechEx Research, smartglasses are bringing about the next big step in this ever-changing space.

Advanced microelectronics are moving on from the Moore's Law era to be More-than-Moore. Denser chips have higher internal and external clock rates, and higher power dissipation.

High power energy harvesting (HPEH) is the clean part of off-grid renewable energy and its main potential lies at kilowatts to megawatts. Few things are genuinely new in this world but newly important aspects of energy harvesting really matter.

Large investments have been made to enable flexible, thin sensors rather than rigid sensors.

Proper selection of thermal interface materials is crucial for the efficiency of electronic devices, has been proven to reduce the cost of ownership, reduce system power consumption and increase operational lifetime.

Everyone wants portable products. Miniature high density circuits, often housed in airtight enclosures are required, so we can use our devices everywhere, including in wearable technologies. Heat management is therefore a big problem, particularly as the trend of consumers demanding smaller, faster operating electronics continues.

The power electronics business as applied to electric vehicles is becoming so huge that very divergent approaches become viable.