embedded world 2024 - More visitors and a good atmosphere

The international embedded community met in Nuremberg for an intensive exchange of ideas. Over 1,100 exhibitors from almost 50 countries presented their products, solutions and innovations. The number of visitors and the atmosphere were surprisingly good.

According to Benedikt Weyerer, Executive Director of the Nuremberg trade fair, the outstanding response from well over 32,000 visitors from more than 80 countries underlined "the importance of embedded world as the industry meeting place for the embedded community".

Accompanying conferences

The lecture program of the two parallel conferences 'embedded world Conference' and 'electronic displays Conference' with speakers from 45 countries recorded 1,871 participants. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel Sikora, Chairman of the 'embedded world Conference', was pleased with "another successful conference with a total of 81 sessions and 17 classes on all relevant topics. We saw many very well-filled rooms, interesting and topical presentations and intensive discussions." The program was complemented by two keynotes from AMD and Analog Devices on the megatopic of embedded AI as well as six panel discussions. Prof. Dr. Karlheinz Blankenbach, Chairman of the 'electronic displays Conference', also drew a positive conclusion: "The newly established session keynotes on Display Innovations and Display Market & UX were particularly well received by the participants. I am delighted to report full rooms, attentive listeners, exciting questions and a community that is passionate about displays." The conference program comprised more than 75 contributions, which were bundled into 18 sessions and posters.

Expert panel on c-level@embedded world moderated by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel Sikora

Exhibitor forums, women4ew and Student Day

In addition to the two startup areas, the three exhibitor forums with exciting expert panels, company presentations and startup pitches were a magnet for visitors in the halls - they were almost always filled to capacity. Female empowerment and intensive networking took place on Wednesday afternoon at #women4ew. After a half-hour panel, around 100 women and a few interested men had the opportunity to break into small groups and talk to the speakers about the added value of diverse teams, increasing their own visibility, career hacks and feminist AI. The event took place for the second time in 2024. On the third day of the trade fair, the 'next generation' visited embedded world as part of the 'Student Day'. The keynote speech by Prof. Yungang Bao, Deputy Director at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), gave the students an impression of the fascination of the embedded industry. At the subsequent Student Day Rally, the students were not only able to make their first professional contacts in the halls, but also win five RaspberryPIs and the coveted embedded world heart T-shirts.

embedded award 2024

Outstanding innovations were honored at embedded world. "Innovations are possible in all areas of the embedded industry - and in all types of companies," emphasized Prof. Axel Sikora. "Established companies can innovate, as the winners of the embedded award in the categories Embedded Vision, Hardware, Software, Safety & Security, Tools and SoC/IP/IC Design clearly demonstrated." It is particularly pleasing that the embedded award also went to start-ups in two categories. From more than 100 submissions, a five-member jury initially selected three nominees for each category of the embedded award. This year, for the first time, the embedded system industry community was able to vote for their favorite innovation among the nominated products and honor it with the community choice award.

The winners of the 'embedded award 2024' are:

• Voltai with Voltai in the Artificial Intelligence category
• Ambiq with Apollo510 in the MCU Hardware category
• LIPS Corporation with the LIPSedge S-Series High-Resolution 3D Stereo Camera with Edge-AI Enabled in the Embedded Vision category
• Codasip with the Codasip Cheri Technology in the Safety & Security category
• Analog Devices with the MAX40109 Pressure Sensor System on Chip with Single Flow Calibration in the SoC/IP/IC Design category
• Real-Time Innovations (RTI) with RTI Connext Drive 3.0 in the Software category
• Embedd with AI Datasheet Analysis and Automated Driver Generation in the Startup category
• TARA Systems with the Embedded Wizard in the Tools category
• STMicroelectronics with ST87M01 as winner of the 'community choice award 2024'

Detailed information on the winners can be found on the website www.embedded-world.de/de-de/wissen." target="_blank">www.embedded-world.de/de-de/wissen.

Lötknecht press conference - Eclipseina at the joint stand for the first time

The Lötknecht press conference was moderated by Tom Weber, robologs Planungsgesellschaft, which is a problem solver for technology-driven companies. Lötknecht, an association of specialized development and manufacturing service providers, acts as a point of contact for these 23 companies from seven countries. With the Lötknecht, the right service provider can be found in just a few minutes, and this is risk-free, non-binding and free of charge for the companies searching.

Lötknecht joint stand

www.lötknecht.de

Examples of the components of glass-based HMI solutionsEclipseina, which offers test systems for charging communication and a broad training program with its embedded academy,took part inthe Lötknecht joint stand for the first time. The EC-SIM communication modules had their world premiere there. EC-SIM-EV and EC-SIM-EVSE simulate the behavior of charging communication. EC-SIM-EV provides the correct responses from the electric vehicle, while EC-SIM-EVSE assumes the role of the charging station in the communication. The DIN 70121 and ISO 15118 standards are fully supported. The simulator is a convenient and reliable solution for test laboratories and production tests of charging stations and electric vehicles.

Irlbacher presented its range of customized, glass-based HMI solutions. Touch, sensor and display signals are already pre-processed on the HMI, which relieves the main controller of these tasks, drastically shortens development times and reduces costs. Irlbacher provides a comprehensive portfolio of technology platforms. And Irlbacher is also the company with the widest range of options for glass processing in the world. Elec-Con technology is a specialist in the production of samples, prototypes and small series using state-of-the-art processes. It also offers its own products, including the new diPSU series of digitally configurable, intelligent DC/DC converters. With embedded Power, Elec-Con presented a new solution that enables anomalies in the power supply to be detected using AI instead of expensive sensors. With AI, anomalies are detected earlier, before sensors even strike. EFCO Electronics provided information about its industrial PC and panel PC product lines. It offers specific solutions for industrial automation and image processing, even in small quantities. New products included ultra-modern touch operating concepts that are elegant, scalable and come up with clever ideas. Elektron Systeme und Komponenten is a full-service EMS for nearshoring. Highly professional project management, clean processes supported by an MES and the ability to store up to 90 million components according to MSL standards form the basis for series production.

New embedded server announced at the congatec press conference

After the welcome address by Tim Henrichs, VP Marketing at congatec, CEO Dr. Dominik Reßing explained the company's strategy: to promote innovation with secure, high-performance embedded building blocks from COM to the cloud and to enable customers to focus on their core competencies and shorten innovation cycles. The figures of the last few years (23% plus in 2023) show that congatec is a reliable partner with strong growth. Steffen Winkler, CSO, Bosch Rexroth AG, then described what ctrlX OS for embedded is. It is the operating system for industrial automation with the fastest growing ecosystem and partner solutions at all levels, the smartphone for industry, so to speak. Konrad Garhammer, CTO & COO of congatec, presented the new aReady.COM product family, with which congatec is launching the first stage of its aReady strategy. The aim is to equip Computer-on-Modules with everything that application developers need. The aReady.COMs integrate application-ready hypervisor, operating system and IIoT software configurations that customers can put together as required. They can boot these individually configured aReady.COMs immediately and then install their applications. The quality feature "application readiness" is thus raised to a new level. What is already available has been listed.

Tim Henrichs, VP Marketing, congatec, welcoming guests to the press conference

High Performance Computing with Application Ready Package solutions from KontronMartinDanzer, Director Product Marketing, congatec, provided information on further product launches:

• New SMARC modules with Intel Core i3 and Intel Atom x7000RE processors offer twice as many processor cores compared to the previous generation, with up to eight, while maintaining the same power consumption. As a result, the credit card-sized conga-SA8 modules set a new performance benchmark for future-oriented, industrial edge computing and powerful virtualization options. With the conga-SA8 modules, consolidated edge computing applications in the industrial temperature range of -40°C to +85°C can now also benefit from improved performance and energy efficiency.
• The new conga-TC700 COM Express Compact Computer-on-Modules offer application-ready AI functionality in a plug-and-play form factor. The associated ecosystem of solution-oriented products and services shortens time-to-market for customers looking to implement the latest x86 processors with powerful AI capabilities.
• The new 3.5-inch carrier board conga-HPC/3.5-Mini is designed for space-constrained and robust high-performance IIoT applications based on COM-HPC Mini and is designed for use in the extended temperature range from -40 °C to +85 °C. In combination with the COM-HPC Mini module conga-aCOM/mRLP in aReady.COM version, the hypervisor and operating system configuration are already pre-installed as required.
• New are a server carrier board in µATX form factor and COM-HPC Server-on-Modules based on the latest Intel Xeon Ice Lake D processors. The new µATX server board was developed for compact real-time servers that are used in edge applications and critical infrastructures. The board can be flexibly scaled with the latest high-end COM-HPC server modules from congatec. Together with the updated modules, which are equipped with the latest Intel Xeon D-1800 and D-2800 processors, customers receive an application-ready µATX platform for applications with high performance requirements in a space-saving, robust design.

Guido von Klitzing, Vice President Sales at Thomas-Krenn AG, provided information on the 'New modular edge server design', presenting the as yet unnamed embedded server in µATX standard format developed jointly by Thomas-Krenn and congatec. This new embedded server is characterized by security in accordance with the NIS-2 directive, realized among other things by European components and an offline AI solution, as well as sustainability thanks to its modular design. This concept enables EU certifications and long-term hardware upgrades.

Own OS for embedded devices presented at the Kontron press conference

Hannes Niederhauser, CEO of Kontron, opened the press conference with the management's outlook for 2024. The company, which offers smart IIoT solutions, is focusing on the rapidly growing B2B IoT market and on a fully integrated technology platform. With over 4,500 customers and 8,000 employees, the provider of disruptive IoT connectivity technology expects sales of €1.9 billion and a net result of €100 million, which corresponds to organic growth of >10% p.a. Hannes Niederhauser explained the 2023 data in detail, focusing on the acquisition of Katek. The electronics company has its strengths in the field of green technologies with its own products and is an EMS provider. It serves over 1,500 customers in the fields of e-mobility and renewable energies as well as aerospace and defense technology and electronics. With a good 3,200 employees, Katek generated sales of over €750 million in 2023. Significant synergy effects are expected with Katek, e.g. by making products smart with Kontron IoT software. As part of the product presentations, Kontron announced, among other things, a new COM Express Basic Type 6 module equipped with the latest Intel Core Ultra Meteor Lake H/U processors. The outstanding feature of the new processor technology is that it integrates several computing units in one system-on-chip (SoC), including P-Cores, E-Cores, Intel Arc GPU and Intel AI Boost as well as an integrated Neural Processing Unit (NPU). Three product lines based on the latest generation of Intel Atom processors will be available in the coming months: a COM-Express Compact Type 6 with COMe-cAS6, a COM-Express Mini Type 10 with COMe-mAS10 and a SMARC module with SMARC-sXAS. Kontron is expanding its strategic solution portfolio with processors from Texas Instruments with a new SMARC module based on the new Edge AI processor AM67x from TI and equipped with up to four Arm Cortex A53 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 1.4 GHz. The KontronOS was also presented as a further innovation. It is a secure customized Linux-based operating system for embedded devices, specifically designed to protect IoT solutions. With integrated support for most Kontron product platforms, it expands the susietec toolset and significantly increases security standards. The KontronOS not only reduces operating costs by at least 15%, but also ensures data protection and data security against remote access, hacker attacks and third-party monitoring.

TQ is an NXP Platinum Partner and presented new embedded modules with state-of-the-art processors

TQ trade fair stand with over 50 other solutions for the most diverse requirements of the embedded worldAfterinformation on the development of the company, which serves many industries, is owner-managed and self-financed and is recording steady growth in the number of employees and turnover, TQ-Embedded was discussed in detail. This business unit employs 25 people in development and production teams. TQ-Embedded serves around 60 customers worldwide with 60 different modules in 600 variants, focusing on solutions for current megatrends (IoT, AI) and customer-specific applications. The company offers comprehensive complete solution packages that also include product certifications and after-sales services. At the press conference, new embedded modules were presented and an outlook was given on current product developments using the latest processor generations from Intel, NXP and Texas Instruments. The following new products were presented as highlights for 2024:

• TQMa67xx, which expands the module portfolio based on Texas Instruments devices. "The highly interesting AM67xx processor from Texas Instruments has a variety of functions that we want to make fully available to our customers," said Andreas Willig, Product Manager for the Texas Instruments and Renesas division at TQ. "Therefore, we plan to design our TQMa67xx with a
  a proprietary pinout to unlock the full potential for demanding signal, image processing and edge AI applications."
• TQMxUC1-HPCM, which supports the new COM-HPC Mini standard. The new Intel Core Ultra processors (codename: "Meteor Lake") are used. With the additional integrated NPU and significantly increased CPU and graphics performance, the focus is primarily on graphics, AI and data-intensive applications that require a large number of high-speed interfaces such as fast PCIe and USB4.
• TQMa95xxLA/SA, a SMARC 2.1 module that uses i.MX95 processors from NXP to enable a wide range of edge applications: from automotive connectivity and eCockpit to Industry 4.0 and IoT platforms. The CPU family enables functional safety compliant platform development (ASIL-B, SIL2) using NXP SafeAssure and offers six Arm Cortex-A55 cores, Arm Mali GPU, 4K VPU, ISP, ML Acceleration NPU and Edgelock Secure Enclave Security.
• TQMxE41S, a SMARC 2.1 upgrade with Intel Atom processors of the x7000RE series ('Amston Lake') for industrial applications under harsh conditions and extended temperature range.
• For the Single Board Computer (SBC) MBa8MP-RAS314, the operating system support has been extended to Android 13 and Microsoft Windows 10 IoT, which simplifies the migration from prototype solutions on consumer boards to long-term stable series products.

TQ has been named a Platinum Partner by NXP for its 15-year collaboration as a development partner. TQ is pleased about the trust placed in it over many years and the highest honor from NXP to be able to offer high-quality embedded solutions together with NXP in the future as a platinum partner.

Canavisia was at embedded world for the first time

Electronic plumage at ElemasterAtits first embedded world appearance, Canavisia SrI, a Seica company, presented a range of smart tools for electronics designers, test and production engineers that can be used as stand-alone solutions or embedded in integrated manufacturing systems. DeviceClip is a universal ISP (In-System Programming) programming tool designed for programming all types of semiconductor devices (microcontrollers, serial memories, programmable logic devices). The solution is modular and can be configured to provide up to 64 parallel, fully independent multi-protocol ISP channels and is equipped with an embedded control panel that is compatible with any operating system. The new LedMeter tool is used to test LEDs on electronic assemblies. It measures RGB, hue, XY chromaticity, color saturation, relative intensity and wavelength. The LedMeter has a modular architecture for easy scalability based on i2C communication: each control module can manage up to 64 sensors. The software included in the tool enables the acquisition of the selected channels, which are then displayed on the host PC screen in a clear, easy-to-understand format. The MINI test solution, part of Seica's VIVA Integrated Platform (VIP), was also on display. This platform for the development of customized ICT and functional test benchmarks offers a wide range of integrated instruments, switching matrices and user power supplies. The user has a wide choice of configuration and programming languages. The MINI test solution also includes complete user documentation and a self-diagnostic program.

Göpel electronic presented new Boundary Scan and Automotive Test Solutions

The FlashFOX production programmer for in-system programming of microcontrollers, flash components and PLD/FPGAs offers unique scalability. Cascading allows the number of channels to be extended in order to program several components on one DUT or several DUTs in parallel. The FlashFOX also enables runtime compensation between it and the DUT. Another new feature is the integration of an SVF player. For the first time, this supports simultaneous programming and testing in a single step - an ideal solution for the initialization of secured on-board programming.

The Scanflex Board Grabber was developed to support prototype verification and programming in the laboratory or at repair stations. It can be used in combination with the latest version of the system software System Cascon and its proven features such as Pin Toggler or UUT Access. For the automotive sector, Göpel electronic showed live demos of the combination of the user-friendly Dragon Suite application software and the Video Dragon as a versatile hardware interface. This powerful and modular solution for testing camera and display-based driver assistance systems (ADAS) supports the current transmission standards for GMSL, FPD-Link and APIX, including the various sideband protocols used. Another powerful duo is available for creating complex, heterogeneous residual bus simulations based on Autosar data definitions: The Net2Run tool chain with its configurator optimally supports the user in selecting the signals and PDUs required for the remaining bus simulation on the current vehicle buses. The configured residual bus simulation runs directly on the self-intelligent Series 62 multibus controllers.

Robot dog from MYBOT Shop

Polyrack presented examples of housing and system solutions

The Polyrack Group's service portfolio includes development-related preparation for CE and UL approvals of electromechanical assemblies and system solutions, the processing of thermoplastics including high-performance plastics (e.g. PVDF, PPS, PEEK, LCP) and upstream development, such as simulation-supported parts analysis using filling and warpage analysis. Exhibits at the trade fair included

• The elegant FrameTEC industrial desktop enclosure for 19" plug-in units with high flexibility in design and dimensions as well as a large number of configuration options and interchangeable components
• The PanelPC 2 enclosure series, which was specially developed for panel PC and/or display and operating systems in industrial environments (-20 °C to +70 °C)
• The EmbedTEC SFF aluminum desktop enclosure is the elegant packaging for embedded boards in the embedded NUC (eNuc), pico-ITX (pITX, 2.5″), SMARC, Qseven and SBC form factors. In addition to use as a desktop housing, it can also be mounted on the wall or on a DIN rail using an adapter or VESA bracket.

The next 'embedded world Exhibition&Conference' will take place from March 11-13, 2025 in Nuremberg.

www.embedded-world.de