2016 Hot Tech News

　　In a sense, 2015 marked a pivotal moment—while fostering innovation, it also built bridges to the development of the electronic information industry, an area we’ve long been familiar with. Examples include affordable and high-quality LED lighting, practical wearable devices, vehicles equipped with driver-assistance systems, and advanced powertrains capable of handling massive data processing.

　　As 2016 approaches, we’re looking forward to even more innovation and development. Here, editors from EDN and EE Times have compiled a selection of cutting-edge technologies that highlight the key trends shaping technology in 2016.

　　(1) Driven by IEEE standards, Ethernet will take off in 2016.

　　An emerging trend in the automotive market in 2016 is the migration to Ethernet—using a reliable computer networking technology to connect vehicles. The widespread adoption of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) in numerous vehicles will also expand the use of Ethernet.

　　(2) Embedded system security is beginning to take root.

　　Embedded systems with connectivity features face numerous challenges, among which security is both critical and often misunderstood. However, suppliers and developers have already gained valuable insights, and solutions are emerging in abundance—from software libraries to microcontrollers that come with built-in security guarantees.

　　(3) Energy harvesting for high power applications

　　It takes time to get started with energy harvesting. Although the current industry focus may be on energy for the Internet of Things, the potential of energy harvesting goes far beyond that.

　　(4) 2016 Environmental Commitment: A Safe World, a Thriving Economy

　　In the electronics information industry, the issue of environmental commitments has struck a balance between legal mandates and economic development. An increasing number of equipment manufacturers are tackling challenging issues across multiple areas, such as climate change, water security, and waste management.

　　(5) Skin electrical responses are driving the growth of wearable devices.

　　In the health and fitness sector, a rapidly growing market is that of wearable devices, which can be combined with galvanic skin response sensors to accurately predict cardiovascular dynamics.

　　(6) Competition in Broadband Satellites

　　Establishing a satellite network equipped with relevant ground infrastructure and user terminals could provide internet access to the world’s most remote and impoverished regions—a feat that would pose enormous technical, managerial, and commercial challenges. Several wealthy entrepreneurs are already competing in the broadband satellite market, while several major electronics conglomerates are also seeking to enter this race.

　　(7) The Internet of Things is starting to heat up.

　　The Internet of Things based on low-power wide-area networks is attracting more new market entrants, and investors are rapidly accelerating product development efforts, aiming to enable new IoT applications in 2016 by reducing costs and extending battery life for cellular and WiFi devices.

　　(8) LED Lighting: Smarter, More Aesthetic, and More Affordable

　　In the future, LED industry products will become more practical and reliable and will be capable of seamless interoperability. However, if these developments are given top priority, maintaining lower prices will become more challenging.

　　(9) PAM4: A New Measurement Discipline

　　PAM4 modulation makes serial data communication more complex and requires continuous familiarization with and evaluation of its characteristics.

　　(10) Advanced Driver Assistance Systems with Rich Sensor Capabilities

　　Advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous vehicles are continuously evolving, thanks to the ever-improving capabilities of sensors, which can now not only effectively capture data but also analyze it and convey the results to both drivers and vehicles.

　　(11) Software-based energy systems are meeting the critical needs of modern energy systems.

　　The ever-growing volume of data center and mobile data traffic has pushed data centers and telecommunications systems to the limits of efficiency and caused issues such as excessive heat. Software-controlled energy systems may help alleviate these challenges.

　　(12) The Era of 3D Storage

　　3D IC has been talked about for some time, but it’s now gradually becoming a reality.

　　(13) Voice interfaces are becoming widespread and enduring.

　　With the continuous improvement of evolutionary algorithms, ongoing optimization of processor performance, decreasing power consumption and costs, and the ubiquitous availability of high-bandwidth and cloud server resources, voice interfaces are experiencing explosive growth.

　　(14) 2D semiconductors are moving toward optical communication.

　　As evidenced by developments in the laboratory, 2D semiconductor technology will transform future high-performance optical interconnects.

　　(15) 2016: The Age of Nanotransistors?

　　Carbon nanotubes have once again gained popularity as a potential alternative to silicon, signaling that the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors is poised to fade into the background. Fifteen years later, researchers have flocked back to the study of nanotubes. Last year, IBM declared that “nanotubes will either enable transistor fabrication by 2020 or lead the company to bankruptcy,” and has already demonstrated a nanotransistor featuring a 9-nanometer channel and a path toward a 1.8-nanometer node.