DAC 2015: IoT's Long Winding Road

SAN FRANCISCO, Jul. 22, 2015 – 

That was the very question addressed by a panel at the 52nd Design Automation Conference here (June 11): "The Long and Winding Road to IoT Connectivity: Are We There Yet?" Panelists, led by moderator Nick Sargologos, marketing manager with Freescale’s Digital Networking Division, agreed that it’s probably best to think of it as a journey not a destination. For the panelists, IoT is not only has a variety of definitions but the design requirements within the seemingly endless applications are so diverse that constant evolution, education and optimization likely will be the norm.

Warning: Curves Ahead

And it’s early days.

"We’re still in that first phase when the product definition process looks something like this: Take the word ‘Internet connected’ and flip open the dictionary," said Chris Rowen, CTO of Cadence’s IP Group. "Put your finger down and read the word there and that’s a product plan. You get an Internet-connected bagel." Rowen added that IoT is an "almost useless" term.

Wael William Diab, a panelist and senior director at Huawei, suggested that the road to IoT connectivity is forming before our eyes because two technology curves, "science fiction" and "science faction," are beginning to converge.

"These technologies are maturing to point to enable us to do what we couldn’t do before… (and) IoT is moving into more and more markets," he said. As they waded through what they thought were other market inhibitors, panelists agreed that diversity is as much an opportunity as a challenge.

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