By the numbers, Sensors Converge 2023 was bigger than a year ago—an uptick after the problematic pandemic era-- but such numbers don’t reveal qualitative dimensions of the changing sensors and related electronics industry segments such as IoT and the impact of AI/ML that were present at the event.
According to event organizers, 220 companies exhibited at the Santa Clara Convention Center for the event June 20-22, and 5,000 people participated, an increase of roughly 10% over a year ago when the event was held at the nearby San Jose Convention Center. The 2023 event was the 38th time it has been held.
Some of the biggest chip and sensors makers (TDK, STMicroelectronics, Robert Bosch, Renesas, Arduino, Infineon, Murata, Powerfilm, Kore, NXP and more) exhibited while dozens of conference sessions explored themes that ranged from wireless harvesting to flexible, wearable sensors. A kickoff session on the state of the sensors industry attracted a standing room only crowd.
Keynote speakers such as Christian Peters at Robert Bosch described how sensors have been used to save lives in everything from airbags to tires to detect pressure loss. A WISE (Women in Sensor Engineering) keynote panel discussion included some frank talk by four women executives working with various femtech products that gather data about women’s health, from sexuality to pregnancy to menopause. Part of the frankest and most critical banter was about how medical research has for years relied on drug and device testing on men and not nearly enough on women.
And what electronics event could be staged without a mention of the continuing, but certainly improved, chip shortage? An elite panel discussed how a side-benefit of the pandemic and chip shortage was the chance to teach the US Congress and the public how chips basically run everything. Some panelists praised the passage of the US CHIPS Act a year ago, but then wondered how effective it will be compared to other countries' governmental support of the chip sector.
Despite such concerns, Sensors Converge 2023 also celebrated engineering prowess by big firms and startups alike, recognizing them in a special Best of Sensors Awards ceremony.
RELATED: 2023 Best of Sensors award winners announced at Sensors Converge
To generalize, the major themes of the event revolved around how tech involving wireless, sensors and edge computing come into connection with each other. That’s not just this reporter’s opinion, but also one shared by Shawn Luke at Digi-Key. "This show was sensors meets wireless meets edge," he said. Luke's an engineer with double engineering degrees as well an MBA who said he recently started at Digi-Key in an unusual job basically researching what’s new in the ever- expanding electronics field. (“Hopefully I’m done proving myself to myself,” he said, in reference to his degrees.)
Luke has spent time trying to help Digi-Key buyers find products online and settled on a sort of Dewey Decimal system for electronics that largely divides the electronics parts universe (as parts distributor Digi-Key sees it) into four parts: power, sensors, wireless and microcontrollers.For the category of sensors, he has two buckets: environmental and orientation/presence. “That covers it,” he said. (Who’s arguing?)
Without doubt, the long continuing debate over using sensors and processors at the edge (instead of pushing data to the cloud) was alive and well at Sensors Converge. TDK was showing various applications of its InvenSense Smart Bug 2.0, which recently emerged three years after the original version. In addition to stacking multiple sensors and wireless capability in a small package, TDK has added machine learning. When the bug is applied to exercise equipment, as TDK demonstrated, it can interpret the exercise movement of the user; for example, to detect deep knee bends, etc.
SmartBug 2.0 also won a Best of Sensors award in the data acquisition and analytics category, while TDK USA CEO Jim Tran was named executive of the year.
This kind of technology was an example of how multiple vendors are helping product makers avoid sending data to the cloud. Other TDK technology is being developed to allow several simple voice commands (up, down, off, on) to be used with devices without a need to connect to the cloud.
Aside from the raw technology prowess on display, a career desk attracted young engineers and students who interacted with college recruiters and exhibitors.
RELATED: Sensors Converge: Young engineers on the hunt for future jobs
Next year’s Sensors Converge will return to Silicon Valley on June 18-20, 2024, at the Santa Clara Convention Center.
Other related coverage from Sensors Converge 2023:
Will the CHIPS Act be effective? Concerns aired at Sensors Converge
A partnership conceived at Sensors Converge turns into a wireless power dynamo
GyroPalm hawks wrist wearables for industrial uses to embedded engineers at Sensors Converge
Security for embedded devices is ignored by too many companies, expert says