Link This |
Email this |
Blog This |
Comments (0)
Show attendance strong, focus shifts from consumer electronics to medical applications
November 20, 2008
What’s the fate of trade shows given the state of the economy and the cost and inconvenience of travel? Crowds in the hallways and booths at Vision 2008 two weeks ago and Electronica last week suggested to me that trade show interest, at least in Germany, remains high. A statement released by Messe München International (MMI)today confirms that my impression of Electronica, at least: “Electronica 2008 attendance was remarkably stable despite the difficult financial situation facing many exhibitors and attendees. The well-known trade fair attracted around 2800 exhibitors, 58% of whom came from abroad, and around 72,000 attendees. These numbers are essentially unchanged from electronica 2006.”
MMI adds that the number of attendees from Central and Eastern Europe, Taiwan, Brazil, South Africa, and Russia increased while the number from the US, UK, France, and Israel declined, suggesting that show organizers would do well to develop new sources of attendees. The statement quotes Klaus Dittrich, managing director of MMI, as saying, "We are proud that Electronica showed its stability in the face of the economic crisis. This result is a very clear indication of the importance of the trade fair as a worldwide meeting-point for the industry."
As for show highlights, my own impression is that there was considerable interest in chips for medical applications, which could make up for declines in consumer electronics. Brian L. Halla, chairman and CEO of National Semiconductor, touched on the topic, as I reported here, and Texas Instruments presented a press conference that addressed the topic as well. Gregg Lowe, senior VP for analog at TI (see "Analog maestro plays to medical and other emerging markets"), said the company is developing a broad portfolio of products for medical applications and has a dedicated medical electronics business unit that focuses on the topic and that engages in extensive networking with university researchers working in the medical-electronics field.
One focus, he said, is to enable smaller, low-power ultrasound devices that bring ultrasound diagnostics to the initial point of care. To that end, TI introduced a TX7xx family of fully integrated high-voltage pulsers and switches. The TX734, the first device in the family, is a quad-channel, high-voltage pulser, or transmitter, specifically designed for portable to mid-range medical ultrasound systems. It reduces board space by 50 percent compared to discrete solutions, and its active damping feature improves pulse symmetry and second order distortion to achieve clearer images. TI also announced a portfolio of more than 15 dedicated embedded processors for medical imaging applications that the company says enable faster, more accurate results for doctors and clinicians while empowering imaging equipment manufacturers to develop new products or to make existing products smaller and more portable.
Analog Devices also addressed medical electronics at Electronica, announcing that it has expanded its iSensor intelligent sensor product family with two new inertial sensors medical instrumentation and other applications. The ADIS16405 six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) inertial measurement unit (IMU), the company said, combines high-performance, simplicity, and a tri-axis magnetometer sensor for improved heading accuracy. Also announced was the low-cost ($74 each in quantities of 1000) ADIS16300 four-degrees-of-freedom (4DoF) IMU. Both devices, the company said, can serve in medical imaging equipment, prosthetics, and surgical instrumentation and can also serve applications in industrial vehicle navigation.
For its part, MMI cited emphasis on automotive and green topics. The organization noted that 250 delegates from 23 countries attended sessions that focused on automotive topics such as hybrid vehicles, low-cost cars, and the i-Car (this last through a presentation titled "i-Car: Semiconductor Contribution for the New Era of Car Application," by Tsutomu Miki, GM of Renesas Technology). MMI added that this year’s show “was the ‘greenest’ Electronica of all time, with the ‘green’ theme permeating the entire conference and trade fair.” At a CEO round table chaired by Dr. Jürgen Gromer, the former president of Tyco Electronics, the CEOs of Infineon Technologies, Freescale Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics, National Semiconductor, and Osram Opto Semiconductors discussed "The Contribution of the Semiconductor Industry to Climate Protection." MMI also cited a focus electronic displays, with what it said is the world's largest liquid crystal display, with a screen diagonal measurement of 2.75 meters, on exhibit.
Note that EDN executive editor Ron Wilson has several posts on Electronica. See his blog
Practical Chip Design.
Posted by Rick Nelson on November 20, 2008 | Comments (0)
