For mid-sized providers of electronic solutions, the “internet of things” is associated with nearly insurmountable hurdles. These companies often lack the access to advanced microelectronics technologies essential to the competitive products of the future. A group of four Fraunhofer institutes in Saxony is looking to fundamentally change this situation over the next two years. In collaboration with the semiconductor manufacturer GLOBALFOUNDRIES Dresden, they are working on a “modular technology” that should offer mid-sized companies a simple way to make use of advanced system architectures and manufacturing methods for the first time. In the interests of carefully taking practical demands into account, companies can contribute their ideas to the implementation.

A project workshop of Wirtschaftsförderung Sachsen GmbH together with Smart Systems Hub Dresden and the project partners will be an opportunity to survey the needs of mid-sized companies in this regard and garner feedback for the design of the new technology. Companies who want to position their electronic development for the future are invited to participate in the project and be the first to implement and test their solution concepts.

“Our mid-sized enterprises are justifiably considered drivers of innovation,” says Andreas Brüning, project coordinator at Fraunhofer IIS/EAS. “However, the pace of change currently experienced in the semiconductor industry in particular is so rapid that many companies are being completely left behind. Standard semiconductors that were previously often the material of choice are no longer of use under the extremely performance-intensive and simultaneously flexible use cases of the future. And custom solutions, which often take years to develop, can in many cases run up costs into the millions,” explains Brüning. “This is why we re-conceived and simplified product development for mid-sized electronics providers.” The goal of the project partners is to supply perfectly adapted, highly integrated sensor nodes at a fraction of the usual costs and within just a few months.

As part of achieving this, the project workshop “IoT Sensor System Platform – Solutions for Mid-Sized Companies” should lay out a concrete framework for the further course of the project. This will take place on 10 April 2018, starting at 4:00 pm in the atrium of GLOBALFOUNDRIES Dresden. Registration for the event is being managed via Wirtschaftsförderung Sachsen GmbH.