Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/652863
March 2016 • The PCB Design Magazine 63 PLM systems, and one we've done recently is the Arena PLM integration. That's been very popular with our customer base. Shaughnessy: You guys are in a good spot to be, helping designers with their data. As they get more and more productive, it's like the data just grows and it's like an octopus that they can't control. Roberts: One thing we hear from customers is the number of designs they're required to do seems to keep going up, the amount of time they've got to do them keeps going down, and there's just so much competition. I was at CES and it was just amazing how many new prod- ucts and ideas are coming out—everybody's working really hard and really fast to get their stuff to market. We're there to help them get it to market faster. Shaughnessy: Right, from Fitbits to hover boards. We had a few of our editors at CES. Roberts: And those are some of the big-name things, but there are things to keep track of your dog or your cat while you're away, steer- ing wheel covers that keep track of whether you've got your hands on the wheel or not, just all kinds of things. They're putting circuitry in places I never expected. Shaughnessy: Is there anything you would like to add? Roberts: We're at DesignCon, so while we're here I'd just say this has been a good show for us. Shaughnessy: It looks like they've expanded it since last year. Roberts: Yeah, it's a bigger show and there's more traffic as well. It's kind of fun. I talked to a guy just now who downloaded the lite version of our software to do some kind of a wearable. He had never used the software before and he figured it out on his own. He did the schematic design and did the board all the way to Gerber. He's pretty happy, but now he really needs to move up because the lite version only lets you do pretty small designs. That's the nice thing about this show. He had a question he couldn't figure out, so he came in and got a little free training. We gave him a little tutorial on how to do thermals and connect it to pads and things like that. It worked out pretty well for him, and I think he's going to move up to the next level in the software. It's a great show for people to come and learn about what's available. Shaughnessy: Greg, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. Roberts: I always like talking to you Andy, thank you. PCBDESIGN "We should be thinking about having a robotic vanguard, particularly for maneuver formations," said Dr. Bob Sadowski. Sadowski, the Army's chief roboticist at U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center, or TARDEC, in Warren, Michi- gan, spoke at a robotics conference here, March 2. Over the last 10 years, the Army has focused on logistical challenges in Iraq and Afghanistan, Sad- owski said. A lot of soldiers were lost in convoys that encountered improvised explosive devices and the funding and research went into stopping that. Today, the effort is still in logistics, but current thinking and doctrine is that robots should be more than logistics; they should be in the fight as well, he said. The Marines tried this with a robot in Afghani- stan, a mule-like device that followed a patrol dis- mounted, he said. It was rated for 1,000 pounds but the Marines loaded it up with 2,000. Then they complained it was too slow. Currently, testing of vehicles is being done on- road, but off-road is where soldiers fight,he said. Robots: Eliminating the First Contact with an Enemy Force ema is Bullish on data management