Design007 Magazine

PCBD-May2017

Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/822777

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 55 of 77

56 The PCB Design Magazine • May 2017 preventative treatment can stop disease before it starts. For each of these examples, connect- ing into the Internet's vast collection of data and information will be critical. As the body of knowledge in each domain—healthcare, for example—grows and advances, it is crucial that the IoT not be hard-coded to embed the cur- rent state of our knowledge. Rather it should be constantly evaluating new information from re- search around the globe, and adapting through continuous improvement and learning. With all of this in mind, even calling it the Internet of Things is too limiting: It's really the Internet of Everything. The IoT (or the IoE) isn't likely to happen based solely on the efforts of companies, gov- ernments, and organizations. The ideas that come from organizations are shaped and filtered by their own goals and objectives. As a society, however, the scope of creativity from individu- als is unbounded. While the infrastructure for IoT can, and probably must, be designed and built by organizations, the applications for IoT will need to be realized through a network effect that enables creative individuals of all shapes and sizes to contribute. Typically, a network effect is described as a phenomenon in which something becomes more valuable based on the number of people who use it. This is undoubtedly going to be true of the IoT, and yet even more important than the number IoT users will be the number of people who can imagine, design, and deliver hardware and software applications that make the IoT valuable to all of us. An example of a similar network effect would be for Apple's iPhone. The number of iOS devices is actually significantly smaller than the number of Android devices and users, and yet iOS generates far more revenue. The reason is that the developer community plays a key role in the mobile device network effect. Apple cus- tomers choose iPhone in large part due to the number of apps available to them, and there are far more apps available for the iPhone than for Android devices. So who develops iPhone apps? A 2012 study by GigaOM Pro [1] suggested that only about 40% of iPhone app developers work full-time in app development, and nearly the same percentage of app developers do so part- time while holding another job. The IoT's network of PCB designers will likely need to look much like this, comprised not only of PCB design professionals, but makers, stu- dents, and others individuals who have imagina- tion and the will to create, yet lack the resources of their professional counterparts. While they may lack resour ces today, a series of changes are sweeping through the design and manufacturing worlds that will empower individuals to design and build the apps that will make the IoT valu - able for everyone. What sorts of changes? In design, the open source movement and "freemium" business models have made a new generation of software tools accessible to indi- viduals who traditionally could not afford the up-front investment to purchase them, or the learning curve to use them. For example, sche- matic design, layout, signal integrity, and more are all available to would-be PCB designers at low to no-cost, with an array of professional features. In manufacturing, digitization has led to simplicity in getting designs realized through very economical outsourced production ser- vices, for example, 3D printing. The democra- tization of design and manufacturing technol- ogy has resulted in the ability for individuals, not just companies, to design and manufacture products in batches from small to large afford- ably and with professional quality. For a PCB design tool company like Altium, all of the change associated with the Internet of Things causes us to think carefully about what our products need to look like now and in the future. While once we might have focused 100% of our energy and resources on the full- time PCB specialist, in the last 18 months, we PCB DESIGN IN THE AGE OF IOT " With all of this in mind, even calling it the Internet of Things is too limiting: It's really the Internet of Everything. "

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Design007 Magazine - PCBD-May2017