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24 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2018 Feature Interview by Andy Shaughnessy I-CONNECT007 Artificial intelligence (AI) has been mak- ing inroads into a variety of industries in the past decade or so, from automobiles to medi- cal devices. Naturally, EDA tool companies are taking a look at AI. Does AI offer a way for- ward for PCB design tool developers? I recently interviewed Paul Musto, director of marketing for the Board Systems Division of Mentor, A Siemens Business. We discussed Mentor's plans for integrating AI into EDA tools, and why we may be at the very begin- ning of understanding the pros and cons of this new technology. Andy Shaughnessy: Paul, what do you think about AI and where it is right now? Paul Musto: Artificial intelligence, where com- puters are trained to perform tasks that nor- mally require human intelligence, will have a place in almost every facet of our lives. We are really at the beginning of understanding the implications and opportunities of AI. As the technology matures, it's not hard to imag- ine that AI will have a critical role in product development. Shaughnessy: How likely it is that we'll see more AI in EDA tools? With chunks of AI in EDA tools already, like for reuse and things like that, is there a place for more AI in EDA tools? Musto: It's very likely, and we are at the begin- ning of this journey. If you look at the mechan- ical engineering world, you see examples, like generative design. With AI software and the cloud-based computing power, genera- tive design enables engineers to create thou- sands of design options by simply defining their design problem, such as basic parame- ters like height, weight, strength, and material options. As AI becomes more integrated, you will see better, more productive application of generative design principals. There is reason