Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/834021
70 The PCB Magazine • June 2017 longer point-to-point wiring, which is why you can't troubleshoot your cars anymore. Because it's all a redundant pulse signal that makes that left or right turn signal turn on. It's no longer closing a contact on the steering column that makes it turn on; those modules only cost a nickel because they're purchased by the hun- dreds of millions. The interesting thing is we didn't have part of it when it was a wiring har- ness and now somebody has to make all of those modules and assemble them on these big panels, usually done in the Far East. But none- theless, they've reduced the cost and allow the cars to be a lot smarter. That form of application will slowly pervade everything. Matties: That will also contribute to, as we con- tinue to see this advance, a lot of different de- sign opportunities for the automobiles as well, because you don't have the standard constraints that you may have had otherwise. Holden: Yes. GenTech just shipped their first set of rearview mirrors for Cadillac in which the rearview mirror is 100% LCD, because the cam- era is on the outside, on the top of the car. The challenge was that for safety and automotive sources, if the electrical fails it has to revert to a reflective mirror, and that took a lot of work on glass technology and thin films to make an LCD also revert to being simply reflective. I asked somebody why would you do that and they said the car guys don't like that rear window, and if they can take the rear window away where you don't have to look at it through a mirror then they have the opportunity for a lot more styl- ing and other types of benefits. So two cars now have 100% LCD rearview mirrors; it's no longer reflective. Matties: That's a great example, and when we do this for the cockpit of airplanes then the nose of an airplane might look a lot different if we don't have to worry about the windows for a pilot to see out of. Holden: By watching what is being pioneered in the mobile phone and automotive industries, new innovators will apply these sensors as so- lutions to their problems. Just like I said, we're going to have wearable electronics, but we're not likely to have four-inch by four-inch cir- cuit boards or something like that. They're like- ly to be very tiny modules in wearables just sim- ply to make them more convenient and to get through a washing machine—although I still believe in printed electronics where they're all disposable, where you only use them for one to five days and throw them away. Matties: Good, well thank you gentlemen. This has been extremely interesting. Brandler: Okay, thank you. We appreciate the opportunity. PCB A DEEP LOOK INTO EMBEDDED TECHNOLOGY Forward-thinking businesses are abandoning the traditional linear economy, in which inputs and manufacturing processes move in one direc- tion and end products find landfills and oceans. With each passing day, more are gravitating to- ward the circular economy—a model based on the recov- ery, reuse, and re- generation of mate- Sustainability, Business Transformation and the Circular Economy rials, to ensure they are at their highest utility and value at all times. Released by The Conference Board, "Business Transformation and the Circular Economy" lays out risks and rewards of undertak- ing this shift, offering real-world case studies and recommendations, from companies that are leading this transition. More de- tails here.