Infographic: What will the IoT look like in 2025?

Back in 2009, Kevin Ashton coined the term Internet of Things (IoT). At the time, he noted:

If we had computers that knew everything there was to know about things—using data they gathered without any help from us—we would be able to track and count everything, and greatly reduce waste, loss, and cost. We would know when things needed replacing, repairing, or recalling, and whether they were fresh or past their best. The Internet of Things has the potential to change the world, just as the Internet did. Maybe even more so. 

In other words, the IoT refers to a future world where all types of electronic devices link to each other via the Internet. From smart walls to smart homes, connected trackers to connected cars, soon everything will be online.

The infographic below from software company Aria Systems details not only the past 10 years, but explores both the present and future of the Internet of Things.

Infographic: Made in the USA

With the month of July officially underway, Atmel is celebrating Independence Day in patriotic fashion, paying tribute to one of the quintessential cornerstones of the nation’s economic engine – manufacturing. Before cueing the Springsteen, firing up the grills and preparing for your 4th of July festivities, we’re celebrating U.S. manufacturing with this nifty infographic, “Made in the USA.”

Just weeks following the inaugural White House Maker Faire, it’s evident that the revival of American manufacturing is upon us, as the rise of the Maker Movement represents a significant opportunity for the United States. Last month, President Obama by increasing the ability of more Americans, young and old, to have access to tools and techniques that can bring their ideas to life.

“Today’s DIY is tomorrow’s ‘Made in America,” urged President Obama. “Your projects are examples of a revolution that’s taking place in American manufacturing – a revolution that can help us create new jobs and industries decades from now.”

Whether it’s Makers at home, students in universities or engineers in R&D, manufacturing is on the rise. It’s making a comeback and fueling innovation! Although a global corporation, Atmel is proud of the spirit of what many are calling the manufacturing renaissance here in the United States – in both Silicon Valley and Colorado Springs.

In just the past three years, the U.S. has experienced the creation 500,000 jobs, with Atmel the proud employer of 1,532 manufacturing employees. Bolstering American manufacturing is one of the best ways to increase the number of jobs – that manufacturing is at the core of the American ethos.

As in other parts of the country, businesses related to manufacturing have always played an important role in Silicon Valley. Throughout most of the 20th century, it was the American manufacturing industry that helped create the foundation for the middle class. It was the engine responsible for propelling the U.S. to global economic prominence, while setting the standard for quality; be it for cars, television sets or semiconductors.

As manufacturing boomed, industrialization came to change the very fabric of American life, symbiotically. Today, the semiconductor industry directly employs a quarter of a million people in the U.S. and supports more than one million additional American jobs. In 2013, U.S. semiconductor company sales totaled $155 billion – helping to make the global trillion dollar electronics industry possible. The U.S. has also seen a 52 percent increase in investment in the R&D semiconductor space, with $10 billion between 2007 and 2012. To be sure, U.S. semiconductor companies currently represent over half the worldwide market and are responsible for one of America’s largest exports.

Even in troubled economic times, the U.S. has managed to add approximately 520,000 manufacturing jobs since January 2010 and supports 17.2 million manufacturing jobs as a whole, with post-recession American manufacturing outpacing other nations. Nearly 12 million (about one in 10) people in the U.S. are employed directly in manufacturing.

Semiconductors – the little microchips controlling all modern electronics – are part and parcel of the American manufacturing landscape. As the building blocks of technology, they’re an integral component of America’s economic strength, national security and global competitiveness. Even more importantly, they’re used to develop the technologies helping us build a better future.

Most notably, the President notes that the path to this new era of American manufacturing has never been easier, citing the new tools and tech that are making the building of things easier than ever. Through resources and technology offered through the likes of Atmel-powered devices and other maker communities, we’ve reached a point at which there’s a democratization of manufacturing.

Sparklers and fireworks aside, today Atmel embraces the official observance of the national holiday through showcasing the best of U.S. manufacturing, investing and more. With that said, the Atmel team wishes you a very Happy 4th of July!

 

Infographic: From 3D printing to Star Trek

The folks at BestComputerScienceSchools have put together an informative infographic that details the rapidly evolving 3D industry.

“On the original Star Trek TV series from the 1960s, they had their fictional replicator technology that materialized food, drink and non-edible objects. Well, now 3D printing is turning fiction into fact,” the BestComputerScienceSchools crew explained in a blog post accompanying the infographic.

“There’s even a 3D printer by MakerBot Industries called the Replicator. Okay, we’re not quite at the Star Trek level yet, but the number of objects we can ‘print’ is quickly growing, and the list includes useful things such as human organs, limbs and even synthetic food including pizza… In the near future, you could very well order something online and have it created in front of you from a home or office 3D printer — not unlike the Star Trek replicator.”

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the DIY Maker Movement has been using Atmel-powered 3D printers for some time now. However, 3D printing has clearly entered a new and important stage in a number of spaces including the medical sphere, architectural arena and science lab.

Indeed, the meteoric rise of 3D printing is paving the way for a new generation of Internet entrepreneurs, Makers and do-it-yourself (DIY) manufacturers. As such, the lucrative 3D printing industry remains on track to be worth a staggering $3 billion by 2016.

Infographic: Visualizing the IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a future world where all types of electronic devices link to each other via the Internet. In 2009, there were 2.5 billion connected devices; most of these were mobile phones, PCs and tablets. By 2020, there will be over 30 billion connected devices of far greater variety.

Recently, the folks at BestComputerScienceDegrees put together a comprehensive infographic depicting the rapidly growing IoT.

Source: BestComputerScienceDegrees.com

As Reza Kazerounian, Senior VP and GM of the Microcontroller Business Unit at Atmel notes, the IoT is a combination of multiple market segments, tens of thousands of OEMs and hundreds of thousands of products.

“It is seen by many as the next wave of dramatic market growth for semiconductors. If you look at the different estimates made by market analysts, the IoT market will be worth trillions of dollars to a variety of industries from the consumer to financial, industrial, white goods and other market segments,” he told EEWeb in February. 

“Companies that provide cloud-based services, service providers and semiconductor companies will also benefit from this market. The number of small or new companies that are showcasing connective devices has increased – there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020. These nodes will have characteristics such as low-power embedded processing, a human-machine interface and connectivity.”

Reza also noted that Atmel views microcontrollers (MCUs) as an essential building block for every PC, consumer device, industrial machine, home connectivity device and automobile. To be sure, MCUs are playing an increasingly critical role in the lucrative space.

“As the semiconductor industry has transitioned from PCs to mobile, IoT will now rise to become the predominant market,” he explained. 

”This transition will favor ultra-low power and integration of microcontrollers, wireless connectivity, security, touch technologies and sensor management products. Atmel is uniquely positioned and fully committed to maintaining our leadership position in the microcontroller industry – and to do so requires winning in the IoT.”

Atmel’s Kaivan Karimi expressed similar sentiments during a recent a Tech on Tour (ToT) panel discussion in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood. More specifically, he focused on how rapidly the Internet of Things is evolving by integrating various connected capabilities in our daily lives that range from consumer and health to intelligent, autonomous Google cars.

“For the IoT to thrive, the industry must continue to consolidate standards across multiple connected segments. In addition, security and privacy can definitely make or break the IoT, at least from a mass market perspective,” he said. ”Of course there are always going to be people with evil intent. That isn’t the question. Rather, the challenge is how to best manage and protect the terabytes of valuable data generated by various IoT devices. I personally believe the need for comprehensive security and privacy policies are so pressing that it will prompt our legislators to take appropriate action.”

According to Karimi, future IoT models will likely see individuals opting in and out of specific data collection options, ranging from devices tasked with glucose monitoring to platforms like real time breathalyzers and wearables that measure physical responses to specific activities.

“In addition to wearables, cars are also going through a massive transformation, no less significant than the migration from analog to digital,” he added. “We are entering an age where drivers will not only step up their interaction with their vehicles, but cars will also start talking to each other to avoid fatalities, as well as monitor the weather in real time and even alert drivers to natural disasters such as tsunamis and flooded roads.”

Interested in learning more about Atmel and the IoT? You can check out our article archive on the subject here.

Infographic: Atmel’s secret maker sauce – AVR

Maker Faire Rome and World Maker Faire New York may be behind us, but Atmel is by no means finished making a big deal of the Maker Movement this year!

In fact, milling around with the most passionate (oddly dressed) people on the planet only ever serves to galvanize us to put that extra dash of passion into everything we do; into every chip and kit we produce. That’s because somewhere out there is a Maker who will take our kits or chips and build a 3D printer with them, or a nippy little vision sensor robot, or even a smart toilet (yes, seriously)!

It’s always easy to appreciate a finished product, of course. But us Atmelians know that it’s the components that allow people’s designs to really shine… much as a first class meal is only as good as the ingredients used.

Our secret ingredient, of course, is AVR; the little chip that can do big things and create infinite possibilities.

(Click image to enlarge)

AVR was one of the first microcontrollers to use on-chip flash memory for program storage, pushing the envelope early on. Starting out as a PhD project in Trondheim, Norway, the technology has come a long way, both literally and figuratively!

Available in the tiniest of packages (the ATtiny20 is so small it can almost fit inside the ball of a ballpoint pen) and so low-power it makes Sleeping Beauty look like a fitness instructor, AVR has wowed makers from the get-go.

That’s why AVR was the first choice chip for Maker favorite Arduino. It’s now estimated that around one million Arduinos have been sold to date, and within the next 5 to 10 years, the Arduino will be used in every school to teach electronics and physical computing.

Not to mention how many quadcopters and crazy looking drones AVR powers. Ex Wired Editor, Chris Anderson, estimates that the DIY Drone community currently boasts over 15,000 drones, compared to just 7,000 “professional” drones in use worldwide by military forces. Power to the people, so to speak!

Is it any surprise Atmel almost bursts with pride whenever we find a new AVR project to tout? We’ve even created our own award for Makers with the most creative AVR vision (you’re free to submit your own projects, check out others or just vote for your favorites until the end of December!)

We hope you enjoy some of the fun facts we’ve dug up for our Maker AVR infographic even half as much as we enjoyed making it! Keep creating, folks!