10 Hot Topics at DESIGN East

Silos and swag
DesignEast, like its West Coast sister DesignWest, gathers a set of focused conferences on major vertical markets in embedded systems. That makes it a one-stop-shop for getting an update of what’s going on in the major vertical silos.

4. The pulse of medical electronics
DesignMed consists of ten sessions on Sept 18 and 19. They include a talk on the deadliest diseases and tech solutions for them from a Freescale expert with degrees in both medicine and electrical engineering. Other sessions cover a range of design and regulatory issues

It’s also worth noting a panel will discuss on the show floor at 4 p.m. on Sept. 18 two high-profile contests in medical electronics--the $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder X PRIZE and the $2.25 million Nokia Sensing X Challenge.


5. A sense of the future
Sensors used to be an arcane topic, largely confined to use in a few automotive applications. The Nintendo Wii and Apple iPhone changed all that, making accelerometers a consumer market phenomenon.

In nine sessions on Sept 18., experts will discuss the next big steps in designing with sensors. Topics range from user interfaces to network infrastructure, sports, robotics and data collection.

6. Where embedded meets computing
DesignEast is ground zero for everything you always wanted to know about microcontrollers and real-time operating systems. That’s part of its ESC heritage, and despite what some may think it’s not a sleepy backwater of electronics.

These days those components are the new enablers for what’s variously called the Internet of Things (IoT) or machine-to-machine communications. This area is poised at the frontier, promising to be the next big thing in ubiquitous computing beyond today’s smartphones and tablets.

To find out more, check out ESC sessions on IoT from an ARM engineer on Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. and/or a consultant's view of the terrain in a Sept. 19 session on the show floor. Expect plenty of demos at the booths as well.

7. Hands on training
Continuing education is probably the biggest draw for Design East. This is the heart of many of the event’s sessions including most of the 14 tracks at ESC that range across topics from debugging tools to wireless systems.

For example, talks will cover practical topics such as a description of the new features in C++11 and guidelines for managing Linux projects. Other bread-and-butter subjects include tips for FPGA design, programming specific microcontrollers and keeping up to speed with best practices in RTOSes and security.

Just for fun, the Gadget Freak DIY Lab will give an inside look at some of the best and worst gizmos and how they were put together. Find it Sept. 19 at 3 p.m. on the show floor theater. You can also watch a TechInsights engineer tear down a Google Nexus 7 tablet on the show floor at noon on Sept. 19.

8. A light-bulb moment in LEDs
Someday your grandchildren may ask you, “What was a light bulb?” Don’t let the technology trends leave you in the dark for an answer. Stop in at the LED Summit, a set of four sessions on Sept. 18.

9. Get free stuff
Hey, admit it, filling up a swag bag is one of the minor motivations for wandering a show floor. This year’s freebies include a little free advice to entrepreneurs from Ben Einstein of the Bolt accelerator for startups. He will be speaking at the DesignEast theater at 2 p.m. Sept 19.

Engineers signed up for the Android certificate program will get a free DragonBoard from Qualcomm using is SnapDragon S3 applications processor. Intel will raffle off a D2700 Dev Kit using its Atom processor for engineers who take one of its training courses at the show.

10. A chance to hang out with your peers.
You can’t work all the time. I understanding there is beer, wine and food available in the vicinity—sometimes right on the show floor. How about that.

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