Speaking Tuesday (Feb. 10) at the Globalpress Electronics Summit here, King said developers of what she called "reality applications" need commercial EDA tools like those that are now targeted at the high end of the semiconductor market.

"We need to make sure our designers have the tools and technologies needed to deal with the problems of the real world," said King, whose company is based in Pocatello, Idaho.

King said it's time for EDA tools providers to broaden their focus to include analog applications, as well as the deep sub-micron applications where they have typically operated. Displaying an electronically-controlled automotive throttle body, she added that system developers must operate like "artists, rather than technicians," because they "live in a gray area" that is not defined by specific commercial tools.

She also showed examples of an implantable medical glucose monitor and a residential circuit breaker that operate in the "gray area."

King added that new tools are needed because the "reality market segment" is growing. She expects the "reality market" to grow to about $41 billion in 2005, with semiconductor content accounting for about 14 percent of projected revenues. By comparison, she said, the "super-sub-micron" end of the market will reach about $183 billion in 2005, with semiconductors accounting for 30 percent.

"Reality products started to replace a lot of older technologies during the last decade," she noted. "Semiconductor content in those applications is growing very fast, and we can't afford to ignore them anymore."