Cover Story
Improving the Lexus
Increasing automotive electronics systems; oversized software—auto manufacturers are putting the knife to the issues that have surfaced with the advance of electronics use in vehicles, and the Lexus is the advance guard. Development will be structured more on horizontal division of labor as opposed to vertical integration and relationships between auto manufacturers and their suppliers seem set to change. The electronics industry will also feel the effects.
The Impact
Automakers facing change—vertically integrated development is beginning to falter
The Ripple Effect
Model-based development and functional safety—vehicles are driving embedded technology
The Battle Plan
Finding ways to differentiate oneself from competitors when there’s not much in it
Leading Trends
Printable Electronics Move to Practical Use
Printable electronics—the manufacturing of various kinds of electronic parts using printing technology. Expectations that the method will provide a way to reduce costs are high, but large issues remain over performance and life span in comparison with silicon-based products. However, moves to start commercializing the technology from simple applications are picking up speed, especially in Europe.
Leading Trends
With No Need to Just Rely on Automobiles, Fuel Cells Start from Niche Products
Slow-moving development of fuel cell vehicles is spurring research into solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and cultivation of new fields of application worldwide. Japan’s development scenario, focusing on commercializing of a common technology, polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC), for both fuel cell vehicles and home cogeneration systems, is reaching a turning point.
Keyword
Triangular Merger Framework
Tech Tale
Making W-ZERO3 in 8 Months (Final): “We’re to Redo the Whole Thing from Right Now?”
Guest Paper
As Camera Stabilization Spreads to Other Areas, a Look Back at Its History and Technology
Image stabilization technology, used to control camera shake in an image, is beginning to permeate a wide variety of cameras. The technology can be used in affordably-priced camcorders, single-lens reflex cameras and compact digital cameras and is already recognized as a basic camera function. Image stabilization emerged through a number of different approaches and several of those methods are now actually employed in products. In this article, engineers from Canon Inc. who have spent many years engaged in development of image stabilization technology provide us with an overview and history of the technology. Of the different methods, lens shift image stabilization is used often recently as a way to reduce size and weight. In the second half of the article, we compare the lens shift method with other approaches and explain the background to the former becoming the predominant method.
NETs Buyers' Guide
Audio LSIs
“Dispose of your trash here,” “The bath is ready,” “Press the button again”—white goods, household fixtures and industrial machines that can talk are on the increase. Most of these devices contain an audio LSI for producing voice, with multiple audio fragments recorded by voice actors being added to memory ready for playback in the required combination. Now that more LSI manufacturers are entering the audio LSI business, we have access to a greater choice of function and available services. Here we explain such things as the main criteria for selection of an audio LSI.
NETs Seminar
Below the Surface, Damage from Cracking Is Increasing (1st Half): Even with Hardware Control, You Can’t Be Inattentive
The leaking of intellectual property and copyright infringements through the cracking of software are becoming serious problems. HyperTech Co., Ltd., a security-related venture, has developed “CrackProof,” a powerful tool used in the prevention of cracking. Over two installments, we take a look at the prevalence of cracking and the countermeasures applied.
NETs Seminar
Learning New Methods of Eliminating Power Supply Noise (Part 3): 4 Terminal Capacitors Are Being Implemented in Servers and Notebook Computers
The “Proadlizer” four-terminal capacitor was employed as a decoupling capacitor for the Cell microprocessor and the RSX image processing LSI inside the PlayStation 3 console, which went on sale in November 2006. In this installment, we look at packaging methods for the four-terminal capacitor.
Interview
Murata Manufacturing’s Executive Deputy President Tsuneo Murata: “I Want to Change the Company to Be More ‘Outward Looking’”
What's New
- Taking Apart a Fuel Cell (Part 2): It Used KBH4 for Fuel
- ITU TELECOM WORLD: The Rise of Chinese Manufacturers Stands Out
- Tokyo University and Others Develop a 512 GFLOPS Accelerator LSI
- Matsushita and Panasonic Electronic Devices Develop the World’s Thinnest Speaker for Use in Mobile Phones
- Consumer Products Safety Law Will Be Revised Next Spring to Require Notification of Product Incidents
