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5G, AI, Industry 4.0 and IoT

Watch the world as you go, and study poetry and books in due course. The famous couplets of the ancient Chinese tell the world to follow the fate and move at the right time. Looking back from the ancient literature and art to the current technology, when the market is turbulent in 2019, more companies choose to cultivate their internal skills during this period in order to accumulate a lot of money. Therefore, although economic development has stalled in 2019, we have seen that semiconductor companies are still constantly introducing new ones.

As the world's leading supplier of data conversion and signal processing technologies, ADI in 2019 is innovating while improving the ease of use of its products. Of course, ADI is also observing the situation and moving in a timely manner in the turbulent economic situation and general trend. Morton Zhao, general manager of ADI's System Solutions Division, expressed this in an interview with the non-network year-end special. In his answer, we saw the general trend of 5G and AI, and also saw ADI follow the trend.

Morton Zhao, General Manager, System Solutions Division, Analog Devices

From Zhao Yimiao's introduction, we learned that the markets that ADI focuses on include 5G, AI, Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things. The following text is compiled from Zhao Yimiao's interview and answer:

The first is 5G. With the advent of the 5G era and the vigorous development of the AI industry, the field of artificial intelligence chips will be an emerging track worthy of attention. The artificial intelligence chip will be used as the core hardware, and it will be equipped with an algorithm-based software system on the smart mobile terminal. Especially with the blessing of 5G technology, whether it is IC design, foundry, packaging and testing, or terminal applications will usher in earth-shaking changes. One of the criteria to measure whether it can enter the threshold of mainstream analog chip manufacturers is to look at its product line coverage, which is the embodiment of the company's background and accumulation. At the same time, the commercialization of 5G will also accelerate the development of the Internet of Vehicles platform. Enriching the information services, safe travel and traffic efficiency of the Internet of Vehicles will be an important development trend.

At the just-concluded 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19), the global unified millimeter-wave frequency band for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) was determined. Includes: 24.25-27.5GHz, 37-43.5GHz, 45.5-47GHz, 47.2-48.2GHz, and 66-71GHz. The importance of mmWave to 5G development cannot be overstated. As the world's leading provider of RF microwave technology covering spectrum from DC-110GHz, ADI has a leading competitive advantage in 5G RF and microwave technology. ADI's launch of a new solution for mmWave 5G infrastructure this year is representative. The new mmWave 5G chipset includes the 16-channel ADMV4821 dual/single-polarization beamforming IC, the 16-channel ADMV4801 single-polarization beamforming IC, and the ADMV1017 mmWave up/down conversion (UDC). The solution has the highest level of integration available and is designed to reduce the design requirements and complexity of next-generation cellular network infrastructure. This solution integrates ADI's advanced beamforming ICs, frequency up/downconversion and other mixed-signal circuitry, and this optimized "beam-to-bit" signal chain exhibits a unique set of capabilities that only ADI can offer.

In addition to 5G, Industry 4.0 is a current and future industry hotspot. In terms of promoting the implementation of Industry 4.0, ADI's robust, low-latency PHY technology product ADIN1300 for the new ADI Chronous series of industrial Ethernet solutions launched this year is of positive significance. This is a low-power, single-port Ethernet transceiver with industry-leading power and latency characteristics designed primarily for time-critical Industrial Ethernet applications up to Gigabit speeds to help manufacturers address critical Industry 4.0 Communication challenges with smart factories, including data integration, synchronization, terminal connectivity, and system interoperability. In industrial environments, where even a millisecond of communication delay can have a negative and costly impact on a manufacturer's product quality, throughput, and efficiency, the ADIN1300 addresses the deployment of Industrial Ethernet with low latency and smaller package size Important challenges in connectivity to ensure real-time reliable industrial communication, thereby reducing industrial Ethernet network cycle times. In addition, ADI is introducing an updated version of the ADI Chronous Ethernet Solutions Suite, setting new standards for Industrial Ethernet speed, scalability and a range of multi-protocol support.

Also in 2019, ADI acquired Test Motors, a company specializing in predictive maintenance of motors and generators. This acquisition is another move by ADI in the industrial field following the successful acquisition of OtoSense in 2018. ADI plans to integrate OtoSense Our software is combined with Test Motors' monitoring capabilities to create a solution that provides more advanced, comprehensive health monitoring of machines by capturing a wider range of potential failures. Industrial condition monitoring is an important part of the implementation of Industry 4.0.

The third industry hotspot is AI. According to industry research, 85% of corporate CEOs (CEOs) believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will greatly change the way they operate in the next five years; 64% of companies with outstanding performance believe that future competition under the trend of industrial convergence will will come from different industries [1]. At the same time, the latest Forrester survey also shows that 53% of global decision makers said that they have implemented, are implementing, or are expanding the layout of AI; 29% of global developers have worked on AI/machine learning software in the past year . As a leader in transforming signals into actionable insights, ADI has actively deployed AI in recent years. As AI technology gradually matures, it will achieve wider applications in automotive, industrial and medical fields in 2020. How to provide more credible and accurate data and obtain efficient, executable and competitive insights is also a challenge for enterprises. ADI provides more competitive solutions to enable our customers to invest in artificial intelligence and predictive systems More competitive.

For example: ADI reached a strategic cooperation with the industry-leading AI robot company Geek+ in 2019 to jointly develop the application of intelligent technology products and a wider combination of technologies; after the successful acquisition of OtoSense in 2018, ADI once again acquired Test Motors, a specialist A company engaged in predictive maintenance of motors and generators, the former is an innovative company that develops "sensing interpretation" software that automatically learns and recognizes sound or vibration in industry or automobiles, ADI plans to combine OtoSense's software with Test Motors' monitoring capabilities Combined to create solutions that provide more advanced and comprehensive health monitoring for machines by capturing a wider range of potential faults; similarly, the application of AI in automobiles is also accelerating, ADI's broad portfolio of automotive sensors, including cameras, laser detection and ranging (LiDAR), radio detection and ranging (radar), microelectromechanical sensors (MEMS), inertial measurement units (IMUs), ultrasound, and GPS, all of which provide critical data inputs to automotive AI systems that drive true self-driving vehicles; in 2019, ADI and First Sensor announced the cooperation to develop LIDAR products to accelerate the realization of the autonomous driving future. Undoubtedly, these layouts will promote the implementation of ADI's AI technologies and solutions in the automotive, industrial and robotics industries in 2020.

To this end, ADI has released a large number of products and solutions with industry-leading advantages in the past year to help customers solve these challenges. For example, many industry users need to achieve real-time data insights through effective measurement prevention, but they may lack time or relevant expertise to thoroughly understand the corresponding data sheets or perform complex firmware development. The MeasureWare set launched by ADI in 2019 is Plug-and-play hardware measurement kits and software tools that help meet the growing need for precise measurements across multiple industries, including precision agriculture, equipment health monitoring, electrochemistry, and other fields requiring precise measurements.

In addition, ADI solves the challenges we face through industrial ecological cooperation. In 2019, ADI reached a strategic cooperation with Geek+, an industry-leading AI robot company, to jointly develop the application of intelligent technology products and the in-depth integration of a wider range of technologies. In 2019, ADI also cooperated with First Sensor AG to develop a smaller size LIDAR signal chain to help manufacturers achieve higher system performance and smaller size, lower weight, power consumption and cost, the two companies also plan to develop other LIDAR products for automotive and industrial manufacturing applications.

Finally, there is the Internet of Things. According to CCID's observation, by 2020, the proportion of China's IIoT in the entire Internet of Things industry will reach 25%, and the scale will exceed 440 billion yuan. The Industrial Internet of Things is a platform for diversified integration and mutual exploration between different elements, which can connect various sensors, controllers, CNC machine tools and other production equipment on the production site. With the development of the Industrial Internet of Things, the smart devices connected to the Industrial Internet of Things will become increasingly diversified, and the massive data generated by network interconnection can be transmitted to any place in the world. In the future, ADI will focus on the industrial Internet of Things market, based on industry-leading industrial condition monitoring solutions, real-time deterministic Ethernet technology, SmartMesh technology for industrial wireless connections, flexible and general analog IO, intelligent robot and collaborative robot solutions, etc. , to provide industrial customers with leading products and solutions in sensing, measurement, interpretation, communication, network security and edge computing, from the edge to the cloud, to explore today's ever-changing industrial application opportunities.

ADI benefits from the development of computer technology and artificial intelligence technology in emerging markets. Based on the innovative vision of "beyond all possibilities" and the core strategy of "diversification", ADI promises to realize technological innovation in every link of "from sensor to cloud". Through the integration of necessary software, algorithms, and even data analysis services, including through integration and cooperation with customers and ecological chain partners, it will continue to focus on the following five application areas in the future: automotive driverless, 5G communication infrastructure, and client-side The Internet of Things, the energy field, the implementation of Industry 4.0, and medical digitalization.

ADI currently has 45,000 products, from sensing, measurement, connection, to data analysis processing and system security, there are complete system-level solutions, and all emphasize high performance, high reliability and high security. ADI is currently focusing on autonomous driving, cockpit electronics and infotainment systems, and vehicle electrification in the automotive field. These fields have a large market in China and have high growth potential. ADI has many automotive electronics product lines customized for the Chinese market. At the same time, it will continue to expand its local service team in China to provide users with more professional and fast services.

In the coming year, the deployment of 5G will undoubtedly be the biggest hotspot in the global market, which is a very good market opportunity for ADI. Analog Devices is the only company in the industry that offers expertise and technology products across the entire RF spectrum. Secondly, artificial intelligence will also be an important strategic direction of the company. On the one hand, it is to strengthen the collection of analog data to support artificial intelligence algorithms and computing power; on the other hand, ADI uses artificial intelligence technology and algorithms to enhance the competitiveness of its own products. In addition, the automotive driverless, smart medical and energy industries are all fast-growing fields in China and contain huge markets. ADI will continue to work in these fields and promote changes in various sub-sectors.