When the Chips Are Down: Feedback from the Semiconductor Shortage

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In this episode of the Embedded Insiders, Brandon and Rich discuss Silicon Laboratories recent divestiture of its infrastructure and automotive business units to SkyWorks Solutions. The sale includes the company’s power, isolation, broadcast, timing, and other products and IP. Silicon Labs CEO Tyson Tuttle said several years ago that the company is “all-in” on IoT, and this move appears to be him keeping his word. But was it the best move?

Afterwards, Rich is rejoined by Zane Tsai, Director of the Platform Product Center at ADLINK, and Amit Goel, Director of Product Management for Embedded AI Platforms at NVIDIA. After discussing enabling technologies in previous episodes, the three get down to how this functionality can be applied to autonomous mobile robots. The market opportunity for AMRs is vast, but so are the challenges. The three dive into a collaboration between ADLINK, NVIDIA, and BMW to increase productivity, improve efficiency, and reduce cost in the German automakers manufacturing facilities.

Finally, Perry Cohen investigates the long tail of the ongoing semiconductor shortage, and how market dynamics that limited the supply of multi-layer ceramic capacitors back in 2018 are playing out again in the broader electronics market. Of all the sectors feeling the squeeze, none has been pinched more than automotive. Why is that, what can be done about it, and how long until things are back to normal? Richard Barnett of SupplyFrame helps explain that our definition of normal may need to change.

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