The “Internet of Things” (IoT) is one of the most important technology trends of our time – with the potential to radically impact the way businesses and consumers interact with each other and their surrounding infrastructure. It connects the physical with the virtual world as never before. A whole array of physical “things” – from people and places through cars and computers to domestic appliances and production machinery – is being equipped with embedded electronics systems, software and sensors.
This is paving the way for a new dimension in connectivity and intelligence with profound implications for our society and economy: The IoT will allow us to predict errors in production settings long before they occur, makes driving safer and more convenient and will lead to substantial energy savings in home and business settings. Across markets, innovative business models offering advantages for business and new consumer experiences are rapidly emerging.
Challenges
The right technology for sustainable IoT success
By now, we see the Internet of Things (IoT) become reality. Every day, more objects get connected to the IoT and businesses bring innovative IoT applications to the market. Nevertheless, the IoT is still in its infancy and the true economic value has yet to unfold. Prerequisite for sustainable IoT success are industry-specific business models that generate true customer value.
The right technology brings IoT business models to life and ensures ease-of-use, reliable performance and security. From a technical perspective, IoT business models across industries rely on the smart aggregation and interpretation of data: On device level, intelligent objects equipped with sensors, processors, security and actuators to collect, analyze and coordinate data, secure it and issue actions, if required. On cloud level, the information of the individual intelligent devices is aggregated. A range of applications processes the available information according the defined use cases.
From a technical perspective, three essential ingredients pave the way to IoT success:
1. Smart, secure and power-efficient devices
2. Quality on component-level and beyond
3. Seamless interplay along the full IoT value chain
Intelligent devices: Making the IoT smart, secure and power-efficient
Sustainable IoT success hinges on making the “things” connected to the Internet smart, secure and power-efficient.
Smart “things” deliver the desired data and react properly to the data they receive from internal and external sources.
The right security is vital to ensure trust of both businesses and end customers: It protects against security attacks, breakdowns and loss of data integrity, but also secures business models against considerable financial damages.
Device protection, prevention of fraud and manipulation, or data and device integrity are key security concepts.
Power-efficiency is key to bringing the objects to life and allows them to be sensitive, give impulses and interact with each other. Always-on connectivity is a power drain. The power needed for such wide-scale device connectivity has to be produced, managed and delivered in the most energy-efficient way possible, and performance of all these networked devices must be optimized.
Quality matters beyond component-level
The IoT is all about integration: hardware and software components are integrated to make up smart, secure and power-efficient devices. Via communication interfaces, integration spans even further. The quality of individual, components directly impacts the quality of the IoT solutions in terms of ease-of-use, reliable performance and security.
Things, system and services: Seamless interplay of the full IoT value chain
The third ingredient in enabling sustainable IoT success from a technology perspective entails the seamless interplay between all three levels of the IoT value chain: smart things, smart systems and smart services.
For instance, in a smart factory environment (also known as Industry 4.0), smart devices such as RFID tags, PLCs, sensors,intelligent high-power modules and industrial microcontrollers are deployed to automate manufacturing and supply systems. These systems are now enabling new kinds of intelligent services such as machine self-monitoring and self-maintenance, seamless traceability of parts and components, just-in-time-production and performance-optimized power consumption.
Role of semiconductors
Making the Internet of Things smart, secure and power-efficient
Infineon’s IoT expertise is reflected by a proven track record. We were already fashioning, advancing and shaping the Internet of Things long before the term “IoT” was invented. Many of the new trends that now fly under the “IoT” umbrella, such as industrial automation and robotics, electromobility and connected cars, smart homes, energy intelligence and big data ICT infrastructures, were enabled by technologies developed or driven by Infineon.
Today, Infineon’s semiconductors are key enablers in the IoT ecosystem. Its sensors turn electronic impulses into data; its actuators turn data into electronic impulses; microcontrollers by Infineon control entire systems; its security solutions protect devices and data integrity; and its smart power ICs manage the production, distribution and consumption of energy.
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Our contribution to major IoT applications
Smart vehicles
Already today, most cars are equipped with hundreds of electronic control units and semiconductors. These include microcontrollers, radar sensors, authentication devices and power switches to enable enhanced driving solutions as V2X communication and data integrity, and driver assistance towards (semi-)automated driving as e.g. accident prevention.
They also pave the way for enhanced services such as pay per use, automated maintenance (software-over-the-air (SOTA)) and state-of-the-art infotainment.
Such sophisticated services are not only relevant for private cars, but also increasingly for commercial, agricultural and construction vehicles (CAV), ships, aircraft and trains as well as for low speed vehicles such as scooters and electric bicycles.
As the system leader in automotive semiconductors and enhanced car security, and the global number 1 in power semiconductors and radar sensors, Infineon has right technology and application know-how to make vehicles safer, more secure, more efficient, and more service-friendly.
Advanced sensing capabilities Radar sensors monitoring the car’s vicinity - basis for advanced safety features (e.g. adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, collision avoidance), and hence autonomous driving REAL3™ 3D image sensor for gesture control and driver monitoring
ensuring secure data transfer with in the car’s network like sensor fusion, working under the highest safety restrictions
supporting advanced Ethernet connectivity and provides additional feature sets such as real-time capability and time synchronization, essential for reliable telematics
As more and more people migrate to cities, public administration bodies are looking for ways to make these megacities, their infrastructure and energy systems smarter, more secure and more power-efficient with the help of embedded systems intelligence and modern ICT technology. Semiconductors from Infineon play an important role in achieving these objectives.
Our solutions range from professional lighting systems enabled by state-of-the-art LED technologies through smart infrastructure and transportation systems enabled by environmental sensors and microcontrollers to smart and secure building technologies.
We also support the power-efficient generation, storage, management and distribution of energy. Unlike other players, we are not new to this market – we have been innovating for years and even decades. Customers know they can rely on us to provide the right technology and application know-how to make cities smarter, greener and more livable.
Advanced sensing capabilities Radar sensors for motion detection enabling e.g. highest efficient lighting control (indoor and outdoor) ››Silicon microphone for emerging IoT applications controlled by voice
Cross-application control XMC™ microcontrollers for control, communication and sensor management in a variety of building automation applications
for building a reliable and highly efficient energy infrastructure
for building energy management and building automation
Trusted security protection OPTIGA™ family for secure communication and trusted computing in critical energy infrastructures Chip Card ICs enabling secure e-payment of EV charging M2M SIM for secure connectivity via GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, LTE
Smart industry & business
Smart factories supporting advanced automation and robotics is one of the areas where the impact of the IoT is most evident. More intelligence is also being built into mining, payment, logistics and medical equipment. Microelectronics is the key enabling technology for these industrial scenarios.
Our industrial sensors, microcontrollers, power modules and switches along with our industry-specific security chips enable high-level responsiveness, best-in-class system control and integrity and the ultimate in power efficiency even under the most demanding networked production conditions.
Our long-standing experience in industrial automation enables us to deliver industrial-grade IoT semiconductor solutions along with a range of proven reference designs to make automation design as simple, efficient and reliable as possible.
Countless customers already rely on us to deliver the right technology and application know-how to bring sustainable success to the Industry 4.0 – the fourth industrial revolution.
Smart power management CoolSIC™ power semiconductors based on Silicon Carbide reach unattainable efficiency levels in power density and form factor which are key for industrial IoT applications Power ICs for efficient power management for industrial controllers and smart Robotics
Trusted security protection OPTIGA™ family for IP protection, secure communication, authentication and trusted computing in critical industrial installations M2M SIM for cellular wireless connectivity NFC Tag enabling smart asset tagging (smart manufacturing
Smart home and consumer
Smart consumer devices range from smartphones, tablets and PCs to new intelligent consumer gadgets like smart watches, gaming consoles and wearables. Smart homes support a growing range of intelligent functions such as automation, home energy management, home security and safety and intelligent personal lighting.
Our advanced semiconductor solutions play a key role in enabling connectivity across smart homes and devices. We deliver a complete line of electronic components to manufacturers of home and consumer products; components which are indispensable for making the personal IoT smarter, more secure and more power-efficient. Regardless of the application, we provide the right technology and application know-how to facilitate smart homes, state-of-the-art appliances and next-generation consumer devices.
Advanced sensing capabilities REAL3™ 3D image sensor for gesture control, e.g. smart TVs Barometric pressure sensor delivers a new level of accuracy for wearable gadgets and IoT devices
Cross-application control XMC™ microcontrollers for control, communication and sensor management in a variety of smart home applications, e.g. lighting
Trusted security protection OPTIGA™ Trust for authorized connection of intelligent objects to smart home environments OPTIGA™ family enables secured communications, e.g. as part of a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) NFC security controllers for mobile payment services
Smart information & communication technology (ICT)
All IoT solutions and services are built on a smart ICT infrastructure. As the IoT becomes ubiquitous, ICT providers are challenged to support rising data volumes, higher transmission speeds and increased data storage/processing capabilities.
Furthermore, modern ICT has the potential to considerably reduce overall emissions by enabling new environmentally friendly solutions such as smart vehicles, smart buildings and smart factories. As a leading provider of smart ICT network technologies as well as semiconductor solutions for servers and data centers, we are ideally placed to help customers achieve their energy efficiency, security and reliability goals. As the long-standing market leader and innovator in trusted computing, we offer a broad portfolio of standardized and certified security solutions for networking equipment, including routers and gateways.
In addition, as number 1 provider of power semiconductors, we offer a comprehensive portfolio of leading-edge power semiconductors to enable industry-leading PUE (power usage efficiency) and DCIE (data center infrastructure efficiency). We are also a key provider of the RF power devices needed to power the communication networks of tomorrow. As ICT demands continue to rise, we continue to provide the right technology and application know-how to build tomorrow’s ICT networks and data warehouses.
Smart power management Power management ICs for smart high-density charger IGBT power modules and driver ensuring highest reliable uninterruptable power supply, coming together with highest efficiency
Trusted security protection OPTIGA™ family acting as anchor of trust for interaction between devices and networks
Other IoT enablers RF chip sets enabling gigabit wireless backhaul solution, paving the way to 5G
Smart city - ease complexity in multicopter development
High power efficiency, stability, precise control while ensuring both dynamic reactions to changes in environment and low noise levels: the challenges developers of multicopters are required to solve within the confines of minimum-size circuitry are daunting.
With its cost efficient P2S (Product to System) approach, Infineon eases complexity in multicopter development by offering industry-leading solutions, from individual components to one-stop system delivery.
Connected cars - drive trust with secure updates over the air
The ability to – immediately and safely – update »software over the air« (SOTA) allows carmakers to maintain a high level of security while keeping the cost of recalls low. This feature, which consumers are familiar with from telecommunication devices, helps car manufacturers to effectively protect connected cars from vulnerabilities and cyberthreats, deliver critical bug fixes and roll-out new service offerings.
Pooling system expertise both in automotive and security ICs, connected car partner Infineon enables easy and secure SOTA updates to ensure the global market success of our favorite »computers on wheels«.
Smart homes - build confidence with certified security solutions
Trust is an essential part of the user experience with Smart Home technology. IoT Components with security certification play a key role in building user confidence. They help manufacturers to capitalize on IoT growth opportunities without compromising on the user experience.
Infineon’s OPTIGATM TPM (Trusted Platform Module) offers a broad portfolio of easy-to-deploy security controllers based on the latest TPM 2.0 standard. Certified according to Common Criteria EAL4+, it is the first such device to comply with internationally recognized computer security requirements.
Smart wearables - meet the new slim heart monitor with ultra-low power needs
Designed to sense, store, and track biometric data over time, wearables are »always on«. This makes size and energy efficiency two of the key challenges in wearable IoT solutions.
To meet the needs of manufacturers designing wearables for heart rate measurement, Infineon and GoerTek have now developed two new high-resolution optical sensors. These fully integrated solutions come with the accuracy, slim size and ultra-low power needs essential to features from ambient light sensing and proximity detection to heart rate and pulse oximetry monitoring.
Industrial automation - make manufacturing smart with efficient and secure components
Designs for sustainable smart manufacturing need reliable and efficient components with the built-in ability to grow. Authentication is key for such flexible system designs in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Created for applications in wind, solar and industrial drives, the MIPAQTM Pro is an all-in-one solution for scalable and compact inverter designs. It comes with high modularity, design flexibility and an OPTIGATM Trust E security controller that stores certificates for the authentication of installed IPM – a feature especially interesting for system manufacturers with a focus on after-sales business
