Imec and Analog Devices (ADI) have entered into a strategic research partnership to develop the next generation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. With two initiatives already underway, imec and ADI aim to innovate devices that are not only low-power but that also come with largely improved - or completely new - sensing capabilities. This new collaboration is the latest example of imec and ADI’s long history of jointly developing high-performance low-power, cost effective circuits and systems.
The IoT continues to grow and mature, and by 2020, it is expected to consist of billions of connected, “smart” objects that rely on unobtrusive sensors to constantly monitor the environment, provide status reports and receive instructions. By intelligently processing the data gathered, these devices then drive some type of short-term or long-term action. Today, however, the underlying sensors, and the chips upon which they are built, are often too big, too expensive and not accurate enough to be practical.
One joint research initiative that has already been started in the framework of the strategic collaboration focuses on localization technology. Building on imec’s leading position in innovative ultra-low power implementations, ADI and imec will pursue the development of a low-power sensors for highly accurate indoor localization in the context of smart building or smart industry solutions.
A second initiative includes the creation, and ultimately the commercialization, of a highly-integrated liquid sensor that can be used in a variety of application domains, such as the analysis of water, blood or urine.
