Page 66 - EE Times Europe Magazine | February 2020

64 EE|Times EUROPE
Sensors Glue Virtual and Real Worlds, Says TDK InvenSense CTO

inside TDK. So it is just the perfect marriage in an idea so much, they are going to risk
of new materials, new MEMS devices coming their ability to put food on the table to
together, and I think that is where we are see- pursue that idea. I am very much into AR
ing the application space explode. We heard at and VR right now. I believe the way we are
[last year’s MEMS & Sensors Executive Con- going to record experiences and share them
gress] conference that electrostatic actuators with people is really what is going to bring For reader inquiries and address changes,
please contact: christiane.lockner@aspencore.com
have gone far, and now the piezoelectric stuff VR into the non-gamers’ hands. Gaming will or call +49 8092-247740
is maybe going to take us to the next step. always be there, but that is not what is going To unsubscribe, please go to:
For me, personally, I like the expansion to drive the market. I am trying to see how www.eetimes.eu/unsubscribe/
because we are looking not just at sensors we can solve that problem ... Where are the
now, but we are [also] looking at actuators, sensors? How are we going to get to content
[with the] Chirp device putting out a sound creation for VR? That’s where we are stuck Aspencore Media GmbH
Rauwagnerstr. 5
and then looking at the echo coming back. It’s right now. You can buy a headset, but you 85560 Ebersberg / Germany
both the sensors and actuators. don’t know what to watch. It’s like the days EDITORIAL MANAGEMENT
Back to my original comment on sensors of black-and-white TV. If you go back to Bolaji Ojo, Global Editor-in-Chief,
making computers smarter in sensing what’s the early TV shows, [they were] vaudeville, bolaji.ojo@aspencore.com
Junko Yoshida, Global Co-Editor-in-Chief,
going on, if you can manipulate what’s going because that was entertainment. It took 70 junko.yoshida@aspencore.com
on, that’s really the next step toward actua- years to come up with “Game of Thrones.” Anne-Françoise Pelé, Editor-in-Chief,
tion. For us, ultrasound is a first step toward So the question is how we accelerate [so eetimes.eu; afpele@aspencore.com
Brian Santo, Editor-in-Chief, eetimes.com
actuation, toward smart systems being able that] VR becomes a platform to consume and Echo Zhao, Chief Analyst, echo.zhao@aspencore.com
to influence stuff in the physical world. That’s experience what we could not do before. I Judith Cheng, Managing Editor,
Judith.cheng@aspencore.com
the direction we are looking at right now. think it’s going to be travel; it’s going to be CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
shopping [and] personal content. I have been George Leopold, gleopold@gmail.com
EETE: As a CTO, you are probably able to digitize myself skiing and [then] put Ann Thryft, athryft@earthlink.net
keeping an eye on what’s emerging from my dad skiing with me and his grandson in STAFF CORRESPONDENTS
research labs. Which interesting MEMS VR. He took the headsets off, looked at me, Matthew Burgess, matthew.burgess@aspencore.com
and sensor technologies, excluding and went, “I never thought I would get to go Anthea Chuang, anthea.chuang@aspencore.com
Nitin Dahad, nitin.dahad@aspencore.com
TDK’s, have you seen recently? skiing with my grandson.” [He didn’t think,] Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio,
Hartwell: To me, one of the places is “That was a cool picture you showed me,” maurizio.dipaolo@aspencore.com
Yvonne Geng, yvonne.geng@aspencore.com
medtech — not necessarily the bioMEMS to [but,] “I went skiing with my grandson.” That Amy Guan, amy.guan@aspencore.com
replace laboratory equipment, but more mass is really how he felt. Susan Hong, susan.hong@aspencore.com
Illumi Huang, illumi.huang@aspencore.com
market, with things we will be able to do at Barbara Jorgensen, barb.jorgensen@aspencore.com
home or with a wearable device. That’s what EETE: A sense of mission and purpose Clover Lee, clover.lee@aspencore.com
Shao Lefeng, lefeng.shao@aspencore.com
I am keeping an eye on. It is logical to say filters through your words, as you seem Jenny Liao, jenny.liao@aspencore.com
that somewhere in 20 to 40 years from now, to be willing to add some humanity to Elaine Lin, elaine.lin@aspencore.com
Luffy Liu, luffy.liu@aspencore.com
you are going to be wearing [a continuous] everything you are developing. Challey Peng, challey.peng@aspencore.com
diagnostic monitoring system. The question is Hartwell: It should be natural for us to do Gina Roos, gina.roos@aspencore.com
how you get there, what steps we need to take that. We do form relationships with things Fendy Wang, fendy.wang@aspencore.com
Sally Ward-Foxton, sally.wardfoxton@aspencore.com
to get us there. that aren’t alive. As they begin to talk and Demi Xia, demi.xia@aspencore.com
The other one is the explosion of opti- react to us, it is only natural for us to make Franklin Zhao, franklin.zhao@aspencore.com
Momo Zhong, momo.zhong@aspencore.com
cal sensors. We are seeing this in LiDAR, in those experiences with those devices, [with] COPY AND DESIGN
structured-light 3D imaging. What is neat something we can relate to. To me, sensors Adeline Cannone, Design Director,
about these technologies is that a lot has been are the glue between the virtual world and the adeline@cannone.com
developed for automotive. The reason we all real world, so we are trying to give robots sen- Lori O’Toole, Chief Copy Editor, lotoole@aspencore.com
Diana Scheben, Production Chief,
have accelerometers in our phones now is sors to put them into our world, which means dscheben@optonline.net
because they started out for automotive. they have to see, and they have to hear, to feel TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
You are going to start having toys with and smell. And we are trying to put people Tracey Bayer, tracey.bayer@aspencore.com
radar. I can’t wait to see what the toy guys in a virtual world, which means you have to SALES & MARKETING
think of when suddenly you can put a radar in create the content. Sensors are the glue there. Philip Strange, Director of Sales, ASPENCORE EMEA,
a toy robot. I can’t wait to see where optical The next step is when smart speakers follow philip.strange@aspencore.com
Claudia Mellein, claudia.mellein@aspencore.com
3D sensing, radar, and LiDAR are going to go, you around the house. If the Sony Aibo was Christiane Lockner, christiane.lockner@aspencore.com
especially in the toy space. able to do all the things that Alexa could do, The Hufmann Agency, victoria@hufmann.info,
norbert@hufmann.info
suddenly you would have the perfect pet, a Todd Bria, todd.bria@aspencore.com
EETE: At the MEMS & Sensors Executive companion. It would follow you, charge itself. Bolaji Ojo, Group Publisher, ASPENCORE
Congress, the Technology Showcase It would change the music, take care of the
amplified awareness of the latest MEMS lights, and if you fall down, it would come over Copyright© All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
and sensor technologies and applica- and see if you are OK and call for help. That’s means without the prior express written permission of
tions, including a DNA search engine and what we are going to have, and I can’t wait. Aspencore Media. Although we make every effort to present
up-to-date, accurate information, EE Times Europe will not
a 4D LiDAR for autonomous vehicles, as Autonomous companions, that’s how I be responsible for any errors or omissions or for any results
well as wearable biosensors for health would like to [characterize] them. And the obtained from the use of such information. The magazine
will not be li able for any loss caused by the reliance on
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you would like to share with us? Has one of the information, text, graphics in this magazine. The
of the startups caught your attention? Anne-Françoise Pelé is editor-in-chief opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors
and not necessarily the opinions of the publisher.
Hartwell: You get to see people who believe of eetimes.eu.
FEBRUARY 2020 | www.eetimes.eu