IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of connected ‘smart’ devices that communicate seamlessly over the Internet. It allows people and systems to capture massive amounts of data and produce powerful insights. By 2020, there will be 31 billion connected devices worldwide and the market will reach $457 billion. In the next five to ten years, IoT will make life more connected than ever with enhancements through automation and data analytics.

 

Technologies

The following technologies are crucial to developing smart devices that can monitor environments and are interoperable, power-efficient and secure:

  • Sensors (e.g. MEMS, gyroscopes, and accelerometers)
  • Connectivity ICs (e.g. Bluetooth, WiFi, Zigbee, and NFC)
  • Microcontrollers
  • Power Management ICs

Monitoring environments

IoT devices rely on sensors to gather information such as external temperature, motion, light and voice. The microcontrollers in the devices process data collected by the sensors and manage the devices. Embedded non-volatile memory (NVM) IP can be used in sensors and microcontrollers for code storage, trimming and parameter setting.

Interoperability

For IoT devices to be interoperable, devices need to communicate with each other, recognize the capabilities of other devices and exchange data with applications in the cloud. Wireless technologies work with connectivity ICs to make IoT devices interoperable. NVM IP can be used in connectivity ICs for identification setting, code storage and encryption.

Power-efficiency

Some IoT devices function entirely on batteries, and in some cases, they may need to work continuously for several days, weeks or even years without being recharged or replaced. Other IoT devices such as wearables need to run on long-life batteries and prevent overheating. Because they aren’t connected to a power grid, it’s essential that such IoT devices use as little power as possible. Power management ICs are mainly responsible for effective management of power supply and consumption. NVM IP can be used in power management ICs for code storage, trimming and parameter setting.

Security

Security is critical for IoT device development to protect devices against continually evolving threats such as, theft, tampering, side-channel attacks, malware and data breaches. Security IP helps address these threats by providing chip designers a random number source that can be used to create security keys for device authentication and secure data transmission. NVM IP can provide secure key storage for data protection.

Explore our solutions

As connected devices become more ubiquitous, our partners and customers have focused on creating ICs and SoCs that are power-efficient and secure. eMemory’s comprehensive NVM and security IP solutions for IoT technologies meet these specific requirements and help our partners reduce integration risks during product development, accelerate time-to-market and ultimately realize the growth potential of IoT.

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