By Karen Lightman, Executive Director, MEMS Industry Group
MEMS Industry Group hosted its fourth annual MEMS Executive Congress Europe in Copenhagen this year and I was told several times over that Denmark is the “happiest place on Earth” inhabited by yes, the happiest people on the planet. We had a lot to live up to – hosting a MEMS and sensors conference there. Not only did we have to provide the best content for our attendees but also provide happiness…right?
Judging by the responses of my colleagues who attended the event, we delivered. But I am not so sure. This year’s event had a sense of urgency that I wouldn’t describe as happy. Sometimes happiness can lead to complacency, and honey, this is no time for rest in the MEMS and sensors industry. Just ask the leading MEMS device manufacturers who are battling to be #1 in the industry.
MEMS Executive Congress Europe 2015 speakers and panelists spoke of how cutthroat the industry has become in the past few years thanks to the inclusion of MEMS and sensors in more and more consumer devices. Starting with the accelerometer in the first Apple iPhone in 2007 it’s been a hockey-stick uptick in MEMS/sensors production. Yes profits have gone up but not at the same pace. This cost pressure in the consumer space is maddening and so the industry is looking for alternative markets with a promise of a higher profit margin.
Cue the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) to save the day. A big theme of this MEMS Executive Congress was the IoT from many perspectives throughout the MEMS and sensors supply chain. In the words of Tim Saxe, CEO of QuickLogic, “MEMS and sensors are the nose of the dog of IoT, but there’s a whole lot of dog behind it.” Well said.
MEMS and sensors are the bedrock of IoT but there’s a lot more to it than just providing the technology. We have the technology – we have oodles of sensors, actuators of all types that can sense, smell, touch and equilibrate the universe. What we don’t have is the market because it’s disconnected and scattered. What we need is collaboration – co-creation of the MEMS and sensors supply chain – to catapult the technology we have today into the products we only dream about, in applications including industrial, medical/health, agriculture and the list goes on.
Time and time again, the speakers at MEMS Executive Congress Europe 2015 spoke of the need for standards, including Thomas Nicholls, Head of Marketing and Communication, SIGFOX, who also called for developer kits to help jumpstart the innovation and collaboration. Likewise, Jean Marc Yannou, Senior Director, Technology Strategies of ASE Group stated that “in order for it to be plug and play, you must have cooperation.” John Fitzpatrick Engineering Manager of Autoliv gave a compassionate speech about his wish list for MEMS/sensors suppliers to enable the next generation of automated and autonomous vehicles. Likewise, Sean Clay, VPGM of Honeywell called for more collaboration and cooperation within the industry. And in his closing keynote, Claus Nielsen echoed this message when talking about the many silos that exist in the healthcare space during this talk “The Next Danish Supermodel.” I think it’s both fitting and fantastic that the theme of the 2015 MEMS Technical Congress May 6-7 in Boston is “Co-creation”. The speakers at the 2015 MEMS Executive Congress seem to have issued us an edict – and MIG intends to follow it!
Clearly we have our work cut out for us in the MEMS and sensors supply chain. It’s truly time to tear down the walls of interoperability and lack of standards. And in the words of Polonius from the Shakespeare play Hamlet (a Danish prince), “though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” We need to come together, we need to co-create and collaborate; if we don’t, we all may lose and there’s so much to gain!
