An Embedded System Manufacturer’s Viewpoint on trends at Embedded World 2019.

The ritual of returning to the mecca of the embedded world once again took place in Nurenburg, Germany in late February at the 17^th annual Embedded World 2019 exhibition and conference (EW19).  The organizers deemed it a great success, and the numbers bear that out.  They reported over 31,000 trade show visitors (2^nd best attendance since the inception of the event), who represented 1,117 companies and 46 countries from around the world.  Quite a good turn out and it speaks well to the health of the embedded community worldwide.

Lantronix, as a leading global manufacturer of wired and wireless connectivity devices, was there in force and saw the event as a great opportunity to speak with present and future customers and partners.  At any event of this size and magnitude, it is important to review some of the trends we saw during this 3-day event.

As background, Thomas Insights published their 5 Key Trends for Embedded Systems in 2019 in December 2018, this assessment of the trends in the embedded system market included improved security for embedded devices, cloud conductivity, visualizations in real time, optimization for lower energy consumption and deep learning.

Did these trends dominate the Embedded World event or have other emerging trends take center stage? Let’s review what we saw and heard!

1. Security – it does not take a soothsayer to ascertain that security of both hardware and software is a major concern for all manufacturers and their customers. EW19 showcased this fact in their “Safety and Security Area” as well as many vendor booths` throughout the exhibit floor.

Many companies showed their concern and approach. Lantronix has been in this industry since it began and sees the multilayer approach to IoT security the most effective way to secure your data whether in motion or at rest.  The three components of this approach are access control, certificate storage and secure boot which we showcased at EW19. If you are interested in a “deeper dive” into our multilayered approach, I recommend downloading our whitepaper, “Security in the Age of IoT.”

2. Industry 4.0 – the prevailing buzz word in our industry is taking shape as many companies develop a new approach to address the need for automation and data exchange in manufacturing. Though Thomas Insights did not call out the digital transformation that the German Government coined in 2012 as Industrie 4.0, a couple of their trends fit within this category. Industry 4.0 principle technologies (IoT, cloud connectivity, horizontal and vertical integration, cybersecurity and additive manufacturing) were clearly in abundance at EW19.

In this area, Lantronix showcased our XPort product family of embedded ethernet modules and gateways with a particular focus on the newest member of the family the XPort EDGE which embodies the Industry 4.0 principles of security, cloud connectivity and ease of integration.

3. Real-Time Monitoring – The industry is working on real-time monitoring and visualization tools that will give engineers, field technicians and support teams, the ability to monitor and troubleshoot system As IoTForAll reports the data generated by over 8.4 billion IoT devices around the globe is largely underutilized.

EW19 offered many examples of centralized monitoring and management tools with a strong focus on Open Source Software, especially Linux, but also FreeBSD, and NetBSD just to name a few. Lantronix demonstrated its Mach10 IoT Device Management platform in a warehouse environment (new video coming soon).   MACH10 integrates with Lantronix embedded gateway modules as well as OEM devices and offers your team operational visibility to valuable device system telemetry data and typical device management functions such as FOTA (Firmware Over the Air updates). Making a production ready and out-of-box real-time monitoring and management a reality.

4. Edge Intelligence – Industrial enterprises are quickly recognizing that the ever-increasing flow of data for millions of connected devices must be managed more efficiently in order to reduce costs, optimize information utilization, and improve business performance – and that the “Cloud” cannot be the only answer to their data management needs. Many companies, including Lantronix, were demonstrating their hardware and software solutions that can enable intelligence at the edge while maintaining built-in support for device management, security, cloud connectivity, and applications.

5. Internet of Everything – Another key focus at EW19 was an explosion of major verticals carving out their own versions of IoT. Automotive to test & measurement verticals were able to find cloud-based engineering solutions from a myriad of vendors. But the Industrial vertical is still king in the IoT world.

Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) leverages the power of smart machines and real-time analytics to take advantage of the data that dumb machines have produced.  Some of the key factors in IIoT develop are long life support, total cost of ownership, performance, and certification. Products such as our xPico family take into consideration all of these development concerns and more.

At EW19, Lantronix announced the next generation to its popular xPico 200 family, the xPico 270 (802.11ac) delivers seamless and secure Ethernet, WI-FI and Bluetooth connectivity in the smallest form factor in the industry. To learn more about Lantronix, our products showcased at EW19 and the IIoT space, in general, check out this interview with VP of Marketing, Shahram Mehraban filmed on the exhibit floor at Embedded World 2019.

With EW19 now completed and our analysis of the event from an embedded systems manufacturer point of view conducted our final thoughts turn to the changing landscape of trends in the embedded world.  Some trends are coming to life as other new trends emerge as this industry transforms to meet the digital transformation needs of its customers.

Remember to check out all our links for additional IoT information. Now, on to IoT World in Santa Clara, CA. We hope to see you there!!

Connect Smart. Do More.