The US DOT is investing heavily in projects like the South Carolina Connected Vehicle Testbed to realize projections of dramatic safety increases that come with a connected infrastructure combined with autonomous car technology.   In 2015, the National Science Foundation (NSF) noted that by the end of the decade, it is likely that the USRead More

The need to transmit more data at higher speeds is changing system design. New strategies include developing connectors specifically for high-speed operations, maintaining signal integrity at high speeds, and using new protocols. Today, interconnect technology has morphed to meet the need for speed.   The continuous growth in IP services and access speeds has ledRead More

The IEEE 200G/400G standard is well on its way to publication; so where will it be implemented?   This is the first time in the development cycle of Ethernet standards that there have been so many different standards projects in the pipeline. Ranging from EPON over Coax (EPoC) to 200Gb/s and 400Gb/s Ethernet, these effortsRead More

Systems designers must keep up with ever-evolving next-generation device standards, as well as with standards not yet set.   Systems design engineers need to keep several considerations in mind when designing to meet codes and standards. But what about when design or product standards don’t yet exist, are in flux, or when technology convergence blursRead More

$1.2 billion of electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) are already selling each year, and they are becoming increasingly common to replace solders in a variety of functions, applications, and industries.   Materials are needed to replace the estimated 50,000 metric tons of tin-lead solder currently used each year, but there are no “drop-in” replacements for eutecticRead More

From wet silk thread to modern superconducting ribbon, interconnect technology has advanced along with the related electronic technology as it is critical to an electrical system’s operation. Add to that the realm of optical fiber, and you have a huge marketplace of mixed applications, technologies, and services.   With wireless technologies – both signal- andRead More

The FIA Formula E Series has attracted connector companies as sponsors and highlights the role of electronics in the future of auto racing. Along with the rest of the car industry, motorsport has taken a turn for the green and the high tech. The FIA Formula E Series is the first to feature exclusively electricRead More

Racing engineers always request solutions that bend the laws of physics, but that’s what makes working in the industry such a challenge. By its very nature, autosport is not an industry that stands still; just when you think you know what’s happening, a new technology appears and it all moves forward again. Autosport has broughtRead More

Vehicles talk to each other to improve efficiency and safety.   It’s now possible for vehicles to communicate with each other – and not by drivers rolling down their windows to shout at each other. Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications systems can improve the safety, efficiency, and productivity of a wide range of commercial vehicles. Multiple SystemsRead More

In the coming decades the choice of land-vehicle powertrain will mainly be dictated by emissions conformance in addition to the best cost/performance compromise. This will result in a move to pure electric vehicles as laws tighten and technology improves.   The main powertrain options for land vehicles over the next 20 years, according to aRead More

What sources play a role in determining the idea for the next great connector? Bill Garver of APEX looks at the information that helps determine gaps in the market.   One of the most difficult aspects of the new product development process is determining when a new product idea is marketable, if it would be profitable, andRead More

No longer the stuff of superhero comics, the military’s latest soldier defense project is built in part on decades of research and innovation from the connector and cable industry.   For the entire history of warfare, technology has seesawed between the dominance of weapon technology and the dominance of armor technology, and modern war isRead More