Record number of orders mark next phase of EUV adoption
The first ‘EUV devices’ are on the market, but that’s only the beginning. The number of EUV layers in chips will keep increasing and that’s good news for ASML – but also a bit of challenge.
Bridging the gap
Nico Meijerman joined NTS to help build and expand the company’s software competency. Shortly after arriving at the hardware stronghold, he started to work on bridging the gap between software engineering and the worlds of physics, mechanics and hardware-related disciplines. The result is a workshop in which Meijerman teaches his non-software colleagues the basics of software engineering. Customer and business specifics included.
Living on the edge
With data- and AI-driven development taking over the world, it may easily seem that the cloud is the place where everything happens. This is where the data is stored and analyzed, where the machine- and deep-learning models run and where all the value resides. The perspective of people living in this world is that all the connected devices in the world only have the role of collecting data and uploading it to the cloud.
Streamlining software development for space
Since adopting Parasoft’s C/C++test tooling, Qinetiq Space has seen a significant increase in software quality.
ESI helps Thermo Fisher and Philips grease their software machines
When new feature development for its electron microscopes started to get hampered by older software, Thermo Fisher Scientific called on TNO joint innovation center ESI to clean up its code and make it future-proof. The approach developed in their public-private partnership was also successfully adopted by Philips to tackle the legacy challenge in its medical scanners.
Data sifting to finetune nanometer structures by the trillions
If headlines are any clue, machine learning is taking the semicon industry by storm. Bits&Chips talks to two of ASML’s data scientists about the impact their discipline has on the hardcore physics company. The litho giant is increasing its use of machine learning to support its holistic lithography products.
Merging mechatronic systems engineering and software engineering
Model-based design is a powerful method for developing high-tech products and systems. Traditionally at Demcon, the mechatronic systems engineer took the lead in developing the model, but the software engineer turned out to be indispensable in defining a software architecture that resulted in efficient and maintainable control code generated by that model. Therefore, over the years, both disciplines have come together.
“We don’t distinguish ourselves by software alone”
Do Dutch high tech companies invest enough in software development? Bits&Chips poses the question to Guustaaf Savenije and Ton Peijnenburg of VDL ETG, the largest tier-1 high tech supplier and hardware company in the Netherlands. “Software is just one of the disciplines – no more, no less. Better participate in the multidisciplinary world!”
Despite advances in technology, systems reliability is getting worse
With a steady increase in global product recalls, highly publicized fines for automotive companies and the recent Boeing tragedies, it’s clear that reliability is a major issue. According to world-renowned expert Michael Pecht, things are getting worse. In fact, he says many of these problems are completely self-created and entirely avoidable – that is, if companies are ready to get serious about reliability.
Data privacy law is a blessing and a curse for AI research
Just about everybody reading this should be familiar with the GDPR – AVG in Dutch. This law dictates the rules and methods for storing personal data safely. Since it was put into force about two years ago, it seems a good time to evaluate. How does the GDPR benefit citizens? It turns out to be a two-edged sword.
Don’t start from where you are
For decades now, I’ve been in workshops with a number of companies that seek to change some aspect of their business. Reflecting on the more recent workshops, however, made me recognize patterns that seem to reappear frequently or typically. As we all know, change is hard. For individuals and even more so for organizations. However, the patterns discussed below lead to less than optimal or simply bad outcomes.