Electronic design plays a pivotal role in the communications industry. Without it, there would be no cell phones, no laptops and no tablets. The industry would not exist in its current form.
Every aspect of electronic design in the communications and broadcasting sectors is important, from the layout of the circuitry to the choice of materials. Even the slightest change can have a major impact on the performance of a device.
The communications industry continues to drive technical innovation to satisfy the world’s desire for increasingly effective connectivity, information and entertainment. Let’s take a look at the electronic design process and its influence on this industry.
The Electronic Design Process
Electronic design becomes necessary when off-the-shelf products aren’t able to meet the needs of a project. Bespoke electronic products and circuit board design services focus on delivering application specific and cost optimised solutions.
During the design process, engineers collaborate with the client to design and deliver completely custom solutions to solve their technical challenges. This allows the projects to be realised with bespoke hardware that performs to the highest standards.
Extensive experience and technological expertise in the field of electronics is required in order to design and manufacture innovative electronic products that enable the custom requirements of clients to be realised as real life solutions.
The process of electronic product design involves defining the requirements, creating a design proposal and then developing a project plan that lays out the costs, time scales and various stages of design and manufacturing.
While the electronic product design process can involve just designing the hardware solution to brief and then stepping away, sometimes the designer is also involved in the manufacturing process. Some clients will require the electronic product designers to manage multiple stage testing, assembly and seamless obsolescence management, making sure that any issues are resolved prior to hand over.
The process can also sometimes involve the installation of operating systems and software as well as final product assembly for the client’s customers.
Specialist electronic design services for the communications industry can include:
- Systems engineering
- Electronic product design
- Prototyping
- Production
- Compliance test and verification
- Software services
- Obsolescence management
Challenges for the Industry
In the communications and broadcasting sectors, there are a number of challenges that need to be considered when designing electronic systems. Key issues for this industry are:
- High performance computing power and connectivity to handle the huge volume of data transmitted
- Reducing development timescales and time-to-market
- Carrier grade performance inherent in design solutions
- Proven project reliability and ability to tolerate faults to ensure deadline completion
- Developing systems that are easily upgraded and reconfigured as new technologies emerge to manage obsolescence
To meet these challenges, electronic designers need to have a deep understanding of both the hardware and software components of the systems they are working on. In addition, they need to be able to work closely with other engineers in order to ensure that the final system meets all the required specifications.
Electronic Design Applications
The industrial communications sector has been experiencing a revolution. New technologies are constantly emerging and changing the landscape of manufacturing. These are providing businesses with unprecedented levels of flexibility and responsiveness, while at the same time they are simplifying networks.
As a result, communications are becoming more responsive and flexible, ushering in a new era of digital manufacturing. Some of these new technologies include 5G, edge computing, and software-defined networks:
- 5G is providing speeds that are orders of magnitudes faster than previous generations of cellular networks, with latency that is low enough to support real-time applications.
- Edge computing is bringing data processing closer to the devices that generate it, reducing latency and making it possible to process data in real time.
- Software-defined networking is making it possible to dynamically reconfigure networks on the fly, providing the flexibility needed to support advanced digital manufacturing activities.
Together, these technologies are helping to create a more connected, responsive and efficient world of industrial communications.
Businesses around the world are already experiencing the benefits of these new technologies, and there is no doubt that the communications industry is accelerating fast. There are so many exciting developments emerging and it is clear that this industry will keep evolving and thriving well into the future.
The Future
These are just some of the emerging trends that are likely to significantly impact the future of electronic design in the communications and broadcasting industry:
- 5G technology
- Edge computing
- Software defined networking
- Cloud computing and software defined networks
- Artificial Intelligence
- IoT (Internet of Things)
- High resolution content
- Cyber security
DSL and the Communications Industry
As the demands on communications devices continue to increase, so too does the importance of electronic design. With ever more powerful and sophisticated devices being created, electronic designers have to keep up with the pace of change. Only by continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible can we ensure that the communications industry continues to thrive.
DSL offers a range of services, products and capabilities which help mission-critical hardware OEMs deliver high performing networking, communications and broadcast systems around the world.
At DSL we offer:
- Advanced processor board design
- Latest design tools
- Proven development processes
- Detailed knowledge of cutting edge chipset integration and functionality
- Design capability in RF, analogue and digital
From the initial concept and design, through prototyping, all the way to delivering fully assembled and tested production quantities, our electronic design process allows you to focus on your strengths whilst we take care of designing through collaboration, which is our strength.
Our design process involves creating a design specification, schematic design and PCB design before building prototypes and doing testing. Delivery of the manufacturing pack and managing production can then go ahead.
Design and development is carried out in-house at our UK design centre which means that our verification methodology covers every part of the process.
The communications and broadcast sectors are developing at a rapid rate and we are excited to be a part of the impact that electronic design is having on the growth of this industry.