Semiconductor IP News and Trends Blog

Semiconductor Design Vs. the End-User Experience

Is it possible for semiconductor engineers to design directly for the end-user experience? Your comments are needed.

At a recent conference, Cadence’s Frank Schirrmeister noted that EDA companies have had to expand their coverage into the larger system market, thanks to changes in the semiconductor supply chain. Will this expansion ever reach end-product design (i.e., directly to the end user)?

Here’s another way of asking the same question: Will models/simulations/prototypes used by EDA-IP hardware and software engineers ever converge with similar models used by high-level product-development teams and end users?

Companies like Intel, Dassault, Cadence, Synopsys, Mentor, and others have tried to answer this question. Today, hardware customization – including SoCs and FPGAs – is done via software. (Stacked dies may still be the exception.) But something more is needed. How do we, as engineers, participate in designing the end-user experience?

I’d really like to hear your thoughts – especially by the end of this week. Please leave a comment here or send it to me: blyler@chipestimate.com. Thanks – John

How can left-brained (engineer) and right-brained (consumer) people come together to design useful electronic semiconductor products?