DAC 52 keynotes focus on body-worn electronics and vehicle design

The 52nd Design Automation Conference will feature keynotes that focus on Google’s Smart Contact Lens project, Delphi’s experiences of increases in embedded software and electronics in automotive and the future of biocompatible electronics, as well as an in-depth chat on vehicle security.

As well as the keynotes, DAC will feature a visionary talk by Vivek Singh, Intel fellow and director of computational lithography on the future of Moore’s Law.

The first keynote, taking place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on Monday, June 8, will be given by Brian Otis, co-founder of the Google Smart Lens project. He will share his thoughts on the scarcity of power, the problems of body-worn systems, and the extreme miniaturization needed for these systems, together with the need for a design approach that span the design space from transistors to the cloud.

Automotive focus

On Tuesday, June 9, Jeffrey Owens, CTO of Delphi will describe how today’s vehicles possess more processing power than anything most consumers own or will purchase. He will cover the ramifications this has for design in an environment where vehicle manufacturers and automotive suppliers around the world are
responding to a myriad of consumer preferences and regulatory initiatives, including the demand for enhanced safety features, increased fuel economy, reduced emissions, and increased connectivity.

Staying with automotive systems, John McElroy, producer of Autoline Detroit will guide an in-depth conversation between Jeffrey Massimilla, chief of cybersecurity at GM, and Craig Smith, author of the Car Hacker Manual on Wednesday, June 10. They will focus on the cyberthreats to connected cars. Can
we make our cars more secure? Or should we accept the fact that they are as vulnerable as our computers at home?

Biocompatible systems

On Thursday, June 11, John Rogers, applied physics professor at the University of Illinois will cover the interface between biology – soft, curvilinear and adaptable – and silicon technology that is rigid, planar and immutable. Over the last decade a convergence of new concepts in materials science, mechanical engineering, manufacturing techniques and
device designs has led to the emergence of diverse classes of
‘biocompatible’ electronics. Rogers’ talk will describe the key ideas, with examples ranging from ‘cellular-scale’ light emitting diodes that can be injected into the brain for behavioral control to bioresorbable electronics that can serve as non-antibiotic bacteriocides for treating surgical site infections.

The 52nd DAC will be held from June 7 to June 11, 2015. Early registration, which offers attendees substantial discounts, runs from April 1 to May 12, 2015.