New applications in the industrial automation sector and the convergence of applications and services offered on devices continue to push both embedded systems design activity in Asia and the challenges it poses to engineers. The growth in chip and embedded tools markets reflects that reality.

Forward Concepts late last year projected a 2006 DSP chip revenue growth of 10 percent to $8.4 billion. Increasingly, DSP cores are being embedded as part of SoCs. Forward Concepts has noted that changes in accounting have been recommended by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), the data collection arm of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), where DSPs paired with RISC or other cores will be reported in another category. The firm has thus lowered its DSP IC forecast for 2007 from 18 percent to 15 percent, or $9.7 billion.

Many of the embedded DSP cores will be counted under the MOS logic category. The SIA last year predicted that MOS logic device sales would grow by 4.6 percent to $60.3 billion in 2006 and to $78.8 billion in 2009 at a CAGR of 8.1 percent. MCUs, another category of components common in embedded systems, are expected to experience slower growth, according to the SIA, at 3.5 percent to $12.5 billion in 2006 and to $15.3 billion in 2009, at a CAGR of 6.1 percent.

In terms of applications, communications took the driver's seat for DSPs. Looking at DSP chip revenues by the traditional players, Forward Concepts noted that cellphone chip shipments amounted to over two-thirds of their collective shipments.

Sales of cellphones are expected to reach more than 1 billion units per year by 2008, according to Venture Development Corp. (VDC) in its Vertical Markets and Application Analysis report. Within the industrial automation market, Internet-based software applications are increasingly being used for remote data collection, such as that for status information and diagnostics. VDC also notes that the convergence of telephony, broadcast media services and the Internet is one of the most significant trends in the market and will be a major driver of the telecom/datacom industry.

Convergence often means ease-of-use for the customer, but new challenges and design complexity for engineers. In yet another report, VDC said the increasing complexity of embedded software and systems is pushing developers to consider a model-driven development strategy. The firm expects developers to adopt model-driven development approaches, including UML, over the next couple of years to cope with this complexity and an increase in the lines of software code per device.

VCD's study on the software development tools market reveals that the pure-play unbundled software development tools market is expected to grow at a CAGR of only 0.6 percent, primarily because of competition and the continued migration of leading OS vendors to the bundled tools market.

You can learn more about these trends, and evaluate the latest technologies and tools with the vendors themselves at the upcoming Embedded Systems Conference-China (ESC-China) to be held in Shenzhen on March 5-6, in Beijing on March 8-9 and in Shanghai on March 13-14.

Each year presents us with new market opportunities and new design challenges that often call for innovative technology and a stronger toolset. ESC-China 2007 lets you find these with over 150 exhibiting companies and enjoy new learning opportunities through vendor seminars and a panel discussion on the challenges in developing portable products. For more information, visit www.english.china.escasiaexpo.com.

See you there!

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