Welcome to the very first Embedded Europe blog, our bi-monthly synopsis of key announcements, technology news, and events in the European embedded industry (Subscribe to the newsletter). In this issue we ponder the ramifications of the mind-blowing Altera acquisition by Intel and what this means for the future of their integrated ARM cores. We evaluate the latest advances in low power technology driving IoT, with Silicon Labs’ MCUs for USB connected devices and Atmel’s SAM L family, the latter promising battery life measured in years! We examine advances in High Density Industrial Power Management and evaluate how IoT technology is driving digital learning in schools.

OpenSystems Media reports from the front line at the Device Developer’s Conference and delves into the exciting world of Dynamic Embedded Software Licensing. We also frequented the M2M World Congress in London, UK where industry behemoths laid out their vision of the connected future, and mused “What next after IoT?”, which one thought-leader asserts is the “Internet of Enchanted Things“. Look out for all future OpenSystems European embedded events reports!

In this first edition we reveal two groundbreaking technology announcements. The first, by way of implementing highly accurate radio wave sensor technology, is a motion detection solution so accurate it can monitor a baby’s chest movements and provide highly accurate data on breathing patterns. I was privileged to be provided a sneak-preview evaluation kit with which I used my 4 month old baby son as a guinea pig and undertook a full review of Novelda AS’s XeThru technology.

The second, a revolutionary advance in touchscreen technology that I remained skeptical of until it was in my hand. Emulating 3D structures and textures by fooling the brain with a patented technique of bending low frequency waves. The brain perceives these as protrusions and indentations, perfect for imitating physical buttons (you know, the car audio buttons that meant you could keep your eye on the road instead of looking at a touchscreen, those buttons) – actually my bracketed mockery is one of the primary target applications for haptic feedback touchscreen technology, the touchscreen that touches you.

I trust you’ve found the first edition as exciting to read as I have to create, I’m keen to hear reader’s feedback on how our first “Europe-specific” e-newsletter can best serve its readership for future editions. Please feel free to comment below or contact me via e-mail or LinkedIn.