Greg Hodgson is Senior Director of Marketing for Silicon Labs’ Internet of Things solutions. He joined Silicon Labs in 2004 and has held senior roles in applications and systems engineering focusing on broadcast audio and in marketing focusing on 8-bit and 32-bit microcontroller products. Prior to joining Silicon Labs he was Staff Engineer at National Instruments focusing on design of audio analyzer equipment. Mr. Hodgson holds a BSECE from Ohio State University.
He talks on IoT market, growth, products and future opportunities.
- Why we should talk about Internet of Everything? How it changes our life?
We view the Internet of Things to be the next evolution of computing, which is adding sensing, processing and communications technologies to electronic “things” in our everyday lives to make them more useful. As the next evolution of computing, the Internet of Things market will be bigger than all previous computing markets.
The research firm Gartner predicts that the IoT will grow to 26 billion installed units by 2020 (excluding PCs, tablets and smartphones) while ABI Research predicts that the total number of connected devices will more than triple to reach 30 billion units by 2020.
Although analysts and other industry experts may differ in their estimates of the size of the IoT market, they all agree that the IoT opportunity is huge. It’s bigger than the smartphone market today, and it’s going to really have a huge impact on the way we live and on our economy.
The IoT is not only going to change the way we interact with the Internet, it is also going to have a significant impact on how we live our lives. The growing number of connected devices for consumer use and business purposes will create tremendous opportunities.
For consumers, the IoT will improve quality of life by enhancing comfort, security, convenience and resource utilization. It will also deliver health and fitness benefits to help reduce medical expenses, which is a huge issue in many countries around the world. For industry, we will see improved efficiencies and lower costs.
For semiconductor companies, the IoT opens the door to broad-based chip suppliers like Silicon Labs to expand into new embedded markets. For the global supply chain, the IoT will provide opportunities to add value through innovative software and services designed to reduce cost and improve efficiencies.
The Internet of Things ultimately will impact a wide variety of applications, including the smart grid and smart meters, security systems, the connected home, building automation, lighting control, smart accessories, and wearable computing devices such as smart watches and health and fitness trackers that connect to our handsets.
- What are Silicon Labs innovative products for IoT applications? Why you are calling them as next generation technology?
There is a growing demand for ultra-low-power components for IoT connected device applications, specifically energy-friendly microcontroller and wireless devices, which are key enablers for very low-cost, energy-efficient connected devices that can operate for months or even years on batteries.
Networking standards and interoperability are also critical to the IoT. This is especially true when it comes to all of the wireless connectivity options for the IoT including Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Bluetooth Smart and proprietary sub-GHz technologies. The newly launched Thread Group, whose founding members include Silicon Labs, Samsung Electronics, ARM, Nest Labs, Freescale, Big Ass Fans and Yale Security, is also developing the next-generation of IP-based mesh networking software for the Connected Home, and we expect that software and hardware solutions based on the Thread protocol will emerge in the market in 2015 and beyond. Silicon Labs has recently announced a Beta program for Thread software, enabling our customers to begin early development of their IP-based mesh networking applications.
The semiconductor technologies required to enable the IoT come down to sensing, processing and wireless connectivity.
Connected devices need to be able to sense environmental conditions such as light, temperature, humidity, motion, human proximity and power consumption. Silicon Labs provides a wide range of highly accurate, cost-effective optical and environmental sensors that can be used in many connected device applications.
Beyond sensors, data often must be processed locally in the connected device end node. MCUs based on the ARM processor core will be incorporated into all connected devices to enable this local processing capability. And these MCUs must be very energy efficient. Silicon Labs’ ARM-based EFM32 Gecko family is the industry’s most energy-friendly MCU portfolio, providing an ideal processing platform for power-sensitive and battery-operated connected device applications.
Connected devices also require very robust wireless networks based primarily on ZigBee but also Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and sub-GHz technologies. Silicon Labs is the leading provider of ZigBee devices and ZigBee software today, as well as a leading sub-GHz IC supplier.
- How do you look at the IoT market penetration in India?
As the world’s second most populous nation, India is inherently a large market for deployment of IoT applications, ranging from connected device nodes to cloud computing. In some respects the IoT market in India is comparable to the China market – it is a very large market that has enormous upside potential for growth and innovation. IoT deployment will be strong in key segments such as smart energy (smart metering and the smart grid), security systems and industrial IoT. Given India’s strong position in the global software industry and large pool of software developers, India is also in a unique position to be a center of excellence for IoT application development including smart phone apps, wireless protocols and security software, which are necessary for the success of the IoT.
- Freescale and TI are leaders, how are you competing them?
While Freescale and TI are much larger than Silicon Labs and have greater market share in microcontrollers, Silicon Labs is able to compete effectively and win share in the IoT market on the basis of several advantages:
- We offer the industry’s most “energy-friendly” MCUs – the EFM32 Gecko family – enabling IoT developers to develop energy-efficient connected device applications.
- We have outstanding RF technology including the industry’s most power-efficient sub-GHz transceivers and wireless MCUs, as well as superior technology and leading market share in the ZigBee market with our Ember ZigBee wireless SoCs and software stack. We are working within the newly formed Thread Group to help develop the new IP-based Thread mesh networking protocol and are the first company in that group to announce a beta program for Thread software.
- We believe we have better technology and expertise than our competitors to integrate ultra-low-power MCUs and multi-band wireless transceivers into single-chip “IoT SoCs,” which will be essential components to reduce the cost and complexity of connected device applications for the IoT.
- We have a strong position in the Connected Home market with extensive channel partner and ecosystem relationships, and we have the ability to expand our winning strategy in the Connected Home to other IoT markets.
- How is your overall market growth for IoT products in 2014? What will you expect in 2015?
The steady growth of Silicon Labs’ IoT-related revenue is a direct result of our increased investment in products, technologies and software for the IoT market. In 2012, the IoT drove around 10% of Silicon Lab’s overall revenue. That figure grew to 15% in 2013, and we are seeing continued growth this year in the IoT market, and beyond into 2015. What’s driving this growth is record performance in our microcontroller, wireless and sensorproducts, which continue to gain traction in a wide range of connected device applications.
- What is the idea of Silicon Labs IoT solutions for smart wearables? How do see the market emerging for wearables?
2014 has been a year of significant growth and opportunity for developers of wearable products, as well as the component vendors supplying the low-power, small-footprint MCUs, wireless ICs and sensors for wearable designs. The recent launch of the Apple Watch has spurred further interest and excitement in the wearables market, and we expect to see many more new and innovative wearable products appear in the market, ranging from smart watches to health and fitness trackers to smart glasses and smart earbuds. In addition to products from large established incumbents like Apple, Garmin, Samsung and Sony, we are seeing an increasing number of small, agile startups (such as Misfit, the maker of the Shine fitness tracker) entering the wearables market. As a leading supplier of energy-friendly ARM based MCUs, wireless ICs and sensors, Silicon Labs is well positioned to be a leading component supplier to wearables manufacturers. We view the wearables market as a strategic growth opportunity for Silicon Labs’ embedded business this year and for many years to come as the market grows and matures.
The primary consideration for semiconductor vendors in the wearables market is to provide ultra-low-power solutions that enable very long battery life. The feedback we receive from our wearable products customers, such as Misfit and Magellan, is that wearables must have exceptionally long battery life to be accepted by consumers and successful in the market. For wearable systems powered by user-replaceable batteries (such as coin cell batteries), it’s not uncommon to see wearable products with battery life ranging from 6 months to a year. Wearables powered by rechargeable batteries must also be very energy efficient to minimize charging intervals. Consumers will find it inconvenient to have to remove their smart watch or tracker every day or two for recharging; they prefer “set-it-and-forget-it” wearable products that they can wear on their wrists or clothing for weeks and even months at a time without worrying about battery replacement or recharging.
- Have you received any achievements, leadership awards for IoT products?
Silicon Labs’ MCU, sensor and wireless products have won numerous industry awards, typically sponsored by trade publications, in the U.S., the UK and China. Silicon Labs CEO Tyson Tuttle has also been invited to provide IoT keynotes at major industry events such as the upcoming Embedded World 2015 Conference in Germany.
