The race for processors for mobile devices that are increasingly powerful in performance and connection to wireless networks is fierce. Qualcomm seems to be leading the way, but NVIDIA, Samsung and Intel are also in it and their research and development is going that way. Three of the aforementioned use architectural licenses ARM, so it could be said that the British company should be calm. Although, it does not stand still and they also want to dominate in the future business of the chips of the Internet of Things.
We refer to low power chips but with minimal consumption, as well as a very small size. ARM works to get chips that use a minimum voltage, we speak of between 0,3 and 0,6 volts and that have a frequency that is measured in Kilohertz and not in Gigahertz.
What is sought is not to extend the autonomy of smartphones and tablets. That is another line of research. Here the goal is equip objects with chips that allow them to transmit small volumes of information with hardly any battery consumption. This would be an important step forward for the Internet of Things.
The near future will be littered with objects and devices that will communicate with our main devices for many purposes. The best known are sport and health, with temperature control, pulse or humidity of the skin, etc ... However, the range of possible applications is much wider: wearable electronics, domótica, transportation, industrial manufacturing or surveillance.
The interest is such that they have decided to acquire more knowledge using the checkbook. ARM has purchased the startups Finnish Sensinode Oy, who develops specific software for the Internet of Things or IoT. They are responsible for many of the low-power internet connection standards between devices. Now, with the backing of the great British platform, they will be able to universalize themselves and attract more developers.
ARM has made only two acquisitions in its history, both of which point to the future and to interconnected object technology. The first was in 2011 when they bought Prolific, an expert company in nanotechnology software tools.
Intel is also in this race, but it does not seem so well placed. Apple also wants to have its own path in the Internet of Things and that is why you also bought an expert company in this field, Passive Semiconductor.
Source: Tech Crunch