How General-Purpose Components Can Speed Embedded-System Design

Reliable, reusable components can help engineers preserve proven circuit designs and reduce the risk of delays as products evolve.

Key Highlights

  •          General-purpose components can help engineers speed embedded-system design by allowing proven circuits to be reused across product generations.
  •          Reliable component availability can reduce redesign risk and help engineering teams keep development schedules on track as products evolve.
  •          As embedded systems become more complex, designers must balance component performance and cost while considering long-term availability.
  •          A broad portfolio of proven analog and embedded components can simplify part selection and give engineers more time to focus on differentiated product features and innovation.

ED: If you talk about the basics, what would you consider the basics?

Verdejo: In my role and across my entire career at TI, I have the opportunity to travel, visit hundreds of customers — thousands, possibly — around the world. 

And when I go out there, one of the biggest challenges that I constantly hear system designers talk about is finding the right part for every function on their system. They are balancing performance, cost, the design time they spend on it, and the availability of the product. Is this product going to be available in the long term? Is the supply chain reliable?

So, they need to know not only that the part works for their design today, but that they can confidently build around it in the future. 

ED: How would you contrast your offerings from what is available from your competition?

Verdejo: Number one is the breadth of our portfolio. Look at TI’s general-purpose portfolio across analog and embedded — we have thousands of products, maybe more than 100 categories, that we’re able to offer. That provides the customer with flexibility to pick between performance and cost.

Number two is the ease of design. We have application support; we have application notes that teach the customer how to use our part in their specific system. We have easy-to-use tools. We create products that are pin-to-pin to commodity products. So, if they’re using a competitor product, they’re able to use ours and then have a second source, and then increase their manufacturing flow and get their products to market faster.

And then the third area that we like to emphasize is our quality. Each of our products has a product cycle for development, and then the qualification portion is the one that takes the most time.

We want to make sure you have our part in your board. You don’t have to worry about having to change this part in 10 years. This is a commitment that we have with our customers, and we take it very seriously. 

ED: You could have the greatest microcontroller on the planet, but if your wireless connectivity has bandwidth issues or issues of any nature, it’s not going to work the way it’s designed, right?

Verdejo: That’s correct. And then think of when you talk to customers; usually, when they have a design from one generation to the next, they reuse the circuits. For voltage sensing, they use the same circuit, and they tend to reuse the same part.

If you give a part that is not reliable or not available in the market, or you’re not able to supply it whenever they have the demand, how do they move faster? How are they able to innovate faster?

So, I think that what we’re providing at Texas Instruments is that availability, that quality, and that peace of mind for the customer. Ultimately, a strong general-purpose portfolio helps accelerate innovation. I tell this to my employees and my customers because without those building blocks, you really cannot move fast. Basically, your development slows down. 

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To learn more about Texas Instruments' solutions, please visit the links below:

[Product] General-Purpose Portfolio
[Blog] The Chips That Change The World
[Resources] Educational Resources

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About the Author

Alix Paultre

Alix Paultre

Editor-at-Large, Electronic Design

An Army veteran, Alix Paultre was a signals intelligence soldier on the East/West German border in the early ‘80s, and eventually wound up helping launch and run a publication on consumer electronics for the US military stationed in Europe. Alix first began in this industry in 1998 at Electronic Products magazine, and since then has worked for a variety of publications in the embedded electronic engineering space. Alix currently lives in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Also check out his YouTube watch-collecting channel, Talking Timepieces. 

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