AM signals: Qualcomm to remain intact, European automakers adopt touch control
Qualcomm will keep its corporate structure intact, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company has considered dividing into two companies its chipset business, which generates most of the revenue, and its patent-licensing arm, which generates most of the profits.
California-based Synaptics says European automakers take the lead in biometrics in cars. Electronics Weekly quotes Dr. Huibert Verhoeven, vice president of the company’s automotive business, as saying that despite initial resistance, “…now there is widespread acceptance of touch control in cars, and if we add newer technologies such as force touch and haptics I believe there is an even bigger opportunity.”
Spacecom, which last month lost contact with Amos-5, is preparing to declare the satellite a total loss, according to Broadband TV News. The company is filing a $158 million insurance claim.
A town council in North Carolina has rejected a solar-farm proposal out of fears that the project would hinder photosynthesis, cause cancer, and cause the town’s young people to move out, reports the New York Daily News. Appeals by representatives of Strata Solar, the company that wanted to build the project, were unsuccessful.
About the Author

Rick Nelson
Contributing Editor
Rick is currently Contributing Technical Editor. He was Executive Editor for EE in 2011-2018. Previously he served on several publications, including EDN and Vision Systems Design, and has received awards for signed editorials from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. He began as a design engineer at General Electric and Litton Industries and earned a BSEE degree from Penn State.