Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD
As we close the books on 2022 and look towards 2023, we’ll hopefully begin to put this economic recession behind us, along with the defining event of our time, COVID-19. And hey, maybe we can go a whole year without some major or minor catastrophe – a guy can hope, can’t he?
By the time you read this, some of you might be experiencing the glitz and glamour of Sin City and the Consumer Electronics Show (or preparing to go), while most of you are probably planning for the Super Bowl of our industry, the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC), which lands in Orlando, FL this March.
The new year is a wellspring of possibilities and the chance to right wrongs, fortify our strengths, and chart a better course for the future. The prospects are endless, and our industry, our nation, and the globe could shift dramatically over the next 365 days – who knows which way the winds will blow?
Well, for us, the new year signifies an immediate focus on one of the most fundamental (and fiscally lucrative) topics – EV, Hybrids, and Charging Infrastructure. Every automaker and every company even tangentially involved in the transportation space falls somewhere in the area of electric and hybrid vehicles or the infrastructure to support them. Which is to say, just about everyone in our industry.
It's the wave of the future, and because of government mandates or the steady march of technological innovation, anything that takes you from point A to point B will eventually be electrified in some way.
Most of the developed world has set a hard deadline of 2050 to go carbon-neutral, while nearly every automaker plans to jettison gas-only vehicles much sooner than mid-century. It’s no longer a question of fossil fuels vs. renewable energy but when the latter will fully mature (and the infrastructure to support it will be in place).
Part of that maturation process is ensuring that every component, big and small, is up to the task – like the sensors, for instance.
And in a piece I’d like to highlight, Sensata Technologies covers the “Sensing & Control Solutions Trends in Electric Vehicles.”
As Sensata’s Deirdre Hegarty, Martin Poceiro, and Ayoub Sidhom point out, “As electronics replace legacy hydraulic components in brake-by-wire systems, there is a need for new sensing topologies in the pedal assemblies.”
That, plus stricter safety requirements, is putting the onus on brake sensing technologies “that ensure electromechanical brakes (EMBs) maintain or exceed the performance and safety of legacy systems.”
Best Regards,
Jason Lomberg
North American Editor, PSD
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