Infineon at electronica 2018: Electromobility is being made fit for long distances, drones are coming of age, and robots are becoming agile

Infineon Technologies AG gives answers to the major questions related to digitization: How can clean energy be produced and how does it get into the electric car quickly and with low losses? What makes servers more efficient as we transfer more and more data to the cloud? How suitable are robots already for use in everyday life? And how do we protect ourselves in a connected world against attackers from cyberspace? Together with customers and strategic partners, Germany’s largest semiconductor manufacturer is working on solutions for the connected world of tomorrow. Infineon will showcase the connection between the real and digital worlds at booth 503 in Hall C3 at electronica 2018, from 13 to 16 November.

The way to CO ₂-free driving: with semiconductors from Infineon

Emission-free vehicles make sustainable mobility possible. And that is what the ID. BUZZ from Volkswagen stands for: The versatile all-wheel drive vehicle transfers the Microbus feeling into the future. Of course, the zero-emission Microbus is prepared for highly automated driving. As Volkswagen’s strategic semiconductor partner, Infineon is the first partner to present the all-electric concept car and explains how semiconductors pave the way for e-driving.

To earn its name, emission-free driving needs electricity from renewable sources. For the efficient generation of solar power, Infineon is presenting a solar inverter from SMA Solar that uses CoolSiC™ technology: the new semiconductor material silicon carbide (SiC) increases the power density by more than 80 percent. Thus, inverters become more compact and lighter with the same output, or the output increases significantly while size and weight remain unchanged.

For e-mobility to become established, vehicles have to be recharged quickly and efficiently. Infineon will show how charging stations from IONITY enable precisely that: Rapid charging for several hundreds of kilometers and for everyone. The joint venture of BMW, Daimler, Ford and VW was founded in 2017 with the aim of establishing a network of fast charging stations (350 kW) for e-cars along Europe’s main transport routes.

Solution for power-hungry servers: Infineon presents gallium nitride product portfolio 

More and more devices, computers and machines produce enormous data flows in the connected world. The same goes for the rising number of sensors that enable innovative artificial intelligence applications. The required servers and data centers are growing in size and becoming increasingly power hungry. Greater efficiency in supplying them with power is possible thanks to alternative semiconductor materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) – that saves energy and hence CO ₂ and money. At electronica, Infineon is premiering its CoolGaN™ product portfolio for use in data transmission (telecom) and servers.

Drones and robots: the next step

Drones have achieved the breakthrough as a serious mode of transport. Their use to convey loads and people may soon become a part of everyday life. Infineon is presenting a new approach: AURIX™ microcontrollers as flight controllers and CoolGaN solutions for engine control set a new standard in the development of powerful and autonomous carrier drones.

Infineon introduces visitors to its booth to ROBOY. The humanoid robot is remarkably similar to the human body in terms of agility, cognition and sensitivity. Infineon is supporting researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) who are exploring artificial intelligence in robots as part of the project: ROBOY 2.0 moves smoothly, can recognize people and hold conversations. In the next stage of its development, ROBOY should be able to walk: With the aid of Infineon’s 60-GHz radar sensor XENSIV™, it will then be able to recognize the surface below its feet and adapt its movements accordingly thanks to highly sensitive sensors from Infineon.

Infineon’s mission is to make life easier and greener – as well as safer. After all, connected devices that are online can be attacked. Hardware-based security is a central theme that runs through Infineon’s portfolio. With its OPTIGA™ product family, Infineon delivers robust security tailored to needs for the wide range applications in the Internet of Things, from the smart home to the drone.

That is achieved through the strategic approach “From Product to System”. Members of the Infineon Security Partner Network (ISPN) will present further applications with security chips from Infineon, to protect industrial robots, intellectual property and data, or as electronic door locks for business applications.