‘electronicaUSA with Embedded Systems Conference’

An expanded lineup of exhibitors and products, a gamut of technology classes and panel discussions, and great keynote speakers—sprinkled with a bit of show business like "battle robot" contests on the show floor—are ingredients that delivered a memorable high-tech show at "electronicaUSA with Embedded Systems Conference" (ESC) at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center, March 29 to April 1, 2004.

By Control Engineering Staff April 8, 2004

An expanded lineup of exhibitors and products, a gamut of technology classes and panel discussions, and great keynote speakers—sprinkled with a bit of show business like “battle robot” contests on the show floor—are ingredients that delivered a memorable high-tech show at ” electronicaUSA with Embedded Systems Conference ” (ESC) at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center, March 29 to April 1, 2004. This 16th edition of ESC, the first combined with electronicaUSA, attracted approximately 13,000 visitors and 430 exhibitors.

Show statistics reflect 30% growth in attendance and 50% increase in exhibitors compared to ESC 2003, says show management, CMP Media LLC and Messe Muenchen. Exhibitors included more than 60 semiconductor companies. Besides Embedded Systems Conference, three other technical conferences were part of the expanded event: Power Electronics Conference, Communications Design Conference, and Emerging Technologies Forum.

Among several keynotes, Dr. Robert D. Ballard—of deep-sea exploration fame—delivered the event-opening presentation. His talk, “Living the Dream: Lessons Learned on the Ocean Floor,” went beyond the great exploits of finding the ocean liner Titanic and battleship Bismarck , among others. Ballard discussed remarkable experiences with chemosynthesis (chemistry of the dark) that supports life on the ocean floor via hydrothermal vents—opposed to photosynthesis that occurs on the earth’s surface. Chemosynthesis helps explain the presence of 10-ft long sea worms and “more living tissue inside the earth than on land, in water, and in the air,” he says. Ballard also traced the development of undersea technology from the days of human-only descents with short time duration and limited communication capabilities to today’s sophisticated remotely operated search vehicles that provide “telepresence” and real-time images to anywhere in the world.

The rest of this newsletter’s embedded control coverage and next month’s will provide more about the show.

Next year’s electronicaUSA/ESC is scheduled for March 7-10, 2005, in San Francisco, CA.

—Frank J. Bartos, executive editor, Control Engineering, fbartos@reedbusiness.com