有人跟我一樣，對最近在“創(chuàng)客(maker)”、開發(fā)板供應(yīng)商與芯片業(yè)者之間正萌芽的“愛戀”百思不得其解嗎？最讓我感覺困惑的并非它們之間的“愛戀”，而是為何所有人都會認(rèn)為那是不錯的商機(jī)？ 在過去幾個月來我隨機(jī)收集到幾個相關(guān)信息，其一是今日的芯片供應(yīng)商開始以他們自己的方式，為那些追尋DIY設(shè)計(jì)案的非工程專業(yè)人士、或那些對DIY有興趣的人提供協(xié)助。為了迎合這些人的需要，只提供傳統(tǒng)的參考設(shè)計(jì)是不夠的。 例如飛思卡爾(Freescale)就希望能從這一群雖然似乎缺乏硬件設(shè)計(jì)專長的人之中，挖掘可做為下一代可穿戴設(shè)備開發(fā)資源的特定領(lǐng)域知識；該公司在今年稍早推出了一款名為WaRP的新參考設(shè)計(jì)，為該公司的平臺添加了一系列可穿戴設(shè)備功能區(qū)塊(如傳感器、軟件、連結(jié)性…)，讓“創(chuàng)客”們能根據(jù)需要來選擇為設(shè)備增減功能。 Marvell 最近發(fā)表了JavaScript 架構(gòu)消費(fèi)性電子/物聯(lián)網(wǎng)(IoT)設(shè)備原型開發(fā)工具包Kinoma Create，目標(biāo)用戶是沒有系統(tǒng)設(shè)計(jì)經(jīng)驗(yàn)的網(wǎng)頁設(shè)計(jì)師、軟件開發(fā)商與非工程專業(yè)人員；該公司Kinoma平臺業(yè)務(wù)副總裁Peter Hoddie聲稱，該開發(fā)工具包“比那些單板計(jì)算機(jī)所能提供的更完整”，除了配備可攜式機(jī)箱、電池、可調(diào)整腳架，并整合了能添加傳感器的面包板 (breadboard)、不需要用到焊gun，用戶能整合所有必要元素以及高階JavaScript軟件。 中國芯片業(yè)者全志科技(Allwinner)則似乎對于開放性硬件平臺pcDuino選擇了該公司的應(yīng)用處理器作為核心頗感興奮。所有打造各種Arduino硬件──由開放硬件社群所開發(fā)的平臺──且與pcDuino兼容所需的工作，都是由pcDuino社群來執(zhí)行，不是全志；pcDuino就算沒有全志的幫忙，也能讓“創(chuàng)客”們設(shè)計(jì)各種設(shè)備，從智能型煙霧探測器到虛擬臺式機(jī)。 低于100美元的解決方案 其二，有不少公司推出了價格100美元左右的單板計(jì)算機(jī)式參考設(shè)計(jì)；而在你只要花35美元就能買到電路板尺寸僅信用卡大小、配備博通(Broadcom)單芯片、Linux平臺之Raspberry Pi計(jì)算機(jī)的今時今日，100美元對那些“創(chuàng)客”來說可能還嫌太貴。 一家新創(chuàng)芯片公司Adapteva 在去年于募資網(wǎng)站Kickstarter推出一款平行處理開發(fā)板Parallella，現(xiàn)在開始一周出貨1,400套，優(yōu)先提供給募資網(wǎng)站上的支持者(有的可能要等18個月才拿得到貨)，售價99美元。Marvell的Kinoma Create開發(fā)工具包也是在募資網(wǎng)站(Indiegogo)上開賣，預(yù)計(jì)9月份開始出貨，售價149美元。 Adapteva 首席執(zhí)行官Andreas Olofsson 表示：“顯然，沒人會再想要向芯片公司買一套要價1,500美元的參考設(shè)計(jì)。”他指出，新的“創(chuàng)客”運(yùn)動為芯片廠商提供了將組件與參考設(shè)計(jì)賣給以往不曾銷售過芯片的對象：“如果不到100美元，甚至連專業(yè)工程師也有可能會自掏腰包、在周末閑暇時間嘗試新芯片。” 這對 Adapteva來說是不錯的機(jī)會，該公司希望能吸引工程師嘗試其低功耗多核心微處理器；藉由透過公司官網(wǎng)向大眾銷售Parallella開發(fā) 板，Oloffson表示：“我們現(xiàn)在能知道誰購買我們的板子?！痹摴菊噲D建立一個能互相交流的開發(fā)社群，但問題是到目前為止很少有人在那個“社群” 留言：“我們對那些──從不問問題的──買主如何使用我們的開發(fā)板所知甚少；我們甚至不確定他們是不是真的有把產(chǎn)品包裝盒打開?！? 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 第2頁：芯片廠商能藉此建立名聲？ 第3頁：“創(chuàng)客”與芯片業(yè)者之間的鴻溝…

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• 讓智能硬件實(shí)現(xiàn)連接交互rGresmc

{pagination} 芯片廠商能藉此建立名聲？ 其實(shí)所謂的“創(chuàng)客”運(yùn)動并不是新鮮事，過去幾十年來，熱衷于DIY的人們就很愛到處修修補(bǔ)補(bǔ)、很樂意為了開發(fā)硬件而把手弄得臟兮兮的；電子零組件通路商Premier Farnell 旗下的element14內(nèi)容總監(jiān)Sagar Jethani表示，有兩件事情讓傳統(tǒng)DIY轉(zhuǎn)變成范圍更廣的“創(chuàng)客”運(yùn)動：一是(開發(fā)板)價格，二是因特網(wǎng)。 Jethani 表示，因?yàn)椴坏?00美元，所以就算那些開發(fā)板的功能不那么齊全，你也不會覺得太糟；而價位在35美元的Raspberry Pi則是定位成教具，能教學(xué)生利用電子技術(shù)來解決問題。止于因特網(wǎng)則是推了“創(chuàng)客”們一把：“當(dāng)你在DIY時遇到困難，你總是能透過Google搜尋到 解答?！? 而Jethani認(rèn)為，電子產(chǎn)業(yè)已經(jīng)克服了對“創(chuàng)客”們的最初質(zhì)疑，他們開始會想知道，在那些“創(chuàng)客”中有多少是真正的工程師、是他們可以銷售產(chǎn)品的對象？今日的“創(chuàng)客”除了有業(yè)余DIY愛好者，也有專業(yè)工程師，還有所謂的“周末戰(zhàn)士(weekend warriors)”，但他們的真實(shí)身分已經(jīng)變得無關(guān)緊要。

深圳創(chuàng)客和他的“腦電波控制飛行球”
rGresmc

包括Premier Farnell 在內(nèi)的電子零組件通路商，正看到把包括LED、傳感器、被動組件甚至CAD軟件工具、示波器等銷售給那些新買家的商機(jī)；Jethani表示，根據(jù)他們對“創(chuàng)客”的了解，他們得用“未來產(chǎn)品生命周期”的思考模式來供應(yīng)他們所需。 所以，這對庫存了各種不同零組件的通路商們來說是好消息，但對于芯片廠商來說呢？對此飛思卡爾半導(dǎo)體首席執(zhí)行官Gregg Lowe表示，該公司對“創(chuàng)客”運(yùn)動是以較長遠(yuǎn)的眼光來看待：“在很大程度上，我們的資源專注在大學(xué)甚至是高中校園；”他指出，飛思卡爾不只是支持DIY 社群，也是為了建立名聲，期望能在早期就讓工程師接觸到該公司產(chǎn)品。 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 第3頁：“創(chuàng)客”與芯片業(yè)者之間的鴻溝…

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• 硅谷數(shù)模發(fā)布“SlimPort創(chuàng)客計(jì)劃”支持軟硬件廠商創(chuàng)新用戶體驗(yàn)
• 讓智能硬件實(shí)現(xiàn)連接交互rGresmc

{pagination} “創(chuàng)客”與芯片業(yè)者之間的鴻溝… 這 意味著現(xiàn)實(shí)情況是，在“創(chuàng)客”與芯片供應(yīng)商之間仍有存在著鴻溝。在某方面，有一些希望能創(chuàng)立一家像NEST那樣的企業(yè)的“小家伙”們，卻無法以少量購買芯片來開發(fā)產(chǎn)品以測試市場水溫；在另一方面，已經(jīng)習(xí)慣大量銷售芯片的芯片大廠，卻不知道該以什么方式賣芯片給那些“小家伙”們。 而電子零組件通路商則將自己視為“創(chuàng)客”與半導(dǎo)體芯片商、開發(fā)板供應(yīng)商的橋梁，他們認(rèn)為自己正處于最佳位置，能引導(dǎo)上述兩種供應(yīng)商通往“創(chuàng)客”們所追尋的夢 想產(chǎn)品。不過芯片供應(yīng)商如果希望“創(chuàng)客”運(yùn)動不只是個小插曲，就需要更具創(chuàng)意──其實(shí)芯片廠商是喜歡開放硬件社群的，因?yàn)橹灰麄兡苤С种行∑髽I(yè)設(shè)計(jì)出各 種不同的產(chǎn)品，就可以不必受那些喜好掌握一切的OEM原廠宰制。 以可穿戴設(shè)備為例，芯片廠商恐怕無法負(fù)擔(dān)為所有的相關(guān)產(chǎn)品 新創(chuàng)公司提供備貨資源，這會讓他們耗盡精力，畢竟在這個時代，芯片業(yè)者已經(jīng)無法投注太多資源來雇用現(xiàn)場應(yīng)用工程師(FAE)來支持所有的客戶；而想挖到一家大客戶(在可穿戴設(shè)備領(lǐng)域也根本沒幾家)也不容易，因此芯片廠商希望能建立一個成員互助──而且免費(fèi)的開放性社群。 這樣的開放性社群還沒有完全建立起來，誰知道它未來會如何發(fā)展？而因?yàn)檫@是一個長遠(yuǎn)計(jì)劃，芯片廠商還是得冒一些風(fēng)險(xiǎn)──透過選擇值得他們支持的設(shè)計(jì)者、開發(fā)商。在這種情況下，Marvell的策略似乎是正確的；據(jù)了解，該公司正與一些特定對象合作提供支持，希望能打造“超級巨星”。每一家希望產(chǎn)品大賣的芯片業(yè)者還是需要有“超級巨星”。 另一方面，如element14的Jethani 所言，在該領(lǐng)域仍需有一個平衡點(diǎn)；他把“創(chuàng)客”比喻為肥料，而傳統(tǒng)量產(chǎn)型芯片產(chǎn)業(yè)則像是一片草坪：“如果放太多肥料，可能反而讓草坪死翹翹。” 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 編譯：Judith Cheng 參考英文原文：Will ‘Makers’ Help Chip Guys’ Bottom Line?，by Junko Yoshida

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• 讓智能硬件實(shí)現(xiàn)連接交互rGresmc

{pagination} Will ‘Makers’ Help Chip Guys’ Bottom Line? Junko Yoshida, Chief International Correspondent MADISON, Wis. -- Am I the only one scratching my head over this newborn love among “makers,” board vendors, and chip companies? What mystifies me most is not so much the love part, but how anyone could eventually mistake this infatuation for good business. OK, there are a few random facts I’ve picked up in the past few months. First, chip suppliers today are going out of their way to help out non-engineering professionals in pursuit of DYI projects, or those who say they are. To cater to this crowd, it isn’t enough just to give them traditional reference design. Freescale Semiconductor, for one, hopes to mine the crowd, despite an absence of hardware design expertise. It possesses some specific domain knowledge that might project it as the source of the next hot wearable device. Freescale earlier this year launched new reference design called WaRP. Freescale is adding to its platform a broad range of wearable building blocks (sensors, software, connectivity, etc.) from which makers can pick and choose what they need to scale up or scale down the device. Marvell recently announced Kinoma Create. In pursuit of Web designers, software developers, and non-engineering professionals with no prior experience in designing a system, Marvell designed Kinoma Create, a JavaScript-powered maker kit for prototyping consumer electronics and IoT devices. Peter Hoddie, Marvell’s Kinoma vice president, described the kit as “much more complete than what a single-board computer can offer.” It comes with "a case to make it portable, a battery to make it mobile, adjustable legs to reorient it, and an integrated breadboard for adding sensors -- no soldering iron needed," he said. But the beauty part (they say) is that users can integrate all the necessary elements with the higher-level JavaScript software. Allwinner in China seemed delighted when pcDuino picked Allwinner’s apps processor as the brain for its motherboard. All the hard work needed to make a variety of Arduino hardware -- developed by the open-source hardware community -- pluggable to pcDuino has been carried out by the pcDuino community, not Allwinner. pcDuino, with no help from Allwinner, is enabling makers to design everything from a new smoke detector (which sends a message to your smartphone to change batteries, instead of making annoying beeping sounds in the middle of the night) to virtual desktops. Below $100 Next: Companies are putting out reference design-turned single computer boards at a price point around $100. At a time when you can get a Raspberry Pi, a credit card-sized board with a Broadcom SoC running Linux at only $35, even $100 seems pretty expensive to some makers. A startup, Adapteva, last year launched a parallel-processing board called Parallella using a Kickstarter campaign. The company recently started building 1,400 boards a week and began “shipping mass quantities to Kickstarter backers, many of whom have waited almost 18 months.” The Parallella board is priced… well you guessed it… at $99. Similarly, Marvell last month launched Kinoma Create at Indiegogo, another crowd-funding site. Now the Kinoma Create, scheduled to start shipping in September, is priced at $149. As Andreas Olofsson, Adapteva’s CEO, told us, “Apparently, nobody any longer buys a $1,500 reference design from a chip company.” As discouraging as all this sounds, the new “maker” movement opens opportunities for chip vendors to move devices and reference designs into the hands of people they’ve never sold chips to before. “If it is under $100, even a professional engineer could use his personal credit card to try out a new chip in his spare time over the weekend,” he explained. That’s not bad for Adapteva, which is hoping to sway engineers to try out the company's low-power multicore microprocessor design. By selling Parallella to the general public on their website, Oloffson said, “We now know who bought our boards.” The company is trying to build a community whose members can help one another. There is one problem. So far, few “members” have written in to the so-called community. “We have little idea how those buyers -- who haven’t asked us questions -- are doing with our board. For that matter, we don’t even know if they actually opened the box we shipped.” 'Do it for credit' Just to be clear, there is nothing new about the maker movement. For decades, DYI guys have tinkered away, happily getting their hands dirty with real hardware. Two things transformed the traditional DYI movement into a broader maker movement, according to Sagar Jethani, head of content at element14, owned by a global distributor, Premier Farnell: “the pricing [of boards] and the Internet.” Priced below $100, even if you can’t get it working to its full capability, you don’t have to feel so bad, Jethani explained. Besides, at $35, Raspberry Pi is positioned as an educational tool, helping students understand how to solve problems using electronics. The Internet created a tailwind for makers. “If you’re stuck with your DIY project, you can always search your question on Google and get the answer.” Jethani thinks the electronics industry has overcome its initial skepticism toward makers. “They used to ask questions like how many ‘makers’ are really engineers” to whom they can sell their products? Makers today include everyone from DYIers, to professional engineers, to so-called “weekend warriors.” Labels have become irrelevant. Distributors like Premier Farnell are finding an opportunity to sell a host of components ranging from LEDs, sensors, and passives to CAD soft and even oscilloscopes to this new breed of buyers. As they get to know makers, they realize they have “a lifecycle of future products” to offer them, he explained. So, it’s good news for distributors who stock a vast array of components. But what about chip vendors? For one, Freescale's CEO takes a long view on the maker movement. "To a large extent our energies are focused on the universities and even the high school level," said Gregg Lowe in an interview with EE Times. It's not just DIY, he said, it's do it for credit, as a way to get engineers hooked in early to Freescale products. Huge gap That said, the reality is that there remains a huge gap between the two ends of the spectrum. On one end, there are small guys who want to become the next NEST, but can’t buy chips in small quantities to test the market. On the other hand, big chip vendors are used to selling chips to name brands in bulk, and they tend not to know how to price a handful of chips for small guys. Distributors see themselves at the crossroads of semiconductor companies and board vendors. They believe they’re in the best position to steer those two suppliers toward the dream board that makers are looking for. But chip vendors need to get more creative if they want the maker movement to become more than just a sideshow. Let me be clear. Chip vendors love open source communities for one reason. As long as they enable small and medium entities to design a variety of new devices, it solves the pesky problem of hand-holding OEMs. Take wearable devices. Chip vendors can't afford to spare resources for every wearable startup. It sucks the life out of them. We are no longer in the old era when chip vendors could spend a lot of money hiring field application engineers to support their customers. To find a gem out of millions (a leading wearable device vendor who is neither Sony nor Samsung) won’t be easy. The chip vendor’s dream scenario is to discover or build an open source community where friends help friends -- free. That hasn’t happened yet. Who knows if it ever will? Because that ideal is a long shot, chip vendors still need to take chances -- by picking the designers and developers whom they deem worthy of support. In that sense, Marvell might have the right idea. It is selectively working with a few people who initially jumped in and got their hands on Kinoma Create at Indiegogo. Marvell is supporting them in an effort to create superstars, according to Hoddie. Every chip company who wants to sell its chips still needs superstars. One more thing. As element14’s Jethani put it, there has to be a balance. He equated makers with Miracle Grow and the conventional volume chip business with a lawn. He said, “Too much Miracle Grow? You kill the lawn.”