Strategic Upgrade 

As U-tec’s parent company, Xthings will provide extensive support to elevate U-tec’s product and service offerings. This strategy encompasses:

• Data-Driven Product Optimization: Utilizing Xthings’ advanced data analytics capabilities, U-tec will gain deeper insights into consumer needs, driving superior product performance and functionality.
• New Product Launches: U-tec will introduce an expanded range of smart devices, including locks, doorbells, cameras, control systems, and personal electronic products, all powered by the Xthings IoT platform.
• Enhanced Compatibility through Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) Collaboration: By adopting the Matter standard, Xthings ensures its products are seamlessly compatible with leading platforms such as U home, Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and SmartThings, thereby enhancing user experiences.

Brand Revamp 

Since its inception, U-tec has earned market recognition for its innovative smart home solutions, including smart locks, cameras, and lighting control systems. With Xthings’ support, the brand revamp will include:

• Brand Image Refresh: A modernized logo and visual identity that reflect innovation and leadership in smart home and consumer electronics industry.
• Revised Brand Positioning: A renewed focus on providing smarter, safer, and more convenient home solutions while expanding its personal electronic consumer products.
• Enhanced Market Promotion: Through Xthings’ support, U-tec will bolster brand visibility and market penetration via multi-channel marketing initiatives.

Market Outlook 

This revamp and strategic upgrade underscore a deep synergy between technology and branding for Xthings and U-tec, reflecting the immense growth potential in the smart home market. Market projections indicate rapid expansion, with the global market size expected to reach $250 billion by 2028.

Matthew Brown, Xthings’ chief strategy officer, remarked, “We are excited to support U-tec’s brand transformation and strategic evolution. This initiative showcases our technological expertise and shared vision, as we remain committed to delivering smarter, better user experiences.”

For more information, visit xthings.com.

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All three devices in the new nRF54L Series integrate a 2.4 GHz radio and MCU functionality, including CPU, memory, and peripherals, into a single ultra-low power chip, supporting applications from simple, high-volume products to more demanding and advanced designs. Key applications include wearables, smart rings, gaming controllers, HID devices, as well as medical devices, smart homes, and industrial IoT products. The nRF54L15 is well-suited for more demanding applications, while the nRF54L10 and nRF54L05 target high-volume applications such as smart tags, electronic shelf labels, asset trackers, and other cost-sensitive IoT devices.

“The launch of the nRF54L Series is a proud moment for Nordic. This new range of wireless SoCs establishes Nordic, already the world’s leading supplier of Bluetooth LE solutions, firmly at the forefront of low power wireless technology,” says Oyvind Strom, EVP Short-Range with Nordic Semiconductor. 

Equipped for tomorrow’s advanced IoT products 

The nRF54L Series SoCs all feature an Arm Cortex-M33 processor clocked at 128 MHz and an ultra-low-power 2.4G Hz radio. They are designed to support advanced application software and wireless protocol stacks on a single chip, reducing the need for external MCUs or additional memory.  

Within the series, the nRF54L15 offers the largest memory capacity with 1.5 MB non-volatile memory (NVM) and 256 KB RAM, ideal for demanding applications. nRF54L10 provides a mid-range option with 1.0 MB NVM and 192 KB RAM, while the nRF54L05 is optimized for less demanding, cost-sensitive applications, featuring 0.5 MB NVM and 96 KB RAM. 

The product series offers up to 35 GPIOs and an ultra-compact 2.4 by 2.2 mm WLCSP package option that is 50 percent smaller than the comparable nRF52840. A range of nRF54L Series 6×6 pin-to-pin compatible QFN packages ensures design flexibility and manufacturing cost optimization.  

In addition to its expanded memory options, the product series integrates a low-power RISC-V coprocessor, supporting advanced application requirements without additional external components, reducing BOM costs, and enabling compact designs.

Enhanced multiprotocol support  

The nRF54L Series supports Bluetooth LE, Bluetooth Mesh, Thread, Matter, Zigbee, Amazon Sidewalk, and 2.4 GHz proprietary protocols, with enhanced capabilities such as up to 4 Mbps data rate. The series is future-proofed to support Bluetooth 6.0, including Bluetooth Channel Sounding. 

Next generation wireless SoCs 

The nRF54L Series takes the market-leading nRF52 Series to the next level, with even lower power consumption, double the processing power, and triple the processing efficiency. The new products are built on Nordic’s deep design expertise and include proprietary intellectual property (IP) such as low-leakage RAM and advanced radio technology. Ultra-low power capabilities and processing efficiency have been boosted by a pioneering transition to the 22 nm process node (TSMC’s 22ULL technology) while also significantly enhancing the resilience of Nordic’s supply chain. 

Development support and availability 

The new nRF54L15 DK (Development Kit) is available for order today, making the complete nRF54L Series – including the nRF54L10 and nRF54L05 – broadly accessible for evaluation and development. It comes with an ecosystem of software that quickly enables development and proof of concepts, combined with detailed documentation, hands-on online courses, and world-class technical support.  

nRF54L15 is sampling to selected customers now. nRF54L15, nRF54L10, and nRF54L05 will all enter full volume production towards the end of this year.

For more information, visit nordicsemi.com.

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Building Innovation is a premiere meeting for all who impact the built environment to find solutions. BI2025 takes place May 19-21, 2025, at the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia.

The conference theme is Thrive: Strategies for Resilient Communities. The conference will follow three tracks: Leaders, Practitioners, and Technologists.

NIBS seeks speaker abstracts for the following topics:

• Functional recovery
• Sustainable design and construction practices
• Retrofitting for resilience
• Climate adaptation strategies for buildings and infrastructure
• Community resilience and engagement in urban planning
• Innovative materials
• Technologies for resilient design, construction, and planning
• Policy frameworks that support resilient development
• Adopting resilient projects and strategies; case studies
• Integration of green infrastructure and ecosystem services
• Risk assessment and management in the built environment
• Innovative investments and insurance in resilience
• Workforce

About the BI2025 Tracks

The three Building Innovation tracks aim to look beyond buildings to enable community-level resilience.

Leaders – Sessions will focus on developing policy frameworks, strengthening critical infrastructure, incentivizing the investment, and empowering the workforce behind functional recovery.

Practitioners – Establishing processes for resilient building, sessions will focus on codes, standards, existing buildings, risk assessment and management, and sustainable design and construction practices.

Technologists – Sessions will highlight current and emerging technologies for resilient design, construction, and planning, focusing on technology solutions, materials, use cases, and implementation and adoption.

Abstract submissions are due January 3, 2025.

For more information, visit nibs.org.

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“We are excited to show our project partners how Revizto can help teams in the construction process collaborate, communicate, and manage projects more efficiently. It takes our use of BIM to a whole new level, allowing us to work smarter and keep everyone on the same page.” – Brandon Nanke, director of VDC/BIM, Conlon Construction.

Conlon Construction, known for its expertise in construction management and a legacy of quality and schedule adherence, is advancing its use of technology to stay competitive. By leveraging building information modeling (BIM) and adopting Revizto as its Integrated Collaboration Platform, the firm is transforming how teams collaborate and coordinate across projects.

“From a preconstruction standpoint, Revizto will be a game-changer for our work with architects, engineers, project managers, and superintendents. By seeing changes in real-time, we can be sure that all stakeholders are informed and making sound decisions throughout the lifecycle of the project.” says Keefe Gaherty, vice-president of Preconstruction, Conlon Construction.

Since adopting Revizto in January 2023 through two proof-of-concept projects, Conlon quickly realized that Revizto is the key to advancing their BIM and VDC goals. Leveraging the model directly in the field will be critical to provide field teams with crucial timely data. For example, with Revizto, teams can verify that sleeves are correctly positioned before concrete is poured, preventing costly mistakes and project delays. This is just one of many ways Revizto will drive efficiency and value to Conlon’s projects.

“We are thrilled to welcome Conlon Construction to our fast-growing list of Enterprise customers. Conlon’s decision to adopt Revizto across its projects highlights their commitment to innovation and efficiency in the construction industry. By standardizing model-based coordination with a central integrated platform, they are positioning themselves to take on more complex projects and improve collaboration across their project teams. We look forward to supporting their growth and seeing the impact of this partnership on their diverse portfolio throughout the Midwest.” – Anthony Heller, Central Region sales director at Revizto.

For more information, visit revizto.com.

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The CoE, located at Cyient’s Manikonda Campus, will focus on developing next-generation magnetic sensors and power semiconductor products for the automotive industry. The state-of-the-art facility was inaugurated by Allegro MicroSystems president & CEO Vineet Nargolwala in the presence of Max Glover, senior vice president WW sales, Allegro MicroSystems, and Suman Narayan, senior vice president, products, Allegro MicroSystems.    

The CoE will house over 100 skilled engineers specializing in key areas such as post-silicon validation, design verification, analog design, analog mixed-signal verification, and embedded systems. This expansion significantly strengthens Allegro MicroSystems’s presence in India, providing access to a highly skilled talent pool and fostering collaboration within the vibrant Indian technology ecosystem.

The CoE will play a crucial role in accelerating the development of Allegro MicroSystems’s sensor and power integrated circuit (IC) product portfolios, which are essential components in electric vehicles, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and other automotive applications. By leveraging Cyient’s expertise in India, Allegro MicroSystems aims to bring innovative products to market faster and more efficiently. The collaboration will also focus on addressing key industry trends, including the increasing demand for magnetic sensors in electric vehicles, the rise of high-power devices such as SiC and GaN and the growing importance of embedded systems and platforms.

“India’s rapidly growing automotive market presents a tremendous opportunity for Allegro MicroSystems,” said Vineet Nargolwala, CEO of Allegro MicroSystems. “This CoE established with Cyient’s partnership, will enable us to accelerate innovation in magnetic sensors and power semiconductors, delivering cutting-edge solutions that address the evolving needs of the automotive industry. This investment reinforces Allegro MicroSystems’s commitment to driving e-mobility, clean energy and automation forward, aligning perfectly with our vision for a safer, more sustainable and autonomous future.”

“Our relationship with Allegro MicroSystems has flourished over the past two years and we are incredibly proud of the team and the contributions they have made to Allegro MicroSystems’s product portfolio. Semiconductors are at the heart of innovation across industries and this CoE strengthens Cyient’s position as a leading partner for companies seeking to develop and manufacture cutting-edge semiconductor products,” said Krishna Bodanapu, executive vice-chairman & anaging director, Cyient.

This collaboration marks a significant milestone for both companies, reinforcing their commitment to driving innovation in the automotive semiconductor market. The CoE will not only contribute to the growth of the semiconductor industry in India but also support the global automotive industry’s transition towards a more sustainable and technologically advanced future.

For more information, visit cyient.com.

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Rapid Fusion, which employs eight people at its recently opened Exeter R&D center, has created a high-performance electro spindle that will provide precision milling and post-processing of polymer 3D prints.

Eight months in gestation, the breakthrough technology will be fitted to future ZEUS 3D robotic systems by the company and will give clients the opportunity to enjoy the speed of additive manufacturing with the precision of subtractive machining – all in one 6-metre x 6-metre cell.

This tool will be ideal for high-quality molds across a range of industries, such as automotive, aerospace and marine applications, where speed to market is increasingly important.

“This CNC milling tool has the potential to be a real game changer for manufacturers and has been designed in partnership with a number of end users to ensure we deliver exactly what they need,” explained Martin Jewell, R&D director at Rapid Fusion. “3D printing can give unrivalled speed and creates molds near net shape, within 3 to 4mm. Certain applications need even greater precision and this is where you can call in a CNC milling tool to remove the excess material. Going forward, we’ll be able to offer this in one turnkey solution.”

He went on to add: “The advantages are huge. We now know we can deliver repeatable quality, and, on one trial project, we reduced the lead time for a mold tool from six to eight weeks to just five days. That is some saving.

“Our CNC milling tool comes equipped with a tool changer, allowing users to swap between it and the 3D printing pellet extruder on a robot set-up. It can also efficiently handle engineering-grade materials, such as glass and carbon-filled PEI and peek polymers.”

Rapid Fusion, a sister business of 3D printing hardware specialist EVO 3D, is committed to becoming a major player in additive manufacturing platforms – all designed, built and assembled in the UK.

It launched its first bespoke cell, Apollo, earlier this year and this has already received significant interest for its ability to offer faster speeds than existing FDM printers (nearly 200 times quicker).

The company is just a few months away from releasing a second cell that will include the CNC milling tool, with orders already placed by a 3D printing production specialist in the UK and a construction supplier in the EU.

It is estimated that this new technology alone could generate up to £3M of annual revenue and is completely designed, developed and manufactured in the South West.

Martin continued: “Everyone knows the UK is a fantastic breeding ground for ideas and innovation, yet we don’t commercialize enough of the new things we come up with. We’re trying to change this and the CNC milling tool will be an important weapon in our product portfolio for achieving that.

“When integrated into our new robotic platform, clients will be able to tap into the best of additive and subtractive manufacturing in one solution, benefitting from a host of time, cost and operational benefits – not to mention significant environmental savings from using less material and energy.”

Rapid Fusion used the recent Advanced Engineering Show in Birmingham to sign a distribution agreement with CNC World, which will be one of the main agents for the CNC milling tool and the new robotic platform when it is released.

For further information, please visit rapidfusion.co.uk.

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InP technology supports modulator bandwidths exceeding 120 GHz, making it the optimal solution for next-generation multi-terabit telecom and datacom standards – pushing transceiver speeds far into the terabit realm. In contrast, market leading silicon photonics technologies hit a performance ceiling at around 70 GHz. The collaboration aims to deliver scalable, high-volume solutions that combine the best of both technologies.

By co-optimizing silicon photonics, InP, and MTP technologies to fulfill customer requirements, the collaboration will enable new functionalities and improved system performance while reducing integration costs through relaxed photonics packaging requirements. The MTP technology, licensed from X-Celeprint, enables a broad degree of freedom for the system and product designers, by providing flexible integration of various material system chiplets into the product design.

Johan Feenstra, CEO of SMART Photonics, explains: “I am very pleased that we were able to establish a strategic collaboration with X-FAB to unite the strengths of our platforms through world-class heterogeneous integration. As the demand for integrated photonics rapidly increases, thanks to the growth of AI and data transfer, our joint solutions will enable much faster data rates while reducing overall power consumption, and therefore the environmental footprint.”

Rudi De Winter, CEO of X-FAB, adds: “Through heterogeneous integration, we are combining the best of the InP and silicon photonics worlds. This will allow our customers to develop innovative solutions addressing the societal challenges of our times such as decarbonization. It is also a great opportunity to build a strong European value chain.”

This collaboration builds upon the PhotonixFAB EU funding project, which aims to provide a path to scalable high-volume manufacturing for SOI and SiN silicon photonics, MTP-ready InP chiplets and micro-transfer printing of chiplets.

X-FAB and SMART Photonics recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize their collaboration. The aim is to support lead customers with industrial prototyping by 2026, with risk production readiness by 2027. Early customer engagements can be supported within the ongoing PhotonixFAB project framework.

For more information, visit xfab.com.

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Siemens will deliver NX X software on Azure, so organizations can benefit from Microsoft’s responsible AI tools and access to enterprise-grade security combined with Siemens’ leading product engineering software. This follows the announcement earlier this year of Siemens’ Teamcenter X software for product lifecycle management (PLM) being made available on Azure.

“Our customers are continuing to ask Siemens to bring our industry leading industrial software to Azure,” said Bob Haubrock, senior vice president, Product Engineering Software, Siemens Digital Industries Software. “Our relationship with Microsoft is now more than 35 years and we are pleased, once again, to expand this collaboration so we can best enable our customers to digitally transform through our joint solutions. Building on the success we are seeing with delivery of Teamcenter X on Azure, we’re now expanding to also bring our industry leading NX X product engineering software to the Azure platform.”

Delivering NX X through Azure

A cornerstone of the Siemens Xcelerator as a Service cloud-based portfolio of industry software, NX X delivers industry leading product engineering capabilities as-a-service for advanced 3D product engineering, enabling customers to free up resources, so they can scale and focus on innovation. NX X delivers centralized cloud license management, configuration, and provision of capability while simplifying IT requirements. NX X seamlessly integrates with Azure Cloud Services, giving organizations the flexibility to either install NX X directly on desktops or access it through virtual desktop solutions, including Azure Virtual Desktop, when needed – maximizing flexibility for distributed teams and enabling them to work efficiently from any location. Through multi-session hosting and GPU partitioning as offered on Azure, NX X on Azure becomes even more cost effective.

Enhancing NX X with AI

Unveiled in advance of Microsoft Ignite 2024 and part of the Siemens Industrial Copilot ecosystem, Siemens’ NX software for product engineering will leverage the power of Phi-3, part of Microsoft’s family of small language models, to enable users to ask natural language questions, access detailed technical insights and streamline complex design tasks for faster and smarter product development. Additionally, with advanced capabilities like Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and Domain Specific Language (DSL), the adapted AI model enables users to ask natural language questions, access detailed technical insights and streamline complex design tasks for faster and smarter product development.

The new NX X AI capability builds on the robust foundation of AI functionality in NX X by recommending solutions based on best practices, generating code to automate design tasks, and finding problem areas, all driven with natural, human-like interaction. Not only does this reduce errors and rework, but it also significantly cuts design time by learning from the user and automating repetitive tasks.

“Microsoft is pleased to expand our long-standing collaboration with Siemens, underscoring AI’s role in driving innovation, operational efficiency, and digital transformation in the industrial sector,” said Satish Thomas, corporate vice president, Business & Industry Solutions, Microsoft. “Through the availability of Siemens’ NX X software on Azure and the integration of its adapted AI model, powered by Microsoft Phi-3, into their copilot, Siemens and Microsoft are equipping engineers with cloud-based AI solutions to simplify complex challenges and drive productivity.”

Siemens Xcelerator enables companies to create the most comprehensive digital twin, and this process often begins with NX X. NX X seamlessly integrates with solutions across the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, from concept to design to simulation and manufacturing, across disciplines and managed by Teamcenter X. Through the ongoing collaboration between Siemens and Microsoft, NX X adds robust automation and knowledge to the design stage, resulting in a better digital twin with fewer errors in less time than ever before.

NX X on Azure will be available on the Microsoft Azure marketplace.

For more information, visit sw.siemens.com.

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The challenges of engineering talent shortages, supply chain uncertainties and the increasing complexity of designs in the electronic systems design industry have impacted engineers and the development ecosystem, hindering their ability to meet the demands of modern electronics development.

Siemens’ next-generation electronic systems design solution aims to address these challenges head-on by delivering an intuitive, AI-enhanced, cloud-connected, integrated and secure solution to empower engineers and organizations in this dynamic environment.

“We are thrilled to announce the release of our next-generation electronic systems design solution, tailored to meet the critical needs of today’s electronics engineers and the wider engineering community,” said AJ Incorvaia, senior vice president, Electronic Board Systems, Siemens Digital Industries Software. “This release represents our most thoroughly vetted solution to date, incorporating feedback from hundreds of participants. By unifying the Xpedition, HyperLynx, and PADS Pro environments and infusing this with AI, our customers will be ready to tackle their challenges head-on.” 

Focused on providing highly intuitive tools to overcome talent shortages and enable engineers to quickly adapt with minimal learning curves, the next generation toolset adds predictive engineering and new support assistance using AI, enhancing engineers’ capabilities, streamlining, and optimizing their workflows. Cloud connectivity will facilitate collaboration across the value chain and provide access to specialized services and resources, enabling engineers to rapidly adapt to changing requirements, supply chain insights and easier collaboration with stakeholders, regardless of location. 

An integrated and multidisciplinary approach is vital for maximizing efficiency and productivity. Siemens’ next-generation solution will facilitate the seamless flow of data and information throughout the product lifecycle using digital threads. This integration fosters collaboration, informed decision-making, and optimized designs. 

“We are delighted to have collaborated with Siemens, providing feedback as an active user as they have developed this next-generation toolset,” said Tom Pitchforth, vice president of Electronics Engineering at Leonardo. “Siemens has been a critical partner for us for over 20 years, and it is essential that our toolset providers align with our future needs, particularly in a rapidly changing and complex landscape. Our primary goals in leveraging the new toolset capabilities include strategic objectives, such as enabling organizational flexibility, and tactical objectives, such as achieving rapid time-to-productivity.  

The next generation software also brings enhanced integration with Siemens’ Teamcenter® software for product lifecycle management and NX software for product engineering, allowing for multi-BOM support and tighter collaboration between ECAD and MCAD domains. To prioritize security, it offers rigid data access restrictions that can be configured and geo-located, while adhering to the strictest industry protocols. Siemens maintains partnerships with industry-leading cloud providers to ensure robust security measures. The solution also includes design and verification requirements management for model-based systems engineering support. 

Siemens’ next-generation electronic systems design solution, including Xpedition NG software and HyperLynx NG software are now available, and PADS Pro NG software will be available in the second quarter of 2025.  

To learn more about Electronic Systems Design software from Siemens, visit eda.sw.siemens.com/en-US/pcb/.

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The Alpha Two model, starting at $249 this Holiday Season, delivers the same ease-of-use that Toybox is known for but with upgrades for enhanced durability, reliability, precision, connectivity and ease of use. It is ideal for compact, everyday use, making it perfect for kids and families exploring 3D printing. Comet, available for pre-order at $349, is Toybox’s most powerful and largest model, offering over 7x the print volume for bigger and more ambitious projects. Built with modularity in mind, Comet is ready for soon-to-be-announced hardware upgrades, providing creators with flexibility for future creative possibilities.

These printers pair perfectly with the enhanced Toybox Creator Space platform, which now includes new tools and multi-printer support. Users can now manage multiple printers simultaneously, making the platform more versatile for educational and creative spaces. The Creator Space has also been upgraded to offer an advanced design feature, allowing kids and family members to CAD, giving young creators more control of creation, design and possibilities for customization.

For more information, visit toybox.com.

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