(iTers News) – Remote data acquisition system is opening up new market opportunities for wireless RF chips, sensors, mixed analog signal chips, analog to digital converter chips, or ADCs, and power management chips.

As a succession of stringent energy conservation regulations are taking effect, more and more buildings are built with a wealth of analog silicon building blocks like wireless sensors and wireless RF chips to remotely control and monitor LED-based building lighting system and air conditioning and central heating system.

Growing concerns over personal health is fueling demand for remote data control system, too, as a growing number of hospitals are creating human body control network system to monitor their patients’ health conditions.

At Analog Semiconductor Leaders’ Forum 2012 hosted by foundry chipmaker Dongbu Hitek Co., Ltd. of Korea, Tim Kalthoff, chief technologist of high performance analog division with Texas Instruments, said that remote data acquisition technology are driving demand for analog and mixed signal chips.

“Some areas of convergence are driving technology. One of the areas of particular is remote data acquisition, as there are more and more interest in personal and health and drivers for smart building infrastructure. In those building, we are more focusing on energy generation like solar cells, other energy distribution sources, and energy consumption management to control lighting, temperature, and even motion, “ said he.

He also points to safety and security monitor system for natural disasters as another driving force to stimulate demand for remote data acquisition technologies.

According to him, those human body monitoring, office and building monitoring and controlling and disaster monitoring systems as well as smart vehicles are all combined together by a cloud computing system, driving up the penetration of remote data acquisition technology.

“We see more and more need for data and RF infrastructure to become greener and more energy-efficient,” stressed he.

Yet, those smart monitoring systems are presenting tough technology challenges for chip makers, as wireless sensor. MCUs and RF chips have to get a lot power-thriftier, more precise in data analysis, affordable, more importantly, faster in data transfer.

He also sees demand for energy harvesting system, which can charge up, or work as back-up power system to power a whole remote data acquisition system for longer use.

Specifically, he bets on soaring demand for intelligent low-power ambient sensors, RF chips for remote control, proximate sensors, wireless audio streaming chips, human interface chips like Bluetooth.

Demand for ZigBee chip are also booming, as these short-range wireless technologies are the engine of smart metering and home automation and lighting system, while sub-1GHz transceivers and sub-1GHz SOC will form the nexus of security and alarm system.

Those areas are where TI’s forte lies, emphasized he.

 Photos and videos by JH. Bae