Microcontrollers and single-board computers 2016-2026

The situation is complex because some applications are not growing significantly such as smart cards whereas others are not only growing rapidly - such as the electric car business - but the number used per equipment is increasing giving a multiplier effect.

The report has an introduction simply explaining the definitions, anatomy and key components such as SoC. The explanation of latest MCUs covers how they are made, what they can do, the limitations and what comes next.

Figure 1 - capabilities and limitations of MCUs

An applications chapter embraces smart cars, home and office, automotive, DC/DC converters for battery monitoring, energy harvesting and microgrids, education, wearable technology, touch screen controllers, motor control including quadcopters, control of stepper and traction motors. It even takes a look at artificial intelligence and deep learning, control of 3D printers, microwave ovens and washing machines with examples of products offered and how they work but it is the following chapter that goes more deeply into this including MCU architectures, co-processors: PLDs and CPLDs, software and programming languages and case studies. Relevance to a wide variety of sensors is detailed including coverage of hot topics such as the 3D cameras, artificial intelligence and inertial measurement units in autonomous vehicles.

The report explains radical changes in the value chain where the Arduino, for example, is a hobbyist product that actually goes into production. Little wonder then that there are now many mergers of the suppliers in order to efficiently address these now giant markets from AppleTV to the IoT. A chapter on players explains and evaluates these trends. This includes Apple, Samsung, Google and Amazon but also Arduino, Raspberry Pi Foundation and Beagleboard because they matter.

The chapter on trends is replete with new forecasts and explanations such as the huge impact of ARM wrong-footing many competitors. Consolidation on the ARM architecture, open source hardware, conformance to Moore’s Law, prices equilibrating and an introduction to trends of MCUs, and adjacent developments. It is all here but the next chapter called markets give a host of new statistics and forecasts including value chains, MCU market by revenue, supplier overall and MCU revenue, Arduino sales, Raspberry Pi by geography and much more. Indeed, here you can see car forecasts by technology (more electric means more MCUs), wearable technology, IoT, motor controller and other new forecasts from other IDTechEx departments. It is not all roses. The decline of desktop computers is displayed, not just the rapidly increasing SBC market.

Microcontrollers and Single-board Computers 2016-2026 will be invaluable to investors, manufacturers and those considering entry into the value chain including users and potential users such as those in wearable technology, the IoT and EVs land, water and air. IDTechEx can provide consultancy services for your particular requirements such as acquisition studies and introductions to potential partners. We can give access to our databases including supplier assessments and recent visit reports as well as promoting your products to thousands of paying delegates in our large annual IDTechEx Show! events in Silicon Valley and Berlin. In the meantime we are delighted to offer 30 minutes free consultancy with this remarkable report.