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After we look again initially of the 2020s, there’s no query that it’ll signify an unprecedented interval in our lives. The terrifying international pandemic, with its ensuing (and obligatory) shutdowns of countries and economies worldwide to attempt to fight a lethal virus, has resulted in repercussions that no analyst may have forecast, and has uncovered the precarious steadiness of our manufacturing logistics and industrial provide chains.
One extremely seen ripple impact will be seen within the chip and part shortages that reared up in an enormous method this yr. Anybody who’s been searching for automobiles these days is conscious of the elevated costs of recent and used autos alike. A giant a part of the trigger? Producers can’t get microcontroller chips wanted to finish auto meeting, so unfinished new automobiles have been stockpiling at factories, their completion stalled till the producers can get these excellent components. Early estimates say this may value the business $110 billion in 2021.
This similar state of affairs has, to differing levels, affected gaming consoles, televisions, and different shopper electronics that use silicon chips — just like the dev boards that we makers like to program and use in our tasks. Many in style boards have been inconceivable to purchase for a lot of the yr. Good luck discovering a micro:bit or numerous flavors of Raspberry Pi from most resellers proper now. Sure Nvidia Jetson dev kits are nonetheless unavailable as properly. The shortage continues via a lot of the boards lineup; when yow will discover one thing particular, you might also discover that the promoting value has been boosted, generally by 4 occasions above what it’s listed for. (We even made the choice to record present market costs in our included “Information to Boards” insert this yr, because the MSRP is to date off in lots of circumstances.)
Some chip makers are battling this greater than others, and a few of their provide chain troubles have been compounded by unrelated and surprising manufacturing unit shutdowns attributable to Covid, fires, or adversarial climate. NXP’s manufacturing plant in Austin closed down in the course of the uncommon Texas freeze early this yr; one maker-focused electronics firm says that they at present can’t manufacture any NXP chip-based boards. ST Micro’s STM32 is one other in style chip that’s simply not out there anyplace proper now.
STMicro and NXP chips, two of the numerous you may not be capable of discover this yr.
The basis of those shortages is multi-faceted. Specialists say that a lot of it began with the temporary pause in shopper demand attributable to the 2020 lockdown, adopted by demand out of the blue ballooning as a home-bound international neighborhood sought leisure and exercise whereas retaining indoors. Producers, initially attempting to keep away from an costly buildup of elements, closed their factories that spring; as soon as the demand got here again, many struggled to reopen resulting from Covid. Together with that, the pandemic additionally ruptured most components of the worldwide delivery pipeline. Containers are briefly provide, typically unable to make return journeys to energetic ports. Container ships themselves have backed up at busy ports at file ranges. Labor shortages have made it exhausting to search out truck drivers. Not solely is it gradual and exhausting for customers to get their completed items, it’s simply as exhausting for the producers to get the uncooked supplies wanted to make these items.
By this level, a lot has been written in regards to the chip state of affairs (we suggest Nilay Patel’s interview with Harvard professor Willy Shih for insights into not simply the shortages, however an enchanting clarification of how silicon chips themselves are manufactured). However what are makers themselves doing about it? Properly, because the neighborhood is thought for, they’re being resourceful. They’re redesigning their tasks to make use of chips they’ll entry. They’re digging into storage closets to search out their unused and forgotten chips from previous tasks. They’re joking (or are they?) on Twitter about yanking the harder-to discover chips from PCBs to make use of in new endeavors. One firm, OKdo, has even constructed a recycling program for Raspberry Pi computer systems, renewing beforehand used boards and placing them again into circulation.
Analysts say the chip shortages might final till 2023, so buckle up for the experience.
Wait, there are new chips too?
Raspberry Pi’s shock new RP2040 chip is one part which you can get in 2021.
Within the face of the chip shortages, the largest board information in 2021 has been the shock launch of a brand new microcontroller chip designed by Raspberry Pi, the RP2040. This turned heads all over the place; you should definitely learn our interview with Eben Upton about the way it got here to be, together with our primer on utilizing its PIO pins (in Make: Vol 79) and a take a look at the sudden and expansive variety of boards which can be powered by the RP2040.
Arduino’s new Nicla Sense ME board is filled with Bosch environmental sensors.
We’re additionally seeing the continuation of board makers transferring into skilled and industrial-grade options, lined partly in our “Mighty Modules” article (in Make: Vol 79). This fall, Arduino continued their very own foray into this area, including just a few new merchandise to its Arduino Professional line, together with the high-power Portenta H7 Lite and the diminutive Nicla Sense ME boards, together with machine-control and edge-control service boards. And the facility of FPGA boards is getting cheaper and simpler to make use of, with boards like Seeed Studios’ Spartan Edge Accelerator.
Adafruit continues to supply a staggering number of new boards, each as standalones and as purpose-built units, all with the artistic, shocking, and helpful touches which have introduced so many to admire the corporate. Their Feather type issue has develop into one other business normal, utilized by quite a few producers like SparkFun, Particle, and Wilderness Labs. But it surely’s the software program aspect of the corporate that could be probably the most spectacular this yr, with energetic updates to CircuitPython (as much as model 7.0.0; now supported by over 230 boards, and even TI calculators) and new releases like their simple-to-use IoT platform WipperSnapper.
Radios
On the board-connectivity aspect, this yr we’ve lastly seen LoRa begin to push into extra mainstream makes use of within the U.S. It’s getting simpler to entry LoRaWan networks like Helium, and even to roll your individual entry factors with merchandise from boardmakers like TTGo. One factor which will pose a problem to deep LoRa adoption is the arrival of free IoT mobile information choices. The most important information on this area got here this yr from Particle, who introduced a brand new free-for-100-devices tier to their mobile platform. Relying on the size (and placement) of your venture, you’ll need to weigh which kind of connectivity works finest for you.
What’s Subsequent?
The BeagleV StarLight board went out to beta testers this yr; a brand new variation will probably be coming in 2022.
Transferring into 2022, we count on for RISC-V to emerge additional; we’re desperate to see extra processors and boards utilizing this open supply structure (together with the still-underway BeagleV from BeagleBoard). Edge AI is taking middle stage and we needs to be seeing new units emerge with elevated energy for accelerated onboard AI processing. And we’ll possible see elevated costs and extra artistic options to those dang chip shortages, till issues finally settle again to regular. Hopefully quickly.
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