IoT Editors Day Silicon Valley: Maxim Sees the Future of the IIoT

Maxim Integrated is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits. The company has developed integrated circuits for such markets as the automotive industry, as well as industrial, communications, consumer, and computing markets.

Erik Linask had an interesting conversation with Maxim’s Suhel Dhanani. Being a global supplier of analog chips, most of their products are used in industrial, healthcare and consumer markets. While most of the focus on the Internet of Things (IoT) seems to be on the consumer side, such as smart homes, automobiles and devices, there is an increasing push towards the industrial side.

During Erik’s interview, Suhel shared his thoughts on what the trends are for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Essentially, the idea is to connect sensors and machines that integrate the devices that run factories, as well as coal mines and utilities.

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As more factories and plants become automated, there is an indispensable need to ensure that every aspect functions as it is intended to. Most of this comes in the form of sensors that monitor and regulate the various components. Maxim positions itself in the next step, which is small distributed controllers that connect all the pieces to the Internet.

The basic mentality behind Maxim’s efforts in the IIoT market is to not simply modify old components to work side by side with newer technology, but to rethink the entire process and develop a new model. Maxim has been able to use its analog chips to reduce components which were once contained in a large cabinet into something that can be handheld.

Another area of focus is an extremely high level of power efficiency. Once you begin to reduce the overall dimensions to smaller sizes, there is less room for certain components and one of the first to go is cooling fans. The only way to ensure that the device functions properly is to create the widest range of power products that work on 90 percent conversion efficiency, which is exactly what Maxim has been able to accomplish.