Digital Engineering – August 2019

DigitalEngineering247.com /// August 2019 DE | Technology for Optimal Engineering Design (^29)
can manage the learning curve on a reasonable basis.”
Buris goes further, noting that an interdisciplinary approach
will require restricting the way engineers are trained from the
get-go. “Start at the education system level,” Buris says. “The
educational system is segmented among mechanical, RF and
communications, and that segmentation permeates up to the
work environment. You can’t really fix it efficiently at the com-
pany level without going to the academic level first.”
Nichols at Keysight says the company is focused on making
simulation and test tools easier to access and use throughout the
design process. That includes finding ways to provide visualiza-
tion for the air testing of millimeter wave systems so that they
can understand the results. Keysight is also trying to find ways
to make these over-the-air tests more accessible to a wider range
of professionals who don’t necessarily have deep RF expertise.
“This is not rocket science, but it it’s getting closer,” Nichols
says. “While it’s easy to provide that understanding to an RF en-
gineer, it’s much more difficult for someone that doesn’t have the
fundamental understanding of electromagnetic physics. We have
to make those things more straightforward.”
Software usability and communication will be even more
important as more devices are linked to the wireless network
via IoT applications. “If your device has a primary function do
something other than communicate—like measure or moni-
tor—then how do you bring in that communication piece
without affecting the primary function?” Karnofsky asks. “You
have to build that in a way that keeps costs down and provides
a high battery life. It will get more and more pervasive as other
types of engineers need to factor the communication element
into their designs. They don’t need all of the details of the
standard, but need to know the essence and consequences as
far as it affects the overall system.” DE
Brian Albright is a freelance journalist based in Cleveland, OH. He
is the former managing editor of Frontline Solutions magazine,
and has been writing about technology topics since the mid-1990s.
Send e-mail about this article to [email protected].
INFO ➜COMSOL: COMSOL.com
➜Keysight Technologies: KeysightTechnologies.com
➜MathWorks: MathWorks.com
➜Nebens: Nebens.com
➜Voler Systems: VolerSystems.com
For more information on this topic, visit DigitalEngineering247.com.
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