Andrew J. Pease, chief executive of QuickLogic

The company emphasizes customer-specific standard products to enable shorter development time and reduced costs.

Programmable logic device maker QuickLogic Corp. has been focusing on customer-specific standard products or CSSPs after backing away from the FPGA industry. The company built around the same underlying technology used in application-specific standard products to fuel its foray into mobile electronics.

In an interview with Global Sources, chief executive Andrew J. Pease shared his views on the industry trends associated with mobile electronics products from component supply perspective, and how the company transitioned for this market.

Please give us a backdrop on the development of low-power CSSPs and how this shift in strategy worked for QuickLogic.

The CSSP concept was launched in 2007. At the time, the company knew that it had a very unique programmable fabric technology that lent itself to mobile devices well with its small form factor and ultralow power. The prevailing thought then from mobile device OEMs was traditional FPGAs were too large, power-hungry and resource-intensive to use. While QuickLogic’s products addressed the first two issues, we had not adequately addressed the third. In pioneering the CSSP concept, the company offered a value proposition to its customers of a device customized for their specific needs just like an ASSP, but without the nine to 12 months’ development time and million-dollar cost associated with a custom device.

Additionally, unlike a traditional FPGA, we do not require our customers to learn our design language as part of any CSSP engagement. We write 100 percent of the design code using either intellectual property we develop or have licensed, or have been given by the OEM. Finally, we go one step beyond and actually write Android and Linux drivers for our devices, further lessening the engineering burden on our customers. This shift in strategy has proven itself as OEMs such as Samsung, HP, Kyocera, Pantech, Huawei, and Garmin have adopted CSSPs into their products.

What are the major new trends that you see in the mobile electronics ecosystem from a components supply standpoint?

One trend is the growing acceptance of programmable devices. Many OEMs viewed FPGAs as not mobile-friendly. However, as FPGA makers will ship almost 100 million devices into mobile products in 2014, there is a growing desire for programmable solutions. OEMs which in the past have been reluctant seem to be embracing mobile-centric FPGAs, as these devices can offer BOM cost and PCB size savings versus discrete, dedicated devices.

What about in the sensors industry?

The desire for always-on context awareness and sensor fusion is driving the sensor market right now. The Android 4.4 (KitKat) endorsement of off-processor sensor management is pushing OEMs to explore discrete and specialized solutions. During 2014, as KitKat becomes the standard Android version shipping, we expect that sensor hubs will become a check-box item in all high-end smartphones, and the technology will be adopted into mainstream phones perhaps by the end of the year.

QuickLogic has been concentrating on context-aware platforms. What is the vision behind it? What are the commercial merits of this technology?

During the market research phase of the development of our latest programmable fabric technology, it became clear to us that sensor subsystems were becoming a huge focus of our customers. We also saw that existing MCU- and access point-based solutions were simply not power-efficient enough to handle always-on context awareness requirements. As an increasing number of smartphones features context awareness, consumers will see the benefits in such near-term applications as health, safety and indoor navigation (also called pedestrian dead reckoning).

Our devices will allow application developers to combine sensor and data fusion, enabling devices that can adapt to location and activities without user prompting, for instance, disabling texting when behind the wheel.

How do you see the Internet of Things and the peripheral industries associated with it developing in the months ahead?

There is no doubt that the IoT - or Internet of Everything, depending on who you speak with - is going to be a major force in the electronics industry. Until the IoT market stabilizes, we see a high degree of fragmentation occurring as different component and end-product manufacturers bring unique products to market. QuickLogic thrives in fragmented markets, which allow us to provide quick-turn CSSPs that bridge differing I/O protocols with our smart connectivity solutions.

The company has expanded operations in South Korea. What led it to pursue this important Asia market?

QuickLogic has had good success with its ArcticLink III VX device at Samsung, including the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 and the Galaxy Tab 3 Lite 7.0. We identified the problems the engineers were struggling with, and came up with solutions to make them deliver more robust customer service. As our relationship with Samsung and other South Korea OEMs grows, we believe it to be imperative to provide local, real-time technical and sales support in the local language.