Have you ridden in a robotaxi yet? Increasingly, there are sightings in some of the major cities here in the western U.S, particularly San Francisco. This past week, we published a news item from Berg Research projecting that robotaxis will grow from 6,500 deployments today to more than 1.5 million over the next 10 years. The technology for fully autonomous vehicles continues to look like an emerging tech driver for the EV sector.
In response to the EV and robotaxi sector, there will definitely be an evolution in supply chains, smart manufacturing standards, and the buildout of AI-type support infrastructure. Standardizing how we manufacture globally will be crucial to EV success. Which brings me to my must-reads for this week, where we can see these trends already shaping up.
We look back at Stan Rak’s nine-part series on building reliability into EV platforms. Jan Pedersen removes the distinction between conventional and advanced PCBs. Our podcast series with Qnity examines the future of electronics engineering. Marcy LaRont talks to Dominik Grau about how Europe is stepping up, and I bet you didn’t know that there’s a competition for industry standards assessments, called the WorldSkills, did you? They’ve just completed the 48th competition, and we’ve included it here.
Advanced and Conventional PCBs Do Not Exist in Separate Supply Chains
Published October 8
Jan Pedersen points out that the shifting demands for PCB materials toward AI and data center applications are lengthening production lead times for even more conventional products. Personally, I would add that the automotive industry is adding to this over-demand. As I point out in my introduction, EVs and data center buildouts are increasingly overlapping. This is a great read, don’t miss it.
Stan Rak’s Road to Reliability Continues
Published October 7
This interview with Dr. Stanton Rak makes a great companion piece to Jan’s PCB over-demand article. Rak has recently completed a nine-part series in SMT007 Magazine, taking a deep look at how to deliver even greater reliability all along the EV electronics infrastructure. Read more here, and read the series as well.
I-Connect007 Releases Episode 3 of Qnity Podcast Series, Engineering What’s Next
Published October 7
In this episode, “Rethinking PCB Design for AI Data Centers,” host Marcy LaRont speaks with Dr. Jin Hyun Hwang, business development specialist at Qnity, about how the extraordinary performance and power demands of AI are changing the way engineers approach PCB design, materials, packaging, and system architecture. Hwang explains how the growing interdependence of signal integrity and power integrity, as well as emerging technologies and design strategies, including sequential lamination, embedded capacitance, vertical power delivery, UHDI, and co-packaged optics, is changing the face of engineering. This is a must-listen for engineers looking toward future design demands.
Building Value for Europe Through Smart Standards and More
Published October 6
As the Global Electronics Association’s new vice president for Europe, Dominik Grau wants to understand what companies across the region need, and how the Association can help deliver it. In this interview, Dominik shares what he’s hearing directly from European electronics companies, and why smart standards will become increasingly important in an AI-driven industry.
IPC Standards Support Professional Assessment for the Electronics Competition at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026
Published October 5
Did you know the WorldSkills competition, now in its 48th year, highlights the real-world value of standards assessment? In the electronics manufacturing industry, skills such as soldering, assembly, rework, modification, and repair ultimately must meet product quality and process requirements. Applying established industry standards to skills assessment can help further connect skills requirements with real-world manufacturing practices. This competition showcases the unique value of skillful standards assessment.
