Electronics engineers are struggling to increase the processing capabilities of electronic devices without costs spiraling out of control, says research by technology firm XMOS.

More than half of electronics engineers (56%) say their on-device processing requirements are already high or very high, and another 40% need even more on-device processing. But, 38% claim the goal is to reduce the bill of materials, and of these 48% claim it’s difficult to achieve, because of higher power consumption and greater design complexity.

“Balancing cost and performance has always been the ultimate engineering challenge. Getting the best of both requires flexible forms of compute and connectivity in a single device, which not only would keep the cost low, but also improve the design flexibility,” said Mark Lippett, XMOS CEO.

The Bristol-based AI and voice processing firm has compiled its findings in a report called “Edge of Tomorrow”, which also focuses on the AIoT, its potential applications, pitfalls and advantages.

The $3-trillion AIoT market has been touted as one of the biggest technology revolutions since the advent of the Cloud, thanks to its potential to effectively make electronic devices think for themselves. Experts have indicated that the AIoT has the potential to revolutionise life and business as we know it in almost every sector.

[Image credit: Alvaro Reyes for Unsplash]