More than 45 PICMG members will be exhibiting at Embedded World 2024. For the first time at the world’s largest trade fair dedicated to embedded technology, PICMG is the subject of two technical conference tracks. We’ll be hosting a 30th Anniversary Reception on Wednesday, April 10th, that’s open to all PICMG members as well as the press; we expect more than 150 attendees.

There is a lot of excitement around PICMG at Embedded World 2024, but those activities don’t even mention all the PICMG-related news released ahead of and during the show. From exciting industry partnerships to new branding, here are some of highlights from the PICMG news releases you’ll see around Embedded World 2024.

• PICMG Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary—To celebrate this milestone, PICMG is rolling out all new branding, with new logos for all related specifications, in Hall 5, booth 5-342 at this year’s Embedded World in Nuremberg.
• PICMG, OPAF Partnership to Advance Open Process Control Technology—The partnership fills a gap in edge controller hardware that exists in the O-PAS™ Standard—an open architectural framework for developing industrial process automation systems, currently being defined by OPAF initiatives.
• PICMG ModBlox7 Specification To Be Showcased at 2024 Embedded World—In support of the ModBlox7 ratification, one of PICMG’s newest specifications, multiple members are collectively showcasing their newest products based on the spec at the 2024 Embedded World exhibition.
• PICMG Announces Release of InterEdge Standard for Open, Modular Process Control Systems—The IEC 61499 and IEC 61131-compatible InterEdge specification promises to revolutionize the industry with an interoperable, multi-vendor alternative to proprietary Industrial PCs (IPCs), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), and Distributed Control Systems (DCSs).
• PICMG Bolsters New COM-HPC “Mini” Form Factor with Release of Carrier Design Guide Revision 2.2—This comprehensive document contains interface schematics, diagrams, design rules and requirements, and more for PCB layout engineers and hardware developers looking to create application-specific carrier boards that pair with COM-HPC modules.
• TO COME! An Announcement from PICMG and the DMTF!

The Show(s) Must Go On

We’re only through the first quarter of 2024 and we’ve seen two new specification families introduced, multiple new specifications released, a call for participation on a new version of a familiar technology (AdvancedTCA), strengthened partnerships with multiple standards organizations, and more.

Later this month PICMG will be sponsoring the IEEE Real-Time Conference (RTC) in Vietnam, which serves as rallying point for a critical emerging deep tech economy (https://indico.cern.ch/event/940112/program). We will act as an umbrella for multiple members who develop and deliver products into this sector, and also participate in a Women in Engineering (WiE) event (https://indico.cern.ch/event/940112/page/33210-women-in-engineering-wie-event).

Later this year we will visit Embedded World North America in Austin, the MicroTCA Summit in Hamburg, and many more in-person and virtual events in between. Right now is one of the more exciting times in PICMG’s 30-year history, and I feel fortunate to be part of it.

(Editor’s note: If you’d like to attend the 30th Anniversary Reception and have yet to receive an invite or RSVP, contact [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] to get on the list or schedule a meeting).

This year PICMG celebrates thirty years of developing open computing specifications. And despite three decades of open hardware specs that are used by thousands of companies and countless engineers worldwide, the organization is still largely an unknown—even in our own industry.

But from behind the scenes, PICMG is responsible for billions of dollars of business. It has reduced time to market in virtually every electronics-driven industry. It has empowered companies to innovate by adopting off-the-shelf technologies, giving them space to focus on their core competencies. It has built markets based on coopetition, where companies collaboratively develop open, interoperable specifications then go toe-to-toe once they are ratified.

Even less recognized are the individuals who donate hundreds if not thousands of hours to the creation of PICMG specifications. These engineers are rarely acknowledged for their contributions. They are truly unsung heroes, and PICMG specifications wouldn’t exist without them.

One of these unsung heroes is Stefan Milnor, who recently retired from his role as VP of Engineering at Kontron. In parallel, he stepped down as the long-time editor of COM Express and COM-HPC specifications. 

Stefan has been involved in PICMG since the beginnings of COM Express, which is undeniably the most successful computer-on-module in a billion-dollar COMs market. As editor, Stefan incorporated input from numerous technical subcommittees over the years and implemented it into specifications that have been adopted by thousands of organizations building embedded systems. It’s a difficult job that requires a rare mix of technical acumen and attention to detail, and his skill and efficiency will be missed by us all—including some who never knew he was the hand behind their downloaded spec.

Stefan has always been a very private individual. In fact, by the time we could reach out to him for comment he had already left. In some ways, it’s a fitting conclusion for someone who performed yeoman’s work for decades without reward. And although he probably isn’t reading this, his contributions to PICMG and the embedded computing industry deserve to be acknowledged.

Thank you, Stefan, for helping make PICMG what it is today: 30 years strong and counting.

— Jessica Isquith, President, PICMG

Admin Note: Contact Doug Sandy, PICMG CTO, at [email protected] to learn how you can get involved in PICMG’s technical working groups. Contact me, [email protected] if you are interested in joining PICMG or have any questions about our organization.