ARM System-On-Modules go virtual to spawn rapid IoT realisation

The IoT revolution places the same pressures on electronic design realization to that conventionally of military embedded systems; where (the reduction of) Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) is the critical driving force behind each new development, says Rory Dear, managing director of DSL. Physical System-On-Modules (SoM), once the almost default route for embedded designers looking to benefit from shortened development cycles and a reduction in design risk, struggle to satisfy those pressures. Traditional SoMs dictate an (at least) dual PCB solution, arguably doubling depth and weight; whilst their relatively large footprint equally dictates width and height. In applications such as wearables, this crippling drawback is most obvious, but the minimal footprint is equally important in practically every IoT end-point device.