Is automotive electronics creating new opportunities for semiconductor?

[[abstract]]The automotive industry worldwide is going through a dramatic structural as well as cultural change never seen before in its history. The energy crisis in 2006 followed by the financial tsunami has done a lot of damages to many auto companies around the world. The semiconductor industry, like most other industries, also suffered from the worldwide economic down turn in 2007 and 2008. Although we are seeing signs of recovery in global economy, the two industries for sure will not stay in their same positions as they were before the crisis. Collaboration between these two industries will benefit not only themselves, but as well the general public who consider transportation as a basic need in their daily life. For semiconductor companies, enhancing their presence in the automotive electronic systems market means higher potential growth. For automotive companies, enhancing electronic systems and intelligence of the vehicles they manufacture means more efficient use of energy and highway, and vehicles that are safer, more fun to drive, equipped with more functionalities, etc., thus bringing higher value to the vehicles, drivers, and passengers. Although due to safety concerns and cultural reasons, the automotive industry in the past has been very conservative in integrating new electronic systems into vehicles. The situation, however, is changing very fast as we can see. We believe it is timely to discuss related issues during SASIMI 2010 to benefit our audience. This session includes a panel of experts in this area, who will give position statements and elaborate their perspectives of whether automotive electronic systems create new opportunities for the semiconductor industry. The panel will then be open for discussion between the audience and the panelists.[[fileno]]2030108030210[[department]]電機工程學