EDI CON 2016 is a new show—a three-day combination conference and exhibition for RF/microwave engineers. On a smaller scale, it very much emulates this industry’s premiere social event: the IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS). Taking place Sept. 20-22 at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center, the event builds upon the success of EDI CON China, assembling a balanced blend of technologies in the technical conference and attracting a representative sample of the high-frequency-industry’s companies.
Visitors to this event have the opportunity to take in easily digestible 20-minute technical presentations and 40-minute workshops on a variety of topics, from component through system levels. The exhibition floor features a nice mix of companies, also offering products from components and devices through systems, services, and test equipment.
The RF/microwave industry is still a very strong contributor to defense electronics technology, and this is apparent from the names of the sponsors for the technical conference: Raytheon and BAE Systems. Both are strong, innovative defense contractors that have worked closely with more than a few of the RF/microwave engineers and companies present at EDI CON 2016, and that rely on the high-frequency technologies presented as part of the conference. Digital techniques are also represented in numerous presentations and workshops, including an area on the exhibition floor devoted to signal integrity (SI) and its measurement approaches.
The sponsorship list for the exhibition portion of EDI CON 2016 is impressive and includes some of the top suppliers in the industry: Keysight Technologies, Mini-Circuits, Rohde & Schwarz, National Instruments, and CST. These companies represent a true cross-section of this industry’s technologies, from components and computer-aided-engineering (CAE) software to test equipment.
And the show floor and its layout is very much like a one-hall map of the industry, with a chance for exhibition visitors to actual stand in the center of three large booths and be able to see everything inside of the Keysight, National Instruments, and Rohde & Schwarz booths, with Mini-Circuits and CST just a few steps away.
For specifiers, and perhaps those who missed attending the earlier 2016 IMS in San Francisco (such as this editor), EDI CON 2016 shapes up as a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the product and technology capabilities of an RF/microwave industry that sits on the threshold of a major evolution—much as it did in the early 1990s when word started spreading about wireless technology, and visions of cell phones and base stations were dancing in many business managers’ heads.
Now, wireless technology has become a way of life for most folks. The industry, its engineers, and its suppliers are looking for ways to best serve the needs of such emerging applications as Fifth-Generation (5G) wireless communications; Internet of Things (IoT) devices for sensors with everywhere-access to the Internet; and “millimeter-wave frequencies for the masses,” as part of 5G backlinks and automotive safety and autonomous-control electronic systems.
EDI CON 2016 provides a quality educational program and a compact and efficient exhibition floor to learn more about which companies can be counted on for which applications.
