3 Emerging Applications Of Interconnects (You Won't Believe Number 3!)

By John Oncea, Editor

Long a workhorse in the RF industry, interconnects are now being used in non-traditional ways to help build smart factories, enable the cloud, and move us closer to flying cars.

Interconnects help facilitate connections between electrical and electronic components, devices, or networks. They encompass the design, manufacture, and assembly of various components like wires, cables, connectors, and assemblies to ensure reliable and efficient communication and power transfer.

There are several types, including physical interconnects that often use fiber-optic cables or Ethernet connections; cloud interconnects that focus on connecting on-premises infrastructure with cloud service providers; and mass interconnects, a flexible, reconfigurable, and modular system.

Key components of interconnects include wires and cables, connectors, assemblies, harnesses, and adapters. Traditional applications of interconnects are diverse as they are crucial for enabling high-speed data transfer, reliability, and adaptability in various challenging environments. Specific applications include:

• Aerospace and Defense: These industries rely on interconnects for mission-critical systems like ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance), communications, and electronic warfare, requiring highly reliable and durable solutions. Innovative designs like miniature connectors are being developed to address specific needs in these demanding environments. 
• Telecom: Interconnects are vital for enabling high-speed data transfer, low latency, and handling of large data volumes required by 5G networks and future technologies. This paves the way for applications like autonomous vehicles and smart cities. 
• Data Centers: Data centers are increasingly relying on advanced interconnect solutions, including improved cable solutions and modularization, to support emerging applications like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and meet the demands for faster online experiences. 
• Energy: The energy sector, with its harsh environmental conditions and strict safety requirements, needs durable and adaptable interconnect solutions. For example, Single Pole Power Connectors (SPPC) are designed for high-power electrical systems in renewable energy applications like wind turbines. 
• Medical: Medical devices, with their stringent regulatory requirements, rely on interconnects for diagnosis, imaging, and treatment. Interconnects need to ensure safety and compliance with health regulations. 
• Automotive: Interconnects are critical for powering and enabling various vehicle functionalities, including communication, control, and data transfer. They play a key role in the development of autonomous vehicles and other advanced automotive technologies.

Again, these are traditional uses. But, as with all technologies, part of the future of simple yet humble interconnects will take place in unconventional ways – from driving the Industrial Internet of Things in smart factories to helping us drive flying cars.

How Interconnects Help Make Factories Smart

Smart factories are highly digitized, interconnected production facilities that leverage advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, analytics, Big Data, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to automate, optimize, and adapt manufacturing processes in real time, writes TechTarget. These factories integrate machines, sensors, and systems to continuously collect and analyze data, enabling autonomous decision-making, self-optimization, and rapid response to changing conditions or market demands.

The goal of smart factories is to increase efficiency, flexibility, product quality, and responsiveness, making them a cornerstone of Industry 4.0-the current wave of industrial transformation. Interconnects are foundational to the operation and success of smart factories in several ways, including by enabling machine-to-machine communication.

Interconnects provide physical and electrical pathways that link machines, sensors, controllers, and IT systems, forming the backbone of IIoT networks. They help to provide reliable, high-speed interconnects, ensuring real-time data flows between production equipment, analytics platforms, and automation systems, supporting autonomous operations and rapid adjustments, Smiths Interconnect writes.

Furthermore, industrial environments are subject to vibration, dust, moisture, and temperature extremes. Rugged interconnects are engineered to withstand these conditions, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity and minimizing costly downtime. Modular and customizable, interconnects allow for rapid reconfiguration of production lines, supporting the flexibility and scalability that smart factories require to adapt to new products or changing demand, Nortech Systems adds.

Interconnects are also driving the development of smart factories by helping integrate diverse technologies. Interconnects bridge traditional machinery with new digital systems, enabling legacy equipment to participate in the smart factory ecosystem through retrofitting and integration. They also help facilitate the connection of robotics, AI-driven controllers, and cloud-based analytics, ensuring seamless interoperability across the digital supply chain.

The connection of sensors and devices throughout the facility enables comprehensive data collection, which is critical for predictive maintenance, quality control, and process optimization. Finally, well-designed interconnect solutions simplify assembly, maintenance, and upgrades, reducing labor costs and downtime while enhancing equipment longevity and serviceability.

Smart factories depend on robust, adaptable interconnects to create seamless, data-driven, and automated environments that define modern manufacturing. These interconnects are the invisible infrastructure that supports the connectivity, reliability, and flexibility essential for the factories of the future.

Let’s Interconnect Virtually

Virtual interconnects are software-defined networking solutions that establish connections between different entities such as data centers, clouds, applications, or organizations without relying on direct physical cabling. Instead, they use technologies like software-defined networking (SDN) and virtual private networks (VPNs) to create secure, scalable, and flexible connections over shared or public infrastructure, writes Silverback Data Center Solutions.

This allows virtual interconnects to provide seamless integration between on-premises data centers and multiple cloud providers, facilitating hybrid and multi-cloud strategies. They also support the distribution of applications and data across various locations, improving performance and resilience, and allow IT managers to self-administer and reconfigure their network infrastructure in real time, reducing reliance on manual processes and external carriers. Virtual interconnects offer numerous benefits including:

• Software-Defined: Virtual interconnects leverage SDN to programmatically set up, manage, and optimize network connections, allowing for rapid provisioning and dynamic adjustments as business needs change.
• Flexibility: They enable instant, on-demand connectivity between workloads, customers, clouds, and data sources, supporting distributed and hybrid IT environments, according to Data Center Frontier.
• Scalability: Organizations can scale their network connections up or down without the need for new physical infrastructure, making it easier to adapt to changing requirements.
• Security: Virtual interconnects can use encryption and private routing to ensure secure data transfer, even over shared or public networks.
• Cost Efficiency: By reducing the need for dedicated physical links, virtual interconnects help minimize capital and operational expenses.

Continued implementation of virtual interconnects will transform how organizations connect and manage their digital assets, making IT infrastructure more flexible, efficient, and responsive to business needs.

Is It Finally Time For Flying Cars?

The last emerging application of interconnects – the one you won’t believe! – is helping to make Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing aircraft (eVTOLs) a reality. According to Engineering.com, this technology has the potential to revolutionize urban air mobility by offering a faster, more sustainable, and potentially more affordable alternative to ground transportation.

eVTOLs, or electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing aircraft, are a new class of electric-powered vehicles designed to take off, hover, and land vertically, much like drones or helicopters, writes Built In. Their ability to operate without runways makes them especially promising for urban air mobility, including air taxis, emergency response, and cargo transport. eVTOLs are typically quieter, more environmentally friendly, and potentially less expensive to operate than traditional helicopters, with many models aiming for zero local emissions.

Interconnects are fundamental to the viability and safety of eVTOLs. These components must meet stringent requirements for weight, reliability, performance, and resilience in harsh environments.

The first area in which interconnects are enabling the eVTOL revolution is power and propulsion. eVTOLs rely on high-voltage electric propulsion systems, requiring connectors that can handle high currents and voltages safely and efficiently while minimizing weight, Hermetic Seal writes.

Cinch Connectivity Solutions adds that compression connectors are engineered to withstand rapid charging cycles, resist corrosion, and ensure secure connections even under high temperatures and moisture, supporting fast and safe battery charging.

Data and communication are also improved by the use of advanced RF and microwave connectors that are essential for high-frequency communications, supporting critical functions such as navigation, collision avoidance, and autonomous flight.

Optical connectors enable high-speed, low-latency data transfer for AI, real-time sensor networks, and autonomous controls, all while being lightweight and immune to electromagnetic interference. The seamless connectivity these interconnects support is crucial for real time data transmission, remote piloting, and integration with 5G/6G networks, ensuring safe and efficient flight operations in complex urban environments.

The safety and reliability of eVTOLS are crucial, and hermetically sealed connectors are used to protect sensitive electronics from moisture, chemicals, and extreme temperatures, ensuring reliability and safety in diverse and harsh operating conditions. Interconnects must withstand vibration, shock, and frequent connection cycles without failure, as any compromise could impact mission-critical systems like avionics and flight controls.

Finally, lightweight interconnect solutions are vital to maximizing flight efficiency and payload capacity, as every gram saved contributes to a longer range and better performance. Engineers must balance power delivery, data speed, and durability while minimizing the size and weight of cabling and connectors throughout the aircraft.

Interconnect technology is a cornerstone of eVTOL development, enabling the high power, fast data, and robust safety systems required for these aircraft to operate reliably and efficiently in urban airspaces. As eVTOLs move from prototypes to widespread adoption, advances in interconnects – especially in terms of weight, durability, and performance – are making this new era of aviation possible.