According to a Deloitte survey, only 34 per cent of manufacturers have integrated sensor technology into their factories — despite its importance as a first step toward smarter, more productive operations. Here, Ross Turnbull, Director of Business Development at application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) expert Swindon Silicon Systems, explains how ASICs provide this intelligence, integrating sensing, signal conditioning and communication in a single chip.
Approximately 92 per cent of manufacturing executives see smart manufacturing as essential to maintaining competitiveness. However, smart manufacturing doesn’t begin with automation and analytics — it starts with data, and that data starts at the sensor level.
Embedded sensors generate real-time data that drives predictive maintenance, reduces downtime and optimises operations. They monitor key physical parameters such as temperature, pressure, vibration and position across factory environments and automated systems. However, industrial settings expose sensors to electrical noise, mechanical vibration and temperature fluctuations that often weaken, distort or corrupt raw sensor signals.
To turn these raw signals into meaningful insights, the data must be accurately conditioned, digitised and transmitted in real time. Traditionally, this processing relies on multiple discrete components, including general-purpose signal conditioning integrated circuits (ICs).
The limits of standardisation
Off-the-shelf ICs, including general-purpose signal conditioning ICs, provide basic sensor data processing but lack optimisation for industrial conditions. On the factory floor, extreme temperatures, mechanical vibration and electromagnetic interference can easily compromise the accuracy, reliability and lifespan of standard components.
ICs also often consume more power than necessary for their specific application. This has significant implications, reducing operational lifetime in wireless systems and higher energy costs in wired ones. Industrial sensors constrained by strict power and thermal limits thus face more frequent maintenance and increased total cost of ownership due to inefficient components.
Further complicating matters, these ICs typically form part of multi-chip sensor solutions that require additional external components for filtering, amplification and communication. This increases system size and complexity, complicating integration in space-constrained designs and introducing potential points of failure that reduce long-term robustness.
Tailored to the task
Custom IC solutions address these challenges by integrating multiple critical sensor functions onto a single, purpose-built chip — significantly improving performance.
The analogue front end (AFE) is the first stage of the sensor interface, directly processing the sensor’s analogue output with ultra-low-noise amplifiers, precision filters, programmable gain stages and temperature circuits.
In an ASIC, all these elements can be specifically designed and customised to match the unique characteristics of each sensor type and its operating environment. Furthermore, embedding these components directly on-chip enables early-stage signal conditioning, which minimises noise and distortion at the source. This is crucial in industrial environments rife with electromagnetic interference, mechanical vibration and subject to temperature variations.
Integrating a high-resolution analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) on the same ASIC further enhances performance by enabling immediate, precise digitisation of the conditioned analogue signals. This close integration reduces signal latency, eliminates the need for separate ADC hardware and cuts power consumption by minimising signal paths and redundant chip overhead. These improvements also conserve valuable board space, a crucial consideration for sensors embedded in compact or hard-to-access locations.
Following digitisation, communication interfaces integrated within the ASIC facilitate seamless data transfer using protocols specifically suited to industrial automation. Protocols such as Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) and Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) offer robust, low-latency wired communication, while wireless standards like Long Range (LoRa) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) provide energy-efficient, long-range connectivity options.
These tailored communication solutions ensure the reliable, real-time transmission of sensor data to controllers or cloud platforms, enabling vital applications such as predictive maintenance and process optimisation.
Understanding the benefits
The benefits of this integrated process become especially clear when looking at smart factory systems.
For example, predictive maintenance sensors embedded in rotating machinery can use ASICs to deliver clean, high-fidelity vibration data, even in the presence of harsh electrical noise, thereby enabling early fault detection and reducing costly downtime. Similarly, robotic systems demand fast and accurate sensor feedback. ASICs facilitate low-latency signal processing and communication within a compact form factor, ensuring precise real-time control even in tight or vibration-prone environments.
Meanwhile, environmental monitoring sensors within manufacturing plants benefit from the energy efficiency of ASIC integration, allowing them to operate on limited power budgets for extended periods, which reduces maintenance frequency and supports wireless deployment.
As manufacturers accelerate toward smarter, more connected factories, success starts with reliable, high-quality sensor data. Custom ASICs make this possible by integrating the core functions required for accurate data capture and delivery into a single, robust chip designed for modern industrial demands.
Swindon Silicon Systems offers a full turnkey service for custom ASIC design and manufacture. Get in touch today to discover how an ASIC can optimise your industrial sensor system.
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