About Author

Nishant Nishant
Philip Ling - Senior Technology Writer at Avnet

Philip Ling is a senior technology writer with Avnet. He holds a post-graduate diploma in Advanced Microelectronics for Industrialist and has over 30 years of electronics industry experience. Philip has experience both as a design engineer working on mixed signal embedded systems and as a technical journalist and editor covering the industry for several European technical magazines. He has worked for small, medium and large companies as well as startups, and is pleased to say he is constantly learning.

More From Author
A robot representing Industry 5.0
Why you could be leading the next revolution
By Philip Ling   -   June 11, 2025
Technical article
Developments like multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) at the edge will define Industry 5.0. Adapting to these developments, even in small part, could catapult you out of the Information Age and past Industry 4.0.
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batteries
Beyond the datasheet: How to get more out of your primary cell batteries
By Philip Ling   -   May 22, 2025
Technical article
The world relies on small electronic devices powered by even smaller primary cell batteries. We dispose of around 80 million non-rechargeable batteries every day. How can we use technology to get more power out of our batteries?
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An integrated circuit on a printed circuit board
Programming secure devices at scale, in a software-defined world
By Philip Ling   -   March 7, 2025
Technical article
Software stored in non-volatile memory plays a crucial role in electronic products. Getting software into hardware and securing those devices in a connected world requires specialized support that is both repeatable and scalable.
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Avnet designs smart hard hat reference design
/IOTCONNECT, powered by AWS, enables smart PPE, keeping site workers safer
By Philip Ling   -   March 7, 2025
Technical article
Part of the value proposition for IoT technology and ubiquitous connectivity is enabling new approaches to solving long-standing challenges. Many of those challenges are incidental to the task, like keeping construction site workers safe.
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warehouse
Turning indoor tracking technology into smart solutions
By Philip Ling   -   February 19, 2025
Technical article Case Study
/IOTCONNECT is enabling indoor asset tracking technology company, IOSEA, to deliver total solutions for smart warehousing, industrial automation and the connected worker.
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laptop with graphic overlay
How is AI changing the electronics industry?
By Philip Ling   -   October 6, 2023
Technical article
Artificial intelligence has the potential to influence every part of any company. As a trusted partner and leader in technology, Avnet has a responsibility to its customers and suppliers to consider the impact of AI from all angles.
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a-microchip-with-the-image-of-a-neural-network-on-the-top
Why AI must redefine processor architectures
By Philip Ling   -   October 3, 2023
Technical article
Artificial neural networks are complex, multi-layered and multi-dimensional arrays of interconnected numerical values. Executing the math behind those connections is at the heart of AI. This math is unlike any other in the digital domain.
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tensors
Why AI and embedded design share the same DNA
By Philip Ling   -   September 26, 2023
Technical article
Intelligence comes in many forms. More of us are interacting with devices that appear to understand us. What and how they understand depends on the technology inside. How are embedded engineers implementing intelligence?
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Avnet Booth at Embedded World
What are the trends in embedded electronics?
By Philip Ling   -   March 24, 2023
Technical article
The electronics industry just returned from this year’s Embedded World exhibition and conference in Nuremberg, Germany. So, what are the latest trends? What’s hitting maturity and what do we need to watch out for in the months to come?
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factory showing IoT data on screens above the machines
When edge and enterprise collide
By Philip Ling   -   March 9, 2023
Technical article
See the building blocks of a connected world at Embedded World 2023
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smart cityscape
Avnet and supplier partners put HVAC control in the cloud to turn data into insights
By Philip Ling   -   March 3, 2023
Technical article
Efficiency in the way we create, distribute and consume energy is becoming a priority in nearly every vertical market application. The IoT is here to help, as shown with this HVAC system control demonstration.
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Accelerate sales growth with DirectConnect
3 reasons you should move to a SaaS model now
By Philip Ling   -   March 3, 2023
Technical article
Here are the three leading reasons why IT technology companies, where software is the IP that drives their brand, are making the transition from a traditional original equipment manufacturer (OEM) model to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model.
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aircraft flying over city
Where we’re going, we don’t need roads
By Philip Ling   -   February 17, 2023
Technical article
We’re a grounded species reaching for the stars. Personal aircraft will let us colonize the air immediately above us and expand our cities in ways that don’t need networks of multilane highways. For eVTOLs, air taxis are just the beginning.
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electric car charging
Do you need to know more about vehicle electrification?
By Philip Ling   -   January 4, 2023
Technical article
The POWER UP webinars from Avnet Silica dive deep into the world of electric vehicles. Watch this series of free webinars to learn more about what’s involved with vehicle electrification and charging.
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satellites in low Earth orbit
Putting 5G in space for the massive IoT
By Philip Ling   -   January 4, 2023
Technical article
5G cellular networks and the massive IoT are a natural fit. Putting 5G cell towers in space is taking massive to a new level. To learn more, Avnet spoke with Sateliot Chief Business Officer Gianluca Redolfi, one of the pioneers in this area.
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Get your free copies of the EV Charging Infrastructure Design books
New, free design books deliver inside story on EV charging
By Philip Ling   -   December 19, 2022
Technical article
EV charging infrastructure has the capacity to support many more suppliers at every stage in the supply chain. If you manufacture EV supply equipment, or are looking at the market opportunity, these new design resources are a must-read.
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fireman attempting to extinguish car fire
How engineers cut development time in half for an EV fire warning system
By Philip Ling   -   December 5, 2022
Technical article
Through rapid prototyping, Amphenol developed sensor modules that reliably detect carbon dioxide and hydrogen from cell decomposition venting for early warning of lithium cell thermal runaway.
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person taking a picture of a virtual prototype
Get ready to replace your prototype with a virtual model
By Philip Ling   -   December 5, 2022
Technical article
The sand is shifting between what is real and what is virtual. If the result is the same, does it matter? The engineering community is embracing virtual prototyping to increase innovation and reduce time to market.
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KUL Extreme HPE Micro Data Centre
Zero-touch computing for extreme edge locations
By Philip Ling   -   April 26, 2022
Technical article
Avnet partners with HPE and Iceotope as authorized manufacturer of super-efficient Micro Data Centre liquid cooling solution for deploying and supporting real-time applications in extreme edge locations.
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Marie Curie
AI Inference at the Edge: A lesson from Marie Curie
By Philip Ling   -   October 12, 2020
Technical article
In 1914, Marie Curie’s work on radium stopped in its tracks as the reality of World War I approached. Undaunted, Curie sent her entire stock of radium to a local bank by train and embarked on a new project – using her knowledge of radiology to save soldie...
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computer screens
Regulatory insights: Are your computer, audiovisual and information technology products ready for the transition to 62368-1?
By Philip Ling   -   May 6, 2020
Technical article
Regulatory certification can be confusing because of constantly changing standards, the complexity of the process and the amount of time needed to properly complete it.
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A doctor writing on a clipboard
How AI-powered virtual assistants can transform healthcare
By Philip Ling   -   February 26, 2019
We have witnessed a paradigm shift in the way patients are being treated by the doctors with the help of AI and machine learning.
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depiction of brain surrounded by icons
The rise of machine intelligence in the AI era
By Philip Ling   -   February 26, 2019
Technical article
Whether you know it or not, this technology has a lot of potential to deal with business-specific challenges and the benefits of deep learning outnumber its drawbacks.
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man using tablet computer in industrial setting
5 of the best artificial intelligence use cases
By Philip Ling   -   January 3, 2019
Technical article
AI’s upgraded algorithms make predictive analytics, parse data, and help businesses make smarter decisions from the boardroom to the factory floor.
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Doctor checking on a patient from a remote patient monitoring device -- artificial intelligence
AI From A-Z: The biggest buzzwords around artificial intelligence
By Philip Ling   -   November 28, 2018
Technical article
Companies across markets from consumer electronics to factory floors are finding power in the introduction of two letters: AI (artificial intelligence).
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supply chain concept with vehicles and tools around the work IoT
For Industry 4.0, Reliability Builds on Robust Connections
By Philip Ling   -   June 11, 2017
Technical article
Looking to relieve increasing product complexity and cost pressures, manufacturers are moving toward the next phase of industrial automation envisioned in Industry 4.0. In this concept, smart factories respond instantly to changing workloads to more
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