Athletics have entered the digital age and PCBA is playing a large role in facilitating that transition.
What's going on?
Professional sports have long been evaluated by what meets the eye. Take basketball, for instance. Common knowledge suggested for decades that a player's defensive prowess was solely attributed to the amount of blocks, rebounds or steals they had each game. Who could argue? Now, mathematicians can.
Kirk Goldsberry, professor at Harvard University, reported he found a way to measure defensive efficiency using optical tracking data, which monitors players movements on the floor. This sort of development is similar to the changes currently occurring in the National Football League. During the upcoming season, data chips will be embedded in footballs to provide data and insight into a number of aspects of the game, according to Engadget.
Athletic organizations are now taking the same approach that many businesses take in regard to evaluating performance. Without advancements in nearly every aspect of printed circuit boards, though, it wouldn't be possible.
Miniature circuit boards are being used to track data in athletics.
How does this impact PCBA?
Researchers at Michigan University found that PCBs can be manufactured to fit inside of equipment, according to the Detroit Free Press. While the people behind the idea had been working on it for over a decade and a half, advances in component miniaturization have allowed the technology to scale to different devices like golf clubs, baseball bats and shoes.
Behind all of this is the realization of how complex yet important lean manufacturing methods are to cultivating this budding industry. It could eventually provide clients just as valuable as defense contractors or healthcare professionals.
4PCB reported that in just a few years, with how fast this market is already excelling, market penetration could reach the average consumer. The potential windfall of this would result in a market frenzy, though it has yet to be determined if this estimated value has been worked into future industry worth reports.
What is for certain, though, is that the intricacies involved in PCBA will play a large role as to the design of these circuit boards. Manufacturers will have to posses the ability to create sturdy yet flexible designs that can withstand constant battering for long periods of time. PCBs inside of computers, though similar in function, don't have to live in the same environments as some of these chips of the future. This makes that style of PCBA more of a jumping off point, rather than a blueprint for success.
With printed circuit boards becoming smaller year-by-year, lean manufacturing techniques will become vital in keeping up with industry changes without compensating on durability. Component miniaturization will play a large role in deciding which materials will become most common, which will ultimately decide profit margins.
It's clear that a new market is emerging, though how much exposure it will have to the PCBA market has yet to be determined. It's all but necessary for companies to be ready with flexible product assembly methods to accommodate the change on the horizon.