Dev kits growing in popularity, says element14

The global survey, which sampled the views of 2,000 designers of electronics prototypes, found that that while development kits are used in 45% of designs, only half of these are being taken through to the full production process. It also identified that development kits are mostly being used within projects around sensing, wireless and communications, with the growth areas for the market in 2014/15 identified by engineers as being within lighting control, sensing and wireless. The research marks the first phase of a study element14 is carrying out into the development kit market. The company is now launching the second phase of its research, looking at the dilemmas faced by the users of development kits, the critical features needed and the challenges that are stopping designs being taken through to final production. The results will be published later in the year. Richard Curtin, global director of strategic alliance at element14, said: "There is no doubt that development kits are playing a critical role in the design process, from simple testing right through to full prototypes. What's clear from our initial research is that there are barriers that are stopping designs making it through to production. "There's a role for the distributor to play in helping engineers overcome the challenges that they're facing, whether that's in the design for manufacture or in the technical challenges that arise when you move away from the development boards. That's why we're calling for engineers to take part in our research and help us identify just what the biggest barriers to production are." To take part in the survey, click here.