Monday’s DevCon panels promise a bonanza of tech content and some lively back-and-forth

Panel discussions are among the best ways to cover technical topics, as they provide an opportunity for a group to hear experts sharing their knowledge of a specific subject, presenting up-to-date information and discussing their personal views. Panel sessions at DevCon 2015 will include presentations by panel members and discussion of alternate points of view, followed by ample time for answering questions from the audience. These sessions take place right from the get-go at DevCon, starting on opening day.  So let’s take a quick look at the topics and experts from three panel sessions scheduled for Monday, October 12.

With billions of IoT devices suddenly coming online, some of these are likely to be lightly protected -connected devices that unfortunately could offer the possibility of cyberthiefs accessing, through a home network, unencrypted information about people’s health, purchasing habits, and finances. Security is without doubt one of the major challenges facing the IoT domain in today's connected world. At DevCon’s panel on Security (Session# CP04BA – Monday October 12th, 16.30 – 17.15 PT ) moderator Haydn Povey, founder and CEO at Secure Thingz, a UK-based company focused on secure implementation of IoT devices and cloud services, will lead a discussion on how things that may appear to be benign can in fact be detrimental. Find out about the necessary steps and concepts that must be employed in an IoT design and how Renesas is working to help make your next design more secure. Panelists are Markus Levy, CEO, EEMBC and president of the Multicore Association; Alan Grau. President & Co-Founder, Icon Labs, a leading provider of security software for embedded devices and the architect of Icon Labs' award-winning Floodgate Firewall; Warren Westrup, director of IoT Solutions Engineering and Architecture at Verizon, where he helps develop and deliver solutions that combine machine-to-machine connectivity with Verizon's enterprise platform; and Steve DeLaney, President and founder of Cypherbridge Systems, LLC, a software R&D firm that supplies standalone and IoT Cloud connected SDKs and toolkits, providing security and connectivity protocols to a wide range of vertical markets.

For the panel “IoT Design Challenges” (Session# CP05BA– Monday October 12th, 15.30 – 16.15 PT ) moderator Rich Nass, EVP/Brand Manager for Embedded/IoT at OpenSystems Media has gathered experts to talk about the challenges surrounding today's IoT designs, ranging from MCUs to “the Cloud” and how the marriage of Web, IT, and embedded systems are creating new opportunities. Participating in this panel are: Joseph Zaokerm Director, Technical Marketing, Arrow Electronics, who is responsible for developing and driving Arrow's Intelligent Systems strategy; Andrew S. Thomas, CEO of Skkynet Cloud Systems, a global leader in real‐time cloud information systems; William Flynn CTO & Engineering Vice-President, Vitec Videocom Ltd., which integrates products from leading broadcast, film and pro-video suppliers; Peter Semmelhack, Founder and CEO, Bug Labs, the company behind BUG™, dweet™ and freeboard™, the award-winning modular, open source IoT and web services platform; Tom Berarducci, Director, Platform Product Management, New Growth Platforms & Internet of Things at Zebra Technologies Corp., who currently works in the Zatar team creating cloud-connected IoT solutions; and  Renesas’ own Kenneth Krieg, Application Engineering Director of the IoT Business Unit.

No two motors are made exactly the same, and engineers can use many different techniques to squeeze out as much efficiency from their motor-based systems as is possible. DevCon’s Motor Control panel (Session# CP03BA – Monday October 12th, 14.30 – 15.15 PT ) will present an engineering-oriented discussion focusing on motor control and motion technology. Experts will be talking about drive techniques, algorithms, control loops, industrial protocols, and more. Since this is a Renesas panel you can also expect to hear how engineers can select the right MCUs with the right combination of math features for motor control applications. Moderating this panel at DevCon will be Renesas’ Kevin King, a Senior Staff Application Engineer specializing in Embedded System Design and MCU firmware and hardware. Joining Kevin for this panel discussion are two of his Renesas colleagues: Eugene Bonev, Director, Application Engineering, who was the founder of PicoMotion, LLC, focusing on Motion Control IP, high-performance servo controllers, and industrial robotics software stacks and Thenmozhi Murthi, Renesas Staff System Design Engineer, who concentrates on applications in motor control. Also lending their expertise to this discussion are Dr. Dal Y. Ohm, President of Drivetech, Inc., who has spent most of his industrial and academic career in applied R & D and product development of diverse AC and DC motor drives, motion control, and power electronics, Michael D Halleck, who is President of HWI, an independent research, development and engineering service company specializing in electrical engineering and embedded systems while collaborating with established companies in the mechanical world, and Mark Carrier, Vice President, New Product Development, Commercial Motors, Nidec Motor Corp., a leading manufacturer of commercial, industrial, and appliance motors and controls.