When tiny is big: design alive

One of the biggest achievements of the past half century has been making ever tinier structures. This miniaturization is at the foundation of three pillars that comprise the Digital Age: (1) computation, (2) digitization, and (3) communication. First, it is discussed how developments along these three pillars have affected the field of engineered systems. Next, the impact of these developments on the life cycle of engineered systems is examined from the perspective of (1) Information Technology (IT), (2) Embedded Technology (ET), and (3) Operation Technology (OT). A key value driver of IT is in the improved design approaches that are enabled by (1) the abundance of compute power and (2) connecting design activity within an organization as well as across organizations. Similarly, ET has provided much value by enabling the use of computation as the most important feature value driver of modern products. In turn, the large number of these software features relies on advances in communication networks as a critical infrastructure. Furthermore, digitization with remote sensing has opened up a trove of new features such as those in the area of autonomy. Finally, OT has benefited much from computation and digitization with communication features enabling current developments such as over-the-air updates. Building on the examination, a “design alive” outlook is presented that brings together the stages of system design and operation by live connectivity to continuously adapt each system on an individual basis and keep them performing in an optimal sense.