Lars Reger, EVP and CTO of NXP Semiconductors, imagined a future with smart robots all around during his keynote “Shaping a World that Anticipates and Automates” at COMPUTEX 2024 on June 5. NXP, headquartered in the Netherlands, designs technologies that enable devices to sense, think, connect and act intelligently. Reger discussed how NXP is leading the transition from machines to software-defined robots by designing a “brain” with superior senses and building trust and scalability.

Leaping forward to 2050, Reger described a world where smart robots complete all basic tasks, from driving to manufacturing goods. These robots are built with four principal capabilities: they can sense the world around them, connect with the cloud and other devices, think to solve problems and autonomously act.

Reger then took the audience back to the present to explore obstacles that are slowing the development of smart robots. Even as Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang were developing the metaverse and omniverse, “Without the next steps, these two gentlemen would only have been funny digital game developers,” said Reger, “What we were needing were all these smart connected devices, the tentacles of the omniverse and metaverse.” So, the tech industry began waking up billions of robots.

As the industry solved issues of connectivity and action, they needed to catch up on sensing and thinking. “There was a fundamental mistake in the overall setup because we did not put trust, safety and security into the system,” said Reger, “We had to rework that entire ecosystem.”  If robots could be taught to sense and think like humans, they could be trusted with tasks like driving a car.

With the human brain as an example of an autonomous system, NXP is developing technology that allows machines to sense their surroundings and solve problems. The S32 CoreRide platform released in 2024 broke through barriers for software-defined vehicle development. AI accelerators are a key part of the technology that allows machines to think and anticipate.

Reger envisions giving robots four super senes: telekinesis, telepathy, x-ray vision and language harmonization. Connected devices can sense location, unlocking a car when its key is close. Radar capabilities, like those offered by NXP’s automotive radar SoC, can be used to detect objects through visual obstacles. Language harmonization allows smart devices to communicate and work together efficiently.

NXP emphasizes the importance of collaboration between industry, academia and government to realize this vision, captured in their slogan “brighter together.” Reger closed his keynote quoting John Lennon’s “Imagine,” saying “Maybe I’m just a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. If you join me on that journey, our industry will be a lot of fun.”