Episode 147 - Dr. Ray Hoare, Founder Concurrent EDA

“What we bring to the table is we understand how to take the data, do real-time compute, and turn it into knowledge. So, you got raw data coming in, you got knowledge coming out.” Modern machine vision and imaging systems can throw off a firehose of data far faster than a general-purpose computer can absorb it. Concurrent EDA founder Ray Hoare, PhD, has spent two decades on the other side of that firehose, taking algorithms and moving them into electronics so the compute happens right at the sensor, in real time. In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll sits down with Dr. Hoare to talk through the latest in real-time processing. Dr. Hoare discusses how AI has reshaped the way his team builds — including generating 600,000 lines of code in a single month — and why he keeps telling engineers to “dream big” and prototype what used to feel impossible. The conversation covers when GPUs like NVIDIA Jetson win versus when FPGAs are the only option, such as scenarios involving submillisecond latency, 1,000+ fps cameras, and 50-to-100 Gbps data rates in real-world high-speed applications from additive manufacturing melt-pool monitoring to laser tracking and 3D metrology. The discussion also covers open smart cameras, MIPI sensors, image signal processing techniques, and how the same “firehose” thinking applies to RFSoCs for defense; time-sensitive networking as “Ethernet 2.0”; and a UDP/IP core that moves data from programmable logic to Python far more efficiently than Linux. Dr. Hoare closes with the diagnostic questions he asks every customer: where is your data coming from, what are you trying to extract, and where is it going? Support the show