The October 2026 issue of Electronic Specifier is out now. It arrives ahead of electronica 2026, which runs in Munich from 10-13th November, and much of the issue looks at how engineers can adopt artificial intelligence safely and in line with regulation. It also covers high-frequency design, data centre photonics, secure storage, and a profile of an engineer working in elite sailing.
Safe AI adoption
Two of the features look at the risks of AI and how to manage them. In ‘De-risking AI deployment’, Chris Whyborn, Head of Cybersecurity Devices (UK & Europe) at TÜV SÜD Business Assurance, sets out the legal, ethical, and technical risks that come with AI. He explains the risk-based approach of the EU AI Act, under which fines can reach €15 million or 3% of global annual revenue, and compares it with the UK’s principles-based framework.
Fernando Valera, CTO of Visure Solutions, writes about ‘Engineering Intelligence’ in safety-critical sectors such as aerospace, automotive, medical devices, and defence. He explains how Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers can give AI agents governed access to requirements, traceability and verification data, so that teams keep human oversight and their audit trail.
From mmWave to optical interconnects
Rolf Horn, Applications Engineer at DigiKey, writes about the shift towards millimetre-wave design. He explains how the 5G and defence sectors have come to share manufacturing scale, surface-mount packaging, and over-the-air test infrastructure, which makes mmWave more manageable for design teams of every size.
The bandwidth demands of AI also lead into a case study from Yokogawa. It describes how the Swiss photonics company Enlightra uses the AQ6370E optical spectrum analyser to characterise its microcomb lasers. These lasers produce many precisely spaced wavelengths from a single pump laser for the optical interconnects in next-generation AI data centres.
Silicon Motion explains how its FerriSSD drives protect data at the hardware level. Features include AES-256 encryption to the TCG Opal 2.0 standard, firmware authenticated through an eFuse, and tamper responses that range from raising an alert to erasing the whole drive.
Women in Tech
In this issue’s Women in Tech profile, Associate Editor Sheryl Miles talks to Pia Mathias, an Embedded Systems Engineer with La Roche-Posay’s America’s Cup AC75 team. Mathias trained in aerospace engineering in Toulouse. She now runs the instrumentation and telemetry network on one of the most demanding boats in competitive sailing, where a race can be won or lost by fractions of a second.
The road to electronica
Ahead of the show, Exhibition Director Caroline Pannier describes how electronica grew from Germany’s first components-only trade fair in 1964 into a global platform for the ‘all-electric society’. She also reflects on the milestones it has witnessed, from the first microprocessor to the rise of mobile communications.
“This issue reflects where the industry’s head is at right now,” said Paige Hookway, Managing Editor. “Engineers want to use AI, but they need to do it in a way that stands up to regulators and auditors. Alongside that, we’ve got the RF, photonics, and storage work that keeps the whole thing running. With electronica just weeks away, it’s a great moment to bring it all together.”
The October issue is available to read now.
