No end in sight to electronics' growth

The biennial Convergence conference on transportation electronics, hosted by DaimlerChrysler, will explore the interplay of electronics with mechanical and other systems to improve vehicle safety, performance, and convenience.

As Senior Vice President-Engineering Technologies and Regulatory Affairs for DaimlerChrysler Corp., Bernard Robertson is an expert on a wide spectrum of technical and nontechnical automotive industry matters. It is appropriate that someone commanding a well-positioned view of the automotive industry panorma be charged with organizing a popular automotive electronics conference that is broadening its scope this year.

In the past, Convergence has been all about the “technology” of electronics and its application to the automobile. And while technology will remain the raison d'etre of Convergence 2002, which is slated for October 21-23 in Detroit's Cobo Center, the largely “nontechnology” subjects of product development and consumer demand have been earmarked for exploration. The theme of the conference says it all: Transportation Electronics = Business + Technology + Process. As host company, DaimlerChrysler AG helped develop the theme along with Robertson and his Convergence planning team.