The value of online (virtual) conferences is increasing in leaps and bounds as travel becomes more problematic and time is increasingly at a premium. Some of these events “stand proud in the crowd,” as it were. Allow me to expound, elucidate, and explicate.
When it comes to embedded space (where no one can hear you scream), the virtual extravaganza on everybody’s lips is the Embedded Online Conference (EOC).
However, before we delve into the delights of EOC 2025, may I first invite you to join me on a brief trip down memory lane?
Cue audio and visual effects… Cue announcer’s voice: Welcome to Max’s World, where the birds sing sweeter, the butterflies are bigger, the flowers are more fragrant, and the beer runs plentiful and cold.
Cue Max: Ah, I well remember the days before the internet fully impinged itself on the consciousness of the unwashed masses. It was a time of innocence. It was a time of frustration. It was a time of big honking technical conferences.
For example, I started attending the Design Automation Conference (DAC) in the mid-1980s. This was the event to “see and be seen” when it came to Electronic Design Automation (EDA) technology, by which we mean the tools used to design and verify electronic designs at the chip, board, and system level.
I was working in the UK for a small company called Cirrus Computers at the time (we’d been acquired by the American GenRad corporation in 1983, but we maintained our Cirrus moniker). Our claim to fame was a digital logic simulator called HILO (later System HILO). This boasted three aspects: a logic simulator (with timing), a timing simulator (with logic), and a fault simulator (with both), where the latter complemented our Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG) software.
In its heyday, DAC boasted 20,000+ attendees. By 2023, this had fallen to 5,789, although this was an improvement on the tail-end-of-pandemic 2022 event, which attracted only 4,870 adventurous souls.
A decade later, in the mid-1990s, I was fortunate to attend a couple of SIGGRAPH conferences. This is widely recognized as the world’s premier event on computer graphics and interactive techniques. It attracts researchers, artists, developers, filmmakers, designers, and professionals from around the globe.
The SIGGRAPH conference reached its peak attendance in 1995, drawing nearly 30,000 participants to Los Angeles. By comparison, last year’s SIGGRAPH 2024 conference, which was held in Denver, Colorado, attracted only around 8,800 attendees, where this figure reflects both in-person and virtual participants (the event featured a hybrid format).
As an aside, I attended one of the best parties of my life at SIGGRAPH 1996, which was held in New Orleans. As I recall, this was hosted by three companies: Intergraph (where I was working), Intel, and another entity whose name I forget (this was the year before Intergraph and Intel became engaged in legal disputes). The party was scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. When I arrived a few minutes before the appointed hour, I found everyone milling around outside a large historic building, clutching their prized invitations.
This building was surrounded by a wall topped with a spiky wrought iron fence. Behind the railings of an enormous pair of locked gates, a wide staircase led up to the building’s entrance, which was a floor above ground level. The building itself was pitch black. It looked deserted. Everyone was confused.
And then, on the stroke of the hour, lights started flickering behind the windows, the doors opened with a satisfying creak, and a host of vampires in period Victorian costume descended, lining the stairs on either side. Then the biggest, baddest vampire of them all appeared, gliding down the stairs, flourishing a ring of antique keys, opening the gates, and intoning ENTER in a deep growl that sounded like he was shouting because no one else was making a sound… you could have heard a pin drop.
I must admit that it was a bit discomforting walking up those stairs with blood dripping from the fangs of the vampires on both sides. By the time I reached the top, I needed a reviving beer, so it was fortunate that there were open bars accompanied by tasty treats to eat on every floor. Also, in addition to live groups, there were different activities on each floor. There’s so much more to tell, like the personally signed Interview with the Vampire books by Anne Rice, and… but we digress.
The reason the conferences of yesteryear were so big was that they were often the premier places to find information. In addition to the main conference and exhibition, there would be special interest group (SIG) meetings for the various tools. This was where users would learn tips and tricks from company experts. Also, there were informal meetups called Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions (from the proverb “birds of a feather flock together”) where people with a shared interest gathered to discuss “stuff.”
And then came the internet, which arrived with a splash (well, with the launch of the NCSA Mosaic browser) in 1993. It took a while for the ripples to spread (“splash”… “ripples”… get it?). Over time, however, it became easier and easier to find information, like data sheets for components, or to pose questions about tools and techniques. At the same time, it became harder and harder to persuade one’s boss that it was worth sending one to a physical conference (“Can’t you just get what you need on the web?”).
Physical conferences still have their place, and some are flourishing, like CES 2025, which was held in Las Vegas, USA, in January, attracting 4,500+ exhibitors and 142,000+ attendees, and Embedded World 2025, which was held in Nuremberg, Germany, in March, attracting 1,200+ exhibitors and 32,000+ attendees.
However, there are two big problems with these events: money and time. In addition to the cost of the conference itself, flights and hotels for these events aren’t cheap. Also, there’s the time involved to attend. It’s not just the conference itself, it’s the additional days it takes to get there and back again, plus the Jet Lag if you’re commuting between continents.
All of which returns us to the topic of online (virtual) conferences, like the Embedded Online Conference (EOC), which will take place 12-16 May 2025. As I previously mentioned in my Multiplying the Power of Artificial Intelligence with Artificial Bodies column, the EOC is now in its fifth year as a fully fledged conference, and it’s grown to be one of the more prestigious events in embedded space (where you’ll find me screaming).
Oh, what fun we’ll have (Source: Leonardo.ai)
This event features the crème de la crème of presenters… and me. As we see in the photo-realistic depiction above, the EOC is full of fun. I’ve never seen so many smiling faces. It’s fun for the presenters, and it’s fun for the attendees, because everyone gets to take part in the live Q&A sessions at the end of the talks. There are also “multiple somethings” for everyone, as you’ll see if you check out the schedule.
I just bounced over to the Get Your Pass Here. I’m afraid the Early Bird specials are long gone (discounts for students, groups, teams, and entire companies are available), but this is still an awesome deal for what you get. As Erik Engstrom, who attended a previous EOC said: “I am so blown away. In the past, I have spent 10X $ on 1/10 the amount of education I got from EOC. Amazing job to everyone who put this together.”
It’s currently only $245 for this year’s event, which includes both real-time and on-demand access to all the 2025 sessions. Alternatively, for only $345, you also get on-demand access to all previous editions of the conference (that’s 100+ presentations).
But wait! There’s more! The “Happy Dance” news is that the conference organizers have given me a promo code to share with you (and for you to share with your family and friends). If you use code MAXFIELD2025 when you REGISTER, this will result in a $50 discount (don’t say I never give you anything).
I can’t wait to give my presentation (check out the abstract and the video of me waffling), all I need to do now is write it, and I can’t wait to meet up virtually with everyone. Hopefully, I’ll see you there. Just look for a tall, handsome engineer, then keep on looking until you spot me (I’ll be the one in the Hawaiian shirt). Until then, if you’ve attended any online conferences, including previous EOCs, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these bodacious beauties.
