TI continued inventing new technologies that will enable smarter, faster and more efficient electronics to be used globally. Some of the year’s highlights include:
Receiving the National Association of Software and Service Companies’ Social Innovation Award 2011 for TI India’s deployment of a new solar LED lantern that is bringing light for the first time to rural villages throughout the country.
Doubling the size of Kilby Labs to increase the number of research projects conducted there, and opening Kilby Labs India, which will develop technologies to meet primarily the energy needs of that region.
Co-investing – along with the Electric Power Research Institute – in the China Electric Power Research Institute (CEPRI). CEPRI is enabling engineers and graduate school students to develop smart grid applications, including e-meters and digitalized substations based on TI technology. TI is the first multinational company to open a lab of this kind with the institute.
Doubling the amount of TI-funded universities to support microcontroller classes and learning labs. The funds provided students with hands-on learning on the latest technology platforms and allowed schools to increase enrollment in engineering by lowering the costs per student.
Sponsoring the 2010 Bluetooth® Innovation World Cup, an initiative aimed at finding new ideas for applications and products using Bluetooth® low energy technology in sports and fitness, health care, and home information and control. TI is a key Bluetooth® technology supplier, and our technology enables longer battery life through applications that require low-power wireless connectivity.
Bringing comfort through TI’s DLP® technology to the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped underground for 10 weeks. Mine officials lowered a Samsung SP-H03 pico projector through the 6-inch-wide hole so that the trapped miners could watch video clips of soccer greats Pele and Maradona. The palm-size device projected a 50-inch picture onto the walls of the mine.
TI's ET and semiconductor manufacturing teams spent the year monitoring ever-changing regulations and implementing improvements to ensure that the company maintained compliance with all applicable standards and certifications. While we were successful in maintaining compliance, the consuming focus on new regulations did not allow us to significantly enhance our own sustainability-focused manufacturing protocols.
We also joined the Extractives Working Group of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), which is working to develop a responsible sourcing process and ensure compliance with the new Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, specifically a measure that addresses so-called conflict minerals.
Other semiconductor manufacturing highlights for the year included:
Evaluating and implementing manufacturing controls at TI’s new fabrication sites in China and Japan. We also began training on-site environmental, health and safety leaders on TI standards and operating protocols.
Forging an agreement between members of the World Semiconductor Council and various government leaders in the U.S., Europe and Asia to harmonize (where possible) emerging product content regulations with existing laws to ensure broader and faster compliance.
Eliminated the use of cobalt dichloride (a substance of concern that was used as a humidity detector) in TI’s semiconductor packaging, replacing it with a more environmentally-responsible alternative.
In our ET business, we continued to make strides in environmental stewardship and to comply with emerging regulations. During the year, we:
Redesigned AC adapters to meet the European Union's (EU) Energy Using Products (EuP) Directive and U.S. EPA Energy Star 2.0 energy-efficiency requirements.
Recycled rechargeable lithium batteries.
Transitioned most products to run on mercury-free batteries.
Additionally, our ET division received the following recognitions:
Tech & Learning magazine named ET’s TI-Nspire with Touchpad one of the best educational offerings of the past year.
Looking ahead
In 2011, TI will continue bringing new innovations to market and researching ways to enhance our existing product line. TI intends to invest in additional resources that will ensure company compliance with new and emerging regulations. We also will continue evaluating water use and energy consumption to identify opportunities for reducing use.
