Five Questions for ... Dr. Vladimír Šulc

In the third instalment of our series of interviews with representatives of the wireless alliances supporting the Wireless Congress 2024, we speak to Dr. Vladimír Šulc, CEO of the IQRF Alliance. He shares his impressions and experiences of Electronica with us.

Electronica has undergone an impressive development: From a specialised trade fair for electronic components, it has become the leading global event for the electronics industry. The Wireless Congress: Systems & Applications has enriched the Electronica programme for two decades. This specialist conference, which was jointly launched by Elektronik, Messe München and ZVEI, benefits from the support of various wireless alliances. One of these is the IQRF Alliance, whose CEO Dr. Vladimír Šulc gives us an exclusive insight into his perspective on Electronica and the Wireless Congress.

?   When and on what occasion did you first hear about the Electronica trade fair in Munich?

!   Dr. Vladimír Šulc: I heard about Electronica from friends and fellow university students who visited Munich before 1989.

?   What impressions do you remember when you visited Electronica in Munich for the first time?

!   Dr. Šulc: I attended Electronica in the early 1990s, just after finishing university and founding the Microrisc company, to discover a new world of electronic components unavailable in the former Czechoslovakia.

Impressions? I was shocked and fascinated by the new world I discovered!

Since then, I have visited Electronica regularly as a visitor until 2006. In 2006, we decided to participate in the Electronica fair as exhibitors to disclose our smart IQRF transceivers.

Consequently, as the IQRF wireless mesh technology evolved into an ecosystem, the IQRF Alliance was founded to ensure IQRF-based products' interoperability and promote the IQRF technology. This fact further solidified our presence as exhibitors at Electronica.

?   When and for what reason did you visit the Wireless Congress: Systems & Application for the first time?

!   Dr. Šulc: The IQRF technology is based on the IQMESH routing protocol. As routing in lossy and low-power wireless mesh networks is a real technical challenge, we published our innovations and IQMESH uniqueness mainly at scientific conferences.

Around ten years ago, we attended the Wireless Congress for the first time to get a bit different auditorium – experts from the academic sphere and the business.

?   What significance do the Wireless Congress and Electronica have today, for the IQRF Alliance and for you personally?

!   Dr. Šulc: Feelings from the first visit to the Wireless Congress were highly positive, thanks to the event's professional management and involved experts from the various electronics and wireless sectors.

Since our first presentations at Wireless Congress, the IQRF was continuously evolving, connecting 1+ million devices worldwide and getting standardized.

In the IQRF world, there are no hidden secrets or surprises. Everything is transparent, described, documented, and disclosed. Continuously also at Wireless Congresses. The IQRF standard is readily available to any manufacturer under a royalty-free license. The world premiere of the IQRF standard was showcased at Wireless Congress 2022. The connection of the most crucial milestone with the Wireless Congress perfectly demonstrates a particular significance for the IQRF Alliance and me.

?   What do you associate with the name Electronica today? What do you wish Electronica for the future?

!   Dr. Šulc: Associations to Electronica? Thirty years of my life, experts, professionals, community, discussions, networking, trends, customers, competitors, the opportunity to extend the business, and an opportunity to see old friends.

I wish Electronica continuous success in attracting everybody interested in electronics.

Dr. Vladimír Šulc

is a founder and CEO of MICRORISC s.r.o. based in Jicin, Czech Republic.

Since 1991, Vladimír has been working on dozens of projects related to wireless communication and security. As a leader of R&D projects, he is actively working on topics related to his specialization: Wireless & Security, Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs), Routings in WMNs, and Data Aggregation in WMNs. He authorizes or coauthors 40+ CZ, EU, US, JP, or CN patents.

Since 2009, Dr. Šulc has contributed to the academic community, publishing papers and presenting at conferences. His papers, such as "IQRF Smart House – A Case Study" presented at the MESH 2010 conference, and "IQMESH, Technology for Wireless Mesh Networks: Implementation Case Studies" presented at the ICNS 2012, have been recognized with the Best Paper Awards.

Dr. Šulc's leadership was instrumental in creating and supervising the first release of the IQRF Communication Standard Specification for wireless mesh networks.

He has long philanthropically supported local events, the Apropo organization, and gifted students and also focuses on popularizing science and technology education.