As I proudly hand over to Dr Teruo Onishi from Japan, I have been reflecting on the honour it has been to lead IEC TC 106 over the past nine years. I am most proud of the collaboration, culture and teamwork that really underpins everything we do. Great teams are motivated to go the extra mile, and I see that in all the IEC groups along with our partners at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Five areas of work really stand out for me:
5G Standards – delivering the EMF assessment standards ahead of time to meet the early deployments for 5G networks and devices. This includes the first Technical Report on 5G mmWave testing that became a reference for regulators globally. And more recently updating the early 5G standards as the technology evolves.
Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) – new testing methods and standards for this smart tech that is now truly going global. Many new cars now have wireless charging for devices and look how common it is for homes, cafés, universities, and many facilities to have wireless charging facilities. Smart cities and electric transportation of the future will all use WPT in some way.
Inspiring Young Professionals – TC 106 is a big supporter of the YP programme running dedicated workshops and engagement sessions to inspire the future. This is always rewarding to witness their excitement and provide opportunities for them.
Navigating Covid – no one could have prepared us for Covid, but we rallied together, supported each other through the most challenging of times and came out the other side. It really taught me the value of collaboration, teamwork and now how to get the most out of face to face and hybrid working. But let’s hope we never go back to those Covid days!
New Structure for the Mobile Device Compliance Assessment Standards – with the significant advances in mobile phones and wireless devices over the past decade, comes the challenge of how to ensure the IEC test systems keep up! Well, they certainly have, and are adopting the latest and fastest tech available to the point that new assessment methods and validation requirements are needed. In a landmark update since the very first mobile test standards were implemented over 30 years ago, TC 106 has just approved a new restructured SAR testing series to streamline the approach into 4 different standards rather that a supersized jumbo standard that became quite frankly unworkable in 2024.
Thank you to the IEC community, all the experts, conveners, officers and our partners at the IEEE and IEC Secretariat for the amazing support. It is the global community that makes it all work. My new journey takes me to the IEC Standardization Management Board, to look at how we adapt to and embrace the future. But look out for me at those YP workshops!
This article was originally published on the IEC website and is reproduced here with their kind permission.