It is funny the thinking was 15 years ago that everything already had a computer in it. But really we have NOW sudden hit a moment where the necessity for true computing in appliances and cars has started.
Car don't get automatic cruise control, passing lane alerts, reactive wheel steering & breaking without REAL computers under the hood. Our devices that merely needed simple controller chips now need real number crunching and operating systems. All cars manufactured today contain at least one computer. It is in charge of monitoring engine emissions and adjusting the engine to keep emissions as low as possible at the very least. More advanced systems might receives information from a many different sensors, including: oxygen sensor, air pressure, air temperature, engine temperature, throttle position, brake sensors, knock/stall sensor, front and rear vehicles LIDAR, Side cameras or LIDAR, airbag deployment speed, climate control balancing, keyless entry or a security system.
In ovens, microwaves, light bulbs, refrigerators and dozens of other appliances in the home now have sensors and those sensors change the operation of the devices with computers. Not mere controller boards, but sensor determined choices interprets by algorithms running on computers. One of the more mundane computers is the ones in most TVs now. I think the only HDTVs that are not smart are the cheapest 24" models, most TVs over $200 are smart TVs with ROKU, Apple AirPlay 2 or Chromecast built-in. And if not those they have the ability to run updatable apps for Netflix, Disney+, YouTube, etc. Moreover, all but the cheapest TV for better or worse have computer control of backlights, image rendering, frame-rate changing, upscaling, etc. Our HDTVs have - must have - operating systems.
We are currently at the third rise of the small computer. The first rise from mainframe to personals computer occurred in the late 70s and early 80s. Then a second or their rise with MP3/AV-Players, netbooks, tablets, and smartphones. Thus, I would say the third rise of the small computer started very small in 2012 with the first Raspberry Pi. Raspberry PI is a SBC or single board computer. At that time, they were little more than a hobbyist toy with a few dozen hobbyist uses when item was introduced mostly robotics and small automation tasks. Now SBC are beyond nerd hobbies and school robot clubs, they are the micro servers in people's homes, the base for retro-gaming, or the brains of various drones or devices like 3D printers. SBC are a growing segment if you want to know how far SBC has come consider there are not military and space rated single board computers. Systems that are made for the battlefield and low-earth orbit, not just the middle school robot lab. And of course SBC are made by hundreds of manufactures at price range from $10 to $300.
And, that is here I think the chip shortage comes in. Yes, we just has a worldwide pandemic, that cannot be understated for having effects on teh supply or parts for electronics on every level. Tet, as I said above; it hard to buy a vehicles, tv, monitor, appliance, or military weapon that does not require a full fledge computer or sophicaticted SoC within it. With have many devices that once used simple microcontroller chips. The difference between Microprocessor (a Central Processing Unit on a board with other discrete chips) to a Microcontroller that might contains a CPU, Memory, I/O all integrated into one chip - system on a chip- (SoC) is one level that is very wide. But in that past the most microcontrollers needed could be rather simple: on vs. off, at-temperature vs. over-heating, timer, etc. It seems increasingly that devices need sophisticated SoC or full blown multi-chip PCBs -i.e. a computer that can run and monitor various sensors and make various programmed choices. We hit a point where the demand for computers of all sizes are far outstripping supply; meanwhile, new decies are being created that are engineered to need more computing power from the outset.
Long story short the supply of all sort of chips for various devices, vehicles, and appliances will not be solved quickly. It will take years to build capacity again because there is not a single industry that will slow down or lighten it demands for computer chips. I don't see there being a sufficient supply of PS5, XBox-X, video cards, or many CPUs for a VERY LONG time. The PS5 and XBOX -X might be in short supply for their entire main run.
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