How ASICs are unlocking new potential in UK manufacturing
In June 2025, the UK government launched its Modern Industrial Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing – a ten-year plan designed to boost investment and position the nation at the forefront of Industry 4.0. Delivering this vision, however, requires industries to adopt embedded technologies that deliver both efficiency and reliability.
Here, Ross Turnbull, Director of Business Development and Product Engineering at application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) expert Swindon Silicon Systems, explains why custom ICs are central to driving the UK’s next wave of industrial transformation.
Building on centuries of British manufacturing expertise and the opportunities presented by Industry 4.0, the UK has set a target of becoming a global leader in advanced manufacturing by 2035.
Achieving this vision requires more than policy and investment; it starts with a strong foundation in microelectronics. Semiconductors are vital for powering automation, connectivity and intelligent systems that underpin advanced manufacturing. Recognizing their importance to the UK’s future economy, the government has allocated an additional £2.6 billion to fund semiconductor research and development.
The semiconductor ecosystem is diverse, spanning central processing units (CPUs) for general computing, graphics processing units (GPUs) for parallel processing and AI-workloads. It also includes reconfigurable devices such as Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FGPAs), which can be customized after they are manufactured to meet different application needs.
Each type of semiconductor plays a crucial role in driving the UK’s industrial ambitions. Among them, however, ASICs occupy a unique position, providing capabilities that other semiconductors cannot match.
Custom advantages
ASICs are highly specialized microchips, crafted at the transistor and logic-gate level to carry out specific functions with precision and efficiency.
Unlike general-purpose processors, which are built for versatility, ASICs can be optimized for power efficiency, signal integrity and data throughput. These capabilities are essential for real-time control in industrial automation, robotics and advanced aerospace systems.
By integrating analogue and digital functions – including signal conditioning, high-resolution data conversion, power management and embedded security features – onto a single chip, ASICs streamline system design. This consolidation significantly reduces overall complexity and improves efficiency across applications.
This consolidation not only reduces overall complexity but also enhances reliability, power efficiency and latency. In demanding industrial environments, it also helps to mitigate interconnect bottlenecks, reduces electromagnetic interference (EMI) and improve thermal performance, resulting in greater overall system stability and smoother operation across applications.
ASICs also help reduce the risk of obsolescence. Integrating multiple functions into a single chip lessens reliance on standard off-the-shelf components, which can be discontinued or become outdated over time. This approach safeguards production lifecycles, minimizes costly redesigns or component replacements and helps manufacturers maintain consistent system performance. Ultimately, it delivers greater long-term reliability and confidence in operational continuity – essential for achieving the UK’s ten-year industrial ambitions.
Although ASICs were not explicitly mentioned in the new manufacturing strategy, their capabilities make them crucial for creating the connected, automated and future-ready manufacturing ecosystems the UK aims to develop.
Tomorrows’ factories
The government’s strategy places investment in ‘smart factories’ as central to achieving its ambition of the UK becoming a global leader in “scaling up innovation and automation”.
Smart factories are highly responsive, data-driven manufacturing environments, connecting Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) enabled sensors, advanced robotics, predictive maintenance systems and adaptive material-handling technologies. 
These systems rely on high-speed data acquisition, real-time processing and energy-efficient control, all while ensuring reliable operation in demanding industrial settings. ASICs enable this performance by embedding customized processing logic directly into the hardware that keeps production running smoothly.
Sensors, such as accelerometers, thermocouples and current monitors track subtle changes in vibration, temperature or electrical load that indicate early signs of machine wear. This allows operators to intervene before failures occur, minimizing downtime and extending the lifespan of critical equipment.
ASIC-enabled sensors achieve this by processing large streams of operational data in real time, filtering and interpreting it so only the most relevant information reaches central control systems. This capability enables faster, more efficient decision-making, particularly for predictive maintenance, helping to prevent failures and optimize equipment performance.
Custom ICs are also essential for robotics and collaborative systems, allowing them to handle high-speed sensor fusion, control actuators with precision and perform real-time kinematic calculations. This ensures machines move accurately and consistently, even in fast-paced, dynamic production environments, enhancing operational efficiency and enabling safer collaboration between humans and machines.
Meanwhile, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) rely on ASIC-powered, low-latency obstacle detection, path-planning algorithms and adaptive routing to optimize material flow and maintain operations across the factory floor.
These capabilities enable ASICs to directly advance the UK’s industrial strategy, boosting manufacturing productivity, enhancing resource efficiency and fostering a more transparent, adaptable and resilient economy capable of withstanding future disruptions.
Soaring ahead
Aerospace is a key frontier industry UK, identified as having significant growth potential and where UK businesses could hold a comparative global advantage. However, the sector faces intensifying global competition from South Korea, Canada and Japan.
To achieve its potential, the new manufacturing strategy emphasizes the need for advanced technical development and digital adoption to drive greater efficiency and support the transition to more sustainable air travel.
As with smart factories, ASICs play a central role, providing the high levels of integration and customization required for next-generation aircraft.
The highly customizable nature of ASICs allows analogue, digital and power-management functions to be consolidated onto a single chip, streamlining avionics, flight control systems and sensor networks. This helps to enhance system reliability and maintain signal integrity even under high vibration and fluctuating temperatures.
Beyond efficiency, ASICs enable the aerospace industry to fully leverage digitalization, powering real-time sensor fusion, high-speed avionics and onboard data processing. By handling large volumes of telemetry and operational data, these chips enhance situational awareness, support predictive maintenance and provide a foundation for advanced autonomous or assisted flight operations.
In the UK aerospace sector, ASICs make aircraft smarter and more connected, boosting system reliability, increasing safety margins and strengthening the nation’s leadership in sustainable, technologically advanced aviation.
As the UK aims to increase business investment and grow the industries of the future, investing in semiconductors, particularly ASICs, goes beyond a purely technological choice. These highly specialized chips will play a centra role in transforming the UK into a resilient, efficient and forward-looking manufacturing nation.
Ross Turnbull
Swindon Silicon Systems Ltd (Swindon), a Sensata Technologies Inc company, is a leading custom integrated circuit (IC) solutions company with five decades of experience in the design, production test and supply of ASICs for industrial and automotive applications. With leading in-house design and production test and calibration facilities, Swindon provides customers with a competitive advantage, both technical and commercial, and supply the highest quality ICs for the lifetime of their product.