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PORTLAND, Ore. - A workshop on May 14-15 in Portland will bring together representatives from industry, universities, federal laboratories and state economic agencies to explore the manufacturing of "Smart Goods," which are future products that underlie the "Internet of Things" and reflect a growing societal trend.

The program is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and is being organized by Oregon State University, along with four other regional university partners.

Topics of discussion will include the needs of users, developers and manufacturers of state-of-the-art smart goods, which possess wireless sensors and actuators to interact with cloud computing and allow better decision making or autonomous response.

The event will be at the Embassy Suites Downtown Portland. More information on the program, registration fees, speakers and topics can be found online at http://pnwsmartgoodsmfg.com

In the first wave of the internet, about one billion devices were interconnected, and smart phones and tablets brought another two billion devices. However, experts say that as many as 50 billion embedded and internet-connected devices - smart light bulbs, utility meters and autonomous vehicles - are projected to be on the Internet by the end of this decade.

Some of these goods may require small wireless sensors with logic chips having very low power consumption, challenging conventional wisdom about semiconductor design and manufacturing.

Speakers at the workshop include industry leaders that use and develop manufacturing technologies for the next generation of smart goods.  Presentations will address some of the challenges for both large and small companies in developing smart goods with increased levels of performance at lower cost.