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Vision processor family brings scalable edge AI to smart cameras

Thu, Mar 16, 2023

Vision capabilities and AI processing for up to 12 cameras is afforded by the AM6xA family of vision processors released by Texas Instruments. They are designed for use in building, industrial and retail automation applications.

The family consists of six Arm Cortex-based vision processors that allow designers to add more vision and artificial intelligence (AI) processing at a lower cost, said TI. It is also defined by better energy efficiency which can be applied across the scale of vision applications whether video doorbells, machine vision or autonomous mobile robots.

The four AM62A versions, the AM68A and the AM69A processors are supported by open-source evaluation and model development tools, and common software that is programmable through industry-standard APIs, frameworks and models.

The vision processors are affordable, said Sameer Wasson, vice president, processors at Texas Instruments. He continued, saying the “highly integrated SoCs will enable the future of embedded AI by allowing for more cameras and vision processing in edge applications.”

The AM62A3, AM62A3-Q1, AM62A7 and AM62A7-Q1, support one to two cameras at less than 2W. The low power devices target applications such as doorbell cameras and smart retail systems. The AM62A3 is claimed to be the industry’s lowest-cost 1-TOPS vision processor.

The other members of the family are the AM68A, which enables one to eight cameras in applications like machine vision, with up to 8 TOPS of AI processing for advanced video analytics.

The AM69A, which achieves 32 TOPS of AI processing for one to 12 cameras in high-performance applications such as edge AI boxes, autonomous mobile robots and traffic monitoring systems.

Processors feature an SoC architecture with integrated components including Arm Cortex-A53 or Cortex-A72 central processing units, a third-generation TI image signal processor, internal memory, interfaces, and hardware accelerators delivering AI processing for deep learning algorithms.

Beginning in Q2 2023, designers can accelerate time to market for their edge AI applications with a public beta of TI’s free open-source tool, Edge AI Studio. This web-based tool allows users to develop and test AI models quickly and easily using user-created models and TI’s optimised models, which can also be retrained with custom data.

AM68A processors are available now through TI and authorised distributors in production quantities. Pre-production samples of the AM62A and the AM69A are available through TI. Starter kits are available on TI.com for the AM62A, AM68A and AM69A.

http://www.TI.com

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2GHz real time spectrum analysis is for satellite communications

Thu, Mar 16, 2023

A software-based, real time spectrum analyser developed by Keysight, monitors satellite signals and interference. It supports industry-leading wide bandwidth analysis up to 2GHz, reduces analysis time, and improves probability of intercept, said Keysight Technologies. It also speeds design and testing of satellite payloads, lowers prototyping costs, and accelerates time-to-market through digital twins technology, added the company.
The N9042B UXA signal analyser is a 2GHz real time spectrum analysis (RTSA) instrument. The software-based analyser monitors satellite signals and interference, allowing satellite network operators to provide the highest quality of service (QoS) to users.
As the satellite communications (satcom) industry moves to high throughput satellites, satellite network operators are experiencing increased satellite signals and interference. Signal interference has been further complicated for satellite operators with the auction of traditional satcom frequency bands to terrestrial wireless operators. To ensure high QoS, satellite operators need to perform rigorous and accurate signal interference monitoring in real-time to identify anomalies and mitigate service degradation.
Keysight’s RTSA addresses this challenge by enabling the N9042B UXA signal analyser to conduct continuous, gapless capture and analysis of elusive and transient signals with industry-leading optical data interface (ODI) streaming up to 2GHz.
According to Keysight, benefits include reduced analysis time through Keysight’s advanced FPGA technology which enables a multi-threaded and parallelised RTSA measurement up to 2GHz bandwidth to minimise the time gap between processing / rendering and re-capturing signals. This reduces analysis time and improves the probability of intercept.
Support for ODI streaming at up to 2 GHz to RAID storage enables rapid, wide bandwidth streaming and capture of hours of signal recordings for analysis.
Keysight’s design and emulation has been used to for using digital twins that speed design and testing of satellite payloads, lower prototyping costs, and speed time-to-market.
The RTSA software is designed to run on the N9042B UXA signal analyser which tests mmWave performance in 5G, satellite, and radar. When combined with the V3050A frequency extender for unbanded frequency coverage to 110GHz, the U9361 RCal receiver calibrator, the M9484B VXG signal generator, and the powerful PathWave X-Series and PathWave vector signal analysis measurement applications, the N9042B UXA provides real-time spectrum analysis bandwidth to 2GHz and streaming bandwidth to 2GHz for satellite communication systems.

Keysight showcased the real time spectrum monitoring capabilities of the Keysight RTSA test solution at Satellite 2023 (13 to 16 March) at the Walter E. Washington Convention Centre in Washington, DC, USA – Hall A & B, booth 1520.
http://www.keysight.com

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onsemi combines low power consumption and security in BLE MCU family

Wed, Mar 15, 2023

The NCV-RSL15 combines the industry’s lowest power consumption and latest in embedded security, claimed onsemi. The low power automotive-grade wireless microcontroller with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity is designed for vehicle manufacturers using wireless connectivity to reduce the cost and weight of excess cabling as the number of sensors and in-vehicle communication grows. It also addresses heightened security concerns resulting from more sensors and increased attack vectors.

They can be used, for example in tyre monitoring systems and other applications which use multiple sensors. Some applications now have a requirement for a 10-year battery lifetime. The NCV-RSL15 is certified by the EEMBC as the industry’s lowest power secure, wireless microcontroller, reported onsemi. It also features the proprietary smart sense power mode.

Its small size also makes it suitable for portable remote access devices and other space-constrained in-tyre and in-vehicle locations, said Michel De Mey, vice president of the Industrial Solutions Division at onsemi

As the number of access points increases, so does the number of potential attack vectors that must be secured to protect against unauthorised wireless access to the vehicle’s central body computer or central processing unit. The NCV-RSL15’s embedded security is based on the Arm CryptoCell featuring hardware-based root-of-trust secure boot, many user-accessible hardware-accelerated cryptographic algorithms, and firmware-over-the-air (FOTA) capabilities to enable future firmware updates and deployment of security patches.

The software development kit has a library of sample code.

onsemi focuses on automotive and industrial end-markets and says it is accelerating change in megatrends such as vehicle electrification and safety, sustainable energy grids, industrial automation, and 5G and cloud infrastructure. Onsemi’s product portfolio includes intelligent power and sensing technologies.

http://www.onsemi.com

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Two IC families are for small form factor IoT devices

Wed, Mar 15, 2023

The xG27 family of Bluetooth SoCs and the BB50 microcontroller are designed for the smallest IoT devices, said Silicon Labs.

The xG27 and BB50 families range in size from 2mm² up to 5 mm². They offer IoT device designers energy efficiency, performance and security, and in the case of the xG27 family, wireless connectivity. Both families are suitable for tiny, battery-optimised devices like connected medical devices, wearables, asset monitoring tags, smart sensors, simple consumer electronics like toothbrushes and toys.

The ICs are intended to help developers build exciting new devices while also simplifying their development processes, all while maintaining the low-power and small form-factor requirements for extremely small devices,” said Matt Johnson, CEO.

The xG27 family of SoCs comprises the BG27, for Bluetooth connectivity, and the MG27, supporting Zigbee and other proprietary protocols. Built around the Arm Cortex M33 processor, the BG27 and MG27 are supplied in wafer-level chip scale packaging, down to 2.3 x 2.6mm, suitable for compact and unobtrusive devices like medical patches, continuous glucose monitors, wearable electrocardiograms, and asset tags in retail and agriculture.

The integrated DC/DC boost allows the devices to operate on batteries as low as 0.8V and the integrated coulomb counter is for battery level monitoring to avoid battery depletion during use.

Silicon Labs’ Secure Vault with virtual security engine (VSE) ensures secure boot and debug which are hardened against glitch attacks, tamper protection. There are also features designed to protect the device and its users’ data from local and remote cyber threats, said Silicon Labs.

They also have shelf mode, which reduces energy use to less than 20 nanoA so that devices can be transported and stocked on shelves while maintaining nearly full battery life for the end-user.

The BB50 8-bit microcontrollers have a high performance core, optimised for a large number of single cycle instructions to improve operating efficiency. They also have wide operating voltage ranges and low power modes to improve energy efficiency.

They operate with Silicon Labs’ Simplicity Studio and a fully-featured 8-bit compiler.

http://www.silabs.com

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Vision processor family brings scalable edge AI to smart cameras

2GHz real time spectrum analysis is for satellite communications

onsemi combines low power consumption and security in BLE MCU family

Two IC families are for small form factor IoT devices

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