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PIC32CXMT streamlines smart meter and comms development, says Microchip

Thu, Oct 27, 2022

To meet the growing demand for a feature-rich yet simple design for developing smart meters, Microchip Technology has developed the PIC32CXMT family of 32-bit microprocessors with a MPL460 power line communication (PLC) modem. 

The suite of MCU devices is intended for industrial IoT, commercial and industrial metering applications and offering up to 200MHz operation and scalability up to 560kbyte of memory (SRAM). 

There are three versions of the PIC32CXMT family based on a single Arm Cortex-M4F core, a dual Arm Cortex-M4 core and an SoC. The single core, SAM4C, PIC32CXMT-G series, the dual core, PIC32CXMT-C series and the SoC, SAM4CM, PIC32CXMT-SH series.

The MPL460 PLC modem integrates the line driver for signal amplification, which reduces the bill of materials and maintains signal injection efficiency above 40 per cent due to its class-D topology. The PLC modem helps to increase efficiency and reliability based on power delivered to the load and power taken from the supply, explained Microchip. The result is an overall reduction in consumption from the source during transmission. 

The PIC32CXMT MCUs provide several transceivers including a radio / PHY, a PLC / PHY or the option to select a PLC+RF hybrid solution. There is also an option for a metrology and communications software suite that is compliant with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) metering standards up to class 0.2 per cent accuracy. It also supports standards for wired and wireless communications, such as G3-PLC and PRIME. 

As smart metering devices are connected, the need for security is critical in any design. The PIC32CXMT MCUs offer standard and proprietary on-chip hardware security features to ensure optimal performance and memory utilization. 

The PIC32CXMT family and MPL460 modem are supported by Microchip’s MPLAB Harmony v3 embedded software framework. Other resources include IAR Systems, Arm, Keil Development Environment, G3-PLC and PRIME software. 

The PIC32CXMT family and MPL460 are now sampling on a limited basis.

http://www.microchip.com

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IIoT gateways are compact for RISC-based communication

Wed, Oct 26, 2022

RISC-based industrial edge gateways have wireless and Ethernet communication, multiple protocol support and WebAccess integration specifically designed for distributed solar power generation, electricity and energy management applications.

There are seven models available from Advantech which provide machine-to-intelligence for asset management, monitoring equipment efficiency and status and solar, wind and geothermal management for renewable energy as well as monitoring power generation efficiency and distributed energy resource management.

The gateways help industrial IoT field, governments, equipment manufacturers, factory owners and smart city investors use powerful data analytics to raise service levels and reduce operational costs, said Advantech. The industrial communication gateways are designed to simplify data acquisition and transmission and improve service quality by facilitating infrastructure connectivity, equipment monitoring, and energy consumption analysis. This allows manufacturers and organisations to obtain insights on usage behaviours and derive intelligence through the analysis of big data.

The gateways are based on an industrial grade IC with a long MTBF (mean time between failure). The IEC standard fulfills all mission critical applications, confirmed Advantech. The gateways have a wide operating temperature range of -40 to +70 degrees C.

The gateways have battery powered RTC, independent WDT and TPM support.

The gateways operate on Linux and applications can be developed with C. Python or third party libraries.

The EdgeLink bundle has protocol support for data from field devices and no coding support is needed for Azure/AWS/Cumulocity/Sparkplug MQTT, said Advantech with OPCUA / ODBC / JDBC IT software and SQL database for data support.

The ECU-1000 series intelligent IIoT communication gateways are available for order now. 

Founded in 1983, Advantech provides system integration, hardware, software, customer-centric design services, embedded systems, automation products and global logistics support. It co-operates closely with partners in a range of applications in various industries. The company’s mission is to enable an intelligent planet by developing automated and embedded computing products and solutions that facilitate smarter working and living. 

https://www.advantech.com/en-eu

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InGaP HBT power amp provides 23.5dBm output power 

Tue, Oct 25, 2022

Designed for cellular applications requiring native linearity over temperature extremes, the GRF5521 is the latest InGaP HBT (heterojunction bipolar transistor) model in Guerilla RF’s 1/4W linear power amplifier family.

The GRF5521 is one of 10 1/4W linear power amplifiers (PAs) released as part of the company’s continued expansion into the cellular market. The InGaP HBT amplifiers were designed for 5G/4G wireless infrastructure applications requiring exceptional native linearity over temperature extremes of -40 to +85 degrees C.

Spanning a frequency range of 2.11 to 2.17GHz, the GRF5521 is tuned to operate within the n1, n65, and n66 5G new radio (NR) bands. It delivers 23.5dBm of linear power over the entire temperature range while maintaining ACLR levels of better than -45dBc, IMD3 levels less than -22dBm, EVM levels less than one per cent and PAE efficiencies above 20 per cent, said Guerilla RF and all without the aid of supplemental linearisation schemes like digital pre-distortion (DPD).

The ability to beat the -45dBc ACLR performance metric without DPD is critical for cellular applications like residential and commercial repeaters / boosters, femtocells, picocells and cable loss compensators associated with automotive ‘shark fin’ antennas, explained Guerilla RF. In each of these use cases, the sensitivity to cost, power and size constraints prohibits the use of elaborate linearisation techniques and designers must rely on the power amplifier’s native linearity to meet the stringent emissions mask requirements imposed by 5G and 4G standards.

Guerilla RF designed the GRF55xx series to be footprint-compatible, enabling customers to rapidly customise designs for a wide selection of cellular frequencies.

Ryan Pratt, CEO and founder of Guerrilla RF, said the company will offer production-released products covering every major cellular band between 660 and 4200MHz. These linear power amplifiers are popular with cellular booster / repeater and automotive customers, he said.

The GRF55xx family comes in pin-compatible 3.0 x 3.0mm, 16-pin QFN packages. Samples and evaluation boards are available for the GRF5521.

 https://www.guerrilla-rf.com 

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Priced for consumer market, IMU is accurate and efficient, says Bosch

Mon, Oct 24, 2022

Priced for cost-sensitive consumer applications, the cost-effective BMI323 motion sensor inertial measurement unit (IMU) has been announced by Bosch Sensortec. It is designed with integrated features for a shorter development time.

The BMI323 is suitable for standard consumer products, such as toys, gaming controllers, remote controls, wearables, fitness trackers, smart watches, tablets and laptops.

The general-purpose, low power IMU combines acceleration and angular rate (gyroscopic) measurement with intelligent features that are triggered by motion. These make development faster and easier for OEMs, claimed Bosch Sensortec. For example, the BMI323 already includes Bosch Sensortec’s step counter software, so customers do not need to spend time developing their own algorithms. Other features include motion detection that can turn sub-systems on or off when a device, such as a TV remote control, is put down or picked up, to reduce overall power consumption.

Bosch Sensortec has improved accelerometer performance compared to the earlier BMI160 IMU and has also lowered power consumption. In high-performance mode, using both the gyroscope and the accelerometer, the BMI323 has a current consumption of 790 microA compared to 925 microA on the BMI160. This represents a reduction of nearly 15 per cent.

The six-axis BMI323 has a self-calibrating 16-bit triaxial gyroscope, a 16-bit triaxial accelerometer, and a 16-bit digital temperature sensor housed in a miniature 2.5 x 3.0 x 0.83mm3 (14-pin) LGA package. This is pin to pin compatible with the BMI160.

The BMI323 is the first IMU device announced by Bosch Sensortec to include the new I3C interface, in addition to the SPI and I2C interfaces.

The IMU is available now.

https://www.bosch-sensortec.com

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