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Multi-sensor module from Sfera Labs uses Raspberry Pi 4 computing

Wed, May 19, 2021

Edge-based hardware features in the Exo Sense Pi multi-sensor module from Sfera Labs. The compact wall-mount unit features a 64-bit quad core Arm Cortex-A72 processor running at up to 1.5GHz. According to Sfera Labs, this is “way beyond what other sensor modules on the market can deliver”.

The module is in four version and with up to 8Gbyte of RAM and 32Gbyte of embedded multimedia controller (eMMC) flash memory reserves. There are also different connectivity options, for example, Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth 5.0 and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless interfaces, an RS-485 serial bus and dedicated I/O lines. All of these options enable data transfer across standard protocols (like Modbus, I2C, 1-Wire, Wiegand) for system integration. There is a micro USB port for flashing the Raspberry Pi eMMC and a microSD card slot for attaching an external flash memory.

Sensors in the module include temperature, humidity, air quality and light intensity measurement, as well as PIR-based motion detection. A microphone is also incorporated for audio processing and voice control. Other custom sensors can be added as required, for example CO2 monitoring, seismic monitoring (earthquake detection) and vibration measurement.

The Exo Sense Pi are CE- and FCC-compliant and can be used for both residential and commercial use. Typical application are home or building automation, environmental monitoring, Bluetooth Low Energy positioning, people counting, room management, asset tracking, alarm reporting and access control. Other key functionality integrated into the module includes a Microchip ATECC608A secure element chip, a GPIO-controlled LED indicator, a piezoelectric buzzer and a real time clock (RTC) with replaceable back-up battery.

Internal temperature sensors allow heat compensation to be undertaken, there are also surge and reverse polarity protection mechanisms. The modules run from a standard 9.0 to 28V DC supply.

The Exo Sense Pi is supplied in an 80 x 80mm form factor for installation in space restricted locations.

Using the Raspberry Pi development ecosystem, engineers will be able to use Exo Sense Pi as the basis for creating sensor-driven edge computing applications, says Sfera Labs. Software libraries for this module are all open source and may be freely accessed via Github. To support OEM requirements, Sfera Labs can provide custom casing and logo printing services.

https://www.sferalabs.cc

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Synopsys claims ‘breakthrough’ emulation for ZeBu EP1 system

Fri, May 14, 2021

Emulation performance of 10MHz with the ZeBu EP1 emulation system speeds hardware and software verification of complex SoCs in areas such as high-performance computing (HPC), 5G, GPU, artificial intelligence (AI) and automotive development, says Synopsys.

ZeBu EP1 is part of ZeBu, part of Synopsys Verification Continuum Platform, claimed to be the industry’s highest-performance, highest-throughput emulation platform.

It includes the industry’s first 10MHz emulation system, using Synopsys’ proven direct-connect architecture, optimises design communication to accelerate hardware and software verification for SoC designs of up to 2bn gates.

Manoj Gandhi, general manager of the Verification Group at Synopsys, said: “ZeBu EP1 represents the convergence of multiple hardware and software technologies to deliver breakthrough performance and debug. The . . . fast emulation capability . . . is enabling electronics companies to develop and verify the most advanced SoCs with full software stacks.”

Synopsys’ latest generation emulation and prototyping systems incorporate the Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+ VU19P device. The collaboration between Synopsys and Xilinx drives continued innovation on FPGA compile, runtime performance and at-speed debug.

ZeBu also includes the ZeBu Empower emulation system, believed to be the industry’s first SoC power-aware emulation system, enabling multiple iterations per day with actionable power profiling in the context of the full design and its software workload.

Another part if ZeBu System Level Debug, for complex SoCs with billion-cycle software workloads. It leverages high-bandwidth host interface for continuous data streaming and deterministic replay for eliminating redundant emulation runs.

The ZeBu Hybrid Emulation, with Virtualizer virtual prototyping, is supported by an extensive library of virtual processor, memory and interface models, delivers 70 to 100x throughput gain for OS boot enabling more complex software validation and earlier tape-out.

There are also ZeBu Virtual Host and Device models for PCIe 5.0, USB3, SATA, Ethernet, and NVMe which enable validation of the host to device software stack with real OS, driver, and application software of complex SoCs.

ZeBu Simulation Acceleration technology with unified testbench and design compile, and speed optimised protocol transactors provides 100x speed up for simulation for faster RTL regression performance and environment bring up.

Finally there are ZeBu Speed Adapters which connect ZeBu emulation systems to real-world environments for in-circuit emulation (ICE). Based on proven Synopsys DesignWare IP, they support PCIe, CXL 2.0, Ethernet, USB, SATA and display port as well as 5G testers, networking testers and customer specific hardware.

“Computing innovation is happening at a rapid pace across the Arm partner ecosystem,” said Tran Nguyen, senior director of design services, Arm. “As more software-intensive Arm-based HPC, 5G, GPU, AI and automotive applications are developed, there is an increasing demand for faster emulation and accelerated verification, and we continue to work closely with Synopsys to address that need for our mutual customers.”

“Xilinx and Synopsys’ deep technical collaboration over many years has accelerated broad industry adoption of and innovation around FPGA-based emulation and prototyping,” said Vamsi Boppana, senior vice president, Central Products Group at Xilinx.

http://www.synopsys.com

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Signal analyser from Keysight helps customers test aerospace comms

Thu, May 13, 2021

To test the performance of millimeter-wave (mmWave) innovations in 5G, aerospace and defence and satellite communications, Keysight has developed the N9042B UXA X-series signal analyser which provides wide analysis bandwidth and deep dynamic range. It is designed to address difficult mmWave challenges including tight design margins and timelines, complex modulation and stringent standards.

“Understanding signal fidelity is critical to the performance of products in 5G, aerospace and defence, satellite and automotive radar markets,” observed Kiran Unni, vice president, industrial technologies practice, Frost & Sullivan.

“At mmWave frequencies, signals are more susceptible to impairments that affect the signal quality, such as IQ modulation errors, phase noise, distortion, signal-to-noise ratio, amplitude and phase linearity. For designers and manufacturers, addressing these challenges is crucial when characterising and testing the true performance of mmW products,” she added.

The N9042B UXA X-Series signal analyser ensures designs meet the latest standards with ready-to-use measurement applications and signal analysis software. It has an unbanded, pre-selected sweep from 2.0Hz to 110GHz and up to 11GHz of analysis bandwidth. The analyser tests the true performance of a 5G new radio (NR) transmitter with an advanced error vector magnitude (EVM). It also finds out-of-band emissions or spurs quickly in radar designs with superior swept displayed average noise level (DANL). The analyser develops high-throughput satellite communication designs with 4.0GHz of corrected analysis bandwidth.

“With the increasing demand for data, higher frequency and bandwidth, Keysight’s signal analyser and generator solutions embody our deep expertise in mmW design and measurements, for the latest 5G wireless, radar, aerospace defence, satellite and communications research,” said Joe Rickert, vice president and general manager of high frequency measurement R&D for Keysight’s communications solutions group.

To ensure designs meet the latest standards with ready-to-use measurement applications for cellular communication, wireless connectivity, and aerospace/defence, the company integrated PathWave X-Series measurement applications with the UXA X-Series signal analyser. These applications simplify complex tasks and deliver repeatable results. The 89600 PathWave vector signal analysis software comprises tools for demodulation and vector signal analysis. It offers support for over 75 signal standards and modulation types. It also enables customers to explore every facet of a signal and optimise their most advanced designs, added Keysight.

Testing 5G components and devices per the 3GPP 5G New Radio (5G NR) standard Releases 15 and 16 requires higher accuracy, sensitivity, and bandwidth capability in an analyser. To meet these parameters, the N9042B signal analyser tests the true performance of transmitter designs with error vector magnitude (EVM) and 5G NR signal analysis software which perform transmitter downlink and uplink measurements with one-button simplicity.

For satellite communication systems, customers need to characterise amplifiers and components at bandwidths wider than the target application. The N9042B UXA X-Series signal analyser provides a wide analysis bandwidth and unbanded, pre-selected frequency range to characterise the performance of satellite designs.

It also enables high levels of measurement accuracy with the Keysight V3050A signal analyzer frequency extender which is claimed to deliver unmatched measurement accuracy of wideband signals at very high frequencies. It provides sensitivity, unbanded and pre-selected frequency coverage up to 110GHz, high dynamic range and a seamless interface to the N9042B UXA signal analyser.

Keysight’s RCal receiver calibrator corrects system path losses and frequency responses up to 5.0GHz IF bandwidth without the need for an external vector network analyser, cabling and manual test-plane characterisation. The palm-sized RCal seamlessly transfers precision factory calibration data to the X-Series signal analyser over a USB connection.

A companion VXG microwave signal generator offers high output power with low phase noise and wide bandwidth for demanding wireless, as well as aerospace and defence applications. The VXG’s dual-channel architecture, quickly switches from blocker and interferer tests to dual channel MIMO and beam forming tests.

http://www.keysight.com

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Software and tools in Lattice’s latest FPGA stack accelerate automation

Thu, May 13, 2021

Development of factory automation and industrial robotics can be accelerated with the Automate stack, says Lattice Semiconductor. The stack includes software tools, industrial IP cores, modular hardware development boards, and software-programmable reference designs and demos. All help developers simplify and accelerate development of robotics and scalable multi-channel motor control with predictive maintenance and real-time industrial networking, says the company.

The latest addition to Lattice’s low power FPGA-based solution stacks offers scalable motor control, which accelerates the development of flexible motor control systems, including a GUI-based user interface for system monitoring and control. There is also predictive maintenance which minimises machine downtime by monitoring multiple motors in a system.

Another feature is embedded real-time networking which implements an extensible sense and control system for a large number of devices using a Lattice Nexus FPGA as the central controller.

For security there is the Cyber Resiliency feature which enables a hardware root-of-trust that can detect, protect, and recover from a firmware-based attack in real-time.

The stack has easy to use software design methodology, says Lattice, with support for Lattice Propel for simplifying development of industrial automation systems with software/hardware co-processing using an embedded RISC-V processor.

Lattice Semiconductor provides low power, programmable technology to solve customer problems across the network, from the edge to the cloud, in the growing communications, computing, industrial, automotive, and consumer markets.

http://www.latticesemi.com

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Multi-sensor module from Sfera Labs uses Raspberry Pi 4 computing

Synopsys claims ‘breakthrough’ emulation for ZeBu EP1 system

Signal analyser from Keysight helps customers test aerospace comms

Software and tools in Lattice’s latest FPGA stack accelerate automation

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