Lidar camera uses “world’s smallest micro-mirror” for continuous field of view scanning

Continuous laser scanning across the entire field of view is achieved in the Intel RealSense Lidar camera L515, using a MEMS mirror developed by STMicroelectronics.

The lidar camera is 61mm diameter and 26mm high (2.4 inches and 1.02 inches respectively), or the size of an ice hockey puck. The micro-mirror enables continuous laser scanning across the entire field of view. In combination with a custom photodiode sensor, the RealSense Lidar Camera L515 renders a 3D depth map of the entire scene.

The camera provides high resolution scanning for industrial applications such as robotic arms for bin picking, volumetric measurements, logistics and 3D scanning.

The second-generation micro-mirror delivers 30 frames per second and a field of view of 70 degrees by 55 degrees, for 3D scanning and detection applications.

The L515 camera uses the scanning capabilities of ST’s MEMS to deliver high-resolution depth with no interpolated pixels, together with the ability to control the field of view, and provide close to zero pixel blur driven by the low 50nS exposure time, continued ST.

“Intel RealSense technology has been used to develop products and solutions for use in Robotics, Logistics, Scanning and other computer vision applications.  The Intel RealSense LiDAR Camera L515 using ST’s micro-mirrors delivers unparalleled precision and is the world’s smallest high-resolution Lidar depth camera, making it suitable for a variety of use cases,” said Sagi BenMoshe, chief incubation officer, corporate vice president and general manager, Emerging Growth and Incubation Group at Intel.

Intel RealSense technologies are reshaping the future by equipping devices with the ability to see, understand, interact with and learn from their environment, says Intel. RealSense provides a wide variety of vision-based solutions, from the world’s smallest high-resolution lidar camera to low power, platform-agnostic stereo depth cameras, as well as customisable software. Intel RealSense has applications in robotics, 3D scanning, facial authentication, measurement and logistics.

ST Microelectronics is an independent device manufacturer, working with more than 100,000 customers and thousands of partners to design and build products, solutions, and ecosystems that enable smarter mobility, more efficient power and energy management, and the wide-scale deployment of the IoT and 5G technology.

http://www.st.com

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Image sensors add to Lattice Semiconductor’s mVision stack

Image sensor modules and image signal processing core have been added to the mVision 2.0 stack for low power embedded vision systems by Lattice Semiconductor. This latest version has multiple updates to accelerate the design of embedded vision applications for industrial, automotive, medical, and smart consumer systems. There is also support for popular new image sensors used in industrial and automotive systems and an image signal processing IP core and reference design to help developers design smart vision applications at the edge. The stack also includes support for the Lattice Propel design environment to simplify development of vision systems with an embedded RISC-V processor.

The updates broaden mVision support for popular image sensors used in industrial and automotive markets. They are also claimed to simplify hardware and software design with a drag-and-drop Propel design environment. Additional development boards and reference designs are powered by Lattice’s FPGA for embedded vision, CrossLink-NX.

Lattice CrossLink-NX devices with integrated hard MIPI support and low power consumption can be used in camera applications operating at the edge. “Using CrossLink-NX with an embedded RISC-V processor enables a more compact and efficient ISP implementation,” said Arndt Bussman, CTO at Helion, which has partnered with Lattice to provide optimised ISP solutions.

The stacks are designed to help customers adopt emerging technologies by providing a comprehensive collection of ready-to-use software, IP, hardware demos, and reference designs to help them quickly deploy applications like embedded vision in current and future product designs, explained Mark Hoopes, director of industrial segment marketing, Lattice Semiconductor.

Lattice has added new development boards supporting popular image sensors for industrial and medical applications to the mVision stack, expanding support for automotive, industrial, and medical embedded vision applications. Image sensors that are supported include the Sony IMX464 and IMX568 and the AR0344CS from ON Semiconductor.

The Propel design environment tool includes a complete set of graphical and command-line tools to create, analyse, compile, and debug both the hardware design of an FPGA-based processor system, and the software design for that processor system.

Lattice has also expanded the Lattice ISP reference design.

At the same time as the mVision announcement, Lattice also revealed extended capabilities for its Sentry stack. The latest version of its secure system control stack, Sentry 2.0 enables hardware root-of-trust (HRoT) solutions compliant with NIST Platform Firmware Resiliency (PFR) Guidelines (NIST SP-800-193) and supporting 384-bit encryption.

Lattice Sentry 2.0 supports firmware security for the communications, computing, industrial, automotive, and smart consumer markets, says the company. It provides developers an efficient and secure way to quickly implement enhanced system and cryptographic applications.

http://www.latticesemi.com

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Gateway uses Wireless M-Bus technology to gather meter readings

Data can be collected autonomously from Wireless M-Bus meters or sensors using the WebdynEasy W M-Bus data concentrator by Webdyn.

The W M-Bus point-to-point radio protocol uses the 868Mhz band, traditionally used in smart metering and smart buildings, because of its relatively moderate power consumption, said Webdyn.

The Wireless M-Bus standard protocol is based on a private, non-operated network. In order to operate, a Wireless Mbus network requires hubs (or gateways) that allow connection between all the sensors and a remote information system. In free field, the distances that can be potentially covered between a sensor and the hub are of the order of 1km.

The WebdynEasy W M-Bus data concentrator functions as a standalone collection point for data from meters or wireless M-Bus sensors. The gateway retrieves all the data collected at a single point so that it can be sent to the chosen information system.

The energy-efficient hub’s battery service life can exceed 10 years. Webdyn has also developed the WebdynEasy application, which is free to download from the PlayStore. The Bluetooth Low Energy function eases configuration and installation, added the company.

Once installed, the product is autonomous in energy and the deployment can start automatically or using a magnet.

Depending on the configuration, the hub uses regular listening windows to record the frames emitted by the meters and W M-Bus sensors. The hub regularly uploads data files to the FTP server using the cell phone or LTE-M network.

Webdyn’s strategy is to offer a complete range of dataloggers covering all smart grid, smart metering, smart building and smart cities markets.

Webdyn designs and industrialises hardware and software solutions for M2M communication for the energy, environment, smart grids and transport markets.

Webdyn supplies multi-protocols concentrators, covering all the applications of teleservice and the monitoring. It has expertise in endpoints RF and gateways PLC-G3.

http://www.webdyn.com

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Industrial Mini-ITX carrier is designed for COM Express Type 10 mini modules

The ITX-M-CC452-T10 carrier board has been designed by Winsystems for Type 10 mini module designs and COMeT10-3900 cards.

This is the company’s first Mini-ITX form factor carrier board to complement and support its COMeT10-3900 COM Express Type 10 mini modules. The ITX-M-CC452-T10 carrier platform has industrial components for testing products in development. The reliable carrier board operates at a temperature range of -40 to +85C degrees and with a wide input range of 5.0 to 20V DC.

The industrial COM Express carrier can be used by as a reference point to test and troubleshoot customers’ own or another COM Express Type 10 carrier design, explained George T Hillard, technical sales director, Winsystems. “And, because it supports all interfaces from our recently introduced COMeT10-3900 COM Express modules, these two products can be readily deployed as a complete embedded edge computing platform,” he added.

As an industrial-rated reference board, the ITX-M-CC452-T10 carrier is designed to operate over the full specifications of the COMeT10-3900 COM module so the combination can be proven at temperature. The carrier features dual Ethernet (USB 3.0 and 2.0),  four serial ports, three Mini-PCIe expansion options and multiple display options. These are increased when the board is combined with the COMeT10-3900 Express module.

The carrier also has multiple processor options for single, dual or quad CPU cores and various RAM and on-board solid state device (SSD) sizes.

The ITX-M-CC452-T10 carrier supports up to two independent displays: one DisplayPort with 4K resolution and one LCD with backlight and touch control. Additional connectivity and I/O capabilities include four GPIs and four GPOs. There is also built-in storage for microSD, SATA and mSATA.

“The ITX-M-CC452-T10 COM carrier satisfies the rigorous quality and security imperatives for Industrial IoT applications within the medical, industrial automation, military/aerospace and transportation markets,” said Hilliard. “Equally important, it provides product designers with abundant connectivity to distinguish their products in the market and the cost-effectiveness and predictable delivery they require to reduce development risk.”

The ITX-M-CC452-T10 carrier board is supported with technical guidance and BIOS customisation.  The ITX-M-CC452-T10  Mini-ITX form factor carrier will become available Q1, 2021, and will ship with access to the accompanying product manual, a carrier design guide, COM modules and thermal solutions (the latter two items sold separately).

http://www.winsystems.com

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