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Software simplifies 5G small cell development

Wed, Apr 29, 2020

To support the development of 5G base station technology, CommAgility has introduced its PHYRefChain-5G software. Developers working on satellite comms, wireless test, military communications and private network designs can use it to quickly develop and deploy specialised 5G solutions for customised applications.

The PHYRefChain-5G software is 3GPP-compliant, which reduces the complexity, risk, and cost of 5G product development by helping ensure new products meet global standards and are compatible with specific industry requirements, says CommAgility.

“The new 5G reference chain software adds to our base portfolio of 5G NR hardware and software,” said Edward Young, CommAgility’s vice president and general manager. The company combines its software and hardware with NXP’s  Layerscape Access LA12XX programmable baseband processors for small cells, access points and private networks based on its reference chain software.

The resources in the PHYRefChain-5G software are claimed to provide a lower cost, shorter time to market option over in-house ground-up designs. The PHYRefChain-5G can play a key role in enabling the use of new radio access technology, 5G New Radio (NR), to develop next-generation communication networks.

The PHYRefChain-5G software is the foundation of CommAgility’s offering for 5G NR software development, including pre-ported and validated PHY and Stack. The 5G NR software has a flexible architecture to enable easy integration with available hardware accelerators and libraries. Versions are available for both 5G gNodeB and UE product developers. The reference chain complies with 3GPP Release 15 (specifications 38.22, 38.212, 38.213 and 38.214), ensuring end products will work with all 3GPP-compliant networks. Additionally, compliance with Small Cell Forum 5G FAPI enables fast integration with CommAgility or other protocol stacks.

Algorithms are provided for channel estimation, equalisation and synchronisation. There are also static test frameworks with hundreds of test cases and test vectors to reduce the investment required in test equipment and creating custom test environments, added CommAgility.

Version 15.0.3 of PHYRefChain-5G is available now and will be continually enhanced to meet market needs as 3GPP specifications evolve. Regular releases are planned to the software throughout 2020, adding further new features and functionality.

https://www.commagility.com

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Wirepas Mesh is scalable for decentralised networks

Mon, Apr 27, 2020

Battery-powered Wirepas Mesh technology mesh units and mesh sensor units from  Fujitsu Component America, simplify the construction of large-scale decentralised networks, says the company. They allow scalable, reliable and cost-effective IoT for position tracking and sensor data collection.

The mesh units (FWM8BLZ07P) and mesh-sensor units (FWM8BLZ07Y) enable power saving, high-density networks with interference tolerance channel selection, transmitting power control and autonomous network rerouting capability, says Fujitsu. If the network environment changes, adds and/or removes the end device, or if a device failure occurs, the mesh topology and protocols will automatically reconfigure the mesh network. A security key ensures a secure communication environment throughout the network.

The FWM8BLZ07P mesh unit is well-suited for wide-area asset tracking. It features a long-sleep mode and an integrated sensor that wakes up only if certain events, like shock, are detected. This function further conserves energy because communication begins only when needed.

The multi-function FWM8BLZ07Y mesh-sensor unit incorporates temperature, humidity, air pressure, illuminance, three-axis acceleration and sound-level sensors. It can be adapted for a variety of massive, sensor data collection systems with scalable mesh topology. Sensor data paths through the mesh network topology mean that the end-node’s placement is not limited by the gateway’s location, says Fujitsu.

Both mesh units are based on the Nordic Semiconductor nRF52832 SoC and are compact. They measure 40.0 x 31.0 x 12.0mm (1.57 x 1.22 x 0.47 inches) within a grey, plain housing. They use a single CR2450 coin-cell battery and include a voltage notification function, which senses a voltage drop in the battery and allows users to determine the right timing for replacement.

The mesh and mesh sensor units and position tracking support software are available now.

Fujitsu Components America markets and distributes electronic and system components and sub-systems throughout North and South America. Products include relays, touch panels, thermal printers, wireless modules, connectors, and input and pointing devices.

The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, USA.

https://us.fujitsu.com/components

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Digi-Key adds biometric systems with Fingerprint Cards signing

Fri, Apr 24, 2020

Digi-Key Electronics has signed a global distribution partnership with Fingerprint Cards to offer the Swedish company’s standalone, compact biometric fingerprint sensors.

Fingerprint Cards’ products are found in hundreds of millions of devices and applications, says the company, and are used billions of times every day, for identification and authentication of access or payment systems.

“We are excited about the new partnership with Fingerprint Cards,” said David Stein, vice president, global supplier management at Digi-Key. “Biometric authentication is growing as it continues to be implemented into new applications and devices. Digi-Key now offers customers an easy path to develop secure devices with integrated capacitive fingerprint sensor technology.”

Michel Roig, senior vice president, payments and access at Fingerprints. “Digi-Key will help us reach out and find new potential markets and application areas.”

Fingerprint Cards is a biometrics company, based in Sweden.

Digi-Key Electronics is headquartered in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, USA. It is an authorised global, full-service distributor of electronic components. It offers more than 10.2 million components, with over 2.2 million in stock and available for immediate shipment, from over 1,200 quality name-brand manufacturers.

Its Marketplace Product provides a singular shopping experience for all things related to technology innovation — IoT, industrial automation, test and measurement and more.

http://www.digikey.com

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High power speaker amp ICs are optimised for autonomous driving

Thu, Apr 23, 2020

AEC-Q100-qualified 2.8W output Class AB monaural speaker amplifiers from Rohm Semiconductor are intended for instrumental clusters in vehicles equipped with autonomous driving and advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS).

The BD783xxEFJ-M series (BD78306EFJ-M, BD78310EFJ-M and BD78326EFJ-M)
have been developed for vehicle clusters where various sound outputs at high volume, including warning sounds, turn signals, welcome tones and voice guidance are required. They use a new type of over-current protection (OCP) circuit to protect against output shorts to deliver high 2.8W output, which was difficult to achieve in the past, reports Rohm. In addition to over-current protection, built-in thermal shutdown and under-voltage lock out (UVLO) ensure high reliability protection against abnormal conditions.

The amplifiers can withstand high temperature operation up to 105 degrees C to enable stable voice output without compromising functionality even under severe conditions, Rohm said.

With conventional over current protection circuits, the maximum output is limited, since the operating threshold of the protection circuit must be set to a value smaller than the maximum current the speaker amp can provide. Rohm’s over-current protection circuit eliminates the need to limit the output by preventing waveform distortion even at high output. The BD783xxEFJ-M series provides over-current protection from output shorts with 2.8W maximum output at 4Ohm load and 10 per cent distortion.

The BD783xxEFJ-M series is qualified to withstand automotive reliability standard AEC-Q100 and the power package reduces heat generation even at high volumes, resulting in stable audio output. In addition to over-current protection, thermal shutdown and under-voltage lock-out are built-in, preventing damage caused by abnormal heat generation and unexpected popping (cracking) noise during battery interruptions.

ROHM’s BD783xxEFJ-M series speaker operational amps are mounted on Cypress Semiconductor’s Traveo Cluster microcontroller family S6J3360 series evaluation board for automotive applications.

Rohm offers output gains of +6dB (BD78306EFJ-M), +10dB (BD78310EFJ-M), and +26dB (BD78626EFJ-M). The range will be expanded to include a total of 11 models ranging from +6dB to +26dB in 2dB steps.

http://www.rohm.com/eu

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