Latest News

Nordic Semiconductor prepares for Bluetooth LE Audio

Wed, Jan 08, 2020

This year, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) will release the Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) Audio specification. To support this forthcoming specification, Nordic Semiconductor has partnered with Bluetooth LE stack developer, Packetcraft, to develop an LE Audio evaluation platform.

It demonstrates the benefits of LE Audio and is designed to support the new LE Audio specifications which promise lower power consumption than classic Bluetooth audio, significantly extending battery life, improved audio quality and enables the development of devices capable of both wireless data transfer and audio streaming. The technology also supports broadcast for audio sharing.

Nordic’s LE Audio comprises a hardware reference design based on its nRF52832 Bluetooth LE system on chip (SoC), Cirrus Logic’s CS47L35 smart codec with an integrated low power audio DSP, Packetcraft’s Bluetooth LE host stack and link layer supporting LE Audio and an LE Audio software development kit (SDK). The platform allows developers to start evaluating the technology for Bluetooth LE Audio wireless speakers, over-the-ear headphones and true wireless ear buds.

It is designed to operate in either source (for example, audio source, voice call headset source, and peer-to-peer call) or sink (audio playback, headset playback, and peer-to-peer call). A pair of devices (source and sink) is required to complete an LE Audio link. The LE Audio solution also features Cirrus Logic’s SoundClear for uplink noise reduction and echo cancellation, playback enhancement, voice control, and hearing augmentation.

An acoustic connector is incorporate that can accommodate up to six microphones or two speakers, a 3.5mm headset jack, a 3.5mm source jack, and a USB connector for charging, debug (using Nordic development tools), and acoustic tuning (using the Cirrus Logic WISCE platform). When wirelessly streaming audio from a source device to wireless (sink) earbuds, the LE Audio evaluation platform extends battery life by around 40 per cent compared to contemporary off-the-shelf classic Bluetooth solutions, claims Nordic Semiconductor.

http://www.nordicsemi.com

> Read More

“World’s smallest” 3D image sensor authenticates faces

Tue, Jan 07, 2020

At CES this week, Infineon will present what it claims is the world’s smallest 3D image sensor for face authentication and photo effects.

Infineon Technologies has collaborated with software and 3D time of flight (ToF) system specialist, pmdtechnologies, to develop what it claims is the world’s smallest and most powerful 3D image sensor. The Real3 chip measures 4.4 x 5.1mm and is the fifth generation of ToF deep sensors from Infineon.

Andreas Urschitz, president of the power management and multi-market division at Infineon, said: “We see great growth potential for 3D sensors, since the range of applications in the areas of security, image use and context-based interaction with the devices will steadily increase.” The 3D sensor also allows the device to be controlled via gestures, so that human-machine interaction is context-based and touch-free.

The depth sensor ToF technology enables an accurate 3D image of faces, hand details or objects, required to ensure that an image matches the original to verify payment transactions using mobile phones via facial recognition. This function requires an extremely reliable and secure image and return transmission of the high-resolution 3D image data. The same applies to securely unlocking devices with a 3D image. The Infineon 3D image sensor also implements this in extreme lighting conditions such as strong sunlight or in the dark.

The IRS2887C 3D image sensor also has additional options for photo taking, such as enhanced autofocus, bokeh effect for photo and video and improved resolution in poor lighting conditions. Real-time full-3D mapping also allows authentic augmented reality experiences.

Production will begin in the middle of 2020.

In addition, Infineon Technologies offers an optimised illumination driver (IRS9100C).

Infineon Technologies provides semiconductors to “make life easier, safer and greener”. It has approximately 41,400 employees worldwide.

http://www.infineon.com/real3

> Read More

Integrated IP and software develop contextually-aware IoT devices

Tue, Jan 07, 2020

At CES this week, Ceva will demonstrate its SenslinQ integrated hardware IP and software platform, designed to streamline the development of contextually-aware IoT devices.

The platform collects, processes and links data from multiple sensors to enable intelligent devices to understand their surroundings, explains the company by aggregating sensor fusion, sound and connectivity technologies.

Contextual awareness adds value and enhances the user experience of smartphones, laptops, augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) headsets, robots, hearables and wearables. The SenslinQ platform centralises the workloads that require an intimate understanding of the physical behaviours and anomalies of sensors. It collects data from multiple sensors within a device, including microphones, radars, inertial measurement units (IMUs), environmental sensors, and time of flight (ToF) sensors, and conducts front-end signal processing such as noise suppression and filtering on this data. It applies algorithms to create “context enablers” such as activity classification, voice and sound detection, and presence and proximity detection. These context enablers can be fused on a device or sent wirelessly via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or NB-IoT, to a local edge computer or the cloud to determine and adapt the device to its environment.

The customisable hardware reference design is composed of an Arm or RISC-V microcontroller, CEVA-BX DSPs and a wireless connectivity island, such as RivieraWaves Bluetooth, wi-fi or Dragonfly NB-IoT platforms, or other connectivity standards provided by the customer or third parties. Each components of these three components are connected using standard system interfaces.

The SenslinQ software is comprised of a portfolio of ready-to-use software libraries from CEVA and its ecosystem partners. Libraries include the Hillcrest Labs MotionEngine software packages for sensor fusion and activity classification in mobile, wearables and robots, the ClearVox front-end voice processing, WhisPro speech recognition and DSP and artificial intelligence (AI) libraries. There is also third party software components for active noise cancellation (ANC), sound sensing and 3D audio.

The accompanying SenslinQ framework is a Linux-based hardware abstraction layer (HAL) reference code and application programming interfaces (APIs) for data and control exchange between the multiple processors and sensors.

https://www.ceva-dsp.com

> Read More

Automotive Ethernet switch is “key component” for high speed networks

Tue, Jan 07, 2020

At CES, in Las Vegas this week, NXP Semiconductors will introduce an Ethernet switch that it describes as a “key component” of vehicle networks, with high levels of performance, safety and security.

The SJA1110 multi-gigabit Ethernet switch is designed to help vehicle manufacturers deliver the high-speed networks required for connected vehicles. It is believed to be the first automotive Ethernet switch with built in safety capabilities, offering integrated 100BASE-T1 PHYs, hardware-assisted security as well as multi-gigabit interfaces. It is optimised for integration with NXP’s S32G vehicle network processor and is designed to be used with the VR5510 power management IC in vehicle networks.

It has been introduced to support the Ethernet-based web sensors, actuators and processing unit and service-oriented gateways and domain controllers required for over-the-air updates and data-driven applications in connected vehicle networks. These networks are required to be scalable and move data quickly and securely. The car networks must also deliver functional safety in case of failure.

The SJA1110 Ethernet switch is aligned to the latest tine-sensitive network (TSN) standards and offers integrated 100BASE-T1 PHYs, hardware-assisted security and safety capabilities along with multi-gigabit interfaces.

It enables customers to meet ASIL requirements and implement dedicated failure-detection mechanisms for predictive maintenance.

The SJA1110 switch processes every Ethernet frame reaching the engine control unit (ECU) by validating it against hardware-based security rules which collect statistics and can trigger escalations if something does not conform to specification.

It is available in four hardware- and software- compatible variants, with a set of NXP original software and an open integrated controller.

NXP Semiconductors enables secure connections for a smarter world and provides secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications for applications in the automotive, industrial and IoT, mobile, and communication infrastructure markets. The company has approximately 30,000 employees in more than 30 countries.

http://www.nxp.com

> Read More

About Smart Cities

This news story is brought to you by smartcitieselectronics.com, the specialist site dedicated to delivering information about what’s new in the Smart City Electronics industry, with daily news updates, new products and industry news. To stay up-to-date, register to receive our weekly newsletters and keep yourself informed on the latest technology news and new products from around the globe. Simply click this link to register here: Smart Cities Registration