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Microchip introduces MPLAB TÜV SÜD-certified tools

Thu, Jan 16, 2020

Functional safety certifications can be time-consuming and expensive, so Microchip has announced TÜV SÜD certification of its MPLAB XC compilers for functional safety. The tools significantly simplify the functional safety qualification process for Microchip’s PIC, AVR and SAM microcontrollers and dsPIC Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs), claims the company.

To further simplify testing and diagnostics, Microchip also introduced MPLAB Code Coverage license, which determines parts of software that have or have not been executed with minimal impact to the application.

The MPLAB XC functional compilers certified by TÜV SÜD contribute to satisfying the verification and validation requirements specified in the ISO 26262 standard for automotive safety, IEC 61508 for industrial applications, IEC 62304 for medical software and IEC60730 for automatic electric controls. The MPLAB XC Compilers for Functional Safety will be packaged with additional documentation for qualification of the MPLAB X integrated development environment (IDE) and MPLAB debuggers and programmers. With no annual renewal fees, the licenses are the lowest-cost solution on the market. Using Microchip’s microcontrollers with the functional safety licenses will reduce application costs and time to market, the company advises.

Ensuring high test coverage of embedded software using code coverage tools often requires a large amount of hardware modification, expensive software and significant effort searching large data files for pertinent information. MPLAB Code Coverage has less than one per cent impact to test time. Through a patented process, code can be tested in a single pass without breaking the code into blocks. This saves time and eliminates sifting through large data files.

In addition to offering development tools that make it easier, faster and more affordable to comply to functional safety standards, Microchip also offers many PIC, AVR, dsPIC and SAM microcontrollers that are functional safety-ready. For all functional safety ready microcontrollers, Microchip provides Failure Mode Effect and Diagnostics Analysis (FMEDA) reports and safety manuals targeting ISO 26262 up to ASIL-B safety levels, with some products achieving ASIL-D.

MPLAB X IDE version 5.25 is available for free on Microchip’s website. The MPLAB Code Coverage workstation license and MPLAB XC8, XC16 and XC32++ functional safety workstation licenses are available today.

http://www.microchip.com

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Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy module has a long-range reach

Thu, Jan 16, 2020

The long range Bluetooth 5.0 module, the PAN1780, is for IIoT and smart home applications, says Panasonic Industry Europe. The module is based on the Nordic nRF52840 SoC controller. It has an output power of up to +8dBm and the high sensitivity of the nRF52840 which is combined with the low energy-coded PHY.

It also enables a higher symbol rate of 2Mbits per second, using the high-speed Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) 2M PHY. The new LE advertising extensions allow for much larger amounts of data to be broadcasted in connectionless scenarios, says Panasonic Industry Europe.

The module’s qualified Bluetooth mesh profile stack supports Bluetooth LE 5.0 with 802.15.4 and NFC-A. The Cortex M4F processor, 256kB RAM and the built-in 1Mbyte flash memory enable it to be used in standalone mode, eliminating the need for an external processor. This saves complexity, space and cost, says Panasonic Industry. A variant with an AT command set, the PAN1780AT, is available.

The compact module measures just 15.6 x 8.7 x 2.0mm and features an Arm TrustZone Cryptocell 310 security core that supports a secure boot process. A temperature sensor is integrated in the PAN1780 module. The operating temperature range is -40 to +85 degrees C and the supply voltage ranges from 1.7V to 5.5V.

The PAN1780 module is suitable for industrial IoT applications, such as devices for smart city infrastructure, industrial mesh networks or robotics within Industry 4.0 environments. It is also suitable for smart health and secure medical peripherals or building automation applications like smart locks or intelligent lighting. The Cryptocell also makes it suitable for edge computing.

Panasonic Corporation develops electronics technologies and solutions for customers in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, and B2B businesses. The company celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2018 and operates 582 subsidiaries and 87 associated companies worldwide.

Panasonic Industry Europe is part of the global Panasonic Group and provides automotive and industrial products and services in Europe.

http://industry.panasonic.eu

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Demonstration board drives eGaN FETs for ToF and lidar systems

Mon, Jan 13, 2020

Using fast transition eGaN FETs from Efficient Power Conversion (EPC), the EPC9144 is a 15V, 28A high current pulsed laser diode driver demonstration board.

It is designed to illustrate the use of eGaN FET technology in developing systems that enhance the accuracy, precision, and processing speed of time of flight (ToF) and flash lidar systems.

Reliable ToF systems rely on the speed and accuracy of object detection. EPC says that the EPC9144 board demonstrates the rapid transition capability of the company’s AEC Q101-qualified EPC2216 eGaN FETs to provide power pulses to drive laser diodes, vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSELs) or LEDs up to 10 times faster than an equivalent MOSFET, in a small fraction of the area, energy, and cost.

eGaN FETs and ICs provide the high current pulses, extremely narrow pulse widths, and small size that make affordable, high performance lidar possible, EPC maintains. The short pulse width leads to higher resolution while the small size and low cost make eGaN FETs particularly well suited to ToF applications in a range of applications from automotive to industrial, healthcare to smart advertising, gaming, and security.

The EPC9144 ships with an interposer board. This is a collection of break-away 5.0 x 5.0mm square interposer PCBs with footprints to accommodate different lasers, RF connectors and other footprints designed to allow engineers to experiment with different loads in development projects. The use of the interposers allows many different lasers or other loads to be mounted, allowing users to test the performance with the load requirements that are appropriate to their application, adds EPC.

GaN can be used in autonomous vehicles and other ToF applications, advises the company, such as facial recognition, warehouse automation, drones and topological mapping. The EPC9144 can also be used for applications requiring a ground-referenced eGaN FET, for example, in class E or similar circuits.

http://www.epc-co.com

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Siemens and Arm partner to develop and validate automotive safety systems

Fri, Jan 10, 2020

To help automotive designers develop and validate electronic systems, Siemens has paired its PAVE360 software with Arm’s automotive IP in a partnership that will bring IP, methodologies, processes and tools together to help automakers, integrators and suppliers collaborate, design and bring to market their next-generation platforms much faster, says Siemens.

Bringing together IC methodologies, processes and tools will help the automotive supply chain solve design and verification challenges, by validating differentiated safety enabled systems, ICs and software solutions in the context of the entire vehicle the company added.

Siemens’ PAVE360 is part of Siemens Digital Industries Software’s Xcelerator portfolio. This partnership was formed to address the increasingly complexity in developing platforms to realise active-safety, advanced driver assistance, in-vehicle infotainment, digital cockpits, vehicle-to-vehicle/vehicle-to-infrastructure and self-driving vehicles. Advances in computing and sensor technology are enabling companies to redefine mobility beginning with the ICs and software within automotive electronics systems.

Siemens’ PAVE360 digital twin environment, featuring Arm IP, applies high-fidelity modelling techniques from sensors and ICs to vehicle dynamics and the environment within which a vehicle operates. Using Arm IP, including Arm Automotive Enhanced (AE) products with functional safety support, digital twin models can run entire software stacks providing early metrics of power and performance while operating in the context of a high-fidelity model of the vehicle and its environment.

Using PAVE360 with Arm automotive IP allows automakers and suppliers to simulate and verify sub-system and system on chip (SoC) designs and understand how they perform within a vehicle design from the silicon level up, before the vehicle is built. By rethinking IC design, manufacturers can consolidate electronic control units (ECUs), saving thousands of dollars per vehicle through reduced the number of circuit boards and lengths of wire within the vehicle design, says Siemens. These savings also reduce vehicle weight which can promote longer range electric vehicles (EVs).

Siemens‘ PAVE360 platform will be demonstrated in the Siemens Mobility booth at CES in Las Vegas (7 to 10 January 2020).

http://www.siemens.com

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Microchip introduces MPLAB TÜV SÜD-certified tools

Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy module has a long-range reach

Demonstration board drives eGaN FETs for ToF and lidar systems

Siemens and Arm partner to develop and validate automotive safety systems

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