Latest News

STMicroelectronics adds wireless support to smart meter chipset

Wed, Nov 13, 2019

The ST8500 smart-meter chipset from STMicroelectronics now integrates both RF and PLC communication. At this week’s European Utility Week 2019, ADD Grup, a European smart-metering, announces hybrid PLC/wireless products that contain the enhanced ST8500 chipset.

ST’s ST8500 powerline communication (PLC) chipset now enables smart meters to communicate through existing power cables or radio frequency (RF) waves, combining the strengths of both types of connection.

Where power lines may be too noisy for PLC, or where local regulations dictate, equipment makers can now implement wireless and PLC quickly and efficiently using the ST8500, explains ST. In addition, the built-in RF capability lets equipment designers leverage the ST8500’s feature integration and ease of use in smart devices such as gas and water smart meters, environmental monitors, lighting controllers, and industrial sensors.

By embedding support for RF Mesh at the physical (PHY) layer and in the data-link layer (media access control, MAC, and 6LoWPAN) firmware, the ST8500 allows developers to leverage the strengths of combined powerline and wireless mesh networking for communication between smart nodes and data collectors. Unlike simple point-to-point links, hybrid mesh networking interconnects nodes extensively to create more reliable and fault-tolerant connections and extend communication distances, adds ST.

“With wireless support now fully integrated in the ST8500 firmware, ST’s chipset . . . .[will] enhance network performance, reliability, capacity, and scalability for our innovative electricity meters,” said Ruslan Casico, head of sales and marketing at ADD Grup. “The hybrid PLC/wireless connectivity is credited for ADD Grup winning “important metering projects” in EMEA, Russia, and Asia.

Domenico Arrigo, general manager, industrial and power conversion, STMicroelectronics, added, “By supporting RF communication alongside the leading PLC protocols, our market-proven chipset enables smart city and industry infrastructures worldwide to deliver more of their potential for saving the planet’s resources and enhancing control and efficiency.”

ST will exhibit its ST8500 chipset and demonstrate smart-meter, smart-home and -building, and smart-infrastructure customer solutions at European Utility Week in Paris, France (12 to 14 November) Stand J160.

http://www.st.com

> Read More

Xilinx adds MPSoCs for ADAS and autonomous driving

Wed, Nov 13, 2019

The Xilinix Automotive (XA) Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC 7EV and 11EG have been added to the company’s automotive portfolio. According to the company, the programmable capacity, performance and I/O capabilities enable high-speed, data aggregation, pre-processing, and distribution (DAPD) as well as compute acceleration for L2+ to L4 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving applications.

The XA Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC 7EV and 11EG offer over 650,000 programmable logic cells and nearly 3,000 DSP slices, representing a 2.5-fold increase compared with the previous largest device.

The XA 7EV contains a video codec unit for h.264/h.265 encode and decode; the XA 11EG includes 32 12.5Gbits per second transceivers and provides four PCIe Gen3x16 blocks. At the launch, Xilinx said the devices provide the performance required by carmakers, robotaxi developers and Tier-1 suppliers to perform power-efficient DAPD and compute acceleration that allows for scalable production deployments for autonomous driving vehicles.

The XA Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC portfolio is qualified to AEC-Q100 and integrates both Xilinx programmable logic and a feature-rich 64-bit quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 and dual-core Arm Cortex-R5-based processing system that is certified to ASIL-C level in the low power domain. These characteristics and the high data throughput capability of the XA 7EV and XA 11EG accelerate the deployment of autonomous.

The XA 7EV and XA 11EG are available for order today.  Both are supported by Vitis and Vitis AI software.

Xilinx develops adaptive processing platforms that enable rapid innovation from the endpoint to the edge to the cloud. Xilinx invented the FPGA, hardware programmable SoCs, and the ACAP.

http://www.xilinx.com

> Read More

Low-latency PHY technology prepares for industry 4.0

Wed, Nov 13, 2019

Industrial Ethernet physical layer (PHY) products released by Analog Devices help manufacturers address industry 4.0 and smart factory communication challenges around data integration, synchronisation, edge connectivity, and system interoperability.

At SPS later this month, the company will be showcasing the ADIN1300 low-power, single port Ethernet transceiver. It has industry leading power and latency specifications, claims the company and is primarily designed for time-critical industrial Ethernet applications up to Gigabit speeds.

It has 10BASE-Te/100BASE-TX/1000BASE-T IEEE 802.3-compliant MII, RMII and RGMII MAC interfaces with 330mW consumption (1000BASE-T) and 290 nano second 1000BASE-T RGMII latency (receive and transmit). It complies to several EMC test standards, including IEC 61000-4-5 surge (±4kV), IEC 61000-4-2 ESD (±6kV contact discharge), IEC 61000-4-6 conducted immunity (10V) and EN55032 radiated emissions (Class A) and EN55032 conducted emissions (Class A). It is packaged in a 40-lead, 6.0 x 6.0mm LFCSP.

The ADIN1300 is designed to operate in harsh industrial conditions and over extended ambient temperature ranges, mirroring the trend for industrial automation to increasingly adopt the Ethernet and increase data rates.

ADIN1300 is the latest technology developed for the Analog Devices’ Chronous industrial Ethernet solutions. The Chronous portfolio includes the ADIN1200, a low-power single port 10/100 robust Ethernet PHY for real-time industrial Ethernet networks. Other products include a range of advanced industrial Ethernet technologies from real-time Ethernet switches, PHY transceivers and protocol processing to complete network interface products.

ADIN1300 targets industrial Ethernet applications as motion control, factory automation, building automation, test and measurement and the IIoT.

ADI will be exhibiting ADIN1300 and other ADI Chronous Ethernet portfolio solutions at SPS ( 26 to 28 November) in Nuremberg, Germany, Hall 5, 129.

http://www.analog.com

> Read More

Module combines sensors for smart building data

Wed, Nov 13, 2019

Data can be collected within 30 minutes of plugging in the AmbiMate MS4 multi-sensor module. TE Connectivity says that the module collects data for heating, lighting, air quality and other applications to cut time to market for smart building systems.

The AmbiMate MS4 multi-sensor module integrates the most popular set of sensors needed for most smart building solutions. Engineers can use the module instead of up to seven individual sensors, enabling the time required to research, source and integrate multiple sensors and frees up resources to work on other aspects of smart building system designs.

Different module options are available to meet different specifications. A basic version has the four core sensors of passive infra red, ambient light, temperature and humidity to control of heating and lighting. Customers can choose to add a microphone and / or equivalent carbon dioxide and volatile organic compound (VOC) sensors for features such as voice activation and air quality management.

“Engineers face the challenges of looming deadlines, unforeseen technical obstacles and high expectations,” explained Jonathan Catchpole, system architect at TE Connectivity’s industrial business. “We designed the AmbiMate sensor module as the best possible set of sensors for intelligent buildings so that engineers can focus their efforts on . . . cloud integration, software or meeting the WELL Building Standard.”

(The WELL Building Standard is focused on improving comfort and productivity through enhanced control of the environment in and around buildings.)

The AmbiMate sensor module is available to buy as a standalone PCB assembly (PCBA) in bulk and also as a developer kit. The developer kit includes multiple attachment options for flexibility in the mechanical fit and connection inside a product housing. Electronics developers can plug an AmbiMate module into a host controller, like a Raspberry Pi or Arduino device, and start collecting data within 30 minutes with support of code that is available on the company’s website. The module is compatible with the I2C communication protocol.

The AmbiMate sensor module is available from electronics distributors.

http://www.te.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