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IoT gateway with Raspberry Pi accelerates adoption, says Farnell

Tue, Sep 17, 2019

Distributor, Farnell, is now shipping the Avnet SmartEdge industrial IoT gateway. The low-cost industrial gateway is powered by Raspberry Pi and is designed for a range of applications, including building management, vehicle monitoring, industrial automation and predictive maintenance.

The Avnet SmartEdge industrial IoT gateway’s seamless, secure connectivity is enabled by Avnet’s IoTConnect platform to provide features to gather, analyse and provide actionable, real-time data visualisation. The IoTConnect platform runs on Microsoft Azure edge-to-cloud services to build, deploy, and manage IoT connected assets.

The gateway provides connectivity with data intelligence for a range of industrial 4.0 applications including additional ports to handle industrial protocols, higher power input range, a trusted computing module for comprehensive end-to-end hardware data security, and a robust wall or DIN-rail mountable metal enclosure.

Connectivity options include a full set of industrial peripherals which include CAN-BUS and RS-232/ 485 (Modbus and DeviceNet) interfaces, isolated digital I/O and dual 10/100 Ethernet, with wireless connectivity including WiFi at 2.4GHz and Bluetooth Low Energy 4.2 via an integrated antenna with external connectivity, and an mPCIe interface for cellular modems. Power is via a 12 to 24V DC input and an HDMI display output is also incorporated. It is based on an 8Gbyte EMMC which replaces the standard SD memory card, with security guaranteed by an onboard TPM 2.0.

The device also has the 40-pin expansion header to link with a range of devices from the ecosystem of HATs and other accessories.

Those familiar with prototyping on a Raspberry Pi device will find it straightforward to bring their designs to an industrial environment without having to switch platforms, Farnell reassures developers.

Hari Kalyanaraman, global head of single board computers at Farnell said of the Avnet SmartEdge industrial IoT gateway: “Ease of use and seamless, secure connectivity make it ideal for developing industrial automation applications such as remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, process control and automation. . . we believe this device could be a key driver in the further adoption of Industrial IoT applications.”

Pete Bartolotta, president of business transformation at Avnet, said: “The Avnet SmartEdge industrial IoT gateway will allow developers to design and scale IoT projects leveraging the familiar Raspberry Pi platform that’s now industrialised for scale.” He added that the Avnet and Farnell ecosystem provides the technology, support and tools developers need to bring IoT projects from prototyping to mass m market volumes.

The Avnet SmartEdge industrial IoT gateway is available from Farnell in Europe and Newark in North America. The Avnet SmartEdge Industrial IoT Gateway is also available from Avnet Silica.

http://www.farnell.com

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Embedded Vision Processor IP prepares for AI-intensive edge applications

Tue, Sep 17, 2019

Integrating a deep neural network accelerator, vector digital signal processor (DSP) and vector floating point unit (FPU), Synopsys explains that the DesignWare EV7x Vision Processors’ heterogeneous architecture delivers 35 Tera operations per second (TOPS) for artificial intelligence system on chips (AI SoCs).

The DesignWare ARC EV7x Embedded Vision processors, with deep neural network (DNN) accelerator provide sufficient performance for AI-intensive edge applications.

The ARC EV7x Vision Processors integrate up to four enhanced vector processing units (VPUs) and a DNN accelerator with up to 14,080 MACs to deliver up to 35 TOPS performance in 16-nm FinFET process technologies under typical conditions, which is four times the performance of the ARC EV6x processors, reports Synopsys.

Each EV7x VPU includes a 32-bit scalar unit and a 512-bit-wide vector DSP and can be configured for 8-, 16-, or 32-bit operations to perform simultaneous multiply-accumulates on different streams of data.

The optional DNN accelerator scales from 880 to 14,080 MACs and employs a specialized architecture for faster memory access, higher performance, and better power efficiency than alternative neural network IP. In addition to supporting convolutional neural networks (CNNs), the DNN accelerator supports batched long short-term memories (LSTMs) for applications that require time-based results (such as predicting the location of a pedestrian based on their observed path and speed). The vision engine and the DNN accelerator work on tasks in parallel, for example in autonomous vehicles and ADAS applications where multiple cameras and vision algorithms operate concurrently.

The combination of vision engine and DNN accelerator with high productivity programming tools make the ARC EV7x Embedded Vision processors suitable for applications as varied as advanced driver assist systems (ADAS), video surveillance, smart home, and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

The processors optimise the execution of linear algebra and matrix math operations. In navigation systems this can accelerate processing on simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) and provide real-time tracking for AR/VR and localisation for autonomous driving and increase the accuracy of environmental maps, for example.

To speed application software development for ARC EV7x Vision Processors, Synopsys’ MetaWare EV development toolkit provides a software programming environment based on common embedded vision standards, including OpenVX and OpenCL C. The mapping tools support Caffe and Tensorflow frameworks, as well as the ONNX neural network interchange format.

ASIL B and ASIL D -compliant versions of the new processors, the ARC EV7xFS portfolio, accelerate ISO 26262 certification of automotive SoCs. The functional safety-enhanced processors offer hardware safety features, safety monitors, and lockstep capabilities that enable designers to achieve stringent levels of functional safety and fault coverage without significant impact on power or performance.

A hybrid option enables system architects to select required safety levels up to ASIL D in the software, post-silicon.

ARC EV7x Embedded Vision processors, DNN accelerator option up to 14,080 MACs, and MetaWare EV software are expected to be available for lead customers in Q1 2020. The DNN accelerator option with up to 3,520 MACs is available now.

https://www.synopsys.com/designware

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Elbit Systems protects vehicles from drones

Fri, Sep 13, 2019

Elbit Systems meets demand for an affordable vehicular protection against hostile drones with the introduction of the ReDrone vehicular tactical system.

The vehicular configuration of the company’s operational anti-drone protection and neutralisation system is based on the field-proven and operational ReDrone system. ReDrone vehicular tactical system detects, identifies and neutralises all types of drones (at any radio frequency) within a radius of several kilometers, providing any vehicle with a 360 degrees protection shield against hostile drones, says Elbit. Suitable for on-the-move or stationary operations, in day and night and in all weather conditions, the system is offered for all types of military and para-military vehicles.

Rapidly deployable, the ReDrone vehicular tactical system works automatically or manually, with no setup or operator control required. Its open architecture enables a full data flow to the vehicle’s control system and an effective interface with command and control centres, explains Elbit.

Upon detecting a hostile drone, the ReDrone vehicular tactical system neutralises all communications between the drone and its operator, including radio, video and GPS signals. The system is also capable of separating a drone’s signals from its operator’s remote control signals in order to locate and track each of them separately.

Elbit Systems UK (ESUK) holds four wholly-owned subsidiaries as well as two joint ventures. Over 500 personnel are employed by the ESUK companies in the UK, in high tech roles in the defence, aerospace and rail sectors. The two joint ventures were formed in order to deliver the Watchkeeper programme for the British Army and to supply and support three fleets of aircraft within the UK MoD Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) programme. Elbit Systems UK was also recently selected by the UK MoD to provide the Morpheus battlefield management for the British Army.

Elbit Systems is an international technology company engaged in a wide range of defence, homeland security and commercial programmes throughout the world. The company, which includes Elbit Systems and its subsidiaries, operates in the areas of aerospace, land, and naval systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR), unmanned aircraft systems, advanced electro-optics, electro-optic space systems, EW suites, signal intelligence systems, data links and communications systems, radios and cyber-based systems and munitions. The company also focuses on the upgrading of existing platforms, developing new technologies for defence, homeland security and commercial applications and providing a range of support services, including training and simulation systems.

http://www.elbitsystems.com

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Soil sensor increases crop yield; minimises environmental damage

Fri, Sep 13, 2019

Incorporating three sensors in one package, a soil sensor from Murata is intended for the agricultural and horticultural industries. The sensor enables growers to increase the yield and quality of crops while experiencing lower costs associated with reduced water and fertiliser usage, explains Murata, citing these as the most important application areas for the sensor.

Murata has initiated projects using the soil sensor with partners all over the world. One example is a collaboration with Vietnam’s Can Tho University and a research project in the Mekong Delta, conducting field trials of a soil monitoring system to observe the condition of agricultural land in the delta.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region is subject to the salinity impact from the infiltration of seawater during the dry season as a result of a decline in the volumetric flow rate of the Mekong River, and the action of the tides under the impact of climate change driven by global warming. In addition to salt damage, the environment for agriculture has become harsher due to the increasing severity of droughts and floods.

Murata developed a compact 130mm sensor to measure the condition of agricultural land and to channel water with high precision. Using independently-developed monitoring tools environmental conditions were visualised and analysed with a view to making improvements. The sensor contributed to the implementation of IT in agriculture in the Mekong Delta region by preventing salt damage to rice paddies and orchards, ameliorating salt and sulphur contamination of agricultural land and water channels, and creating a mechanism to comprehensively manage fertilisers, crops and irrigation systems.

The sensor monitors two types of electrical conductivity (EC), temperature and the moisture content of the soil. EC level data enable growers to realise fertiliser timing, and water content of the soil for timely watering.

The sensor operates from a 3.0 to 6.5V, 50mA (maximum) supply and has an EC measurement range of 0 to 5.0dS/m with an accuracy of ± three per cent full scale. Its moisture measurement range is 0 to 60 per cent VWC at an accuracy of ± three per cent full scale, and its temperature range is -20 to 70 degrees C with an accuracy of ± one degree C.

The sensor was protected to IP68 dust and water resistance including reliable rust proofing for use in harsh environments. Interface options are UART, RS232E, RS485 and SDI-12 and maximum cable length is specified as 3m at UART, 10m at RS232E and 300m at RS485.

In the project, the wireless transmitter receiver system used consisted of a gateway, a router and several sensor nodes. Each sensor node is made up of a transmitter and three sensor units to measure the soil, field and channel water quality, and the sensing data is accumulated in the cloud. The sensor provides high-precision analysis of conditions by using a shaped sensor element and a proprietary algorithm. It is able to run for over a year of continuous operation on three size AA batteries.

http://www.murata.com

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IoT gateway with Raspberry Pi accelerates adoption, says Farnell

Embedded Vision Processor IP prepares for AI-intensive edge applications

Elbit Systems protects vehicles from drones

Soil sensor increases crop yield; minimises environmental damage

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