Latest News

New demonstration board from ST kickstarts dual-motor designs

Thu, May 23, 2024

ST’ EVSPIN32G4-DUAL demonstration board controls two motors from a single STSPIN32G4 integrated driver, accelerating product development and simplifying the PCB design and bill of materials.

The EVSPIN32G4-DUAL board cuts the time to market for advanced industrial and consumer products such as robots, multi-axis factory automation systems, garden equipment, and power tools. The STSPIN32G4 motor controller contains an Arm Cortex-M4 microcontroller (MCU) with the processing power to manage both motors simultaneously, executing complex algorithms like field-oriented control (FOC) in real-time. In addition, MCU peripherals support sensored or sensorless FOC and advanced position and torque-control algorithms, including motor-control and general-purpose timers, analog functions including operational amplifiers and comparators.

The EVSPIN32G4-DUAL demonstration board leverages an advanced three-phase gate driver integrated in the STSPIN32G4 and an additional STDRIVE101 gate driver to control two three-phase inverters delivering up to 10A with a maximum supply voltage of 74V. Both gate drivers have their own bootstrap circuitry and safety features including drain-source voltage monitoring, cross-conduction prevention, several thermal protection mechanisms, and under-voltage lockout (UVLO).

EVSPIN32G4-DUAL also leverages the STSPIN32G4’s built-in power-management circuitry, permitting a compact design with a low BOM that is easy to procure and permits rapid assembly in production. The power management includes a programmable buck converter for gate drivers VCC supply, a low-dropout linear regulator, and a special regulator with low quiescent current to supply the MCU during standby.

The STSPIN32G4 is included in the STM32 ecosystem that provides extensive support for application development, including tools for starting the project, middleware packs, and software examples. The X-CUBE-MCSDK (motor control software development kit) has firmware libraries for algorithms including FOC and STM32 motor-control workbench. This is an easy-to-use graphical tool that lets the user select and automatically configure the EVSPIN32G4-DUAL directly from a menu.

https://www.st.com

> Read More

Panasonic announces wireless modules, embracing Wi-Fi 6 standard

Thu, May 16, 2024

Panasonic has announced its entry into the realm of Wi-Fi 6 technology with the launch of PAN9019 and PAN9019A wireless modules. These modules, built on NXP’s IW611 and IW612 chips respectively, mark a leap forward in wireless connectivity solutions.
The PAN9019 module boasts Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 capabilities. Meanwhile, the PAN9019A module extends its functionality further with the addition of 802.15.4 compatibility, enabling seamless integration with Thread and Zigbee protocols. This versatility ensures that these modules cater to a wide array of applications, including EV charging, heat pumps, smart home devices, industrial automation/equipment, and medical equipment.
To further enhance customisation and flexibility, Panasonic Industry provides an approved antenna list featuring three different antenna types. Customers can choose from a selection of antennas offered by leading players in the industry, including TDK, AVX/Kyocera, Taoglas, and 2J.
Moreover, each evaluation kit comes equipped with a FXP830 pre-certified flex PCB antenna from Taoglas, guaranteeing optimal performance out of the box.
Samples and evaluation tools for the PAN9019 and PAN9019A modules are readily available, enabling customers to experience the performance and versatility firsthand.

https://industry.panasonic.eu/coming-soon-wi-fi-6-pan9019a

> Read More

New adapter board from Rutronik for radar-based applications in distance measurement and people detection

Wed, May 15, 2024

Reliable solutions for distance measurement as well as people and surface detection play a key role in IoT applications. With the RAB3, Rutronik System Solutions are expanding their board family with an Adapter Board to test the use of a fully integrated module as well as the possibility of a discrete development. By accelerating the pre-development phase and reducing costs, the RAB3 helps to bring radar-based applications to market faster.

IoT control applications have become a trend and with it the demand for sensing devices to collect information. Here radar sensing is highly robust and stable with respect to external conditions such as temperature changes and ambient light. “Furthermore, radar detects motion, but does not use the actual images, thus providing a real privacy benefit. With our RAB3, you benefit from a development environment to test compact and lower power radar applications,” notes Stephan Menze, Head of Global Innovation Management at Rutronik.

The Nisshinbo 60 GHz Smart Sensor Micro-Module offers a non-contact and highly accurate measurement solution. Radar sensing at 60 GHz is a non-contact and highly accurate measurement solution. This is beneficial for realising applications for distance measurement or people counting with the distance, angle, and state detection sensor using 60 GHz band millimetre wave. With the Infineon XENSIVTM 60 GHz Radar Sensor, a discrete radar IC complements the latest radar technology provided with the RAB3 to work on your application. Thanks to its small form factor and low power consumption, this 60GHz radar sensor comes with one transmitting and three receiving antennas. The L-shaped antenna can be used for array, horizontal, and vertical angular measurement. This enables advanced radar sensing.

Thanks to the Arduino interface, the RAB3 is easy to combine with all other Base Boards and Adapter Boards from Rutronik System Solutions. The modular concept opens up various development approaches that you can implement quickly, cost-effectively, and simply, but in a technically sophisticated way. By combining the RAB3 with the Base Board RDK3, it is possible to implement both detection without privacy issues and also in badly lit and dark surroundings and localized use via Bluetooth Low Energy, which is sufficient for some applications such as people detection and presence detection in factories, conference and exhibitions halls, shopping malls or similar. It is also possible, for example, to connect it to the Text To Speech Adapter Board, which is based on Epson core hardware and software. This second Adapter Board makes it then possible to use the voice output to communicate that a maximum of people are in a room or hall. With the Text To Speech Adapter Board up to twelve languages can be realized as voice output.

https://www.rutronik.com.

> Read More

Arrow Edge AI engineering services launches to boost support for advanced device development

Thu, May 09, 2024

Arrow Electronics is strengthening support for customers seeking to accelerate their embedded applications with artificial intelligence and machine learning by launching Arrow Edge AI engineering services. The resources include engineering consultancy, technical training, design services, ready-to-use software, and a curated selection of vendor-specific and independent tools.

“Analysts say AI will be one of the biggest technologies of the coming decade. In fact, AI algorithms are already embedded in many consumer and industrial applications and are an essential ingredient for reaching the latest performance and power efficiency targets,” said Morten Block, marketing director EMEA, Arrow Electronics. “Developing AI applications to run on edge computing platforms is no trivial task, so Arrow Edge AI engineering services is here to handle the challenges. With solutions for every stage of the development lifecycle, we help our customers keep their projects on track, from initial analysis and determining the right approach, to algorithm development, model training, optimisation, and deployment.”

Edge AI represents numerous opportunities for product developers to create innovative products, such as wearables, IoT gateways, smart sensors, autonomous machines, and others, to be deployed throughout factories, cities, homes, smart buildings, agriculture, utility networks, and retail. In addition to increasing performance and efficiency, edge AI can also enhance security and relieve dependence on continuous network connectivity.

The Arrow Edge AI engineering services portfolio covers the spectrum of edge AI applications, including object detection, facial recognition, industrial inspection, voice control, sound analysis, and touch sensing.

In addition to consulting and design assistance, Arrow Edge AI engineering services will offer extensive training, including AI theory, algorithm development, modelling, software tools, and applications such as predictive maintenance. Accessible through an online hub, the service will also provide learning resources, articles and videos to help users achieve their goals.

https://www.gotostage.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