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IMDT launches new SOM and SBC with the latest Renesas RZ/V2H SOC

Wed, Mar 06, 2024

IMDT has announced a new line of power-efficient, cost-effective and ready-to-use system-on-module (SOM) and single-board-computer (SBC) solutions, based on the new Renesas RZ/V2H microprocessor.

The IMDT Renesas V2H-based family of products delivers advanced functionality and high performance for Robotic, IoT and industrial applications. Equipped with a powerful, Arm-based CPU and Renesas proprietary AI accelerator, these products support diverse uses, including high-bandwidth communications, machine learning, and high-definition image processing.

The RZ/V2H processor features Renesas’s proprietary AI accelerator, the DRP (Dynamically Reconfigurable Processor)-AI3, which boasts a power efficiency of 10 TOPS/W. Additionally, it integrates four Arm Cortex-A55 CPU cores that reach a maximum operating frequency of 1.8 GHz, tailored for Linux application processing. For high-performance real-time processing, it includes two Cortex-R8 cores operating at 800 MHz, alongside one Cortex-M33 core serving as a subcore. By integrating these cores into a single chip, the device effectively manages both vision-AI and real-time control tasks, making it ideal for demanding robotics applications.

The IMDT V2H based SOM supports 4 x 4-lane MIPI CSI-2 connections, enabling attachment of up to four cameras. Additionally, the full module provides customisable options such as onboard Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, various memory and storage capacities, and PHY configurations, allowing users to tailor the system to their specific needs. The IMDT V2H SBC carrier board transforms the IMDT V2H SOM into a compact, high-performance mini-computer. Measuring only 125 x 80 x 20 mm, this fully customisable small form factor SBC features a cost-effective system design, ideal for diverse applications in robotics, drones, and smart city projects. The V2H SBC provides a multitude of assembly options, personalised and adjusted to meet specific customer needs, alongside comprehensive onboard connectivity. It presents developers with an energy-efficient solution that occupies minimal space.

https://www.imd-tec.com

Written by Annie Shinn

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Renesas unveils powerful single-chip MPU for next-gen robotics

Thu, Feb 29, 2024

Renesas Electronics Corporation, has expanded its popular RZ Family of microprocessors (MPUs) with a new device targeting high-performance robotics applications, the RZ/V2H enables both vision AI and real-time control capabilities.

The device comes with a new generation of Renesas proprietary AI accelerator, DRP (Dynamically Reconfigurable Processor)-AI3, delivering 10 TOPS/W power efficiency, a 10-fold improvement over previous models. Additionally, pruning technology employed in the DRP-AI3 accelerator significantly improves AI computing efficiency, boosting AI inference performance up to 80 TOPS. This performance boost allows engineers to process vision AI applications directly at edge AI devices without relying on cloud computing platforms.

The RZ/V2H incorporates four Arm Cortex-A55 CPU cores with a maximum operating frequency of 1.8 GHz for Linux application processing, two Cortex-R8 cores running at 800 MHz for high-performance real-time processing, and one Cortex-M33 as a sub core. By integrating these cores into a single chip, the device can effectively manage both vision AI and real-time control tasks, making it ideal for demanding robotics applications of the future. Since the RZ/V2H consumes less power, it eliminates the need for cooling fans and other heat-dissipating components. This means engineers can design systems that are smaller in size, less expensive, and more reliable.

Renesas has applied its proprietary DRP technology to develop the OpenCV Accelerator that speeds up the processing of OpenCV, an open-source industry standard library for computer vision processing. The resulting speed improvement is up to 16 times faster compared to CPU processing. The combination of the DRP-AI3 and the OpenCV Accelerator enhances both AI computing and image processing algorithms, enabling the power-efficient, real-time execution of Visual SLAM used in applications such as robot vacuum cleaners.

To accelerate development, Renesas also released AI Applications, a library of pre-trained models for various use cases, and the AI SDK (Software Development Kit) for rapid development of AI applications. By running these software on the RZ/V2H’s evaluation board, engineers can evaluate AI applications easily and earlier in the design process, even if they do not have extensive knowledge of AI.

https://www.renesas.com/rzv2h

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Energy harvester from ZF for windows and doors

Wed, Feb 28, 2024

Installed in applications for windows and doors, the Energy Harvester from ZF contribute to energy efficiency and building security. They monitor if a window is open or closed and prevent for example the waste of heating energy. By RF technology, the current status of a window will be reported to the building technology and when the window is open, the heating or air-condition will turn down. If a window or door has not been closed, this information can also be checked on a central unit. Thus, the effort for the guard duty of big commercial buildings will be reduced.

By each actuation of the ZF Energy Harvester, sufficient energy for the transmission of a RF protocol is generated. The connected radio electronics transfers the status information to a receiver unit. So, window handle, window latch or door lock inform with every opening and closing about the change of status.

The completely battery-free and wireless technology from ZF is free of maintenance and flexible in use. It can be realised with different RF protocols such as Bluetooth®, EnOcean or customer-specific RF protocols.

https://switches-sensors.zf.com/

 

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Nexperia broadens its range of discrete FET solutions at APEC 2024

Wed, Feb 28, 2024

Nexperia bringing its product innovations to APEC and has announced the release of several new MOSFETs to further broaden its range of discrete switching solutions for use in various applications across multiple end markets. This release includes 100 V application specific MOSFETs (ASFETs) for PoE, eFuse and relay replacement in 60% smaller DFN2020 packaging, and 40 V NextPowerS3 MOSFETs with improved electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) performance.

PoE switches typically have up to 48 ports, each requiring 2 MOSFETs for protection. With up to 96 MOSFETs on a single PCB, any reduction in device footprint is attractive. For this reason, Nexperia has released 100 V PoE ASFETs in 2 mm x 2 mm DFN2020 packaging which occupies 60% less space than previous versions in LFPAK33 packaging. A critical function of these devices is to protect PoE ports by limiting inrush currents while safely managing fault conditions. To manage this scenario, Nexperia has enhanced the safe operating area (SOA) of these devices by up to 3x with only a minimal increase in RDS(on). These ASFETs are also suitable for battery management, Wi-Fi hotspot, 5G picocell and CCTV applications and can serve as replacements for mechanical relays in smart thermostats, for example.

EMC-related issues caused by MOSFET switching usually only emerge late in the product development life cycle and resolving them can incur additional R&D costs and delay market release. Typical solutions include using significantly more expensive MOSFETs with lower RDS(on) (to slow down switching and absorb excessive voltage ringing) or to fit an external capacitive snubber circuit but this approach has the disadvantage of increasing component count. Nexperia has optimised its 40 V NextPowerS3 MOSFETs to offer similar EMC performance as that which can be achieved using an external snubber circuit, while also offering higher efficiency. These MOSFETs are suitable for use in switching converters and motor controllers across various applications and are available in LFPAK56 packaging.

To learn more about Nexperia’s PoE ASFETs visit: https://nexperia.com/asfets-for-poe
To learn more about Nexperia’s NextPowerS3 MOSFETs visit: https://nexperia.com/nextpowers3

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