Distribution News

Rutronik System Solutions expands functionality of RDK3 base board

Tue, Feb 25, 2025

The growing demand for IoT devices is accompanied by an equally growing demand for energy-efficient energy harvesting modules. In order to meet the ecological and economic challenges of this trend, Rutronik is focusing on innovative solutions for harvesting energy from the surrounding environment. To this end, Rutronik’s System Solution developers, together with Rutronik’s wireless application experts, are introducing an innovative extension for the RDK3 Base Board. The new Ambient IoT remote control uses energy harvesting technology and thus offers a sustainable solution for the growing IoT ecosystem – without the need for a battery.

Thanks to the use of efficient wireless system-on-chip and power management semiconductors, energy harvesting can now replace conventional batteries in many applications. In addition to being environmentally friendly, this technology also reduces the costs associated with battery maintenance, supply chain, logistics, and disposal.

For the new extension of the RDK3, Rutronik allows the Infineon PSOCTM 64 (Secured MCU) integrated in the development kit to communicate with an EnOcean PTM 216B module, which contains a nRF52 SoC from Nordic Semiconductor, with an integrated Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) interface. In the developed demo, the latter is located in a standard light switch and draws its electrical energy from mechanical motion – such as a keystroke. The RDK3 enables easy, cross-supplier communication between components, which means added design flexibility.

This type of technology is already established in light switches in buildings based on the Sub GHz EnOcean protocol. This protocol and ecosystem are maintained by the American EnOcean Alliance, which takes care of this 868 (EU) / 902 (USA) / 928 (JPN) MHz protocol. The German EnOcean GmbH manufactures the hardware for this. In a single module, both the components for kinematic energy harvesting and wireless connectivity are embedded. For the RDK3-based remote control, the company’s expertise and patents in the field of energy harvesting are used, but combined with Nordic Semiconductor’s Bluetooth technology, instead of the original Sub GHz-SoC.

https://www.rutronik.com/

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ST’s new Edge AI, NPU-accelerated microcontrollers now available from Mouser

Tue, Feb 11, 2025

Mouser is now shipping the new STM32N6 high-performance microcontroller from STMicroelectronics. The STM32N6 is the newest and most powerful of the STM32 family, optimised for edge-intensive AI algorithms in automotive, smart industry, robotics, drones, healthcare, smart buildings, smart homes, smart farming, and personal electronic applications.

STMicroelectronics STM32N6 MCU is the first of the STM32 series featuring ST’s proprietary Neural-ART Accelerator, specifically architected for embedded inference, delivering 600 times more machine-learning performance than existing high-end STM32 MCUs. The STM32N6’s Neural-ART Accelerator clocks at 1GHz, providing 600 giga-operations per second (GOPS) at an average of 3 tera-operations per second (TOPS), delivering energy efficiency while allowing machine learning applications requiring an accelerated microprocessor to now run on an MCU.

The STM32N6’s machine learning performance makes it possible to run computer vision, audio processing and sound analysis for consumer and industrial applications at the edge, utilising a Cortex-M55 MCU running at 800 MHz, a robust 4.2 MB embedded RAM that also includes a NeoChrom GPU alongside an H.264 hardware encoder, and a Helium™ M-Profile Vector Extension. The STM32N6 delivers remarkable AI performance and provides excellent flexibility in a small silicon package ideal for embedded systems and wearables.

The STM32N6 is supported by the STM32N6570-DK discovery kit. The kit is a complete demonstration and development platform for the STM32N6 and provides a full range of hardware features to enable users to evaluate the device. The kit includes USB Type-C, Octo SPI flash memory and Hexadeca SPI PSRAM devices, Ethernet connectivity, a camera module, a 5″ LCD touchscreen, and more. Four flexible extension connectors offer easy expansion capabilities for applications such as wireless connectivity, analog applications, and sensors.

https://www.mouser.com

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Raspberry Pi’s Hailo 8L AI kit for complex AI vision applications

Wed, Dec 18, 2024

Mouser is now stocking the Hailo 8L AI kit from Raspberry Pi. The AI kit, which combines the pre-installed Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ with an M.2-format Hailo 8L AI accelerator, is ready to use out of the box. The Hailo 8L AI kit provides a cost-effective and power-efficient way to integrate high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) in applications, including process control, security, home automation, voice recognition, and robotics.

The Raspberry Pi Hailo 8L AI kit is a 13 tera-operations per second (TOPS) neural network inference accelerator built around the Hailo 8L chip. When installed on a Raspberry Pi 5, the kit allows users to quickly create complex AI vision applications with low latency and minimal power requirements. Neural networks for facial landmarking, instance segmentation, object detection, and other tasks run entirely on the Hailo 8L module, leaving the Raspberry Pi 5’s CPU free to handle different processes. A thermal pad, pre-fitted between the module and the HAT+, spreads heat across components to improve performance and ensure consistent operation.

The Hailo 8L AI Kit includes a 16mm stacking header, spacers, and screws for easy installation in a Raspberry Pi 5 with the Raspberry Pi Active Cooler in place. Fully integrated into Raspberry Pi’s camera software stack, the kit simplifies image processing for real-world, AI-based vision applications. The Hailo 8L AI Kit meets Raspberry Pi’s HAT+ specification and has an operating temperature range of 0℃ to 50℃.

https://www.mouser.com

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Rutronik introduces the new SoCs from Nordic Semi for next-generation (I)IoT applications

Thu, Nov 28, 2024

With three SoCs from the new nRF54L series, the nRF54L15, nRF54L10 as well as nRF54L05, Rutronik is expanding its portfolio of Bluetooth Low Energy Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) from Nordic Semiconductor. Higher performance, efficiency and security make this recently launched product the optimal and future-proof choice for realising the next generation of wireless IoT products.

All SoCs in the nRF54L series offer MCU functionality with a 128 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 processor, doubling the processing power and tripling the processing efficiency – compared to the nRF52840. This enables enhanced functionality in end products while consuming up to three times less power.

Security is one of the key challenges in the (I)IoT environment, which is why Nordic Semiconductor relies on advanced security features with physical protection for the nRF54L series: secure booting, secure firmware updates, secure storage, as well as a TrustZone-enabled trusted execution environment, a cryptographic accelerator with side-channel leakage protection and tamper detectors, already allow the development of applications that will meet future security regulations.

The hardware and software highlights of the nRF54L series compared to the predecessor flagship nRF52 (nRF52840):
• Significantly better specifications in terms of:
o Arm Cortex-M33 (128 MHz), instead of Arm Cortex-M4 (64 MHz)
o 1.5 MB NVM / 256 KB RAM, instead of 1 MB Flash / 256 KB RAM
o Bluetooth LE version 6.0 and higher, instead of Bluetooth LE version 5.4

Further benefits:
• Non-volatile memory: 1.5 MB (nRF54L15) // 1.0 MB (nRF54L10) // 0.5 MB (nRF54L05)
• 256 KB RAM (nRF54L15) // 192 KB RAM (nRF54L10) // 96 KB RAM (nRF54L05)
• Ultra-low power multiprotocol 2.4 GHz radio: Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth Mesh, Bluetooth Channel Sounding, Zigbee, Thread, Matter, proprietary 2.4 GHz protocols and support for ecosystems such as Amazon Sidewalk, Google Find My Device and Apple Find My
• RISC-V co-processor and integrated peripherals: new real-time global clock, also available when the system is switched off, 14-bit analogue-to-digital converter and high-speed serial interfaces
• PSA Level 3 certified
• Design flexibility & pin-to-pin compatibility

Application examples:
• Smart Home & Matter, Smart Wearables, VR/AR,
• PC peripherals, HID, remote control
• (Industrial) IoT, building automation, access control
• Medical / healthcare, fitness

https://www.rutronik24.com

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