Emulator accelerates EV development for international markets

A smart charging station emulator from dSpace allows for the emulation of charging stations with a power of up to 85kW. According to dSpace, the emulator can accelerate the development of electric vehicles (EVs) for international markets.

The Smart Charging Station Emulator allows for the emulation of charging stations with a power of up to 85kW. Manufacturers of EVs and suppliers of battery systems can realistically test new developments with different technical charging standards and protocols, simulate a large number of faults, and develop them quickly and efficiently in line with the requirements of international markets, says dSpace.

It is based on dSpace’s Smart Charging Solution, which is used for testing onboard chargers, charging stations, and communication modules. Other components of the Smart Charging Station Emulator include a Scalexio real-time simulator, a dynamic and expandable model that runs on the simulator. There is also a power supply that enables DC charging and discharging at a maximum of 85kW. This means that vehicle-to-grid (V2G) scenarios can also be simulated, confirms dSpace.

All components are contained in a robust rack, fitted with wheels, to make the system flexible and mobile. It can be used not only in the laboratory but also for tests on prototype vehicles in workshops. There is automatic cable recognition, connecting communication and charge release, insulation monitoring and emergency stop switches, for operator safety.

The system supports international standards for charging communication such as ISO 15118 and DIN SPEC 70121, GB/T 27930, GB/T 18487, and CHAdeMO, and emulates a variety of charging stations and charging scenarios in real time. New charging standards such as CHAdeMO 3.0 or ChaoJi can be implemented.

The Smart Charging Station Emulator supports AC charging up to 63A and DC charging up to a maximum of 200A or 85kW. It is also adaptable to customer-specific charging supply requirements. In addition, the system offers almost unlimited options for manipulating electrical parameters and communication.

dSpace provides simulation and test solutions for developing networked, autonomous, and electrically powered vehicles. Automotive manufacturers and their suppliers use the company’s end-to-end solution range to test the software and hardware components of new vehicles long before a new model is allowed on the road.

As well as a partner for vehicle development, engineers in aerospace and industrial automation fields also rely on dSpace. The company’s portfolio ranges from end-to-end solutions for simulation and validation to engineering and consulting services as well as training and support.

Headquartered in Paderborn, Germany, dSpace has three project centres in Germany and serves customers through regional dSpace companies in the USA, the UK, France, Japan, China, and Croatia.

http://www.dspace.de

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Bridgetek’s evaluation hardware uses EVE technology for HMI prototypes

To assist with the initial development and prototyping of human machine interfaces (HMIs) based on Bridgetek’s object-oriented graphic controller ICs, the ME817EV evaluation board features Bridgetek’s BT817 embedded video engine (EVE) device. It allows engineers to experiment with the latest generation of EVE technology and its capabilities. The BT817 supports higher resolutions and large format displays to develop HMIs with broad functionality, offering greater visual clarity and enhanced video playback capabilities.

Measuring 165 x 100mm, the ME817EV has all the necessary attributes for undertaking development work relating to the graphics, audio and touch elements of the HMI. As well as audio amplification and multi-stage audio filtering features, an LED driver can be used to adjust the display backlighting. The evaluation board also includes a touch controller that supports five simultaneous touch points, with 16Mbytes of on-board flash memory resource for storing unicode fonts and image libraries.

The ME817EV can interface with large scale, high resolution display modules. For 1280 x 800 pixel displays it can connect through a 40-pin LVDS interface. A 50-pin RGB interface can be used for 1024 x 600 pixel displays. Capacitive touchscreens may be connected using a six- or 10-pin FPC connector. The board can be powered via a 5.0V supply using the SPI host connector, or via the USB Type-C port.

Fred Dart, founder and CEO of Bridgetek explains the company’s thinking behind this latest introduction: “It is clear that there is a real need for a more streamlined approach to larger format HMI construction. By providing this evaluation platform, we are making the whole project development process a lot quicker and easier for engineers to complete, with much better end results being derived too”.

Founded in 2016, Bridgetek supplies highly advanced ICs and board level products to meet the demands of a constantly evolving global technology landscape. The company’s Embedded Video Engine (EVE) graphic controller ICs each integrate display, audio and touch functionality onto a single chip. The EVE graphic controller ICs are complemented by its highly-differentiated, speed-optimised microcontrollers with augmented connectivity features.

http://www.brtchip.com

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Advantech packs features into COMe Mini Type 10 module

Despite being the size of a business card, Advantech’s COMe Mini Type 10 module is populated with Intel’s 11th generation Core processors.

In addition to the Intel Core i7 processors, the SOM-7583 features on-board LPDDR4 memory and NVMe SSD. It supports multiple I/O and displays, including 2.5GbE LAN supporting time sensitive networking (TSN), a PCIe Gen 3 x4, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbits per second), two SATA Gen3, and two independent 4k displays. The platform has AI Acceleration with Intel Deep Learning Boost engine, vector neural network instructions (VNNI), which can improve the efficiency and increase the inference performance dramatically, says Advantech.

Based on demand, Advantech says it will offer Edge AI Suite software, the Intel OpenVINO toolkit.

The SOM-7583 is suitable for powerful computing applications in aerospace, defence, industrial control and transportation.

The SOM-7583 yields 40 per cent higher CPU performance, 60 per cent better graphics and five times AI performance than the previous generation module. It integrates with LPDDR4X 4266Mt/s IBECC RAM, up to 16Gbyte and on-board NVMe SSD which achieves a 10 times increase in the sequential reading and writing speed compared with eMMC 5.1.

The fanless thermal module is designed to dissipate heat and keep the system running under thermal design power (TDP) 15W at 60 degrees C ambient temperature.

The thermal module has a height at only 27mm and comes with a copper block for direct contact with the CPU. It then transfers the heat to the ambient via heat pipes soldered with stacked fins.   

The SOM-7583 features USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10GT per second) and PCIe Gen 3 (8.0GT per second), both of which are considerably faster than the previous COMe mini solutions, reports Advantech. It is designed to enable low-latency networking performance in factory automation applications via 2.5GbE LAN with TSN. This improves the precision of data synchronisation over the network, and minimises jitter to reduce latency during real time device communication. Similarly, the SOM-7583 enables USB4 compliance via its carrier board design. A reference design is available to help partners integrate USB-C to the carrier board for portable devices, test equipment, and defence applications.

The SOM-7583 provides multi-layer security via BIOS secure boot and Intel’s FW TPM to protect user’s data. Advantech also offers a free trial of WISE-DeviceOn to facilitate SSD health, memory loading, CPU temperature, and measurement monitoring via an optimised user interface. The combination of WISE-DeviceOn OTA (over-the-air) and WOL (wake-on-LAN) enables customers to remotely schedule BIOS and software updates for factory capacity optimisation. Customised software bundling with on-board NVMe SSD enables fast data formatting which removes confidential information from internal storage to meet military and aerospace requirements.

The SOM-7583 is rugged, anti-vibration board which supports a wide range power input of 8.5 to 20V and extended temperature range of -40 to +85 degrees C.

http://www.advantech.eu

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Software upgrade meet industry 4.0 with open platform communications

The latest version of Belden’s Hirschmann Operating System (HiOS) enables open platform communications for factory automation.

The software has an embedded Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA) server and provides a seamless, brand-agnostic solution as industrial automation moves towards industry 4.0. Belden says it is the only manufacturer to offer switches that can natively run this communication protocol.

Universal communication capability allows customers to reap the benefits of a more tightly integrated network within the factory automation system, including openness, interoperability and scalability. OPC is the de-facto communications standard for industry 4.0; it provides a communication bridge between all levels of the automation architecture, from embedded components on the factory floor to the enterprise.

“Industrial communication is extremely fragmented with various manufacturers or user groups promoting proprietary solutions,” said Mark Cooksley, product line manager at Belden. “We’ve embedded OPC UA directly into our HiOS software to promote interoperability between manufacturers. Now, our hardware speaks a common communication language and can be managed directly within existing industrial applications,” he explained.

The upgraded HiOS software is industry 4.0-ready, providing a future-proof system that ensures existing products will continue to support future technologies. It also offers seamless integration into existing OPC UA-based applications. It is also less complex and provides higher network availability as there is no requirement for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to OPC gateways.

HiOS is suited to any industrial setting that requires immediate, reliable communication between devices, especially for machine-to-machine (MM) communication and motion control applications. Comprehensive security features also make it ideal for high-risk industries, such as power transmission and distribution, oil and gas, general manufacturing, automotive, transportation and mass transit, rail-rolling stock, and aerospace markets.

Belden offers a portfolio of interoperable products for seamless, secure and future-proof solutions that address the challenges of its industrial customers.

https://www.belden.com

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