ICs & Semiconductors Archives - Page 106 of 234

Automotive ECU virtualisation ensures multi-zone use

Wed, Apr 27, 2022

Designers can integrate multiple applications into a single engine control unit (ECU) in automotive systems using the Renesas ECU virtualisation platform. Each application can be safely and securely separated to avoid interference. Customers can therefore adopt new electrical-electronic (E/E) architectures using microcontroller-based zone ECUs which support multiple logical ECUs on one physical ECU.

The ECU virtualisation platform combines Renesas’ RH850/U2x microcontrollers and ETAS’ RTA-HVR software, which is a hypervisor designed for microcontrollers with hardware virtualisation support. A demonstrator environment comprises pre-configured embedded software, tools and an interactive demonstrator environment for RH850/U2x microcontrollers.

Reflecting on the move towards zone architecture, Satoshi Yoshida, senior director, Automotive Digital Products marketing at Renesas, said: “The transition . . . increases the design burden by changing the functional role assignments between the central ECU and each zone ECU”.

“Working together with Renesas, we were able to leverage the [hardware] capabilities of the RH850/U2x [microcontrollers] to deliver a high performance, low overhead, embedded hypervisor for automotive applications that complements class-leading AUTOSAR OS technologies,” added Nigel Tracey, vice president of Vehicle Operating Systems at ETAS.

The RH850/U2x microcontrollers including RH850/U2A and RH850/U2B have a set of embedded hardware that realises the integration of multiple ASIL D-compliant software partitions. The microcontrollers are specifically designed for zone-applications targeting reduced ECU component count with minimal re-engineering overhead, explained Renesas. RH850/U2x microcontrollers include features such as hypervisor hardware support, quality of service (RH850/U2B only) support, safety and security functions and a network on chip (NoC) structure to ensure proper real-time behaviour of the individual integrated applications.

The RTA-HVR software works with the hardware virtualisation features of the Renesas RH850U2x microcontrollers to provide one or more virtual machines (VMs). VMs are separated from each other in both space (using the RH850U2x memory protection unit and guard features) and time (using the RTA-HVR VM scheduler) to meet strict automotive safety and security requirements. The RTA-HVR can build a virtual device extension (VDE). Each VM comprises one or more virtual CPU cores, a sub-set of device memory space and a collection of peripherals.

Renesas offers the RH850/U2x Zone-ECU starter kit which provides a “ready to run” configuration of RTA-HVR, showcasing VM configurations which can be single core, multi-core and multi-VM core configurations. Guest software images are provided for each of the configured VMs, including bare metal. Virtual devices are available for peripheral sharing and virtual inter-VM networking; a virtual CAN or controller area network, says Renesas.

A PC-hosted application enables users to observe and interact with the VMs at runtime. The PC application supports triggering faults to explore behaviours as a result of memory violations, for example. It can also update one VM while the other VMs are running using the no-wait OTA capabilities of the RH850/U2x. Other functions are to explore the impact of alternative VM switching mechanisms and enabling developers to see the impact of hardware quality of service features.

The ECU virtualisation software platform, including the RH850/U2x Zone-ECU starter kit will be available from the end of May 2022.

http://www.renesas.com

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FlightSense software makes gestures speak volumes

Tue, Apr 26, 2022

STMicroelectronics said it is now making gesture detection simpler and more affordable for mass-market applications with companion software for its VL53L5CX multi-zone ToF ranging sensor. The sensor, together with free engineering software, will enable touchless, gesture-based controls in simple, cost-conscious consumer and industrial applications.

According to ST, gesture recognition with ToF sensors is a breakthrough technology that enables sophisticated interactions with a wide variety of devices instead of being confined to applications in high-end vehicles.

Gesture-based interaction in a wide range of equipment, including kitchen appliances, thermostats, smart home and smart lighting controls, laptops, AR / VR headsets, tablets and smartphones are not only convenient, it can prevent infection from spreading through touch when using equipment such as vending and ticketing machines, elevator controls, and interactive signage.

Together, the sensor and software calculate in real-time the X / Y / Z coordinates of the hand, enabling hand tracking as well as recognition of gestures like tapping, swiping or level control.

Conventional gesture-recognition systems typically use more expensive and intrusive camera-based machine vision, but ST said its FlightSense technology and software allow designers to build systems with lower power consumption, and that work in the dark without needing external illumination, unlike vision-based systems The lightweight gesture algorithm can run on a low power microcontroller and demands minimal system resources for it to be easily integrated in an existing application, said ST.

The STSW-IMG035 software package is specially designed for the VL53L5CX multi-zone direct time-of-flight (dToF) ranging sensor and can be used with all STM32 microcontrollers.

The VL53L5CX is ST’s latest-generation ToF sensor, providing 64 zones with high-accuracy ranging up to 400cm with a wide, square-edged 63 degree-diagonal field of view.

The VL53L5CX sensor is in production now, in a 6.4 x 3.0 x 1.5mm 16-pin optical LGA package. The turnkey STSW-IMG035 gesture package includes resources including a GUI, example code and libraries. Associated software packages and hardware evaluation boards are available here.

http://www.st.com

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Fast charging ICs offer highest charging efficiencies, says Halo Microelectronics

Tue, Apr 26, 2022

Two fast charging ICs released by Halo Microelectronics use a dual-phase switched capacitor architecture for single cell battery applications.

The HL7138 and HL7139, fast charging ICs are claimed to offer the industry’s highest charging efficiencies, which enable faster and cooler battery charging operations in a PCB solution size that is up to 30 per cent smaller than the nearest competitor. The small form factor allows for more system level design flexibility, added Halo Microelectronics.

In addition to saving consumers time by fast charging, the ICs deliver cooler charging which means less energy is wasted, making the charging process environmentally friendly. The small size also provides designers more leeway to choose between thinner and lighter form factors or larger batteries for longer battery life, and whether to include more features or lower bill of material (BoM) costs.

Fast charging is one of the features which can differentiate a smartphone design in a saturated market. It is also one that consumers can relate to and understand the benefits, commented David Nam, CEO of Halo Microelectronics. “Halo Microelectronics has seen switched capacitor-based fast-charging architectures quickly extend from high-end to mid-level smartphones,” he said.

Halo Microelectronics develops analogue and power management ICs (PMICs) enabling energy-efficient smart systems. Its customers develop mobile, IoT and automotive systems.

https://halomicro.com

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IoT LED streetlight controller shines a light on smart cities

Fri, Apr 22, 2022

Infrastructure specialist, Urban Control has partnered with Nordic Semiconductor to produce an IoT LED streetlight luminaire controller that can be networked for control by any central management system (CMS) based on the TALQ standard, the smart city standard developed by the TALQ Consortium.

Set for initial deployment in April 2022, each Urban Node 324 Cellular city streetlight LED luminaire controller includes a Nordic Semiconductor nRF9160 multi-mode NB-IoT / LTE-M system-in-package (SiP). The controller plugs into an industry-standard Zhaga LED lighting socket. The controller is connected over the local cellular IoT network and remotely controlled by any smart city CMS.

The operational simplicity of each Urban Node 324 comes from them being engineered to work via a lightweight machine to machine (LwM2M) platform called Alaska from IoTerop. The platform leverages the two most common smart city IoT standards: uCIFI and TALQ and uses embedded design engineering to minimise on-air bandwidth and reduce power consumption to levels sufficient to support battery-powered smart city sensors and devices.

The use of standard cellular technology means that Urban Node 324 Cellular can be deployed immediately and is cost-effective for small and distributed lighting estates. It can be used to deliver intelligent control to streetlights in retail parks, hotel chains, office and warehouse developments, and across rail infrastructure such as stations, car parks and good yards.

Urban Control Urban Node 324 Cellular controllers allow the user the ability to precisely control brightness and therefore energy consumption and costs. It has the ability to dynamically respond to sudden changes in pedestrian numbers or road traffic, to monitor energy consumption in real-time and identify and even pre-empt faults to efficiently co-ordinate maintenance staff to reduce operating costs.

Intelligent, centrally controlled streetlights offer many benefits. Light output can be adapted to precisely what is needed, and they can respond dynamically to changes in pedestrian footfall or road traffic. In doing so, they reduce energy costs, carbon emissions and light pollution.

“Unlike traditional smart city lighting installations that require a specialised network to be built, the Urban Node 324 Cellular works straight out-of-the-box just like a smartphone,” says Miguel Lira, Urban Control’s innovation and development director. “This makes it commercially and technologically viable for any size installation because it does not require the operator to build their own wireless IoT network or become a wireless IoT network operator themselves.” The system is scalable with the capability to be used for small clusters of streetlights all the way up to massive, multi-million node capital city-sized installations, he says. “This is truly a game changer in the smart city streetlighting industry.”

Lorenzo Amicucci, business development manager at Nordic Semiconductor, agrees. “Moving away from proprietary solutions towards devices which are ready straight out of the box and leverage cellular networks that are already deployed in every town, city and significant population centre around the world, devices like Urban Node 324 can make anywhere smart more quickly and for less cost.”

https://www.nordicsemi.com

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Automotive ECU virtualisation ensures multi-zone use

FlightSense software makes gestures speak volumes

Fast charging ICs offer highest charging efficiencies, says Halo Microelectronics

IoT LED streetlight controller shines a light on smart cities

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