ICs & Semiconductors

Arduino-compatible shields support automation system development

Thu, Dec 24, 2020

Distributor, RS Components is stocking NCN5100ASGEVB evaluation boards from ON Semiconductor. The Arduino-compatible boards have all the components necessary to create smart home and building automation systems based on KNX communication technology, says RS. They are suitable for a wide variety of leading microcontrollers, and can be plugged directly into existing development platforms to complete projects in shorter time frames.

There are three variants of the NCN5100ASGEVB from ON Semiconductor, available, based on the NCN5110, NCN5121 or NCN5130 KNX-certified transceiver ICs. Both standard or more sophisticated implementations can be addressed. Each transceiver has an integrated pair of high-efficiency DC/DC converters. The first DC/DC converter is primarily to supply the transceiver and the system microcontroller and provides a fixed 3.3V output. The output for the second converter is adjustable across the 1.2 to 21V range.

The second converter can power peripheral parts such as a relay, display or other analogue I/Os. The power delivery and operational efficiency, combined with the low bus voltage drop and quiescent current allow engineers to explore potential opportunities for KNX in much more power-hungry application scenarios, says RS Components.

Timings for boards featuring the streamlined NCN5110 analogue front end are controlled by the host microcontroller, while the NCN5121 and NCN5130 versions have extra functionality. In addition to the PHY, a MAC layer has been incorporated which reduces software development.

The high degree of component integration keeps size and bill of materials costs to an absolute minimum, adds RS.

The ON Semiconductor NCN5100ASGEVB evaluation boards are shipping now from RS in the Asia Pacific, EMEA and North America regions.

RS Components is a trading brand of Electrocomponents and is an omni-channel partner for industrial customers and suppliers designing, building or maintaining industrial equipment and facilities. The distributor stocks more than 500,000 industrial and electronic products, sourced from over 2,500 leading suppliers. It has operations in 32 countries, trades through multiple channels and ships over 50,000 parcels a day.

https://uk.rs-online.com

> Read More

R-Car SoC has been tailored for ASIL D automated driving

Fri, Dec 18, 2020

Renesas Electronics offers the R-Car V3U, an ASIL D SoC for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving (AD) systems. It delivers 60 Terra operations per second (TOPS) with low power consumption for deep learning processing. It also offers up to 96,000 DMIPS. The R-Car V3U is built for the performance, safety, and scalability of ADAS and AD architectures driving next-generation autonomous vehicles, says Renesas.

The R-Car V3U uses the R-Car Gen 4 architecture and can scale from entry-level NCAP applications up to highly automated driving systems, says the company.

Automated driving systems require functional safety up to ASIL D which is the highest and most stringent automotive safety integrity level specified under the ISO 26262 standard for road vehicles. The R-Car V3U SoC integrates safety mechanisms that provide high coverage with fast detection and response for random hardware faults.

It delivers deep neural network (DNN) and artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI/ML) functions. The architecture is capable of handling neural networks for automotive obstacle detection and classification tasks while maintaining 60 TOPS with low power consumption and an air cooling system, adds Renesas.

The R-Car V3U also offers a range of programmable engines, including DSP for radar processing, multi-threading computer vision engine for traditional computer vision algorithms, image signal processing to enhance image quality, and additional hardware accelerators for key algorithms such as dense optical flow, stereo disparity, and object classification.

Renesas has developed an open and integrated development environment (IDE) that enables customers to take advantage of the R-Car built-in hardware, as well as low power consumption and deterministic real-time software to enable fast time to market for computer vision and deep learning-based designs.

Debugging and tuning tools for heterogeneous multi-core hardware and a comprehensive set of example applications and online education resources allows engineers at all levels to jumpstart the design process. There are also qualified compilers and code generators for compliance with functional safety and cyber security requirements.

The R-Car V3U can be combined with Renesas’ low power RH850 microcontroller, integrated power management ICs and power transistor devices for ADAS and AD engine control units (ECUs).

Samples of the R-Car V3U SoC are available now. Mass production is planned for Q2 2023.

http://www.renesas.com 

> Read More

Skyworks introduces front-end module, certified to AEC-Q104

Thu, Dec 17, 2020

For automotive vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-everything (V2X)applications, the SKYA21043 is the latest integrated, 5GH front-end module from Skyworks. It incorporates a 5GHz single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) transmit/receive switch, a 5GHz high gain, low noise amplifier (LNA) with bypass, and a 5GHz power amplifier (PA) intended for high-power 802.11p DSRC (5.85 to 5.925GHz) at +105 degrees C applications and systems.

It is qualified to AEC-Q104 (Grade 2) for operation at -40 to +105 degrees C. The SKYA21043’s is rugged for automotive applications including V2V and V2X covering smart antennae, compensators, and roadside units for automotive infrastructure, backhaul and cellular small cells. Its characteristics include 8kV ESD protection on antenna output port and integrated logarithmic detector with wide dynamic range and is sensitive, jammer-tolerant (above 10dBm IIP3.

The device boasts +29dBm output power, which makes it one of the highest power devices available today, claims Skyworks.

The compact, conformally-shielded land grid array (LGA) package size will reduce front end board space by more than 50 per cent. The product is supported by the automotive PPAP process.

The compact, conformally shielded 24-pin package measures 3.0 x 5.0mm and is certified to MSL3, 260 degrees C, per JEDEC J-STD-020.

http://www.skyworksinc.com

> Read More

Controller provides safety functions for widescreen automotive displays

Fri, Dec 11, 2020

Two display controllers from Socionext have enhanced security support for high resolution, wide format displays.

The SC1702 display controller meets the automotive market’s demand for high-resolution widescreen automotive displays. Socionext has added a display controller to its SC1701 series, providing low-cost, optimal safety functions for meter clusters. Both display controllers deliver scalable in-vehicle remote display systems with high levels of safety, says the company.

The use of automotive displays is rapidly expanding in instrumentation and vehicle control operations, including meters, climate controls and other dashboard indicators integrated into graphics, as well as head-up displays (HUDs) and e-mirror displays, ranging from conventional small displays to large format, wide screens with some spanning across the entire dashboard.

The SC1702 is capable of transferring data at rates of up to 12Gbits per second, using APIX 3 technology. It is equipped with a newly developed panel interface port (PIP) that supports advanced, high-resolution, wide landscape format displays, such as 8K x 1K, which cannot be supported with conventional interfaces. It is also designed to conform to the HDCP 2.3 encryption technology, making it possible to effectively use rich, 4K-resolution content for multi-displays in a vehicle.

The SC1702 can detect display abnormalities that are unobservable with current technology, advises Socionext. In addition to the conventional safety features, displays can now recognise panel link loss, inconsistencies of CRC of pixel data and other behaviours at the source drivers and gate drivers, enhancing the capabilities to meet further safety requirements.

The SC1701BH5-300 has been added to the SC1701 family, providing additional functions to existing meter systems. Safety features include multi-window signature unit, picture freeze detection, and watchdog, as well as the 2D rendering capability of Deep Color (30 bpp) built-in graphics engine, at a competitive price, says Socionext.

The SC1701BH5-300 is available in an EP-LQFP-216 package, measuring 24 x 24mm and the SC1702AK3 is available in an HS-BGA-319 package, measuring 23 x 23mm.

The join the SC1701BK3-100 and SC1701BH5-100 display controllers.

Samples of the SC1701BH5-300 are now available. Sample shipment of the SC1702AK3 will start in February 2021.

http://www.socionext.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