LIN interface sensor signal conditioner reduces BoM for EVs/HEVs

An integrated LIN interface sensor signal conditioner, the ZSSC4132, is claimed to deliver best in class performance in a compact form factor for us in climate control systems for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).

The automotive pressure sensor has an integrated, certified LIN v2.2a interface and backwards compatibility to LIN v1.3, v2.0 and v2.1. The single-package sensor signal conditioner (SSC) can be configured for nearly all resistive bridge sensors, says Renesas. Slave node position detection feature at the LIN bus allows the SSC to assign a unique ID to the device

It has integrated LIN PHY, AEC-Q100Grade 0 qualifications and is in a small package footprint suitable for automotive sensor modules where space and budgets are limited.

The availability of a LIN-certified sensor enables OEMS to easily and cost-effectively scale HVAC system development for mid-range to high endEVs and HEVs, said Christian Wolf, vice president, Automotive Sensor Business Division at Renesas.

The ZSSC4132 combines 12 to 14bit ADC resolution and analogue front end (AFE) technology for enhanced sensor signal conditioning as well as digital calibration to reduce the noise sensitivity and deliver accuracy to ±0.5 per cent for pressure and temperature readings from -40 to +150 degrees C, claims Renesas. The SSC’s integration reduces overall bill of material (BoM) requirements by minimising the need for external components. Its digital calibration feature allows customers to minimise calibration efforts, further reducing overall system costs, added the company.

 It also include over-voltage and reverse-polarity protection circuitry, electromagnetic compatibility and multiple diagnostic features.

The ZSSC4132 is available now in a 4.0 x 4.0mm, 24-lead QFN package. An evaluation kit for the ZSSC4132 is also available.

Renesas Electronics provides embedded design with semiconductors that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live. The company specialises in microcontrollers, analogy, power and SoC products intended for a broad range of automotive, industrial, infrastructure and IoT applications.

http://renesas.com

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Cohda and u-blox partner for V2X to progress vehicle safety

Partners u-blox and Cohda Wireless have announced a vehicle to everything (V2X) solution based on the former’s UBX-P3 DSRC/802.11p V2X chip and the latter’s V2X software stack.

The u-blox UBX-P3 chip enables wireless vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication. It has now been enhanced with Cohda’s hardware-agnostic software applications, providing 360 degree awareness and detecting hidden threats beyond anything a driver or on-board sensors can see, says Cohda. Its V2X software is used in GM and VW production vehicles.

The partnership is expected to be of interest to tier ones, OEMs and road authority suppliers.

According to Cohda’s chief engineer, Fabien Cure, to progress vehicle safety, OEMs need to produce vehicles that have embedded V2X wireless communication technology as standard. “Likewise, cities around the world are preparing for the introduction of wide scale co-operative intelligent transport systems,” he said.

Porting Cohda’s V2X software stack onto the UBX-P3 chip enables a swift integration into automotive platforms, said Herbert Blaser, senior director, Product Center Short Range Radio at u-blox.

Cohda’s software products are applied in more than 60 per cent of all V2X field trials in the world today in compliance with US Federal Communications Commission and European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standards.

“When we connect vehicles to each other and to roadside infrastructure, we are creating an intelligent and integrated road transport system that has the potential to reduce road accidents simply because the technology is capable of things humans aren’t,” added Cure.     

u‑blox provides positioning and wireless communication in automotive, industrial, and consumer markets to allow people, vehicles and machines determine their precise position and communicate wirelessly over cellular and short range networks. The company has a broad portfolio of chips, modules and secure data services and connectivity.

Cohda Wireless develops connected vehicles and connected autonomous vehicle software. Its technology connects vehicles with infrastructure and pedestrians to make streets, cities and working environments safer, smarter and greener.

Its software enables autonomous vehicles to connect with other vehicles and with smart city infrastructure, from vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-pedestrian to avoid accidents, reduce congestion and be more efficient.

Cohda is headquartered in Australia and has offices in Europe, China and the USA.    

http://www.u-blox.com

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Cohda and u-blox partner for V2X to progress vehicle safety

Partners u-blox and Cohda Wireless have announced a vehicle to everything (V2X) solution based on the former’s UBX-P3 DSRC/802.11p V2X chip and the latter’s V2X software stack.

The u-blox UBX-P3 chip enables wireless vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication. It has now been enhanced with Cohda’s hardware-agnostic software applications, providing 360 degree awareness and detecting hidden threats beyond anything a driver or on-board sensors can see, says Cohda. Its V2X software is used in GM and VW production vehicles.

The partnership is expected to be of interest to tier ones, OEMs and road authority suppliers.

According to Cohda’s chief engineer, Fabien Cure, to progress vehicle safety, OEMs need to produce vehicles that have embedded V2X wireless communication technology as standard. “Likewise, cities around the world are preparing for the introduction of wide scale co-operative intelligent transport systems,” he said.

Porting Cohda’s V2X software stack onto the UBX-P3 chip enables a swift integration into automotive platforms, said Herbert Blaser, senior director, Product Center Short Range Radio at u-blox.

Cohda’s software products are applied in more than 60 per cent of all V2X field trials in the world today in compliance with US Federal Communications Commission and European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standards.

“When we connect vehicles to each other and to roadside infrastructure, we are creating an intelligent and integrated road transport system that has the potential to reduce road accidents simply because the technology is capable of things humans aren’t,” added Cure.     

u‑blox provides positioning and wireless communication in automotive, industrial, and consumer markets to allow people, vehicles and machines determine their precise position and communicate wirelessly over cellular and short range networks. The company has a broad portfolio of chips, modules and secure data services and connectivity.

Cohda Wireless develops connected vehicles and connected autonomous vehicle software. Its technology connects vehicles with infrastructure and pedestrians to make streets, cities and working environments safer, smarter and greener.

Its software enables autonomous vehicles to connect with other vehicles and with smart city infrastructure, from vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-pedestrian to avoid accidents, reduce congestion and be more efficient.

Cohda is headquartered in Australia and has offices in Europe, China and the USA.    

http://www.u-blox.com

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STMicroelectronics adds Zigbee 3.0 support for wireless microcontrollers

Based on Zigbee PRO protocol stacks, Zigbee 3.0 has been added to the STM32WB55 wireless microcontrollers. The company says that STM32 developers can leverage the interoperability and power-saving features of Zigbee to enhance networking for projects such as home automation, smart lighting, smart building, and broader IoT connectivity.

Zigbee 3.0 unifies the features of Zigbee specifications for consumer and industrial applications. Consumer and internet brands have elected to choose Zigbee connectivity for smart home products.

ST’s Zigbee 3.0 software for STM32WB55 includes the Exegin Zigbee PRO protocol stack, which is provided free of charge, and delivered and fully supported by ST. The stack is used in Exegin products certified as Zigbee Golden Units and is approved as a reference stack for use by test laboratories. ST supports 46 Zigbee 3.0 clusters to establish the capabilities of devices. Another21 clusters support legacy products.

STM32WB55 microcontrollers also support Thread and Bluetooth 5.0, with over the air (OTA) update capability. There are 10 STM32WB55 variants, in a choice of package styles and flash density from 256kbyte to 1Mbyte. The company has announced that it will introduce further variants in Q3.

Devices feature the Arm Cortex-M4 with floating point unit, DSP instructions and a memory protection unit (MPU) that enhances application security. Arm Cortex-M0+ co-processor is dedicated to managing the integrated IEEE 805.15.4 radio. The microcontroller’s cyber protection features ensures real time, low layer operations run smoothly without compromising application execution. The RF transceiver has a link budget of 106dB, to ensure reliable connections over distance.

The STM32WB55 devices are based on patented low power microcontroller technologies and integrate features such as radio balun circuitry. These characteristics are designed to help designers meet tight power and size constraints in a range of IoT and wearable devices. There are rich analogue and system peripherals, as well as cyber-protection, adds ST, and ID features including secure firmware installation (SFI), customer key storage, hardware public key authority (PKA), and cryptographic accelerators. Capacitive touch and LCD controllers simplify user-interface integration.

The Zigbee 3.0 software is now included in the STM32CubeWB MCU package, which provides embedded software including low-layer (LL) application programming interfaces (APIs) and hardware abstraction layer (HAL) drivers for STM32WB microcontrollers, as well as Bluetooth 5.0, Mesh V1.0, and Thread libraries, FreeRTOS kernel, FatFS file system and the STMTouch capacitive-sensing library.

The STM32Cube ecosystem includes the STM32CubeMonitor-RF for RF testing and STM32CubeMX for device configuration and code generation.

http://www.st.com

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