ICs & Semiconductors Archives - Page 178 of 230

iMotion IMC300 adds Arm MCU for variable speed drive flexibility

Mon, Feb 24, 2020

Infineon Technologies AG has released the IMC300 motor controller series combining the iMotion Motion Control Engine (MCE) with an additional microcontroller based on the Arm Cortex-M0 core.

IMC300 complements the IMC100 series and is aimed at variable speed drives that require high application flexibility. Both families, IMC100 and IMC300, share the same implementation of MCE 2.0 providing ready-to-use motor and optional PFC control.

Applying the MCE for controlling the motor, customers can focus on their system application that runs fully independently on the embedded Arm microcontroller.

Infineon’s field-proven MCE 2.0 implements efficient field oriented control of permanent magnet synchronous motors. The MCE integrates all required hardware and software building blocks as well as all necessary protection features resulting in a reduced bill of material. It undergoes continuous improvements with typically two releases per year.

The autonomous MCU offers a flexible peripheral set and can serve a multitude of purposes such as system functions, specific communication or drive monitoring. IMC300 devices are pre-certified for applications requiring functional safety according to UL/IEC 60730 (‘Class B’).

IMC300 derivatives are offered for motor drives with and without PFC control. Devices in LQFP-64 packages are in mass production, and LQFP-48 types will be released in the second quarter 2020.

Rapid prototyping of a drive inverter is enabled via two new control boards for the iMotion modular application design kit (MADK). MADK is a modular and flexible development platform providing a range of control and power board options for motor drive applications up to 1kW.

Infineon will showcase the new IMC300 series at Embedded World in Nuremberg, February 25 to 27, booth 225, hall 3A.

Highlights include solutions for automated driving and in-vehicle health monitoring, wireless charging, drones as well as automotive and industrial motor control.

http://www.infineon.com

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Secure SoC devices aid IoT in mesh networks

Mon, Feb 24, 2020

New to market is a family of secure, ultra-low-power Zigbee system-on-chip (SoC) devices designed for eco-friendly Internet of Things (IoT) products deployed in mesh networks. The EFR32MG22 (MG22) series is based on Silicon Labs’ Wireless Gecko Series 2 platform and suits Zigbee devices powered by coin cell batteries or energy-harvesting sources. Target applications include smart home sensors, lighting controls, and building and industrial automation.

Zigbee Green Power technology can help address environmental concerns by reducing residential, commercial and industrial energy footprints. Using the same 802.15.4 PHY and MAC of the Zigbee 3.0 protocol, Zigbee Green Power helps reduces power consumption by decreasing the amount of data required for wireless transmission.

Zigbee Green Power was designed to be a highly efficient protocol enabling IoT devices, whether powered by batteries or by “battery-less” energy harvesting options. Silicon Labs has optimised the MG22 SoCs to provide a best-in-class connectivity solution for these power-sensitive wireless applications.

“As the leading Zigbee provider, Silicon Labs is uniquely positioned to lead the way in Zigbee Green Power mesh networking solutions,” said Matt Johnson, senior vice-president and general manager of IoT products at Silicon Labs. “Our new MG22 SoC solution offers an industry-leading combination of energy efficiency, security capabilities, wireless performance, and software tools and stacks to meet the growing market demand for eco-friendly, ultra-low-power IoT products.”

The MG22 SoCs incorporate a high-performance, low-power 76.8 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 core with TrustZone. The SoCs’ combination of ultra-low transmit and receive power (8.2 mA TX at +6 dBm, 3.9 mA RX), 1.4-microA deep-sleep mode power and low-power peripherals helps provide exceptional energy efficiency.

Silicon Labs delivers a suite of security features implemented in Series 2 products including the new MG22 SoCs.

The EFR32MG22 SoCs are planned to start shipping in March in a choice of 5 mm x 5 mm QFN40, 4 mm x 4 mm QFN32 and 0.3 mm x 4 mm x 4 mm TQFN32 packages. The EFR32MG22 SoC starter kit is also scheduled to be available in March, with end device kit pricing starting at $99.

http://silabs.com/mg22

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Microchip offloads tasks to hardware to accelerate design

Thu, Feb 13, 2020

More Core Independent Peripherals are combined in the latest PIC microcontroller family from Microchip. The PIC18-Q43 family moves software tasks to hardware for a faster system response. Microchip has also introduced a development tool ecosystem for real-time control and connectivity design projects.

Microchip’s PIC18-Q43 family’s peripherals are configurable and to allow near-zero latency sharing of data, logic inputs or analogue signals without additional code for improved system response. The PIC microcontroller family can be used to create custom hardware-based functions in real-time control and connected applications, including home appliances, security systems, motor and industrial control, lighting and the IoT. According to Microchip, the PIC18-Q43 family helps reduce board space, bill of materials (BoM), overall costs and time to market.

Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) are designed with additional capabilities to handle a variety of tasks without the need for intervention from the central processing unit (CPU). CIPs include timers, simplified pulse width modulation (PWM) output, configurable logic cells (CLCs), ADCs with computation (ADCC) and multiple serial communications, designed for developers to customise a specific design configuration. The CLC provides programmable logic that operates outside the speed limitations of software execution, so that customers can tailor functions such as waveform generation or timing measurements. CLCs connect on-chip peripherals for hardware customisation and allow developers to customise a device with core-independent communication interfaces, including UART, SPI and I2C. Multiple DMA channels and interrupt management have been added to accelerate real-time control with simplified software loops.

The PIC18-Q43 family operates up to 5.0V which increases noise immunity and enables customers to interface to a wide range of sensors.

Microchip’s development tool suite has been created to offer users the means to quickly and easily generate application code and customise combinations of CIPs in a graphical user interface (GUI) environment.

The PIC18-Q43 family is supported by Microchip’s MPLAB X IDE and MPLAB Xpress IDE development environments, and MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC) a free software plug-in that provides a graphical interface to configure peripherals and functions specific to an application. There is also the PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano development board which has programming and debugging capabilities.

http://www.microchip.com

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Analog Devices and Jungo monitor vehicle safety

Thu, Feb 13, 2020

Analog Devices will develop a time-of-flight (ToF) and 2D infra red (IR) –based camera, using Jungo’s Co-driver software to enable driver and in-cabin monitoring in vehicles.

The system will monitor vehicle occupants for levels of drowsiness and distraction by observing head and body position as well as eye gaze. It is also expected to enable smart vehicle interaction based on face, body, and hand gestures and offer a facial recognition capability that identifies individuals and gives them access to features such as infotainment personalisation, personalised services, and ridesharing payments.

3D ToF is a type of scannerless light detection and ranging (lidar) that uses high power optical pulses in durations of nanoseconds to capture depth information (typically over short distances) from a scene of interest. Analog Devices specialises in products and solutions that enhance the capabilities of 3D ToF systems, including processing, laser drivers and power management, development boards and software/firmware to implement 3D ToF solutions.

Jungo’s Co-driver software uses deep learning, machine learning, and computer vision algorithms to detect, in real-time, the head and body position of the driver from cameras. It also supports in-vehicle full detection technology with functions such as counting of the number of occupants, detection of seat belt wearing or detection or observing of critical medical conditions.

“Jungo’s Co-driver monitoring algorithms are used by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to keep their drivers and passengers safe and develop innovative use cases that understand an occupant’s state while in the vehicle,” said Ophir Herbst, CEO, Jungo. “We are delighted to collaborate with Analog Devices to make vehicles smarter and enable OEMs to comply with regulations and innovate in their next-generation vehicles by using our algorithms and ADI’s leading ToF technology.”

Jungo Connectivity was founded in 2013 as an automotive software divestiture from Cisco Systems. The company focuses on in-cabin driver monitoring.

http://www.analog.com

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iMotion IMC300 adds Arm MCU for variable speed drive flexibility

Secure SoC devices aid IoT in mesh networks

Microchip offloads tasks to hardware to accelerate design

Analog Devices and Jungo monitor vehicle safety

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