ICs & Semiconductors Archives - Page 99 of 227

Long reach Ethernet creates holistic building management, says ADI

Fri, Apr 29, 2022

Long reach Ethernet connectivity is added to controllers, sensors and actuators in smart building networks, using the ADIN2111 10Base-T1L Ethernet device introduced by Analog Devices (ADI).

The ADIN2111 is designed for building automation networks. Digital, connected automation equipment enables holistic building management, said ADI, from heating ventilation and air conditioning to occupancy comfort.

Adding long reach Ethernet connectivity to controllers, sensors, and actuators delivers building management systems insights for more efficient and sustainable building management, said the company. The ADIN2111 is suitable for use within small, power-constrained edge devices. With a power consumption of 80mW, it provides up to 50 per cent power consumption savings. The 48-lead LFCSP, measuring 7.0 x 7.0mm is claimed to save up to 75 per cent in PCB real estate when compared to discrete implementations.

It has an SPI (serial peripheral interface) host interface which removes the need for a microcontroller with integrated MAC interface, advised ADI. The advanced packet filtering offloads the burden of priority traffic management from the processor via the 16 MAC addresses look up table, added the company.

The ADIN2111 is designed for daisy chaining data in line and ring networks using existing deployed single twisted pair cabling infrastructure within buildings. This contributes to a reduction in retrofitting costs, added ADI.

The device includes enhanced diagnostic features to reduce commissioning, installation and system downtime by troubleshooting problems quickly using the real time information on link quality and fault location. It is compliant to the IEEE 802.3cg standard to enable Ethernet connectivity over 1.7km of cabling, in addition to support for ring redundancy and soft real time protocols like Modbus/TCP, BACnet/IP and KNX.

The ADIN2111 is in full production now and is available in a 7.0 x 7.0mm package.

Analog Devices offers a suite of analogue and mixed signal, power management, radio frequency (RF) and digital and sensor technologies for customers worldwide operating in the industrial, communications, automotive, and consumer markets.

http://www.analog.com

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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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Long reach Ethernet creates holistic building management, says ADI

Automotive ECU virtualisation ensures multi-zone use

FlightSense software makes gestures speak volumes

Fast charging ICs offer highest charging efficiencies, says Halo Microelectronics

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