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Updates add video to STMicroelectronics’ TouchGFX suite

Mon, Oct 25, 2021

The TouchGFX Version 4.18 from STMicroelectronics is for user-interface development with STM32 microcontrollers, adding video playback, enhanced tools for multi-developer collaboration, and support for new X-NUCLEO display kits.

By allowing playback of Motion-JPEG (MJPEG) video files, TouchGFX aids small devices such as home-automation products, wearables, medical devices and industrial sensors, allowing rich features such as instructional guides or entertaining startup and pause screens to enhance the user interface. Developers can use their own MJPEG files or choose from the sample movies provided. A new video widget in TouchGFX Designer, with properties including start, stop, repeat, and go-to-frame, simplifies prototyping and is added to the application by drag and drop, says ST.

TouchGFX 4.18 allows video decoding in either software or hardware. Hardware decoding is possible with STM32 MCUs that contain a suitable decoding peripheral, such as the STM32F769 and STM32H7B3. Software decoding is available on all series devices except the STM32G0 series. Various strategies for video buffering, including direct rendering to the frame buffer and double buffering, help optimise memory demand and performance.

Additional new features of TouchGFX 4.18 include enhanced support for collaborative working, using XML to store text data and translations. XML simplifies sharing and merging various elements of the project as multiple team members contribute. The features of previous TouchGFX versions are retained, including the partial frame buffer for low RAM use, ultra-efficient rendering that prevents tearing effects, and support for low-cost non-memory-mapped SPI Flash.

For an easy start to GUI development projects, TouchGFX 4.18 comes with examples showing how to use the new video capabilities and the necessary TouchGFX board setup for the STM32 Discovery boards.

ST has also updated and extended the selection of display shields that help developers get their user-interface projects running. The updated X-NUCLEO-GFX01M2 for Nucleo 64 boards has a 2.2” QVGA serial interface display and now supports the NUCLEO-WB55RG, making it easy to add a display to a Bluetooth application. A new X-NUCLEO-GFX02Z1 for Nucleo 144 has a high-speed parallel interface and QSPI Flash memory on-board, supporting among others the NUCLEO-U575ZI-Q Both are supported in TouchGFX 4.18.

Go to https://www.st.com/content/st_com/en/ecosystems/stm32-graphic-user-interface.html

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Automotive wireless charging reference design is Qi 1.3-certified

Fri, Oct 22, 2021

Believed to be the first automotive wireless charging reference design to be certified by the Wireless Power Consortium for the new Qi 1.3 standard, NXP has released the Automotive 15W Wireless Charging Transmitter reference design.

It consists of a Qi-certified board with an NXP wireless charging MWCT microcontroller, as well as optional NFC, secure element and CAN / LIN transceiver. It also features a software package with NXP’s wireless charging Qi 1.3 software library and a suite of customisable software design to make it easier for developers to bring a Qi-certified wireless charger to market.

The Wireless Power Consortium’s Qi standard is used by most major smartphone manufacturers, including Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi. The Qi 1.3 standard includes new secure authentication features that verify if a smartphone or other wireless power device is Qi-certified and can reduce the wireless power transfer to lower levels if an uncertified device is detected. This ensures user safety and protects equipment from damage. It does, however, requires the addition of secure storage to the wireless power transmitter, addressed by NXP’s automotive-grade products.

Customers can use customise the wireless charging software library, based on the type of wireless charging application targeted. Design options include scaling designs from 5.0 to 15W and above with proprietary protocols, single or multi-coil chargers and across vehicles fleets.

NXP released pre-production details of the WCT-15WAUTO13 multi-coil transmitter reference platform, the first Qi 1.3-certified 15W reference design for in-vehicle wireless charging applications based on the NXP MWCT2xx3A controller IC family.

The system supports 40W power delivery to meet all customised fast charging requirements. It uses automotive-grade components and other automotive functions including EMC optimisation, safety features and MISRA C compliance software. It complies with the Wireless Power Consortium’s Qi v1.3 specification including authentication and is certified as an MP-A13 transmitter type.

http://www.NXP.com

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Wireless microcontrollers support Bluetooth 5.3 Low Energy specification

Fri, Oct 22, 2021

Microcontrollers that will support the recently released Bluetooth 5.3 Low Energy specification will be part of the Renesas Advanced (RA) family of 32-bit Arm Cortex-M microcontrollers. They will join the RA4W1 Bluetooth 5.0 LE device introduced last year.

The Bluetooth 5.3 specification was released on July 13, 2021. It includes new features, such as allowing receivers to filter out messages without involving the host stack to improve the receiver duty cycle. It also enables peripheral devices to provide preferred channels to a central device in order to improve throughput and reliability. There are sub-rated connections which improve switching time between low and high duty cycle connections for applications that occasionally need to switch to burst traffic, explains Renesas.

The new microcontrollers will support these features. In addition, they will support the direction-finding functionality introduced in Bluetooth 5.1 as well as the isochronous channels added in Bluetooth 5.2 for stereo audio transmission. Software-defined radio (SDR) capabilities will allow customers to migrate to new specification releases at a later date.

The new products will be supported by the RA family’s Flexible Software Package (FSP) for development of applications and the Renesas QE for Bluetooth LE plug-in. This is a dedicated Bluetooth profile and application development support tool. They will also include the RA family’s security and safety mechanisms, including TrustZone support.

Roger Wendelken, senior vice president in Renesas’ IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit, commented: “By offering early, robust support for the Bluetooth 5.3 LE specification, we will enable our RA customers to be first to market with their next-generation products.”

Renesas reports that the new microcontrollers are being developed using an advanced manufacturing process that will enable high-performance, low power consumption and small package options. Samples are expected to be available in Q1 of 2022.

Renesas Electronics specialises in microcontrollers, analogue, power and SoC products for a broad range of automotive, industrial, Infrastructure, and IoT applications.

http://www.renesas.com

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Single-instrument test brings cost-efficient 5G IoT UE verification

Fri, Oct 22, 2021

Claimed to be the only test station in its class to offer user equipment (UE) repair facilities, test houses and basic UE/IoT developers affordable LTE, FR1 and FR2 support, the MT8000A is a 5G entry model instrument by Anritsu.

The single instrument radio communication test station MT8000A 5G entry model supports multiple radio access technologies (RATs) of LTE through 5G NR. The 5G entry model is claimed to be the only model in its class that can perform LTE, NR FR1 sub-6GHz and FR2 millimeter wave (mmWave) measurements. These characteristics, says Anrtitsu, make it a cost-efficient solution for mobile device developers, repair facilities and test laboratories.

The high-speed performance of the MT8000A 5G entry model means critical testing across numerous test combinations can be performed in a lower timeframe, despite the increasing number of wireless device channels and use cases, says Anritsu. The MT8000A 5G entry model has been developed to support the market need to provide stable and reliable wireless evaluation functions of advanced smart IoT devices at low cost.

It is claimed to be the only test instrument in its class that has a simple upgrade path from low-, mid- and high-range capability when advanced test functionalities are needed.

The all-in-one 5G device test platform supports RF and protocol testing, functional and application testing and beam characteristic validation. It supports non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA) mode base station emulation functions for development of 4G and 5G chipsets and devices, as well as mobile services frequency ranges FR1 and FR2. The MT8000A is used for performance evaluation of LTE and NR devices in conducted and over the air (OTA) measurements.

Anritsu provides communications test and measurement equipment and engages customers as partners to help develop wireless, optical, microwave/RF, and digital solutions for R&D, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance applications, as well as services for network monitoring and optimisation. Anritsu also provides precision microwave/RF components, optical devices, and high-speed electrical devices for communication products and systems. The company develops products for 5G, M2M, IoT, as well as other emerging and legacy wireline and wireless communication markets.

http://www.anritsu.com

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Updates add video to STMicroelectronics’ TouchGFX suite

Automotive wireless charging reference design is Qi 1.3-certified

Wireless microcontrollers support Bluetooth 5.3 Low Energy specification

Single-instrument test brings cost-efficient 5G IoT UE verification

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