Alif Semi release benchmark results from its latest GenAI enabled MCUs

Alif Semiconductor has released benchmarks on its latest E4, E6 and E8 microcontrollers and fusion processors.

The new Ensemble devices contain support for up to two MIPI-CSI image sensors. They also include a fully hardware-accelerated image signal processor (ISP) pipeline that operates at up to 60fps at 2MP resolution. This image throughput is enabled with a new wide memory subsystem for extremely fast on-chip as well as off-chip transactions, pushing inferencing speed well below a millisecond when running AI models from internal, highly power efficient MRAM.

The generative AI capability in the Ensemble E4, E6, and E8 devices is made possible by Alif’s future-proof system architecture. Alif is the first silicon provider to offer the Arm Ethos-U85 NPU which supports transformer-based ML networks. As an example of power efficiency, an SLM executed on an E4 device draws only 36mW of power when generating text to construct a story based on a user-provided prompt.

These levels of performance and efficiency enable developers to innovate next-generation products in human-to-computer interfacing, healthcare and diagnostics, robotics, transportation, toys and education, smart homes, and smart city equipment.

Paul Williamson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, IoT Line of Business at Arm, said: “Generative AI is raising the bar for intelligence beyond the cloud, demanding greater performance, privacy, responsiveness, and efficiency. Powered by Arm Ethos technology and supported by our robust software ecosystem, Alif’s latest Ensemble MCUs bring advanced on-device AI capabilities to even the most constrained devices, unlocking real-time insights in applications like health monitoring and wearables. This enables developers to deliver the next generation of intelligent, on-device experiences.”

https://alifsemi.com

 

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Mouser now stocking new TDK converters for AI, IoT, 5G, and big data

Mouser is now shipping the new FS160x µPOL DC-DC converters from TDK. The FS160x µPOL DC-DC converters feature full telemetry and increased performance in a compact, power-dense package. These converters are ideal for big data, artificial intelligence (AI), 5G cells, and IoT.

The FS160x µPOL DC-DC converters are easy to integrate and offer a wide input voltage range of 4.2V to 16V and three continuous load capacities: 3A, 4A, and 6A. The FS160x µPOL low-profile package (3.3 × 3.3 × 1.35 mm) is suitable for automated assembly using standard surface-mount equipment and features an on-chip pulse-width modulation (PWM) controller and integrated MOSFETs, with an incorporated inductor and capacitors, creating an extremely compact and accurate regulator.

The FS160x µPOLs device’s built-in protections include pre-biased start-up, overvoltage protection, soft-start protection, thermal shutdown with auto-recovery, and thermally compensated overcurrent protection with hiccup mode. The TDK FS160x µPOL DC-DC converters feature full telemetry for high power-density applications with optimised construction that delivers extraordinary power density in surprisingly small modules, with a wide operating range from -40 °C to 125 °C.

Mouser also stocks the TDK EV1603-5000-A evaluation boards, which provide a demonstration and development platform for the FS160x µPOL DC-DC converters. The evaluation boards provide an example application circuit, allowing rapid prototyping when incorporated into existing designs.

https://www.mouser.com

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Quectel Wi-Fi 6/Bluetooth 5.3 modules for smart and industrial IoT applications

Mouser is now shipping the new FCMA62N Wi-Fi 6/Bluetooth 5.3 modules from Quectel. The FCMA62N modules boast an ultra-compact LCC form factor (38.3mm × 21.6mm × 4.75mm), with multiple low-power consumption modes and custom features that provide flexibility and versatility for smart homes, industrial IoT, automotive, and medical device applications.

The Quectel FCMA62N modules are optimised for size and cost savings with an integrated, high-performance Arm® Cortex®-M33 processor running up to 260MHz. These devices support the IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi protocol and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.3. The modules feature built-in 1.2MB SRAM and 8MB flash, ensuring efficient performance that complies with WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK, and WPA3-SAE security standards with an AES-128 encryption algorithm.

The FCMA62N modules support UART, SWD, and GPIO interfaces (by default), as well as SPI, I2C, I2S, and PWM interfaces in Quectel’s QuecOpen solutions. QuecOpen is a development platform that enables Quectel IoT modules to act as the main processor for an IoT device, allowing customers to program their own applications alongside the module’s standard processes. The FCMA62N modules support both the QuecOpen solution and standard AT commands with a compact protocol that enhances user product development.

The FCMA62N modules are supported by the FCMA62NABTB-0P-08 and FCMA62NABTB-1X-08 evaluation boards. The evaluation boards each feature a pre-mounted FCMA62N module, debugger, and PCB antenna.

https://eu.mouser.com

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Microchip enhances their digital signal controller lineup

Evolving security and functional safety demands, coupled with the growing complexity of real-time embedded applications, are driving designers to seek innovative solutions that deliver greater accuracy, improved reliability and compliance with industry standards. To address these challenges, Microchip Technology has added the dsPIC33AK512MPS512 and dsPIC33AK512MC510 Digital Signal Controller (DSC) families to its dsPIC33A DSC product line. The devices enable the implementation of computation-intensive control algorithms for improved energy efficiency in motor control, AI server power supplies, energy storage systems and complex sensor signal processing with Machine Learning (ML)-based inferencing.

The dsPIC33AK512MPS family delivers precise, high-speed control through 78 ps high-resolution Pulse Width Modulations (PWMs) and low-latency 40 Msps ADCs, enabling fast and accurate control loops essential for optimising the performance of Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based DC-DC converters. Additionally, dsPIC33AK512MPS devices include advanced security features, an integrated touch controller and a high pin count of up to 128 pins. The dsPIC33AK512MC family is designed to offer low-latency, 40 Msps ADCs and 1.25 ns PWM resolution, providing a feature- and cost-optimised solution for multi-motor control and complex embedded applications.

The dsPIC33A DSC families, with up to 512 KB Flash and a rich peripheral set, integrate a double precision floating-point unit to accelerate mathematical computations and leverage a 32-bit architecture for seamless adoption of model-based design code. Their enhanced instruction set and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) capabilities, including single-cycle MAC operations and a 200 MHz core speed, make these devices highly efficient for low-latency, real-time control applications. Supported by MPLAB Machine Learning Development Suite, dsPIC33A devices streamline the ML workflow by automating data preparation, feature extraction, training, validation and firmware conversion of optimized models.

With a range of hardware safety features, dsPIC33AK512MPS/MC DSCs are compliant with functional safety standards and are developed in accordance with International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 26262 and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61508 processes, making them suitable for safety-critical automotive and industrial applications. To further enhance system-level security, the dsPIC33AK512MPS DSC family includes integrated crypto accelerators and a Flash security module, enabling immutable root of trust, secure boot, secure firmware upgrades and secure debug capabilities.

https://www.microchip.com

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