IoT

LED driver sheds light on animation effects

Wed, Apr 10, 2019

Smooth animation effects in wearable electronics and appliances – where the light fades in and fades or dims in increments (known as colour chasing or deep breathing) – can be achieved using STMicroelectronics LED1202 12-channel LED driver. The programmable 12-channel RGB-LED driver is designed to enhance lighting effects and animation for smart devices around the home and wearable electronics.

The LED1202 can store eight programmable patterns and sequences and operate independently of the main controller. This enables the host system to save power while sophisticated lighting effects run continuously.  The driver’s 12-bit internal PWM dimming enables precision control of programmed sequences. The main controller can set 8-bit values for analogue dimming via the driver’s I2C interface. According to STMicroelectronics, minimal external components are required to complete the driver circuit.

The single LED1202’s 12 output channels enable it to drive four RGB LEDs at up to 20mA per channel. A synchronisation feature allows up to eight LED1202 drivers to be connected to control larger LED arrays. There is also low-current channel matching, within two per cent (typical) at 2.5mA, to enhance colour consistency. Phase shifting between channels minimises current ripple and prevents excessive peak demand, adds STMicroelectronics. There are also built-in safety features, such as open-LED detection, over-temperature protection, and a fault-flag pin.

The LED1202JR is available now in a 1.71 x 2.16mm WLCSP-20 flip-chip. The LED1202QTR is available in a 3.0 x 3.0mm VFQFPN-20.

There is also the STEVAL-LLL007V1 evaluation kit to support development of new products and lighting sequences.

http://www.st.com

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ULIS claims “world’s smallest thermal image sensor”

Wed, Apr 10, 2019

For small thermal cameras, ULIS is presenting the ATT0640 at the SPIE Defence and Commercial Sensing show in Baltimore, Maryland, USA (14 to 18 April).

It is claimed to be the world’s smallest 60Hz VGA/12 micron thermal image sensor and enables the use of smaller thermal cameras with extended battery autonomy in portable equipment for commercial and defence applications.

The sensor can be used in thermal weapon sights (TWS), surveillance and handheld thermography cameras, as well as personal vision systems (PVS), including portable monoculars and binoculars for consumer outdoor leisure, law enforcement and border control.

The PVS segment alone, is expected to see annual unit growth of 30 per cent between 2018 to 2024 (according Yole Developpement: Uncooled Infrared Imagers and Detectors 2019).

The Atto640 measures 16.5 x 16.5mm and is designed to address the size, weight and power (SWaP) reduction requirements across commercial and defence thermal image applications.

The surface mount VGA format device joins the existing QVGA Atto320 to give camera manufacturers more choice in the company’s 12 micron product range. ULIS adds that compared to 17 micron pixel pitch technology, the 12 micron pitch enables them to use smaller and lower cost optics.

Atto640 uses wager level packaging (WLP) to achieve the size advantage, describing this technology, in which the detector window is directly bonded to the wafer, as enabling a significant reduction in the overall dimension of the sensor.

The footprint of the Atto640 footprint is half the size of ULIS’ Pico640-046 (17 micron) model. The WLP enables a batch-processing technique and is suited to high-volume production.

Samples of Atto640 are currently available, with production ramp-up slated for the end of 2019. ULIS intends to further extend its 12 micron product line up with larger resolution sensors.

ULIS is a subsidiary of Sofradir. It designs and manufactures thermal image sensors for commercial, defence and security applications. Established in 2002, ULIS claims to be the world’s second largest producer of thermal image sensors (microbolometers), exporting 97 per cent of its products to camera makers across Europe, Asia and North America.

ULIS products range from low-resolution to megapixel military-grade sensors. They are used to detect threats, diagnose heat loss, avoid road obstacles, perform air-to air refuelling, locate search and rescue victims and observe nature.

http://www.ulis-ir.com

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Rohde & Schwarz provides test package for C-V2X protocol

Tue, Apr 09, 2019

Approval for Rohde & Schwarz’s cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) protocol conformance testing package, reassures customers that it fulfils the specification defined by the Global Certification Forum (GCF). The approval is based on tests executed using the CMW500 wideband radio communication tester and SMBV100A vector signal generator.

The GCF certifies the conformance of cellular handsets to ensure that handsets operate as specified with the wide range of base station hardware installed by network operators.

The organisation announced the inclusion of cellular (LTE) based vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technologies within its certification program. This certification focuses specifically on LTE sidelink, an adaptation of core LTE standards (as defined in 3GPP Release 14) that allows communication between two or more nearby devices. It can be provided on any LTE band with the 5.9 GHz band allocated for intelligent transport system (ITS) services.

Rohde & Schwarz believes it is the first test and measurement equipment manufacturer to meet the GCF test platform approval criteria (TPAC) for C-V2V protocol conformance testing.

On the wireless communication side, the CMW500 wideband radio communication tester supports both LTE-A and WCDMA/HSPA+ technologies as well as performing LTE sidelink functionality testing on the communication link to the C-V2X module. It can be used in conjunction with the SMBV100A vector signal generator, which simulates the GNSS signals of global positioning services such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou. Implementation of the GCF-approved protocol tests are provided through the CMW-KK550 software package.

Rohde & Schwarz supports developers and engineers that are new to automotive C-V2X module testing and enables existing customers and test houses to leverage existing hardware to support C-V2X compliance testing through a simple software upgrade.

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http://www.rohde-schwarz.com

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Integrated RF modules create 6LoWPAN sub-GHz mesh

Fri, Apr 05, 2019

A wireless IP mesh based on fully integrated RF modules has been created by Radiocrafts.

A new family of RF modules form a complete wireless IP mesh for long range IoT access. The RIIM (Radiocrafts Industrial IP Mesh) uses 6LoWPAN, a lightweight version of IPv6.  This allows the user to access each sensor and controller from the internet using IP addressing. The radio protocol uses IEEE 802.15.4 g/e providing bi-directional communications with short transmission pulses that enables dense networks with high reliability and very low power consumption.

RIMM will enable customers to get to market quickly, based on Radiocrafts’ compact RF module as the foundation, simple set-up and a novel way to interface any sensor or actuator, the Intelligent C-programmable I/O (CIO). Customers can create complex applications managing and interfacing sensors and actuators in less than 100 lines of C-code, removing the need for an external microcontroller in the devices, advises Radiocrafts.

A complete RIIoT network includes sensor nodes based on the RC1882CEF-IPM module. The module can be configured as any of the required network nodes, a border router, a mesh router or a leaf node.

The Wireless IP Mesh does not require any license or subscription, and is very low power.

It operates at 868 or 915MHz frequency and is based on a mesh network topology, using IPv6 to address each leaf node. It can support several hundred nodes in a network, reveals Radiocrafts, yet has very low power consumption; it offers a five-year lifetime on a 2000mAh coin cell battery.

The universal sensor/actuator ICI interface means that no external microcontroller is required.

The network range is up to 20km and up to 29 mesh hops can be supported.

Ethernet access to the RIIM network is via the Radiocrafts border router. The network is cloud-compatible via the CBOR protocol.

http://www.radiocrafts.com

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About Smart Cities

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