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Smart waste sensor module is world’s smallest, says adhoc networks

Tue, Apr 04, 2023

Measuring 71 x 43 x 28mm, the Oscar smart waste sensor module is the world’s smallest, said Adhoc Networks.

The sensor has a long battery life which combined with its size opens up a range of applications needing remote fill-level detection.

The optics can measure up to four metres within a container with a cone angle of 27 degrees to determine the fill level. They can be used as part of a local authority or private companies’ automated, fill-level detection and collection to reduce unnecessary collection trips to containers that are only partly filled.

The optical sensor in the device monitors the fill level in a waste container and sends that data for centralised processing to enable a schedule of waste collection to be created. Waste is only collected when the containers are full, reducing a collection fleet’s CO2 emissions by up to 40 per cent, reported adhoc networks.

“Knowing the exact level in every container ensures that there are no wasted collections of part filled containers and, even more importantly, no overflowing containers,” explained Ole Ostermann, adhoc networks’ CEO. The smart sensor module monitors new waste containers which are larger than previous models and which are located below ground level. “These are not currently easy to check the fill level apart from lifting a lid so they are usually emptied more often than necessary just to be sure, but that is a waste of resources,” explained Ostermann.

Oscar uses a Nordic Semiconductor nRF9160 SiP to collate data and send it to the cloud over the mobile network LTE-M and Narrowband-IoT. It is a low power device, using a 3.6V Li-thionyl chloride battery which has an operational life of up to five years based on, typically, twelve fill measurements a day and three uplinks of the data to the cloud.

Oscar replaces the company’s first-generation sensor, called Phil, launched in 2021 and currently in use by local authorities around the world.

The miniaturised version’s footprint is equivalent to a stack of around 10 credit cards, said Ostermann, which enables it to be used in small bins in parks, airports, as well as donated clothes, agricultural produce in storage hoppers or industrial materials such as plastic pellets used for injection moulding.

http://www.ad-hoc.com

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COTS card with direct RF sampling features Electra-MA chip

Tue, Apr 04, 2023

COTS board and systems supplier, Annapolis Micro Systems, is now shipping what it claims is the industry’s first COTS card to feature Jariet Technologies’ Electra-MA chip with 64Gsample per second, 10-bit ADC and DAC capability. The SOSA-aligned WILD FMC+ DME1 card targets demanding applications which require direct sampling frequency coverage from 0.1 to 36GHz (VHF through Ka-band) and/or wide instantaneous bandwidths.

According to Annapolis Micro Systems, the direct sampling Jariet transceiver performs frequency conversion and filtering in the digital domain, eliminating the need for costly analogue frequency conversion.

The DME1 card can be integrated into RF and microwave systems. It has usable analogue bandwidth of 36GHz and a maximum instantaneous bandwidth of 6.4GHz on both channels simultaneously. All transceiver channels feature onboard digital downconverters (DDCs) and digital upconverters (DUCs), including sub-band channelisers for dynamic frequency selection.

The DME1 is available for use with Annapolis’ WILDSTAR 3U OpenVPX baseboards (one WFMC+ mezzanine site) or 6U OpenVPX baseboards (two WFMC+ mezzanine sites).

The company also offers the WILDSTAR 3AE1, 3U OpenVPX baseboard and the WILDSTAR SAF1 standalone small form factor module.

The DME1 comprises Annapolis’ WILD100 EcoSystem that aligns with SOSA 1.0. The EcoSystem is an interoperable portfolio of rugged high-performance OpenVPX COTS boards and systems that are used for challenging data acquisition, digital signal processing, and data storage applications.

http://www.annapmicro.com

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Vibration-tolerant MEMS gyroscope positions aircraft

Tue, Apr 04, 2023

A high stability and vibration-tolerant digital MEMS gyroscope from TDK, the GYPRO 4300 features a ±300 degrees per second input measurement range, together with 200Hz bandwidth and one millisecond latency with a closed-loop architecture.

It is the first product in the company’s Tronics GYPRO4000 digital MEMS gyro family which complements the recently announced AXO300 closed loop digital accelerometers range.

It offers precise navigation and positioning, with bias instability of 0.5 degrees per hour as typical value (two degrees per hour maximum) and an ARW (angular random walk) of 0.1 degrees per square hour. The GYPRO4300 is a miniature, digital and low-SWaP (size, weight and power) high performance MEMS gyro, said TDK, for precise positioning, navigation and stabilisation functions in dynamic applications such as railway, land vehicles, VTOL (vertical take off and landing) aircraft and UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles), marine and sub-sea systems, bore hole drilling and surveying instruments.

The closed loop architecture offers a strong vibration rejection of 0.5 degrees per hour per g² under harsh conditions. The GYPRO4300 gyros are housed in a miniature, hermetic, ceramic J-lead package that ensures long operational and storage life and guarantees a high compliance with the stringent thermal cycling requirements of critical applications.

There is also a 24-bit digital serial peripheral interface (SPI) for a swift integration into inertial navigation systems (INS), inertial measurement units (IMUs) as well as attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS). To minimise mechanical cross-coupling in multi-axis applications, the GYPRO4300 is available in three frequency ranges.

Suitable applications for the miniature, low power consumption, the Tronics GYPRO4300 gyro is an cost-effective and low-SWaP alternative to bulky, expensive, and power-consuming solutions like dynamically tuned gyroscopes (DTGs) and fibre optical gyroscopes (FOGs). The solid-state architecture also reduces the number of internal components and system complexity required. As a result, the GYPRO4300 demonstrates a MTBF (mean time between failure) higher than 1,000,000 hours, more than 10 times better than incumbent DTGs and FOGs with similar performances, said TDK. The built-in self-test ensures both an initial verification of the sensor’s integrity and a continuous in-operation functionality test, advised TDK.

http://www.tdk-electronics.tdk.com

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Industrial RFID tagging increases sensitivity and memory to diversify

Mon, Apr 03, 2023

In comparison to the earlier memory ICs produced by NXP, the UCODE 9xm has three times the sensitivity. It also has customer-configurable memory options, enabling more diverse objects to be tagged. Use in industrial tagging, it delivers an accurate picture of the supply chain, said NXP.

The IC is designed to improve overall system reliability and accuracy, said NXP, and enables customers to use smaller tag antennas, allowing smaller objects to be individually tagged and incorporated into smart manufacturing processes, supply chain management and tracking applications. The tag can be used on a variety of object types, delivering a more complete view of the supply chain.

RAIN RFID tagging has become a crucial component for automated industrial processes but tags with the memory needed to support these processes often do not deliver the same read and write performance as lower memory devices, making it difficult to tag all necessary items, reducing system efficiency. UCODE 9xm combines flexible, high capacity memory options with advanced read and write performance to increase overall system performance.

From smart manufacturing to supply chain management, industrial environments require complex process flows and advanced automation, explained Ralf Kodritsch, senior director, UCODE, NXP. He said that the UCODE 9xm can streamline these processes by making it easier to individually track the products and tools involved.

UCODE 9xm has a read sensitivity of around -24dBm and a write sensitivity of about -22dBm makes tag encoding faster.

It also has a total of 880bits of memory space shared between the EPC and user memory banks, with three flexible memory configurations, selectable by the customer based on their use case, that offer up to 496 bits of EPC (electronic product code) memory and up to 752 bits of user memory, to store manufacturing data such as lot number, production date or process parameters. A single IC can also be used to fulfill a number of different use cases.

A memory safeguard protects data and ensure accuracy, including an error correction code (ECC) algorithm and parity checks. Integrated BlockPermalock protects sections of data from change, while still allowing other sections to be added, edited or deleted. Independent access and kill passwords provide additional data security, preventing unauthorised users from erroneous or malicious actions.

The UCODE 9xm is available now.

http://www.nxp.com

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Smart waste sensor module is world’s smallest, says adhoc networks

COTS card with direct RF sampling features Electra-MA chip

Vibration-tolerant MEMS gyroscope positions aircraft

Industrial RFID tagging increases sensitivity and memory to diversify

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