Sector News Archives - Page 218 of 607 - SmartCitiesElectronics.com

Solid state digital beam steering technology is automotive-grade

Thu, May 12, 2022

Digital beam steering for lidar smart sensors has been announced by LeddarTech. LeddarSteer is designed for smart sensor developers and Tier 1 / Tier-2 automotive suppliers.

Digital beam steering refers to changing the direction of laser pulses in a lidar system. A stack of alternating liquid crystal cells and polarisation gratings enables light to be steered at different angles and at a specific wavelength in order to augment a lidar field of view.

LeddarSteer digital beam steering offers benefits such as software-controlled, on the fly adjustment, noted LeddarTech. It also allows for frame by frame adjustment, a pre-set or customised configuration, voltage controlled steering and is claimed to be easy to set up and interface with systems. It is also compatible with a range of lidar architectures and enables one lidar to address multiple use cases.

It is also field of view adjustable to accommodate a range of driver actions, such as turns, lane changes and slopes. Therefore, the same lidar can be used for motorway/highway and city driving.

Another benefit, said LeddarTech is that the resulting reduction in the number of sensors, contributes to bill of materials savings. In addition, said the company, the automotive-grade solid state technology results in a significantly higher MTBF (mean time between failures).

LeddarSteer can be seamlessly integrated into an existing lidar to expand the field of view or it can be integrated into a new lidar development. It provides an enhanced signal to noise ratio by concentrating laser power on a small region of interest while reducing the size, cost and complexity of lidar components whilst maintaining or increasing the pixel count and resolution.

According to LeddarTech CEO, Charles Boulanger: “LeddarSteer is the only digital beam steering smart component designed for mass production with the flexibility, reliability, cost, size and performance required by the most demanding 3D sensing applications and supported by standard automotive manufacturing process”.

Founded in 2007, LeddarTech is an environmental sensing company that enables customers to solve critical sensing, fusion and perception challenges across the entire value chain. Its portfolio includes LeddarVision, a raw data sensor fusion and perception platform that generates a comprehensive 3D environmental model from a variety of sensor types and configurations. LeddarTech also supports lidar manufacturers and Tier-1 / Tier- 2 automotive suppliers with LeddarSteer digital beam steering and the LeddarEngine, which is built on the company’s Leddar technology employing patented signal acquisition and processing techniques to generate a richer and cleaner return signal at a lower cost.

The LeddarEngine comprises a highly integrated, scalable lidar SoC and software combination.

The company is responsible for several innovations in cutting-edge automotive and mobility remote-sensing applications, with over 120 patents granted or applied for, enhancing ADAS and autonomous driving capabilities.

http://www.leddartech.com

> Read More

Robust, compact M12 adapter simplifies retrofits in transport

Wed, May 11, 2022

Equipped with X to D and D to X coding, the compact M12 adapter released by Provertha is designed to simplify retrofitting in transportation and railway technology.

It allows an M12 plug in connection with X to D and D to X coding to be made without any additional effort, said the company. A full metal housing provides shielding for the adapter which features an X- or D-coded pin interface with a rotating screw lock and a D- or X-coded socket interface with a fixed locking thread. The adapters are simply inserted between the switch and the cable using the usual torque tools.

According to Provertha, this M12 adapter make a significant contribution to saving cabling costs and installation time. Rated to IP 67, it can be used for data transmission of up to 100Mbit and operates across a wide temperature range of -25 to +85 degrees C.

An X to D-coded adapter is particularly advantageous for retrofitting in railway technology, said Provertha, as existing D-coded cabling can continue to be used, even if the switches have to be replaced by gigabit port switches during overhauls. Equally, the X to D-coded adapter allows 100Mbit devices to be connected with Gigabit cabling systems.

Typically, Ethernet capable devices, which need no Gbit Ethernet, are equipped with M12 D-code connecters while newly installed Ethernet cablings are already based on X-code technique (using four pairs).

Ethernet switches are used for data communication in trains and infotainment in train carriages. The trend towards higher data rates is also applicable to railway switches. As equipment is overhauled, old switches are increasingly replaced, for example, 100Mbit ports on the switches are increasingly being replaced by Gbit ones. This means that instead of the D-coded M12 sockets, more X-coded sockets will be used despite D-coded cabling being retained because of the high cost of the X-coded cables, requiring D-coded connectors that can match X-coded sockets.

http://www.provertha.com

> Read More

Three-in-one soil sensors maximise agricultural yield, says Murata

Tue, May 10, 2022

A three-in-one soil sensor has been introduced by Murata for data driven sustainable agriculture. It simultaneously monitors the electrical conductivity, water content and temperature of the soil to provide farmers with data to maximise the yield and quality of crops while minimising resources such as water and fertilisers.

The tip of the soil sensor contains a grid of nine sensitive electrodes that provide consistent measurements of the soil’s electrical conductivity. Algorithms are used to allow the electrodes to measure and compare the electrical conductivity of pore water ( i.e., water between the soil particles) to the volume of the soil’s natural nutrients and added fertilisers. These measurements are not affected by soil moisture content, which eliminates uncertainty in the soil to help farmers improve crop quality and yield with the selection of optimum fertilisers.

Knowing the water content of the soil also enables the grower to irrigate the soil in an accurate and timely manner, which can save water. As well as monitoring soil conditions, the three-in-one sensor can monitor the water quality of rivers and lakes.

In addition to labour savings in agricultural work and reducing the waste of valuable resources such as water and fertiliser, the sensors provide data management and control.

“They also contribute to achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs), such as environmental problems like salt damage and the accompanying food problems caused by global climate change,” said Yoshiyuki Oba, developer, Murata. “

Protected to IP68-equivalent for dust and water, including rust proofing, the energy-efficient soil sensors can run on three AA batteries for over half a year if the measurement interval is once every 30 minutes.

The multi-interface sensors also support UART, RS232E, RS485, SDI-12, and RS485 MODBUS, making them compatible with existing crop management systems.

Murata manufactures electronic components, modules and devices. The company’s range includes ceramic capacitors, resistors / thermistors, inductors / chokes, timing devices, buzzers, sensors and EMI suppression filters. In addition to ceramic capacitor manufacture, the company produces Bluetooth and Wi-Fi modules, board-mount DC/DC converters as well as standard and custom AC/DC power supplies.

Established in 1944, Murata is headquartered in Japan and has European offices in Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

http://www.murata.com

> Read More

Global shutter image sensor simplifies driver monitoring system design

Mon, May 09, 2022

Using 3D chip technology, STMicroelectronics has developed the VB56G4A, global-shutter sensor for vehicle driver monitoring safety systems.

It is the company’s second generation automotive global-shutter image sensor. Driver monitoring systems (DMS) continually watch the driver’s head movements to recognise signs of drowsiness and distraction for vehicle systems to generate safety warnings.

Global-shutter sensor offers big advantages over rolling-shutter imagers. By simultaneously exposing all pixels to the image, a global-shutter sensor allows simple synchronisation with near infra red (NIR) illumination, improving the illumination-subsystem power budget.

The VB56G4A sensor achieves high quantum efficiency (QE), reaching 24 per cent at 940nm NIR wavelength, with linear dynamic range up to 60dB. This enables a simple low-power, non-visible LED emitter to provide adequate illumination for the sensor. Operating outside the visible spectrum also ensures consistent response in day or night driving and in bright or overcast conditions, said ST

The sensor’s high QE, combined with a pixel size of just 2.6 micron, helps optimise total power consumption and camera size. In addition, integrated automatic exposure control eases use and simplifies the application software design by minimising system interaction with the sensor.

The sensor also provides flexible operating modes that help optimise system features and performance. These include programmable sequences of four-frame contexts, illumination control outputs synchronised with sensor integration periods, an input for an external frame-start signal, automatic dark calibration, dynamic defective-pixel correction, image cropping, and a mirror / flip-image readout.

External connections include eight programmable general-purpose I/O (GPIO) pins and a dual-lane MIPI CSI-2 transmitter interface operating up to 1.5 Gbits per lane. The sensor can operate at up to 88 frames per second (fps) at full resolution and typical power consumption is 145mW at 60 fps.

It is estimated that around 95 per cent of driving accidents result from human error leading to the introduction of legislation in Europe that DMS will be mandatory in all new car models from 2024 and for existing models in 2026. In Europe, there were nearly 19,000 accident fatalities in 20201 and twice as many in the US, leading the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to recommend DMS for all semi-autonomous vehicles.

“Drivers may not realize that they are unsafe to drive due to tiredness or distraction. DMS removes uncertainty by detecting the problem automatically, which protects all occupants as well as others traveling on the road,” said Eric Aussedat, executive vice president, imaging sub-group general manager, STMicroelectronics. The VB56G4A is sensitive and compact to simplify DMS hardware and reduce overall system cost, he added.

The VB56G4A global shutter sensor uses ST’s 3D-stacked back-side illuminated (BSI-3D) image sensors. These are more sensitive, smaller, and more reliable than conventional front-side illuminated (FSI) sensors typically used in DMS, said the company.

ST is supplying samples of the sensor to lead customers now and mass production is scheduled for the beginning of 2023 for adoption in model year 2024 vehicles.

http://www.st.com

> Read More

Solid state digital beam steering technology is automotive-grade

Robust, compact M12 adapter simplifies retrofits in transport

Three-in-one soil sensors maximise agricultural yield, says Murata

Global shutter image sensor simplifies driver monitoring system design

About Smart Cities