Sector News

Omnipolar Hall-effect sensors are stable over a wide operating range

Mon, Dec 03, 2018

Digital Hall-effect sensors from Diodes combine what the company describes as maket-leading stable operating and release points (Bop and Brp) with low power operation. The AH1911 and AH1912 sensors are both available in the industry standard SC59 package.

The AH1911 sensors will respond to either polarity of magnetic field, explains the company, and have a ‘hibernating clock’ system to reduce average current consumption to 1.6 microA at 3V supply.

The wide operating voltage range of 1.6 to 5.5V enables the parts to be used with a variety of system voltages. Operating and release points for the magnetic switch are tightly controlled over temperature and supply voltage due to a stabilising technique, delivering accurate and repeatable performance. Flux density switching points are typically ±60 Gauss (6mT) to operate and ±45 Gauss (4.5mT) to release.

Both the AH1911 and AH1921 are suitable for battery-powered devices where its low power consumption and wider operating voltage range promote extended battery life. Typical applications include medical and consumer products, tamper detection for e-meters, smoke detectors, IoT devices and general level/proximity detection.

The AH1911 and AH1921 feature push-pull and open-drain outputs, respectively. Both are specified to operate over the -40 to +85 degrees C temperature range and have a high ESD rating of 6kV (human body model).

This news story is brought to you by softei.com, the specialist site dedicated to delivering information about what’s new in the electronics industry, with daily news updates, new products and industry news.

http://www.diodes.com

> Read More

Asset management pinpoints vehicles for inventory tracking

Thu, Nov 29, 2018

Enhancing productivity in the automotive industry, Silicon Labs and Cognosos have collaborated to develop a wireless networking device to improve managing inventories.

Built on the Silicon Labs Flex Gecko system-on-a-chip (SoC), the Cognosos RadioTrax) tag enables employees to perform quick online searches or use their smartphones to pinpoint the location and movement history of cars stored in distributed car parks, increasing productivity and saving time.

Organisations with large inventories are frequently required to locate cars at a moment’s notice for maintenance, test drives or auctions. Large operations manage thousands of cars and often have multiple parking locations, creating a tracking challenge that can slow down business operations.

“Cognosos identified a time-intensive problem within the automotive industry and applied new IoT technology to create a superior experience for business operators,” said Ross Sabolcik, vice president and general manager of IoT products at Silicon Labs. “The Flex Gecko wireless SoC helped reduce the size, cost and complexity of the RadioTrax tag,” he added.

The end user uses a smartphone application to scan the RadioTrax tag and associates it by scanning the car’s VIN or stock number. The vehicle quickly shows up on a digital map, along with instructions on how to reach it. The Cognosos RadioTrax tag is secured to the visor or rear-view mirror of every car and transmits a sub-GHz radio message using patented wireless technology. The RF device includes an accelerometer to detect motion whenever the car is moved. Unlike previous RFID alternatives requiring extensive infrastructure and only showing the last known location of a car, RadioTrax displays the car’s real-time location.

Jim Stratigos, co-founder and CTO of Geo IoT platform provider, Cognosos, said: “The Flex Gecko SoC enabled us to pack more wireless and processing functionality into our device while using less power.”

Cognosos’ RadioCloud platform enables enterprises to deploy value-creating services with greater reliability and at a fraction of the cost of competing approaches.

Silicon Labs provides silicon and software for a smarter, more connected world, serving the IoT, internet infrastructure, industrial automation, consumer and automotive markets.

http://www.silabs.com

> Read More

Microswitch saves space in building automation

Wed, Nov 28, 2018

With the launch of the D2F-5 subminiature switch, Omron Electronic Components Europe says it has introduced its smallest ever microswitch with 5A rating.

The D2F-5 microswitch will push designers to minimise the application size, says the company. The rating of 5A means that the subminiature switches are suitable for high current applications. They have a minimum durability of 10,000 actions.

The D2F-5 switch measures just 5.7 x 12.7mm and a height from 5.5mm, depending on the operating lever chosen. The switches incorporate a snapping mechanism with two highly precise split springs that ensure long service life, assures Omron, while flux penetration is prevented by using insertion moulded terminals. The D2F-5 switch is available in variety of terminal variations including self-clinching PCB, left angled, right angled terminals, solder terminals and compact solder terminals.

Applications include building automation, ventilation and temperature control, safety and security, smart meters, lifts and elevators.

Omron Electronic Components Europe supplies electromechanical PCB relays, as well as components such as micro switches, MOSFET relays, DIP switches, photomicrosensors and connectors. Its portfolio of technologies includes MEMS based pressure, flow and thermal measurement sensors, human face and gesture recognition modules, vibration and tilt sensors.

Omron Electronic Components Europe supports its customers in Western and Eastern Europe, Russia and the CIS through eight regional offices, a network of local offices and partnerships with specialist, local, regional and global distributors.

http://components.omron.eu  

> Read More

32-bit MCU performance optimises motor control

Wed, Nov 28, 2018

Based on the third generation RXv3 CPU core, the RX66T group of microcontrollers (MCUs) improves performance, by as much as 2.5 times better than previous RX family MCUs, says Renesas Electronics Europe.

The RX66T MCUs combine the powerful RXv3 core with the strengths of the existing current RX62T and RX63T MCUs, to address the real-time performance and enhanced stability required by inverter control. The RX66T MCUs are designed for use in industrial applications in smart factory equipment, such as industrial motors, power conditioners and robots, as well as smart home appliances, including air conditioners and washing machines.

When operating at 160MHz, the RX66T MCUs achieve best-in-class performance of 928 CoreMark2, enabling more precise inverter control, reports Renesas. The MCUs can control up to four motors simultaneously, making them particularly well-suited to conventional motor control and applications requiring multi-axis motor control, such as compact industrial robots and personal robots. In addition, the RX66T’s extra processing capacity allows developers to add programs utilising embedded AI (e-AI) for motor fault detection. Such programs can detect motor faults and identify fault location in real time based on the motor’s current or vibration characteristics. The RX66T MCUs also integrate a 5V power supply that is claimed to deliver “excellent noise tolerance”.

The RX66T MCU group will accelerate the use of intelligent endpoints employing real-time e-AI performance, Renesas believes, a trend which will drive smarter home appliances and improve production efficiency in smart factories.

As devices join the IoT, motorised devices in the field will require online firmware updates throughout their life cycles. Applying e-AI for predictive failure diagnostics requires endpoint MCUs to be securely updated with learning results generated in the cloud. The RX66T MCU Group incorporates Trusted Secure IP (TSIP), which has a track record of CAVP certification3 and provides secure firmware updates and encrypted communication.

The RX66T group comprises 80 MCUs with pin counts ranging from 64 to 144 pins and on-chip flash memory sizes of 256 to 1024kbyte. Mass production has started today for the 100-pin package MCU with 256 or 512kbyte of program flash and 64kbyte of SRAM. Other MCU versions will be release over time.

Renesas is demonstrating the RX66T MCUs in Hall 10.1 – booth 130 at SPS IPC Drives, 27 to 29 November 2018 in Nuremberg, Germany.

http://www.renesas.com

> Read More

About Smart Cities

This news story is brought to you by smartcitieselectronics.com, the specialist site dedicated to delivering information about what’s new in the Smart City Electronics industry, with daily news updates, new products and industry news. To stay up-to-date, register to receive our weekly newsletters and keep yourself informed on the latest technology news and new products from around the globe. Simply click this link to register here: Smart Cities Registration