by CNN
Sector News
Modules help to develop and run IoT applications in one day
Help for developers to get IoT applications connected and running in a day, with no software development necessary is provided by Silicon Labs’ Wireless Xpress Modules. They deliver Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity with zero programming, says the company.
Silicon Labs’ Wireless Xpress includes certified Bluetooth 5 Low Energy and Wi-Fi modules, integrated protocol stacks and tools.
On-board wireless stacks are controlled through a high-level Xpress Command application programming interface (API) for set-up and control. Wireless Xpress devices require only modest resources from a host processor, says Silicon Labs, enabling developers to add wireless connectivity to any microcontroller.
By using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Wireless Xpress, developers can move from product concept to prototyping in a matter of hours instead of weeks,” said Matt Johnson, senior vice president and general manager of IoT products at Silicon Labs. He continues to explain that as Wireless Xpress reduces the design learning curve without compromising Bluetooth or Wi-Fi functionality, developers will spend less time learning how to add wireless connectivity to IoT devices and more time designing innovative products and getting them to market in good time.
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi IoT products based on Wireless Xpress can be remotely managed and updated over the air (OTA) using native device management features. Using Silicon Labs’ Zentri device management service (DMS), end users can install and update firmware, view real-time device health metrics and adjust product settings through mobile apps.
To add Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity to mobile applications, Wireless Xpress includes a mobile app software development kit (SDK) for Android and iOS. The mobile app framework comprises examples and libraries and offers simple communications and OTA APIs to accelerate app development and simplify wireless design for mobile platforms.
Silicon Labs’ Gecko OS is an intuitive IoT operating system to accelerate the development of market-ready connected products. The company says it plans to offer additional Gecko OS-based products and solutions.
Integrated open image signal processor adds to R-Car SoC applications
An integrated open image signal processor (ISP) from Renesas Electronics can be integrated on the company’s R-Car V3M and R-Car V3H SoCs to speed the development of automotive smart camera applications.
According to Renesas, integrating the ISP on the R-Car V3x SoCs and leveraging MM Solutions’ Automotive Camera Development Kit (AutoCDK), enables automotive Tier 1s to simplify the sensor calibration and tuning process for camera applications, including front camera and surround view to reduce the time to market.
The open ISP solution supports a range of development needs, from low-level-programming ISP capabilities via the open interface to the AutoCDK for users to jumpstart development using the MM Solutions’ tools.
Autonomous vehicles will be required to sense their environments, with smart cameras in front and surround view systems used to detect traffic signs, lanes, pedestrians, vehicles, and other obstacles in real time.
High performance computer vision requires highly reliable, highly configurable ISPs that support high dynamic ranges in challenging driving situations as well as low-noise performance and imagery perception close to that of a human eye’s level – or beyond, explains Renesas. Drivers will want to see a realistic visual representation of the surrounding of the car, where the ISP plays an important role for image adjustment.
In collaboration with MM Solutions, Renesas has developed an open ISP solution that helps users tune and control their sensors to support both human vision and machine vision. Integrating the ISP vision processing software onto the R-Car V3x SoCs provides a camera-neutral approach, offering camera manufacturers and Tier 1s the flexibility to work with ECUs and sensors of choice.
Jean-Francois Chouteau, vice president of the Automotive Solution Business Unit, Renesas Electronics, said: “Developing the software solution as part of the Renesas autonomy platform allows customers to take advantage of robust off-the-shelf middleware as well as privileged access to the image quality expertise of our partner MM Solutions.”
“Turnkey ISP solutions that support multiple platforms are essential to achieving excellent camera quality while meeting increasingly shorter time-to-market challenges for front camera, surround view, and other automotive camera applications,” added Ivan Poibrenski, managing director of MM Solutions.
“Achieving high dynamic range and LED flicker mitigation simultaneously is the key challenge for ADAS camera systems,” said Tsutomu Haruta, deputy senior general manager, Sony Semiconductor Solutions. “The combination of Renesas’ ISP solution and Sony’s image sensors enables our automotive customers to . . . realise a superior image quality.”
Mass production of the Renesas R-Car V3M and R-Car V3H SoCs is scheduled to begin Q2 2019 and Q3 2019, respectively. The AutoCDK from MM Solutions will be available in November 2018.
Renesas will demonstrate the Open ISP using the Renesas R-Car V3M, MM Solutions’ AutoCDK, and Sony’s IMX390 image sensor in booth 6 at AutoSens 2018, September 17-20, 2018, Brussels, Belgium.
Farnell element14 offers Arm-based dev board to accelerate AI design
Availability of the Ultra96 development board has been announced by distributor, Farnell element14. The Arm-based Ultra96 development board was jointly created by Avnet, Xilinx, and 96Boards and is based on the Linaro 96Boards Consumer Edition specification. It features the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC with 2Gbit (512M x32) LPDDR4 RAM from Micron, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2, one USB 3.0 Type Micro-B upstream port (for a device) and two USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0 Type A downstream ports (for hosts).
According to Farnell, it provides developers with a powerful environment to simplify machine learning. The 96Boards’ specifications are open and define a standard board layout for development platforms.
The Ultra96 is designed to offer a range of peripherals and has programmable logic acceleration engines for ‘complexity with simplicity’ according to the company. The Ultra96 allows software developers to accelerate the development process for applications that require intense processing and high performance in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, virtual reality, the IoT and industrial control.
Cliff Ortmeyer, global head of solutions development for Premier Farnell and Farnell element14 said: “The Ultra96 board combines Arm processing with programmable logic in a convenient, low-cost and expandable board which showcases a wide range of potential peripherals and acceleration engines that will help design engineers counter software bottlenecks.”
The Ultra96 boots from the industrial rated Delkin 16GB MicroSD card (supplied with the Ultra96 board), and is preloaded with Embedded Linux. Design engineers can connect to the Ultra96 through a web server using its integrated wireless access point capability, or use the pre-loaded Embedded Linux plus Enlightenment Desktop via integrated Mini DisplayPort video output. Multiple application examples and on-board development options are provided as examples.
The board includes four user-controllable LEDs. Design engineers can also interact with the board through the 96Boards-compatible low-speed and high-speed expansion connectors by adding peripheral accessories such as those included in Seeed Studio’s Grove Starter Kit for 96Boards.
The Ultra96 development board is available from Farnell element14 in EMEA, Newark element14 in North America and element14 in Asia Pacific.
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