XENSIV magnetic switches support functional safety in automotive applications

When developing applications for autonomous driving, compliance with the ISO 26262 standard is crucial – at both the system and sensor levels. To meet these demands, Infineon has introduced the XENSIV TLE4960x magnetic switch family. Developed in accordance with ISO 26262, the TLE4960x switches integrate diagnostic functions to support functional safety applications with requirements up to ASIL B. They are the only ASIL-B-compliant switches on the market that can address a wide range of automotive applications, including window regulators, sunroof actuators, and seat adjustment. In addition, the devices are AEC-Q100 compliant and qualified to Grade 0, ensuring robust performance in harsh environments.

The TLE4960x devices are designed to measure the magnetic field orthogonal to the printed circuit board in the Z-direction and feature an open-drain output for speed information. They also include integrated overcurrent and overtemperature protection. Housed in a standardised SOT23-3 SMD package, the sensors require only 1.6 mA and operate across an extended temperature range from -40°C to 175°C. Their temperature stability makes them ideal for harsh automotive environments.

https://www.infineon.com

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Rugged Edge AI system from iBASE engineered on Jetson Orin NX/Nano

iBASE has announced the launch of the EC3100, a compact and durable edge AI system powered by NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX and Orin Nano modules. Built to handle real-time AI workloads at the edge, the EC3100 delivers powerful performance with up to an 8-core Arm Cortex-A78AE processor and a 1024-core Ampere GPU with 32 Tensor Cores, making it well-suited for intelligent automation, robotics, and smart surveillance. Its aluminium-steel housing, wide 9V to 36V DC input, and operating temperature range of -20°C to 70°C ensure long-term reliability in tough industrial environments.

The system supports LPDDR5 memory with bandwidths up to 102.4GB/s and runs Ubuntu 22.04, fully optimised for NVIDIA’s JetPack SDK 6.2, which enables Super Mode and fires up more AI performance. It comes with rich I/O options including dual Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, USB 3.2 and USB 2.0 ports, RS232, CANBus, line-out, mic-in, digital input/output, and a USB Type-C port with OTG and recovery support. Dual SIM sockets and three antenna jacks are also built in to support robust and flexible connectivity in field deployments.

Designed with expansion in mind, the EC3100 features an M.2 2280 M-key slot supporting PCIe NVMe storage, ensuring high-speed data access. Additional M.2 slots enable 4G/5G mobile broadband, out-of-band (OOB) 4G, and wireless communication via WiFi, Bluetooth, or GPS. For AI vision projects, the system includes Summit connectors for optional PoE board and CSI camera integration, enhancing its adaptability across edge AI use cases.

https://www.ibase.com.tw/

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Microchip introduces MCU family to simplify analog sensor design

Microchip has released the PIC16F17576 microcontroller (MCU) product family with integrated low-power peripherals and the ability to precisely measure volatile analog signals.

PIC16F17576 MCUs feature a new low-power comparator and voltage reference combination that can operate while the MCU core is in sleep mode, allowing for continuous analog measurement while consuming less than 3.0 µA of current. The Analog Peripheral Manager (APM) controls which peripherals are active to minimise total energy consumption and enable battery-operated applications to monitor signals effectively without excessive power drain.

Engineered for applications that measure volatile analog signals, PIC16F17576 MCUs include operational amplifiers (op amps) with software-controlled gain ladders. This feature enables a single op amp to switch between multiple gain options, helping mitigate noise while maintaining precision and power efficiency. Equipped with up to four op amps and a 12-bit differential ADC with automated averaging, the MCUs enable precise signal measurement over a wide range of inputs.

“Sensor systems can quickly become complex, often requiring multiple analog components that add board size, cost and power draw,” said Greg Robinson, corporate vice president of Microchip’s MCU business unit. “With the integrated analog features in our low-power PIC16F17576 MCUs, we’re cutting that complexity. You can eliminate parts and reduce power consumption, cutting costs and simplifying the overall design process.”

PIC16F17576 MCUs are well suited for measuring analog signals in a number of industries, including environmental and industrial monitoring, smart home and building automation. Key applications include vibration and strain measurement, flow metering, gas detection, cold asset tracking and motion sensing.

Development Tools
PIC16F17576 MCUs are supported by MPLAB X Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and MPLAB Code Configurator which allows designers to easily manage the functionality of the APM and analog peripherals. The devices are compatible with Microchip’s Curiosity Nano EV14L29A development board and MPLAB PICkit development tools.

https://www.microchip.com

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Renesas introduces new RA0 series based on the Arm Cortex-M23 processor

The new devices offer extremely low power consumption, extended temperature range, and a wide variety of peripheral functions and safety features.

RA0E2 MCUs are fully compatible with RA0E1 devices, offering pin-expansion while maintaining the same peripherals and ultra-low power. This compatibility lets customers re-use existing software assets. The new devices deliver industry-leading power consumption of only 2.8mA current in active mode, and 0.89 mA in sleep mode. In addition, an integrated High-speed On-Chip Oscillator (HOCO) enables the fastest wake-up time for this class of microcontroller. The fast wake-up enables the RA0 MCUs to stay in Software Standby mode more of the time, where power consumption drops to a minuscule 0.25 µA.

Renesas’ RA0E1 and RA0E2 ultra-low power MCUs deliver an ideal solution for battery-operated consumer electronics devices, small appliances, industrial system control and building automation application.

The RA0E2 devices have a feature set optimised for cost-sensitive applications. They offer a wide operating voltage range of 1.6V to 5.5V so customers don’t need a level shifter/regulator in 5V systems. The RA0 MCUs also integrate timers, serial communications, analog functions, safety functions and security functionality to reduce customer BOM cost. A wide range of packaging options is also available, including a tiny 5mm x 5mm 32-lead QFN.

In addition, the new MCU’s high-precision (±1.0%) HOCO improves baud rate accuracy and enables designers to forego a standalone oscillator. Unlike other HOCOs in the industry, it maintains this precision in environments from -40°C to 125°C. This wide temperature range enables customers to avoid costly and time-consuming “trimming,” even after the reflow process.

Key Features of the RA0E2 Group MCUs
Core: 32MHz Arm Cortex-M23
Memory: Up to 128KB integrated Code Flash memory and 16KB SRAM
Extended Temperature Range: Ta -40°C to 125°C
Timers: Timer array unit (16b x 8 channels), 32-bit interval timer (8b x 4 channels), RTC
Communications Peripherals: 3 UARTs, 2 Async UART, 6 Simplified SPIs, 2 I2C, 6 Simplified I2Cs
Analog Peripherals: 12-bit ADC, temperature sensor, internal reference voltage
Safety: SRAM parity check, invalid memory access detection, frequency detection, A/D test, output level detection, CRC calculator, register write protection
Security: Unique ID, TRNG, AES libraries, Flash read protection
Packages: 32- and 48-lead QFNs, 32-, 48-, and 64-pin LQFP

The new RA0E2 Group MCUs are supported by Renesas’ Flexible Software Package (FSP). The FSP enables faster application development by providing all the infrastructure software needed, including multiple RTOS, BSP, peripheral drivers, middleware, connectivity, networking, and security stacks as well as reference software to build complex AI, motor control and cloud solutions. It allows customers to integrate their own legacy code and choice of RTOS with FSP, thus providing full flexibility in application development. Using the FSP will ease migration of RA0E1 designs to larger RA0E2 devices if customers wish to do so.

https://www.renesas.com/RA0E2

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