Smart Cities

Digital humidity sensor for industrial applications goes global 

Wed, Dec 08, 2021

Joining Sensirion’s range of fourth-generation humidity sensors is the SHT4xI-Digital sensor platform, designed for challenging industrial applications. The series consists of two accuracy versions SHT40I and SHT41I, which offer 5V supply voltage and increased ESD protection.

SHT4xI-Digital is based on Sensirion’s proven CMOSens(R) technology which, says the company, ensures maximum reliability, as demonstrated by extensive accelerated lifetime tests such as 85 C/85 per cent RH for 1,000 hours. The sensor enables seamless integration with its wide operating voltage range, small size and robust housing. 

Based on its features and Sensirion’s advanced humidity sensing expertise, the SHT4xI-Digital is suitable for conducting measurements under harsh conditions in industrial application Sensirion’s CMOSens(R) technology provides a complete sensor system on a single chip, with a fully calibrated digital I2C fast mode plus interface. The sensor platform covers operating ranges from 0 to 100 per cent RH and from -40 degrees C to 125 degrees C with a supply voltage extending from 2.3 to 5.5V.

“The SHT4xI-Digital humidity and temperature sensor platform is our response to challenging industrial requirements. It enables reliable measurements in harsh and unfavourable environments,” said Maximilian Eichberger, director of product management humidity and temperature sensors at Sensirion. “The sensor platform’s robustness and extended supply voltage range allow long-term stability during operation in industrial applications. We are making a lasting contribution to our customers’ project-related success by drawing on our many years of humidity sensing expertise and optimizing our sensors to suit specific market conditions,” he said.

Headquartered in Stäfa, Switzerland, Sensirion AG is a leading manufacturer of digital microsensors and systems. Its product range includes gas and liquid flow sensors, differential pressure sensors and environmental sensors for the measurement of humidity and temperature, volatile organic compounds, carbon dioxide and particulate matter (PM2.5). 

An international network with sales offices in the USA, Europe, China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea supplies international customers with standard and custom sensor system solutions for a wide range of applications. Sensirion sensors are commonly used in the medical, industrial and automotive sectors, and in analytical instruments, consumer goods and HVAC products.

Go to https://www.sensirion.com/sht4xi

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Version 3 NanoEdge AI Studio offers streamlined solution

Tue, Dec 07, 2021

The shift of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities from the cloud to the edge has given rise to this new version of NanoEdge AI Studio from STMicroelectronics to help simplify the creation of machine learning, anomaly learning, detection and classification on any STM32 microcontroller. This new release also includes prediction capabilities such as regression and outliers libraries. The tool, says the company, makes it easier for users to integrate such machine-learning capabilities quickly, easily and cost-effectively into their equipment. It emphasises that no data-science expertise is needed. There is improved support for anomaly detection, which ST says is particularly useful for predictive maintenance to anticipate wear-and-tear phenomena or to better deal with equipment obsolescence.

Adding native support for all STM32 development boards, ST has also eliminated the need to write code for its industrial-grade sensors with new high-speed data acquisition and management capabilities.

Regression algorithms have been added to extrapolate data and predict future data patterns for energy management or forecasting remaining life of equipment. 

Applications include connected devices, household appliances and industrial automation.

Steve Peguet, scientific director, innovation department of Alten Group, an international technology consulting and engineering company, said: “We had the opportunity to use NanoEdge AI Studio with one of our major aerospace customers. For machine drilling during the manufacture of expensive parts, where a worn drill-bit or the slightest anomaly can have significant consequences, Alten used NanoEdge AI Studio to integrate Machine-Learning algorithms into the drilling equipment. The solution tested on a production line was so effective that Alten has launched a practice around this technology to support its customers and to industrialise these first results to deploy a disruptive solution of drilling tools prescriptive maintenance in their factories.”

Deepak Arora, president and chief executive officer of Wearable Technologies Inc, said: “To protect our loved ones so that they can have a healthy and fulfilling life, NanoEdge AI is empowering us to reduce the machine-learning development time for our next-generation personal-safety devices. AI running at the edge on our devices will allow us to make informed decisions promptly with higher accuracy and reduced false-positives.”

Go to https://www.st.com

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αMOS5 super junction MOSFET series for high-efficiency and high-density needs 

Tue, Dec 07, 2021

Alpha and Omega Semiconductor has announced the 600V low ohmic and fast body diode αMOS5 super junction MOSFET series. αMOS5 is AOS’s latest generation of high-voltage MOSFET, designed to meet the high-efficiency and high-density needs for quick charger, adapter, PC power, server, industrial power, telecom and hyperscale datacentre applications.

The AOK040A60 is a 600V 40m-Ohm aMOS5 low ohmic device with the industry-standard TO-247 package tailored to address the thermal challenges of high-power AC/DC, DC/DC and Inverter stages. 

As the EU ERP Lot9 regulation pushes the efficiency of single power supply units to titanium level, AOS aMOS5 600V low ohmic family offers a solution for single, interleaved, dual boost, totem-pole, and Vienna PFCs, as well as other hard-switching topologies. The 40mOhm product, followed by the upcoming 31mOhm, 65mOhm, and 80mOhm products, aims to provide customers with multiple choices to deal with different power ratings and efficiency requirements. The optimised capacitance of AOK040A60 offers hard and soft switching performances, with fast turn-on/turn-off behaviours while avoiding the risks of self-turn-on or shoot-through.

The AOK042A60FD is a 600V 42mOhm fast body diode device, designed to handle the repetitive hard commutation scenario, where the MOSFETs freewheeling body diode is reversely recovered in half-bridge or full-bridge topologies. The aMOS5 600V FRD solution is expected to further increase the system reliability as a solution for HB/FB topologies where hard switching happens during abnormal operations, such as short-circuit or start-up transients. The low Qrr of AOK042A60FD is expected to help to significantly reduce the losses during reverse recovery. 

Besides server and telecom power supplies, the AOK040A60, AOK042A60FD and their derivatives will also target the demanding EV DC charging and solar inverter applications.   

The 600V aMOS5 family will be expanded, including more low-ohmic and FRD products arriving early next year. As with most of the aMOS5 products, these new devices will also be made in 300mm facilities, with the intention of providing better supply elasticity during the global power semiconductor shortages. 

Go to http://www.aosmd.com

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RDK2 development kit aids proof of concepts

Mon, Dec 06, 2021

Marketed as a complete solution for firmware and hardware developers, the RDK2 development kit from Rutronik, this modular toolkit uses the PSoC62 microcontroller from Infineon Cypress and provides a solution for applications in Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial IoT (IIoT), smart wearables and smart home. 

The toolkit is particularly suitable for the development of proof of concepts. 

“The electronics industry thrives on innovation. That’s exactly what we demonstrate at Rutronik. The RDK2 has the advantage that the development of products is faster. It offers numerous useful features as well as interfaces and has exceptional flexibility also in terms of application options. All the components we use are available in Rutronik’s portfolio,” said Stephan Menze, head of global innovation management at Rutronik. 

The board uses the PSoC62 from Infineon Cypress for this purpose. The microcontroller has a dual-core CPU and suits secure edge computing and cloud applications. The PSoC62 features an integrated power management IC for SMPS and all connected power supplies. 

“Infineon welcomes the decision by Rutronik to implement the powerful PsoC62 microcontroller as the core of their newly developed board ‘RDK2’. With the PSoC 6 microcontroller family, Infineon offers a platform for IoT applications that enables connectivity, increased computing power, and security at low power consumption as well as cost. We continue to trust Rutronik’s service and customer reach and with the RDK2 they provide customers with a significant advantage in development,” says Susanne Horn, vice-president of distribution management EMEA at Infineon. 

The butterfly design allows improved handling. That ensures user-friendly access to the Arduino connectors and reduces possible interference from electromagnetic influences, especially with RF IoT Arduino Shields. For testing the analogue-to-digital conversion, an integrated potentiometer is available. As a special feature users have access to all PSoC62 pins via the Arduino headers. Additionally, a capacitive sensing technology called Cap Sense is included. It enables a touch surface that serves as a slider. 

Go to https://www.rutronik.com 

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