Smart Cities

Low-cost RFID ICs bring flexible electronics to everyday objects

Fri, Feb 08, 2019

Cost-effective digital traceability and interactivity can be introduced to everyday objects with the ConnectIC family of flexible RFID circuits, says PragmatIC.

The flexible IC company introduces the first products in the ConnectIC family, the PR1101 and PR1102 flexible integrated circuits (FlexICs). They are designed for use in closed high frequency, radio frequency identification (HF RFID) systems. The company expects the ConnectIC family to accelerate the smart packaging market.

They FlexICs have been developed using PragmatIC’s patented technologies and the ConnectICs are claimed to deliver connectivity at the lowest cost point in the market. These FlexICs are thin and flexible, making them suitable for embedding into a range of substrates, including paper and plastic. They reduce the complexity of inlays by using single layer antennae, which further reduces the cost to brand owners and retailers.

The ConnectICs can be used for high volume, fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and other mass market applications; PragmatIC believes they mean that electronic connectivity no longer limited to high value, luxury items.

The PR1100 is designed for proximity identification, with rapid detection of objects when one or more low-cost custom readers are integrated into the system. They can be used for hierarchical inventory management, item identification and tracking, supply chain assurance and brand authentication. They are targeted at market segments such as food and beverage, personal and home care, pharmaceutical and healthcare. They also support the introduction of digital interactivity into physical toys and games.

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https://www.pragmatic.tech

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Silicon Labs Showcases Smart Home and Building Automation Connectivity Solutions at Embedded World

Fri, Feb 01, 2019

Silicon Labs will showcase its latest Wireless Gecko connectivity solutions for smart home, lighting and building automation applications at Embedded World 2019. Hands-on demonstrations at Silicon Labs’ Booth 4A-128 highlight easy-to-deploy Bluetooth® mesh and Bluetooth 5 solutions, device-to-cloud connectivity with low-power Wi-Fi®, Zigbee® home automation and control, and next-generation Z-Wave® 700 smart home solutions.

“Silicon Labs offers IoT developers the essential hardware and software building blocks and tools they need to add wireless connectivity to their smart home and building automation products,” said Raoul Wijgergangs, Vice President and General Manager of Smart Home and Consumer Products at Silicon Labs. “From Bluetooth mesh to Wi-Fi to Zigbee and Z-Wave, we offer the full range of low-power connectivity options, and our Embedded World demos and expert engineers will show how easy it is to get started with wireless design.”

Silicon Labs Demos at Booth 4A-128

Bluetooth Xpress Solutions: Discover how to add Bluetooth 5 connectivity to end node designs with zero programming and no Bluetooth expertise. Pre-certified BGX13 Bluetooth Xpress PCB and SiP modules provide the easiest wireless development path.

Bluetooth Mesh Networking: Create secure, reliable, large-scale Bluetooth mesh networks based on Silicon Labs’ Wireless Gecko devices, Bluetooth mesh software, SDKs and tools. See how easy it is to implement a Bluetooth mesh for smart lighting.

Low-Power Wi-Fi: Add low-power, cloud-connected Wi-Fi to your IoT designs with little to no programming. Silicon Labs’ Wi-Fi devices – including the world’s smallest Wi-Fi SiP module with a built-in antenna – deliver best-in-class energy savings for longer battery life by slashing power consumption in half.

Zigbee Smart Home Control: Seamlessly control Zigbee-enabled, interoperable smart home devices from multiple name brand vendors. See how multiprotocol connectivity with Zigbee and Bluetooth Low energy can enhance the home consumer experience.

Z-Wave 700: Unlock the potential of the smart home with Z-Wave 700 based on the Wireless Gecko platform. Z-Wave 700 builds on industry-leading S2 security and interoperability and adds major improvements in energy efficiency, battery life and wireless range, enabling developers to create new classes of smaller, more intelligent smart home products.

Conference Sessions

Silicon Labs’ connectivity, security and embedded experts will deliver the following conference presentations at Embedded World (NCC Ost):

February 26

  • • “Context-Aware Smart Home – Opening the Eyes of AI in the Home through Sensors?” 10:00 – 10:30 a.m., Session 8.1: Intelligent Systems I Applications
  • • “Techniques for Securing Low-Cost Embedded Devices,” 10:00 – 10:30, Session 4.1 I: HW-based Security I
  • • “Making Products Safer and More Secure with an MPU,” 11:30 – 12:00, Session 4.1 I: HW-based Security I
  • • “Supercharging BLE Beacons with Bluetooth 5,” 12:00 – 12:30, Session 2.2: Communication II Bluetooth

February 27

  • • “The Benefits and Challenges of a Common Software Platform for IoT Development,” 14:30 – 15:00, Session 2.5: Communication V Wireless Multiprotocol
  • • “Extending the Abilities of Battery-Powered End Nodes through Better Power Supply Design,” 15:00 – 15:30, Session 5.4: Power Supply
  • • “Radio Scheduling in Dynamic Multiprotocol Applications,” 15:00 – 15:30, Session 2.5: Communication V Wireless Multiprotocol
  • • “Simplifying Product Returns Through Device Security,” 17:00 – 17:30, Session 4.3 II: Security Architectures & Hacking II

February 28

  • • “Common Pitfalls in IoT Security Implementations and How to Avoid Them,” 9:30 – 10:00, Session 4.4 I: Securing IoT I
  • • “Finding the Right Security Level for Your IoT Application,” 10:30 – 11:00, Session 4.4 I: Securing IoT I
  • • “Uncovering Real-Time Bugs with specialized RTOS Tools,” 14:30-15:00, Session 6.6: Software Engineering V Software Quality II

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Silicon Labs

Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB) is a leading provider of silicon, software and solutions for a smarter, more connected world. Our award-winning technologies are shaping the future of the Internet of Things, Internet infrastructure, industrial automation, consumer and automotive markets. Our world-class engineering team creates products focused on performance, energy savings, connectivity and simplicity. silabs.com

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Kit evaluates microcontrollers to jump-start development

Thu, Jan 31, 2019

The One-Board Discovery Kit from STMicroelectronics contains three eight-pin STM8 microcontrollers and is offered for sale by STMicroelectonics for less than $10.00.

The STM8-SO8-Disco 8bit microcontroller Discovery Kit lets users evaluate all three STM8 variants currently available in the popular eight-pin SO8 package, says STMicroelectronics.

The simple kit has a single button and indicator LED for interacting with the board, while the embedded STLINK/V2 and USB port simplify in-circuit debugging and programming from a connected PC. The microcontrollers are soldered onto individual break-offs that can be separated from the compact main board as pluggable DIL-8 modules ready to start prototyping.

The supported MCUs are the STM8S001J3M3, STM8L001J3M3, and STM8L050J3M3. The STM8S001J3M3 delivers affordable performance with features including advanced 16bit timers with three comparator outputs, three capture-compare channels, a 10bit ADC, and an 8bit timer. The low-power STM8L001J3M3 consumes just 0.3 microA in ‘halt’ mode and integrates 8- and 16bit timers and two comparators. The STM8L050J3M3 adds a 12-bit ADC and four-channel DMA controller for low-power technology.

The microcontrollers have the STM8 core, running at 16MHz, and 8kbyte on-chip flash. System-control features include watchdog and clock control, and popular communication interfaces including UART, SPI, and Fast I2C. The microcontrollers have up to six user I/Os, making them suitable for use in industrial sensors, home-automation devices, smart lighting, access cards, battery chargers, or smart printer cartridges.

http://www.st.com

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Wireless Gecko software exploits Bluetooth 5.1 direction finding feature

Thu, Jan 31, 2019

Bluetooth software for Silicon Labs’ Wireless Gecko portfolio, has the direction finding feature which was added to Bluetooth 5.1 of the Bluetooth Core Specification on Monday 28 January.

Targeting location services, the direction finding feature in Bluetooth 5.1 allows devices to determine the direction of a Bluetooth signal.  The feature supports multiple methods for determining signal direction including angle-of-arrival (AoA) and angle-of-departure (AoD). Silicon Labs’ implementation of the feature enables detection of signal direction within five degrees. To date, Bluetooth asset tracking and indoor positioning solutions have typically provided location accuracy within a range of three to four metres. Using the Silicon Labs Bluetooth 5.1 solution, developers can create products that improve location accuracy down to the sub-one meter level. The addition to the Blutetooth specification is described as a “huge leap in location services accuracy for the industry” by Matt Johnson, senior vice president and general manager of IoT products at Silicon Labs.

In addition to improved location services, Bluetooth 5.1 also helps developers to reduce power consumption with sleep clock accuracy updates, improve smart home connection performance using GATT caching functionality and to optimise beaconing for Bluetooth mesh in crowded RF environments with the advertisement channel index feature.

Silicon Labs’ direction finding software, including support for the AoA method, is available today to selected customers through the Silicon Labs Simplicity Studio development kit.

Silicon Labs provides silicon and software for connectivity for the IoT, internet infrastructure, industrial automation, consumer and automotive markets.

http://www.silabs.com

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About Smart Cities

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