Smart Cities

element14 Community launches ultrasonic sensor challenge with TDK

Tue, Mar 04, 2025

element14, an Avnet Community, in partnership with TDK, has launched a new design challenge, inviting engineers, makers, and technology enthusiasts to develop innovative projects utilising TDK’s waterproof ultrasonic range sensors in real-world applications.

Participants will integrate TDK USSM Plus-FS sensors into a functional project that demonstrates the versatility and accuracy of ultrasonic distance sensing technology. Selected applicants will receive an evaluation kit from TDK, which includes two TDK USSM Plus-FS ultrasonic range sensors, a TDK evaluation board, and a set of sensor connector cables.

Participants are encouraged to explore a range of potential applications for ultrasonic sensing technology, such as object detection, industrial control sensing, human-robot interaction, movement boundary control, conveyor belt monitoring, smart delivery robots, autonomous lawnmowers, and liquid level sensing.

Andreea Teodorescu, Global Director of Product Marketing & element14 Community, stated, “This design challenge provides our community with the opportunity to explore the power of ultrasonic sensing technology with hands-on experience in real-world applications.”

Applications are open till 28 March. Once selected, participants have until 16 June to build their projects. Challengers must post their progress including the final project and at least five blog posts before the closing date. Posts that include photos, videos and code samples will be judged more favourably.

The grand prize winner will receive an Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (4th gen) 128GB and an iRobot Roomba self-emptying robot vacuum cleaner, the runner-up will receive an iPad Mini 10.9 inch 64GB and an iRobot Roomba self-emptying robot vacuum cleaner, and other finishers of the challenge (anyone who completes five blogs and a project with the featured product) will receive a MultiComp Pro Multimeter Set.

For more information on the design challenge and to register, please visit: https://community.element14.com

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u-blox introduces PointPerfect Live bringing network RTK to high-precision GNSS applications

Tue, Mar 04, 2025

u-blox has announced the launch of PointPerfect Live, a next-generation network RTK correction service designed to provide centimetre-level positioning. With instant access to high-precision corrections, customers in surveying, construction, mining, and agriculture can maximize productivity, reduce costly errors, and streamline workflows.

PointPerfect Live builds upon the capabilities of the u-blox PointPerfect service, delivering real-time positioning capabilities in the centimetre-level range, which are crucial for high-value market segments such as surveying, construction, mining and agriculture.

PointPerfect Live is designed to address the growing demand for GNSS correction services that achieve the highest precision within seconds, thereby enhancing productivity. Built upon proven RTK technology, it ensures real-time accuracy within 1-2 centimetres, even in challenging environments. The solution leverages a dense network of reference stations to provide seamless corrections in local data formats, eliminating the need for complex transformations and reducing operational overhead.

“The launch of PointPerfect Live marks a major milestone in our mission to deliver best-in-class positioning solutions,” said, Franco de Lorenzo Head of Product at u-blox’s Services business unit, “The extension of the PointPerfect line of correction services enables our customers to work faster, reduce errors, and optimise their workflows across industries that rely on high-precision GNSS — from surveying and construction to mining and agriculture.”

https://www.u-blox.com

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Sfera Labs expands Strato Pi Max capabilities with new industrial I/O expansion boards

Tue, Mar 04, 2025

Sfera Labs has announced the release of two new expansion boards for its Strato Pi Max modular industrial controller, the industrial analog inputs X2-Series expansion board (X2BI10XAIZ) and the industrial analog outputs X2-Series expansion board (X2BI10XAOZ).

The Strato Pi Max is not just a robust, DIN-rail-mounted industrial edge server—it’s a modular powerhouse designed for demanding environments. By combining the processing capabilities of the Raspberry Pi Compute 4 or 5 and the RP2040 microcontroller with industrial-grade reliability, Strato Pi Max is ideal for a wide range of applications in industrial automation, IoT, and edge computing.

These boards seamlessly integrate with the Strato Pi Max, broadening its capabilities and enabling users to tailor the system precisely to their control application needs.

The X2BI10XAIZ expansion board provides four 4-20mA and four 0-10V, galvanically isolated, highly accurate inputs to connect standard industrial probes, as well as two additional inputs specific for PT100 and PT1000 temperature sensors. The analog signals are converted by the 24-bit AD4112 ADC, which provides for high accuracy and resolution. The board also features a 5V auxiliary power output and two digital I/O lines compatible with protocols like 1-Wire, Wiegand, and I²C.

This board is designed for monitoring and controlling industrial processes, such as temperature sensing in manufacturing, current and voltage monitoring in energy management systems, and data acquisition in IoT applications.

The X2BI10XAOZ expansion board offers four analog outputs, configurable as either 0-10V voltage or 0-20mA current drivers. It also includes two digital I/O lines and a 5V auxiliary power output, making it a versatile solution for controlling industrial actuators, valves, and other analog devices.

The X2BI10XAOZ is ideal for controlling actuators, valves, motors, and other industrial equipment requiring analog signals. It can be used in various applications, including process control, building automation, test and measurements setup and robotics.

https://www.sferalabs.cc

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Infineon announces PSOC 4 Multi-Sense expanding capacitive sensing technology

Tue, Mar 04, 2025

Infineon has  expanded its capacitive sensing technology CAPSENSE with a new, proprietary inductive sensing technology, as well as a non-invasive and non-contact liquid sensing solution. With PSOC 4, developers now have endless possibilities to develop new HMI and sensing solutions. From sleek metallic product designs with touch on metal buttons, to waterproof touch buttons, and innovative ways of sensing liquids, PSOC 4 Multi-Sense unlocks new possibilities of sensing.

Infineon’s PSOC 4000T is the first device to feature the company’s fifth-generation CAPSENSE and Multi-Sense. The supported sensing technologies can be combined in a single PSOC 4 MCU to optimise performance (e.g., combination of capacitive and inductive sensing), enable new use cases (e.g., underwater inductive sensing buttons) or realize cost savings (e.g., system control plus liquid sensing). In addition, Infineon’s fifth generation CAPSENSE with “Always On” technology enables sensing at 10x lower power consumption and offers a 10x higher signal-to-noise ratio than previous devices.

Infineon’s new Multi-Sense capabilities in the PSOC 4 family include:

Inductive sensing – Based on a new and proprietary methodology which is less sensitive to noise and more robust than current state of the art approaches that suffer from external noise as well as manufacturability concerns. Infineon’s inductive sensing technology enables new HMI use cases, such as touch-over-metal, force touch surfaces and proximity sensing. It is highly complementary to capacitive sensing and enables modern, metal-based and waterproof designs with sleek form factors such as metal touch buttons on refrigerators or robust HMI for underwater devices such as cameras and wearables.

Liquid sensing – Non-invasive and non-contact liquid sensing capability with AI/ML based processing algorithm in PSOC 4 enables more cost-effective and accurate sensing than mechanical sensors and typical capacitive solutions. It is resistant to environmental factors such as temperature and humidity and can detect liquid levels with up to 10-bit resolution in various shapes of containers. The solution offers even more features that other liquid sensors cannot solve such as foam rejection, residue rejection and reliably work with varying air gaps between sensor and container. Liquid sensing on PSOC 4 brings more intelligence to applications managing liquids such as robot vacuum cleaner, soap dispensing in washing machine, coffee machines, humidifiers, etc.

CAPSENSE hover touch – Hover touch sensing supports new use cases where a direct touch of a button is not required. Hover touch can eliminate multiple components in certain applications such as springs and gaskets in cooktop touch panels. By bridging the airgap with hover touch, customers achieve significant bill-of-material (BOM) savings, while realising increased system performance, reduced design complexity, and faster time-to-market.

Infineon’s PSOC 4000T with fifth-generation CAPSENSE and new Multi-Sense capability is available now. A second device, the new PSOC 4100T Plus with higher memory and more I/Os, will be Multi-Sense-enabled in the second quarter of 2025, and all subsequent PSOC devices with CAPSENSE will incorporate this technology. The new PSOC 4000T series provides an upgrade path for PSOC 4000, PSOC 4000S and PSOC T 4700S based designs to fifth-generation HMI technology with software and package compatibility.

https://www.infineon.com/multi-sense

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