Smart Cities

Gigabit Ethernet switch has a real time engine for industrial automation

Wed, Aug 23, 2023

With the ability to process high speed cyclical data in flight, the LAN9662 is Microchip’s latest Gbit Ethernet switch for industrial automation.

For automation networking, it has four ports, audio-video bridging and time sensitive networking (AVB/TSN), two integrated 10/100/1000BASE-T PHYs and a 600MHz Arm Cortex-A7 CPU subsystem. 

A real time engine support industrial Ethernet applications, and provides the ability to modify the Ethernet frame in flight. This enables faster cyclical data rates and low latency, confirmed Microchip. The LAN9662 is compliant with key industry standards such as the OPC Unified Architecture (OPC/UA) and PROFINET software stack, offering deterministic communication capabilities necessary for industrial networking applications.    

“Expanding on the LAN966x family, the LAN9662 opens a path to scale with TSN-enabled networking endpoints,” explained Charles Forni, vice president of Microchip’s USB and networking business unit. Developers can start designs knowing that industry standards are met and supported by a comprehensive software portfolio.

With two integrated PHYs, the LAN9662 provides low latency to support various daisy chain topologies. The PHY interfaces enable fast data processing within a specified time to provide a reliable network for automation applications such as motor, conveyor and multi-axis robot controllers.  

The LAN9662 supports multiple interfaces, namely up to two RGMII/RMII, up to two 1000BASE-X/SerDes/2.5GBASE-X/KX, and a Quad-SGMII/Quad-USGMII interface. The configurable interfaces allow designers to reach various types of physical layers or interconnects as required.

The LAN9662 is supported by Microchip’s Switch API, the EVB-LAN9662 and the EVB-LAN9662 carrier board. Software support is also offered through Platform BSP, Linux Switchdev and PROFINET Software Stack. 

Microchip Technology offers a wide product portfolio of smart, connected and secure embedded control solutions with development tools for customers operating in the industrial, automotive, consumer, aerospace and defence, communications and computing markets. It is headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, USA.

http://www.microchip.com

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Silicon Labs unveils Amazon Sidewalk optimised SoCs 

Wed, Aug 23, 2023

Two SoCs unveiled by Silicon Labs, the SG23 and SG28, are optimised for Amazon Sidewalk. 

To address the varied technologies and protocols that exist in the IoT today, the Silicon Labs portfolio includes different device families and derivatives for different parts, such as the BG line of Bluetooth SoCs and the ZG line of Z-Wave SoCs, and this latest addition, the SG family of SoCs optimised for Amazon Sidewalk. 

The always-on Amazon Sidewalk network uses Bluetooth LE for device provisioning and nearby device connectivity, sub-GHz FSK for connectivity up to one mile, and a proprietary CSS radio for extreme long range. Most Amazon Sidewalk end-devices will support Bluetooth LE and either FSK or CSS. The SG28 includes two dual-band SoCs with radios for both sub-GHz FSK as well as Bluetooth LE. These dual-band parts help simplify devices and reduce cost by including the two most commonly used radios on Sidewalk end devices in a single package. The SG23 provides security and a robust sub-GHz link budget for long range, end node devices. 

The company has also introduced developer tools as the company continues to work closely with Amazon to provide developers with the hardware, software, and development tools needed to navigate the Amazon Sidewalk development process.

Silicon Labs has worked directly with Amazon to create the Amazon Sidewalk Developer’s Journey, a guide with 12 steps organised in three stages, covering determining if a targeted region has Amazon Sidewalk coverage, device deployment and ongoing support for devices in the field. The guide includes technical documentation, videos, and code samples, with the option to engage a Silicon Labs expert for support. Silicon Labs provides all the tools needed for each step, and by following the Developers Journey, device makers are well-positioned for Amazon Web Services and Amazon Sidewalk certification and approval. 

Silicon Labs develops secure, intelligent wireless technology for a more connected world with an integrated hardware and software platform, intuitive development tools, ecosystem and robust support for building advanced industrial, commercial, home, and life applications. 

http://www.Silabs.com

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EPIC-ADN9 single board computer supports three displays

Tue, Aug 22, 2023

Aaeon has based the EPIC-ADN9 SBC (single board computer) on Intel’s Atom x7000E series processors. The SBC supports quadruple 2.5GbE LAN, three simultaneous displays for flexible graphic applications.

The 4.53 x 6.50 inch (115 x 165mm) SBC has a range of embedded CPUs, including the Intel Core i3-N305, Intel Atom x7425E, Intel Processor N50 and Intel Processor N97. According to Aaeon, this processor selection provides support for Intel UHD Graphics, enhancing the on-board display interface configuration which includes HDMI 1.4, DP 1.2, VGA, and 24/48-bit dual-channel LVDS.

The EPIC-ADN9 also supports up to four RJ-45 ports for Intel I226-V Ethernet running at 2.5GbE (depending on the model). The board is designed to be passively cooled, and additionally has multiple options for image acquisition and high-resolution display, making it suitable for entry level gateway devices and digital signage applications.

As is the case with earlier generations of the EPIC board series, the EPIC-ADN9 supports a wide input range of 9.0 to 24V, making it suitable for industrial deployment. There are two physical serial ports for RS-232 / RS-422 /RS-485, in addition to four internal pin headers that support RS-232. 

Other features are 16-bit general purpose I/O and flexible storage options such as SATA III, full-size mPCIe, mSATA, and M.2 2242 B-Key slots, making the EPIC-ADN9 suitable for smart manufacturing and industrial automation.

The EPIC-ADN9 is now in mass production.

Established in 1992, Aaeon designs and manufactures industrial IoT and AI Edge solutions. The company provides industrial motherboards and systems, rugged tablets, embedded AI edge systems, uCPE network appliances, and LoRaWAN / WWAN solutions. Aaeon works closely with cities and governments to develop and deploy smart city ecosystems.

http://www.aaeon.com

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Rutronik offers MediaTek’s AI-powered SoC, Genio 700

Tue, Aug 22, 2023

Responsive edge processing, AI and connectivity for industrial, smart home, interactive retail and commercial applications can be delivered by MediaTek’s Genio 700 (MT8390) SoC, which is now available from Rutronik following a recent franchise agreement covering Europe and Israel.
The Genio 700 SoC is an efficient, in-chip AI multiprocessor (APU) which provides 4TOPS (Terra operations per second) performance for deep learning, neural network acceleration and also computer vision applications when used with cameras up to 32Mpixel at 30 frames per second (via in-chip ISP and MIPI-CSI interfaces).
Genio 700 has an octa-core CPU with two Arm Cortex-A78 CPUs and six Arm Cortex-A55 CPUs, an Arm Mali-G57 GPU, up to 8Gbyte of quad channel LPDDR4X memory and fast UFS storage. The SoC supports Yocto and Ubuntu Linux, as well as Android.
The Genio 700 is based on TSMC’s advanced N6 (6nm-class) production process, making it “extremely power efficient”; product developers can use fanless enclosures or battery-powered systems, advised Rutronik.
The company added that its level of integration coupled with a small footprint help minimise bill of materials and development costs and accelerate time-to-market.
The Genio-700 platform can be expanding via PCI-Express and USB, and it supports a wide range of connectivity options, including native Gigabit Ethernet with TSN (time sensitive networking) as well as Wi-Fi 6 and 5G module options.
The dual display support of up to 4K at 60 frames per second and Full HD at 60 frames per second enables increases screen real estate while multimedia encoding/decoding engines, including AV1 decoding, make the Genio 700 suitable for interactive advertising, audio and video streaming services, and video conferencing and other personalised video services.
The Genio-700 is Arm SystemReady and carries Arm PSA certification for security.
MediaTek’s Genio series is a scalable line of four devices that bridges the gap between low-power Arm and high performance Intel / AMD processors.
Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente was founded in 1973 and is still an independent family-owned company, based in Ispringen, Germany. It has more than 80 offices worldwide and logistics centres in Austin (Texas), Shanghai, Singapore, and Hong Kong, for customer support in Europe, Asia, and North America.

http://www.rutronik.com

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