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Sensor evaluation board accelerates IoT development, says Bosch Sensortec

Tue, Sep 07, 2021

R&D effort can be simplified to assist rapid prototyping and reduce time to market for the segmented IoT market, using the Application Board 3.0, says Bosch Sensortec. It offers Bluetooth connectivity and a small form factor for IoT applications and supports the full range of Bosch Sensortec sensors

The Application Board 3.0 simplifies the evaluation and prototyping of sensors for a wide range of applications, particularly in Industry 4.0, IoT, smart home systems, and wrist- and head-mounted wearables, explained Bosch-Sensortec.

Any Bosch Sensortec sensor mounted on a ‘shuttle board’ is simply plugged into the socket on the Application Board. All shuttle boards have an identical footprint, and Bosch Sensortec’s software automatically detects which sensor is plugged in at any given moment to launch the appropriate software. This enables the straightforward evaluation of a wide range of sensors and solutions, said Bosch Sensortec. Prototypes can be built to quickly test different use case configurations, added the company.

The board measures just 47.0 x 37.0 x 7.0mm³, which is practical for evaluating sensors used in portable applications, observed Bosch Sensortec. The board can be powered using a 3.7V Li-ion battery or a standard 5V USB power supply.

“The Application Board 3.0 makes it quick and easy for developers to build their projects with any of our sensors on a single platform, meaning that they can now focus on creating unique use cases and differentiating their products,” says Dr. Stefan Finkbeiner, CEO at Bosch Sensortec. “Our customers also benefit from efficient support through regional field application engineers and Bosch offices,” he continued.

The integrated development environment (IDE) software provided with the board includes a simplified graphical user interface (GUI) to evaluate and tune sensor parameters, as well as to visualise and record sensor data. The software also saves time in troubleshooting sensor-related issues, claims Bosch Sensortec.

Application Board 3.0 is designed around the u-blox NINA-B302 Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) module and is based on the nRF52840 chipset from Nordic Semiconductor, which includes an Arm Cortex-M4F CPU. It is certified and compliant with multiple directives for different international regions: CE, RoHS, China RoHS, FCC, IC, VCCI, SRRC and NCC.

The board is supplied with 256kbyte RAM, 1Mbyte of internal flash and 2Gbyte of external flash memory for data logging. It provides full-speed micro-USB 2.0 connectivity and BLE to connect to a host, such as a PC, for transferring the logged sensor data from the board.

The Application Board 3.0 is available now.

http://www.bosch-sensortec.com

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Rutronik adds Nordic Semiconductor’s PMIC

Tue, Jul 27, 2021

Offering efficient reliability in confined spaces, the Nordic nPM1100 is a dedicated power management IC (PMIC) with configurable dual-mode buck regulator and integrated battery charger. It is designed as a complementary component to Nordic‘s nRF52 and nRF53 series of SoCs and to ensure reliable power supply and stable operation while maximising battery life through high efficiency and low quiescent currents. It can also be used as a generic PMIC device, says Rutronik, which has added the nPM1100 to its portfolio.

The compact (2.075 x 2.075 mm) WLCSP package can be used in wearable devices, connected medical devices, smart home sensors and controls, remote controls and game controllers, and other size constrained applications, advises Rutronik.

The integrated battery charger is designed to charge lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries to a selectable termination voltage of 4.1 or 4.2V and supports cell chemistries with a nominal voltage of 3.6 or 3.7V respectively. The PMICe features thermal battery protection and automatic selection of three charging modes: automatic trickle charge, constant current and constant voltage.

The maximum charging current can be selected via a resistor from 20 up to 400mA. The charger also has a discharge current limiter and is JEITA-compliant.

The high-efficiency step-down regulator can deliver up to 150mA of current at a selectable output voltage of 1.8, 2.1, 2.7 or 3.0V. It features soft start and automatic transition between hysteresis and PWM modes. It also enables a forced PWM mode to ensure clean operation.

The nPM1100 has a low quiescent current, 700nA typical, 470nA in ship mode (deactivates the current output) and 150mA current limit. The PMIC also has over-voltage protection and USB port detection for SDP, CDP and DCP. There is also a driver for charging and error indication LED and the nPM1100 evaluation kit.

http://www.rutronik24.com

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Mouser Electronics signs global distribution agreement with Telink Semiconductor

Thu, Jul 15, 2021

Low power radio frequency and mixed signal chips for the IoT from Telink Semiconductor are now available from Mouser Electronics, following the signing of a global distribution agreement.

Mouser will add Telink’s range of SoCs, starter kits and multi-protocol IoT products to its portfolio. Among the highlights of the range are the Telink TLSR827x series of low power, concurrent, multi-protocol IoT devices operating at the ISM 2.4GHz band. The devices support Bluetooth Low Energy 5.1, Bluetooth SIG Mesh, Zigbee, HomeKit, RF4CE, and 2.4GHz proprietary protocols. They are built on a 32-bit RISC-based microcontroller capable of running up to 48MHz and feature up to 32 general-purpose inputs/outputs (GPIOs), including a 14-bit ADC, I²C, SPI, I²S, and stereo audio output.

There is also the TLSR8278 audio RCU (remote control unit) starter kit features a button function and voice command function support and is therefore suitable for RF and IR remote control applications. The starter kit has 27 valid buttons and two-colour indicating LEDs. It also offers Google voice service.

Mouser also offer the TLSR825x series multi-protocol single-chip devices suitable for IoT and human interface device (HID) applications. The low power, concurrent devices support Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0 and up to eight antennae for indoor positioning in addition to standard Bluetooth 5.0 features. Designers can use the TLSR825X devices in a wide range of applications, including wearable devices, wireless toys, advanced remote controls, smart lighting, and smart home products.

Telink’s Kite Mesh Starter Kit is based on the TLSR8258 and features multiple PCBAs to implement Bluetooth Mesh applications. It is suitable for home automation and smart lighting, and includes multiple USB dongles for emulating gateways or mesh nodes, as well as a remote control PCBA to emulate remote controllers or wall switches. The mesh starter kit is supported by a range of PC tools and a software development kit to support rapid development of mesh applications.

https://www.mouser.com

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Compact battery chargers are dedicated to charging in tight spaces

Wed, Jul 07, 2021

As wearable, medical and smart sensor products use streamlined power management for energy harvesting hardware, e-peas has developed a family of battery charger devices, dedicated to charging. The company’s existing power management ICs (PMICs) offer direct power delivery to the application, as well as the charging of energy storage elements (such as Li-Ion batteries or super capacitors), but the AEM10900, AEM10300 and AEM30300 are fully dedicated to the charging function. This allows them to be used where a simpler implementation can be used and where there are space or cost constraints.

The PMICs achieve zero quiescent current draw from the battery. In other words, if energy harvesting stops for a prolonged period of time, the energy stored into the battery will not be wasted supplying the PMIC.

Working in conjunction with a single-cell photovoltaic panel, the integrated AEM10900 PMIC boost converter is optimised for solar-based energy harvesting implementations. It has a fast maximum power point tracking (MPPT) functionality designed for objects in movement. This allows the device to get the most energy from the ambient illumination available, storing as much as possible. It also has a 250mV cold start capability, which means it can commence with charging the battery even when light intensities are very low. AEM10900 introduces an I²C interface to minimise the pin count and to offer a larger set of potential configurations. The PMIC includes battery thermal protection, a joule counter to let the user know the amount of energy harvested, and a shipping mode in which the battery cannot be charged. The AEM10900 is suitable for wearable consumer products and body-worn medical monitoring equipment.

The AEM10300 and AEM30300 PMICs both have built-in low power DC/DC converters supporting operation over an input voltage range of 100mV to 4.5V. Adaptive energy management permits these devices to automatically switch between boost, buck-boost and buck operational configurations as deemed appropriate. This ensures that optimal energy transfer is always maintained between the respective inputs and the storage element.

The AEM10900, AEM10300 and AEM30300 battery chargers PMICs only require three external components, advises e-peas, for energy harvesting to be added while keeping the bill of materials costs low and taking up very little board space.

Geoffroy Gosset, CEO and co-founder of e-peas said: “Following on from in-depth consultations with our customer base, it became clear that having compact solutions for charging only was going to be of real value.”

The AEM10300 and AEM30300 PMICs are supplied in a 28-pin QFN package format, measuring 4.0 x 4.0mm and the AEM10900 is available in either the 28-pin QFN package or a 16-pin WLCSP (with 2.0 x 2.0mm dimensions).

http://www.e-peas.com

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Sensor evaluation board accelerates IoT development, says Bosch Sensortec

Rutronik adds Nordic Semiconductor’s PMIC

Mouser Electronics signs global distribution agreement with Telink Semiconductor

Compact battery chargers are dedicated to charging in tight spaces

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