Industry News Smart Cities

Mouser has announced it has entered into a distribution agreement with Macronix.

Macronix designs and manufactures an expansive range of NOR Flash and NAND Flash products for diverse applications from computing, consumer, networking, and industrial to mobile, embedded, automotive, medical devices and Internet of Things (IoT).

“Macronix’s world-class portfolio of unique, high-performance products aligns well with our line card and customer base,” said Kristin Schuetter, Vice President of Supplier Management at Mouser Electronics. “We look forward to providing engineers and buyers worldwide with their innovative embedded memory solutions, backed by Mouser’s best-in-class logistics and unsurpassed customer service.”

“Macronix is a leader in non-volatile memories, and we are excited to partner with Mouser to expand our presence in the market,” said J.T. Chung, Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Macronix. “With Mouser’s world-class distribution channel and support, we are confident we will be able to enhance our customer base as well as expand our reach globally. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with Mouser.”

Mouser is stocking a wide range of Macronix memory solutions. The MX25S 1.2V serial NOR flash offers ultra-low power consumption, effectively extending battery life. MX25S components are provided in densities from 4Mb to 128Mb and offered in compact packages, such as USON, WLCSP or Known Good Die (KGD), that can be used with system-in-package (SiP) solutions. These devices are ideal for health monitoring applications, wireless devices, IoT, wearables and more.

Macronix MX25R ultra-low power serial NOR flash is a family of memory products with a wide range voltage input range (1.65V to 3.6V), suitable for use in a wide variety of IoT and other energy-conscious applications, such as wearable and mobile devices.

The MX25Ux/MX66Ux 1.8V and MX25Lx/MX66LM 3V OctaFlash™ NOR flash, also available from Mouser, are extreme speed memory products built on a serial peripheral interface (SPI) and command protocol, providing extendable I/O capability. Macronix OctaFlash, built on OctaBus™ technology, is ideal for bus sharing, which enables simplicity in system design while optimising PCB space, resulting in significant cost savings. These NOR flash devices are an ideal solution for over-the-air (OTA) update applications, which are becoming more prevalent within automotive and IoT solutions.

https://eu.mouser.com/manufacturer/macronix/.

ST has announced that Panasonic Cycle Technology has adopted the STM32F3 microcontroller (MCU) and edge AI development tool, STM32Cube.AI, for their TiMO A e-assisted bike. ST’s edge AI solutions provide a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) that leverages an advanced AI function to improve rider safety and convenience.

Panasonic is a leading producer of e-assisted bikes in Japan and offers a wide variety of products for various uses to the Japanese market. Their electric assist bicycle for school commuting, TiMO A, runs an AI application on the STM32F3 MCU to infer the tyre air pressures without using pressure sensors. Based on information from the motor and the bicycle speed sensor, the system generates a warning to inflate the tyres if necessary. ST’s edge AI development tool, STM32Cube.AI, enabled Panasonic to implement this edge AI function while fitting into STM32F3 embedded memory space. This new function simplifies tyre air-pressure maintenance, which enhances rider safety and prolongs the life of tyres and other cycle components. It also helps to reduce the cost and design work, as there is no need for additional hardware such as an air pressure sensor.

ST will showcase edge AI solutions, including the STM32 MCU and a variety of AI development tools, at the AI Expo at Tokyo Big Sight (May 22-24, 2024). The e-assisted bike and the motor unit (cutaway sample) from Panasonic Cycle Technology, which feature the STM32F3 MCU and STM32Cube.AI, are also scheduled to be displayed at this expo.

The STM32F3 MCU adopted for the TIMO A is based on the Arm Cortex-M4 (with a maximum operating frequency of 72 MHz) and features a 128KB Flash, along with various high-performance analog and digital peripherals optimal for motor control. In addition to the new inflation warning function, the MCU determines the electric assistance level and controls the motor.

It leverages STM32Cube.AI to reduce the size of the neural network (NN) model and optimise memory allocation throughout the development of this AI function. STM32Cube.AI is ST’s free edge AI development tool that converts NN models learned by general AI frameworks into code for the STM32 MCU and optimises these models. The tool optimised the NN model developed by Panasonic Cycle Technology for the STM32F3 MCU quickly and easily, and implemented it in the flash memory, which has limited capacity.

https://www.st.com

Mouser Electronics, has launched its latest instalment of the Empowering Innovation Together (EIT) technology series, which explores the world of industrial machine vision technology. This instalment of the EIT technical content series delves into the systems, algorithms, and models required for machine vision, with in-depth coverage of real-world manufacturing applications.

The use of machine vision has grown increasingly vital in everyday technology, driven by the demand for more efficient and accurate manufacturing processes. Machine vision technology can be used in applications across industries, including automotive, industrial, and medical. The series highlights advancements in perceptual AI and deep learning on embedded platforms, technologies that further the achievements of machine vision.

The series includes a podcast interview with Peter Denzinger, Vice President of Engineering at Vista Solutions, who discusses the component-level advancements necessary for collaboration between humans and machines. Denzinger outlines the challenges and opportunities facing the machine vision industry.

“Our latest season of the Empowering Innovation Together series kicks off with the transformative potential of machine vision technology,” said Mouser Director of Technical Content Raymond Yin. “This cutting-edge technology is reshaping the industrial landscape, and we touch on a handful of possibilities through engaging, technical conversations with top industry experts.”

The series also includes audio and written articles, an infographic, a video and more about the evolution of machine vision and deep learning on embedded platforms, providing in-depth analysis and technical details for engineers who want to explore the potential of machine vision technology, its applications and the opportunity for future design.

https://www.mouser.com/empowering-innovation/