Payment bracelets interpret gestures and use biometric data

Collaboration between Italian start-up, DEED and Infineon Technologies, is showcased at MWC21. The get bracelets interpret human gestures and use biometic data to pick up a call or make payments.

At the core of get is a system consisting of components from Infineon that enable the wearable with connectivity, computing, sensing and security capabilities. Infineon’s Secora Connect supports the payment functionality based on lowest power consumption to achieve longest battery life for the consumer. Infineon’s Xensiv MEMS technology provides high-fidelity voice recording during phone call. The PSoC 6 microcontroller family which uses a high performance dual-core M4/M0 architecture is paired with Infineon’s Airoc Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for secure, low power  connectivity.

According to Edoardo Parini, CEO and founder of DEED, the bracelet’s pioneering features include new and higher security standards, an ID acquisition method for contactless payment and there is no screen. “It is the perfect bridge between ‘you‘ and ‘your’ digital-self!” said Parini.

Patented techniques have been used to create a seamless, light and water resistant wearable wristband, made up of several layers, based around a rigid-flex PCB. The intuitive human machine interface (HMI) allows for natural operation because the wearer does not have to swipe on screens or touch any display. Motion sensors with artificial intelligence (AI), for gesture recognition allow it to interpret human gestures, for example, to pick up a call, to check the time or to make payments. Consumers can use it to listen to audio or answer calls by holding their finger to their ear by ‘wrist bone conduction’, sending the sound through the body to the inner ear. Contactless payments can be released after individual electrocardiogram-based biometric identification. The bracelet also allows fitness and health monitoring.

http://www.infineon.com

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Bluetooth 5.0 for RE microcontroller uses SOTB for energy harvesting

The latest member of Renesas Electronics’ RE family of microcontroller is the RE01B, which has Bluetooth 5.0 support. The 32-bit low power microcontroller was developed using Renesas’ SOTB (Silicon on Thin Buried Oxide) process technology.

The Bluetooth-capable RE01B is suitable for energy harvesting systems and intelligent IoT devices that operate constantly at extremely low power levels without having to replace or recharge batteries. The RE01B microcontroller makes it easier to implement regular data management and firmware updates over Bluetooth while maintaining low power consumption, which extends the battery life.

The on-chip energy harvesting control circuit (rapid start up capacitor charging and secondary battery charge protection functionality) allows users to achieve battery-less Bluetooth communication. Energy harvesting and power storage can be directly connected to the RE01B.

The microcontroller is suitable for compact healthcare devices such as pulse oximeters and biomedical sensor patches, remote controls with voice recognition capabilities and smart meter modules. RE01B can also be used for IoT devices that require constant operation, period data collection and updates, such as devices for monitoring the elderly, children or assets in transit.

The RE01B is built around the Arm Cortex-M0+ core and Renesas’ proprietary SOTB process technology. It operates at a maximum operating frequency of 64MHz and achieves current consumption as low as 35 microA/MHz during operation and 600nA during standby; this is among the lowest in the industry for a Bluetooth-capable microcontroller, says Renesas. It can also be combined with Renesas’ ISL9123 ultra-low Iq DC/DC converter, configured as an external step-down regulator, to reduce current consumption during operation down to 15 microA/MHz to improve power efficiency.

It has 1.5Mbyte flash memory and 256Kbyte SRAM with Bluetooth functionality, suitable for over the air (OTA) firmware updating.

The RE01B is in a 64-pin QFN package measuring 8.0 x 8.0mm.

Security function include Trusted Secure IP and Renesas offers application programming interfaces (APIs) conforming to standard protocols, such as heart rate profile (HRP), environment sensing profile (ESP), and automation I/O profile (AIOP), in addition to Bluetooth 5.0 protocol stack.

Development tools for the RE family, include a QE for Bluetooth Low Energy, which generates programs for custom Bluetooth profiles that can then be integrated into the user’s own application programs, and a Bluetooth test tool suite, which provides a graphical user interface that allows users to perform initial wireless characteristics evaluations and Bluetooth functionality verification.

The RE01B is available now. The EB-RE01B evaluation kit from Tessera Technology is also available now.

http://www.renesas.com

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ST extends STM32WB series with extra power-saving modes

Devices that combine entry-level features with extra power savings have been added to the STM32WB Bluetooth Low Energy microcontroller series.

The dual-core STM32WB15 and STM32WB10 Value Line pair an Arm Cortex-M4 processor, which runs the main application with a Cortex-M0+ for Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. ST explains that this ensure real-time performance from each. The radio stage has a 102dBm link budget to ensure reliable connections over long distances and integrates balun circuitry to save board space and reduce the bill of materials.

The STM32WB15 and STM32WB10 have a power saving mode that allows the radio to remain operational. They also have tailored peripherals and memory to suit cost-sensitive, power-conscious embedded applications including wearables, beacons, smart circuit breakers, trackers, IoT endpoints, and equipment for industrial automation.

There is a software development kit (SDK) for each microcontroller. This includes standardised radio protocol stacks and openness to proprietary protocols with a set of security mechanisms that ensure safe software updates for device integrity. There is also Proprietary Code Read-Out Protection (PCROP) to guard intellectual property.

The STM32WB series scales across package variants, offering options such as extended general purpose I/Os and pin-to-pin compatibility between similar packages of the portfolio. Customers can migrate designs between devices to take advantage of different features and memory densities.

The development ecosystem includes STM32Cube-certified radio stacks, software expansion packs and sample code, the STM32CubeMX configurator and initialisation code generator, the STM32CubeIDE development environment, a powerful STM32CubeMonitor-RF evaluation tool, and associated Nucleo hardware tools.

The STM32WB15 and STM32WB10 microcontrollers are in production now, offering various pin-compatible configurations in a QFN48 package.

http://www.st.com

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Miniature wireless comms modules address low power edge devices

Miniature Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy modules from InnoPhase combne wireless connectivity and an integrated microcontroller for edge of network IoT devices that require low power and a direct-to-cloud connection.

The fabless semiconductor company has introduced the Talaria Two INP1012 and INP1013 modules for a range of products including smart home, smart industrial and smart health applications. The miniature modules are 40 per cent smaller than the original INP1010 and INP1011 modules, which introduced digital radio architecture and which claimed to provide the lowest power Wi-Fi connectivity in the industry.

The INP1012 includes an RF pin for routing the antenna signal onto a main PCB. This allows for independent antenna or antenna connector selection and solder pads. The INP1013 includes a ceramic chip-antenna mounted on the module and solder pads.

Typical smart IoT applications use a significant percentage of the overall system power for Wi-Fi connectivity – up to 75 per cent, explained InnoPhase, even while idly connected to the network. The INP1012 and INP1013 Talaria Two modules can increase the battery lifetime by months or years and require less space, claimed InnoPhase. The INP1012 module also has the capability to allow the user to select the antenna connection and placement. This makes it particularly suitable for industrial applications.

The INP1012 and INP1013 modules can be used in smart door locks, remote security cameras, connected sensors or other space-constrained products within home, commercial, industrial and health markets.

The INP1012 and INP1013 modules use the Talaria Two multi-protocol SoC, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy 5 for wireless data transfer, an embedded Arm Cortex-M3 for system control and user applications, there are also advanced security elements for device safeguards.

The modules can operate in standalone mode, in conjunction with an external microcontroller or in a hybrid mode where the system control and processing responsibilities are shared between the module and an external microcontroller.

The module can be connected to a single power supply and when general purpose I/Os are connected to the peripherals, the system is ready for use, said InnoPhase.

All modules will be certified with the Wi-Fi Alliance and Bluetooth SIG and include government body certifications such as FCC, IC (Canada) and CE/RED approval.

http://www.innophaseinc.com

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