Weartech-Comms / Bluetooth / Wireless Archives - Page 15 of 21

Updates add video to STMicroelectronics’ TouchGFX suite

Mon, Oct 25, 2021

The TouchGFX Version 4.18 from STMicroelectronics is for user-interface development with STM32 microcontrollers, adding video playback, enhanced tools for multi-developer collaboration, and support for new X-NUCLEO display kits.

By allowing playback of Motion-JPEG (MJPEG) video files, TouchGFX aids small devices such as home-automation products, wearables, medical devices and industrial sensors, allowing rich features such as instructional guides or entertaining startup and pause screens to enhance the user interface. Developers can use their own MJPEG files or choose from the sample movies provided. A new video widget in TouchGFX Designer, with properties including start, stop, repeat, and go-to-frame, simplifies prototyping and is added to the application by drag and drop, says ST.

TouchGFX 4.18 allows video decoding in either software or hardware. Hardware decoding is possible with STM32 MCUs that contain a suitable decoding peripheral, such as the STM32F769 and STM32H7B3. Software decoding is available on all series devices except the STM32G0 series. Various strategies for video buffering, including direct rendering to the frame buffer and double buffering, help optimise memory demand and performance.

Additional new features of TouchGFX 4.18 include enhanced support for collaborative working, using XML to store text data and translations. XML simplifies sharing and merging various elements of the project as multiple team members contribute. The features of previous TouchGFX versions are retained, including the partial frame buffer for low RAM use, ultra-efficient rendering that prevents tearing effects, and support for low-cost non-memory-mapped SPI Flash.

For an easy start to GUI development projects, TouchGFX 4.18 comes with examples showing how to use the new video capabilities and the necessary TouchGFX board setup for the STM32 Discovery boards.

ST has also updated and extended the selection of display shields that help developers get their user-interface projects running. The updated X-NUCLEO-GFX01M2 for Nucleo 64 boards has a 2.2” QVGA serial interface display and now supports the NUCLEO-WB55RG, making it easy to add a display to a Bluetooth application. A new X-NUCLEO-GFX02Z1 for Nucleo 144 has a high-speed parallel interface and QSPI Flash memory on-board, supporting among others the NUCLEO-U575ZI-Q Both are supported in TouchGFX 4.18.

Go to https://www.st.com/content/st_com/en/ecosystems/stm32-graphic-user-interface.html

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Dual-core module supports Bluetooth 5.1’s angle of arrival

Wed, Oct 13, 2021

An RF module with dual-core processor uses Bluetooth technology in what is claimed to be the smallest package on the market. Insight SiP says the ISP2053-AX RF module supports sophisticated applications and removes the need for an additional host processor.

For advanced Bluetooth applications, it has a dual-core Arm processor, Bluetooth Low Energy 5.2 Long Range connectivity, the capability to support Bluetooth Low Energy Audio, and security features via Arm Trustzone. With extended temperature capability up to 105 degrees C, it can support every kind of advanced Bluetooth based solution including angle of arrival and low latency/streaming, says Insight SiP.

The standard 8.0 x 8.0 x 1.0mm package has an integrated RF matching and integrated antenna. There is also 32MHz and 32kHz crystals and DC/DC support for each processor, meaning it is a fully functioning Bluetooth node only requiring a power supply to operate.

This module is based on the nRF5340 Nordic Semiconductor SoC. The next generation architecture has a 2.4GHz transceiver, a 64MHz M33 network core with 256kbyte flash and 64kbyte RAM and a 128MHz M33 application core with 1Mbyte flash and 512kbyte RAM. The two cores can be operated independently to optimise performance for power consumption, throughput, and real time response.

Peripheral connections available to both cores include USB, QSPI, SPI and UART. As well as supporting Bluetooth Low Energy, the module can run Zigbee, Thread and other 802.15.4 based protocols, concurrently with Bluetooth Low Energy. Protocols stacks and applications run on the real time Zephyr operating system which provides a suite of drivers and services.

For security in the IoT, the ISP2053 has Arm Trustzone capability. This allows secure key storage, advanced encryption and root of trust verification, enabling devices to be securely authenticated, updated and data exchange protected end to end.

The ISP2053 RF module is designed to run on a coin cell battery if required. According to Insight SiP, the module’s low power consumption and advanced power management system enable the battery to “last up to several years”.

Initial samples are available now. Full production of the modules will start in 2022. Certification is pending.

Development kits together with sample software will be made available.

http://www.insightsip.com

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Reference design develops 3D spatial audio in headsets and earbuds

Fri, Oct 01, 2021

Three companies have collaborated to bring 3D spatial audio hardware and software together in a reference design for consumer electronics OEMs and ODMs.

Wireless connectivity and smart sensing specialist, Ceva, has partnered with wireless communications company, Beken and 3D spatial audio expert, VisiSonics to offer a 3D audio reference design to accelerate development and deployment of headsets and true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds for use in gaming, multimedia and conferencing.

The reference design leverages Beken’s BK3288X Bluetooth Audio SoC series featuring the Ceva-X2 Audio DSP running VisiSonics’ RealSpace 3D audio software, together with Ceva’s MotionEngine Hear head tracking algorithms. OEMs and ODMs can use the ready-to-deploy SoC with any audio encoding format, to introduce 3D audio for VR, AR and the new generation of motion-aware earbuds. The single chip-based reference design provides a self-sufficient 3D audio solution, residing on the headset side, without the need for a 3D audio rendering engine on the host device. As well as being cost-efficient, this also enables a lower latency design, says Ceva.

Weifeng Wang, vice president of engineering at Beken, comments: “Spatial audio brings the wireless audio user experience to the next level and we’re pleased to partner with Ceva and VisiSonics to make it easy for our customers to leverage this exciting new technology in a cost-effective, power-efficient turnkey offering”.

“Spatial audio is an incredibly hot market right now as the Android and PC ecosystems look to build on the industry momentum behind its use in music and gaming to create immersive audio experiences,” adds Moshe Sheier, vice president of marketing at Ceva.

The 3D Audio Reference Design is available now directly from Ceva, and the associated software package combining VisiSonics’ RealSpace 3D audio with Ceva’s MotionEngine Hear is available now for licensing by Ceva and VisiSonics.

Ceva licenses wireless connectivity and smart sensing technologies. It provides DSPs, AI engines, wireless platforms, cryptography cores and complementary software for sensor fusion, image enhancement, computer vision, voice input and artificial intelligence.

DSP-based solutions include platforms for 5G baseband processing in mobile, IoT and infrastructure, advanced imaging and computer vision for any camera-enabled device, audio / voice / speech and low-power always-on / sensing applications for multiple IoT markets.

https://www.ceva-dsp.com

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Hand-held camera cube reference design brings AI to the edge

Wed, Jul 21, 2021

Artificial intelligence (AI) which was previously limited to expensive machines with large power budgets can now be embedded in space-constrained, power-powered edge devices. Maxim Integrated says its MAXREFDES178# camera cube executes low latency AI vision and hearing inferences on a coin cell power budget with reduced cost and size.

The MAXREFDES178# enables low power IoT devices to implement hearing and vision. It is based on the MAX78000 low power microcontroller with neural network accelerator for audio and video inferences. The system also contains the MAX32666 low power Bluetooth microcontroller and two MAX9867 audio codecs. The system is delivered in a compact form factor to show how AI applications, such as facial identification and keyword recognition, can be embedded in low power, cost sensitive applications such as wearables and IoT devices.

AI applications require intensive computations, which is usually performed in the cloud or in expensive, power-hungry processors: self driving cars is an example. Maxim says that its MAXREFDES178# camera cube demonstrates how AI can operate on a low power budget, enabling applications that are time- and safety-critical to run on even the smallest of batteries. The MAX78000’s AI accelerator slashes the power of AI inferences up to 1,000x for vision and hearing applications, compared to other embedded solutions, reports Maxim. The AI inferences running on the MAXREFDES178# also show dramatic latency improvements, running more than 100x faster than on an embedded microcontroller.

The compact form factor of the camera cube (1.6 x 1.7 x 1.5inch of 41 x 44 x 39mm) allows AI to be implemented in wearables and other space-constrained IoT applications. The MAX78000 is up to 50 per cent smaller than the next-smallest GPU-based processor, says Maxim, and does not require other components like memories or complex power supplies to implement cost-effective AI inferences.

The MAXREFDES178# and the MAX78000 is available now, together with the MAX32666GWPBT+T RF microcontroller and the MAX9867EWV+T stereo codec at Maxim Integrated’s website and authorised distributors.

http://www.maximintegrated.com

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Updates add video to STMicroelectronics’ TouchGFX suite

Dual-core module supports Bluetooth 5.1’s angle of arrival

Reference design develops 3D spatial audio in headsets and earbuds

Hand-held camera cube reference design brings AI to the edge

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