Weartech-Comms / Bluetooth / Wireless

Microchip releases 20 Wi-Fi products for industrial and commercial applications

Tue, Oct 15, 2024

With Industry 4.0, the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), digitised manufacturing and the age of IoT everything, the demand for wireless connectivity in commercial and industrial applications is growing at an exceptional pace. These applications typically require reliable connectivity that can withstand extreme environments that are exposed to high temperatures, background noise and obstructions. To help meet this need, Microchip Technology has added 20 products to its Wi-Fi® portfolio.

The company’s Wi-Fi solutions are designed to support various application needs and developer skill levels. The selection ranges from modules that are regulatory certified in several countries that require no Radio Frequency (RF) expertise and little programming to robust Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) with industrial-level features.

Microchip’s Wi-Fi portfolio includes:
• Wi-Fi MCUs: all-in-one solution designed to combine the functionality of an MCU with reliable wireless connectivity
• Link Controllers: an SDIO interface enables the addition of Wi-Fi to Linux MPUs
• Network Controllers: an SPI interface allows the addition of wireless connectivity to an MCU
• Plug-and-Play Modules: simplify wireless-to-cloud connectivity by sending simple text commands from an MCU over a UART interface

The latest PIC32MZ-W1 Wi-Fi MCUs build on Microchip’s trusted 32-bit MCU line and feature advanced analog peripherals—including CAN, Ethernet, capacitive touch and ADC—to offer exceptional versatility. Additionally, the new devices feature some of the highest General-Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) capabilities on the market.

Also included in the lineup are next-generation WINCS02 network controllers and WILCS02 link controllers. Updates to the popular WINC and WILC solutions include improved radio performance and enhanced security features. The new wireless modules are pin-to-pin compatible with previous generations to ease migration from legacy devices.

To simplify Wi-Fi to cloud connectivity, Microchip has also expanded its plug-and-play product line with new RNWF02 modules. These modules connect MCUs to a cloud platform using simple ASCII commands sent over a UART interface.

Secure connections, which are critical for Wi-Fi applications that send or receive data from the cloud, can be challenging to implement depending on the developer’s skill level. To ease this process, Microchip has integrated its Trust Platform into many of its Wi-Fi products. Trust&GO module variants are pre-provisioned for secure authentication with popular cloud services, including AWS® and Azure®, to streamline the process of network authentication.

Millions of Microchip Wi-Fi products are already powering industrial applications around the world, offering seamless integration, enhanced security, robust connectivity and long-term performance and reliability throughout their lifecycle.

Microchip’s Wi-Fi portfolio is supported by a comprehensive suite of development tools, application demos, evaluation boards and services. Additional services include free design checks to give developers the support they need to create high-quality products efficiently.

https://www.microchip.com

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Insight SiP launches next generation bluetooth radio in miniature integrated SiP package

Wed, Sep 18, 2024

Insight SiP is launching the ISP2454-MX module in a tiny package measuring 8 x 8 x 1mm, the smallest package on the market. With extended temperature capability up to 105oC, this device can support next generation Bluetooth based solutions including Angle of Arrival and the new Bluetooth Channel Sounding technology. Based on the new Nordic nRF54L15, this offers improved performance across the board, being based on a 4th generation radio and a double speed microprocessor compared with the nRF52 series-based devices, at a lower cost.

This module can support a wide range of solutions, offering a powerful Arm M33F 128Mhz based processor, and advanced security features with ARM Trustzone. Power consumption is improved in both radioactive and sleep modes. Memory capacity is increased with 1.5MB of storage and 256KB RAM, allowing the largest and most sophisticated applications to be run. This enhanced performance is also offered at a cost advantage over nRF52 based devices, making it equally suitable for price sensitive products.

Despite the advanced features of this device, it is released in Insight SiP’s standard 8 x 8 x 1 mm package and offers a fully integrated solution with RF matching and integrated antenna. Both 32MHz and 32 kHz crystals and DC-DC support for each processor are included, meaning it is a fully functioning Bluetooth node only requiring a power supply to operate.

A full range of peripheral connections is available including HS-SPI, SPI, UART, I2S and others. There is also a software programmable peripheral independent 128MHz RISC processor, allowing alternative high-speed peripherals to be supported. As well as supporting BLE, the module can run Zigbee, Thread and other 802.15.4 based protocols, concurrently with BLE. Protocols stacks and applications run on the real time Zephyr operating system which provides a rich suite of drivers and services.

The ISP2454 RF module is designed to run on a coin cell battery if required. Thanks to the module’s ultra-low power consumption and advanced power management system, the battery can last up to several years.

Initial samples are available now. Full production of the modules will start in 2025. Certification is pending. To help product developers, Insight SiP will offer complete development kits together with sample software that provides everything required out of the box to start developing a solution on day one.

https://www.insightsip.com/

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Infineon expands its Bluetooth portfolio with eight new parts

Wed, Aug 14, 2024

Infineon has announced the expansion of its Bluetooth portfolio by eight new products in the AIROC CYW20829 Bluetooth Low Energy 5.4 microcontroller (MCU) family, featuring Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) and modules optimised for industrial, consumer, and automotive use cases. The high integration of the CYW20829 product family allows designers to reduce bill-of-material (BOM) cost and device footprint in a wide variety of applications, including PC accessories, low-energy audio, wearables, solar micro inverters, asset trackers, health and lifestyle, home automation and others. Product designers also benefit from Infineon’s development infrastructure and commitment to robust security, with support for secure boot and execution environments and cryptography acceleration to safeguard sensitive data.

The latest automotive part in the product family, the AIROC CYW89829 Bluetooth Low-Energy MCU, is ideal for car access and wireless battery management systems (wBMS) applications, due to its robust RF performance, long range and latest Bluetooth 5.4 features including PAwR (Periodic Advertising with Responses). The dual ARM Cortex core design of the chip family features separate application and Bluetooth Low Energy subsystems that deliver full featured support for Bluetooth 5.4, low-power, 10 dBm output power without a PA, integrated flash, CAN FD, crypto accelerators, high security including Root of Trust (RoT), and is PSA level 1 ready.

https://www.infineon.com

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Ceva Bluetooth low energy IPs bring ultra-low power wireless connectivity

Thu, Jul 25, 2024

Ceva has announced that Alif Semiconductor has licensed and deployed the Ceva-Waves Bluetooth Low Energy and 802.15.4 IPs in its Balletto family of wireless microcontrollers.
The Balletto family is a complete Edge AI/ML microcontroller solution for connected IoT platforms with integrated Bluetooth Low Energy 5.3 and 802.15.4 wireless subsystem and a dedicated network co-processor, enabling connectivity and machine learning in a single chip. The Balletto family delivers up to 50x boost in machine learning performance and inference efficiency versus traditional MCUs that lack neural co-processors. The Ceva-Waves Bluetooth Low Energy IP provides Balletto MCUs with the robust connectivity at ultra-low power consumption, and supports Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast broadcast audio, for customers who wish to leverage Balletto to create highly differentiated wireless audio products. The Balletto family also relies on Ceva-Waves 802.15.4 IP for Thread, Zigbee and Matter support in smart home applications.

“Our Balletto family of connected, intelligent MCUs are tailored to meet the growing demand for AI/ML workloads in battery-powered devices,” said Mark Rootz, VP Marketing at Alif Semiconductor. “Ceva’s Bluetooth Low Energy and 802.15.4 IPs provide us with a highly-proven and robust connectivity solution for our chip design, allowing us to focus our R&D resources on differentiating our MCU to deliver outstanding performance for the most demanding wireless audio and smart home AI/ML use cases.”

“Wireless connectivity is a fundamental requirement of every intelligent device, and we’re proud to be the trusted supplier of embedded wireless IP to industry leaders and innovators alike, including Alif Semiconductor,” said Tal Shalev, Vice President and General Manager, Wireless IoT Business Unit at Ceva. “Our Bluetooth Low Energy IP has powered billions of devices to date, and we’re excited to partner with Alif to enable their Balletto family of intelligent MCUs with robust connectivity and high-bit rate audio.”

The Ceva-Waves Bluetooth IP platforms provide comprehensive solutions for both Bluetooth LE and Bluetooth dual mode connectivity, spanning RF, Modem, Baseband Controller, and complete Host and Profile software stacks. All the latest features of Bluetooth are supported, including AoA / AoD / Direction Finding, LE Audio / Auracast, Periodic Advertising with Response, and other enhancements such as Channel Sounding. It also comprises an IEEE 802.15.4 addon for Thread, Zigbee and Matter support. With more than 4.5 billion devices shipped to date and dozens of licensees, the Ceva-Waves Bluetooth IP is widely deployed in consumer, automotive, industrial, medical and IoT devices with many of the world’s leading semiconductors companies and OEMs, including smartphones, tablets, beacons, wireless speakers, wireless headsets and earbuds, hearing aids and other wearables.
The Ceva-Waves Bluetooth IP is part of the Ceva-Waves unique and broad family of wireless connectivity IP platforms that also includes the Ceva-Waves Wi-Fi, UWB, NB-IoT and Links multi-protocol platforms.

https://www.ceva-ip.com/app/connectivity/

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