Weartech-ICs & Semiconductors

Charger IC is wireless power transfer-compatible

Tue, May 31, 2022

A multi-functional, compact charging IC for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, the XC6810, supports wireless power transfer.

Available from Torex Semiconductor, the XC6810 series of charging ICs for Li-ion batteries are suitable for wearables, hearables or IoT devices. Functions include charge and discharge control as well as wireless power supply support. 

Charging current is 1.0 to approximately 25mA, making it suitable for small Li-ion batteries. The ICs can provide a wide charging range of 3.8 to 4.4V.The XC6810 series are equipped with shutdown function to suppress battery discharge when stored or not in use as well as a wake-up function, activated using an external push button, to extend the life of batteries and devices. 

In addition to the conventional LED-driven display, a terminal indicates the charging status, showing charging level by frequency. It also supports charging monitoring using a microcontroller. 

The XC6810 is equipped with a battery voltage monitoring function, which can directly monitor the battery voltage through a microcontroller, or a low battery voltage notification function. 

The wide input voltage range of 3.5 to 28V supports wireless power and energy harvester charging, confirmed Torex. For contact-type charging using a cradle, for example, one version has a terminal which modulates the power supply line for the charging status to be notified by two-wire communication. The charging status and charging control can be displayed through the cradle. 

Torex Semiconductor provides CMOS power management ICs for battery powered and energy efficient applications. The company specialises in CMOS analogue technology, with LDO voltage regulators, voltage detectors and DC/DC converters in its product portfolio.

http://www.torexsemi.com

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Infineon combines Airoc Wi-Fi / Bluetooth in Nvidia Jetson for edge AI

Mon, May 30, 2022

Airoc Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity provides Wi-Fi 6 / 6E and low power wi-Fi 5 connectivity to Nvidia’s Jetson system on modules (SoMs) for developers to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) -enabled edge devices.

AI at the edge devices require reliable and instant Wi-Fi cloud connectivity for lifecycle management functions like deploying AI models through over the air (OTA) updates.

“In congested network environments, AI devices often encounter disconnections or low-data throughput, leading to poor user experience, explained Infineon. The Airoc Wi-Fi family delivers low latency, robust connectivity and high data throughput streaming, said Sivaram Trikutam, vice president, Wi-Fi product line at Infineon. 

The Wi-Fi will be used for AI applications which require real time blending effects from live action to computer-generated images or videos, such as gaming and AR / VR (augmented reality / virtual reality) in industry applications. In these applications, high-throughput and low-latency wireless transmissions are critical and require simultaneous processing and streaming of data. Infineon said its Wi-Fi 6E solution, operating in the 6.0 to 7.0GHz band, minimises latency and prevents interruptions due to congested wireless networks. This is combined with the fast processing power of the Nvidia Jetson platform for AI-enabled devices in, for example, robotics, smart cities, healthcare, industrial, retail, energy and agriculture where processing in the cloud is blended with edge processing.

The Airoc CYW4373, CYW5459x and CYW5557x are available to design now. The Nvidia Jetson compute platform is claimed to be the leading AI at the edge compute platform with over one million developers. With pre-trained AI models, developer software development kits and support for cloud-native technologies across the full Jetson line up, intelligent machine manufacturers and AI developers can build and deploy software defined features on embedded and edge devices.

http://www.infineon.com

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FlightSense software makes gestures speak volumes

Tue, Apr 26, 2022

STMicroelectronics said it is now making gesture detection simpler and more affordable for mass-market applications with companion software for its VL53L5CX multi-zone ToF ranging sensor. The sensor, together with free engineering software, will enable touchless, gesture-based controls in simple, cost-conscious consumer and industrial applications. 

According to ST, gesture recognition with ToF sensors is a breakthrough technology that enables sophisticated interactions with a wide variety of devices instead of being confined to applications in high-end vehicles. 

Gesture-based interaction in a wide range of equipment, including kitchen appliances, thermostats, smart home and smart lighting controls, laptops, AR / VR headsets, tablets and smartphones are not only convenient, it can prevent infection from spreading through touch when using equipment such as vending and ticketing machines, elevator controls, and interactive signage.

Together, the sensor and software calculate in real-time the X / Y / Z coordinates of the hand, enabling hand tracking as well as recognition of gestures like tapping, swiping or level control.

Conventional gesture-recognition systems typically use more expensive and intrusive camera-based machine vision, but ST said its FlightSense technology and software allow designers to build systems with lower power consumption, and that work in the dark without needing external illumination, unlike vision-based systems  The lightweight gesture algorithm can run on a low power microcontroller and demands minimal system resources for it to be easily integrated in an existing application, said ST.

The STSW-IMG035 software package is specially designed for the VL53L5CX multi-zone direct time-of-flight (dToF) ranging sensor and can be used with all STM32 microcontrollers. 

The VL53L5CX is ST’s latest-generation ToF sensor, providing 64 zones with high-accuracy ranging up to 400cm with a wide, square-edged 63 degree-diagonal field of view.

The VL53L5CX sensor is in production now, in a 6.4 x 3.0 x 1.5mm 16-pin optical LGA package. The turnkey STSW-IMG035 gesture package includes resources including a GUI, example code and libraries. Associated software packages and hardware evaluation boards are available here. 

http://www.st.com

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Fast charging ICs offer highest charging efficiencies, says Halo Microelectronics 

Tue, Apr 26, 2022

Two fast charging ICs released by Halo Microelectronics use a dual-phase switched capacitor architecture for single cell battery applications.

The HL7138 and HL7139, fast charging ICs are claimed to offer the industry’s highest charging efficiencies, which enable faster and cooler battery charging operations in a PCB solution size that is up to 30 per cent smaller than the nearest competitor. The small form factor allows for more system level design flexibility, added Halo Microelectronics.

In addition to saving consumers time by fast charging, the ICs deliver cooler charging which means less energy is wasted, making the charging process environmentally friendly. The small size also provides designers more leeway to choose between thinner and lighter form factors or larger batteries for longer battery life, and whether to include more features or lower bill of material (BoM) costs.

Fast charging is one of the features which can differentiate a smartphone design in a saturated market. It is also one that consumers can relate to and understand the benefits, commented David Nam, CEO of Halo Microelectronics. “Halo Microelectronics has seen switched capacitor-based fast-charging architectures quickly extend from high-end to mid-level smartphones,” he said.

Halo Microelectronics develops analogue and power management ICs (PMICs) enabling energy-efficient smart systems. Its customers develop mobile, IoT and automotive systems.

https://halomicro.com

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