Wireless charging transmitter reference design meets Qi2 standard

In response to the enhanced Qi wireless charging standard released by the Wireless Power Consortium, Infineon Technologies has released its first Qi2 Magnetic Power Profile (MPP) charging transmitter reference design kit, the REF_WLC_TX15W_M1. 

The MPP in Qi2 offers magnet-based fixed positioning for precision locating of charging devices. It has significant benefits in automotive and consumer applications, such as in-cabin wireless charging, smartphones and EarPods cases, portable speakers, and healthcare equipment through better efficiency and safety, said Infineon.

The reference design kit is highly integrated and form factor optimised with a diameter of less than 43mm. It also has a programmable wireless charging transmitter centred around an Infineon WLC1 controller – the Qi2-capable WLC1 is already on the market. The IC integrates a microcontroller with flash memory, a 4.5 to 24V DC input buck-boost controller, inverter gate drivers and factory-trimmed current sensing. It features analogue protection peripherals, USB PD, and LIN as well as serial interfaces enabling efficient and smart power delivery.

The REF_WLC_TX15W_M1 is supported with code examples in ModusToolbox to help users take advantage of the IC’s configuration capabilities. The 15W Qi2 MPP board is backwards compatible with a basic power profile (BPP) that allows receivers without MPP support to wirelessly charge at 5W. There is also a multi-path ASK demodulator and adaptive foreign object detection (FOD) provided for a robust and secure wireless power design.

“With the emerging Qi2 standards, our programmable solutions offer the flexibility that the industry needs to adapt swiftly and offer differentiated features for automotive and consumer applications,” said Ganesh Subramaniam, senior vice president and general manager of the Wired Connectivity Solutions Product Line at Infineon.

The WLC1 transmitter controllers can be ordered now. There are two versions, the WLC1515 for the automotive package and the WLC1115 for the consumer package. REF_WLC_TX15W_M1 board is available on demand. 

The first public live demonstration of the wireless charging transmitter solution board will take place during OktoberTech Silicon Valley, the annual technology collaboration forum hosted by Infineon. This year, it will take place in the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, USA on 25 October.

http://www.infinenon.com

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Prophesee claims event-based vision sensor is world’s smallest 

Claimed to be the world’s smallest and most power efficient event-based vison sensor, the GenX320 brings intelligence, privacy and safety to consumer edge AI devices, claimed Prophesee.

The company’s latest event-based Metavision sensor has low power, low latency, high flexibility for efficient integration in AR/VR headsets, security and monitoring/detection systems, touchless displays, eye tracking features and always-on smart IoT devices, said the company. 

It is, said Prophesee, the industry’s first event-based vision sensor developed specifically for integration into low power edge AI vision devices. The fifth generation Metavision sensor is available in a tiny 3.0 x 4.0mm die size.   

The 320 x 320 6.3 micron pixel BSI stacked event-based vision sensor offers a tiny 1/5 inch optical format. It has been developed with a specific focus on the requirements of efficient integration of event sensing in energy-, compute- and size-constrained embedded at-the-edge vision systems. It enables robust, high-speed vision at ultra-low power and in challenging operating and lighting conditions, added the company.

Features of the GenX320 include low latency microsecond resolution timestamping of events with flexible data formatting. There are also on-chip intelligent power management modes reduce power consumption to as low as 36 microW and enable smart wake-on-events. Deep sleep and standby modes are also featured.

Ease of integration/interfacing with standard SoCs with multiple integrated event data pre-processing, filtering, and formatting functions minimises external processing overhead. In addition, MIPI or CPI data output interfaces offer low-latency connectivity to embedded processing platforms, including low power microcontrollers and modern neuromorphic processor architectures.

The GenX320 is AI-ready, with on-chip histogram output that is compatible with multiple AI accelerators. For security, sensor-level privacy is enabled via the event sensor’s inherent sparse frameless event data with inherent static scene removal.

There is also native compatibility with Prophesee Metavision Intelligence event-based vision software suite, which is available free of charge and is used by community of 10,000+ users.

The high speed eye-tracking allows for foveated rendering for seamless interaction in AR/VR/XR headsets. The low latency touch-free human machine interface is suitable for consumer devices (TVs, laptops, game consoles, smart home appliances and devices and smart displays. The event-based sensor is also suitable for smart presence detection and people counting in IoT cameras and other devices as well as for always-on area monitoring systems and fall detection cameras in homes and health facilities.

The GenX320 is available for purchase from Prophesee and its sales partners. It is supported by a complete range of development tools, including a comprehensive evaluation kit housing a chip on board (COB) GenX320 module, or a compact optical flex module. In addition, Prophesee is offering a range of adapter kits that enable seamless connectivity to a large range of embedded platforms, such as a STM32 MCU, enabling faster time-to-market.

Prophesee creates neuromorphic vision systems. It developed an event-based vision approach to machine vision which allows for significant reductions of power, latency and data processing requirements to reveal what was invisible to traditional frame-based sensors until now. Prophesee’s patented Metavision sensors and algorithms mimic how the human eye and brain work to dramatically improve efficiency in areas such as autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, IoT, mobile and AR/VR. Prophesee is based in Paris, with local offices in Grenoble, Shanghai, Tokyo and Silicon Valley.

http://www.prophesee.ai

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Qualcomm launches next-generation XR and AR platforms

Two spatial computing platforms called Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 and Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 have been introduced by Qualcomm to enable the next generation of mixed reality (MR), virtual reality (VR) devices and smart glasses.

Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 brings premium MR and VR technology into a single chip architecture for immersive experiences in thinner and more comfortable headsets, that do not require an external battery pack.

It is engineered to deliver a lag-free experience with immersive sound blending virtual content with the user’s physical surroundings and transition seamlessly between MR and VR experiences.

Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 platform is designed with power optimisations for sleek, lightweight smart glasses that enable the user to capture, share or live-stream hands-free, directly from the glasses. On-device AI enables personal assistant experiences such as audio quality enhancement, visual search and real-time translation. There is also support for a visual heads-up display to enable content consumption, including video, that blend seamlessly in the users’ field of view.

The platforms were developed in close collaboration with Meta and will commercially debut on Meta devices in 2023. The Meta Quest 3 will be powered by Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 Platform, and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses collection will be powered by Snapdragon AR1 Platform. Other manufacturers are expected to follow next year.

“At Meta, we’re focused on developing the technologies of the future in mixed reality and smart glasses, as well as the foundational innovations that will one day power our vision for AR glasses,” said Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, Meta’s CTO and Head of Reality Labs. 

“The Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 and Snapdragon AR1 platforms are the latest purpose-built processors that are designed to power the next generation of MR and VR devices and sleek smart glasses for all,” said Hugo Swart, vice president and GM of XR, Qualcomm Technologies. “The commercial debut of these two platforms with Meta is a further step forward in realizing our joint vision – unlocking premium, all-in-one XR devices and smart glasses that are affordable to users around the globe.”

http://www.qualcomm.com

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Contactless connections simplify and streamline design, says Molex

The MX60 series of contactless connectivity solutions have been developed to ease device pairing, streamline design engineering and boost product reliability, said Molex.

These low power, high speed, solid state devices feature miniaturised mmWave RF transceivers and built-in antennas in a single package. They deliver faster, simpler, device-to-device communications without the use of physical cables or connectors, said the company. The MX60 solutions can offer seamless device pairing and increased communications reliability for video displays, sleek and light consumer electronics, industrial robotics and devices operating in harsh environments, the company continued.

The MX60 series is based on wireless chip-to-chip technology and more than 350 filed patent applications acquired in 2021 with the purchase of core technology and IP from high-speed, contactless connectivity company, Keyssa. The acquired technology operates at data rates from 1,0 to 5.4Gbits per second on the 60GHz band with no Wi‑Fi or Bluetooth interference.

The first models in the MX60 series replace traditional DisplayPort, Gigabit Ethernet and USB SuperSpeed connectors to reduce development time, cost and risk, explained Molex. An integrated retimer optimises signal integrity at higher data rates.

A space-saving, contactless solution that provides USB2 and other low-speed interfaces is currently in development.

“Every piece of real estate counts when designing smartphones, AR/VR glasses, smartwatches and other consumer devices,” said Walter Rivera, senior manager, wireless connectivity product manager for the Micro Solutions business unit at Molex. “By combining USB2 and other low-speed interfaces in one contactless solution, we will offer product developers a critical head-start as they won’t have to worry about fitting extra components into ever-shrinking form factors,” he added.

The MX60 series also improves the durability of products exposed to harsh environmental conditions, such as dust, moisture and corrosion. The series addresses a variety of applications and devices, including smartphones, AR/VR glasses, tablets, self-driving vehicles, video walls, industrial robotics, medical wearables and wireless docking stations.

The sealed, contact-free solutions provide significant benefits over physical metal-to-metal contacts which can degrade over time and impact product performance and reliability, claimed the company. The contactless connectivity solutions are less prone to risks associated with ingress and repeated motion, including high-vibration and rotational products. The ability to remove diagnostic ports on wirelessly charged devices also can reduce development and production costs while boosting overall product reliability.

Production samples are available for MX60 USB SuperSpeed products, for high vibration and harsh environments, including mobile devices and networking applications, MX60 Gigabit Ethernet, for wireless infrastructure, industrial automation, medtech and networking applications and MX60 DisplayPort main and auxiliary, the high speed replacements for conventional DisplayPort connectors.

Plans are underway to expand the MX60 series further by leveraging Molex’s mmWave antenna, high-speed signal integrity and volume manufacturing expertise.

http://www.molex.com

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