Sensor uses motion and bone conduction to save space and power

Headsets and hearable devices can be reduced in size and power budget using the STMicroelectronics’ motion and bone-conduction sensor, said the company. The LSM6DV16BX can deliver a longer listening experience and superior hearing in TWS (true wireless stereo) headphones and AR / VR / MR headsets.
The integrated sensors can save space inside hearable devices including sports and general-purpose earbuds. It combines a six-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) for head tracking and activity detection with an audio accelerometer for detecting voice through bone conduction in a frequency range that exceeds 1kHz.

The LSM6DSV16BX contains ST’s Qvar charge-variation detection technology for user-interface controls such as touching and swiping.
The LSM6DSV16BX sensor embeds ST’s Sensor Fusion Low Power (SFLP) technology, specifically designed for head tracking and 3D sound, and the in-the-edge processing resources featured in ST’s third generation MEMS sensors, including finite state machine (FSM) for gesture recognition, the machine learning core (MLC) for activity recognition and voice detection, and adaptive self-configuration (ASC), which automatically optimises performance and efficiency. These help to reduce system latency while saving overall power and offloading the host processor.
The enhanced integration and edge processing save up to 70 per cent of system power consumption and 45 per cent of PCB area. In addition, the number of pin connections can be reduced by 50 per cent, saving external connections, and the package height is 14 per cent less than earlier MEMS inertial sensors from ST.
The LSM6DSV16BX comes with many software examples, available on ST MEMS GitHub FSM and MLC model zoo. These include pick-up gesture detection to automatically turn on some device’s services, in-ear and out-of-ear detection in TWS headsets and head gestures for 3D sound in headphones. To save developer time, without starting from scratch, pre-integrated application examples are available in X-Cube-MEMS1 package.
The LSM6DSV16BX is in production now, available in a 2.5 x 3.0 x 0.74mm VFLGA package.

 

http://www.st.com/

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Farnell takes a global view for ams-Osram

Optical products for automotive, consumer, industrial and healthcare products by ams-Osram are available from Farnell.

New proximity, temperature and vital sign monitoring sensors and a comprehensive range of LEDs, photodiodes and infrared (IR) emitters by ams-Osram are available from Farnell. 

The manufacturer has extended its distribution agreement with Farnell to offer optical products for sensing, visualisation and lighting applications from a single source. 

The enhanced range of solutions from ams-Osram available for fast delivery from Farnell includes the AS621X series of temperature sensors which are claimed to deliver the industry’s best combination of accuracy and low power consumption in a tiny wafer-level package. It is suitable for a range of consumer electronic devices and wearables, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and health-related monitoring systems. The series consists of three models, including AS6212, AS6214 and AS6218, providing measurement with different temperature accuracies and low power consumption, said Farnell. The compact size of each sensor ensures ease of integration and can feature up to eight different I²C addresses, which permits eight AS6221T devices to be used on one bus with no calibration or linearisation needed. 

The TMD3725 light, colour and proximity sensor offers reduced power consumption with design flexibility for dark room or full sunlight operation. Key features include advanced proximity measurement, colour sense (RGBC+IR) and digital ambient light sensing. The senor also compensates for unwanted IR energy system crosstalk reflection and undesirable ambient light photodiode current. The slim module incorporates an IR LED and factory calibrated LED driver with RGB + IR filters, high sensitivity down to mLux levels, a 1M:1 dynamic range and 0.18 micron processing technology with 1.8V I²C. The MD3725-EVM evaluation kit for the TMD3725 sensor provides everything required to evaluate the sensor.

There is also the TMD27553M ambient light / proximity photo sensor is optimised for narrow bezel mobile phones and offers industrial design flexibility, said Farnell. It has accurate ambient light sensing, superior proximity sensing and reduced power consumption. The proximity detection feature includes object recognition using photodiode detection of reflected IR energy (sourced by the integrated VCSEL). Detect and release events are interrupt driven and occur when the proximity result crosses the upper and / or lower threshold settings. The proximity engine features a wide range offset adjustment to compensate for unwanted IR energy reflection at the sensor. Moreover, the automatic ambient light subtraction with ALS (ambient light sensor) and IR photodiodes features dedicated data converters which have the capacity to produce 16-bit data. The extremely narrow 1.1mm module incorporates an IR VCSEL and factory calibrated VCSEL driver. 

The AS7056 bio-signal analogue front end (AFE) sensor is the next generation of vital sign sensors enabling users to detect bio-signals such as PPG (photoplethysmogram) and PTT (pulse transit time) as well as proximity measurements. The AS7056 is an analogue front end optimised for size and performance to support space-limited applications, such as in-ear vital sign monitoring, hearables, optical sensor platform, fitness band, smart watch, smart patches and heart rate monitors. Optical blood pressure measurements and SpO2 are enabled by the two independent working photodiode inputs of the AS7056. The AS7056 also provides two LEDs and one VCSEL driver outputs and samples up to three photodiode inputs. 

Customers can now buy the full range of ams OSRAM’s optical solutions with fast delivery from Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.

https://uk.farnell.com/

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Compact, low power, NB-IoT industrial modules have GNSS geo-location capability

Programmable, certified LTE Cat NB2 NB-IoT industrial modules, the SR87M01 series announced by STMicroelectronics, cover worldwide cellular frequency bands and integrate advanced security features. 

The low power modules combine reliable and robust NB-IoT data communication with accurate and resilient GNSS geo-location capability for IoT devices and assets. 

According to ST, the ST87M01 is one of the first IoT cellular products worldwide offered in accordance with the latest 3GPP Release 15. It provides extended multi-regional LTE coverage. The integrated native GNSS receiver with multi-constellation access delivers localisation with power saving features while operating during NB-IoT sleep time slots.

The module has dimensions of just 10.6 x 12.8mm and is in an LGA package.

It is qualified over the industrial temperature range (-40 to +85 degrees C), with low power consumption of less than 2.0 microA in low power mode. Output power is up to +23dBm. The ST87M01 targets wide-ranging IoT applications that require reliable low power wide area network (LPWAN) connectivity, such as smart metering, smart grid, smart building, smart city and smart infrastructure applications, as well as industrial condition monitoring and factory automation, smart agriculture and environmental monitoring. It is also suited to tracking applications such as locating pets, children, and elders, safety monitoring for remote workers, asset tracking for equipment such as power tools, and general intelligent logistics.

The STM8701’s programmable IoT platform lets users embed their own code directly in the module for simple applications. Alternatively, the module can be combined with a separate host microcontroller, for more sophisticated use cases. A variety of protocol stacks is available to handle popular IoT use cases, including IPv6, TCP/UDP, CoAP/LWM2M, MQTT, HTTP/HTTPS and TLS/DTLS. The ST87M01 is designed to support both standardised 3GPP AT commands and ST enhanced AT commands.

An ST4SIM embedded SIM (eSIM) is integrated in the module. This is certified according to the latest industry standards, including GSMA eSA (Security Assurance) certification and includes an embedded secure element (eSE).

The ST87M01 is sampling now to major customers worldwide.

http://www.st.com

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Network emulator for RF and RedCap is released by Keysight

Designed specifically for all cellular IoT (CIoT) technologies, including the 5G RedCap specification, the E7515R is Keysight Technologies’ wireless test platform for chipset, device and module makers. The network emulation platform supports the development workflow from early design and development to deployment, said Keysight.
The E7515R is based on the company’s 5G Network Emulation Solutions platform, a streamlined network emulator specifically designed for protocol, radio frequency (RF), and functional testing of all CIoT technologies.
The E7515R features streamlined capabilities for RedCap without the additional features needed to test a full-spec 5G device. The integrated platform combines RF, protocol, functional, and performance testing in a compact footprint.
The 5G RedCap specification introduces support for wireless devices with reduced 5G capabilities. These devices are less complex, and consume less power, allowing them to address new CIoT use cases such as industrial sensors and wearables such as smartwatches. Like other cellular devices, RedCap devices require time-consuming and expensive certification from accredited labs before they can be released to the market. By performing lab validation early, to identify and correct design issues, device and module manufacturers can shorten the certification process for RedCap and other CIoT devices, said Keysight.
The E7515R supports 5G Release 17 RedCap and legacy CIoT technologies, including Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), LTE Category M, and LTE Cat-1bis.
The E7515R is built on the same architecture as Keysight’s 5G Network Emulation Solutions platform. The E7515R also uses the same software, providing workflow consistency and reduced learning curves.
The E7515R is shipping now and Keysight will demonstrate the solution’s 5G RedCap network emulation capabilities at MWC 2023 in Barcelona (27 February to 02 March): Hall 5 Stand 5E12.
Keysight delivers design and validation products across the development lifecycle, in design simulation, prototype validation, automated software testing, manufacturing analysis, and network performance optimisation and visibility in enterprise, service provider and cloud environments. Customers span the worldwide communications and industrial ecosystems, aerospace and defence, automotive, energy, semiconductor and general electronics markets.

http://www.keysight.com 

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