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

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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LTE-M and NB-IoT module

Industrial IoT, connected or smart agriculture, logistics and smart metering applications can use the Adrastea-I module by Würth Elektronik. The  low power, multi-band LTE-M and NB-IoT module measures just 13.4 x 14.6 x 1.85mm but integrates GNSS, an Arm Cortex M4 and 1Mbyte flash memory which is reserved for user application development. 

The module is based on the Sony Altair ALT1250 chipset. Certified by Deutsche Telekom, the Adrastea-I module can be quickly integrated into end products without additional labels, industry-specific certifications (GCF) and operator approvals whenever a Deutsche Telekom IoT connectivity (SIM card) is used.

The Adrastea-I module has multi-band support and can be operated through one of two cellular communication technologies (LTE-M and NB-IoT). This enables the support for international, multi-regional coverage. For example, wherever LTE-M does not have coverage, the Adrastea-I can be configured to use NB-IoT instead, and vice versa. The module is 3GPP Release-13-compliant, upgradable to Release-14. Adrastea-I module is optimised for low power consumption and enhanced coverage. Its small dimensions make it suitable for size-constrained applications such as wearables.

The Adrastea-I module has integrated GNSS, supporting both GPS and GLONASS satellite systems. Integrated GNSS make it suitable for asset tracking applications where infrequent position updates are required.

The Adrastea-I module’s integrated Arm Cortex M4 microcontroller, 1Mbyte flash and 256Kbyte RAM are available exclusively for customer application development.

Sony Altair provides a software development kit (SDK), sample code examples, documentation and tools to accelerate innovation and product development on the integrated Arm Cortex M4 microcontroller.

Deutsche Telekom has certified the Adrastea-I module for multiple European LTE-M and NB-IoT networks. Würth Elektronik eiSos maintains a partnership with Deutsche Telekom IoT for Connectivity (IoT SIM card). The certification confirms that end-products using the Adrastea-I module will interoperate properly on Deutsche Telekom’s various networks.

The Adrastea-I module and its evaluation kit are available in stock now, confirmed Ravindra Singh, product manager, at Würth Elektronik eiSos.

http://www.we-online.com

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Arm adds virtual devices and launches Cortex-M85 processor

In addition to expanding Arm Virtual Hardware, Arm launches the Arm Cortex-M85 processor, describing it as the high performing and most secure Cortex-M to date.

The Arm Total Solution for Cloud Native Edge Devices is the first designed for Cortex-A and based on Corstone-1000.

(Arm Total Solutions for IoT combines hardware IP, platform software, machine learning (ML) models and tools collated to simplify development and accelerate product design. The Arm Corstone is a pre-integrated, pre-verified IP sub-system.)

According to Arm, this version for cloud native edge devices makes the power and potential of platform OS like Linux available to IoT developers. It allows application-class workloads to be developed for smart wearables, gateways and high-end smart cameras. 

The Corstone-1000 is Arm SystemReady-IR compliant and features a hardware secure enclave that supports PSA Certified for a higher level of security. According to Arm, OEMs can immediately enjoy the benefits of Project Cassini. 

The new Total Solution for Voice Recognition is based on the Corstone-310 sub-system. It is pre-integrated with the new Cortex-M85 and the Arm Ethos-U55 and is Arm’s highest ever performance microcontroller-based design, said the company. Target applications range from smart speakers and thermostats to drones and factory robots. Developers can also take the Corstone-310 and create additional products by combining it with different reference software, advised Arm.

The other announcement is the launch of the Arm Cortex-M85. This is a natural architectural upgrade path to Armv8-M for applications requiring significantly higher performance, said the company. 

It offers a 30 per cent scalar performance uplift, compared to the Cortex-M7 and includes Arm Helium technology to support endpoint ML and DSP workloads, In addition to Arm TrustZone technology, security features include Pointer Authentication and Branch Target Identification (PACBTI). This is a new architectural feature with enhanced software attack threat mitigation to help achieve PSA Certified Level 2. According to Arm, this is a security baseline for IoT deployments.

There are also several new Arm Virtual Hardware virtual devices, including Arm Virtual Hardware for the new Corstone designs as well as seven new Cortex-M processors ranging from Cortex-M0 to Cortex-M33. Arm is also expanding the library with third party hardware from partners including NXP, ST Microelectronics and Raspberry Pi. 

Arm Cortex-M85, Corstone-310 and Corstone-1000 are available for licensing now and can be accessed immediately in the cloud as part of Arm Total Solutions for IoT. 

Arm Virtual Hardware can be accessed at https://avh.arm.com. Third party hardware is available from partners including NXP (iMX8 Arm Cortex Complex), ST Microelectronics (STM32U5 Discovery Kit) and Raspberry Pi (RPi4). 

http://www.arm.com

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FlightSense software makes gestures speak volumes

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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