Wearable

Smart eyewear glides into sleek glasses

Fri, Jan 07, 2022

Using a micro projection system that integrates into light glasses, ActiveLook says its NexT technology allows eyewear manufacturers to integrates augmented reality into their products without weight or size penalties.

NexT delivers information in action and is intended for sports brands, eyewear manufacturers and technology companies, who can product connected sports eyewear with a heads-up display of data delivered via Bluetooth. The NexT platform is customisable and supported with a growing ecosystem of ActiveLook-compatible applications, explains the company.

The technology targets the world of sport where mixed reality can be a benefit as a navigational aid as well as to monitor and analyse physical performance in cyclists, runners, skiers or triatheletes.

ActiveLook eyewear has an embedded, invisible micro display which can show a route, speed or heart rate data, depending on the sport of activity, without obstructing the wearer’s view of the horizon. The module is based on a monochrome AMOLED display with 304 x 256 pixel resolution and consuming less than 1mW. This is 30 times less than the most advanced competing device, says ActiveLook. Gesture control is used to select the data to be displayed.

The module has a battery life of 12 hours and weighs just 6g. It provides a readable display regardless of ambient light conditions, says the company. It connects via Bluetooth Low Energy to a smartphone or watch and can also be connected to specific sensors, such as for heart rate or power.

The data display set up can be customised and the eyewear has an adjustable nose bridge and can be adjusted at the temples to ensure a good fit.

The NexT technology-enabled glasses can use LE connection to Garmin IQ Connect, iOS and Android via Bluetooth Low Energy.

https://www.activelook

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RDK2 development kit aids proof of concepts

Mon, Dec 06, 2021

Marketed as a complete solution for firmware and hardware developers, the RDK2 development kit from Rutronik, this modular toolkit uses the PSoC62 microcontroller from Infineon Cypress and provides a solution for applications in Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial IoT (IIoT), smart wearables and smart home. 

The toolkit is particularly suitable for the development of proof of concepts. 

“The electronics industry thrives on innovation. That’s exactly what we demonstrate at Rutronik. The RDK2 has the advantage that the development of products is faster. It offers numerous useful features as well as interfaces and has exceptional flexibility also in terms of application options. All the components we use are available in Rutronik’s portfolio,” said Stephan Menze, head of global innovation management at Rutronik. 

The board uses the PSoC62 from Infineon Cypress for this purpose. The microcontroller has a dual-core CPU and suits secure edge computing and cloud applications. The PSoC62 features an integrated power management IC for SMPS and all connected power supplies. 

“Infineon welcomes the decision by Rutronik to implement the powerful PsoC62 microcontroller as the core of their newly developed board ‘RDK2’. With the PSoC 6 microcontroller family, Infineon offers a platform for IoT applications that enables connectivity, increased computing power, and security at low power consumption as well as cost. We continue to trust Rutronik’s service and customer reach and with the RDK2 they provide customers with a significant advantage in development,” says Susanne Horn, vice-president of distribution management EMEA at Infineon. 

The butterfly design allows improved handling. That ensures user-friendly access to the Arduino connectors and reduces possible interference from electromagnetic influences, especially with RF IoT Arduino Shields. For testing the analogue-to-digital conversion, an integrated potentiometer is available. As a special feature users have access to all PSoC62 pins via the Arduino headers. Additionally, a capacitive sensing technology called Cap Sense is included. It enables a touch surface that serves as a slider. 

Go to https://www.rutronik.com 

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Battery charger IC is designed for low voltage charging for wearables

Wed, Nov 17, 2021

A battery charger IC has been designed by Rohm for low-voltage charging. The BD71631QWZ is suitable for wearables like wireless ear buds and thin, compact IoT devices such as smart displays powered by rechargeable batteries.

The need for safer, higher density rechargeable batteries has led to the development of new battery types, including all- or semi-solid types and using novel materials for the electrode part and batteries that adopt different terminal compositions. Many of the latest rechargeable batteries are small and thin, requiring low voltage charging in the 2.0 to 3.0V range. There are currently no battery charger ICs that can handle a wide voltage range, says Rohm.

The BD71631QWZ battery charger IC supports low voltage charging of Li-ion but also new types of rechargeable batteries such as all-solid and semi-solid state models. The IC achieves low voltage charging over a wide range from 2.0 to 4.7V by improving the stability of the internal circuit

Unlike general battery charger ICs that provide a fixed voltage, the BD71631QWZ battery charger IC allows the charge voltage to be easily set by simply changing the external resistor, reducing design load when changing batteries. The original package technology results in a compact package just 0.4mm thick, which is 60 per cent lower than conventional products in this market to make devices smaller and thinner. Each charging characteristic like charge/termination current can be set for CCCV charging, providing an optimal charging environment for thin, compact IoT and wearable devices usng the latest rechargeable batteries.

In addition to devices using low voltage and single-cell Li-ion rechargeable batteries, the battery charger IC can be used in wearable devices, such as wireless ear buds, electronic pens, e-cigarettes, smart displays or tags and other compact IoT devices.

An evaluation board, BD71631QWZ-EVK-001, is also available.

Rohm Semiconductor develops and manufactures a large product range from SiC diodes and MOSFETs, analogue ICs such as gate drivers and power management ICs to power transistors and diodes to passive components. 

http://www.rohm.com/eu

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NFC Type 2 tag IC has permanent write locks and configurable kill mode

Thu, Nov 11, 2021

Consumer engagement, production information and brand protection are offered with the ST25TN512 and ST25TN01K NFC Forum Type 2 tag ICs by STMicroelectronics. They can also be used for access control.

The ST25TN512 and ST25TN01K NFC tag ICs support multiple user-protection and privacy mechanisms including a 7-bit unique chip-identifier code, TruST25 digital signature, NFC Forum T2T permanent write locks at block level, and a configurable kill mode that permanently deactivates the tag.

The two ICs are certified to NFC Forum Type 2 specifications and leverage ISO 14443 standards. They can be used with NFC-compatible mobiles or a dedicated short-range reader. The embedded device memory includes up to 208 bytes (1664 bits) dedicated to user content.

There is also support for messages in NFC data exchange format (NDEF) which triggers native actions on a smartphone without needing a dedicated app, such as launching a web browser or starting Bluetooth pairing. Augmented NDEF (ANDEF) enables reading dynamic information such as custom messages and unique tap codes without explicitly updating the EEPROM.

The ST25TN512 and ST25TN01K are produced by a new in-house manufacturing process. Both NFC tag ICs contain an internal tuning capacitance of 50pF, which allows plug-and-play integration by inlay manufacturers. The tags harvest energy from the 13.56MHz RF transmitter field and require only an antenna to complete the design.

They also have a long data retention and operate over a wide temperature range of -40 to +85 degrees C. The ICs can be supplied in sawn and bumped wafer format or housed in a DFN5 package.

Both the ST25TN512 and ST25TN01K are available in volume production.

http://www.st.com

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