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Sensor evaluation board accelerates IoT development, says Bosch Sensortec

Tue, Sep 07, 2021

R&D effort can be simplified to assist rapid prototyping and reduce time to market for the segmented IoT market, using the Application Board 3.0, says Bosch Sensortec. It offers Bluetooth connectivity and a small form factor for IoT applications and supports the full range of Bosch Sensortec sensors

The Application Board 3.0 simplifies the evaluation and prototyping of sensors for a wide range of applications, particularly in Industry 4.0, IoT, smart home systems, and wrist- and head-mounted wearables, explained Bosch-Sensortec.

Any Bosch Sensortec sensor mounted on a ‘shuttle board’ is simply plugged into the socket on the Application Board. All shuttle boards have an identical footprint, and Bosch Sensortec’s software automatically detects which sensor is plugged in at any given moment to launch the appropriate software. This enables the straightforward evaluation of a wide range of sensors and solutions, said Bosch Sensortec. Prototypes can be built to quickly test different use case configurations, added the company.

The board measures just 47.0 x 37.0 x 7.0mm³, which is practical for evaluating sensors used in portable applications, observed Bosch Sensortec. The board can be powered using a 3.7V Li-ion battery or a standard 5V USB power supply.

“The Application Board 3.0 makes it quick and easy for developers to build their projects with any of our sensors on a single platform, meaning that they can now focus on creating unique use cases and differentiating their products,” says Dr. Stefan Finkbeiner, CEO at Bosch Sensortec. “Our customers also benefit from efficient support through regional field application engineers and Bosch offices,” he continued.

The integrated development environment (IDE) software provided with the board includes a simplified graphical user interface (GUI) to evaluate and tune sensor parameters, as well as to visualise and record sensor data. The software also saves time in troubleshooting sensor-related issues, claims Bosch Sensortec.

Application Board 3.0 is designed around the u-blox NINA-B302 Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) module and is based on the nRF52840 chipset from Nordic Semiconductor, which includes an Arm Cortex-M4F CPU. It is certified and compliant with multiple directives for different international regions: CE, RoHS, China RoHS, FCC, IC, VCCI, SRRC and NCC.

The board is supplied with 256kbyte RAM, 1Mbyte of internal flash and 2Gbyte of external flash memory for data logging. It provides full-speed micro-USB 2.0 connectivity and BLE to connect to a host, such as a PC, for transferring the logged sensor data from the board.

The Application Board 3.0 is available now.

http://www.bosch-sensortec.com

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Secure embedded controllers integrate AI/ML acceleration

Thu, Sep 02, 2021

Built to power the next generation, always-connected IoT products, Alif Semiconductor’s Ensemble and Crescendo families are power-efficient devices which integrate AI/ML acceleration, multi-layered security, LTE Cat-M1 and NB-IoT connectivity, GNSS positioning, and memory.

The Ensemble family scales from single Arm Cortex®-M55 microcontrollers to so-called fusion processors which blend up to two Cortex-M55 cores, up to two Cortex-A32 microprocessor cores capable of running high-level operating systems, and up to two Arm Ethos-U55 microNPUs for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) acceleration.

The Ensemble family devices contain an advanced secure enclave that provides device integrity protection, secure identity, strong root-of-trust and secure lifecycle management. They also have large on-chip SRAM and non-volatile memory, accelerated graphics, imaging, making them suitable for smart home automation, appliances, point of sale (PoS) terminals and robotics applications, said the company.

The Crescendo family offers the same functionality as the Ensemble family, with the addition of LTE Cat-M1 and NB-IoT cellular connectivity, optional iSIM for simplified subscriber management, integrated RF, power amplifiers, and a concurrent GNSS receiver. These capabilities make them well-suited for smart city, connected infrastructure, asset tracking, healthcare devices and wearable devices said the company, using a single chip to minimise size and weight.

To address the reliance on battery power in IoT devices, which can be challenging when there is a high requirement for local processing, AI/ML, and wireless communication, Alif Semiconductor has also introduced Autonomous Intelligent Power Management (aiPM) technology that allows fine-grained control of when resources in the chip are being powered. This results in low power operation, enabling intelligent devices to last longer on smaller batteries.

“The solution that Alif delivers fills a significant gap in the market,” said Jerome Schang, head of Microsoft Azure Edge Silicon devices strategy. “We are always on the lookout for the most efficient technology platforms for our Edge experiences, and the Ensemble and Crescendo families are very well aligned with our customers’ needs.”

Ensemble and Crescendo devices are sampling now to lead customers. They are supported by Alif Semiconductor’s software, development tools and kits. Production qualification will be complete in 1Q22.

https://www.alifsemi.com/

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Farnell extends Nordic Semiconductor offering with its first PMIC

Fri, Aug 20, 2021

The first power management IC (PMIC) from Nordic Semiconductor, the nPM1100, is now available from Farnell. Claimed to be the industry’s most compact PMIC, it is intended for wearable electronics, remote controls, personal medical devices and smart home sensors.

The nPM1100 can be used as a generic PMIC for any application using rechargeable Li-ion/Li-Po batteries, advised Farnell. PCB space requirements are as low as 23mm², makes it particularly well suited to be integrated into wearables, connected medical devices and projects which have limited space. No configuration software is required to operate as all settings are pin-configurable. It can be used to conserve energy in designs, and can charge small batteries while providing efficient power management in

The nPM1100-CAAA is a small form factor dedicated PMIC with a dual-mode configurable buck regulator and integrated battery charger. It is a complementary component to Nordic’s SoCs and also has over-voltage protection, low current mode and an operating range of -40 to +85 degrees C.

Farnell also offers the nPM1100 evaluation kit which does not require software to operate and is performance optimised for the PMIC with electrical connectors and physical interfaces for operation. It features switches for all selectable settings, buttons to enter and exit ship mode and connectors for batteries, USB and headers for all pins on the PMIC. The kit may be used with other development kits such as Nordic’s nRF5340-DK or it can be used to test the PMIC’s functionality with non-Nordic products. The kit also includes indicator LEDs for charge and error indication.

Nordic Semiconductor specialises in low power wireless technology with Bluetooth Low Energy solutions, complemented by ANT+, Bluetooth mesh, Thread, and Zigbee products.

Lee Turner, global head of semiconductors and single board computing at Farnell said: “We are pleased to expand our PMIC range with the latest products from Nordic Semiconductor. The . . . nPM1100 is an ideal solution to help our customers reduce energy consumption in their designs. The ability to charge small batteries and extend battery life while providing efficient power management within small, space constrained applications, such as wearables and connected medical devices, is now of critical importance.”

http://www.farnell.com

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Rutronik adds Nordic Semiconductor’s PMIC

Tue, Jul 27, 2021

Offering efficient reliability in confined spaces, the Nordic nPM1100 is a dedicated power management IC (PMIC) with configurable dual-mode buck regulator and integrated battery charger. It is designed as a complementary component to Nordic‘s nRF52 and nRF53 series of SoCs and to ensure reliable power supply and stable operation while maximising battery life through high efficiency and low quiescent currents. It can also be used as a generic PMIC device, says Rutronik, which has added the nPM1100 to its portfolio.

The compact (2.075 x 2.075 mm) WLCSP package can be used in wearable devices, connected medical devices, smart home sensors and controls, remote controls and game controllers, and other size constrained applications, advises Rutronik.

The integrated battery charger is designed to charge lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries to a selectable termination voltage of 4.1 or 4.2V and supports cell chemistries with a nominal voltage of 3.6 or 3.7V respectively. The PMICe features thermal battery protection and automatic selection of three charging modes: automatic trickle charge, constant current and constant voltage.

The maximum charging current can be selected via a resistor from 20 up to 400mA. The charger also has a discharge current limiter and is JEITA-compliant.

The high-efficiency step-down regulator can deliver up to 150mA of current at a selectable output voltage of 1.8, 2.1, 2.7 or 3.0V. It features soft start and automatic transition between hysteresis and PWM modes. It also enables a forced PWM mode to ensure clean operation.

The nPM1100 has a low quiescent current, 700nA typical, 470nA in ship mode (deactivates the current output) and 150mA current limit. The PMIC also has over-voltage protection and USB port detection for SDP, CDP and DCP. There is also a driver for charging and error indication LED and the nPM1100 evaluation kit.

http://www.rutronik24.com

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Sensor evaluation board accelerates IoT development, says Bosch Sensortec

Secure embedded controllers integrate AI/ML acceleration

Farnell extends Nordic Semiconductor offering with its first PMIC

Rutronik adds Nordic Semiconductor’s PMIC

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