Radio wave ranging sensor is sensitive enough for gesture initiation 

Radio wave ranging sensors announced by Socionext are able to detect minor movements in positional information for tracking. The SC1240 series radio wave ranging sensors use the 60GHz band and have a built-in signal processing circuit for detecting the position and movement of a person.

The sensor that complies with the global broadband 60GHz radio equipment standard. It is able to detect the position and movements of a person, said Socionext and its high precision sensing and built-in signal processing circuits use a 6.8GHz (57.1 ~ 63.9GHz) wide band to detect minor movements as positional information, enabling it to be used in advanced applications such as tracking human movements and operation by gestures.

The sensor has built-in range finding and angle calculating signal processing circuitry, believed to be the first in the industry. It is based on the company’s mmwave radio communication LSIs and 24GHz radio wave range finding sensors. 

The integrated SC1240 series uses 3D position information without the need for high frequency or advanced signal processing technology, claimed Socionext. It includes multiple antennas, wireless circuitry, ADCs, FIFO memory, SPI (serial peripheral interface), a sequencer that flexibly changes the duty cycle and controls power consumption, and a signal processing circuit for distance measurement and angle calculation. It also provides an autonomous activation function. These features allow users to easily obtain the height and positional data on the X, Y and Z planes for precision sensing actions such as the detection of multiple people or gesture without contact.

Average power consumption is 0.72mW at 0.1 per cent duty cycle operation, reported Socionext. The sensor is supplied in an FC-BGA measuring 4.0 x 7.0 x 1.2mm.

Sample shipments are scheduled for Q2 2022, and mass production in Q1 2023.

Socionext supplies SoCs for use in automotive, data centre, networking and smart devices.

Socionext Inc. is headquartered in Yokohama, and has offices in Japan, Asia, the United States and Europe.

Socionext Europe has headquarters is in Frankfurt, Germany with offices in Munich, Germany and Maidenhead, UK. The Munich Design and Support Centre specialises in embedded graphic, hardware and software product development for the automotive sector. The Maidenhead office in the UK supports Socionext’s IP Development & Engineering Centre with a focus on high speed data conversion IP. Socionext Europe offers customers a range of custom SoCs. 

http://www.socionext.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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Barometric pressure sensor tracks at altitude

Precision and low power consumption are combined in the BMP581, said Bosch Sensortec. It is the company’s first capacitive barometric pressure sensor and the company claimed it raises the bar for accuracy and performance in mobile devices.

The BMP581 combines highest precision and low power consumption to enable fitness tracking, fall detection and indoor localisation in wearables, hearables or IoT devices. 

Commenting on accuracy of the BMP581, Bosch Sensortec’s CEO, Dr Stefan Finkbeiner, said: “It’s breathtakingly accurate: it can measure a barometric pressure fluctuation that’s equivalent to one-thousandth of the weight of a mosquito (7.6 μg).”

This level of accuracy enables the sensor to detect an altitude change of just a few centimetres. It can, therefore, monitor movement in fitness applications down to the level of individual pull-ups or push-ups, and can provide highly accurate location information for indoor localisation, navigation, and floor detection to provide key data for emergency call requirements (E-911).

The sensor can noticeably improve flight stability and landing accuracy in drones, and help detect water levels in household appliances to avoid flooding, added Bosch Sensortec.

It provides relative accuracy of +/-0.06 hPa and a typical absolute accuracy of +/-0.3 hPa. Full accuracy is available over a wide measurement range from 300 to 1100 hPa. The BMP581 has a typical temperature co-efficient offset (TCO) of just +/-0.5 Pa/K and low RMS noise of 0.08 Pa at 1000 hPa (typical). Long-term drift over 12 months is only +/-0.1 hPa.

Compared to the company’s previous generation of barometric pressure sensors, the  BMP390, the BMP581 draws 85 per cent less current, noise is 80 per cent lower, and TCO is reduced by 33 per cent.

Typical current consumption of just 1.3 microA at 1Hz “substantially extends battery life”, said Bosch Sensortec, while in deep standby mode, the sensor draws only 0.5 microA. The sensor provides an I2C, I3C and SPI (three-wire / four-wire) digital, serial interface.

The BMP581 is provided in a compact 10-pin LGA package shielded by a metal cover, measuring just 2.0 x 2.0 x 0.75mm3. 

The BMP581 is available now.

https://www.bosch-sensortec.com 

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Sensor tags detect temperature, moisture and liquid volume 

For use in a range of healthcare, industrial and IT applications, the Sense passive range of RFID devices by Omni-ID, are temperature, moisture sensing and liquid volume measurement devices that incorporate the Axzon Magnus M3D chip.

The Sense range consists of ceramic tags and printable on-metal and off-metal self-adhesive labels which can read live temperatures as low as -70 degrees C and up to +125 degrees C. They indicate the presence of moisture and measure the volume of liquids in containers. They are battery-less so do not require maintenance and are therefore suitable for monitoring the condition of assets in transit and storage.

They serve a broad range of use cases including monitoring the volume of liquids in glass vials for vaccine management systems, monitoring the temperature of machine components to enable predictive maintenance, cold chain management of foods and pharmaceuticals and monitoring the moisture levels and live temperature monitoring of servers in data centres.

The wireless devices accurately measure temperature to a tolerance of 0.5°C and offer read ranges between 1.75m and 5m, making them ideal for use in hazardous industrial environments where thermocouples would traditionally be used to monitor the current temperature of assets.

The tiny ceramic tags measure 15 x 15mm to monitor the condition of assets where space is limited, while on-metal and off-metal labels are designed to attach to assets with flatter surfaces.

The Omni-ID Sense passive range is made up of the Sense FIT 500, the Sense IQ 550P, the Sense IQ 175, the Sense IQ430 and the Sense IQ 200P.

The Sense FIT 500 is a small form ceramic tag for sensing temperature and moisture with a read range of up to 5. The Sense IQ 550P is a global frequency, printable off-metal label for sensing temperature, moisture and liquid fill level with a read range of up to 5.8m. The Sense IQ 175 is a US and EU dual frequency printable on-metal label for sensing temperature and moisture with a read range of up to 1.75m. The Sense IQ 430 is a dual frequency (US and EU) printable on-metal label designed for sensing temperature and moisture with a read range up to 4.3m and the Sense IQ 200P is an off-metal circular label for sensing temperature and moisture on non-metallic assets with a read range of up to 2m.

The Sense passive tags join the SenseIoT range of active tags which provide high-powered, long-range tracking and sensing via Bluetooth, LoRa, Quuppa and GPS.

http://www.omni-id.com

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