Bisinfotech Magazine September Issue 2021

SEPTEMBER 2021 80.00

R.N.I. No: DELENG/2019/77352 l VOL 3 l ISSUE 09 l TOTAL PAGES 64 l PUBLISHED ON 1ST OF EVERY MONTH l WWW.BISINFOTECH.COM

BIG STORY The Data Center Honchos

Nikhil Rathi

Abhinav Kotagiri

Shailendra Trivedi

Jeremy Deutsch

Web Werks Data Centers

R&M India

Pi Data Centers

Equinix Asia-Pacific

Ankit Saraiya

Techno Electric and Engineering Company Limited (TEECL)

MILD HYBRID VEHICLES - HIGH POWER CONVERTERS FOR 48V/12V AUTO ELECTRICALS EDGE DEFINING MODERN IOT SYSTEMS

Editorial Soaring demand for phones, computers and other electronic devices used for work from home set-up, and the increased use of the internet have increased the requirement for semiconductor chips.

The demand for chips is likely to stay strong due to elevated levels of global consumption of smart devices and a push toward advanced 5G technology.

Almost a year after Covid-19 began to limit semiconductor chip production, many companies are facing peak shortages as demand for cars and consumer electronics – two industries that remain badly hit – are seeing a surge in overall demand. With several car manufacturers limiting, and in certain cases, halting production, it’s important to know just how integral such a tiny component is, and the role it might play in keeping Indian car manufacturers from making timely deliveries of cars to their customers.

The firms that are able to manufacture the most advanced semiconductors are - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company , Samsung and Intel .

The global semiconductor industry is dominated by companies from the Asia-Pacific region including China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. The U.S. share of global semiconductor fabrication is only 12%.

The increasing reliance by U.S. companies on international partners to fabricate the chips they design reflects the United States’ diminished fabrication capability.

The lead times for chip supplies has gone up several weeks on an average for certain types of microprocessors over the last year, according to a report. Back-to-back, around 75% of semiconductor parts suppliers had an overall jump in lead times over the last one year.

Manufacturers of semiconductor components like multi-layer ceramic capacitors, substrates, microcontroller units and silicon wafers are all receiving orders that they aren’t able to cater to immediately. The global chip shortage is not likely to go away anytime soon.

Happy Reading!!!!

ManasNandi

MANAS NANDI EDITOR manas@bisinfotech.com CONSULTANT EDITOR & EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION NILOY BANERJEE niloy@bisinfotech.com SENIOR SUB-EDITOR NITISHA DUBEY nitisha@bisinfotech.com CORRESPONDENT AISHWARYA SAXENA editorial@bisinfotech.com WEB DEVELOPMENT MANAGER JITENDER KUMAR

DESIGN HEAD DEEPAK SHARMA MANAGER FINANCE KULDEEP GUSAIN accounts@bisinfotech.com WEB PRODUCTION PRIYANKA BHANDARI SUBSCRIPTIONS RAVI RANA subscription@bisinfotech.com

04 09 | 2021 BISinfotech

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Contents 08

IOT - EXCLUSIVE SMART WORLD OF IOT– THE EDGE IS GETTING SMARTER, SMALLER, AND MORE SECURED!

12 WHITE PAPER

CHOOSING THE MOST SUITABLE PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE SENSOR

16 BIG PICTURE

CADENCE’S CEREBRUS OFFERS A REVOLUTION IN CHIP DESIGN PRODUCTIVITY

20 AUTOMOTIVE - EXCLUSIVE AUTOMOTIVE MLCCS BALANCING RELIABILITY WITH MINIATURIZATION AND HIGH CAPACITANCE IN A CLOSELY INTERTWINED EVOLUTION WITH THE CASE TREND

Jaya Bindra

Sr. Manager Applications Engineer Infineon Technologies

24

08

Venkat Thanvantri

VP, R&D, AI/ML Digital and Signoff, Cadence

16

TWO WHEELER - SPOTLIGHT ELECTRIC TWO-WHEELERS FOR A GREEN TOMORROW

28 TECH EXCLUSIVE

UNDERSTANDING VIRTUAL PRIMARY REFERENCE TIME CLOCK & 5G NETWORK TIMING ARCHITECTURES

31 DATA CENTER - OPED

DATA CENTER TRENDS IN 2022

32

POWER - FEATURE 3 CONNECTIVITY TIPS FOR SWITCHGEAR AND UPS POWER QUALITY MONITORING

34

AUTOMOTIVE - FEATURE THE RACE TO AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRIFICATION: WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN

Jim Olsen

Senior Technical Staff Engineer, Applications Microchip Technology

28

Sachin Bhalla

VP & Country GM – Secure Power, Schneider Electric India & SAARC

31

38

AUTOMOTIVE - FEATURE MILD HYBRID VEHICLES HIGH POWER CONVERTERS FOR 48 V / 12 V AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

42

ELECTRONIC MATERIAL FP-AI-FACEREC1: LOWERING THE BARRIER TO MACHINE LEARNING REVEALS NEW APPLICATIONS

44

BIG PICTURE THE XR MARKET IN INDIA IS GROWING ACROSS INDUSTRIES

50

COVER STORY DATA CENTER: A DEMAND OF DEVELOPING COUNTRY

YS Jun

Director Automotive Business Development, Vicor APAC, YJun@vicr.com

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34

Gulshan Purswani

Delivery Head at Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions

44

IoT - Exclusive

Smart World of IoT– The Edge is Getting Smarter, Smaller, and more Secured!

Humans have thrived for thousands of years because of our one inherent quality, human to human interactions. It is not so surprising for us to expect our devices and gadgets to interact more intelligently. The ability of gadgets not only to connect to each other or to a network, but to gather and make sense of data of their environments is what takes them a step closer to being smart. In the not-so-far future world of IoT, gadgets come with tiny brains, eyes, ears and a plethora of senses. They speak a common language, communicating with one another and

with higher capability systems. They make quite an impact to our lives, in the way we live, work and play. Things like home deliveries, instant cab bookings, easy and wellsecured financial transactions and even remote medical consultations are now at our fingertips – thanks to advanced smart technologies. IoT is the integration of sensors and edge computing, secure connectivity and Machine Learning (ML).

IoT with secure connectivity allows data protection, privacy and accessibility from anywhere around the globe. Machine learning and artificial intelligence enable devices to gain a shade of human-like intelligence and adapt to different user environments.

In this paper presentation, we will delve into the rapid development of science and technology in the field of IoT. We will discuss the challenges of building the next-generation of IoT and how to overcome these challenges with the help of a real-world example – a cost effective integrated Smart home solution offering the best performance and system security

Jaya Bindra

Sr. Manager Applications Engineer Infineon Technologies

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Challenges of Designing an IoT System

The IoT applications are endless and innovators are continuously identifying more interesting and useful ways to harness sensors, monitoring data and controlling the system. IoT devices are wide spread in various domains including wearables, cars, homes, industrials, and even cities. These creative innovations demand the end product to be excellent energy efficient, highly secured, aesthetically more pleasing, having the applications wrapped around intuitive software enabling easy-to-use devices, etc.

Let us first understand the challenges in designing these innovation IoT applications and then we will explore how modern devices and software helps IoT designers overcome these challenges with the help of Smart Home Solution example.

The Figure 1 below shows the key challenges.

Figure1: Key challenges in designing an IoT System 1. Time to Market: The number of devices connecting to the Internet each year is growing at an exponential rate. In order to keep up with the competition, time to market is the key and choosing the right IoT platform plays a huge role in the development time and cost. Choosing the right platform that enables easy and fast development could cut production time significantly. With the plethora of protocols involved in building real-world IoT applications, the software needs to handle the underlying complexities of the various protocols that help the application interact seamlessly in the world of IoT. The need of the hour is to have software that abstracts the application from hardware changes.

2. Ease of Use: To support the complex computation demand for IoT Applications, microcontrollers (MCUs) have also become more complex to provide more processing power, higher security and intelligent logic, endless peripherals to implement additional

capabilities like audio & speech recognition, interfacing with external memory, motor control, etc. In addition to this, MCUs have an additional task of managing the wireless connectivity as well. Software solutions that support both the embedded and wireless connectivity under one umbrella can save an invaluable amount of development time and enhance user-friendliness. These software solutions have the biggest challenge of not just to hide the hardware complexity but to also provide an easy to use GUI based development platform to make life easier for IoT designers. To overcome these challenges, development platforms provide various GUI based tools and configurators to perform most of the heavy lifting tasks involved in application development – project creation, importing libraries, configuring peripherals, etc. The underlying code for the GUI based configurations is automatically generated and built along with the project so that users can develop applications with very minimal coding effort.

3. Development Platform: a. IoT Development Tools: A complete software development solution is required to build an IoT application. These software tools include Integrated Development Environment (IDE), Command Line Interface (CLI), utility tools, Software Development Kits (SDK) that bundles libraries or APIs that are tailor-made for IoT developers. These software development tools can be used on top of IoT development platforms or in conjunction with them. Easy and intuitive development platforms provide flexibility to IoT developers by giving the options to develop entirely using the vendor’s IDE and tools or develop applications on any other IDE of one’s choice like IAR Embedded Workbench, Arm Microcontroller Development Kit, and Microsoft Visual Studio Code in conjunction with the vendor provided tools. The platforms also provide well documented template applications to enable easy and faster application development. b. Choice of OS: IoT encompasses devices ranging from small to large.

Choosing an operating environment for an IoT solution is one of the crucial tasks that affect the firmware development approach. The important requirements of an IoT OS include tiny memory footprint, energy efficient and highly secure solutions, connectivity features, hardware agnostic operation, and real-time processing capabilities. IoT operating environments range from bare-metal to an embedded OS and then to a full-featured OS to cater to the different needs of IoT solutions.

There is a plethora of development platforms for embedded IoT solutions like Mbed OS, Amazon FreeRTOS, etc. Apart from these platforms, the embedded and connectivity device vendors sometimes provide additional libraries to support custom-made features for the IoT applications. These libraries/ platforms complement the development OS to provide both

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IoT - Exclusive embedded and wireless features for an easy and intuitive IoT development experience. The combination of the featurerich libraries provided by the device vendors and the OS of choice based on the application, provides the IoT developers a comprehensive development platform for IoT solutions.

4. Ability to connect to cloud of your choice: With more and more embedded devices getting connected in the world of IoT, there are lots of cloud service providers that offer cloud computing and connectivity solutions. Anyone planning to develop real-world IoT applications can pick and choose a combination of any of the cloud services for various tasks. Therefore, the embedded software must be highly flexible to support various cloud services (AWS, Azure, AliOS, etc.) and platforms. The software must let the users design it their way rather than limiting them to certain options. The hardware agnostic software architecture is the key to solve this problem and the software ecosystems that provide this feature offer a great deal of flexibility to the developers.

5. Security: A non-negotiable element: Once a device is connected to a network, the possibility of being attacked also opens up. Thus, the security of IoT devices is a non-negotiable element, whether the device is a personal wearable device or a connected car. Data protection is needed at all levels, including storage, processing, and during communications to protect system reliability and data privacy. Definitely, the security starts with hardware and devices designed for IoT applications needs to have all the elements to develop highly secure and safe applications.

In addition to hardware security, software needs to also complement these hardware secure elements.

Tackling the Challenges in an Embedded IoT System

system security without increasing the overall system cost.

Smart controller/processor and connectivity devices are required to implement functionalities needed by these Smart Home devices. The demand is to use microcontrollers that integrate as much of features possible, to design a unique solution at the best cost. Most important features include display with rich graphical user interface, touch and sense to take inputs from users and environment, connectivity to exchange data and cloud processing, secure execution environment for data logging, attested and encrypted application execution, secured over the air (OTA) updates etc., as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Key features of a Smart Home Solution • Display Interface: Display with rich Graphical User Interface (GUI). MCUs provide interfaces such as RGB, Intel 8080, SPI, I2C, MIPI DSI etc. for driving displays.

The heartbeat and the nerve of most of the Embedded IoT systems are Microcontrollers and the connectivity devices.

To build such an application you will need an ultra-low power microcontroller designed with IoT applications in mind (E.g.

PSoC 6 MCU) and a low-power wireless connectivity device (E.g. AIROC CYW43012 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo device). For an easy and efficient development of the IoT application, we need a software platform that enables development and debugging of these embedded and wireless devices together seamlessly with a single solution. ModusToolbox™ is one such great easy to use Software development environment.

• Touch and sense to take inputs from users and the environment.

The need is to have MCUs with integrated touch capability and flexible peripherals for analog and digital sensor interfaces.

Making IoT Work (Smart Home Solution Example):

• And finally, it should offer Secure Execution Environment (SEE) for storage, operation and communication.

With people all across the world spending more time at home than ever – the market for connected, intelligent, and intuitive Home Automation / Smart Home devices and appliances is booming. Users want seamless remote control, rich graphical and audio interfaces, and helpful information and insights pushed to them to improve the quality of their everyday lives.

Manufacturers want to be able to analyse their products deployed in the field so as to improve performance and suggest preventive maintenance measures to their customers.

And for all stakeholders – the biggest challenge is to build an integrated solution providing best performance along with

• Processing Capability: MCUs need to have a processor core like Cortex M4 for handling the processing needs of Smart home applications.

• Connectivity to exchange the data with cloud and other devices in the household. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are the most popular interface for cloud and local connectivity.

Consider a use case, where there are multiple sensors monitoring humidity, temperature, soil moisture etc. across the home and multiple controllers such as thermostats, humidifiers, plant water controller using the data from these sensors. These sensors and controllers within the house can use Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity for communicating with each other and user Smartphone or a unified controller running Google Home or Amazon Alexa. This controller would in turn connect the sensor network to internet

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enabling remote control and monitoring. While the sensors located in corners of the room may be power-constrained, the controllers may have access to wall-supply. This would determine the type of devices we select for each device in the Smart home environment. Sensors could use an ultra-low power BLE controller such as PSoC 6 BLE, whereas controllers can include System In Package (SIP) with MCU, Wi-Fi and BT in a single package such as CYW9P62S1-43012EVB-01 SIP packages for providing additional processing and functionalities demanded by the controller application.

The future of embedded devices is all about making things smarter with enhanced efficiency and ease of use. The foundation to that stems from the technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The IoT enables even the tiniest of device / appliance to get connected to a network with the help of secure connectivity. This enables the device to be able to perform its operations in a smart and efficient manner. Big data refers

to the large amount of data that these connected devices gather over time. The powerful algorithms that process this data falls under the field of AI / ML. This field has the potential to transform business models by helping companies to move from concentrating on products & services to companies that give the best outcomes. By impacting organizations’ business models, the blend of IoT-enabled devices & sensors with ML creates a collaborative world that aligns itself around results & innovation.

Jaya Bindra works as a Sr Manager Applications Engr at Infineon Technologies where she is managing the Embedded Applications Group and Solutions Development using the PSoC and Wi-Fi/BT platform. She has 17+ years of experience in the Semiconductor Industry. She earned her MBA credential from IIM, Bangalore and holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering from the Kurukshetra University. Jaya can be reached at jaya.bindra@infineon.com

11 09 | 2021 BISinfotech

WHITE PAPER

Choosing the Most Suitable Predictive Maintenance Sensor Chris Murphy

Applications Engineer, Analog Devices

Introduction

Condition-based monitoring (CbM) involves monitoring of machines or assets using sensors to measure the current state of health. Predictive maintenance (PdM) involves a combination of techniques such as CbM, machine learning, and analytics to predict upcoming machine or asset failures.

When monitoring the health of a machine, it is critically important to select the most suitable sensors to ensure faults can be detected, diagnosed, and even predicted. There are many sensors currently used to sense and detect faults, in rotating machinery and their loads, with the end goal of avoiding unplanned downtime. Ranking each sensor is difficult as PdM techniques are applied to a multitude of rotating machines (motors, gears, pumps, and turbines) and nonrotating machines (valves, circuit breakers, and cables).

maintenance sensors are vital to early detection of faults in PdM applications, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

System Fault Timeline

Figure 1 shows a simulated timeline of events from the installation of a new motor to motor failure along with the recommended predictive maintenance sensor type. When a new motor is installed, it is under warranty. After several years, the warranty will expire, and it is at this point that a more frequent manual inspection regiment will be implemented.

Many industrial motors are designed to work up to 20 years in continuous production applications such as chemical and food processing plants and power generation facilities, but some motors do not reach their projected lifetime.1 This could be due to insufficient operation of the motor, insufficient maintenance programs, lack of investment in PdM systems, or not having a PdM system in place at all. PdM enables maintenance teams to schedule repairs and avoid unplanned downtime. Early prediction of machine faults through PdM can also help maintenance engineers identify and repair motors running inefficiently, enabling increased performance, productivity, asset availability, and lifetime.

Figure 1. Machine health vs. time.

The best PdM strategy is one that efficiently utilizes as many techniques and sensors as possible to detect faults early and to a high degree of confidence, so, there is no one-sensorfits-all solution. This article seeks to clarify why predictive

If a fault emerges in between these scheduled maintenance checks, there is a likelihood of unplanned downtime. What becomes vitally important in this case is having the right predictive maintenance sensor to detect potential faults as

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early as possible and, for this reason, this article will focus on vibration and acoustic sensors. Vibration analysis is generally perceived as the best starting point for PdM.2

sensor requirements for use in PdM applications. In order to detect faults as early as possible, PdM systems typically require high performance sensors. The performance level of the

Predictive Maintenance Sensors

predictive maintenance sensor used on an asset is correlated to the importance of assets being continuously able to operate reliably in the overall process and not at the cost of the asset itself.

Some sensors can detect certain faults, such as bearing damage, much earlier than others, as shown in Figure 1.

In this section, the sensors most commonly used to detect faults at the earliest possible moment are discussed, namely accelerometers and microphones. Table 1 shows a list of sensor specifications and some of the faults they can detect.

Most PdM systems will only employ some of these sensors, so it is imperative to ensure potential critical faults are well understood along with the sensors that are best suited to detecting them.

Table 2. Brief Overview of Machine Fault and Vibration Sensor Considerations

Table 1. Popular Sensors Used for CbM Sensor and System Fault Considerations

More than 90% of rotating machinery in industrial and commercial applications use rolling-element bearings.3 The distribution of failed components of a motor are shown in Figure 2, where it is clear to see that, when selecting a PdM sensor, it is important to focus on bearing monitoring. In order to detect, diagnose, and predict potential faults, a vibration sensor must have low noise and wide bandwidth capabilities.

The amount of energy in the vibration or movement (peak, peak-to-peak, and rms) of a motor allows us to determine whether the machine is imbalanced or misaligned, among other things. Some faults, such as bearing or gear defects, are not as obvious, especially early on, and can’t be identified or predicted by an increase in vibration alone. These faults typically require a high performance predictive maintenance vibration sensor with low noise (<100 μg/√Hz) and wide bandwidth (>5 kHz) paired with a high performance signal chain, processing, transceivers, and postprocessing.5

Vibration, Sonic, and Ultrasonic Sensors for PdM

Figure 2. Percent of occurrences of failed motor components.4 Table 2 shows some of the most common faults associated with rotating machines and some corresponding vibration

Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphones contain a MEMS element on a PCB, typically contained in a metal case with a bottom or top port to allow sound pressure waves inside.

MEMS microphones offer low cost, small size, and effective means of sensing machine faults such as bearing condition, gear meshing, pump cavitation, misalignment, and imbalance.

This makes MEMS microphones an ideal choice for batterypowered applications. They can be located at significant distances from the noise source and are noninvasive. When multiple assets are in operation, microphone-based performance may suffer due to the amount of audible noise from other machines or environmental factors such as dirt or humidity, accessing the port hole in the microphone.

Most MEMS microphone data sheets still list relatively benign applications such as mobile terminals, laptops, gaming devices, and cameras, etc. Some MEMS microphone data sheets list vibration sensing or PdM as potential applications, but they also mention that sensors sensitive to mechanical shock and improper handling can cause permanent damage

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WHITE PAPER to the part. Other MEMS microphone data sheets state a mechanical shock survivability up to 10,000 g. There is still a lack of clarity on whether some of these sensors are suitable for operation in very harsh operating environments in the presence of potential shock events.

MEMS ultrasonic microphone analysis enables the monitoring of motor health in complicated assets, in the presence of increased audible noise, because it listens to sounds in the nonaudible spectrum (20 kHz to 100 kHz) where there is far less noise. The wavelengths of low frequency audible signals typically range from approximately 1.7 cm to 17 m long.

The wavelengths of high frequency signals range from approximately 0.3 cm to 1.6 cm long. When the frequency of the wavelength increases, the energy increases, making the ultrasound more directive. This is extremely useful when trying to pinpoint a failure in a bearing or housing.

Accelerometers are the most commonly used vibration sensor and vibration analysis is the most commonly employed PdM technique, mainly used on large rotating equipment such as turbines, pumps, motors, and gearboxes. Table 3 and Table 4 show some of the key specifications for consideration when selecting high performance MEMS vibration and acoustic sensors vs. the gold standard piezo vibration sensor. Data in each column is representative of the min/max variation within that category and doesn’t correlate to adjacent columns.

The CbM industry is due to have significant growth over the next five years with wireless installations accounting for a significant amount of this growth.6 Piezo accelerometers are less suitable for wireless CbM systems due to a combination of size, lack of integrated features, and power consumption, but solutions do exist with typical consumption in the range of 0.2 mA to 0.5 mA. MEMS accelerometers and microphones are highly suited to battery-powered PdM systems due to their small size, low power, and high performance capabilities.

All sensors have suitable bandwidths and low noise, but MEMS accelerometers are the only sensors than can offer a response down to dc, useful for detection of imbalance at very low rotational speeds and tilt sensing. MEMS accelerometers also have a self-test feature where the sensor can be verified to be 100% functional. This could prove useful in safety-critical installations where meeting system standards is made easier by being able to verify if a sensor is still functional.

It is possible to completely hermetically seal MEMS accelerometers in ceramic packages and piezo accelerometers in mechanical packages for use in harsh, dirty environments.

Table 4 focuses on physical, mechanical, and environmental performance of the sensors. This is where the key differences can be seen between each sensor such as integration, tolerance to harsh environments, mechanical performance, and attachment to a rotating machine or mount.

Table 3. Predictive Maintenance Sensor Performance Specifications

Table 4. Predictive Maintenance Sensor Mechanical Specifications

Detecting vibration data in three axes offers more diagnostic insights and can lead to better fault detection. While this is not necessary in every PdM installation, it is a distinct advantage offered by piezo and MEMS accelerometers in terms of data quality, wiring, and space savings.

MEMS microphones have shown distortion of up to –8 dB when exposed to increased humidity for prolonged periods.7 While this is not a distinct weakness, it is worth considering if your PdM application exists in a harsh environment with high humidity. In such cases, electret condenser microphones (ECMs) have shown advantages over MEMS microphones.

Other environmental conditions that can affect microphones are wind, atmospheric pressure, electromagnetic fields, and mechanical shock.8 In benign environments, MEMS microphones offer excellent performance in PdM applications. Currently, there is a lack of information available on mounting MEMS microphones in harsh operating environments with excessive vibrations, dirt, or humidity. Vibration can affect the performance of MEMS microphones, and this is an area that needs consideration; however, they do have lower vibration sensitivity than ECMs.9 If a wireless PdM solution were to use a MEMS microphone, the mounting box would need to have a hole or port to allow the acoustic signal to reach the sensor, adding further design complexity and potentially making other electronics susceptible to dirt or humidity.

Recent advancements in capacitive MEMS accelerometer technology have allowed small, low cost, low power, wireless CbM solutions to be implemented on lower priority assets, allowing further diagnostic insights into facilities management and maintaining critical system uptime. These advancements also moved MEMS accelerometers closer to piezo performance for use in more traditional, wired CbM systems. Having such low noise and wide bandwidth, coupled with industry-standard connections (ICP and IEPE), piezo accelerometers have been the gold standard sensor used in vibration measurement for decades. MEMS accelerometers have been adapted to interface with IEPE standard modules, as shown in Figure 3. The conversion circuit is based on a Circuits from the Lab® reference design. The circuit was designed on a special PCB

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that has been characterized to perform over wide bandwidths and is ready to be designed into a mechanical module at a later stage.

Figure 3. MEMS accelerometer, IEPE reference, PCB design allowin g retrofit of the ADXL100x family of CbM accelerometers in IEPE mechanical modules. Note: Analog Devices does not produce IEPE mechanical modules.

one example of a dedicated PdM module solution. Analog Devices was first to market with a family of PdMcapable MEMS accelerometers (20 kHz+ bandwidth, 25 μg/√Hz noise density) and remains the only MEMS accelerometer supplier with these performance levels. Analog Devices is continuing to lead the way in providing sensors, signal chain solutions, mechanical modules, platforms, machine learning algorithms, artificial intelligence software platforms, and total system solutions to enable predictive maintenance of industrial rotating machines in the most challenging environments.

Visit analog.com/CbM or contact CIC.EMEA@analog.com for more information.

References The device shown in Figure 4 contains three single-axis MEMS accelerometers, three ADCs, a processor, memory, and algorithms, all in a mechanical module with a resonance over 50 kHz. This highlights the capability of MEMS accelerometers to integrate intelligence at the sensor node, ensuring the sensor is paired with the best signal chain and processing to achieve the best performance possible. This module can perform FFTs, trigger various time domain or frequency domain alarms, and generate time domain statics vital for algorithms or machine learning tools to predict failures.

Figure 4. Three-axis MEMS CbM module with integrated ADC, processor, FFT, and statistics, as well as a mechanical package with resonant frequency over 50 kHz. When it comes to choosing the most suitable vibration sensor for your PdM solution, the real challenge lies in pairing sensors to meet the most likely potential failure modes of your assets.

MEMS microphones are not yet proven to be robust enough to reliably detect all vibration-based failure modes in the harshest of environments, whereas the industry standard for vibration sensing, accelerometers, have been successfully implemented and performed reliably for decades. MEMS ultrasonic microphones have shown promising performance in detecting bearing faults earlier than accelerometers, and this potential symbiotic relationship could deliver the best PdM solution for your asset’s vibration analysis needs in the future.

While it is difficult to recommend a single vibration sensor for use in a PdM system, accelerometers have a successful history and continue to evolve and improve. Analog Devices offers a range of MEMS accelerometers from general purpose, low power, low noise, high stability, and high g, as well as intelligent edge-node modules shown in Figure 4. The ADcmXL3021 is just

1 Leslie Langnau. “Sensors Help You Get Maximum Use from Your Motors.” Machine 2 Bram Corne, Bram Vervisch, Colin Debruyne, Jos Knockaert, and Jan Desmet. “Comparing MCSA with Vibration Analysis in Order to Detect Bearing Faults—A Case Study.” 2015 IEEE International Electric Machines and Drives Conference (IEMDC), IEEE, May 2015.

3 Brian P. Graney and Ken Starry. “Rolling Element Bearing Analysis.” Materials Evaluation, Vol. 70, No. 1, The American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Inc., January 2012.

4 Pratyay Konar, R. Bandyopadhyay, and Paramita Chattopadhyay. “Bearing Fault Detection of Induction Motor Using Wavelet and Neural Networks.” Proceedings of the 4th Indian International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, IICAI 2009, Tumkur, Karnataka, India, December 2009.

5 Pete Sopcik and Dara O’Sullivan. “How Sensor Performance Enables Condition- Based Monitoring Solutions,” Analog Dialogue, Vol. 53, June 2019.

6 Motor Monitoring Market by Offering (Hardware, Software), Monitoring Process (Online, Portable), Deployment, Industry (Oil and Gas, Power Generation, Metals and Mining, Water and Wastewater, Automotive), and Region—Global Forecast to 2023. Research and Markets, February 2019.

7 Pradeep Lall, Amrit Abrol, and David Locker. “Effects of Sustained Exposure to Temperature and Humidity on the Reliability and Performance of MEMS Microphone.” ASME 2017 International Technical Conference and Exhibition on Packaging and Integration of Electronic and Photonic Microsystems, September 2017.

8 Marcel Janda, Ondrej Vitek, and Vitezslav Hajek. Induction Motors: Modelling and Control. InTech, November 2012.

9 Muhammad Ali Shah, Ibrar Ali Shah, Duck-Gyu Lee, and Shin Hur. “Design Approaches of MEMS Microphones for Enhanced Performance.” Journal of Sensors, Vol. 1, March 2019.

About the Author

Chris Murphy is an applications engineer with the European Centralized Applications Center, based in Dublin, Ireland. He has worked for Analog Devices since 2012, providing design support on motor control and industrial automation products.

He holds an M.Eng. in electronics by research and a B.Eng. in computer engineering. He can be reached at christopher. murphy@analog.com.

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BIG PICTURE

Cadence’s Cerebrus Offers a Revolution in Chip Design Productivity To enable the semiconductor industry to continue growing, the chip design process must become more efficient. With the availability of massive, cloudenabled, distributed computing and advancements in ML computer science, the next chip design automation revolution is now possible states Venkat Thanvantri | VP, R&D, AI/ML Digital and Signoff | Cadence while talking in an exclusive Interview with Niloy. In this most-awaited interview, the veteran underlines what’s changing design processes for the semiconductor industry and also the need for advanced technologies like AI/ML in their respective design strategies. Edited excerpts below.

Q

Let’s talk about how Cadence is extending Digital-Design leadership with stated revolutionary ML-Based Cerebrus?

Cadence’s Cerebrus Intelligent Chip Explorer utilizes massively distributed compute power and a unique machine learning (ML)-based reinforcement learning engine, combined with the Cadence digital full flow solution, to deliver better PPA more quickly. Cerebrus automation capabilities enable engineering teams to scale more efficiently and boost productivity so more designs can be implemented concurrently.

In addition to automated implementation flow optimization, Cerebrus has the capability to explore high-level design optimizations, such as dynamically resizing and shaping a floorplan to improve PPA much more efficiently than a manual approach. All design learnings are stored in a reinforcement learning model that can easily be used in future design projects to optimize the flow even more quickly.

Cerebrus offers a revolution in chip design productivity, which will allow the semiconductor industry to continue growing and delivering the new SoC product features and capabilities we all expect in our increasingly connected world.

Q

What is driving the need for automating digital chip design integrating advance technologies such as (AI/ML)?

To enable the semiconductor industry to continue growing, the chip design process must become more efficient. With the availability of massive, cloudenabled, distributed computing and advancements in ML computer science, the next chip design automation revolution is now possible.

The Cadence Cerebrus Intelligent Chip Explorer utilizes both of these technologies, based on the industry-leading Cadence digital full flow, to deliver better power, performance, and area (PPA) more quickly. Engineering teams now are able to scale and become more productive using the Cerebrus reinforcement learning engine to meet the challenges of increasingly large and more complex system-on-chip (SoC) designs.

Venkat Thanvantri

VP, R&D, AI/ML Digital and Signoff, Cadence

Q

According to you the key reason behind global chip shortage and how AI/ML can rev-up the semiconductor industry?

When Cadence talks about AI and ML in its software, we are talking about helping chip designers automate certain parts of the design process to speed time to market. The chip shortage has to do with manufacturing and

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has largely been attributed to a supply and demand gap, which is outside our domain.

faster data transmission speeds. Today’s electronics have more chips in them with no end to this trend in sight.

- As a result, next-generation chips must be produced faster How are the latest trends in India such as 5G, Industry and smarter. Engineers are overloaded and need support to 4.0, and automation processing build pressure on chip keep up with demand. That is where ML in EDA comes into production? the picture.

The pressure on chip production is due to the increase in the In terms of semiconductor design, these trends are having demand for electronics – not just in India but across the world, impact on: and not just because of an increase in demand in the 5G - Traditional chip and package design EDA: Electronics and Industry 4.0 verticals, but also in other verticals such as technology is proliferating to new, creative applications automotive, hyperscale computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and appearing in our everyday lives. To compete, systems medical, aerospace, to name just a few. companies are increasingly designing their own semiconductor chips, and semiconductor companies are delivering software How can chips be designed to be more PPA effective stacks to enable substantial differentiation of their products. and produce sophisticated technology mechanisms?

Design size and complexity are increasing, with more designs Cadence’s Cerebrus Intelligent Chip Explorer is built on massive on advanced process nodes. Other trends include 3D-IC and compute and machine learning architectures and utilizes the design for high-speed analog signals. complete Cadence digital full flow solution. Cerebrus uses a - The system beyond the chip: Optimizing semiconductor unique reinforcement learning engine to deliver better design devices for their targeted applications started in mobile devices PPA results. By using a completely automated, machine and is now moving into cloud computing, automotive and learning-driven, RTL-to-GDS full-flow optimization technology, other areas. Each application has different environmental Cerebrus can deliver better PPA results more quickly than a conditions and constraints, requiring optimization of the manually-tuned flow, thereby improving engineering team silicon performance in the context of the system, as well as productivity. Cerebrus uses the latest scalable distributed the system itself, across the boundaries of hardware and computing technology resources, either on-premises or in the software, analog and digital, electrical, and mechanical. cloud, to enable efficient and scalable chip implementation - Intelligence throughout: Many companies are introducing for the ever-increasing size and complexity of current SoC intelligent computation in their systems, which is creating a designs. confluence of semiconductor design, system design and intelligent system design.

How do you see the shift from power to performance and To power the technologies and products of the future, the area scaling in the role in the future? world’s most creative companies require end-to-end solutions Power, performance and area go hand-in-hand. That’s across chips, IP, packages, PCBs and systems to meet why the there is a dedicated acronym for it—“PPA”. It all demanding design requirements and deliver extraordinary boils down to the consistently increasing design complexity products. Cadence has evolved to address these changes and size that we have seen in chips over the last decade or and formulated its “Intelligent System Design” strategy in which more. Chip designers are trying to optimize more and more it delivers world-class computational software capabilities functionality into a decreasing footprint. Change the area, across all aspects of electronics system design. and the power changes. Increase the performance, and the How would you define as it is said that Machine Learning area and power change. Attempt to minimize power, and can greatly shorten VLSI design times and later significantly the area goes down—or up—depending on the optimization. alter the way VLSI design is done today.

As chips scale in size and complexity, the interdependence of The complexity of integrated circuits (ICs) means the number power, performance and area will only increase. All three are of possible design iterations that need to be evaluated important considerations in chip design, with designers having continues to increase, but their regularity means design rules that work well can have a massive positive impact across to make tradeoffs between the three to optimize the chip. large parts of the design. Using AI and ML to move from What are the chip designs and technology propelling ‘maybe’ to ‘definitely’ in fewer iterative steps can deliver advanced demand of Automotive, Health, Mobile, greater productivity in an automated flow.

Consumer, Communications, Industrial and Aero/Defence The industry is in a constant state of development to expedite applications? the design process. As fabrication processes shrink in dimensions, We are seeing the following trends in the electronics industry the ICs become commensurately more complex, and, as today. any design engineer appreciates, complexity increases the - The Chip design industry is experiencing a renaissance. design cycle. That is true for any type of design. Designers are There is strong growth in 5G, autonomous driving, hyperscale spending an enormous amount of time performing multiple compute, industrial IoT and other areas, which are underpinned tasks—for example, finding the best PPA and developing the with the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and ML. optimal floorplan. To really shorten the design cycle, ML is - New applications and technological interdependencies are paramount, providing the best path forward when it comes generating demand for even more compute, more functionality, to improving productivity and design success.

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17 09 | 2021 BISinfotech

DATA CENTER - OPED

Data Center

Trends in 2022

Sachin Bhalla

VP & Country GM – Secure Power, Schneider Electric India & SAARC

The intersection of hybrid cloud, server virtualization, artificial intelligence (AI) and transformational technologies at the edge are giving rise to the characteristic and projected growth of data centers across the country. The current situation has catalysed the need for increased network security, managing highly efficient workflows, processing massive volumes of data while rendering seamless interoperability, optimal growth and usage of decentralised cloud services. As data centers are evolving with new and emerging technologies that emphasize on sustainability and decarbonisation, some key trends that data centers will encompass going forward include: • Intelligent Monitoring: Intelligent Monitoring empowers the crux of data center operations. The movement towards automating management and monitoring and in turn receiving real-time data and insights will transform the operational capacities across data centers. By harnessing the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) and analytics, intelligent monitoring will enable in breaking down silos across the infrastructure platform and increase visibility, transparency and bandwidth. This will further accelerate processes, improve uptime, predict needs and secure information with utmost reliability.

• Hyperscale Data Centers: With increasing business demands and the growing pace of data consumption across industries, hyperscale data centers will be taking shape and pivoting existing operations significantly. The shift from on-premises to cloud and colocation providers has been driven by digital transformation. Increasing data center capabilities will be leveraged through hyperscale cloud giving enterprises the impetus to invest in scalable applications and solutions that render immense benefit. Hyperscale data centers will stay ahead of the curve in deploying smart, self-reliant and sophisticated solutions that reduce human intervention by integrating automation.

• Green Data Centers: Data centers of the future need to emphasize on energy efficiency and examine their impact on the environment. Along with powering sustainable and versatile solutions at the edge, green data centers will enable more cost-efficiency, reduce downtime and optimize the use of resources that sustain data center operations. Data centers of the future are being revamped to incorporate fundamental changes in their design and build to create more resilience and mitigate factors that could affect the ecosystem.

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AUTOMOTIVE - EXCLUSIVE

Automotive MLCCs

Balancing Reliability with Miniaturization and High Capacitance in a Closely Intertwined Evolution with the CASE Trend CASE trend supported by the evolution and expanding range of utilization of electrical and electronic circuits The automobile industry is in the middle of a once-in-a-century revolution in line with the CASE trend (Figure 1). The CASE trend refers to four initiatives transforming cars and the car business; the acronym stands for “Connected,” connecting cars to the network at all times, “Autonomous,” to realize automated driving, “Shared and Services,” renewing the business models that provide means of mobility and transportation, and “Electric,” which is changing the main power source from engines to motors.

Figure 1. Once-in-a-century “CASE trend” revolution transforming the automobile industry

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Currently, there are already examples of one car equipped with more than 100 control computers (Electronic Control Unit: ECU). With the goal of increasing the convenience, comfort, safety, and environmental performance of cars, that number continues to increase. In addition, hybrid vehicles, electric cars, and other electric vehicles (xEV) are now equipped with many electronic circuits that precisely control high-voltage power reaching as much as several hundred volts. The CASE trend is accelerating the diversification and increase of such advanced electrical and electronic circuits.

MLCCs are the cornerstone of the safety and reliability that support the stable operation of on-board circuits.

The electrical and electronic circuits utilized in cars to implement various functions do not consist of just CPUs, memory, power devices, and other semiconductor chips. Countless numbers of capacitors, inductors, and other passive components are used in electrical and electronic circuits to stabilize the operation of semiconductor chips and adjust handled data signals and power supply waveforms. Without these passive components, electrical and electronic circuits cannot be operated as designed.

Among the many passive components, MLCCs (Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors) are one type of component that is often utilized in on-board electrical and electronic circuits in particular. Capable of realizing a miniature size and high capacitance while maintaining their characteristics in a hostile environment, the features of MLCCs are perfect for on-board use, which requires them to be utilized in electrical and electronic circuits in narrow and unforgiving spaces.

Currently, as many as 3,000 to 5,000 MLCCs are utilized per vehicle. Looking at a smartphone as a representative example of an advanced electronic device, if we consider that even the latest high-end model includes 1,000 MLCCs, contemporary cars could be described as a “collection of MLCCs.” Therefore, the type and number of MLCCs utilized in cars may further increase as the CASE trend progresses.

The strengths of Murata’s MLCC technology stand out due to the harsh demands of such applications.

Murata Manufacturing is the global leader supplying approximately 40% of MLCC components (Figure 2). Limited to just automotive MLCCs, Murata supplies 50% of the market, for an even higher share. This shows that the strengths of Murata’s MLCC technology stand out due to the harsh technical requirements demanded of such applications. Automotive MLCCs are components utilized in machinery that is responsible for human life. Therefore, they require a higher level of quality and reliability that is completely different from the MLCCs used in consumer devices. Only a handful of manufacturers are able to develop and supply automotive MLCCs, and Murata in particular is the industry leader in cutting-edge products.

Figure 2. Murata’s market share of MLCCs

The four changes of the CASE trend share one aspect. As means of implementing automotive functions, they all depend on electrical and electronic technologies and IT technologies. Previous cars were an assembly of advanced machine technologies. In contrast, next-generation cars are transforming into something completely different, referred to as a “running computer,” “cluster of semiconductors,” and a “moving data center.”

In accordance with the progress of the CASE trend, more advanced electrical and electronic circuits will be utilized in greater numbers than before. Of course, the technical requirements with respect to MLCCs will also likely increase.

Moreover, MLCC suppliers are also required to maintain production systems that can provide a stable supply of advanced components that are directly linked to the safety and reliability of cars. In terms of technology development and production system maintenance, Murata is able to supply automotive MLCCs with the quality and quantity required in the CASE era. Going forward, we will continue to support this automobile industry revolution through our technical, production, and support capabilities.

Utilizing our strengths in integrated manufacturing to create automotive MLCCs that are one step ahead.

Contemporary cars are equipped with a large number of MLCCs. MLCCs are essential components for the proper and stable operation of the various electrical and electronic circuits utilized in cars. Automotive MLCCs must also provide a miniature size and high capacitance similar to those used in smartphones. However, because they are linked directly to the safety and reliability of cars, which are responsible for human life, automotive MLCCs must prioritize the implementation

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AUTOMOTIVE - EXCLUSIVE of a higher level of quality that is completely different from the MLCCs for consumer devices. Murata provides MLCC products that support the evolution of cars in the CASE era through our industry-leading technical and production capabilities. We spoke with two automotive MLCC product technology managers who are well versed in the application and technology requirement trends in the automotive industry about the type of MLCCs required in the CASE era, the frontlines of technology development to meet those requirements, and future developments.

Figure 3. MLCCs used in luxury electric vehicles (BEVs) equipped with Level 2+ automated driving features

--Smartphones are an application of cutting-edge MLCCs. What differences are there between MLCCs for smartphones and those used on-board automobiles?

Marketing Manager Satoshi Yoshida

&

Marketing Senior Manager Takahiro Yoshida

Cars are a "collection of MLCCs" and also an "MLCC museum"

--Roughly how many MLCCs are equipped in cars in the CASE era?

Contemporary cars are already equipped with electrical and electronic circuits to implement various functions, and MLCCs are used in various applications. A large number of components are used, and even the typical engine-driven vehicle that does not have an automated driving feature uses approximately 3,000 MLCCs. If the use of electrification and advanced automated driving features advances, the number of MLCCs used will surely increase further. For example, there are already luxury electric vehicles (BEVs: Battery Electric Vehicles) equipped with Level 2+*1 automated driving features that use more than 10,000 MLCC components (Figure 3). *1 SAE International, a U.S.-based automobile industry group, has classified and defined Level 0 to Level 5 for automated driving systems according to the degree to which the system makes decisions and handles operations. Within these five levels, Level 2 is defined as the stage in which the system “controls both the steering and acceleration/deceleration under limited conditions.” While the driving is fundamentally performed by the driver, the system aims to provide driving assistance according to the situation. In contrast, Level 3 is the stage in which “the driving is fundamentally handled by the system except in emergencies.” Level 2+ indicates that although the system carries out more advanced decision making and control than Level 2, the system is fundamentally operated by the driver.

Automotive MLCCs require a higher level of quality and include many different types.

First, in terms of quality, it is essential that MLCCs realize a level of quality that is an order of magnitude higher than is referred to as “automotive grade.” Product development and production initiatives aiming for zero defects and a long operating life are required. Some MLCCs for smartphones are designed with a guaranteed operating life of a minimum of five years or more. In contrast, automotive grade products must guarantee an operating life of 20 years or more. More advanced technologies and a strict production system are required to improve quality even for MLCCs with the same size and capacitance, and the technological hurdle to implement automotive-grade products can be said to be considerably high.

Not only is a higher level of quality required, but more diverse MLCCs are needed as well. Smartphones are also equipped with various electronic circuits, but most of the MLCCs used therein are miniature and high capacitance products. In contrast, the on-board parts associated with automated driving features and connectivity use miniature and high capacitance products with automotive level quality. The required specifications and technical requirements differ depending on whether they are for connectivity, automated driving features, or other applications. At the same time, the parts that drive and control the xEV’s main motor and battery require high-quality MLCCs that support high voltages.

--In terms of quantity, cars of the near future were described as a “collection of MLCCs,” but in terms of variety they can be called an “MLCC museum.” Will such a trend become more prominent due to the progress of the CASE trend?

That is a good question. When we conceptualize a car, which crams in all of the features implemented through electrical and electronic systems under the evolution of cars in line with the CASE trend, we get a connected BEV that is equipped with automated driving features. Realizing such a vehicle

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However, the question of whether the number of components used will increase beyond the currently expected number of 10,000 components per vehicle must be carefully examined.

Because the failure rate will also increase if the number of components in electrical and electronic circuits increase, a trend in technology development will likely emerge that attempts to assemble advanced and multifunctional circuits using as few MLCCs as possible. I think that solutions that combine the roles of multiple MLCCs into one will be required.

This area is one issue that I feel we will have to address going forward. We have already started to propose measures to customers for reducing the number of components used.

The product category mix depends on the breadth of applications that are currently visible, but we feel that it will settle down within the expected range. However, if there is some sort of new development in systems or circuit configurations, new MLCC demand may emerge. For example, at the current time BEV inverters and DC-DC converters mostly use silicon power devices. However, if SiC (silicon carbide)*2 devices or GaN (gallium nitride) devices were to be used in such applications, the specifications and configuration of electrical circuits would change, and capacitors with new specifications might be required. *2 SiC and GaN are semiconductor materials that are attracting attention as materials for creating power devices with high energy efficiency to replace silicon. Silicon carbide has already been adopted for use in on-board chargers and inverters in electric vehicles, and there are examples of practical applications. Gallium nitride has been practically applied as a material in power devices for realizing miniature AC converters, etc.

Releasing globally pioneering products one after another to the market

--Currently, what kinds of MLCCs is Murata releasing to the market for any type of application?

We are releasing a variety of product types for a fairly broad range of applications (Figure 4). We are releasing automotive grade products that are miniature, high capacitance, and low inductance (low ESL*3) as products that support the connectivity (“C”) and automation (“A”) aspects of the CASE trend. As examples of cutting-edge miniature and high-capacitance products, we have released the 1608M (1.6 x 0.8 mm) size with a capacitance of 10 μF and a withstanding voltage of 6.3 V, the 3216M (3.2 x 1.6 mm) size with a capacitance of 47 μF and a withstanding voltage of 4 V, and the 3225M (3.2 x 2.5 mm) size with a capacitance of 100 μF and a withstanding voltage of 2.5 V. Murata was the first company in the world*4 to commercially release these products, which lead the industry in terms of miniaturization and high capacitance for on-board use. *3 ESL stands for equivalent series inductance and is an indicator that represents the impedance of an AC

signal that exists in series, resulting from the capacitance of an MLCC or other device. *4 As of December 2020

Figure 4. Murata’s lineup of on-board capacitors

requires the implementation of electrical and electronic circuits that are more advanced than ever, and the number of utilized components will also increase. Of course, automotive MLCCs must also evolve according to the development of applications, and the supply system must also build up to meet the increased demand at the same time.

In the area of low ESL products used around the periphery of power supply control ICs in automated driving systems, which make it possible to reduce the number of components, we have released distinctive products such as the 1005M (1.0 x 0.5 mm) size at 1 μF and 4V and the 1608M size at 10 μF and 4V three-terminal capacitor (model number: NFM). In this case as well, Murata was the first company in the world to release such products to the market. In addition, CPU processing power is increasing with the growing sophistication of automated driving, and we are receiving requests to mount capacitors within packages. In order to meet such needs, we released the 0510M (0.5 x 1.0 mm) size, which is a 1 μF, 4 V LW reverse capacitor with a low ESL and a thin form factor (maximum thickness of 0.22 mm) that can be embedded within a package. Meanwhile, to support the “E” of “Electric,” we released 10 nF and 630 V products with C0G (stable temperature characteristics) in the 3216M (3.2 x 1.6 mm) size, 33 nF and 630 V products with C0G in the 3225M (3.2 x 2.5 mm) size, and 54 nF and 1 kV capacitors with metal terminals and C0G in the 5750M (5.7 x 5.0 mm) size as MLCCs for use in on-board chargers*5 (OBC), which charge secondary lithium-ion batteries. *5 An On-Board Charger (OBC) is a piece of equipment that converts household AC power supplies to direct current to charge the battery utilized in an electric vehicle, etc.

--Murata has many world’s-first products and seems to be truly leading the industry.

It can certainly be said that Murata is leading the industry when it comes to products for connectivity and automated driving.

However, regarding products for electrification, there are still some areas, including other types of non-MLCC capacitors, where competitors lead. Naturally, we will catch up in these areas soon, but because we believe that Murata’s strength lies more than anything in its high level of quality, we plan to release unbeatable products featuring a high level of quality, which is most important for on-board use.

About This Article:

This article is provided by Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. https://article.murata.com/en-sg/article/automotive-mlcc-1

23 09 | 2021 BISinfotech

TWO WHEELER - SPOTLIGHT

Electric Two-Wheelers For a Green Tomorrow Prabha Venkataram | Niveditha BA Elektrobit India Pvt. Ltd

In the developing economies, two and three-wheelers are the most prevalent modes of transportation. According to the reports from the UN Environment Programme, there are 270 million motorcycles on the road worldwide, with 50 million annual addition. Following this projection rate, by 2050, the two-wheeler population around the world is expected to rise to 400 million.

Many of these vehicles work on the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), which is inefficient in terms of the particulate matter emission that is a cause for environmental concern.

The particulate emission from a two-stroke two-wheeler is more than that of a passenger car. Think tanks such as the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in India have repeatedly stressed that bikes and scooters are an environmental hazard.

In India, 32% of air pollutants generated by the transport sector come from two-wheelers. The four-stroke engine is cleaner because it burns pure petrol; the two-stroke engine, on the

other hand, burns a combination of lubricating oil and petrol, and a fair amount of the oil is emitted as unburnt vapor. Fourstroke engines and adaptation of other cleaner emission technologies can reduce the emissions but cannot remove them. Globally, experts agree that moving the two-wheelers to electric mobility should be the priority in the developing nations. The UN Environment Programme is supporting transitional countries to develop national programs for the introduction of electric two and three-wheelers in Africa and Asia.

Until recently, Electric Vehicles have been successful only in a few niche markets and in countries that have a very strong policy and infrastructure backup. However, over the last decade, a few circumstances have contributed to creating an opening and accelerating electric mobility to enter the mass market.

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The scenarios below have brought about a mounting sense of urgency for the law-making and governing bodies around the world to look for alternatives to fossil fuels.

1. Climatic change: The UN describes the climate change as an “existential threat” of our times. The more fossil fuels we burn the more the emission of “greenhouse gases” increases contributing to global warming.

2. Rapid urbanization: Economic development, especially in emerging economies, is creating a wave of urbanization as rural populations move to cities in search of employment.

While urbanization is an important component of the process of economic development, it also stresses upon the energy and transport infrastructure leading to congestion and pollution.

3. Energy security: The petrol and diesel needed to fuel an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE)-based mobility system requires an extensively costly supply chain that is prone to disruption from weather, geopolitical events, and other factors. India needs to import oil to cover over 80 percent of its transport fuel.

BMS and HVAC ECU software to ensure optimal usage of the battery energy.

With standardization of the automotive software platforms, it has been possible for many start-ups and software companies to have a leveling field in the automotive market. OEMs leverage the software stacks for the basic software, including operating systems and domain-specific middleware and applications from these software companies. The standardization in interface exchange formats, such as the ones from the AUTOSAR foundation, have made this seemingly daunting task of the integration at the ECU and also at the vehicle level manageable.

The diagram below gives an overview of the major ECUs in a two-wheeler EV.

In recent years, the developments below have propelled the journey to electric mobility and made it a feasible option for a cost-sensitive market.

4. Advances in battery technology: Advances in battery technology have led to higher energy densities, faster charging, and reduced battery degradation from charging.

Combined with the development of motors with higher rating and reliability, these improvements in battery chemistry have reduced costs and improved the performance and efficiency of electric vehicles.

5. Advances in renewable energy: Over the last decade, advances in wind and solar electricity generation technologies have drastically reduced their costs and introduced the possibility of clean, low-carbon, and inexpensive grids.

The factors above have accelerated the adoption of Electric Vehicles as a mainstream transportation option.

Automotive software

Software has been a key enabler in bringing innovation, performance, end-user friendly, secure and safe features both in the vehicle and automotive backend systems such as garage and fleet management, over-the-air update backend systems.

The software in an Electric Vehicle is paramount for the overall vehicle performance and range. EVs depend on the software and connectivity between vehicle domains for their efficient functioning. One typical example is the functioning of the Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system and the Battery Management System (BMS). Unlike an ICE, where the heat generated during combustion of the fossil fuels is used for the thermal needs of the cabin, the EVs have no such mechanical components. The EV needs an efficient

Figure 1: Generic two-wheeler EV architecture Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) – Vehicle Control Unit acts as the gateway for the different ECUs in a vehicle. It is the heart of the system where all the sensor inputs are processed to drive the actuator output. It controls the Battery Management System (BMS) based on State of Charge (SoC) and State of Health (SoH) of the system. It also controls the power to the Motor Control Unit (MCU). It also takes care of safety functionality during failures.

Telematics Control Unit (TCU): The TCU which houses the Network Access Device acts as the gateway between the vehicle and the cloud infrastructure. It uses wireless communication for collecting data from the vehicle, for diagnostics and for tracking the vehicle.

Instrument Cluster (ICL): The ICL acts as the interface between the driver and the vehicle. It indicates the status of speedometer, odometer, tachometer, oil pressure gauge, fuel gauge, mode of the vehicle, etc.

Body Control Module (BCM): The BCM for two-wheelers is capable of monitoring and controlling numerous nonpowertrain functions.

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TWO WHEELER - SPOTLIGHT Battery Management System (BMS): The BMS monitors and measures cell voltage, pack charge and discharge current, monitors battery temperature, determines SoC/SoH of battery and has various protection features. Overall, the BMS offers a predictive maintenance software that can notify the driver when certain parts need a check-up so that the driver can schedule it.

EB offering

Elektrobit (EB) is a leader in automotive software with over 30 years in the industry. EB’s software powers over one billion devices in more than 100 million vehicles and offers flexible, innovative solutions for car infrastructure software, connectivity & security, automated driving and related tools, and user experience.

Conclusion

EVs will be the sustainable mobility option of the future. For this to be a reality and for a widespread acceptance and adoption of the technology by the consumer, all stakeholders such as the policymakers, OEMs, automotive suppliers, charging infrastructure developers, battery manufacturers, and governing bodies must collaborate together to create a sustainable EV ecosystem.

OEMs and Tier-1s can utilize the services and platforms already being offered by the automotive software Tier-2 suppliers.

Elektrobit with its expertise in the automotive software area for over 30 years has envisioned the right products (mentioned above) that can be readily utilized by the Tier-1s and OEMs to accelerate their journey towards electrification.

Reference:

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/ourinsights/the-case-for-an-end-to-end-automotive-software-platform http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/458558/zeroemission-vehicles-zevs-towards-a-policy-framework/ https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/transport/what-we-do/electricmobility/electric-two-and-three-wheelers

Figure 2: EB product offerings for a two-wheeler EV For the EV two-wheeler, EB has a gamut of automotive product offerings. Below is a comprehensive list:

26 09 | 2021 BISinfotech

TECH EXCLUSIVE

Understanding Virtual

Primary Reference Time Clock & 5G Network Timing Architectures With the rollout of 5G networking technologies, we’re seeing greater momentum in both cellular mobile operator and Long-Term Evolution (LTE) private network environments. The 5G New Radio (NR) technology leverages time division duplex technology. This requires that new radio deployments to maintain phase alignment accuracy to a Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based timing source to within +/-1.5 microseconds. It is important to understand time error mitigation techniques for networkbased timing delivery using Precision Time Protocol (PTP) for 5G timing architectures. Also, the concept of a virtual Primary Reference Time Clock (vPRTC) is critical for network operators to make sound infrastructure decisions.

Given that timing is a critical component of the infrastructure, network-based timing architectures that use PTP for 5G fronthaul applications need time error allocation engineering to ensure the timing requirements.

In wireless communications, co-channel radio interference is the most common issue related to timing. When a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) (e.g. GPS, Galileo, Beidou) receiver is deployed at a cell site, it must track satellites properly to allow for time slot transmission assignment. In turn, this ensures that radios operating in adjacent or close frequencies don’t interfere with each other. If a GNSS receiver fails or stops tracking properly in a radio cluster with overlapping coverage, it can cause the radio connected to the GNSS receiver to interfere with adjacent radios as the timing degrades or accumulates phase error. Since radios typically use low cost, low performance oscillators to help cut costs, timing degradation occurs very quickly.

When timing begins to degrade, either the radio needs to be removed from service or the services affected by the timing degradation need to be turned off immediately to avoid interference issues. A PTP network-based timing service can be deployed to help mitigate this type of failure scenario.

In a PTP network-based timing service, the radios in the cluster are synchronized to a PTP grandmaster clock with an integrated GNSS receiver. In case of failure or tracking issues with the GNSS in the PTP grandmaster clock, the radios that are synchronized to the grandmaster clock will remain phase aligned relative to the adjacent radios. Therefore, interference is no longer an issue. High-quality oscillators deployed in the PTP grandmaster clock can help maintain time alignment to UTC for extended periods. Also, including PTP-based backup scenarios in the architecture can help maintain UTC traceable

Jim Olsen

Senior Technical Staff Engineer, Applications Microchip Technology

time in failure scenarios. This approach is very resilient and cost-effective. Other advantages include phase alignment of radio clusters in GNSS failure scenarios, the ability to bring GNSS deployment to centralized points of presence of security.

In addition, good line-of-sight to the satellite constellation can be carefully engineered.

The below diagram shows the distribution of PTP to 5G radio cluster over ethernet optics fronthaul technologies. Networkbased timing service delivery using PTP offers a strong case both from the business and technical points of view.

Figure 1. This shows a GNSS timing receiver with a grandmaster clock function and is an example of a distributed timing architecture in a fronthaul architecture. Timing is delivered from the grandmaster clock to the radio over the Ethernet Common Public Radio Interface (eCPRI) link.

With the evolution and advancement of timing and transport technologies, there are several enhancements and alternatives to 5G timing architectures for fronthaul applications. The objective of this article is to introduce and explore the concept of Virtual Primary Reference Time Clock (vPRTC), flesh out some of the advantages of the associated timing and transport technologies and architectures.

The diagram of the PTP network-based timing delivery service architecture above leverages a distributed GNSS timing receiver. With technology advancements related to full-onpath support for PTP streams, we see the emergence of new classes of boundary clocks in switches and other devices.

These reduce the time error produced by these devices in a time transfer path using PTP. This makes it possible to meet stringent timing requirements of 5G applications such as 1.5 microseconds or 260 nanoseconds without requiring the GNSS Timing receiver/PTP Grandmaster function to be in close proximity to the PTP clients in the 5G radio.

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In a network-based PTP timing delivery architecture for high accuracy applications such as 5G timing applications, every nanosecond of time error counts. Therefore, it is important to eliminate or mitigate as many sources of time transfer error as possible. There are two concepts around time transfer error mitigation that are part of time error budget allocation engineering.

The first concept is focused on the GNSS source of time, consisting of a GNSS timing receiver and a PTP grandmaster clock function. A GNSS timing receiver used for time transfer in telecom applications is known as a Primary Reference Time Clock (PRTC). PRTC technology can be classified into three categories based on how close the GNSS maintains time accuracy to UTC when tracking and extracting time for the GNSS satellite constellations. In PRTC Classification A, the PRTC A is required to be within +/- 100 nanoseconds of UTC. UTC

refers to the time reference extracted for the GNSS satellite constellations, when tracking properly. In PRTC Classification B, the PRTC B must be within +/- 40 nanoseconds of UTC when tracking properly. In the enhanced PRTC (ePRTC) classification, the ePRTC needs to be within +/- 30 nanoseconds of UTC when tracking properly. In ePRTC, there is an additional requirement related to GNSS vulnerability. This adds a holdover specification that the ePRTC must be within 100 nanoseconds of UTC for at least two weeks if the GNSS reception fails or is compromised. To achieve this, achieved by co-locating a cesium atomic clock reference with the GNSS timing receiver function. Learning algorithms in the ePRTC learn the offset between the cesium atomic look and the GNSS UTC reference. If the reference becomes unavailable, the algorithms can compensate for the offset of the cesium and maintain UTC traceable time for an extended period.

The second concept is called full on-path support and is focused on the transport network and equipment.

In this model, the PTP time stamps do not pass through the switches and routers in the path between the GNSS based PRTC quality grandmaster clocks and the end application PTP clients in the Radio Unit (RU). Instead, the PTP time stamp flow is terminated at the ingress point of the switch. It regenerates with a grandmaster clock function at the egress ports of the switch. This process, known as a

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TECH EXCLUSIVE Boundary Clock (BC) function, helps mitigate the time error of the switching element. It achieves this by measuring and compensating for the variable delay on the time stamps introduced by the switching fabric of the switch. Over time, the BC technology used inside the switches has evolved, making room for improvements in time transfer error when network-based timing delivery using PTP is implemented.

When BC technology was first introduced, there was a single classification that defined the maximum time error allowed for the switch that incorporated the BC function. Now, there are multiple BC classifications for switches that enable much lower maximum time error classifications. They also make it possible for a GNSS based grandmaster clock function to be positioned at a greater distance in the network. They are also positioned over many more switching hops from the PTP clients in the RU. As defined in the ITU standard G.8273.2, Boundary Clock functions recover time transfer from a PTP input and fall into the category of a Telecom-Time subordinate/client clock (T-TSC). The Boundary Clock classification as well as the T-TSC time error functions are bounded by a maximum allowable Constant Time error (cTE). This is the mean of the time error expressed as a single number and compared to an accuracy specification. While BC technology enables mitigation of the time transfer error of the switching devices, it does not allow for mitigation of time error due to the introduction of any additional network-based asymmetry.

Below is a table that describes the ITU standards-based Boundary Clock/T-TSC classifications and associated cTE boundaries.

Figure 2. This table identifies the various boundary clock classes and their associated time error allocation budget requirements are identified.

With advances in technology for both Primary Reference Time Clock and Boundary Clock functions, a network-based timing service using PTP can extend the reach of the timing service from the GNSS source of time to the end RU applications. This is true for both distance and number of switching hops and maintain high levels of accuracy. It provides an alternative to distributed GNSS timing architectures where the GNSS source of time can be located in more centralized location closer to the core of the network. Called the virtual Primary Reference Clock (vPRTC), this concept can be engineered over Ethernet/ packet switching or Dense Wave Division multiplexing (DWDM) optical transport networks.

There are three components in vPRTC architecture. A GNSS source of time with a PTP grandmaster clock function is the first one. This can either be of PRTC B (+/- 40ns) or ePRTC (+/- 30ns) quality. An ePRTC, which adds a cesium atomic clock can be co-located with the GNSS timing receiver to improve the timing accuracy of the GNSS receiver relative to UTC. This helps address GNSS vulnerability issues and holdover performance the and also provides the extended holdover

capabilities, <100 nanoseconds to UTC for a minimum of two weeks, if the GNSS signal is compromised. The network itself is the second component. This includes the network transport architecture between the GNSS source of time and the end RU PTP application. For proper time error allocation and mitigation, the transport segment of the vPRTC must provide Full on Path support with Boundary Clock classification capabilities of class C or D. The third segment is the network edge access location. The PTP time stamp flow is delivered to the end RU PTP timing application. This location must create a vPRTC function within the PTRC A specifications of <100 nanoseconds to UTC through recovery and regeneration of the PTP timing flow. The PTP timing flow is then delivered to the end RU PTP timing application over the Fronthaul network segment.

Figure 3 depicts the vPRTC concept in a Class C boundary Clock Full on Path support transport network.

Figure 3. This drawing depicts a packet network configured as a Virtual Primary Reference Time clock (vPRTC) using Class C Boundary Clock time error allocation.

Summary

Advancements in networking technologies enable highly accurate time transfer over longer distances and longer chains of network elements. Therefore, operators now have a choice of introducing the GNSS-based source of time for 5G timing architectures at various locations from the edge to the core of the network. With the vPRTC architecture, there is an added technical advantage related to resiliency and redundancy.

Configuring the vPRTC in an east-west configuration with two locations for the GNSS source of time and grandmaster function makes the ePRTC or PRTC redundant. This configuration is also conducive for bidirectional PTP timing flows for ring or liner ring network architectures. Here, timing and traffic are delivered from the opposite direction via a fiber cut. This adds a layer of resiliency and redundancy to the architecture.

The evolution of As 5G networks will make both distributed GNSS PTP timing architectures and centralized vPRTC PTP architectures viable commercial and technical options for global operators as well as 5G LTE private networks. Assuming that the underlying network topology is available, taking care in design can help build the most robust and reliable timing architecture.

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The Future Stows Here!

POWER - FEATURE

3 Connectivity Tips for Switchgear and UPS Power Quality Monitoring As more and more electrical equipment is used in industrial applications, the need to protect these critical systems also increases. Unexpected power outages lead not only to higher maintenance costs of your electrical equipment but also to lower operational efficiency, productivity, and overall business revenue. To ensure a stable power supply, you need to monitor the power quality in your application to protect your electrical equipment from unwanted interruptions and damaging fluctuations.

Switchgears and uninterrupted power supplies (UPSs) are two essential pieces of equipment to consider when developing

a comprehensive power quality monitoring plan. In general, switchgears are the first stop when utility power flows into your factories and data centers. These devices transform voltage, monitor power current, and protect your industrial equipment from abnormal fluctuations in electricity. As a result, you need to constantly monitor the status of circuit breakers, surge protectors, current transformers, and power quality meters used inside your switchgears. In addition, UPSs are used to provide nonstop power supply when the main power source fails and your backup power supply, such as a generator, is not immediately available.

To monitor the real-time status of your application’s power quality, switchgears and UPSs need to connect with an energy management system (EMS) so that operators can make instant decisions to minimize system downtime.

Establishing a reliable communication system in between allows you to monitor power quality and respond to emergencies in time. Here are three tips you can consider when developing your communication systems for power quality monitoring applications.

First, your communication system needs to withstand high EMI. As for your electrical equipment, communication systems for power quality monitoring also need to be protected to ensure operators can receive the real-time status of power quality. Your communication devices are usually located near power systems that generate high EMI, which can easily interrupt network communications.

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To minimize these interruptions, you need a reliable solution with EMI immunity. Fiber cables provide strong EMI immunity over long distances and are an ideal option for transmitting data from the power equipment to the control center. In addition, your connectivity devices should feature additional protection mechanisms, such as dual-power and dual-port inputs, ensuring nonstop operation if one of the power sources or ports fails.

Second, your communication system requires rapid recovery to reduce downtime. Connected devices for power quality monitoring are usually serial-based and use industrial protocols, such as Modbus RTU. On the other hand, EMSs usually use Ethernet-based OT/IT protocols, such as Modbus TCP, SNMPv3, and BACnet/IP. It usually takes a protocol gateway to enable communication between these devices and systems that use different communication protocols.

When communication errors occur, operators cannot receive the status of power quality in time, making it difficult to spot abnormalities for incident responses. Furthermore, it is challenging for engineers to perform root cause analysis when they lack sufficient information and need to overcome the increased complexity of troubleshooting across different protocols.

When choosing a protocol gateway for your communication system, check if it comes with troubleshooting tools that can help you quickly identify the root cause of an incident and get your system back online quickly.

Third, plan wisely for your communication network and get your power data online easily and securely. A variety of sensors related to power stability are available. When you develop a power quality monitoring application, you need to collect not only power-related data but also environmental data to ensure a stable power supply without environmental interruptions. Both power and environmental sensors come in a variety of interfaces, so choose connectivity solutions that are easy to install and maintain in a space-limited cabinet.

Your network plan should also include connectivity security.

When your switchgears and UPSs are connected over public networks, they may expose your systems to potential threats.

Thus, your networking devices need to be protected so that vulnerabilities cannot be exploited by hackers.

As a leading expert in industrial connectivity, Moxa has helped customers implement smooth, reliable, and secure communication systems for power quality monitoring applications. Download our case studies and see how other companies developed communication systems for their switchgears and UPSs with Moxa solutions.

Do you need help selecting connectivity or networking products for your project? Download our E-book and learn about the key criteria for choosing the right products for your needs.

24 09 | 2021 BISinfotech

(The article is an original piece written by MOXA.)

AUTOMOTIVE - FEATURE

THE RACE TO AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRIFICATION: WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN

YS Jun

Director Automotive Business Development, Vicor APAC, YJun@vicr.com

“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough”

— Mario Andretti

For years, automakers have been continuously challenged with the need for more power. In the early days, cars were powered with a six-volt battery right up to the mid 1950s when automotive systems evolved to a 12V power source to meet the perpetual need for more power. Not only did automakers have to anticipate new power delivery demands for windows, steering and seats, but the need for more power was pivotal for the new high-compression engines.

In recent times, CO2 emission compliance standards have motivated OEMs to reconsider how to power the automobile again. While OEMs are introducing electrified vehicles to meet these standards, there has yet to emerge a harmonized approach for delivering electric power, not only to the motors but to all the subsystems in a vehicle.

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This lack of clarity is compounded by the tremendous increase in power requirements. Automobiles with combustion engines typically operate with an electric power level between 600W to 3kW. New electrified EV, HEV, PHEV vehicles (xEV) require power levels of 3kW to over 60kW – more than 5 – 20 times the power.

That 5 – 20x increase puts tremendous strain on vehicles in terms of increased size, weight, and complexity of the power delivery network (PDN). These demands negatively impact energy efficiency, reliability and even comfort and safety as the added size and weight necessitate tradeoffs in vehicle features. There simply isn’t enough space to accommodate all the electrical requirements if car manufacturers proceed with traditional methods of power delivery. To meet this challenge they will need to find a solution that is not only lightweight and compact to mitigate the enormous increase in power, but is also flexible and can be reused across the fleet.

In addition to the major technical challenges, OEMs are also ratcheting up the pressure and making commitments to fully electrify their fleets over the next decade (Figure 1), even while the specifics of how to achieve the goal remains an open question. There is no clear path to standardizing electrification across the electric vehicle market. So while OEMs will likely all arrive at the same place, the PDNs they design will be different.

Figure 2: OEMs have set aggressive goals to electrify their fleets. These goals are catalysts for creating a world-class xEV platform.

What is driving the explosive growth in electrified vehicles?

While emissions compliance and government incentives started this ball rolling, it is consumer desire that is building the steep demand as OEMs are moving the electric vehicle from niche to mainstream. These OEMs are now making bold commitments. (Figure 2) OEMs are now electrifying some of the most popular and beloved vehicles. GM Hummers, the new Ford Mach E (the electric Mustang) and now the flagship F150 Light-Duty Truck (Lightning) are being electrified. These models are drawing attention from the masses because of impressive performance enhancements and sleek designs.

These new vehicles, with improved fast-charging technology and lower maintenance and repair costs, are the catalysts driving consumer demand and increasing the adoption of electric vehicles.

Consumers see value and momentum is therefore growing.

High-stakes, high-performance electrification challenge

Figure 1: By 2030, Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) will account for 45% of all xEVs

Fueling the electrification momentum

For many years, EV production volumes were less than 1% of the overall vehicle production output worldwide. According to the Credit Suisse Global Auto Research team, that will soar from 11% in 2020 to 62% in 2030, topping out at 63 million vehicles worldwide. Of those, nearly half, 29 million are expected to be fully electric.

The number of vehicle platforms, consumer options, varying powertrain architectures and choice of battery and charging configurations all add to the complexity power system designers have to address as they work to electrify automotive fleets.

To optimize vehicle electrification, OEMs need to enhance power levels, decrease power delivery network size and weight, and provide better thermal management and reusability. The traditional way of designing power systems must transition from complex customized discrete-based design to a smaller, more flexible, easier-to-use, higher-density modular solution.

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AUTOMOTIVE - FEATURE Accelerating electrification

To achieve their aggressive electrification goals, OEMs will need to reconsider their approach to power delivery architectures.

In addition to finding a highly efficient solution, to accelerate and optimize electrification three top requirements need to be addressed.

1. Power density: Whether designing a fast sports car, a light-duty truck or a family car, OEMs need to pack as much power as possible into a constrained space. Vehicles need compact and efficient power solutions.

2. Flexibility / Scalability: Fleets have many vehicles using the same platform, so easy power scaling is essential when modifying the power between sedans, minivans, SUVs, etc. that share the same platform.

3. Reusability: To achieve full fleet electrification, OEMs need to be able to reuse power designs across different models to speed time-to-market.

Power Density

The size and weight of power electronics used in various xEV platforms have a direct bearing on vehicle performance, energy efficiency and battery range. OEMs are aggressively reducing the size and weight of their power electronics in an effort to go further and faster and R&D teams are incentivized to reduce vehicle weight.

Flexibility/Scalability

OEM designers try to standardize the subsystems integrated within a vehicle as much as possible to save time, money and resources. However, each varies slightly with vehicle trim levels requiring multiple designs. Because of vehicle electrification advancements, power system design teams are challenged with changing power delivery requirements. The flexible and scalable modular power system design approach offered by Vicor allows designers to implement standardized solutions across a wide variety of powertrains such as SUV, minivan or light-duty trucks.

For example, a minivan’s power requirements may be 5kW, but powering a light-duty truck with lightbars, tow and plow packages and AC power stations may require 10kW. Using the same platform and a little extra space, engineers can quickly add or remove prequalified parts to the array to scale power up or down.

Modularity also offers additional levels of flexibility by enabling distributed power architectures from a 48V bus. Power modules can be placed in convenient locations for localized 48V/12V conversion - behind the glove compartment, near the trunk or by each wheel. Deploying a modular solution delivers not only design flexibility, but a better way to streamline power changes and the manufacturing process.

Figure 4 The impact of modularity is best illustrated by the fact that four power-dense modules can be combined in over 300 different ways to support varying power needs and a many different kinds of loads.

Re-Usability Figure 3: Reduced size and weight of the power delivery network are essential factors for the next generation of xEV platform. For example, 2.5kW of power from the Vicor BCM6135 can be held in the palm of your hand.

A small, 98% efficient bus converter module weighing only 68g from Vicor (BCM6135) can be bundled easily with EMI filtering, a reduced cooling structure and an enclosure to replace the 25kg 48V battery. This frees up considerable space and weight and can yield €125 – €250 in R&D weight reduction incentives. The high-density power module converts the main 400 – 800V battery to 48V in a small 61 x 35 x 7mm package capable of delivering over 2kW of power with a power density of >4.3kW/in.3 (Figure 3)

One of the most common delays in vehicle development is the qualification and approval of electronic components used in the vehicle. Sometimes the process can take up to two to three years to qualify and PPAP a single component.

R&D teams look for ways to reuse what they have to save development and qualification time, conserving valuable resources.

For example, a traditional PDN based on a discrete DC-DC converter design can consist of over 200 bulky components, whereas Vicor advanced technology provides a single highdensity power module. The time savings for an engineering design team is significant when qualification is required for one module versus 200+ individual components for the same function.

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Additionally, the Vicor modular approach allows engineers to achieve approximately 300 combinations of power delivery by using just three to four scalable building-block modules of various types. (Figure 4) This design approach amounts to hundreds of hours of time and resource savings, allowing OEMs get out in front in the electrification race.

their aggressive electrification goals is to adopt a modular approach that delivers the highest performance on a number of critical levels, and enables them to meet the most complex xEV power demands.

YS Jun is the Director of Automotive Business Development for Vicor APAC. Email: YJun@vicr.com

The Final Lap

OEMs are facing daunting challenges not just to cross the electrification finish line, but also to finish with an xEV fleet that will deliver long-term results. Utilizing a modular power system design approach can provide a competitive advantage in this critical market-share race. Innovation is needed now in the form of new architectures and topologies that deliver the highest performance today and also can be re-used and reconfigured for the future.

Conventional power designs cannot meet this level of flexibility and ease-of-use. The best way for OEMs to meet

Vicor Corporation, the leader in highperformance power modules, solves the toughest power challenges for our customers, enabling them to innovate and maximize system performance. Our easy-to-deploy power modules provide the highest density and efficiency enabling advanced power delivery networks from the power source to the point-of-load.

Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Vicor serves customers worldwide with unequaled power conversion and power delivery technologies.

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AUTOMOTIVE - FEATURE

Mild Hybrid Vehicles

High Power Converters for 48 V / 12 V Automotive Electrical Systems Mustafa Dinc

Business Development Automotive, Vishay Electronics GmbH

The challenges in 48 V mild hybrid vehicles are increasing, and 48 V / 12 V converters need the flexibility to satisfy future requirements. Power levels of at least 1.2 kW to 3.5 kW are needed, depending on the vehicle’s options. In addition to this broad power range, the priority is to offer scalable concepts optimized for cost, as not every vehicle can be sold with the same options.

Voltage Converters for Regulating Automotive Electrical Systems In recent years, a large number of applications in the areas of active safety, consumption reduction, and emissions optimization have been incorporated into new vehicles. These applications include start-stop systems (micro hybrid), electric water pumps, air-conditioning compressors, turbochargers, steering, roll stabilization, parking brakes, automatic transmissions, and power brakes without vacuums. Added to this are ADAS (radar, lidar, camera with ultrafast processors) and SCR systems (AdBlue, etc.). As a result, voltage converters for regulating a vehicle’s electrical system up to 1 kW and bidirectional 48 V / 12 V voltage converters for up to 3.5 kW are necessary.

The question for developers is: how should a 48 V / 12 V converter be built and does it make sense to provide the maximum power of up to 3.5 kW continuously for all vehicle models? That is to say, power from 1.2 kW to 3.5 kW is required, depending on the vehicle’s options. There are 48 V startergenerators already available and automobile manufacturers are offering more and more diesel vehicles with 48 V beltdriven starter-generators.

42 V Electrical Systems

The first tests using 42 V automotive electrical systems in 2000 failed for several reasons. So starting in 2003, they were replaced with 12 V micro hybrid vehicles. Consumption optimization of about 5 % was achieved with this temporary solution (startstop). This technology is used today in more than 60 % of all vehicles. The 12 V vehicle electrical system is regulated to a voltage with a maximum fluctuation of 3 V (11 V to 14 V). This protects other electrical devices against load fluctuations and avoids critical states in the vehicle’s electrical system.

Figure 1 DC/DC converter 3.5 kW with 6 phases and IHDM inductors (© Vishay)

If the voltage drops below the regulated minimum level of 11 V, the power to the high current systems is reduced, depending on the situation. In the range below 9 V, additional control units are slowed or switched off, depending on their functionality and energy requirements. A voltage drop to below 6 V can lead to a total failure of the vehicle’s electrical system. For this reason, all micro hybrid vehicles need a DC/DC voltage converter (Fig. 1) in the power range from 400 W to 1.5 kW to assure the start-stop function is operational, while not having a negative impact on other devices in the vehicle.

DC/DC Converters for Regulating the Electrical System

DC/DC converters are used to regulate the electrical systems in 12 V micro hybrid vehicles to prevent a voltage drop in the electrical system when restarting. The infotainment, audio, and lighting systems continue to run without interruption.

Smart battery sensors with shunt resistors make it possible to continuously measure both the power level of the battery and the current consumption. Energy transfer via the 12 V system is limited. Even with maximum power generators, no additional dynamic high current systems can be supplied.

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For this reason, a higher operating voltage was introduced into the electrical system, resulting in new alternators being developed. This provides automobile manufacturers with the freedom to integrate additional high power electrical devices to further increase the efficiency of the overall vehicle. These vehicles are usually known as mild hybrid electrical vehicles (MHEV).

The 48 V Electrical System Isn’t Regulated

Compared to a 12 V vehicle electrical system, the 48 V system operates over a wide range of 16 V (52 V to 36 V) and is also intentionally not regulated. All 48 V control units must reliably operate over this 16 V voltage swing. Many setups and application tests have shown that, with 48 V systems, the upper dynamic voltage of > 48 V lasts a maximum of 3 s, while the lower dynamic voltage lasts up to 100 s. Although galvanic separation is not necessary for the 48 V MHEV, it is absolutely mandatory in the other case to maintain 60 V as the maximum voltage limit, because of the necessary protection against electric shock. The test specification for this is VDA 320. Components developed in accordance with VDA 320 can operate reliably within the defined voltage range.

Starting with the 48 V input (terminal 40), whose voltage can vary from 24 V to a maximum of 54 V, the output side (terminal 30) also faces a stiff challenge with an operating range of 6 V to 16 V. The very high input currents (boost) and the output currents (buck), which are just as high, resulting from this are not difficult to determine. Buck-boost currents increase inversely proportional to low voltage levels of both vehicle electrical systems. The currents may briefly become very high in buck-boost operation at 3.5 kW, particularly if assuming minimum input voltages.

In addition to the challenge of achieving high efficiency (> 96 %), scalability and cost optimization present additional difficulties. As it is projected that many vehicles — primarily diesel vehicles — in the future will undergo conversion to 48 V mild hybrid operation, scalable voltage converter strategies should be the goal. It is necessary to optimize the new semiconductors for 80 V and 100 V, as well as the high current inductors for memory and filter applications, for these power ratings.

The starter-generator designed for 48 V systems (low voltage systems of < 60 VDC) provides a considerably higher peak electrical power from 15 kW to 20 kW and continuous power from 5 kW to 10 kW. This option will make it possible to gradually operate all high current applications, such as the air-conditioning compressor, windshield defroster, electric compressor (turbocharger), and a PTC heater booster directly with 48 V. However, many 12 V applications below about 600 W in the vehicle cannot yet be converted to 48 V for cost reasons.

Bidirectional Voltage Converters

In the MHEV, 48 V and 12 V batteries are both needed (Fig. 2).

For this reason, it will be necessary to install bidirectional 48 V / 12 V voltage converters in these 48 V mild hybrid vehicles in the coming five to ten years. These converters will replace 12 V alternators. Electrical systems requiring power exceeding 600 W will be incrementally converted to 48 V subsystems. In the case of dynamic systems such as electric assisted power steering and when starting the engine, it is necessary to use a 12 V battery as a buffer.

Start-stop systems remain the answer to reducing CO2 emissions.

For hybrid vehicles, a second voltage is necessary. A 48 V vehicle (MHEV) reduces the CO2 values by up to 16 %, while also increasing engine power by up to 23 %. Now comes the big question. How should a 48 V / 12 V converter be built and does it make sense to provide the maximum power of up to 3.5 kW permanently for all vehicle models? That is to say, power from 1.2 kW to 3.5 kW is required, depending on the vehicle options.

Figure 2 Simplified diagram of a 48 V MHEV (© Vishay)

The range of products offered by Vishay contains virtually every topology (synchronous converters with 3, 4, 6, or 8 phases), high current inductors of the IHDM Series (Fig. 3), and the IHLP Series of symmetrically coupled and asymmetrically coupled inductors. The portfolio also includes the semiconductors that dictate efficiency, such as power MOSFETs, high precision shunt resistors up to 15 W, and suppressor (TVS) diodes. In addition to the high current iron-core coil filters from the IHDM Series, the new IHSR SMD inductor is one of the output filters among the key components for terminal 40 (48 V).

Demo 9 DC/DC Converter 1.5kW Image

Buck-Boost Operation

The requirements for this type of converter are very high.

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Figure 3 Customized buck-boost IHDM storage coil (© Vishay)

AUTOMOTIVE - FEATURE For a power level of 3.2 kW, a current of about 74 A must flow from terminal 40, and for the 12 V supply (terminal 30) the converter provides 12 V at 292 A (Fig. 4). With a supply current of about 300 A at terminal 30, multiphase converter systems are selected because they make the most sense for reasons of cost and the efficiency / volume ratio.

DC/DC Converter 3.5kW Image

- Soft-start or digitized current regulation - Fault recognition (communication via the bus system) and variable phase shift - Possible spread spectrum to reduce EMI

Efficiency:

- Shutdown of individual phases in the part load range - Efficiency optimization using variable frequency selection; theoretically: automatic efficiency optimization such as the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method - Single-phase efficiency analysis — optimized part load strategy

Temperature:

- Cyclic full-load use of a single phase in the part load range - Temperature monitor - On-demand fan control - Temperature-dependent distribution of the load to the individual phases Figure 4 DC/DC converter, 6 phases, 1.5 kW using IHLP6767GZ standard inductors (© Vishay)

Summary

To offer cost-effective systems at a 12 V level for various power levels (1 kW to 3.5 kW), a digital regulator is preferred to an analog regulated bidirectional voltage converter. The reasons for this are the following:

Flexibility:

To reliably switch these power levels, voltages of up to 60 V (terminal 40), and maximum peak voltages of 70 V, MOSFETs of at least 80 V must be used for the 48 V level.

Finally, the big challenge is to offer scalable concepts optimized for cost for the dual electrical system, because not every vehicle can be sold with the same options. The forecast for the 48 V mild hybrid is very positive, and by 2025 this equipment option could affect up to 25 % of all vehicles.

- Variable power profiles by being partially populated

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AUTOMATION - COLUMN

Strategic Imperatives For Successful Automation Anil Bhasin

Managing Director and Vice-President, India and South Asia, UiPath COVID-19 is accelerating the rise of the digital economy.

Companies are considering and adopting automation now more than they did a few years ago. Today, replacing repetitive manual work with software or systems is being explored across functions and industries.

Automation became a strategic boardroom conversation in 2020. Early adopters were seen to start at baseline processes such as finance and IT that are comparatively easy to assess and automate. With success stories in place, the early adopters are now taking a top-down approach where CEOs and board members are considering automation as a strategic priority.

Evaluation of business processes

It is imperative to understand your organisation's needs and processes before identifying automatable probabilities. While technology is the foundation to automation, it cannot minimise or eliminate the inefficiencies.

The first step towards a successful technology-led business transformation is analyzing and evaluating the inefficiencies within the business processes. By choosing to automate processes, it gives organisations an opportunity to recheck processes and identify skill gaps.

Simplification and standardization

A process map is the most effective method to chart down and assess gaps. A process must be simplified, and repetitive work reduced before assessing the process for automation. By doing this, organisations can avoid and eliminate complications in their processes. Large businesses can also reap the benefits of process mining and task mining, to reduce the turnaround time and improve process efficiency.

Assessing available automation solutions

Instead of investing in complex automation solutions, it is

important to first understand the requirement and accordingly make the right decisions. While businesses want to gain an upper hand over their competition and be the pioneers of innovations, the right amount of time and effort is required to analyze processes before choosing the appropriate solution.

By skipping this step, we will be foregoing a sustainable solution to our problem.

Democratising automation

The success of applying automation in your processes is highly dependent on the employees of your organisation.

However, the success of sustainable automation requires a shift in employees' mindsets, processes, and development of talent. Employees need to be empowered to drive such changes and the organisation must support to accomplish this transformative impact through automation. It is important that organisations focus on enhancing employee productivity and invest in employees.

Expert opinion

Getting an expert opinion on automation helps in making sure the company is on the right path. Each organization has its own challenges; hence it is good to build a support team headed by a Chief Automation Officer and a Centre of Excellence.

Companies usually hire consultants for such opinions; however, an internal expert will have more knowledge into what is best for the organisation. With low-code and a robot available for every person, it is possible for a larger group to automate the tasks instead of restricting it to just developers.

These imperatives for successful automation must be examined and considered as a part of automating processes. Companies must equally value technology and people, and work together to enhance adoption, and subsequently, scaling.

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ELECTRONIC MATERIAL

FP-AI-FACEREC1: Lowering

the Barrier to Machine Learning Reveals New Applications The FP-AI-FACEREC1 Function Pack is now available ondemand, thus enabling ST’s community to run new applications leveraging facial recognition on an STM32H7, thanks to its use of STM32Cube.AI. The package offers a binary for the STM32H747I-DISCO board and ST’s B-CAMS-OMV camera adapter board. The latter provides an extension connector for OpenMV and Waveshare camera modules. The software handles on-device enrollment, camera control, interfaces, joysticks on the board, image capture, pre-processing, and the machine learning library. Its database can store up to 100 users, and the process runs at 3.6 frames per second on the embedded RAM and flash. As a result, it’s possible to conceive an application that would not require external memory. Moreover, the solution only needs a low-resolution RGB camera, regular ambient lighting, and subjects at up to 1.5 meters (5 feet).

The New Price of Admission

During a roundtable with The ST Blog, a design house shared how customers increasingly want to benefit from AI. However, the barrier to entry is still high. Developing AI models for resource-constrained microprocessors may increase overall costs, and the necessary reliance on data scientists means smaller teams are at a disadvantage. FP-AI-FACEREC1 is,

therefore, critical because it shows that it is possible to run a complex neural network algorithm on a microcontroller.

Additionally, ST software tools help alleviate some of the inherent complexities to lower the barrier to entry. Put simply, the price of admission to AI just became an STM32 Discovery Kit since all development software works with free ST tools such as STM32CubeIDE and STM32CubeMonitor.

FP-AI-FACEREC1, a New Chapter in the Market Penetration of Machine Learning Machine Learning Is Becoming a Necessity The new ST Software package opened the door to applications that can benefit from artificial intelligence but can’t justify massive investments. When smartphones started authenticating users by scanning faces, manufacturers had to inject a lot of cash and manpower. The need for extreme accuracy and the stringent security certifications that govern such use cases demand

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nothing less. However, given the critical success of facial recognition among consumers, companies saw a rapid return on their investment. Problems arise when other industries need AI but can’t expect the same returns as smartphone vendors.

Another compounding factor is the rise of user-customized applications that rely on facial recognition. Indeed, more and more customers demand the ability to customize settings, alerts, or behaviors for each user. Traditionally, users choose their account by clicking on a button, selecting an avatar, or entering a login and password. With facial recognition software, the interface can automatically recognize users and launches their services or settings. A few years ago, video game console makers brought this idea to the general public.

With FP-AI-FACEREC1, it is possible to offer a similar feature without requiring an expensive gaming system.

Facial recognition is increasingly at the center of new applications that focus on the user’s well-being. For instance, a maker of consumer ovens could use machine learning to detect a child nearby while the appliance is hot, and trigger an automatic lock to prevent accidents. Similarly, using facial recognition in an elevator can ensure children only go to their floor to prevent them from getting lost.

Machine Learning Is Becoming More Accessible FP-AI-FACEREC1 is essential because it enables new industries to benefit from machine learning, thanks to its tradeoffs. Running the code on an STM32H7 means applications use fewer image layers and a lower resolution than systems focusing on secure authentication. An oven or elevator doesn’t need to meet the same standards of accuracy as a computer authenticating a user. FP-AI-FACEREC1 thus shows that it is possible to use less RAM and computational throughput while retaining an accuracy that fits mass-market applications. Moreover, the ST software pack can accommodate a global shutter to reduce motion blur or an infrared sensor to improve low-light performance. Combined with a Time-of-Flight sensor, the Function Pack could tackle proximity detection. Ultimately, the application example serves as a foundation for engineers looking to innovate.

The same solution will also work on an STM32MP1 to satisfy engineers that need more power. Some teams require an embedded Linux distribution to more easily run a web server.

Others may need the power of a Cortex-A7 core for a GUI. In all cases, it is possible to use the same TensorFlow Lite model as FP-AI-FACEREC1 and run it on Linux. Developers can, therefore, enjoy more frames per second while benefitting from the same memory footprint. As a result, having a system that can run on a high-level RTOS makes facial recognition far more accessible.

intimidating. ST’s software package is a solution that tries to demystify the processes at work and that shows how far the industry has gone. The first step is to take a picture to determine if there’s a face to detect. Afterward, a person’s facial features are converted into an array of floating-point numbers (Float32Vector). The system is, therefore, entirely confidential since the picture itself is never stored in the database, and the whole process is entirely local. The application never sends data to the cloud. Finally, FP-AI-FACEREC1 distinguishes itself from the rest of the industry because it uses STM32Cube.AI to optimize its neural network. As a result, it uses less memory and offers greater performance on STM32 MCUs. Facial Recognition Possible Thanks to Optimization Another exciting aspect of the ST solution is that it helps understand memory usage and optimizations. For instance, each image captured by the camera takes 150 KB of RAM while the image buffer takes 225 KB. Most of the libraries can fit in the Flash, including the neural network libraries optimized by STM32Cube.AI. As a result, the entire application can fit inside an STM32H7. Developers can then tweak our implementation to fit their needs. However, FP-AI-FACEREC1 ensures that they start from a powerful implementation rather than a blank page.

Facial Recognition Possible Thanks to Collaboration ST’s Function Packs serve as a stepping stone toward a final product. Teams can leverage demo applications during the prototyping phase before working on a production-ready implementation. To further speed up deployments, engineers can rely on Nalbi, a member of the ST Partner Program. Indeed, the company offers deep learning models for computer vision that it optimized for STM32. Hence, teams can either use FPAI-FACEREC1 or Nalbi’s services to have a production-ready implementation that takes advantage of STM32Cube.AI and optimizes performance for the most efficient bill of materials possible.

Engineers can experiment with FP-AI-FACEREC1’s pre-trained neural network to achieve a fast proof-of-concept. However, when it comes to production, developers will have to train the machine learning model with their database of faces.

Indeed, this step directly impacts the facial recognition against genders, facial traits, skin tones, image angles, and more. As a result, it is imperative to use a training database that reflects the use-case. Alternatively, it is possible to leverage Nalbi’s production-ready software to build a final application.

FP-AI-FACEREC1, a New Story About Machine Learning on Embedded System Facial Recognition Possible Thanks to Innovation Machine Learning is a complex subject matter, and it can be

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( The article is an original piece written by ST )

BIG PICTURE

The XR Market in India is Growing across Industries

Gulshan Purswani

Delivery Head at Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Why are brands and businesses turning towards XR(Extended Reality) tech? How is XR relevant to businesses, employees and customers - how to decide if you need it? Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd (RBEI), R&D wing of Bosch has been extensively focusing into this advance tech segment. Niloy from BISinfotech gets alongside for an exclusive interview with Gulshan Purswani, Delivery Head at Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions exploring the future, strategies and potential of XR. Lot more interesting insight unveiled below.

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Q

The potential of Extended Reality (XR) and Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd (RBEI) key focus and offerings?

XR has potential applications across manufacturing, field service and customer experience. We at RBEI are actively working on solutions in all three areas. Our key offerings are in the areas of scalable solutions. With over a decade of successfully delivering XR projects, we are currently focussing on development of frameworks / platforms that will enable us to implement such solutions much more efficiently.

Q

The impact of pandemic on enterprises and businesses and how are they looking into a future enabling a DigitalFront experience?

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital front experiences in both manufacturing and customer experience.

We have seen instances where earlier an expert would have travelled halfway around the world for a plant / machinery installation but with the lockdowns and travel restrictions, these experts had to adopt remote assist tools in combination with hardware such as HoloLens. Another example is the number of ecommerce websites that have adopted 3D experiences to sell their products online.

Q

How can XR help businesses and why should businesses adopt it?

XR can help businesses expand their reach beyond their brick and mortar setup and overcome the current restrictions. The key checkpoint for any business is to find XR cases with a quantifiable ROI. Businesses should find the areas where they struggle the most and XR could solve that problem for them.

Decisions such as which device to use, which platform to use, AR or VR, wearables or tablets would come in at a later stage.

Q

How RBEI works with enterprises to help them decide the best strategy on XR (AR/VR/Mobile/Browser) based on their business requirements?

RBEI brings its wide technology expertise to the table when working with enterprises. We work closely in consulting and joint development models with our customers and take them through their XR journey. Our typical engagement model involves a discovery phase where we conduct design workshops to identify the pain areas, milestones, success criteria etc. Post this we get into system design and develop phases to working with short checkpoints. We work in Agile model which allows us to make course corrections along the way.

The second important part of successful engagement is the right team. We bring UX experts, design experts, architects and core technical teams to ensure that our XR products are well rounded and effective. For example, we recently worked with a customer where high precision AR was required for automotive sales and service experience. This was supposed to be very high quality AR project with realistic paint shades that were overlaid on a physical car with millimeter level accuracy. We worked closely with the customer discussing the pros and cons of different options – wearable vs mobile vs tablets, processing and storage options – device vs cloud, make vs buy options for complex software components and

agreed on quick win milestones. At the end, we had a product so realistic that you could easily mistake the content for a real car. We have done projects in training, manufacturing and customer experiences where each one had its unique complexity and technology challenges.

Q

What is the efficacy of novel forms of assessment within XR? We have been able to demonstrate efficacy of trainings through various approaches to ensure effective recall, muscle memory and therefore transference. For example, one of the most common ways is assessment approach. We run the VR simulations in “Assessment Mode” where the user will be tested on accuracy, speed and handling of failure scenarios. All our trainings come with “Training”, “Assist” and “Assessment” modes. This is commonly used in enterprise setup with structured training and evaluation practices. Another example of checking the efficacy is to evaluate transference. How well is the person able to implement learnings in the real world?

This needs more customised approach as the scenarios can differ. Recently, we were able to demonstrate the efficacy of VR trainings for special students where they independently took public transport. Assessments were designed to gradually move them from gamification to real world and therapists and teachers closely working with them evaluated the success of their trainings. We also support integrations with learning management systems (LMS) to provide trends and analytics over a period of time. Identifying the key success criteria and ways to measure them effectively is something we do at the very beginning stages of our projects.

Q

How can learning and performance be accurately assessed in XR environments?

There are various methods which we use starting with basic assessment scores to analytics based solutions that will track progress over a period of time.

Q

The potential Indian market for XR and your strategies to incorporate it across the market?

The growing smartphone penetration has a lot to contribute here. The XR market in India is growing across the industries of retail, infrastructure, education, healthcare and a lot more. We are looking at enhanced customer experience, advanced-learning methodologies across sectors and we are just at the tip of the opportunity iceberg.

Q

Key privacy framework, ethical guidelines and immersive technology standards helping this nascent technology be sustainable and viable in the future.

Privacy, responsibility and ethical practices must be baked into the design and development of XR solutions well ahead of implementation. For data protection, regulations such as GDPR, Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 are certainly paths to protect sensitive data. Ecosystems such as IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India) and VRARA (VR AR Association) comprising of business leaders & policy makers would encourage that the standards and security are treated as a priority.

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WHITE PAPER

How to design modular DC DC systems,

part 4: safety protection systems Jonathan Siegers

Principal Applications Engineer and Vamshi Domudala, Application Engineer, Vicor Corporation

The previous tutorials in this series detailed the practical design considerations of utilizing power modules for designing power delivery networks (PDNs). Once a designer has chosen appropriate DC-DC modules, designed filters for the input and output of the modules, and provided for the overall stability of the system, the next area of concern is safety. Fuses and transient suppression circuits must be designed into the system to ensure protection from catastrophic failures without making the system unreliable or inefficient.

In order to ensure fuses adequately perform both functions and to satisfy safety agency requirements, each power module must have its own fuse placed at the input side. In the next figure, a fault at either of the non-isolated point-of-load converters or in the input circuitry associated with it would cause that particular fuse to open while leaving the rest of the system capable of continued operation.

A well-designed power system needs to be protected; fuses limit thermal damage and isolate faulted systems, and a transient suppression circuit will tame surges and spikes that destabilize the system and endanger the power module.

Fuse placements in a power system employing three DC-DC modules; note that each module has its own fuse for protection.

Fuse requirements and functions

The starting point for fuse selection is the safety agency conditions of acceptability (CofAs) provided in the manufacturer’s DCDC module documentation. Designers must consult the latest available documentation and select the appropriate type of fusing to ensure agency CofAs are met.

Fuses are a critical safety element of the system. They perform two main functions: • Limit the extent of thermal damage caused by overcurrent or a short-circuit event.

• Isolate faulted subsystems.

First, thermal damage caused by a serious failure in an unfused system can be extreme: printed circuit boards can be burned to charcoal with every component completely destroyed, depending on the available fault current. Besides preventing fires, fuses also help preserve enough of the system in the event of a fault that failure analysis is possible. Second, fuses perform the role of isolating a faulted subsystem from the total system, preventing unnecessary downtime.

Selecting a fuse

The first and most important parameter to consider when selecting a fuse is the current rating. The current rating must be greater than the maximum continuous operating current of the protected system. In a regulated DC-DC module, the maximum continuous operating current condition occurs at the minimum input voltage and at full-load power. Include an estimation of the module’s operating efficiency under these conditions to more precisely define the maximum continuous operating current.

Fuse manufacturers typically recommend that designers also include a 25 – 50% de-rating when calculating the fuse’s necessary rated current value. This accounts for normal fuse aging, but it also prevents nuisance tripping and frequent fuse replacement.

Once the basic fuse current rating is determined, designers need to consider the environmental conditions under which the system will operate. Fuse manufacturers’ data sheets include a temperature de-rating chart like the one shown in the following figure. Depending on the application and expected ambient environment temperature, it may be necessary to modify the calculation of the required fuse current rating.

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course of operation. These higher peak currents can also occur during externally introduced transients that are within the range of normal expectations for the system.

A fuse’s nominal melting I2t parameter corresponds with the thermal energy necessary to melt the internal fuse element itself. For example, in an application with DC-DC converters, pulse current overloads are a common occurrence and may actually exceed the rated fuse current of the selected component.

Example of a typical fast-acting fuse temperature de-rating chart; notice especially the additional de-rating for operation above 25°C.

Fuse manufacturers represent fuse current ratings at a typical temperature of about 25°C, but an elevated ambient temperature will lower the fuse’s effective current rating.

Since the fuse will trip at a lower current when the ambient temperature is above 25°C, it is necessary to use this chart to apply an additional de-rating and raise the current rating of the fuse chosen for the system accordingly. The same recalculation is helpful for lower temperatures: if the environmental ambient temperature is typically below 25°C, select a fuse with a correspondingly lower current rating.

The fuse’s voltage rating is also a safety-critical design choice because it ensures the fuse remains an open circuit when tripped and does not allow for re-striking of an arc that would cause further damage in the system. It is crucial to select a fuse with an appropriate DC voltage rating that corresponds to the maximum withstand voltage the system can tolerate.

In other words, the fuse’s voltage rating must meet or exceed the maximum voltage of the application.

Next, consider the maximum interrupt current rating of the fuse or the breaking capacity. This parameter, which must meet or exceed the maximum available short-circuit current of the protected circuit, dictates the maximum fault current that can be interrupted by the fuse during an overload condition at the rated voltage. This rating ensures that the fuse clears the fault from the system during an overcurrent event without experiencing damage to its own packaging.

A clearing event that also damages the fuse packaging will likely cause damage to adjacent components on the circuit board and is an unsafe failure mode.

Note that the fuse voltage rating and interrupt current specification may or may not depend on whether the application is for an AC system or a DC system. Carefully read the fuse data sheet specifications to understand the manufacturer’s intended meaning.

Nominal melting I2t

Next, consider the nominal melting I2t rating for the fuse in order to accommodate some expected events that shouldn’t cause the fuse to trip. For example, DC-DC systems typically charge capacitance at start up and, therefore, might experience high peak inrush currents as part of the normal

To calculate this value and select the appropriate fuse, consider the expected current waveform and its energy in joules. The next figure shows two representative waveform profiles and the pulse I2t of each. This calculation yields the expected energy that the fuse must pass without tripping, which means that the I2t rating of the selected fuse must be above this value.

Representative pulse shapes and I2t equations—sine (left) and lightning (right).

For increased design margin and to reduce the frequency of fuse replacements over the lifetime of the system, a pulse factor that accounts for the number of surge events the fuse must survive should be applied to the calculated I2t value.

Additional fusing considerations

There are other important factors to consider when designing fuses into a power system. Among the most notable are: • Fuses should be installed on the ungrounded side of the circuit to ensure uninterrupted connection to the low potential when the fuse opens.

• Some advanced cooling solutions require that the placement of the fuse be reconsidered. For example, fuses should not be submerged in liquid-immersion cooling applications because the fuse element’s temperature will be so well controlled that an overload condition cannot produce sufficient heat to open the fuse.

• Depending on the selected fuse’s size and rating, currentcarrying conductors and PCB traces must be sized to safely

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WHITE PAPER carry 150 to 200% of the fuse current rating with acceptable temperature rise depending on applicable safety standards.

• When a module is sourced by a dual-biased supply in which two series voltage sources are connected at the center to a common ground, separate fusing of both the positive and negative terminals is required. In this special case, a lineto-ground fault from either side of the system is possible, so protection on both sides is necessary.

is where the TVS diode will go into avalanche breakdown and shunt transient energy away from the power module.

The second, higher clamping voltage threshold (typically 130 – 140% of VR) is only reached when a large amount of current flows through the diode. Lastly, consider the peak pulse current rating, which is the maximum current the TVS diode can withstand.

Transient suppression circuits

Power modules will experience some adverse operating conditions during their lifetimes in any application. In particular, the power system and the power modules must be capable of withstanding surges or spikes, which are usually outside the specified operating range of the power modules.

Spikes and surges occur typically due to inductive load switching, motor speed changes in a system or the clearing of a fault, or a momentary power interruption. Spike-type transients are usually very short duration, but they can have a very high voltage peak. On the other hand, surges typically present somewhat lower peak voltages but may last for an extended period of time.

Two-stage transient-suppression circuit example consisting of a TVS diode stage and an active clamp stage.

The second stage of the transient-suppression circuit deals with more prolonged-duration surge events. A series FET serves as a linear voltage regulator to actively clamp the module input voltage within an acceptable range. Again, the selection of this FET is dependent on the acceptable input voltage range of the module.

Transient spike and surge profiles.

To qualify spikes and surges, consider the application type and the requirements of any applicable standards that deal with these transient events. With those parameters, it is then possible to design a two-stage protection circuit at the power module’s input, as in the following figure.

The first stage uses transient voltage suppression (TVS) diodes to control spikes by providing fast transient energy damping on the order of 100μs. These protect against high-voltage and lower-energy spikes and may be coupled with a downstream LC filter that serves to integrate the transient energy.

There are four main parameters to consider when selecting TVS diodes: reverse standoff voltage of the diode, breakdown voltage, clamping voltage and peak pulse current. The reverse standoff voltage (VR) of the diode must be within the DC-DC converter’s range of operation. In other words, the maximum working voltage of the protected circuit should not be exceeded before the TVS diode enters reverse breakdown.

Next, consider the two higher thresholds that dictate the TVS diode’s operation: breakdown voltage and clamping voltage, both of which need to be less than the maximum instantaneous voltage the DC-DC module can tolerate. The breakdown voltage threshold, typically 110 – 115% of VR,

When selecting a FET, remember that it should be rated to withstand the peak surge voltage amplitude if the FET must be completely disabled. It must also be rated to conduct the full module input current when fully enhanced during normal operation. Additionally, the FET must be capable of conducting the full load current at the input side and ought to have the lowest RDS(ON) possible to minimize power losses.

Finally, evaluate the specified operating area (SOA) and transient thermal impedance against the specific clamping conditions the FET will perform for the circuit.

Conclusion

Now, with a system built and protected, the next area of concern is specific to the load the DC-DC module will supply. The next tutorial in this series will address some special considerations in this area.

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INDUSTRY KART Mouser Adds More Than 2,370 New Parts

Mouser Electronics has added more than 2,370 new parts in July 2021, to give its customers an edge and helping speed time to market.

Over 1,100 semiconductor and electronic component manufacturer brands count on Mouser to help them introduce their products into the global marketplace. Mouser's customers can expect 100% certified, genuine products that are fully traceable from each manufacturer.

Last month, Mouser launched more than 2,370 products ready for shipment.

Some of the products introduced by Mouser last month include: • Analog Devices LTC7811 Triple-Output Buck/Buck/Boost Controller Analog Devices LTC7811 is a high-performance, triple-output (buck/buck/boost) DC/DC switching regulator controller that drives all N-channel power MOSFET stages.

• Crowd Supply WallySci E3K Bio-Sensing Platform Crowd Supply WallySci E3K bio-sensing platform provides an affordable, fully open-source, wireless framework for an intuitive understanding of bio-signals originated from the human heart, muscle, and brain.

• Phoenix Contact Axioline Smart Elements Phoenix Contact Axioline Smart Elements, an extension of the Axioline F input/output (I/O) system, provide compact digital, analog, and function modules for automation applications.

element14 Offers Connective Peripherals Products

EMA Design Automation, Digi-Key Partners

EMA Design Automation and Digi-Key Electronics have partnered to release the OrCAD Capture Bundle, a special offer available only on digikey. com. This new design bundle provides the tools, data, and models needed to ensure first-pass design success including: • OrCAD Capture, the industry-standard schematic design solution • In-design ability to search and select parts from Digi-Key • Searchable cloud library of schematic symbols connected to Digi-Key parametric data • Integrated sourcing tools to procure parts quickly and easily from Digi-Key • OrCAD e-Learning, including certification opportunities This unique collaboration furthers both EMA's and Digi-Key's goal of increasing the efficiency of engineers by providing the tools they need to streamline the design process.

Now, engineers can focus on design, eliminate tedious tasks, quickly innovate, and keep the design process moving forward, all within a single unified design environment.

With the current uncertainty in the global electronics supply chain, it is more critical than ever that engineers have access to the information they need to make informed part decisions.

Avnet Appoints Ernest Maddock

element14 has entered into a new global distribution agreement with Connective Peripherals that will enhance its range of market-leading connectivity products for customers.

The addition of Connective Peripherals expands element14’s existing portfolio of products for field and lab-based engineers in a wide variety of applications where it is necessary to connect to instruments or systems via serial ports to carry out field-based configuration, upgrades and maintenance.

The product range enables modern PCs and laptops to use a USB Type C port to connect directly to legacy serial interfaces such as RS232/RS422/RS485, CANbus, SPI, I2C, or JTAG. All adaptors and cables feature built-in electronics, making it easy to connect to any equipment.

The cables are also available with connectors, bare ends or single-pole female receptacles, enabling use with systems that offer D-type connectors, header connectors or which require wires to be soldered to the board.

Avnet has named Ernest Maddock to the company's board of directors, effective immediately.

Maddock will serve on the board’s Audit and Finance Committees.

Maddock brings extensive technology industry knowledge and financial experience.

He retired from Micron Technology in 2018, having held the position of Chief Financial Officer and advisor.

He previously served as CFO at Riverbed Technology (2013-2015) and LAM Research Corporation (2008-2013). In addition, he held various financial and accounting positions throughout his 40-plus year career, including with NCR Corp. and Lockheed Martin.

Maddock serves on the board of Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc., a developer and supplier of critical subsystems for the semiconductor capital equipment industry focusing on gas delivery systems.

He holds an MBA from Georgia State University and a bachelor’s in industrial management from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

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COVER STORY

Data Center:

A Demand of Developing Country - Nitisha Dubey A data center plays major role for IT needs to manage and store the huge resources which are important for the continuous work of any organization. As the name sounds, it seems that data center is a singular product but it has a huge role in today’s industry. It has been made by the numerous technical elements. The main work of data center is computing, storing and networking. While millions of people working on data and network, these data centers make that work easier, comfortable and trustworthy.

Reliability, efficiency, security and constant evolution are the major role of data centers. A report by JLL, says that India’s data centre industry is expected to double capacity and cross the 1GW mark by 2023. While focusing on the same, Nitisha from BISinfotech sits around for an extensive exchange with Jeremy Deutsch, President, Equinix Asia-Pacific; Abhinav Kotagiri, Chief Data Center Delivery Officer, Pi Data Centers; Shailendra Trivedi, Senior Director Sales – Public Network, R&M India; Ankit Saraiya, Director, Techno Electric and Engineering Company Limited (TEECL); Nikhil Rathi, Founder and CEO, Web Werks Data Centers.

Nikhil Rathi

Founder and CEO, Web Werks Data Centers

Jeremy Deutsch

President, Equinix Asia-Pacific

Ankit Saraiya

Director, Techno Electric and Engineering Company Limited (TEECL)

Abhinav Kotagiri

Chief Data Center Delivery Officer, Pi Data Centers

Shailendra Trivedi

Senior Director Sales – Public Network, R&M India

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Data Center Vs Energy Efficiency

A report says that amount of energy consumed by data centers are set to continue to grow at a rate of 12 percent per year. So, how the energy efficiency will be maintained?

While answering the same Jeremy says, as a leader in data center sustainability, we are taking steps to minimize our carbon footprint and reduce our energy consumption – all the while expanding our footprint globally. Equinix is the first in the industry to set a long-term goal of using 100% clean and renewable energy for our global platform. Of our electricity consumption, 91% was from renewable energy procured by Equinix in 2020. Amongst Equinix’s operations in Asia-Pacific, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore have achieved a 100% renewable energy goal in 2020, with the region as a whole achieving 75% renewable energy.

Abhinav feels that all datacenter networks today must adapt to and accommodate business-critical application workloads.

Data centers will have to increasingly adapt to virtualized workloads and to the ongoing enterprise transition to private and hybrid clouds. Pressure will mount on data centers not only to provide increased bandwidth for 3rd Platform applications such as cloud and data analytics but also to deliver the agility and dynamism necessary to accommodate shifting traffic patterns (with more east-west traffic associated with server-toserver flows, as opposed to the traditional north-south traffic associated with client/server computing).

While it is up to experienced storage consultants and IT architects to make the decisions around these considerations, data center designers need to understand the complexity of a data center's storage infrastructure, he adds.

The data center industry has been gaining more dependents, especially in the post-pandemic world where business transformation has become a necessity. All the data, access points from remote working stations, everything needs a center and that is where DCs come into picture. The amount of data generated now is more by leaps and bounds when compared to five years ago or a decade ago. And for this a 40-Gigabit Ethernet is sufficient. To future-proof data centers and see continued success, data center professionals must support higher server densities, deploy more fiber and accelerate their plans to migrate to higher speeds in their core and aggregation networks, suggests Shailendra.

Ankit feels that strategies need to be followed for energy efficiency and data center survival. He says, there is a growing need to curate strategies for energy efficiency to cut energy waste in the Data Centers like: Renewable and Alternative Source of Energy , Batter Energy Storage System (BESS), use water cooled systems instead of air-cooled systems for cooling the Data Center wherever possible, to reduce energy demand, Airflow Management, Reducing energy losses from PDUs (Power Distribution Units), Consolidating lightly Used Servers, Implementing Efficient Data Storage Measures - A variety of tools and technologies are available to help reduce the amount of data you store, and to store what you need more efficiently. Deduplication software, for example, can

reduce the amount of data stored at many organizations by more than 95%.

Web Werks’ continuous focus on sustainability attracts more customers to colocating their IT infrastructure in our data centers. The company shares operational expertise for building data centers with clean energy for energy-efficient cooling systems. We are committing to using 100% renewable energy and efficient solutions. Web Werks data centers are carbon neutral contributing towards Global Go-Green concepts. We run efficient PUE, which is 1.66 using efficient technology and plan to have captive solar power as a renewable energy source to be Green, shares Nikhil.

AI Adoption

The adoption of artificial intelligence has improved lifestyle, undoubtedly. How AI adoption can reinforce toward offering customers the best-in-class infrastructure, end-to-end security, and data center solutions?

While emphasizing a report by Gartner, which says that by 2020, more than 30% of data centers that don't implement AI or Machine Learning will cease to function, Jeremy says, by utilizing AI, patterns can be detected to learn from past data and distribute workloads across peak periods more efficiently. As well as optimizing disk utilization, server capacity, and network bandwidth, they also enhance efficiency. By analysing data from multiple sources and devising response measures, AI can integrate with current Security Incidents and Event Management (SIEM) systems. By using AI-based systems, data center administrators can be more aware of the malicious traffic from false positives, thus reducing cyber security risks.

Despite bringing digital revolution, data centers are not without problems. According to Gartner analyst Dave Cappuccio, 80% of enterprises will shut down their traditional data centers by 2025. The figures are competitive considering the host of problems faced by traditional data centers like lack of readiness to upgrade, infrastructure challenges, environmental issues and more. And the remedy for this is leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance the data center functions and infrastructure, says Abhinav.

As per a Forbes Insights report, in early 2020, artificial intelligence is poised to have a tremendous impact on data center management, productivity, and infrastructure. Meanwhile, its technologies continue to offer data centers’ potential solutions to improve operations over the long term. In return data centers enabled by accelerated computing capabilities of AI, would be able to process AI workloads more efficiently, he adds.

Shailendra feels that organizations can deploy AI in the data center for data security. Data centers must identify and assess all mission critical assets and risks. Once they have been identified it will be far easier to formulate a business continuity plan with specific goals in mind. Server load balancing and link load balancing are two strategies that may be used to

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COVER STORY help prevent the loss of data from an overload or outage in a data center.

The advents of AI, ML, IoT and Data Analytics have taken hold of all global businesses and industries. Business processes and operations have undergone a radical digital transformation with these technologies. The rise of AI has significantly impacted industries across such as BFSI, Power & Infrastructure, security solutions, real estate, manufacturing and data centers amongst others, shares Ankit.

He also says that the rise of artificial intelligence is affecting global Data Centers in two ways: • AI applications need the global Data Centers to provide the necessary computational power.

• AI applications are being developed to improve the Data Centers themselves.

AI assists organisations in efficiently automating and managing their workloads. In addition to analysing past data and goal setting, patterns arising from the use of AI also help enhance the distribution of workloads across peak periods. Organisations can also use them for better disk utilisation, server capacity, and network bandwidth. AI can complement current Security Incidents and Event Management (SIEM) systems by analysing incidents and inputs from multiple systems and devising an appropriate incident response system. AI-based technologies also aid energy efficiency through superior optimisations of heating and cooling systems, minimising electricity costs. It can also be used to detect power-hungry applications or servers, and recommend ways to move specific workloads to more efficient ones. AI systems can help organisations proactively manage the health of their IT infrastructures such as storage, servers, or networking equipment, says Nikhil.

He also says, lack of wiring infrastructure where the Ethernet switches are placed, slower adoption of the 10 GbE (mostly still on servers) and abundance of a copper-based gigabit network connections have fuelled the delay of the 40 - Gigabit Data Centers. Despite these challenges, the 40 GbE has found its way to make itself relevant especially today in the Data Center industry with high-density virtualized servers, hyper-scalability models requiring huge bandwidths and hardware capabilities to deliver the lowest latency and highest performance.

In a country like India, where there is a huge potential for Data Center investment and development, with the likes of Google, Amazon, Cisco, Microsoft investing in Hyper-scalable models of Data Centers, the era of 40 GbE is rather closer than we thought, says Ankit.

Nikhil mentioned, to cost-effectively meet the exponential rise in demand as well as address requirements arising out of high-bandwidth applications of the future, data center cabling systems need a balance of both copper and fiber. With digital transformations and expeditiously developing applications and technologies, the speed and volume of traffic on data center networks have increased tremendously. It thus becomes critical to ensure that cabling solutions are designed to serve these ever-rising transmission rates particularly in the case of bandwidth-intensive applications. Maximising interoperability demands high-performance networks to support a migration path for 10/40/50/100 gigabit networks.

Trends in Data Center market in 2022

Ethernet is constantly evolving, adapting to the needs of the networking world and addressing the requirements of both operators and end-users, while making sure that the resulting technology is cost-efficient, reliable, and operates in a plug and play manner. The daunting growth of the number of permanent or nomadic end-stations connected to the network (e.g., computer terminals, mobile devices, automated devices generating machine-to-machine traffic) has led to explosive growth in the volume of information exchanged at all levels of the networking infrastructure, shares Abhinav.

Ethernet is also venturing into brand-new application areas and adding support for synchronization protocols. Potentially, Ethernet could become the de facto standard for in-vehicle data networks, providing a common transport platform for control and multimedia applications, he adds.

According to Synergy Research, the data center market in India is expected to exceed US$2 billion in 2025 and grow at 15% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2020-2025, the second highest rate in the world. The analyst firm also predicts that the country will become the eighth largest data center market in the world in 2021.

India has immense opportunity for continued penetration of internet infrastructure and a focus on accelerating cloud adoption. In addition to government-led initiatives and incentives, India is benefitting from local influences as well as upcoming data sovereignty laws. The demand for data center infrastructure in India is growing exponentially, shares Jeremy.

At Equinix, we assist digital leaders to connect and interconnect their digital infrastructure by making use of the best transformational technologies across all layers of our Platform Equinix® stack -- data centers, interconnection, and bare metal -- and to do so sustainably. We ensure that our customers have access to end-to-end orchestration of these capabilities at software speed by leveraging APIs, opensource tools, and cloud-native technologies to stay ahead of tomorrow, today, he also says.

Ankit says, as Data Centers virtualize more of their servers and storage, the need for speedy network connections increases. But the journey from 10 Gigabit Ethernet to 40 Gigabit Ethernet has been less than promising. Today, even fortune 500 IT companies are wary of going the 40 GbE way and are sticking with the status quo and are taking their time in upgrading their connections.

Abhinav share the following trends that are all set to make its mark in the data center market India in 2022: ● Cloud Adoption taking precedence - According to research, almost two-thirds of enterprise-sized firms have a strategy or pilot program for hybrid cloud in place, and over 80 percent of enterprises deploy workloads using a mix of cloud types.

We are seeing the trend where large enterprises are now

Ethernet Generations

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finding a distinct place for colocation in their digital strategy outside their own premises, where they are creating their own private cloud. ● Enterprise Connectivity- Connectivity is one of the most critical components of a hybrid strategy. To maintain the flow of business, data must move rapidly, cost-effectively, and securely. Data center providers are typically well equipped to offer clients a large choice of Internet Service Providers, distributed locations and uninterrupted power. ● IOT and Edge Computing- From sensors used in industrial manufacturing to driverless vehicles, to smart cities and smart building controls, IoT is creating significant new demands on IT infrastructure giving rise to the concept of edge computing.

Edge computing is essentially a “mesh network of micro data centers that process or store critical data locally and push all received data to a central data center or cloud storage repository, in a footprint of less than 100 square feet.” ● Artificial Intelligence- According to industry analyst firm Forrester Research 70% of enterprises expect to implement AI this year and 20% said they would deploy AI to make decisions.

AI and machine learning have been forecasted to be game changers for the next century. ● High Performance Computing- Connected devices now far exceed the number of humans on this planet, linking us to the world through billions of things that sense, think, and act across a global network. 19 High performance computing (HPC) is considered critical by world governments for national security, scientific leadership and economic prosperity .

Whereas Shailendra feels that a few big trends that will certainly create an impact in the India DC market are – Robotics and Automation – Robotics and automation is gaining more traction as pandemic has accelerated the need to make systems less reliant on human intervention. Edge Computing –As more people adopt smart technologies in their homes and businesses, the demand for edge computing will grow and so will edge data centers. In fact, the IoT market is expected to grow by over $50 billion by 2022. With that kind of growth, and that kind of demand for reliability, speed, and connectivity, the edge market will need to grow. Sustainability and Green

DCs - The massive energy footprint of cloud computing enables the data center industry to drive a global shift to renewably-powered business. Customers and stakeholders are demanding accountability on climate impact, creating a compelling business incentive to embrace sustainability.

From a technology standpoint, the future is going to be that of hyper-scalable and edge-technology. One of the outcomes of this pandemic was the acceleration of growth and digital transformation journey for several companies. This translates to a huge demand in the Data Center space, so much so that it is estimated that the Data Center IP traffic will reach 20.6 ZB at the end of 2021. A huge increase in the demand for colocation and hyper-scale vendors predominantly in Europe, Asia-Pacific, South-East Asia regions. Furthermore, a significant part of the Data Center growth will be attributed to the healthcare and pharma sectors. Many hospitals, research facilities, pharma companies during the pandemic have already initiated their digital journey and taking significant steps in requiring an overhaul in their IT infrastructure, elaborates Ankit.

India is thus experiencing a huge demand for cloud services in comparison to the other APAC countries. The government is encouraging investments in the Indian data center industry.

In 2020, the data traffic in India grew by 36% year-over-year primarily due to a rise in 4G data consumption as 4G subscribers surpassed 700 million with 100 million new additions during 2020.

According to reports by Crisil, growing at a CAGR of 21%, the market is expected to reach 1,100–1,200 MW from the current 360 MW by 2025. Furthermore, the Indian government aims to develop cable landing and submarine cables and low earth orbit satellites to improve connectivity and reduce latency across the country, particularly addressing the needs of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, feels Nikhil.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that data center is playing a huge role.

During pandemic the role of data center has expanded its reach to serve the country. The increasing demand of digital usages has made it possible. Investors and global data center players increased their commitment during the last six months in the Indian market by announcing joint ventures to meet expected demand. So, the growth of data center is going to be huge in coming time.

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PRODUCT - EXCLUSIVE

On-Board Charger Solutions From Vishay The trend towards electrification in the automotive sector is gathering pace. This is accelerated not only by the limits for exhaust emission values, but also by subsidy programs. A core element of these vehicles is the battery charging system, also known as the on-board charger (OBC). With these systems, the battery can be charged at a standard household connection or at a commercial wallbox. Depending on the vehicle class, charging systems with up to 22 kW loading power can be installed. This high charging power is required for an acceptable charging time. The use of chargers in the vehicle places very high quality requirements on suppliers of electronic components. Vishay can draw on a wealth of experience in this area and offer a broad portfolio of suitable components.

In today's electric vehicles, a high power OBC is required to charge the large capacity battery pack in a short period of time. 22 kW OBCs work with a 3-phase input voltage in the range of 340 VAC to 480 VAC and provide an output voltage range of 250 V to 500 V, with a maximum current of approximately 50 A. The input stage uses a T-type Vienna rectifier that meets the requirements for harmonic and reactive power, yet allows the charger to operate over a wide input voltage range. The output voltage is controlled by an isolated resonant converter with asynchronous rectification.

OBCs of up to 22 kW (400 VAC input, 500 VDC output) rely on semiconductor solutions in power modules due to their high power density. By using modules specifically designed for the charger, it is possible to achieve high system efficiency and at the same time high power density. The EMIPAK 2B package is proving to be a very robust and efficient solution in this field.

This package has already established itself in a wide variety of applications and configurations. The internal structure of the power modules is specially adapted to the applications and the requirements of the automotive industry. As a result, the power modules can be adapted to each generation of charging systems, and the latest generation of semiconductors can be used in each case. The use of press-fit connections for the electrical contacts makes it very easy and quick to assemble the modules. The direct connection to the liquid cooling system in the vehicle enables a very high power density and optimizes the thermal management of the modules.

Figure 1: EMIPAK 2B power module for on-board charger

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Fig. 2: Circuit diagram of T-type Vienna rectifier

The topology example shown here works with a virtual zero potential, which allows the DC voltage to be divided into two symmetrical stages. With this approach, it is possible to use 650 V silicon MOSFETs for the main DC/DC stage, rather than the costly 1200 V SiC devices required by other topologies.

The use of the T-type Vienna rectifier also implements the required power factor correction (PFC). However, the boost topology used here cannot limit the high inrush current occurring when the charger starts. The DC-Link of the device is stabilized by a relatively large capacitor bank to support both the switching operations of the PFC stage and the DC/DC converter. Depending on the requirements, voltage-resistant aluminum electrolytic or foil capacitors are usually used here.

This inrush current must be limited by an active protection circuit to prevent overloading of both the semiconductors and the capacitors. A parallel connection of thyristors and PTC thermistors serves as the required protective circuit in this case. The special behavior of the thermistors (sharply increasing resistance at high temperature) limits the input current. This ensures that the charging system is switched on safely. When the DC-Link voltage is stable at the desired level, the two thyristors are triggered in order to route the required charging power past the PTC current limiters.

At the center of the charging system is the isolated DC/DC converter, which is used to set the charging voltage of the high voltage battery. In our example, two resonant converters are used by the Vienna rectifier, respectively, in the positive and negative DC-Link and the virtual zero potential. These are connected in parallel on the output side to achieve the charging power for the battery. The two resonant transformers are driven by a MSOFET H-bridge with a switching frequency in the range of 150 kHz to 250 kHz. The challenge with this topology is to optimize the circuitry of the two resonant transformers for all operating points to minimize interference to the input and output voltages. Along with the transformers, the resonant capacitor is one of the core components of this circuit. In addition to high voltage and current stability, the capacitor must also have very good parameters for the di/ dt edge steepness. On the output side, the AC voltage of the transformer is rectified by a diode bridge and stabilized by capacitors. The DC voltage at the output then charges the vehicle battery via the on-board power supply and the battery management system for the next trip with the vehicle.

The semiconductors used in the circuit detailed can be integrated very efficiently and in a space-saving manner into the Vishay power modules. The internal design of the modules places great emphasis on minimizing any disturbance variables such as capacitances or inductances. The integration of passive components in the power modules enables further optimization of the design. By using power modules, the efficiency and power density of the charging systems can be further increased to reduce the charging time for electric cars.

Author

Thomas Lohrmann, Manager FAE Automotive Europe, Vishay Intertechnology Stefan Volkmann, Senior Field Application Engineer, Vishay Intertechnology

The active rectification of the three-phase current is achieved by the special Vienna topology of diodes and MOSFETs. This circuit corrects the power factor and prevents losses due to reactive power from the capacitive load. In addition, the regulated rectifier can reduce the noise radiating into the network, which simplifies the design of the input filters.

Figure 3: Circuit diagram of isolated resonant converter with asynchronous rectifier

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BIG PICTURE

CSPs Should Take the Lead With T&M Solutions that Expedite & Simplify Deployment and Activation Monojit Samaddar

Country Director, VIAVI Solutions – India

With Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture being adopted by telecom operators and equipment manufacturers worldwide and Optical cabling becoming increasingly crucial for today's communication infrastructure, testing of equipment and networks for seamless network performance is pivotal. Niloy from BIS talks to industry veteran Monojit Samaddar, Country Director, VIAVI Solutions – India.

Monojit wipes the slate clean around many aspects, including the current scenario of networks, CSPs facing connectivity and bandwidth challenges, End-to-end (E2E) network testing and the need to test and monitor OFC networks. Delightful insights in these edited excerpts are below:

Q

Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture is being adopted by telecom operators and equipment manufacturers worldwide? VIAVI’s instrumental role in this space?

A new level of collaboration is widely expected to drive greater adoption of O-RAN architecture; however, disaggregating radio access network (RAN) infrastructure creates complexities that must be addressed for Open RAN networks to succeed.

Operators and integrators need to validate that the technology works together before it goes into the live network, which requires more than testing the interoperability of various vendor components. Operators also need to validate how the technology interacts with legacy equipment in the network, as well as how it responds to different user equipment environments. Another challenge that operators face is how to solve network issues after the network has been deployed.

Unlike a traditional single-vendor network, it’s more difficult to identify product-related network performance issues in a multi-vendor environment.

We see demand related to broadband network installation, turn-up and maintenance, requiring stringent test methodology and validation

VIAVI works closely with equipment manufacturers and network operators to help ensure interoperability, service verification, manageability, optimization and end-to-end performance of networks based on Open RAN architecture.

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Network performance demands precision testing of equipment, what are the challenges faced by network technicians in testing next-generation network components?

Telecom service providers, network equipment manufacturers (NEMs), data centers, and large enterprises are facing huge demand for more capacity and new services, driven largely by the massive consumption of video, mobile broadband, and cloud services. Performance requirements are more exacting, and the need for proper testing procedures is more important than ever before. Emerging network architectures require precise timing to synchronize distributed equipment for high quality network operation. This applies to mobile, cable and fiber networks. In all cases, the move to next-generation 5G, remote PHY and other distributed technologies means even

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more stringent synchronization targets, which must be met to prevent service degradation. VIAVI offers a range of solutions optimized for fiber characterization, multiprotocol service activation, troubleshooting and maintenance to address the critical requirements of next-generation network architecture.

reducing time spent on customer premises and limiting return visits, as well as leveraging process automation and remote troubleshooting solutions to maintain service assurance while reducing time spent in the field. CSPs can leverage technologies such as virtual activation, fiber monitoring, test process automation and remote instrument access to help The need for Optical cabling for today’s communication reduce or eliminate time on premises. infrastructure, defining precise Fiber monitoring systems in place?

Supporting service providers and network equipment New technology and network expansion continue to push the manufacturer customers, VIAVI is providing remote configuration boundaries of fiber optic monitoring capabilities. Maintaining and deployment support, as well as offering complimentary optimal fiber condition and performance requires advanced remote access through Smart Access Anywhere on supported fiber monitoring practices to identify and react to problems instruments. Supported instrument families include VIAVI OTDR, quickly. A robust fiber optic monitoring system accurately OneExpert (CATV and DSL), and T-BERD®/MTS. finds fiber faults from the source all the way to the subscriber, The challenges and way out for E2E network testing for leading to earlier detection and precise fault location in order service providers? to reduce reaction and repair times. An integrated fiber monitoring and management system is key to facilitating the End-to-end (E2E) network testing is critical for service providers. detection of faults, fiber degradation and security intrusions, With E2E testing services providers can replicate real end-user alerting the system administrator in real-time when threats to scenarios to ensure that their network is able to withstand fiber optic network integrity are detected. Monitoring systems high demand. As 5G deployment gathers momentum, can also be used for demarcation and isolation of issues arising service providers must ensure that networks can concurrently due to faults in network elements, and to proactively analyse support the number and variety of use cases technology will depletion and other fiber optic performance metrics over enable. They’re not just testing to deliver superior services time, enabling higher bandwidth and improved data integrity. for subscribers – they’re bound by service level agreements As the leading test and measurement supplier for fiber networks, and key performance indicators (KPIs) which must be met in VIAVI offers a range of optimized solutions engineered order to realize return on investment (ROI) on their network.

E2E network testing requires service providers to check specifically for all phases of the fiber network lifecycle. hardware and software components and how they work Need for high-bandwidth broadband fixed line across within the wider network infrastructure. It involves validating residential areas has increased given the current pandemic network performance as experienced by end users, across situation. On the other hand 5G rollout is making headlines all multiple cells and different radio access technologies, from across, in your view is India ready to enjoy the next network RAN to core, including emerging cloud-based architectures. capabilities.

The diversity of E2E testing can reduce costs in finding and As service providers strive to deploy ultra-fast residential troubleshooting issues and helps operators deploy and broadband, the pressure is on to deliver reliable speed and monetize new products and services. quality. We see demand related to broadband network Industry 4.0 and private 5G networks, trends shaping up installation, turn-up and maintenance, requiring stringent test beyond traditional consumers to enterprises and industries? methodology and validation. Not only that, but also rigor in operations and maintenance with network monitoring and Excitement over the disruptive nature of 5G has spurred interest in private infrastructure. As 5G networks continue to roll out, optimization are becoming more prevalent. the development of private networks over 5G—something India and most of the countries in South Asia are still 2-3 that started in LTE—will create the infrastructure needed to years away from 5G rollout. 5G technology will revolutionize expand the industrial IoT and machine-to-machine interaction, connectivity throughout the world including India. The growth ushering in the next industrial revolution. These private networks of 5G and the disaggregated RAN presents challenges with generally will consist of a wireless local area network (LAN) interoperability of various components and VIAVI is working that uses 5G technologies to deliver dedicated bandwidth, with network operators throughout India to help them address providing massive connectivity to support defined automation and IoT needs. these challenges.

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Key know-how for operators helping manage their network effectively?

As enterprise network technology continues to evolve, the need for businesses to effectively manage and optimize the performance of their networks is increasingly critical to business success. In these challenging times, communications service providers (CSPs) should follow test and measurement processes that speed and simplify deployment and activation,

The release of unlicensed spectrum for industry verticals is a key driver behind the surge of private 5G networks, enabling deployment of private 5G networks without going through a mobile operator. This development is expected to give rise to a new class of business-to-business service providers, changing the competitive landscape for today’s network operators.

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TECHNOVATORS

TECHNOVATORS

Touchless and Cashless Parking Will be the Future

Chirag Jain & Rasik Pansare Co-founders, Get My Parking

Founded by Chirag Jain and Rasik Pansare, Get My Parking (GMP) with a strong foundation of the team, technology, and partnerships is creating a future-proof parking platform to connect the parking industry internally as well as with urban mobility players. The company has uncountable achievements.

Recently, it has collaborated with Mercedez Benz to provide better parking experience to their car users. GMP is an awardwinning provider of an Interoperable Smart Parking Platform

that connects all parking and mobility stakeholders operating in silos. With a clear mission to digitize the parking industry globally, its tech can retrofit legacy equipment and enable cloud native apps and a digital consumer experience. During an email interaction with Nitisha from BISinfotech; Chirag Jain, Co-founder & CEO, Get My Parking elaborates its special offerings and ahead growth plans.

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Q

Kindly explain Get My Parking and its special offerings.

The parking industry is a fragmented market with most of the technology being hardware-centric. We are a global leader providing an end-to-end Interoperable Smart Parking Platform that connects all parking and mobility stakeholders who were until now operating in silos. We digitize and upgrade the parking using IOT software to become intelligent mobility hubs. And we do that in a SaaS business model with easy customizations to accelerate the adoption. This helps parking operators, parking companies, and smart city governments to quickly and effectively modernize their parking services without the need for replacing what they have. And then they can offer value-added services like EV charging, car servicing, washing, insurance, etc for user convenience. And integrate with new models of mobility like shared mobility, last-mile mobility, deliveries, and logistics.

work establishments like universities, schools, and offices have shifted to virtual learning and working arrangement. Therefore, parking, transit, and other mobility services have been hit hard.

But after the unlocking began and people started moving again, safety and hygiene became the number one priority in all public places. People started expecting touchless services including parking. Hence technology players like us saw a huge rise in demand to help upgrade traditional parking lots into touchless parking. In the last 3 months, our sales team has seen more interest and action globally than ever before.

Q

Kindly share your future marketing strategy.

Our marketing strategy is very targeted and value-driven.

We focus mostly on digital marketing campaigns and trade exhibitions to reach the relevant target audience of parking operators, smart city stakeholders, and mobility providers. The recent global pandemic has helped our marketing by making How Get My Parking does differentiate it from other smart it very clear to stakeholders that a touchless and cashless parking solutions? parking experience is expected by people at public parking There are multiple things that make our concept stand out. Our lots for safety and hygiene. platform makes any parking equipment interoperable through Kindly explain emerging trends that are shaping the future IoT and retrofitting, it upgrades old parking infrastructure to a of parking. new future-proof ecosystem, thus transforming dumb parking real estate into intelligent mobility hubs. Also, it's an easily We need to use smart parking systems that enable drivers to customizable and scalable solution for any parking requirement find the relevant parking slot and help operators run the parking on the planet. If I tell you in brief, our products have features operations efficiently. Smart parking is a parking technology like plug-n-play ready-to-deploy functionality, touchless ecosystem that automates the various operations involved in parking solutions, and retrofits with the existing system, speedy parking for all the stakeholders involved. There is a lot of modern technology combined like IoT, mobile apps, cloud software, customisations, white-label solutions, and low-cost offerings. and data analytics. Moreover, fair dynamic pricing regulated How does machine vision help in smart parking? Explain. via apps and digital public displays will ensure that motorists The world is gradually going completely cashless. Connected are charged fair prices based on their usage time and peak Smart Cars are now hitting the roads, and more and more hours, no matter the parking lot. people are waking up to the power of technology in making Finally, automated parking systems or robotic valet parking will their lives easier, including parking. The smart parking system further preserve land by maximizing space usage – vehicles running on IoT-based technology and automation will meet all entering and leaving a robotic parking facility will be moved the new-normal – welcome zero-contact parking demands. up and down the different levels of the facility via robotic Where robotic valet parking will cut the need for unnecessary arms. Besides being a completely secure method of parking, human contact within a parking lot, so will ML-based dynamic this technology further reduces the park search time. Smart pricing engine powering the app-based payments help drivers parking helps drivers explore every possible parking option, make hassle-free digital payments. which enhances their arrival experience. Besides improving parking experiences and curbing emissions, smart parking We have built an ML layer on top of ANPR products to correct optimizes facility usage and introduces new revenue streams or help disambiguate a license plate number from the incoming for lot owners. feed from the camera. We are also working on developing Is there any new project you are planning? Kindly explain. dynamic pricing functionalities that will help improve revenue We have performed extensive deployments in Europe and during peak times and occupancy during lean times. Think of it like dynamic pricing widely used in the hotel and airline industry. Asia for some of the largest parking operators that operate across thousands of locations. Now, we are expanding our How Covid-19 has impacted the office parking footprints with a focus on the American market and Middle management?

East Asia. We see promising leads in the Asia-Pacific region. Our As people in India and around the world stay put in their homes, key focus as always will remain on maintaining our pioneering the parking industry has invariably taken a hit. We also had innovation and cutting-edge tech advantage. We are launching witnessed a temporary decline in transactions on our platform. multiple new products in 2021 (eg; GMP Permit) designed for During the peak of lockdown, there was a decrease between pure SaaS usage by small and big parking operators globally.

50% to 70% in commuters who used monthly parking facilities. In We are also actively working with Autonomous Vehicles (AV) contrast, the transient parking facilities are seeing a reduction divisions of multiple automobile OEMs to enable those AVs to of 95% compared to what it was last year. Educational and enter exit parking lots through machine-to-machine interaction.

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LAUNCH

Infineon’s New MEMS Scanner Infineon Technologies has introduced a new MEMS scanner solution, comprising a MEMS mirror and MEMS driver, allows completely new product designs.

Features: Applications: • Innovative tilting mirror which lays the foundation for a new-gen of M a k i n g a u g m e n t e d laser beam scanner (LBS) projectors. reality (AR) solutions • Stands out in terms of performance, size, energy consumption and more widely available for competitive system costs. consumer applications • Enables the design of an AR micro-projector which is light in weight such as wearables and and can be aesthetically integrated into all-day-wear eyeglasses and automotive head-up sports glasses. displays.

• Low power consumption, small batteries can easily be integrated into the frame.

Availability: Available Now

ST Presents New NFC Transceiver STMicroelectronics has rolled out cost-efficient NFC transceiver ST25R3918, enabling new application areas and easing customer interaction.

Features: • Multi-purpose NFC transceiver supporting passive peer-to-peer functionality and NFC card-emulation mode as well as NFC reader operation.

• Enables use cases such as accessory identification.

• Its close relationship to the ST25R3916 simplifies hardware design and certification.

• Can be used as an NFC-A/B (ISO 14443A/B) card reader up to high bit rates, and as an NFC-V (ISO 15693) reader up to 53 kbps, as well as ISO 18092 passive initiator and target.

Availability: Available Now

Applications: Power tools and personal healthcare devices where the ST25R3918 interacts seamlessly with ST25 tags.

IBM Rolls Out Telum AI Processor

IBM has released details of the upcoming new IBM Telum Processor, designed to bring deep learning inference to enterprise workloads to help address fraud in real-time at the annual Hot Chips conference.

Features: • Contains on-chip acceleration for AI inferencing while a transaction is taking Applications: place.

Banking, finance, • Designed to help customers achieve business insights. trading, insurance • Enterprises can conduct high volume inferencing for real-time sensitive applications transactions without invoking off-platform AI solutions. and customer • Innovative centralized design, which allows clients to leverage the full power interactions. of the AI processor for AI-specific workloads.

Availability: Available Now

TDK’s Compact Thin-Film Power Inductors TDK Corporation has introduced a series of thin-film metal power inductors for automotive power circuits.

Features: • A compact size of 2.0 mm (L) x 1.25 mm (W) x 1.0 mm (H) facilitates space saving • Supporting an operation temperature range between –55 °C and +150 °C (including self-heating) • Increased robustness against mechanical stress due to the resin electrode structure and thermal shocks

Applications: • Automotive camera module • Communication module for V2X

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Availability: Mass production started in August 2021.

In addition to the new items, TFM series includes a lineup of products with a rated voltage of 40 V, allowing use on an automotive power circuit side directly connected with a 12 V battery.

Vishay’s Very Fast-Acting Thin Film Chip Fuse Vishay Intertechnology has released a new very fast-acting thin film chip fuse. The Vishay Beyschlag MFU 0603 AT is AEC-Q200 qualified and features current ratings from 0.5 A to 5.0 A. Features: Applications: • Protect voltage sensing circuits in battery management systems Electric (EV) • Circuit protection for small loads. and hybrid • The fuse's highly controlled thin-film manufacturing process guarantees electric (HEV) outstanding stability of fusing characteristics. vehicles • Consists of a homogeneous metal alloy film deposited on a high-grade ceramic substrate.

• Advanced sulfur resistance under ASTM B 809, and it withstands 85 °C / 85 % R.H. for 1000 h biased humidity testing and testing for thermal shock.

Availability: Available Now

Microchip New Chip Scale Atomic Clock Microchip Technology has released its new SA65 CSAC, providing precise timing accuracy and stability in extreme environments.

Features: • Embedded timing solution with improved environmental ruggedness.

• Double the frequency stability over a wider temperature range and faster warm-up at cold temperatures.

• The SA65 has an operating temperature range of -40 to 80 degrees Celsius (oC) and a storage temperature range of -55 to 105 oC.

Applications: Benefit designers of highly-portable solutions for military applications such as Assured Position, Navigation and Timing (A-PNT) and command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR).

Availability: Available Now

Maxim Presents MAX16602 AI Maxim Integrated has introduced multi-phase AI Power chipset MAX16602 AI cores dual-output voltage regulator and the MAX20790 smart power-stage IC. Features: • Highest Efficiency/Lowest Heat and Power Dissipation: Maxim Integrated’s patented coupled inductor technology reduces switching frequency by 50 percent, allowing for 1 percent higher efficiency • Smallest Total Solution Size: A decrease in solution size is achieved by reducing output capacitance by 40 percent and providing a solution with lower phase count compared to competitive solutions

Applications: Chipset enables AI computing at the edge as well as cloud computing at the data center.

Availability: Available Now

MORNSUN 600W Compact AC/DC Power Supply Mornsun has recently released the product line of AC/DC enclosed switching power supply, and launches 600W LMF600-20Bxx series with active PFC. The LMF600-20Bxx features a small size, a wide operating temperature range of -40 °C to +70 °C, and meets the standard of IEC/UL/EN62368, EN60335/EN61558, GB4943, IEC/ES/EN60601, etc.

Features: • Input voltage range :80-277VAC/110-390VDC • Accepts AC or DC input (dual-use of the same terminal) • Operating temperature range: -40 °C to +70 °C • Low standby power consumption, high efficiency • High I/O isolation test voltage up to 4000VAC • Low ripple & noise • Output short circuit, over-current, over-voltage, over-temperature protection

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Applications: Intelligent manufacturing, medical, home appliances, etc.

Availability: Available Now

INDUSTRY UPDATES

Join Now – Live Event by ICAT ST, Eyeris Innovates In-Cabin ASPIRE and MathWorks on EVs Sensor Solutions As an engineer working on the electrification of vehicles: • Have you ever wondered if it would be possible to simulate a whole electric vehicle and analyze design using vehicle architecture in a single

environment?

• Wondered how you could estimate motor parameters and tune gains for the FOC algorithm in hardware?

• How to test your battery management and motor control software without hardware?

• How could you front load the verification and validation of your algorithm and design?

If any of the above questions have puzzled you, you should consider participating in the complimentary virtual live event series brought to you by ICAT – ASPIRE and MathWorks starting Sept 7th. You can register for free.

Infineon Concludes ‘Solar Pump Motor Drive Design Challenge’

Infineon Technologies’ ‘ I nfineon S olar Pump Motor Drive Design Challenge 2021′ initiative concluded today with the announcement of three top submissions for working designs in motor drive solution for solar pumps.

Infineon-solarOrganized in collaboration with Invest India; and in partnership with Avnet India, the challenge sought a viable solution for solar pump motor drives to enable local manufacturers in India to reduce overall dependency on imports, and support domestic solar pump ecosystem.

Moreover, this challenge aimed to support the Government of India’s countrywide ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, ‘Make In India’ & ‘PM-KUSUM’ initiatives, by making life easier and greener with microelectronics from Infineon.

“Solar pump manufacturers rely on overseas suppliers for drives, hampering build-up of local competence and ecosystem.

To reverse the effects, it is integral to build energy efficient and cost effective motor drive solutions for pumps locally,” said Vivek Mahajan, Vice President & Division Head for Industrial Power Control, Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific.

“This initiative is aimed at bridging the gap between the real and the digital world, by bringing together techies and the business experts on the same platform and build a viable, marketable solution which will support the Indian Solar Pump industry.”

Deepak Bagla, MD & CEO, Invest India said “This challenge comes at an opportune time, as India is working at unprecedented speed to accomplish the SDGs, especially in renewable energy & sustainable development.

STMicroelectronics has partnered with Eyeris, a world leader in vision-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) software and in-cabin sensor fusion technologies.

The collaboration focuses on extending ST’s Global-Shutter sensor to in-cabin sensing applications with Eyeris’ advanced portfolio of Deep Neural Networks for a comprehensive visuospatial understanding of the entire vehicle interior.

“ST is committed to making vehicles and e-mobility safer and working with Eyeris on their in-cabin sensing AI using our Global-Shutter imaging technology is a valuable example of what top innovators focused on an important challenge can do,” said Dominique Barbier, Head of U.S. Technical Marketing, Imaging Division, STMicroelectronics.

“In combining Eyeris’ portfolio of Deep Neural Networks with ST’s Global-Shutter imaging technology, we’ve assembled a state-of-the-art solution for in-cabin sensing and a useful template for the industry towards advancing cockpit safety and comfort,” said Modar Alaoui, founder and CEO, Eyeris.

This advanced perception supports the safety and convenience features including Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS), Occupant Monitoring Systems (OMS), child presence detection, object recognition, gesture control, and activity prediction.

ST’s 2.3 Megapixel VG5761 Global-Shutter sensor features a high linear dynamic range of up to 98 dB for sharp, crisp images. The sensor can capture images inside a vehicle under all lighting and environmental conditions.

Combined with Eyeris’ in-cabin sensing technology, the sensor can be used for Eyeris’ DMS with accurate eye-gaze tracking, especially from non-frontal camera locations such as rearview mirror, an overhead console, and center stack areas. In parallel, the sensor also enables Eyeris’ OMS with accurate tracking of body key points, height, width, size, posture, movements, and orientation.

Furthermore, the ST sensor enables Eyeris for accurate child presence detection, and recognition of common vehicle interior objects under the widest range of lighting conditions.

The technological integration from ST and Eyeris delivers substantial in-cabin safety, comfort, and convenience benefits for all occupants.

The VG5761 Global-Shutter image sensor offers two memory zones that allow double-image storage which, in addition to contributing to the high dynamic range, supports background removal without lag effects and additional processing by the host system.

The sensor’s high-performance capability combined with Eyeris’ AI-based algorithms help automakers personalize restraint controls and passive vehicle safety systems.

62 09 | 2021 BISinfotech

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