EP&Dee
December, 2015 - issue no. 10, vol. 13
DESIGN & MANUFACTURING
electronics
products
&
design
-
eastern
europe
the east european resource for embedded applications
DECEMBER 2015 Table of Contents
DESIGN FEATURES 10 Imagination makes IoT easy Imagination presents the Creator Ci40, the second member of its Creator family of development boards. The high-performance Ci40 makes developing IoT projects easier than ever before and will first be available as a standalone board. Creator Ci40 offers a very exciting mix of IoT operating systems and standards including Google’s Brillo*, OpenWrt and Debian.
14 microchipDIRECT take a look at all it can do Microchip’s primary goal is to support customers in as many ways as possible, giving them freedom to innovate. One unique way Microchip has done this is by creating microchipDIRECT. Microchip offers both - a great list of World Class distributors and microchipDIRECT.
18 IoT Opportunity Demands New Approach to MCU-based Embedded Designs Let’s face it – the opportunity the IoT market offers is unprecedented. The numbers alone are staggering. Analysts at Gartner Inc. estimate that 4.9 Billion connected devices will be in use by the end of 2015, up 30 percent from 2014. Five years from now they expect that number to jump to 25 Billion.
22 7 Steps to a Successful Analog ASIC I’m willing to bet that there are tens of thousands of analog applications out there that would benefit financially from ASIC integration. So what’s the holdup? Based on my 40+ years in the Analog IC business, I can boil it down to one word: misinformation. This is a combination of a lack of information, incorrect information, and of course, FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt).
25 Leuze 10 SERIES - Measuring and switching distance sensors with high object tolerance The measuring ODS 10 and the switching HT 10 are compact, optical distance sensors that reliably detect objects and measure distances with an operating range of up to eight meters and an accuracy of ±30 mm.
26 Oval wheel flow meter for (almost) every need… Oval Wheel Flow Meters Model DOM are versatile and economical flow meters, which fulfill almost every need in liquid flow metering.
28 Magnetic sensors from Beta Sensorik Magnetic sensors with unique high switching states
30 Cosinuss° - The Tiny Sensor in Your Ear For many athletes a chest strap heart rate monitor is their constant companion. A PhD student at the Technical University of Munich thought that these monitors could be a bit more comfortable to wear, so he developed a sensor to be worn in comfort and unnoticed inside the athlete’s ear.
33 Thermal Imaging Thermal imaging cameras have a wide range of applications from locating heating or water damage in a building to night navigation and even saving lives in a fire, making it easier to locate casualties. These types of applications cannot be solved with normal cameras thus making infrared cameras such devices that they can be used in several domains and they are very cost-effective with new uses appearing all the time.
PRODUCT NEWS
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Group Publishing Director Gabriel Neagu Managing Director Ionela Ganea Accounting Ioana Paraschiv Advertisement Irina Ganea WEB Eugen Vărzaru © 2015 by Euro Standard Press 2000
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Contributing editors Radu Andrei Ross Bannatyne Consulting Marian Blejan Bogdan Grămescu Mihai Savu Asian Reprezentative Taiwan Charles Yang tel: +886-4-3223633 charles@medianet.com.tw
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EP&Dee (electronics products & design - eastern europe) is published 10 times per year in 2015 by euro standard press 2000 s.r.l. it is a free to qualified electronics engineers and managers involved in engineering decisions. starting on 2010, this magazine is published only in digital format. copyright 2015 by euro standard press 2000 s.r.l. all rights reserved.
INDUSTRY NEWS Renesas Electronics Delivers R-Car H3, First SoC from the Third-Generation R-Car Automotive Computing Platform for the Autonomous-Driving Era Renesas Electronics, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today unveiled the third-generation R-Car, an automotive computing platform solution for driving safety support systems and in-vehicle infotainment systems. The new R-Car H3 Systemon-Chip (SoC), the first member of the third-
generation R-Car, delivers CPU performance, image recognition processing, ISO 26262 (ASIL-B) compliance, and a system in package (SiP) with external memory to enable a wide range of automotive applications. The R-Car H3 realizes powerful automotive computing performance exceeding that of the predecessor R-Car H2. This enables system manufacturers to utilize the new R-Car H3 as an automotive computing platform to play a key role in the autonomous-driving era. To make the new device ideal for driving safety support systems, the R-Car H3 provides cognitive computing capabilities, an enhanced computing performance that can process large volumes of information from vehicle sensors accurately in real-time, and enables system manufacturers to run applications that require complex processing, such as obstacle detection, driver status recognition, hazard prediction, and hazard avoidance. To further accelerate the driving safety support systems, the R-Car H3 also conforms to the ISO 26262 (ASIL-B) functionality safety for automotive. Furthermore, in in-vehicle infotainment systems, the need for connectivity between various systems and services such as smartphones and cloud services is growing. These have led to a significant increase in the volume of data transmitted from outside the system. RENESAS ELECTRONICS EUROPE www.renesas.eu 4
EP&Dee | December, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Microchip Applauds Linux Foundation’s Vision of How Open-Source Collaboration is Transforming the Automotive Industry Microchip Technology Inc. applauded the Linux Foundation for presenting its vision of the automotive industry’s future and the value of Automotive Grade Linux (AGL), in a session at the MOST® Cooperation’s Interconnectivity Conference Asia 2015, which was recently held in Tokyo. During their presentation titled “how open source collaboration is transforming the automotive industry,” the Linux Foundation highlighted the importance of collaborating to build the car of the future. They further indicated that rapid innovation can be accomplished by leveraging Linux and other open-source standards, in conjunction with MOST technology, which enables seamless device networking within the AGL software platform. To download all of the slides shown during the 16th MOST Interconnectivity Conference Asia, including presentations given by Microchip and the Linux Foundation, please visit http://www.microchip.com/Presentations-120915a.
“We are excited to see the long-established MOST networking technology being easily accessed by automotive developers through standard Linux interfaces,” said dan termer, vice president of Microchip’s Automotive Information Systems Division. “The Linux Foundation’s presentation at the MOST Interconnectivity Conference Asia showed how important Linux and Open Source software are for the automotive industry. As the leading provider of MOST technology, which is the de-facto standard for automotive infotainment networks, we are proud to be a part of that movement.” MOST technology is a time-division-multiplexing (TDM) network that transports different data types on separate channels at low latency and high quality-of-service. Because MOST devices can use standard Linux interfaces to communicate, Linux applications don’t require specialized knowledge of the MOST network, making it easy to use MOST technology over Linux. This lowers costs and accelerates development via open-source software. AGL provides a standardized open software, open operating system, and open application framework that allow automotive companies to customize their user electronics and create new business models of their choice, without depending on mobile-phoneplatform systems. Native support for MOST networking technology in AGL and the inclusion of Microchip’s open-source MOST Linux Driver in the Linux mainline kernel version 4.3, greatly simplify the development of feature-rich In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) systems that are popular with today’s consumers. These developments were made possible by Microchip’s close collaboration with the Linux Foundation. Additionally, Microchip has begun enabling designers to use the Linux operating system with its portfolio of MOST network interface controllers. AGL is the only organization that plans to address IVI, instrument clusters, telematics, Heads-up Displays (HUD), control systems and Advanced Drive Assistance Systems (ADAS) - all of which are essential to the connected-car business landscape. MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY
www.microchip.com/AGL-120915a
INDUSTRY NEWS
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
Maxim Integrated Ships One Billionth Automotive IC Today’s vehicles are increasingly energy efficient. However, they also have more complex electronic demands placed on them as customers seek increased efficiency, safety, and convenience. With expertise in integration benefiting customers and drivers alike, Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. has shipped its one billionth integrated circuit (IC) to the automotive market, ICs that enhance infotainment, safety, keyless access, and powertrain applications. Customers rely on these highly integrated products for automotive subsystems that are smaller and more reliable.
Maxim’s automotive electronic products continue to be in high demand and represent the fastest-growing segment of the company’s revenues. Currently representing 16 percent of the company’s sales, automotive was about 5 percent of revenues in 2012. Maxim continues to grow revenues above the company average. Maxim will showcase some of its automotive solutions at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016: • The MAX9286 gigabit multimedia serial link (GMSL) deserializer enables the design of surround-view systems for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) with fewer components and faster time to market. It receives and automatically synchronizes video from up to four cameras. • The MAX16984 automotive DC-DC converter with USB charge emulator quickly and reliably charges any portable device over USB in a car with a single IC. • The MAX2173 DAB RF to Bits® tuner for digital audio broadcast (DAB) applications enables software-defined radio (SDR) through its RF to Bits architecture. It saves space, lowers the bill of materials (BOM), and significantly increases system flexibility. “The shipment of our one billionth automotive IC is an important milestone for Maxim,” said randall Wollschlager, Vice President of Automotive at Maxim Integrated. “Automotive electronics system designers are increasingly looking to us for leading edge solutions for vehicle access, safety, infotainment, and power control.” According to IHS, the automotive semiconductor market is one of the fastest growing semiconductor markets with a CAGR (14-19) of 5.6% compared to 2.3% for the overall semiconductor market. Based on IHS analysis, Maxim has grown faster than the overall automotive semiconductor market in the last three years with solid double-digit growth. Maxim’s automotive solutions meet the Automotive Safety Integrity Levels defined by ISO 26262, and are designed for a harsh operating environment while providing higher integration, high/low voltage protection, and a broad operating temperature range. MAXIM INTEGRATED
Win a microchip explorer 8 development Kit!
Win the Microchip Explorer 8 Development Kit (DM160228) from EPE&Dee! The kit is a full-featured development board and platform for 8-bit PIC® microcontrollers. This kit is a versatile development solution, featuring several options for external sensors, off-board communication and human interface. Additionally, it offers ample room for expansion, making it an excellent solution for developers and engineers looking for a tool with the largest number of supported 8-bit PIC MCUs. The Explorer 8 Development Kit is the latest offering in a long line of enterprise-class tools for 8-bit PIC microcontrollers. The board is an evolution of the popular PIC18 Explorer Board, and has been updated to take advantage of our most modern features including: • On-chip Core Independent Peripherals • Compatibility with all PIC MCUs • 8-, 14-, 20-, 28-, 40/44-, 64- and 80-pin footprints Microchip designed the Explorer 8 Development Kit to be designers main tool for 8-bit development with support for a wide variety of functions. On-board components enable easy development of human interface, power conversion, Internet of Things (IoT), battery charging and other applications using a powerful 8-bit PIC microcontroller. Additionally, the Explorer 8 Development Kit also has a large capacity for expansion. Two Digilent Pmod™ interfaces, two MikroElectronika Click™ board sockets and two custom expansion headers allow designers to quickly adapt as the development needs change. The Explorer 8 Development Kit supports several program and debug solutions including the PICkit™ 3, ICD 3 and MPLAB® REAL ICE™ In-Circuit Emulator.
For the chance to win a Microchip Explorer 8 Development Kit, visit: http://www.microchip-comps.com/explorer8-epdee and enter your details in the entry form.
www.maximintegrated.com www.epd-ee.eu | December, 2015 | EP&Dee
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INDUSTRY NEWS Microchip Ethernet PHY transceiver enables unshielded twisted pair cables while meeting automotive and industrial EMC requirements Microchip announces the KSZ8061 single-chip 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX automotive- and industrial-grade Ethernet physical-layer transceiver, which is designed for data communication over low-cost Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cables. It is the first of a new family based on the patented and programmable Quiet-WIRE® enhanced EMC technology, providing reduced line emissions and superior receiver immunity performance. System reliability is also enhanced with Microchip’s proven LinkMD+® advanced cable diagnostics in addition to an embedded signal-quality indicator for the dynamic monitoring of link error margins.
For energy-efficient applications, Microchip’s integrated EtherGREEN™ technology includes a unique Ultra Deep Sleep mode with signaldetect wakeup, which lowers standby power consumption to the submicroampere range. With fast boot and linkup in less than 20 mS, the KSZ8061 is ideal for applications where startup time is critical, such as automotive rear-view cameras. The KSZ8061 family is available with an extended temperature range of -40 to +105°C for harsh-environment applications, including industrial sensor networks, robotics, building automation and avionics. This Ethernet PHY transceiver family provides support for both the MII and RMII processor interfaces, for easy integration with numerous processors, MCUs and SoCs. Microchip also announces a new evaluation board, to enable functional and performance testing of the KSZ8061: The KSZ8061MNX Evaluation Board (KSZ8061MNX-EVAL) is available now for preorders, with delivery in January at $115.00. Key facts: • New KSZ8061 Quiet-WIRE® technology 10/100BASE-TX Ethernet physical-layer transceivers • Provides reduced line emissions and superior receiver immunity over unshielded cabling • LinkMD+® advanced cable diagnostics and embedded signal-quality indicator • EtherGREEN™ technology offers Ultra Deep Sleep for batterypowered applications • Supports fast start-up and easy integration over MII and RMII processor interfaces MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY 6
www.microchip.com/Ethernet-PHYs-111715a
EP&Dee | December, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
High-efficiency Qi-compatible power transmitters and receivers enable faster and cooler wireless charging of mobile devices L2Tek, a manufacturers’ representative and distributor of components and subassemblies for professional video and highspeed communications systems, has announced a family of inductive power transmitter and receiver ICs from Semtech for wireless charging and power management. Previously branded Triune Systems before acquisition by Semtech, the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) Qi® certified and Power Matters Alliance (PMA) compliant chips deliver high operating efficiency with low stand-by power consumption for applications including smartphones, tablets and GPS devices as well as other wearable, sensor and industrial electronics designs. Additional ICs supporting higher output power requirements are also available.
For low power wireless receiver applications up to 5W, Semtech’s high-efficiency IC range includes the TS51221 regulator that has a switching frequency of 1MHz to enable the use of smaller filter components, which use less board space and reduce bill of material (BOM) costs. For wireless receiver applications up to 20W, the TS51111 synchronous rectifier features higher voltage inputs for higher output power as well as integrated switches and other components to minimise system BOM. Addressing the wireless transmitter side of the system, the TS61001 is a high-voltage field-effect transistor (FET) driver that can be used to drive N-channel devices in half and fullbridge configurations. Supporting higher power outputs at up to 40W, the TS80000 is a Qi-compliant power transmitter communications and control unit that can be configured to drive single or multi-coil applications, in half and full-bridge systems. The device performs the necessary decode of packets from TS81000 wireless receiver communications and control unit to adjust the charging power level. An integrated PID filter provides the necessary compensation for the loop for high-precision control of duty cycle, frequency, and or bridge voltage. The TS81001 is an alternative wireless receiver communications and control unit that supports indirect single-cell battery charging applications down to 2V. L2TEK www.l2tek.co.uk
INDUSTRY NEWS
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
TouchXpress Controllers from Silicon Labs Speed Development of Capacitive Sensing Applications Silicon Labs has introduced the TouchXpress™ family of fixed-function controllers, providing the fastest, easiest way to add low-power capacitive touch interfaces to embedded designs. Silicon Labs’ robust CPT007B and CPT112S TouchXpress controllers eliminate time-consuming firmware development, providing a simple turnkey solution for adding sleek, touch-based user interface designs to a wide range of products including home appliances, white goods, consumer electronics, lighting control, medical equipment and instrument/control panels. TouchXpress evaluation boards and advanced configuration and profiling software tools available within the Silicon Labs’ Simplicity Studio environment enable embedded developers to get their capacitive touch applications up and running quickly and easily.
For additional TouchXpress product information and to order product samples and evaluation kits, visit www.silabs.com/TouchXpress. Responding to the increasing demand for easily implemented capacitive sensing and touch functionality in embedded systems, Silicon Labs introduces two TouchXpress family members: • The cpt007b Gpio switch replacement device enables developers to quickly replace up to 7 mechanical buttons with capacitive touch sensors with no firmware development. The GPIO interfaces provide direct on/off sensor status to the host processor. • The cpt112s capacitive sense I2C device features up to 12 sensor inputs to simplify the addition of capacitive sense functionality for touchbased interfaces. The I2C interface provides an easy way to track the status of touch sensors, and an interrupt pin can wake the host processor from sleep after a proximity touch detection. Both capacitive touch controllers support advanced features such as moisture immunity, wake-on proximity, touch time-out, mutually exclusive touch qualifier and buzzer feedback for an enhanced user experience. The CPT112S device also offers a slider control option. Based on Silicon Labs’ proven, patented capacitive sensing technology, the TouchXpress controllers provide best-in-class drop-in solutions that ease touch interface development for embedded designers of all skill levels. No firmware development, programming or capacitive sense expertise is needed to implement capacitive touch interfaces based on TouchXpress technology. No external components are required, and developers can easily configure and evaluate all capacitive sense parameters using Silicon Labs’ simple, intuitive GUI-based Xpress Configurator and Capacitive Sense Profiler. SILICON LABS
www.silabs.com
Lattice Semiconductor Launches iCE40 Ultra™ Platform for Wearable Device Development Lattice Semiconductor Corporation announced a development platform for use in designing low-power wearable devices for consumers. Based on the iCE40 Ultra™ FPGA, the platform features a large number of sensors and peripherals, making it a compelling platform for the design of a wide array of wearable devices. The iCE40 Ultra FPGA uses a package that is 60% smaller than alternative microcontrollers. The iCE40 Ultra FPGA also supports a low power standby mode for always-on functionality, making it an ideal choice for consumer wearables that need to operate for days between charges.
Hardware features and sensors supported by the iCE40 Ultra Wearable Development Platform include a 1.54inch display, MEMS microphone, high-brightness LED, IR LED, BLE module and 32MB of flash memory. The platform also supports sensors capable of measuring heart rate/SpO2, skin temperature, and pressure as well as an accelerometer and gyroscope. The platform comes in a wrist watch form factor (1.5-inches wide × 1.57-inches long × 0.87-inches high) with a wrist strap and a built in battery. Included with the platform are a detailed user guide and several demos to showcase parallel RGB to MIPI DSI bridging, health monitor, pedometer, IR transmitter or flashlight functions. The iCE40 Ultra Wearable Development Platform is available now direct from Lattice at a retail price of $270. Please visit www.latticesemi.com/ultrawearable to learn more about the platform and for ordering information. • iCE40 Ultra FPGA featured in platform is 60 percent smaller than alternative microcontrollers • Broad range of hardware features make platform a fit for almost any consumer wearable device • Platform comes with user guide and demos to help expedite device design LATTICE SEMICONDUCTOR
www.latticesemi.com
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Rutronik at embedded world: hall 5, booth 238 Connecting machines and devices with RUTRONIK EMBEDDED and RUTRONIK SMART Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH is focusing on the Internet of Things (IoT) at embedded world 2016 (booth 5.238): At RUTRONIK EMBEDDED visitors will find selected components from the areas of Wireless, Displays, Boards and Storage characterized by their durability, long-term availability and high integration capacity for industrial IoT applications. RUTRONIK SMART features radio technology, sensors, microcontrollers, power management components and cryptography ICs that are optimized for the use of the internet protocol, have a small form factor, low power consumption and offer a high degree of integration.
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Microchip’s new Digital-to-Analogue Converters retain settings without power via integrated EEPROM Microchip announces the expansion of its Digital-to-Analogue Converter (DAC) product line with the MCP48FXBXX families of devices. The six-member MCP48FEBXX DAC family offers integrated EEPROM to save DAC settings at power-down, while the MCP48FVBXX family provides lower-cost alternatives for applications that do not require integrated memory. These low-power, single and dual-channel DACs feature 8-, 10- and 12-bit resolution, a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), and are available in 10pin MSOP packages. Examples of their wide range of applications in the consumer, industrial, automotive and other markets, includes setpoint/offset trimming, sensor calibration, instrumentation, and motor control. The high integration and unique feature sets of the MCP48FXBXX families offer customers flexibility in addition to power and cost savings, while simplifying their design effort. The integrated EEPROM option enables DAC settings to be restored at power-up and reduces microcontroller overhead, while the various shutdown modes significantly reduce the device current consumption for power-critical applications. Additionally, these devices feature low Differential Nonlinearity (DNL) error to sustain monotonic output and low Integral Nonlinearity (INL) error for better linearity. They are also specified to operate in extended-temperature conditions. The MCP48FXBXX DAC families are available now for sampling and volume production in 10-pin MSOP packages. MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY
Rutronik will be presenting a wide range of application options for four thematic areas by means of running demonstrations: • Visualization with TFT displays, passive LCDs and microcontroller kits • Communication with wireless components and modules as well as microcontrollers (CAN, Ethernet) • Data Processing with systems and storage components • Sensing with sensors and analog technology Experienced Product Manager and Field Application Engineers from all specialist areas will be available to provide competent support. Also, Rutronik will be representing Rutronik24 as a distributor for SMEs and large companies with mid-range component requirements. Selected suppliers will demonstrate their current highlight products and provide answers to questions concerning products and applications. RUTRONIK www.rutronik.com 8
EP&Dee | December, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu
www.microchip.com/Converters-120215a
Phoenix Contact’s highly reliable AC charging cables and AC charging controllers for E-mobility now available through TTI, Inc. Now available in Europe through TTI, Inc., a world leading specialist distributor of electronic components, is Phoenix Contact’s highly reliable range of AC charging cables and AC charging controllers for E-mobility applications. The devices enable the implementation of various concepts for intelligent charging infrastructures which can be used to promote cost-effective operation. Ergonomically designed AC vehicle connectors Type 2 have been developed for the European market on the basis of IEC 62196-2 and allow charging electric vehicles safely (thanks to a locking mechanism), and conveniently (thanks to additional gripping components). Depending on the cable diameter and the number of phases (single-phase or three-phase) charging with a rated voltage of 250V or 480V and rated current of 20A or 32A is possible. Highly robust and made of high-quality materials, the components benefit from strong strain relief and low insertion and withdrawal forces. AC charging controllers ensure a high degree of security and interoperability with electric vehicles according to IEC 61851-1. The EV Charge Control Basic is a compact, cost-effective controller solution specifically designed for simple charging points (wall boxes for home garages, carports, and underground garages). It features configurable inputs, outputs, and charging currents. A standardized interface (Modbus RTU Slave) allows for fast and simple integration. TTI, INC. www.ttieurope.com
INDUSTRY NEWS
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
Dialog Semiconductor’s Bluetooth® Smart SoCs Links Wearables to Apps for WeChat Users profile support in latest smartbond™ development kit makes it fast and easy to create tiny, energy-efficient wearables that communicate with Wechat apps over bluetooth connectivity Dialog Semiconductor plc, a provider of highly integrated power management, AC/DC power conversion, solid state lighting (SSL) and Bluetooth Smart technology, announced its support for WeChat’s communications protocol, with the launch of Dialog’s WeChat SDK.
The kit enables developers to quickly add energy-efficient Bluetooth connectivity between WeChat apps and wearables or other IoT devices. WeChat is now the world’s largest stand-alone messaging app with an estimated 600 million users at the end of Q2/2015, according to analyst Statista. Its dramatic growth, both in China and other countries, is due in part to the many third-party apps that have been developed, making WeChat much more than just a messaging platform. Dialog’s development kit is available now and includes a protocol stack for the WeChat communication layer. The SDK is based on the DA1458x family of SmartBond™ SoCs (System-on-Chip) and enables developers to reduce the overall development time for connecting their products wirelessly to WeChat apps. WeChat users can then control wearable devices via the app and share information with friends over the platform. “Dialog is committed to supporting our customers’ continued growth and innovation into exciting new products and markets across all major IoT platforms”, said sean mcGrath, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Connectivity, Automotive & Industrial Business Group at Dialog. “WeChat worked closely with us to create a reliable and robust protocol stack that is already being enthusiastically received by the embedded developer community.” DA1458x SoCs are highly integrated devices that combine a Bluetooth low energy radio with an ARM® Cortex®-M0 application processor. Intelligent power management circuitry is included and processor resources can be accessed via 32 GPIOs. This facilitates the development of fully hosted applications. The devices can be as small as 2.5 × 2.5 mm (WLCSP package) and they offer the lowest power consumption for Bluetooth Smart devices in production today, maximising battery life in every application. Peak current is less than 5mA. SmartBond WeChat software development kit enables efficient coding, thanks to the optimised power profiler. It comes with the company’s SmartSnippets™ software development environment, which is based on Keil™ µVision tools. Full details of the SDK are available at Dialog’s SmartBond support website http://support.dialog-semiconductor.com. DIALOG SEMICONDUCTOR
www.dialog-semiconductor.com
Digi-Key Surpasses Milestone of 50 Million Packages Shipped; Celebrates 43 Years of Innovation Worldwide Global electronic components distributor Digi-Key Electronics, the industry leader in electronic component selection, availability and delivery, is announcing they have surpassed shipping its 50 millionth package in the history of the company. “Digi-Key has been serving electronic design engineers and ‘Makers’ in our industry before they were even called ‘Makers’ since our very beginning in 1972,” according to dave doherty, President. “So recognizing this milestone of shipping our 50,000,000th package was something we wanted to celebrate. But we also wanted to recognize our customers who have driven our success; and not just a single customer, because we do business with well over 400,000 different companies each year.” In celebration of this key milestone, Digi-Key has been featuring key customers in regions all around the world. In fact, Surface Technology International (STI) in the UK was recently recognized for their role in this unique milestone with the presentation of a “bronze package” award presented to Ben Eastwood, Purchasing Manager and Glen Lilly, Purchasing Team Leader by Ian Wallace, Sales Director, UK/Ireland for Digi-Key. Established in 1989 and headquartered in Hook, Hampshire – Surface Technology International (STI) is a true end to end electronics solutions provider supporting Customers globally from its 3 (2 UK and 1 Philippines) advanced design and manufacturing facilities. STI supports a complete service offering of Design, Prototype (NPI), Production and Test of both PCBA and full System Box Build (AIT) to Customers in all market sectors where quality, delivery and technical innovation are a prerequisite. Continued investment in technology, capability and people ensures STI maintains its class leading position that assists and supports Customers with both their current and future product requirements. STI was selected by Digi-Key as they typify the broad range of products and services they provide to enable innovation in the marketplace. Digi-Key provides engineers with over 1.2 million products in stock and ready for immediate shipment, as well as access to more than 4.6 million components online. The company is an authorized distributor for 650+ quality name-brand manufacturers, ensuring customers get the latest technology, state-of-the-art products, unparalleled service, and continual new product introduction. DIGI-KEY ELECTRONICS
www.digikey.com
www.epd-ee.eu | December, 2015 | EP&Dee
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DESIGN
CREATOR Ci40
imagination makes iot easy Presenting the Creator Ci40 IoT Kit – the ultimate ‘IoT in a box’ solution for developers By Alexandru Voica Imagination Technologies
imagination presents the creator ci40, the second member of its creator family of development boards. the high-performance ci40 makes developing iot projects easier than ever before and will first be available as a standalone board. creator ci40 offers a very exciting mix of iot operating systems and standards including Google’s brillo*, openWrt and debian.
Imagination also announces a Kickstarter campaign to go live on the 23rd november for its ‘IoT in a box’ kit. The kit contains the Creator Ci40 board and all the hardware and software building blocks needed to quickly prototype a wide range of IoT systems from scratch. The creator ci40 board features: • A high-performance, low-power microcomputer featuring a new chip designed and optimized by Imagination for IoT applications ■ A dual-threaded, dual-core MIPS 10
EP&Dee | December, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu
CPU clocked at 550MHz for fast IoT processing ■ An Ensigma connectivity engine that delivers super-fast 802.11ac 2 × 2 MIMO Wi-Fi and low-power Bluetooth (Classic and Smart) • A dedicated 802.15.4 chip and many other peripherals and ports, including a Raspberry Pi and two mikroBUS interfaces, USB, Ethernet, GPIO, SPI, ADC, I2C, etc. The creator ci40 iot kit is a modular system that is easy to put together and even easier to use. The kit comes in a compact
box with everything needed to build the next wireless IoT application including: • Hardware ■ The Creator Ci40 board acting as an IoT hub ■ Two battery-powered MikroE 6LoWPAN Clicker expansion boards with a mikroBUS™ socket for adding sensors ■ Three Click companion boards – a temperature sensor, a montion sensor and a relay switch (with hundreds more available from MikroElectronika)
DESIGN
• Software o FlowCloud: a complete cloud platform for connecting devices to the internet, enabling easy product registration and updates as well as access to partner-enabled services o Open source software frameworks, network stacks and cloud connectivity There is no soldering required and the kit has no wires other than the USB cable for power and wired communications to the Ci40 microcomputer The Creator Ci40 IoT kit is ideal for both individual makers looking to build a huge range of connected projects at home as well as small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs who want to quickly prototype an IoT platform and then ramp up for volume production. Projects possibilities are endless and could include: • Smart home appliances: a connected fridge that detects when the milk has run out and orders a new pint, a smart thermostat that switches on the heating when the home owner returns, a voiceactivated wireless music streaming system • Smart cities: bins that tell a council when they’re full and need collecting, car parks or traffic lights that are controlled and monitored remotely, flexible street lighting that adapts based on ambient conditions • Advanced drones and robotics (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntrlHw6f4E4) Pricing and availability: The Creator Ci40 IoT kit will be available at a heavily discounted price of £80 with a further £10 discount for the first 200 buyers as part of the Kickstarter campaign. The kit is expected to ship in March/ April 2016. The Creator Ci40 developer board is expected to ship in January 2016 (pricing TBC). Both products will be available from the Imagination webshop as well as selected distributors – more information to follow early ￭ in 2016.
CREATOR Ci40
Why choose Creator Ci40 for IoT? Many of those looking to explore the IoT and embedded computing markets face a hard but honest question: where do I start? Making sense of the many boards and accessories, hardware and software interfaces, connectivity standards and APIs has been described as one of the biggest problems that the computing industry is facing today. The Creator™ Ci40 IoT kit includes not only the hardware building blocks needed to quickly prototype a wireless IoT system from scratch but most importantly the open source software frameworks, the network stacks and the cloud connectivity capabilities required to securely connect and authenticate devices to the cloud. The Creator Ci40 IoT kit offers you a complete yet flexible package that includes: • A powerful IoT hub, the Creator Ci40 development board integrates a 550 MHz dualcore, dual-threaded MIPS CPU running OpenWrt and a multi-standard connectivity package (802.11ac 2x2, Bluetooth 4.1, 802.15.4, fast Ethernet), with room for further expansion • Two battery-powered MikroElektronika Clicker™ boards featuring a dedicated 6LoWPAN chip and the mikroBUS™ socket for adding sensors • Three MikroElektronika Click boards™ for measuring temperature, detecting motion, and controlling a relay (hundreds of other Click boards are available from MikroElektronika). Build an IoT project with Creator Ci40 in five easy steps Using Creator Ci40 to prototype an IoT project is a breeze: • Mount any Click board on a battery-powered Clicker expansion board to form a standalone wireless device (e.g. a wireless sensor or a switch) • Program the standalone wireless device to communicate with the Creator Ci40 IoT hub over the 6LoWPAN network • Connect other wireless devices to the Creator Ci40 IoT hub using 6LoWPAN, Bluetooth® (Smart or Classic), Wi-Fi or any other wired/wireless interface available • Process all sensor readings and additional data using the powerful computing hardware available on the Creator Ci40 IoT hub • Send the results to the cloud using our FlowCloud™ IoT framework for further analysis and reporting Our Creator Ci40 IoT kit perfectly addresses individual makers inspired to build innovative connected projects at home as well as small and medium enterprises or entrepreneurs who want to quickly prototype an IoT platform and then ramp up for volume production.
editor’s notes: *As part of the Brillo program, a variant of the forthcoming Creator Ci40 board from Imagination has been selected by Google as a starter platform for Brillo developers. These starter boards are the gold standard for getting started with Brillo development, and will include the reference implementation of Brillo. Imagination Technologies https://imgtec.com
If you’re a maker, an IoT developer, a Linux hacker or even a company looking to build a revolutionary IoT project, Creator Ci40 is the ideal solution for you. www.epd-ee.eu | December, 2015 | EP&Dee
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The possibilities are endless – and we can’t wait to see how you use Creator in your next project! Examples of applications where Creator Ci40 could be deployed include home automation, e-health, efficient gardening and agriculture projects, smart cities, security and surveillance, safety-critical connected sensors, or environment and air quality monitoring. Read on for an overview of the package, a breakdown of the hardware and a summary of the pre-bundled software. The IoT, in a box! If you’re a developer looking to quickly prototype IoT devices, Creator Ci40 is absolutely the kit you’ve been looking for. The compact cardboard box packs everything you need to build the next wireless application for the Internet of Things, including a powerful hub and configurable sensors and actuators. The entire system is modular, easy to put together and easy to use. We have decided to go easy on the cable count – this is a wireless platform after all! The only cable included in the box is a USB cable providing DC power to the Creator Ci40 microcomputer. A powerful microcomputer as the IoT hub At the heart of the package sits the main creator ci40 development board. Ci40 is the IoT hub that receives sensor readings over
the full specifications of the creator ci40 dev board 12
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CREATOR Ci40
a wide range of wired and wireless interfaces; you can then process these readings locally and send the results to the cloud using our FlowCloud platform. The Creator Ci40 board is a high-performance, low-power microcomputer that packs a cXt200 chip based on a subsystem optimized by Imagination Technologies specifically for IoT applications. The cXT200 SoC includes a dual-core, dual-threaded MIPS CPU clocked at 550 MHz and an Ensigma connectivity engine that covers super-fast 802.11ac 2x2 MIMO Wi-Fi and low-power Bluetooth/Bluetooth low energy (Classic and Smart, respectively). In addition, we’ve integrated many other components that complete the connectivity package; this includes a dedicated 802.15.4 chip and many other peripherals and ports, including USB, Ethernet, SPI. Multiple expansion boards and sensors The Creator Ci40 IoT kit integrates two battery-powered 6LoWPAN Clicker expansion boards and three Click companion boards. The clicker boards are compact development boards based on the mikroBUS socket. When used together with the companion click boards, they provide a quick way to prototype and build standalone gadgets that connect using low power wireless standards to the Creator Ci40 IoT hub.
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Each Clicker board includes a dedicated mips-based pic32mX microcontroller from Microchip that can be pre-programmed via a USB/HID bootloader allowing you to easily update the firmware every time you want to make a change to your code. The Clicker board also includes a USB port, buttons and LEDs, and additional pads for external electronics.
the battery-powered 6loWpan clicker expansion board
The companion Click boards enable you to add new functionality to your project. All you have to do is just push the Click board into the innovative mikroBUS standard socket and you can start using it right away with zero hardware re-configuration! The Creator Ci40 IoT kit includes three Click boards that connect to Ci40 to build a featurerich sensor pack that monitors temperature, humidity and other useful data.
the click boards for the creator ci40 iot kit If you’re looking to build a completely new and different project, you can purchase additional sensors from MikroElektronika. There are already hundreds of Click boards available right now, with more being added every week. Maker-friendly interfaces (mikroBUS, Raspberry Pi, etc.) The Creator Ci40 board features a number of peripheral I/Os, including a mikroBUS socket and a Raspberry Pi pin-compatible interface. The two mikroBUS Clicker sockets can be used to instantly plug compatible devices with minimum set-up. MikroElektronika’s portfolio includes hundreds of mikroBUS compatible Click boards, providing the community with the ability to expand designs with additional functionality and minimum hardware configuration. Alternatively, you can switch to the Raspberry Pi-compatible interface that enables you to port your existing Raspberry Pi projects over to Creator.
CREATOR Ci40
The complete hardware specifications creator ci40 development board • CPU: 550 MHz dual-core, dual-threaded MIPS interAptiv, 32/32 kB L1 I- and D-cache per CPU, 512 kB L2 cache, IEEE 754 Floating Point Unit • RAM: 256 MB DDR3 SDRAM • Memory: 512 MB NAND flash, 1 × micro SD card • Communications: 802.11b/g/n/ac 2×2 Wi-Fi (Ensigma™ C4500 RPU), 802.15.4 6LoWPAN dedicated chip, Bluetooth 4.1 (Classic + Smart, respectively) • Security: Dedicated TPM chip • Ethernet: 1 × RJ45 Ethernet port • Audio: 1 × 3.5mm input/output jack, 1 × S/PDIF input/output connector • I/O: 32 × GPIO, 2 × mikroBUS i/f, 4 × PWM, 1 × SPI, 2 × UART, 2 × I2C, 5 × ADC, expansion headers, 14-pin EJTAG connector, 9 × indicator LEDs (7 × I/O, 1 × MCU), • USB: 1 × micro USB 2.0 OTG • Power: Micro USB (5V DC) or barrel adapter (9V DC) • Dimensions: 100 mm × 106 mm 6LoWPAN Clicker expansion board The 6LoWPAN Clicker is an amazingly compact, battery-powered development board which brings the innovative mikroBUS host socket to your favorite microcontroller.
the new 6loWpan clicker board
Connect the desired click board to enhance it with awesome features and program it via the fast USB HID bootloader. Use it to upload your firmware and your Clicker will become a fully functional, standalone 6LoWPAN device. The Clicker board features all you need to get started: a MIPS-based, 32-bit Microchip PIC32MX470F512H microcontroller, a USB connector, two LEDs and push buttons, a reset button, a mikroProg connector and the headers for interfacing with external electronics. In addition, the 6LoWPAN Clicker board functions as a standalone wireless device thanks to two AAA batteries that can be fitted the 6loWpan clicker on the back of the board. Imagination Technologies https://imgtec.com
board is powered by two aaa batteries
www.epd-ee.eu | December, 2015 | EP&Dee
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microchipDIRECT
microchipdirect take a look at all it can do Microchip’s primary goal is to support customers in as many ways as possible, giving them freedom to innovate. One unique way Microchip has done this is by creating microchipDIRECT. There are times when customers need the support of a distributor to help with a challenging design or help with local or overnight stock and there are also the times when they just need to find stock and buy a part, quickly and easily. Microchip offers both - a great list of World Class distributors and microchipDIRECT. Author: Martin Warmington, microchipdirect manager - europe
When Microchip first launched the microchipDIRECT online store, the idea that any customer could buy components online directly from the manufacturer was both innovative and radical. After all, the conventional go-to-market strategy was to divide customers into two groups: the large, Tier 1 accounts which were supported directly by the manufacturer; and then all the other customers who were served either by franchised distributors or catalogue houses. microchipDIRECT ensures that customers have full access to over 95% of Microchip products. Now, microchipDIRECT is available to individuals, academics and companies in ten different languages and in sixty eight countries around the world, the latest addition in Europe is Russia. microchipDIRECT has developed from a simple online store to hold the highest and broadest inventory of 14
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microchipdirect offers accounts for individuals and academics as well as high-volume oems and cems
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Microchip product, worldwide and offers a range of services which help to streamline the design and procurement cycle from prototyping right through to volume production.
microchipDIRECT
Regular offers, such as free shipping, free programmed samples and discounted pricing on selected product lines, help customers to save money.
Flexibility and strong services have been one of the most important features of microchipDIRECT’s strategy. This flexibility includes a choice of payment options and services such as low cost device programming of Microchip’s PIC® microcontrollers or serial EEPROM, SRAM and Flash memories with customer’s code.
The speed and simplicity of ordering devices, development tools and valueadded services from microchipDIRECT is not just limited to low-volume orders from individuals and academics: OEM and CEM customers who purchase products in mid to high volume can choose to add further flexibility by requesting an upgrade to a microchipDIRECT business account.
The microchipDIRECT website gives engineers and buyers access to crucial information which helps to ensure efficient planning and procurement. This service includes online device comparisons, available inventory levels, a weekly email confirming the current lead-times for all Microchip products, immediate pricing and fast check-out.
This offers all of the features and flexibility of the standard account but adds new features such as individual quotations for highvolume orders and scheduling of deliveries for a specific day, week or month, up to one year after the order date. A business account also provides credit facilities which eliminate the need to pay for goods at check-out, it also offers the option of creat-
ing a master microchipDIRECT account. This enables multiple users to access the business account and allows credit limits to be set for each user, combining all of the individual orders into a single, manageable account which makes it easy to keep track of each order as well as the overall spend. The pioneering spirit in which microchipDIRECT was launched has added another layer of flexibility and choice for customers of all sizes. As an easy online store, microchipDIRECT simplifies the purchasing of Microchip’s products, development tools and device programming service. Our customer service professionals are also available by phone or email to help customers with any questions. microchip technology www.microchipDIRECT.com
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EMBEDDED MCU
iot opportunity demands new approach to mcu-based embedded designs Rapidly moving market requires integrated silicon/software platform let’s face it – the opportunity the iot market offers is unprecedented. the numbers alone are staggering. analysts at Gartner inc. estimate that 4.9 billion connected devices will be in use by the end of 2015, up 30 percent from 2014. five years from now they expect that number to jump to 25 billion. by then those same analysts expect 10 billion connected devices (excluding pcs, smartphones, and tablets) will ship each year into a market that researchers at idc forecast to be worth over $7 trillion.
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At the heart of this exciting new market lies the 32-bit microcontroller (MCU), the source of the intelligence built into the majority of edge devices and hubs across the IoT. As the build-out of the IoT takes off, research firms such as IC Insights are projecting 32-bit MCU sales will grow by a CAGR of 9.5% through 2018. As an industry-leading manufacturer of MCUs, Renesas offers developers some natural advan-tages. The company offers prospective customers unparalleled experience in a number of critical vertical markets including medical, home appli¬ances, building automation, factory automation, and energy management. The extensive knowledge base Renesas brings to these markets gives the company unmatched insight into the challenges developers face. And the company’s value proposi-tion in terms of quality, reliability, support, security and safety is tailored to match customer needs in those markets. But the IoT market is different. One of the toughest challenges the IoT market brings is its impact on the pace of development. Today everyone understands that those who bring their product to market first reap the largest profits. But the advantage of beating the competition to market doesn’t end there. For the most part, today’s IoT market lacks accepted industry stan-
■ continuously changing roadmap for rtos, stacks &tools
EMBEDDED MCU
dards. Those who get to market first will have the greatest opportunity to influence those standards and gain an edge over the competition. Second, the IoT market forces embedded developers to reconsider their definition of system-level design. They have to stop thinking of their application as a discrete unit. Instead, they must think in a broader sense about how their application fits into an interconnected world. That, in turn, will force developers to adopt new technologies. As new communications, security, user interfaces and sensing technologies become increasingly commonplace, embedded designers building products for the IoT market must enhance their skills and knowledge of connectiv¬ity, the cloud, and portable applications. Most of the MCUs currently in use were never networked in the traditional sense. Few developers have the expertise they need to build those designs. Most developers will require a deeper understandingof connectivity and security issues and large, complex networks to succeed in the IoT market. At the same time, universal interconnectivity increases system vulnerability. Security risks lie at each stage of the product lifecycle from manufac¬turing and development to deployment and remote updates. Most devices connected to the Internet today
■ synergy platform takes care of integration of new updates
have inadequate security capabilities. Clearly developers will need a far better command of security and safety technologies to meet customer expectations. Complex Designs Take Time Each of these trends forces developers to devote more time to testing and debugging these new capabilities and to reconsider design priori¬ties. Yet designers face major time and resource constraints as they try to develop new embedded products for an IoT market where product lifecycles are shrinking along with Time-to-Market windows. In this environment developers who can shorten their product development cycle will likely find more success meeting these elusive market opportunities. While the IoT market covers a broad field of applications, most require a base set of fundamental capabilities and peripherals. To succeed in this market developers will need MCUs that offer an extensive set of communication peripherals, analog I/O, significant on-chip memory and a diverse portfolio of security and safety functions. But the embedded design market is well supplied with semiconductor suppliers offering full-featured MCUs. The key to taking advantage of this coming avalanche of IoT applications will be each MCU vendor’s ability to help lower customers’ total cost of ownership and get those development projects to market quicker.
■ customers can ignore updates from multiple vendors
minimiZe total cost of oWnership By simplifying the management of key software components and tools, the Synergy Platform reduces the total cost of ownership. www.epd-ee.eu | December, 2015 | EP&Dee
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To win in the IoT market developers must eliminate many of the low-level, but timeconsuming integration tasks they have had to grapple with in the past. Traditionally, developers begin at the silicon level and then have to wade through multiple software and tool options to find the best solution for their particular application. They must spend valuable time evaluating each vendor, understanding their licensing terms and IP acquisition costs.
EMBEDDED MCU
ing the developer to keep up with the latest releases as they add new features. At the same time the development team must spend time integrating all of the software com¬ponents from multiple vendors, then testing and qualifying at the system level to maintain high quality levels while keeping abreast of changes in the marketplace and the latest advances in best development practices. Invariably designers must delay working on the truly differentiated aspects of their design— the end-application code or new features — until the end of the development cycle. In the long run the developer faces enormous uncertainty, the risk of cost overruns and a late entry to market. Unified Hardware/Software Solution The Renesas Synergy™ Platform is designed to circumvent these obstacles. To minimize cost of ownership and allow developers to begin quickly developing
And the work only begins once the developer purchases software or tools. The time and energy developers spend tracking each vendor can be significant. More often than not, each tool, stack and RTOS vendor has a separate roadmap forc20
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code for their application, the Renesas Synergy Platform treats hardware and software as a single unified product. The benefits begin at the silicon level. The Renesa Synergy Platform is built around a family of compatible and scalable MCUs based on the ARM® Cortex®-M core. Common features across the MCU portfolio simplify product development. These upwardly
compatible MCUs combine extremely low power consumption with a small silicon footprint, an extensive set of peripher¬als and up to 4 MB of on-chip code flash. To meet emerging IoT requirements, each MCU offers a di¬verse set of communications interfaces and a broad array of security and safety features. But the real payoff in terms of lower cost and faster development comes at the software level. Each Renesas Synergy MCU comes with a comprehensive package of qualified software components. Included in the cost of the MCU, the Renesas Synergy Software Package (SSP) features all of the crucial software components engineers need to build the basic core system functions essential in any IoT development project. Built around Express Logic’s ThreadX® RTOS, the SSP includes middleware components from Express Logic’s X-Ware™ and adds MCU-specific software components such as device drivers, middleware, libraries and a flexible framework with an API.
Each component in the platform is integrated, tested, qualified, scalable and reusable. As a result, designers spend less time on driver implementation, middleware and RTOS integration and more time focusing on the truly innovative aspects of their design. The SSP is far different from the embedded de¬signer’s typical ad hoc software solution. Developed using industry-accepted best practices, the SSP is a qualified software product with an accompanying datasheet documenting measured performance characteristics. The software datasheet for MCUs is an industry first; no other MCU
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vendor guarantees its MCU software behavior as specified in a software datasheet. The SSP meets widely accepted standards, tests and benchmarks, such as MISRA and Coremark, as well as published SQA metrics, documented processes and product lifecycle practices. Moreover, Renesas provides full product level support for the SSP including maintenance with scheduled releases for updates and upgrades, errata publishing and management, issue tracking and bug fixes. With the Synergy Platform there are lower barriers to getting started; designers can begin develop-ment of their e n d - p ro d u c ts much earlier than in the
traditional development model. Renesas Synergy’s Eclipse-based e2 studio integrated solution development environment (ISDE) and included C compiler are
EMBEDDED MCU
provided free of charge from GNU or purchase commercial compiler from IAR. Engineers can begin full
10 billion new connected devices will ship each year. In this hypercompetitive environment, traditional approaches to product development are unlikely to suffice. development upon the purchase of any one of many very lowcost development or starter kits available for each of the Renesas Synergy MCU series. Simple registration of the kit automatically grants full rights to develop with the entire Renesas Synergy software package. The ISDE also brings a new level of innovation in context-aware, real-time assistance through use of integrated smart documentation for software and MCUs. With this new capability engineers no longer need to pour through thousands of individual pages of documentation, saving time and preventing mistakes. Conclusion The stakes in the IoT market are high. In five short years research analysts forecast over
Each piece of the Renesas Synergy Platform - the silicon, software, tool ecosystem, kits and refer-ence designs — contributes to the ultimate goal: a shorter, quicker development cycle. By simplifying or eliminating or reducing many of the tasks in development projects, this new approach promises to shorten the development cycle. In the highly dynamic IoT market, that advantage can mean the difference between product success and failure. www.renesas.com © 2015 Renesas Electronics America Inc. (REA). All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Document No. R01PF0096ED0100
accelerate time to marKet Renesas’ Synergy Platform dramatically shrinks the development cycle by providing a comprehensive package of qualified software components that eliminates much of the work developing non-differentiated code. www.epd-ee.eu | December, 2015 | EP&Dee
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ANALOG ASIC
7 steps to a successful analog asic By Bob Frostholm, JVd semiconductors
I’m willing to bet that there are tens of thousands of analog applications out there that would benefit financially from ASIC integration. So what’s the holdup? Based on my 40+ years in the Analog IC business, I can boil it down to one word: misinformation. This is a combination of a lack of information, incorrect information, and of course, FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt). Misinformation comes from numerous unreliable sources. It’s high time we dispel the myths that often precede incorrect decision making and expose the bare-bones truth about Analog ASIC integration. Most of the time, it’s the sensible thing to do, but confusion about all the preparatory steps you must take leading up to getting a proposal for NRE and Tooling is often an early show stopper. Proper planning in anticipation of having an Analog ASIC developed and produced for your company is not to be taken lightly. There are five key elements you need to explore internally before engaging an Analog ASIC semiconductor company to design and produce a custom chip for you. Once you are comfortable with this internal analysis, you can then explore possible suppliers. If you’ve done the internal analysis correctly, you will have realized that there is much more to Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE) than the upfront costs your supplier will charge you for designing and tooling a custom chip. That’s the easy part, because it’s spelled out clearly in black and white in the contract you’ll be signing at the beginning of the project. There is a hidden part of NRE that few companies successfully quantify. And for good reason - it’s not easy. Let’s take a moment and examine some of the more important aspects before going into what’s behind the ‘green curtain’: the effort put forth by your Analog ASIC supplier.
There are several pieces to the ASIC puzzle, and they must all fit together before a proper decision to move forward can be made. Identify your existing BOM costs. When asked, most customers simply get a list of 22
EP&Dee | December, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu
components from their purchasing department along with the price they currently pay for them. Less obvious are the ‘other’ costs associated with these components. For example: purchasing costs, inventory costs, manufacturing costs including labor costs (whether human or machine), cost per square inch of the PCB, or cost of lost production when there is an availability or quality problem from a supplier. This last one is really difficult to put a financial metric on.
Consider as well the other side of the coin; there are BOM costs associated with an ASIC as well. A new PCB layout is required. Perhaps additional qualification and reliability testing will be involved. All of these costs need to be scrutinized closely by both you, and the customer when considering a move to an ASIC solution. Be sure to quantify ALL the costs you will incur as well as all the costs you will save before committing. Identify availability of your resources to manage the transition from using many standard chips to a single ASIC. Someone needs to be the focal point when dealing with the ASIC company to field technical questions and answers, define the electrical specification for the ASIC, conduct progress reviews and design reviews, manage the production
change over, and much more. Program management does not necessarily require an additional headcount, but it will become a significant responsibility assigned to someone on the team. Be sure you have someone capable
to assume this role and have a backup plan in case this person leaves in the future. Understand the longevity and cumulative volume expectations of your product. There’s not much point incurring the effort to develop an ASIC if its lifespan will be too short. There are, of course, obvious exceptions, such as applications in which the volumes are vast, as in mobile phones and computers. There, if the lifetime of a chip is only a couple of years, the savings clearly justify the transition. I suspect most readers of this
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paper can only dream of such volumes. The good news is that Analog Applications typically have long lifespans and can easily support and justify the transition to an ASIC chip. Many industrial and medical applications can last 10 years or longer. Don’t over estimate your volume expectations to try to lure an ASIC supplier into engaging with you. It is always better to underestimate; err on the conservative side. Analog ASICs do not require high volume.
While everyone’s definition of “high volume” varies, to quantify it, many projects are successful at 25-50K units per year, even less occasionally. The days of million or half million or even 100K per year unit minimums are long gone. Analog ASICs have always been affordable to the masses. The problem has been that the masses never realized it. This is perhaps the single biggest misconception about Analog ASICs. As the customer, your responsibility is to manage as best you can the above four puzzle pieces. The fifth piece, Risk, is a shared piece. Both Customer and Supplier must do all that is within their power to mitigate risk. Analyze the risks associated with ASIC development on both sides. What if your
volume expectations aren’t realized? What if your Analog ASIC supplier is unable to meet their completion date? Or worse yet (as is all too often the case) doesn’t really have the resident Analog skill sets to complete the job, meeting all your technical requirements? Asking for last minute waivers can kill your entire project. You can
ANALOG ASIC
avoid this by investing in advanced research. Ask to speak to the leader of the ASIC design team that will be assigned to your project and assess for yourself their skills and understanding of analog chip design. Check references. Make sure they fully understand your application. What if you need to make a design change midway through the ASIC development process? This happens frequently. Things can go wrong, and often do. Requirements can change unexpectedly. Make sure both you and your Analog ASIC supplier understand this and have a corrective action plan. There may be additional charges, depending on the changes you are requesting and how far along the design is. If the chip needs a re-spin and you didn’t change your requirements, it’s the responsibility of the ASIC supplier to do it without charging more. Remember, it’s the ASIC supplier’s responsibility to both hire and retain the best design talent as well as utilize the highest quality subcontractors for silicon fabrication and package assembly. If there are any problems there, they own it, not you. This is where Analog differs greatly from Digital in the ASIC world. Parametric performance in the digital world is almost a nobrainer. Every function that connects to another function has a well-defined interface.
It’s either a logic 1 or a logic 0 and each of these has a well-defined min and max limit. This is not the case with Analog. Analog design requires that thousands, possibly tens or hundreds of thousands, of device interconnects on the chip match exactly. What does this mean for NRE? What it means is that when specifying and designing Analog ASICs, there is significantly more CUSTOM ENGINEERING involved. It also means that much more care and consideration must be put into the budgetary proposal being prepared for the customer. It’s not unusual for back and forth technical Q&A to take place between the lead ASIC designer assigned to the project and the customer’s point person. The ASIC supplier
needs to know everything there is to know about the design: its application, its environment, its architecture, and more. This process of thoroughly understanding the customer’s needs can take weeks, sometimes months before a legitimate proposal can be offered. When quoting a moderate to complex Analog ASIC, it’s not unusual for the ASIC supplier to invest $10-$20K of their own resources just to provide a proposal. They should not be charging you for this effort, it’s part of the cost of doing business. Moreover, while the ASIC design manager is evaluating the basic ASIC itself, another ASIC team is looking into how this chip is going to be tested. What levels of precision are needed? Are there any special needs such as data acquisition functions? What power management blocks are involved? Are there any special noise requirements? Power up sequences? Are there any high voltage requirements that need to be addressed? At the end, does a special analog tester need to be designed and built beyond a typical load board? The cost of the NRE and Tooling can vary greatly. Variables include the design complexity (man hours required to design and layout the chip), mask costs (determined primarily by the lithography of the wafer process; 0.18um, 0.35um, 0.5um, etc.), wafer costs (determined in part by the wafer size (150mm, 200mm, etc.), and by special needs (number of layers, SOI, cavity etch for sensors, etc.). Your Analog ASIC supplier will review with you any options and tradeoffs you may wish to consider that might minimize any of these costs. Another thing to consider is NRE and Tooling Rebates. Ask you Analog ASIC supplier if they offer a rebate program for the up-front costs associated with developing the chip. These are implemented during the early production lifetime of the product, and are a means of further equalizing the cost of an ASIC with that of a standard product. It essentially has the effect of making the front end costs appear as a loan that gets paid back as production is consumed rather than a sunk cost. Supporting all of this is production capability. During this proposal development phase, the ASIC design manager also investigates the realm of possible wafer fabrication processes that are suitable to produce your design, selecting the one she/he feels is a best fit solution. The IC will be designed to meet the specific requirements of this silicon process. With rare exception, silicon fab processes cannot be changed or modified. www.epd-ee.eu | December, 2015 | EP&Dee
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The burden is 100% on the ASIC design team to get it right. If you remember only one thing from this paper, it is to NEVER SEPARATE DESIGN FROM PRODUCTION.
Doing so sets the stage for conflict when something goes wrong. Is it a design problem or a manufacturing problem? Unless your Analog ASIC supplier is developing or modifying a process, when a performance issue arises in the initial silicon samples, 99 times out of 100 it will be a design problem. Yet independent Analog design houses will argue the contrary, and you, the customer, are stuck in the middle. This is not where you want to be. Even if you have lots of experience managing the backend for digital ASICs, you should always use full service or turn-key supplier for Analog ASICs. Unlike digital ASICs, Analog designs are extremely difficult (dare I say impossible?) to port to a fabrication process other than the one they were originally designed for without doing a major redesign or re-layout of the chip. For this reason, selection of a reputable foundry, one with a solid track record of Analog IC production, is paramount. During the chip’s design phase, the ASIC design team also considers the longevity of the process being selected. Is it well established? Meaning has it been in production for a long time and has it been proven to be reliable? Does the foundry have considerable volume running on this process such that its likelihood of being discontinued is zero? All of the above helps you to mitigate the risks. Once you have accepted the ASIC development and production proposal, a detailed specification of the IC is generated. This specification is similar to a typical semiconductor datasheet in terms of its contents. There may be a brief description of the IC, and a definition of the MAX operating limits (temperature, voltage, etc.) followed by a detailed electrical specification. The accura24
EP&Dee | December, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu
ANALOG ASIC
cy and completeness of the electrical specification is critical because this is what is used to define accept/reject criteria for the ASIC. The electrical specification becomes a part of the development contract, usually as one of several “Exhibits” attached at the end of the contract. It is not unusual for minor changes to be made to the electrical specification (but only by mutual agreement) during the development of the chip as one side or the other notices things that may be mutually exclusive, or as one side discovers a means by which the chip can be further improved or reduced in size. When the electrical specification is finalized and the contract is signed, development begins. Weekly, sometimes daily, discussions between the ASIC supplier and customer keep both sides in synchronicity throughout the development period. Periodic milestone reviews are held as well as a final signoff review, at which point the design is declared finished and the hard tooling / wafer fabrication phase begins. Once the foundry has produced the masks, they will begin wafer production. Throughput can vary from 8 to 12 weeks before a finished wafer is delivered back to the ASIC supplier for testing. If all has gone according to plan, the ASIC supplier will have the test system finished and awaiting wafers to test. Thanks to the skills of experienced Analog Design Engineers, 99% of designs are fully functional in this first look. However, with analog, almost all designs will require minor tweaks to achieve complete parametric compliance with the specification… It’s just the nature of the beast… Although analog design and verification tools from companies like Cadence, Synopsys, Mentor Graphics, and others continue to improve, none are perfect. Still, a lot can be learned from a functional part. Samples are prepared and sent to the customer for evaluation. Any nonconformities or performance nuances are noted and normally corrected with a minor tweak to the metal layers of the chip. Upon verification by the customer, the revised chip is released to production. Advanced planning, thoughtful and proper resource allocation, intimate understanding of your supplier’s Analog Design and production skills, a well-defined objective specification, and more will ensure the success for your project. A couple of side notes to file away in your memory; 1. When it comes to Analog, there are no shortcuts. If you insist on beating up your
chosen supplier to quote shorter and shorter development times, it may backfire on you. Although delivery of first samples sometimes occurs in as little six to eight months, realistically you should expect it to be closer to ten to twelve months and even longer for very complicated designs. Individual quotes will vary. 2. Think about your IP. If your design is simply an amalgamation of off the shelf standard products with no inherent invention in the design, you may not care. But if the chip will be containing your own proprietary IP, check very carefully as to where your chip will be designed. Yes, engineers in the US and EU may be more costly, but what are the costs to you and your business if your design is stolen? Have you ever wonder how products like the new Apple watch become available for sale on Alibaba before being released? The same holds true for wafer fabrication. If you are at all concerned, insist that the product be fabricated where the Rules of International Law apply. 3. Don’t be pennywise and pound foolish. When having an Analog ASIC made for you, be very thorough about whom you select to design and build it. The cheapest solution may not be the best solution.
Bob Frostholm is Vice President of Marketing & Sales at JVD Semiconductors, (San Jose, CA.) www.jvdinc.com Bob has held Marketing, Sales and CEO roles at established and startup Analog Semiconductor Companies for more than 40 years. Bob was one of the original marketers behind the ubiquitous 555 timer chip. After 12 years with Signetics-Phillips, Fairchild and National Semiconductor, he co-founded his first startup in 1984, Scottish based Integrated Power, which was sold to Seagate in 1987. He subsequently joined Sprague’s semiconductor operations in Massachusetts and helped spin off its semiconductor group, creating what is now known as Allegro Microsystems and later helped LSI Logic acquire SEEQ Technology. Bob has been consulting with numerous start-ups until joining JVD in 2010. He is the author of several technical articles and white papers as well as numerous short and feature length screenplays. Bob is also a member of the Engineering Advisory Board of the College of Science and Engineering, San Francisco State University.
PRODUCT NEWS
SENSORS
Leuze 10 SERIES Measuring and switching distance sensors with high object tolerance the measuring ods 10 and the switching ht 10 are compact, optical distance sensors that reliably detect objects and measure distances with an operating range of up to eight meters and an accuracy of ±30 mm. The devices have high tolerance with respect to the angle of incidence as well as to color, surface structure and brightness of the reflective material. They detect precisely at all times, even in situations with changing environmental conditions or changing materials, and are easy to install in the system and to start up.
easy handling. ￭ ￭ ￭ ￭ ￭ ￭ ￭ ￭
Recess for M4 bolts or nuts on both sides Space-saving, rotatable M12 connection, connector or pigtail Large control buttons Status LED visible from above and from front Configuration options via I/O-Link and Sensor Studio Adjustment and diagnosis via OLED display with the ODS 10 Adjustment and diagnosis via teach buttons with the HT 10 Compact housing: 55 × 25 × 65 mm
power reserve. ￭ ￭ ￭ ￭ ￭
Working range from 50 – 8,000 mm (25 m against reflective tape) Reliable detection of dark, glossy and colored objects Laser class 1 Robust plastic housing with glass pane Operating temperature -40 °C to +50 °C
think modular. Thanks to the modularly designed structure of the product, the required functions, such as measuring or switching, electrical connection, number of I/Os as well as the data output, can be combined with one another to the customer's specifications. The sensor, which is thereby optimally tailored to the application, combines precise detection and ease of use with an attractive price. The devices are available with a rotatable M12 plug, a pigtail or a cable and thus offer the user a choice of connection type.
availability control. Constant monitoring of the receiving level means that the user can be alerted of an impending failure, e.g., as a result of excessive soiling or misalignment, in good time. The prefailure message appears either on the display or is available as a signal on a switching output. All relevant information is precisely depicted in the control panel.
power reserve. “Wood, metal - matt, glossy - straight, angled” Rapidly transported objects, deep black or glossy materials and objects that are not ideally aligned often result in detection problems and tedious readjustment with conventional distance sensors. The new ODS 10 and HT 10 distance sensors master these challenges without problem - and do so with constant switching point and operating ranges of up to eight meters.
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PRODUCT NEWS
SENSORS
Oval wheel flow meter for (almost) every need… Oval Wheel Flow Meters Model DOM are versatile and economical flow meters, which fulfill almost every need in liquid flow metering. Whether it is about precise control of additives amount into a mixing tank in each batch or simply about transferring diesel fuel from delivery truck into your storage tank, an oval wheel flow meter is there to provide you accurate readings. DOM is designed to measure clean liquids, whereas viscosity value can be as high as 1000000 cP, while variation of density does not affect the measurement, nor does the liquid conductivity. Furthermore, this kind of flow meter doesn't require any inlet/ outlet runs. Consequently, it needs a smaller installation space compared with other flow meters. You may have a completely mechanical flow meter, or else a variation of LCD Indicators and / or output signal transmitters.
mass flow meters to compete with the oval wheel ones.
below is one application which is served by Kobold's dom oval Wheel flow meters. The fluids to be measured are a variety of polyols, high viscosity chemicals used for car-seat production. There are different types of polyol flowing inside the flow meter in each batch. With the variation of fluid viscosity, which may reach 5000 cP at maximum, it is not easy even for coriolis
Several DOM with Stainless Steel housings are needed, serving the production line 24 hours a day. Customers select flow meters with LCD display showing both flow rate and total flow. The 4 – 20 mA analogue output is connected to a separate PLC.
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AUTOMATION
Cost-effective safeguarding with Safetinex Type 2 from Contrinex During semi-automated heat staking of assemblies for domestic white goods, manufacturers use light curtains to preserve operator safety without compromising production throughput. The active optoelectronic protective device (AOPD), mounted directly in front of each bench-mounted heat-press, prevents the press-head from descending if it detects any intrusion in the working area, halting the operating cycle immediately.
customer value • Cost-effective, active safeguarding • Improved workplace ergonomics 26
EP&Dee | December, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu
• Increased productivity arising from unimpeded loading and unloading • Industry-standard interface requires minimal modification to control systems
advantages of type 2 light curtain Ybb-30s/r2-0800-G012 • Permanent autocontrol not usually found on Type 2 safety devices • IP65 and IP67 protection • Non-contact operating principles • Excellent safety rating to EN/ISO 13849-1 Cat. 2 PL c and IEC 61508 SIL 1 • AOPD (active optoelectronic protective device) with aluminum housing and M12 cable connector
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PRODUCT NEWS
Leuze n n n
Optical sensors Sensors for logistic applications Safety at work
SENSORS
ASM n n n
Linear Sensors Angle Sensors Tilt Sensors
GMW n n n n
Contrinex n n
Optical Sensors Inductive Sensors
Selec n n n
PLCs Temperature Controller Timer
Digital panel meters Panel indicators Bus bar isolators Current transformers
Industrial connectors n n n n
Circular connectors M8; M12; M23 Cable and Connectors for Sensors Valve Connectors Distribution Blocks
Special Approvals
Sensor Instruments n n n
Color Sensors True Color Sensors, Spectrometers Gloss Sensors
Kobold n n n
Flowmeters Level Indicators and Switches Pressure Sensors and Switches
n
IP69K Tel. +40256201346 office@oboyle.ro www.oboyle.ro
AUTOMATION
IO-Link Contrinex : Sensors learn to talk IO-Link is the first worldwide standardized IO technology (IEC 61131-9) to allow communication with sensors and actuators. Devices are identified, parameterized and diagnosed. Cyclic information about device status is also obtained through “process
data”. IO-Link is not a fieldbus. It deals with point-to-point communication between a master and a device. The IO-Link master, usually in conjunction with a PLC, represents the gateway to fieldbuses like Profibus, ProfiNet, EtherCAT, etc. io-link advantages: • Continuous monitoring of process data • Continuous diagnosis of sensor status • Central data management • Easy check of sensor ID, to ensure the
right sensor is at the right place • No more manual parameter setting. Parameter sets are downloaded automatically • Plug-and-play replacement of sensors • Reduced downtime for machine changeover
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PRODUCT NEWS
Magnetic sensors from Beta Sensorik Magnetic sensors with unique high switching states Magnetic proximity sensors from beta SENSORIK are characterized by long switching distances, even in small designs. They detect magnetic objects, usually permanent magnets, which are used for triggering the switching process. Since these magnetic fields penetrate many non-magnetic materials, the switching operation can be triggered by other materials. An important application example is the use in pig query. It is sure to capture miniature parts and thus also small magnets with low field strength for pipes with low material flow and thus small pipe diameters. For our magnetic sensors with long sensing ranges this is not a problem. When querying fast-moving pigging systems, our models come with integrated pulse extension. The signal can be reliably detected by the subsequent PLC.
Industries Pigging technology has become an integral part in many different application fields. Here, in most industrial applications liquid media are pumped and the pipelines are used as a means of transport.
Pigging systems for application in the colour and paint industry There are many individual requirements in this industry, consequently the tasks are equally individual. For the colour and paint industry especially two pig systems in tandem mode with corresponding rinsing processes have been well proven.
Lubricants and additives
With pigging systems the complete liquid logistics in the production process can be applied efficiently – beginning with the raw material supply up to the delivery of the finished product. By using pigging technology different products can be transferred in the same pipeline systems and completely removed from the lines.
Chemical industry
The applications in this industry are often very special because critical products have to be handled. Therefore special pigging methods for pushing out the product and cleaning procedures according to the product's requirements are created. 28
EP&Dee | December, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu
PRODUCT NEWS
SENSORS
Adhesives and glues
With pigging technology the products can be transferred out of the pipeline – quick and almost completely. Thus the product remains usable and the pipeline is easily available again.
Foodstuffs, drinks and tobacco
A pigging system especially designed for these requirements can drastically reduce the cleaning process periods. The pigging sequence is often done within a few minutes, so that complete product utilisation in the pipeline is facilitated. This leads to cost savings through product loss reduction and a quick re-availability of the equipment after short pigging / CIP sequences.
Powder and granulate
Beside liquid products, also powders and granulates can be pigged. Deposits in the pipeline are a common problem in pneumatic product transfer; these deposits are often loosened with slight hammer strokes. This does not provide a long-term solution as the causes for the deposits are still there.
Chocolate industry
Nowadays it is almost impossible to think about a chocolate industry without pigging technology. Not only chocolate masses and fillings can be transported through pipelines but also problematic products such as cocoa, nuts or crunchies.
• Tel. +40 256-201346 • office@oboyle.ro • www.oboyle.ro www.epd-ee.eu | December, 2015 | EP&Dee
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DESIGN
HEART RATE MONITOR
Cosinuss° the tiny sensor in Your ear For many athletes a chest strap heart rate monitor is their constant companion. A PhD student at the Technical University of Munich thought that these monitors could be a bit more comfortable to wear, so he developed a sensor to be worn in comfort and unnoticed inside the athlete’s ear. The tiny heart rate monitor is now going into mass production. Nordic Semiconductor and Rutronik were at the birth.
Dr. Johannes Kreuzer, Managing Director, cosinuss°
In response to the trend for keeping fit and an increasing requirement for remote monitoring in medicine, Johannes Kreuzer wanted to develop a monitoring process that could register various vital parameters and mechanical aspects without bothering or hampering users in any way. As a PhD student he started his basic research. It showed that the outer ear was the ideal place to carry out comfortable and precise measurements. The result was the first non-invasive sensor (i.e. outside the body) that measures core body temperature, while also ascertaining heart rate and oxygen saturation in the blood - and his doctorate! Eighteen months after successfully completing his doctorate, together with Greta Kreuzer, Johannes Kreuzer founded his com30
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pany cosinuss° and started to develop a marketable product. Not only does it measure the wearer’s heart rate, but it also sends data wirelessly to any standard smart phone, sports watch or other devices equipped with Bluetooth 4.0 or ANT+. It means that with the
cosinuss° sport app, or other apps standardly available on the market such as endomondo, Runtastic Pro or MapMyFitness, amateur and professional athletes can monitor their performance values. “I have always had excellent experience of products from Nordic Semiconductor, which is why I immediately thought of a Nordic wireless solution for the first cosinuss° product”, explained Kreuzer. Since the manufacturer recommends Rutronik - with its logistic stock operation and the best-trained support technicians as its preferred distributor in Europe, the distributor was the inventor’s first port of call. Rutronik’s wireless team provided him with technical support in selecting the product he needed. The engineers also put forward components from other manufacturers for consideration.
DESIGN
The main requirement was that they needed to be very small and facilitate low-energy radio transmission. The choice came back to a Nordic product: The nRF51422 Single Chip SoC met every requirement better than the competitor products. Its 32-bit ARM Cortex M0 processor is designed for maximum computing power yet low power consumption. To optimize performance even more it is able very quickly to switch into sleep mode, waking up again within just 2.5 µs. Intelligent software also helps to reduce the power uptake, which can be as low as 1.75 V. Cell batteries can be used at this minimum voltage, giving the end device a longer service life. The nRF51422 comes inside the tiny 48-pin 6×6 mm QFN housing which is easier to process than the same chip inside the even smaller 3.5 × 3.8 mm WLCSP housing. ANT: Small and economical The nRF51422 works on the 2.4 GHz band which, compared with the popular
HEART RATE MONITOR
nRF51822, enables the use not only of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) but also ANT/ANT+. These proprietary radio network standards are aimed specifically at ultralow-power applications and achieve an even lower level of energy consumption than BLE. This is because, at 1 MHz, their frequency channel is just half as wide as that of BLE, so that the data modulation requires correspondingly less energy. At just 15 kB, the ANT was developed to create wireless connections between sensors and their analysis devices at short distances of up to 50 m. This means that the protocol is ideally tailored for sport and fitness applications as well as for health care and telemedicine. It is already installed in many devices, such as in thirteen of the widely distributed Samsung Galaxy and in twenty-six Sony Xperia smart phone and tablet models. And of course the current top-selling S5 and NotePRO 12.2 by Samsung and Z2, as well as the Z2 tablet from Sony are ANT+ certified. This widespread
market acceptance makes the protocol interesting for cosinuss° too, because the sensor needs to be able to communicate with as many devices as possible. Another benefit of ANT is that, as opposed to Bluetooth/BLE, license fees are paid on purchase of the chip or module, so the device manufacturer can use the technology almost without further cost. Unlike with Bluetooth: since February 2014 products using the protocol must have their own “declaration of compliance” which has to be paid for in addition to the actual qualification process (QDID).
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DESIGN
A further point in favor of the nRF51422 is its 2.4 GHz wide range, due to output power of 20 to +4 dBm and receiver sensitivity of -96 dB. Its software architecture allows strict separation of protocol stack and application software. The two can be stored separately and the user software can be integrated more easily, faster and without error. A whole series of analog and digital peripherals can interact without the CPU becoming involved. Thanks to 31 integrated GPIOs, which are individually assigned to different pins, as well as PWM, ADC and other features, an additional microcontroller is superfluous. That saves space, and also money and energy. Developers require redesigns One year after the first prototype, cosinuss° carried out a redesign. They improved the housing, which in turn affected the design of the circuit board. “It was quite tricky to design the earpiece in such a way that it will not wobble, yet sits well in the ear without bothering the wearer,” recalled Johannes Kreuzer. “Each time we changed something on the housing, we had to make corresponding changes to the PCB. Luckily we were always able to call on the support of Nordic and Rutronik - they even came to our premises to offer advice.” The algorithm that calculates the heart rate from the captured data had to be adapted very precisely to the data capture system. The cosinuss° C-SP 01 went into series production recently. The mobile heart rate monitor enables athletes to monitor their
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EP&Dee | December, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu
HEART RATE MONITOR
pulse rate without the discomfort of wearing a chest strap. It is housed inside a stylish case in vibrant colors, which can be worn behind the left or the right ear.
The C-SP 01 is available from the cosinuss° online shop (www.cosinuss.com). A second model - the C-SPM 01 - will be available within 2015. “We intend to include speakers into this model, so that, as they train, athletes
can listen to music - which they can already do anyway through an earpiece inside their ear while also monitoring their heart rate.” It can also emit audible warnings, if, for example, the wearer’s heart rate falls below or exceeds the ideal range for training.
Kreuzer plans a third product which will measure core body temperature as well as the heart rate. “This combination is much more informative and it means that athletes can monitor their fitness much more efficiently”, explained Kreuzer. And as if that were not enough, cosinuss° is already planning further enhancements to make these comfortable sensors suitable for work safety and medical applications. In particular there is a great deal of potential in research into sleep patterns and brain activity, in telemedicine and for hospital use. The device needs some modifications to ensure that the sensor can be easily and safely placed in position by the wearer, as well as by care and medical staff. And it also needs to meet medical requirements such as the ability to resist disinfection procedures as well the corresponding standards. “This is why we started by concentrating on the sports and fitness sector. We received extremely positive feedback”, said a delighted Johannes Kreuzer. “And for our future developments we will be opting once again for the support of Nordic and Rutronik, based on the excellent experiences so far.”
INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS
THERMAL IMAGING
Thermal Imaging Uses and applications Thermal imaging cameras have a wide range of applications from locating heating or water damage in a building to night navigation and even saving lives in a fire, making it easier to locate casualties. These types of applications cannot be solved with normal cameras thus making infrared cameras such devices that they can be used in several domains and they are very cost-effective with new uses appearing all the time. Aurocon COMPEC, as a distributor, offers a wide range of products that will perform with your application. With lots of brands to choose from, you can easily find the one you need. We bring you constantly new information and new ranges, adding more than 5.000 new products every month.
on our website, ro.rsdelivers.com you can choose from various features of your desired products like brands, display resolution, temperature measurement range, interface type and thermal sensitivity, etc.
flir c2 thermal imaging camera, Temperature Measurement Range: -10 → +150 °C • RS Stock No.: 866-8124 • Mfr. Part No.: flir one for android As an example of a very affordable infrared camera we present the new compact Flir C2, a device that can fit into your pocket and has complete functions for construction experts and contractors. C2 is characterized by its unique MSX® from Flir which adds key details form visible light camera to real time infrared image. features and benefits: • IR Sensor: 80 ´ 60 (4,800 measurement pixels) • Field of View: 41° x 31° • 3" Display (Color) 320 x 240 pixels • Auto Orientation • Touch Screen • Object temperature range: -10°C to +150°C (14 to 302°F) • Storage Media: Internal memory stores at least 500 sets of images • Image file format: Standard JPEG, 14-bit measurement data included • Digital Camera: 640 × 480 pixels • Size (L × W × H): 125 × 80 × 24 mm (4.9 × 3.1 × 0.94 in.) • Weight: 0.13 kg www.epd-ee.eu | December, 2015 | EP&Dee
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INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS
THERMAL IMAGING
flir one for ios or android thermal imaging camera, Temperature Measurement Range: -20 → +120°C • RS Stock No.: 883-7043 / 883-7049 • Mfr. Part No.: flir one for android / ios Another interesting thermal imaging camera comes now for your phone, you simply attached it to your iOS or Android device and have a fully functional infrared camera. It’s called the Flir One and it’s an attachment that connects to the bottom of mobile devices via micro-USB connector providing thermal images of minute temperature differences, giving users the power to see in the dark. features and benefits: • Scene temperature range: -4°F to 248°F (-20° to 120°C) • Operating temperature: 32°F to 95°F (0°C to 35°C) • Visible camera: VGA 640 x 480 (used for FLIR® MSX® blending) • Sensitivity: ability to detect temperature differences as small as 0.18° F (0.1° C) • Device compatibility: Android products containing a micro-USB • Color palettes (B/W, W/B, rainbow, contrast, arctic, hot/cold, iron) • MSX blending (adds visible spectrum detail to thermal images and enhances resolution) • Features include FLIR ONE Panorama™, FLIR ONE TimeLapse™, FLIR ONE Paint™, and FLIR ONE CloseUp™ functions • Still image capture • Video capture (.mov format) • °F and °C temperature readout (spot meter) • Easy sharing (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, e-mail, SMS, etc.) • Copy images to camera roll • Battery charge monitor • Automatic thermal shutter • Charging method: micro-USB paired with 1A wall charger (charges FLIR ONE only, not device) • Battery capacity: 350 mA/h • FLIR ONE neither consumes power from the connected device battery, nor charges it • When inactive FLIR automatically switches to low-power mode to maximize its battery life • Weight: 30 gr
flir t420 thermal imaging camera, Temperature Measurement Range: 20 → +650°C • RS Stock No.: 905-5945 • Mfr. Part No.: 62103-1101 flir t420 infrared camera with Wifi The FLIR T420 Infrared Camera provides superior thermal resolution (320 × 240), an ergonomic rotating optical block, and fast auto-focus to help the busiest technicians get the best images easier than ever, even from the toughest angles. features and benefits: • Display: Color LCD Touch screen, 3.5 in. • IR resolution: 320 ´ 240 pixels • Thermal Sensitivity: < 0.045°C • Field of view (FOV): 25° ´ 19° • Image frequency: 60 Hz • Digital Zoom: 4X Continuous • Temperature range: -20°C to +650°C • Interfaces: USB mini, USB-A, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, composite video • Battery operating time: Approx. 4 hours supplied with FLIR T420 Infrared camera, SD Memory Card, 100-260V AC adaptor/charger, two Li-Ion rechargeable batteries, 2-bay battery charger, power supply (with multi-plugs), FLIR Tools software, USB cable, video cable, sun shield, Bluetooth® headset, lens cap, neckstrap, and hard case. 34
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INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS
THERMAL IMAGING
Vt04a ir thermometer, -10 → +250 °c • RS Stock No.: 810-3891 • Mfr. Part No.: fluke Vt04a product details The Fluke VT04A Visual IR Thermometer blends a visual image with a heat map overlay, showing temperature patterns that may indicate an issue. The Fluke VT04A includes all the features of the VT04 but is powered by AA batteries, making it ideal for technicians who want to swap out batteries in the field. features and benefits: • Visual image and infrared heat map blending: Identify the exact location of the potential issue by blending the visual image with the heat map overlay at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% infrared with one button • Center-point temperature and hot and cold markers • Pocket-size design • Keep working longer with features that extend battery life • Three screen brightness levels • High/low temperature alarms • Auto screen dimming after 2 minutes; instantly get back to work by pushing any button • Configurable auto-off time of 5, 10, 15, or 20 minutes • Save in .bmp format: Eliminate the need to export from SmartView® software when all you need is the image • Persistent settings: Previous settings are retained so you can start work as soon as your VT04A turns on • Factory reset option supplied with Soft case, Micro-SD card, Micro-SD conversion adapter to standard, 4xAA batteries
fluke ti110 thermal imaging camera, Temperature Measurement Range: -20 → +250°C • RS Stock No.: 752-8930 • Mfr. Part No.: fluKe-ti110 product details The Fluke Ti125 and Ti110 Thermal Imagers are designed for industrial and commercial inspection and maintenance. The new Ti series represent an evolution in thermal imaging with six new innovations: ir-optiflex™ focus system that combines the flexibility, speed and convenience of fixed focus with the flexibility of selecting manual focus for subjects that are less than 1.2 metres away. ir fusion® provides an IR picture in picture mode, where an IR image window is surrounded by a visible light frame providing a frame of reference with its surroundings. autoblend™ combines visible and infrared images to create a single image to precisely locate problems (Ti125 only). smartview allows viewing images in portrait or landscape. ir-photonotes™ this annotation system allows you to add up to three digital photos to each IR image for easy identification. electronic compass for eight point cardinal compass readings stored against each image www.epd-ee.eu | December, 2015 | EP&Dee
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INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS
THERMAL IMAGING
features and benefits: • Excellent thermal sensitivity (NETD) to see even the smallest temperature differences • 9 Hz capture or refresh rate • 160 × 120 pixel resolution FPA (focal plane array) microbolometer • 2 megapixel industrial grade visible camera • Three user definable spot markers (three on camera and in Smartview™) • Temperature measurement range -20°C to +350°C (Ti125) and -20°C to +250°C (Ti110) • Standard palettes (blue-red, greyscale, inverted greyscale, high-contrast, hot metal, ironbow, amber, inverted amber) • Colour alarms • 60 second voice annotation • 3.5 inch diagonal colour LCD display • Rugged, lightweight, point-and-shoot • Focus-free beyond 1.2 metres (4 feet) and manual focus for closer inspection below 1.2 metres • Built-in laser pointer and torch to assist in highlighting or locating problem areas • Water and dust resistant: IP54 • Weight: 0.726 kg • Size (H×W×D): 284 × 86 × 135 mm
Keysight technologies u5855a thermal imaging camera, Temperature Measurement Range: -20 → +350°C • RS Stock No.: 877-3141 • Mfr. Part No.: u5855a product details The U5855A TrueIR thermal imager allows engineers to safely and efficiently identify potential faults without shutting down the systems or disrupting the productivity of an industrial plant. features and benefits: • Temperature measurement range: -20 to -350°C • Range 1: -20 to +120°C • Range 2: 0 to +350°C • Thermal sensitivity: • Range 1: 0.07 °C (at 30 °C), Range 2: 0.1 °C (at 30 °C) • Detector Resolution: 160 ´ 120 • Fine Resolution: 320 ´ 240 (IR pixels) • Frame rate: 9 Hz • Field of view: (FOV) 28° (H) ´ 21° (V) • Digital zoom Zoom ratio: 4´ continuous • Display: 3.5" TFT • Visible camera: 3.1 MP • Quick access buttons: torch light, laser pointer, scaling and trigger functions • IP rating: IP 54 • Dimensions (W ´ H ´ D): 95 ´ 250 ´ 85 mm • Weight: 0.746 kg (with battery) Key applications: Predictive maintenance in Industrial applications (electrical and mechanical inspection), Commercial or residential building diagnostics, HVAC/R, diagnostic and energy audit, Electronics R & D supplied with Thermal imager, power adapter with power cord, rechargeable Li-Ion battery, SD memory card, Video RCA to RCA interface cable 2m, USB Standard-A to Mini Type-B interface cable 1m, hand strap, rugged hard carrying case, quick start guide, certificate of calibration. 36
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INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS
THERMAL IMAGING
chauvin arnoux c.a 1877 thermal imaging camera, Temperature Measurement Range: -20 → +250°C • RS Stock No.: 785-0720 • Mfr. Part No.: p01651277 product details The thermal imaging camera allows to improve comfort or optimize a building's energy performance. The thermal camera is a powerful tool capable of detecting faults and irregularities related to thermal bridges, thermal insulation. features and benefits: • Compact and lightweight • Thermal sensitivity: 0.08 °C at 30 °C • Dynamic range for measurement: from -20 °C to 250 °C • Detector: 80 × 60 • Field of view: 10° × 8° • Min. focal distance: 10 cm • Memory: Storage of up to 1000 thermal images • Protection: IP54 supplied with Battery charger, battery, 2 GB SD card, SD card reader, DiaCAm Preview software on CD-ROM, operating manuals and measurement reports.
testo 870-1 thermal imaging camera, Temperature Measurement Range: -20 → +280°C • RS Stock No.: 796-1804 • Mfr. Part No.: 0560 8701 product details The Testo 870-1 Thermal imager features simple one handed operation, (160 × 120 pixels) resolution with Super Resolution upgrade option to get 4x standard resolution (320 × 240 pixels). The Testo 870 Thermal Imager was specially developed in cooperation with heating constructors, building contractors, service engineers and facility management specialists. features and benefits: • Infrared resolution: 160 × 120 pixels • Image display: 3.5" LCD with 320 × 240 pixels • Temperature range: -20 to +280 °C • Thermal sensitivity (NETD): <100 mK • Field of view: 34° × 26° • Auto Hot/Cold Spot Recognition • Battery operating time: 4 hours accessories: Super Resolution Technology is supplied as standard to increase the thermal resolution by four times, resulting in a 320x240 pixels resolution and a huge improvement in thermal image quality, detail and accuracy Additional Lithium ion rechargeable battery 796-1814 Battery charging station 796-1823 High-quality transport case 796-1810
Do not hesitate to ask for any additional information by email: compec@compec.ro, phone: 0213 046 233, fax: 0213 046 234 or access ro.rsdelivers.com. We offer you continuous improved services that can help you with your production facilities. An important part of our services refers to delivery. Now the lead time has become lower thus the delivery faster as in you can have now the products you need in 24 hours delivered directly to your door. No order is too small or less important for us! Author: Vlad dumitru aurocon compec SRL www.epd-ee.eu | December, 2015 | EP&Dee
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