EP&Dee no 7

EP&Dee DESIGN & MANUFACTURING

electronics

products

&

design

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eastern

europe

September, 2015 - iSSue no. 7, vol. 13

the east european resource for embedded applications

SEPTEMBER 2015 Table of Contents

DESIGN FEATURES 10 element14’s Sudden Impact challenge comes to a close element14’s Sudden Impact Wearable Design Challenge has finally come to a close, following months of design and innovation. When we first launched this programme in October 2014, we set out to challenge our online community of more than 350,000 design engineers and technology enthusiasts to find out how wearables can provide crucial, real-time insights to prevent serious injuries in contact sports.

12 Controlling deviations in a MISRA compliance environment C and C++ are by some distance the most widely used languages for embedded software development. Recent research by VDC shows C being used by 70% of the embedded systems companies surveyed and C++ by 42%. C has been implemented for virtually every processor. It provides a wide range of resources and libraries, and is supported by a wide range of tools.

14 Micro:bit Unveiled The micro:bit is a pocket-sized computer measuring 4cm by 5cm, and designed to be fun and easy to use. You can code, customize and control to bring your digital ideas, games and apps to life.

16 Wireless design challenges in the fast-growing M2M market The rate of growth of machine-to-machine (M2M) connections now far exceeds new connections between people and very soon there will be many more machines than people connecting over cellular networks.

20 Three-Dimensional Gesturing The Evolution of the User Interface The advent of modern desktop operating systems such as Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s MAC OS created a need for more than just a keyboard and while the mouse was the default device for desktop machines, portable notebook computers relied on something more integrated.

24 Feeling alone in your design? Connect with the Kinetis team 26 Every day is “Prime Day” for hot-selling Kinetis MCUs 28 Opening doors An explanation of how to complete a low-cost design and analysis using a single-phase AC induction motors and an 8bit microcontroller in a garage door application.

32 Minimizing Costs for Wire-to-Board Connections - Reutilizing Tried and Tested Technologies Wire-to-board connections incur high costs when handling large quantities in mass markets. Using the right connection technology, however, such expense can be easily prevented.

39 46c series from Leuze- Because your system needs to run!

39 Robust Sensors for position / inclination / angle measurement 48 IoT - Smart technologies for Smart Industrial Environment

PRODUCT NEWS 19

Embedded Systems (p 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11) (19, 22, 25, 31, 34) Active Components (p 41 - 47)

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Group Publishing Director Gabriel Neagu Managing Director Ionela Ganea Accounting Ioana Paraschiv Advertisement Irina Ganea WEB Eugen Vărzaru © 2015 by Eurostandard Press 2000

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EP&Dee | September, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

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 Web page: www.epd-ee.eu EP&Dee subscriptions: office@epd-ee.eu

EUROSTANDARD PRESS 2000 tel.: +40 31 805 9955 tel: +40 31 805 9887 office@esp2000.ro www.esp2000.ro Vat registration: ro3998003 company number: J03/1371/1993

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 2014 by euro standard press 2000 s.r.l. all rights reserved.

INDUSTRY NEWS Altera Launches Worldwide SoC FPGA Developers Forums Altera Corporation announced the launch of the Altera SoC Developers Forum (ASDF).

These inaugural events in Silicon Valley; Frankfurt, Germany; and Shenzhen, China bring together partners, developers and engineers who are focused on using the finegrained heterogeneous computing technology in ARM-based SoC FPGAs to address next-generation embedded computing applications. The ASDF provides an environment where system architects, hardware engineers, software developers and firmware engineers can collaborate, discuss ideas and challenges, and learn the latest technology and SoC FPGA product news from Altera and its partners.

ASDF includes two technical tracks focused on hardware design and software development. Attendees will receive in-depth technical information through breakout sessions, hands-on workshops and keynotes. The ASDF also includes an exhibit hall with the latest technical demonstrations from industry leaders such as Arrow Electronics, Cytech, EBV, ARM, Lauterbach, MathWorks, Terasic, Wind River, and more.

ASDF is the industry’s first developers forum dedicated to investigating the technology and application of SoC FPGA usage in the Internet of Things (IoT), data center, cloud computing, networking, communications, industrial, automotive and other applications. Fine-grained heterogeneous computing using FPGA fabric allows developers to tailor acceleration to address specific tasks, thus improving system performance and reducing power. Developers and innovators will join Altera and ARM ecosystem experts for this one-day event to exchange ideas on using SoC FPGAs to create customized, differentiated accelerators.

The 2015 ASDF is being held in three locations worldwide: ASDF Silicon Valley takes place September 30, 2015 in Santa Clara, Calif.; ASDF Europe takes place October 14, 2015 in Frankfurt, Germany; and ASDF Asia takes place November 3, 2015 in Shenzhen, China.

ALTERA 4

www.altera.com

EP&Dee | September, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS congatec introduces next generation COM Express compact modules with 6th generation Intel Core processors new performance levels for 15 watt class of fanless embedded systems achieved. congatec AG, a leading technology company for embedded computer modules, single board computers (SBCs) and embedded design and manufacturing (EDM) services, has introduced four new COM Express compact modules parallel to the launch of the new 6th generation Intel Core processors (codename Skylake). The new modules are specially designed for challenging applications that demand high performance in sealed, fanless system designs. They feature a 15 watt configurable TDP and are equipped exclusively with the energy-saving ULV-SoC editions based on new 14nm microarchitecture. Compared to 15 watt modules with fifth generation processors (codename Broadwell), users benefit from improvements in graphics and processing performance, enhanced energy efficiency and more high-speed I/Os. Typical fanless applications for congatec COM Express compact modules can be found in medical and industrial imaging, central control room technology, shop floor terminals, HMIs, robotics, professional gaming, infotainment, professional AV, smart video surveillance, autonomous vehicle control, computeraided situational awareness as well as high-end digital signage applications. Graphics card free, triple-head systems - for example in the areas of retail and kiosks, where embedded systems control up to three independent cash or vending machines - present a further application example.

Users of the new computer modules will benefit from the high level of standardization and scalability of the COM Express modules combined with congatec's extensive documentation, industry-grade driver implementations and extensive customer support, which enable OEMs to integrate the latest processor technology quickly and efficiently into their individual applications. All modules are offered with long-term availability and software support of at least seven years. The software support includes, for example, enhanced security features as well as regular UEFI/BIOS updates and BSP patches. Customers thus benefit from reliable support over the entire lifetime of their applications.

The conga-TC170 modules, with COM Express Type 6 pinout, are equipped with the ULV-SoC editions of the sixth generation Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processors. For the first time, they offer a configurable TDP (Thermal Design Power) of 8.5 to 15 watts, which simplifies matching the application to the system's thermal design. The power supply has also been optimized, which in addition to the new microarchitecture also contributes to the energy efficiency and allows a longer turbo-boost.

Another new feature is the support of up to 32 GB of fast dual channel RAM, which in the DDR4 version provides significantly more bandwidth and is much more energy efficient than the DDR3 version.

The integrated Intel Gen 9 Graphics, which is premiering with this new microarchitecture, supplies up to three independently operated 4k displays with 60 Hz via DisplayPort 1.2. Version 2.0 of HDMI is also supported for the first time as well as version 12 of DirectX for even faster, Windows 10 based 3D graphics. Now not only the decoding but also the encoding of HEVC, VP8, VP9 and VDENC is hardware-supported. Energy-efficient streaming of HD videos in both directions is possible for the first time. Additional enhancements are the number of USB 3.0 ports (now 4) SATA Gen 3 (now 3) PCIe Gen 3 (now 6) as well as AMT (now version 11.0).

CONGATEC AG

www.congatec.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Microchip continues driving 8-bit MCU evolution with an innovative new development Platform

Microchip announces an expansion of the development platform for its growing portfolio of innovative 8-bit PIC® microcontrollers (MCUs) with Core-Independent Peripherals (CIPs). Designers can combine these building blocks to perform application functions autonomously, and they can be interconnected with an increasing amount of integrated intelligent analogue peripherals. Because these functions are deterministically and reliably performed in hardware instead of software, CIPs enable system performance that is far beyond traditional MCUs. They also enable customers to react quickly to changing market conditions with minimal code rewrites and very short validation cycles.

In order to further reduce development time with these next-generation MCUs, Microchip is releasing Version 3.0 of the MPLAB® Code Configurator (MCC), the most recent version of Microchip’s free graphical programming environment, and adding three new development boards. The Curiosity Development Board is an entry-level, cost-effective tool that includes an integrated programmer and debugger in addition to options for easy external connectivity. The Explorer 8 Development Kit is a rapid proof-of-concept tool with extensive integration and support for the widest variety of 8bit PIC MCUs. The PICDEM™ Lab II Development Board is a comprehensive development and experimentation tool, with an analogue and mixed-signal focus. This development platform, when combined with the CoreIndependent Peripherals, can significantly reduce total design time.

All four of these tools are designed to fit within Microchip’s longstanding and free MPLAB® X Integrated Development Environment, and can be easily augmented via Microchip’s rich ecosystem, including development partners such as MikroElektronika and Digilent. This platform enables designers to rapidly and intuitively bridge the evolved 8-bit PIC MCU peripheral architecture with their application software, making it even easier to build functions and applications. Curiosity is a cost-effective, fully integrated 8-bit development platform targeted at first-time users, makers and anyone seeking a feature-rich rapid prototyping board. It supports 8-bit PIC MCUs in 8-, 14- or 20-pin PDIP packages, and the board’s layout and external connections offer full access to each MCU’s Core-Independent Peripherals. External connectors include a mikroBUS™ header that supports more than 100 of MikroElektronika’s Click add-on boards, as well as a PCB footprint that enables users to easily add Microchip’s RN4020 Bluetooth® LE module for communication.

MICROChIP TEChNOLOGy

Win a microchip pic24fJ256da210 development board!

Win a microchip pic24fJ256da210 development board from ep&dee.

The PIC24FJ256DA210 Development Board (DM240312) is a low cost and efficient development board to evaluate the features and performance of the PIC24FJ256DA210 with integrated graphics, mTouch™ and USB. The development board comes with a Graphics Display Truly 3.2 240x320 Board (AC164127-4) in order to complete the 2board setup. It has a Microchip display connector V1, and allows developers to match with any of the listed 3.2, 4.3 TFT display, or the graphics prototype board available by Microchip.

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PIC24FJ256DA210 16-bit microcontroller Capacitive touch pads and switches Microchip display connector V1 USB connectors (embedded host/device/OTG) PICtail™ Plus Modular expansion slot RS-232 serial port and associated hardware Debug connectors supporting MPLAB ICD-3, MPLAB REAL ICE and MPLAB PICkit-3 • Graphics Display Truly 3.2 240 × 320 Board The development board also provides a complete interface to MPLAB ICD-3, MPLAB REAL ICE, and MPLAB PICkit-3 Emulator and Debugger.

For your chance to win a PIC24FJ256DA210 Development Board from Microchip, please visit: www.microchip-comps.com/epdee-pic24da210 and enter your details in the entry form.

www.microchip.com/CIP-090915a www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Silicon Labs Launches Industry’s Smallest Energy-Friendly touch Sensing Microcontroller Silicon Labs introduced the latest member of its EFM8 8-bit MCU portfolio designed for ultra-low-power, small-footprint IoT applications with capacitive touch sensing requirements. The new EFM8SB1 Sleepy Bee MCUs, available in a 1.78 mm × 1.66 mm wafer-level chipscale package (WLCSP), are the industry’s smallest MCUs – onefourth the size of 8-bit MCUs in conventional QFN packages. These tiny MCUs are ideal for touch-based, battery-powered and spaceconstrained IoT and industrial applications requiring long battery lifetimes and energy-efficient human interfaces. Target applications include wearables, remote controls, Bluetooth accessories and eReaders, as well as industrial automation, home automation and office equipment.

The EFM8SB1 Sleepy Bee MCUs are Silicon Labs’ most energy-friendly 8-bit devices offering industry-leading sleep mode power (50 nA with full memory retention and brown-out detection) and an ultrafast 2 µs wake-up time. Core speeds scale up to 25 MHz, and flash sizes range from 2 kB to 8 kB. The MCUs also integrate a best-in-class capacitive sense controller offering an ultra-low-power < 1 µA wakeon-touch capability and 12 robust capacitive touch channels, eliminating the need for on/off switches in many space-sensitive products such as wearables.

In addition to providing advanced on-chip capacitive sensing technology, Silicon Labs supports touch-sense interface design with its best-inclass Capacitive Sense Library available within the Simplicity Studio™ development platform, offering all of the features and algorithms required to add capacitive sensing interfaces to IoT products.

Simplicity Studio provides firmware designers with production-ready firmware, from scanning buttons to filtering noise. By using the Simplicity Studio Capacitive Sense Profiler to visualize real-time data and the noise levels of cap-sense buttons, developers can easily customize touch and no-touch thresholds and noise filtering settings, greatly simplifying the addition of capacitive touch to IoT applications.

The EFM8SB1 MCUs offer a rich mix of analog and digital peripherals including a high-resolution capacitance-to-digital converter (CDC), a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC), high-performance timers, and enhanced SPI, I2C and UART serial ports. These and other analog/mixed-signal peripherals are all easily configurable and accessible to developers through Silicon Labs’ patented crossbar technology.

SILICON LABS 6

EP&Dee | September, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

www.silabs.com/EFM8

Dialog Semiconductor’s Rapid Charge™ Technology Adopted in LeTV’s Market-First USB Type-C Smartphone Charging Adapter Dialog Semiconductor plc, a provider of highly integrated power management, AC/DC power conversion, solid state lighting (SSL) and Bluetooth® Smart technology, announced that Le Mobile & Information Technology (Beijing) Co’s recently launched smartphones, the Le Max and Le 1 Pro, ship with power adapters that contain Dialog’s iW1780 (http://iwatt.com/product/iw1780/) +iW626 (http://iwatt.com/product/iw626/) Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 adapter chipset.

Founded in 2015, Le Mobile & Information Technology (Beijing) Co is a subsidiary under LeTV Holdings. Le Mobile has introduced the world’s first ecosystem mobile phone brand – Le Superphone, including three flagship products: Le 1 Pro, Le Max, and Le 1. The Le Max is a high end device with a 6.33-inch Quad HD display, Snapdragon 810 chip (2GHz, octa-core, 64-bit), 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, up to 128GB of internal storage, and a 21-megapixel f/2.0 camera with optical stabilisation and true-tone flash.

The Le Max also boasts an ESS Hi-Fi chip, a one-touch fingerprint reader, infrared remote, a 3,500 mAh battery, dual LTE SIM support and Wireless HD display link. The Le 1 Pro is smaller and has a reduced feature set compared to the Le Max. With LeTV’s recent entry into the smartphone sector, Dialog’s adapter solution enables the Le Max and Le 1 Plus to charge exceptionally fast for a top user experience, which is especially important for streaming video and other battery-intensive applications. Dialog’s SmartDefender™ technology helps to facilitate safer, more reliable rapid charging adapters, extending Le Mobile’s array of ground-breaking phone features.

The iW626 Rapid Charge interface IC resides on the secondary side of the AC/DC charger power supply and works with Dialog’s iW1780 PrimAccurate™ primary-side digital pulse width modulation (PWM) controller. The iW1780 uses a unique secondary-to-primary digital communicaton link signal to receive all Rapid Charge commands from the iW626 through a single optocoupler.

DIALOG SEMICONDUCTOR www.dialog-semiconductor.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Mobile computing designers can easily reuse IP across multiple x86 platforms with new Microchip family of highly configurable low-power embedded controllers

Win a microchip mplab® starter Kit for pic24f from ep&dee!

The MPLAB® Starter Kit for PIC24F (DM240015) Intelligent Integrated Analog is a comprehensive development kit featuring the PIC24F “GC” family of 16-bit microcontrollers.

This family features advanced integrated analog which reduces BOM cost, lowers noise, and has faster throughput.

The board demonstrates these features of the PIC24 FJ128GC010 Microcontroller: direct LCD drive, 16-bit Sigma-Delta ADC, 12-bit Pipeline ADC, 10-bit DAC, OpAmps, CTMU, DMA, USB, and XLP low power consumption.

Microchip announces the MEC14XX family of highly configurable lowpower embedded controllers customised to the needs of x86-based notebook and tablet platform designers. The scalable family of MEC14XX devices is one of the first to support both the Intel® Corporation’s new Enhanced Serial Peripheral Interface (eSPI) and the existing Low Pin Count interface (LPC). To ease the mobile computing industry’s transition to the new interface and lower-voltage designs, Microchip’s MEC14XX family also provides a flexible arrangement that allows multiple I/O signals to be configured to support either 3.3V or 1.8V, reducing the system bill-of-materials cost by eliminating the need for external voltage translators.

These features of the MEC14XX family also allow for a seamless migration of intellectual property (IP) reuse across multiple x86 computing platform architectures, such as Intel Atom™, Intel iCore™ and AMD-based systems. This is also Microchip’s first embedded controller family targeted for general x86 computing that includes Microchip’s award-winning MPLAB® development tool support.

The MEC14XX devices are offered with a choice of 128KB, 160KB or 192KB of closely-coupled SRAM for code and data that loads from SPIflash. Designers can leverage the host SPI-flash (used for BIOS storage) for non-volatile EC firmware storage, as a cost-effective system solution. The added choice of either the MEC140X LPC interface devices or the MEC1418, which supports both the LPC and eSPI interfaces, allows the designer to select the most cost-effective device for a particular platform and provides manufacturers the ability to preserve their investments as the industry transitions. All members of the Microchip MEC14XX family are pin and register compatible.

Each member of the MEC14XX family is based on Microchip’s 32-bit PIC® MCU architecture and is supported by Microchip’s development tools.

Examples include the MPLAB® XC Compilers, the MPLAB REAL ICE™ InCircuit Emulator (DV244005) priced at $499.98; the MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger (DV164035) priced at $199.95; and the PICkit™ 3 Starter Kit (DV164130) priced at $64.95. The MEC1404 (128KB SRAM) and MEC1408 (192KB SRAM) embedded controllers supporting the Intel LPC interface are available today for sampling and volume production. The MEC1418 (192 KB SRAM) embedded controller, supporting both the Intel LPC and eSPI interfaces, is available today for sampling and volume production. All MEC14XX devices are currently offered in a 128-VTQFP package.

MICROChIP TEChNOLOGy

The demonstration code includes: LCD display including scrolling text with icons, Sine wave audio output, Light Sensor, Temperature Sensor, Resistive Sensor, Watch Crystal based Time display, mTouch ™ User Input Control with Visual Feedback, Bar Graph display of sensor and microphone input, and data logging of 16-bit ADC data to USB drive. The board also features an analog connector designed to insert into a breadboard for easy access to analog peripherals, and an expansion area for adding RF connectivity. The board features an analog header, allowing clean analog signals to be accessed, preserving signal integrity. To complement the header, the board also features on-board sensors such as light sensor, potentiometer, microphone, temperature, and capacitive touch.

Additional features include USB Host and Device support, RF expandability, audio output via headphone jack, and on-board debugger/programmer.

• 16-bit Sigma-Delta Analog to Digital Converter • 12-bit Pipeline 10 Msps Analog to Digital Converter • 10-bit 1 Msps Digital to Analog Converter (2) • Operational Amplifiers (2) • Comparators (3) • Voltage References (3) • Charge-Time Measurement Unit (CTMU) For the chance to win a MPLAB® Starter Kit for PIC24F Demo Board, log onto: www.microchip-comps.com/epdee-mplab-pic24f and enter your details in the entry form.

www.microchip.com/MEC14XX-060115a www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Freescale Accelerates Its Solutions for Crashless and Autonomous Vehicles with the Acquisition of CogniVue purchase of leading image cognition processing ip provider drives innovation in the growing automotive vision space To solidify its strong position in solutions for the autonomous vehicles/advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) market, Freescale Semiconductor announced the acquisition of Ottawa, Canada-based CogniVue Corporation, a leading developer of image cognition IP for automotive and consumer applications.

Freescale has established a market-leading position through developments in sensor, microcontroller and microprocessor solutions for automotive radar and vision applications. The company has shipped more than 20 million units into ADAS applications to date, and has designs in 9 of the world’s top 10 automotive OEMs. Additionally, Freescale has secured a design win pipeline enabling growth well above industry estimates for the worldwide ADAS market for the next several years.

To further fuel this growth, speed time to market and deliver even more automotive innovation for the world’s top carmakers and their suppliers, Freescale is bringing CogniVue’s advanced vision IP development capabilities and world-class R&D resources in-house.

“The acquisition of CogniVue accelerates our autonomous vehicles portfolio with leadingedge vision processing IP,” said bob conrad, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Freescale’s Automotive MCU group.

“With the exceptional market response to our S32V234 vision processor, as well as demand for our next generation vision solutions, this acquisition places Freescale in a position to supply highly automated car applications with the requisite performance, safety, security and reliability those systems require.”

CogniVue vision processing IP is already available in multiple Freescale products, including the S32V processor announced in March 2015, as well as other offerings.

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Microsemi Introduces its First Industrial-rated Power-over-Ethernet Midspans Microsemi Corporation announced the availability of its PD-9001GI and PD-9501GI Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) midspan injectors, expanding the company’s industry-leading PoE product offering into new industrial and outdoor applications. The PD-9001GI and PD-9501GI industrial PoE midspans are targeted at applications including physical security, WLAN infrastructure, cellular infrastructure and industrial automation.

According to market research firm Technavio, the number of industrial Ethernet nodes deployed worldwide is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.52 percent over the 2014-2019 period. As Microsemi continues to expand its growing industrial-level PoE product portfolio, it will continue to develop unique solutions catered to demanding applications in this market.

Target applications for Microsemi’s new devices include industrial and outdoor Internet protocol (IP) cameras, Wi-Fi access points (APs), cellular small cells, wireless backhaul, access control devices including human machine interface (HMI), motors and industrial sensors. The rise in IP cameras in the industrial manufacturing process to maximize video transmission bandwidth while minimizing the deployment costs and amount of wiring required has contributed to the growth of PoE and gigabit Ethernet in factory automation. The PD-9001GI and PD9501GI conform to IEEE 802.3-2012 Clause 33 “Power over Ethernet,” enabling reliable operation and easy plug-and-play with intelligent management of devices. These PoE midspans can be used to easily deploy industrial or outdoor devices over Ethernet while ensuring a low cost of deployment. Both systems have achieved certification for use in industrial and outdoor applications, ensuring safe, reliable performance with maximum protection. In outdoor deployments the PD-9501GI and PD-9001GI are deployed inside enclosures, complementing non-PoE switches.

About Microsemi’s PD-9001GI and PD-9501GI The PD-9001GI and PD-9501GI are both single-port, high power solutions designed for industrial and outdoor applications demanding extended temperature ranges, and are ideal for remote powering of current and emerging high power applications. With the PD-9001GI sourcing up to 30 watts (W) and the PD-9501GI sourcing up to 60 W, both systems enable remote power for applications including 802.11 APs, pan-tilt zoom (PTZ) cameras and other AP terminals. They comply with IEEE802.3-2012 Clause 33 Type 2 (a.k.a. IEEE 802.3at) and can power Type 1 (a.k.a. IEEE 802.3af) devices. In addition, the PoE midspan injectors feature dual direct current (DC) inputs, support 10/100/1000 Mbps and offer an easy plug-and-play installation.

Additional features of Microsemi’s two new industrial PoE midspans include: − − − − − − − − −

-40° to 75°Celsius operating temperature range IP30 slim type metal case DIN RAIL and wall mount option (included) LED indication: two input power, PoE, fault Input power: 20-60VDC, terminal block Data input/PoE output of RJ45 Supports reverse polarity input Alarm for input power indication Specific electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)/shock/vibration/safety (UL508)

FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR www.freescale.com MICROSEMI 8

EP&Dee | September, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

www.microsemi.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Intersil Delivers First Encapsulated 80A Digital Power Module Intersil Corporation announced the industry’s first 80A fully encapsulated digital DC/DC PMBus power module that provides point-of-load (POL) conversions for advanced FPGAs, DSPs, ASICs, processors and memory. The ISL8273M is a complete step-down regulated power supply that delivers up to 80A output current and operates from industry standard 5V or 12V input power rails. Multi-phase current sharing of up to four ISL8273M power modules enables power supply designers to create a 320A solution with output voltages as low as 0.6V. Housed in a compact 18mm x 23mm module, the ISL8273M delivers the industry’s highest power density and performance for increasingly space-constrained data center equipment and wireless communications infrastructure systems.

The ISL8273M digital power module leverages a patented ChargeMode™ control architecture that delivers best-in-class efficiencies, with up to 94% peak efficiency and better than 90% efficiency on most conversions. It also provides a single clock cycle fast transient response to output current load steps common in FPGAs and DSPs processing power bursts. The ISL8273M’s compensation-free design keeps the device stable regardless of output capacitor changes due to temperature, variation or aging while eliminating the need for an external discrete compensation network.

The 80A ISL8273M further distances itself from competitive digital power modules by delivering 2x higher output current. Its proprietary High Density Array (HDA) package offers unmatched electrical and thermal performance through a single-layer conductive package substrate that reduces lead inductance and dissipates heat primarily through the system board. The ISL8273M is built on Intersil’s proven, fourth generation digital controller technology and is pin-for-pin compatible with the 50A ISL8272M. It expands Intersil’s existing 6A - 50A digital power module family, giving customers an easy migration path to higher current rails.

These fully encapsulated power modules are compatible with all industry pick and place equipment for full manufacturing automation.

PowerNavigator GUI Simplifies Digital Power Designs Intersil's PowerNavigator GUI software simplifies the ISL8273M’s configuration, validation and monitoring of all device parameters and telemetry. The tool makes it easy to change features and functions of a digital power supply design without writing a single line of code.

To download the PowerNavigator GUI and watch a tutorial video, please visit: www.intersil.com/powernavigator INTERSIL

www.intersil.com/products/isl8273m

New Video: how Surround View Systems Create a Complete Landscape View for Automotive Applications Maxim Integrated's quad deserializer integrates four surround view camera streams to reduce components, design time, and cost.

Imagine trying to navigate in a world drawn by Picasso.

A new video from Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. explains how surround view systems take inputs from multiple fisheye cameras to give a complete landscape view around an automobile.

The video, “surround View: from fisheye to birdseye,” illustrates how the MAX9286 eliminates components, shortens design time, and lowers cost for automotive applications. Now, designers can easily synchronize camera inputs for an accurate birdesye view of the world’s surroundings. Just one MAX9286 gigabit multimedia serial link (GMSL) deserializer receives and automatically synchronizes video from up to four cameras.

• automotive Video: http://bit.ly/Maxim_Video_Automotive • maxim’s safety solutions: http://bit.ly/Maxim_Safety_Automotive • maX9286 details: http://bit.ly/MAX9286_Automotive • maX9286 image: http://bit.ly/MAX9286_Image_Automotive MAXIM INTEGRATED

www.maximintegrated.com

www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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DESIGN

‘SUDDEN IMPACT’

element14’s sudden impact challenge comes to a close

By: Dianne Kibbey, Global Head of Community, element14

element14’s sudden impact Wearable design challenge has finally come to a close, following months of design and innovation. When we first launched this programme in October 2014, we set out to challenge our online community of more than 350,000 design engineers and technology enthusiasts to find out how wearables can provide crucial, real-time insights to prevent serious injuries in contact sports.

The wearable health market is presently at a crucial stage, with more than 250,000 health-related devices shipping over the next five years alone, according to one report from IHS. In recent years, revelations about the longterm effects of concussion-related injuries have caused many observers to question whether heavy-contact sports such as American football will survive, as NFL in 10

EP&Dee | September, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

particular has come under fire for concealing the severity of such issues for far too long.

Therefore, with support from analog devices, tektronix and electrolube, element14 equipped 12 finalists with the technology needed to create solutions that could potentially be used on athletic fields across the world.

Each completed design was thoroughly tested by the School of Computing,

Creative Technology and Engineering at Leeds Beckett University.

They considered each design’s effectiveness, durability, replicability and – most importantly – the ability to provide coaches, athletes and medical professionals with critical diagnostic information before it’s too late.

After much consideration, element14 and Leeds Beckett chose US-based cosmin iorga as the winner.

DESIGN

Cosmin’s ‘wearable impact and health monitor’ features a helmet unit that measures impacts upon a player’s head, body temperature, tilt, and global positioning, for use in a variety of sports. Miniaturised brainwave measurement technology and an electrocardiogram chest module wirelessly send alerts about the player’s brain and heart activity to an Android smartphone app, which can be used by coaches on the sidelines to remotely monitor the wellbeing of athletes.

Over the course of this challenge, we looked at how Cosmin and the other participants tackled design challenges including: measuring vital statistics, conforming to medical guidelines, managing power and wirelessly relaying data in real time.

INDUSTRY NEWS Microchip’s new MOST150 coaxial transceiver enables powerful, robust and cost-efficient automotive infotainment networks based on coaxial cables Microchip announces the industry’s first MOST150 coaxial transceiver. Extending the usage of coaxial cabling to powerful automotive infotainment networks based on the latest MOST150 standard, the newly introduced OS82150 integrates a coaxial cable driver and coaxial cable receiver into a small-footprint, 4×4 mm QFN package.

The OS82150 coaxial transceiver broadens Microchip’s portfolio of MOST150 network solutions and offers customers a new option to implement efficient infotainment networks. It also enables easy migration from optical to coaxial cabling while protecting the customer’s existing investment in MOST150 technology.

ravi butani of India took home runner-up honours for his real-time player monitoring system. Other notable entries that were tested and praised by the Leeds team for their advanced techniques included: • Real-time coach and athlete monitoring system from US-based Austin Horning • Sudden impact helmet and uniform sensor system by dragan Knezevic in Serbia • Helmet-mounted ski monitor from hendrik lipka in Germany • Helmet-mounted trauma monitor and heart reactor by douglas Wong from Canada We’re proud to have taken the lead on an initiative that athletes and consumers alike want to see addressed. However, for all of the progress these individuals made there is still work to be done. Of the 3,500 adults surveyed worldwide in our “engineering a connected World” study, 68 percent believe that healthcare technology should remain technology development’s top priority.

We believe the electronics industry can play a critical role in empowering engineers to accelerate the pace at which they help develop technology that the population at large values.

For more information on the 12 challengers and the inventive solutions they built to improve sports safety, visit www.element14.com/suddenimpact. ￭

This simple solution reflects today’s market demands for powerful automotive infotainment systems that include a navigation unit, antenna module, amplifier, tuner, Blu-ray™ player, rear-seat entertainment, instrument cluster, head-unit display, camera and more. MOST networking technology provides the means to distribute these multimedia entertainment functions among the various control devices inside the car. With an integrated coaxial-cable receiver featuring an equalizing function, the OS82150 coaxial transceiver assures robust and reliable network connectivity by providing automatic adaptation to various cable types and continuous compensation for initial and long-term cable-loss effects.

Designed for automotive-grade electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), the device also integrates functions to minimise electromagnetic emissions and handle automotive electromagnetic interference (EMI) levels, facilitating smooth installations of MOST150 networks into vehicles.

By seamlessly interfacing with MOST150 Intelligent Network Interface Controllers (INICs), such as Microchip’s OS81110 and OS81118BF, the OS82150 can be easily integrated into existing designs. Additionally, the signal and timing specifications of the OS82150 are compliant with the MOST Physical Layer Specification, ensuring interoperability.

Additional features of the OS82150 coaxial transceiver include a low-power sleep mode with activity detection for wake-on-signal functionality to reduce power consumption and facilitate the power management of electronic control units (ECUs) in the vehicle. Support for dual-simplex transmission allows for a ring topology that enables expandability and scalability of the network. A single, 3.3 volt power supply further eases design-in, as only a single voltage level is needed.

MICROChIP TEChNOLOGy

www.microchip.com/OS82150-090115a www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

11

DESIGN

SOFTWARE

controlling deviations in a misra compliance environment C and C++ are by some distance the most widely used languages for embedded software development. Recent research by VDC shows C being used by 70% of the embedded systems companies surveyed and C++ by 42%. C has been implemented for virtually every processor. It provides a wide range of resources and libraries, and is supported by a wide range of tools.

The C language, in particular, allows the developer to do many things which are essentially incorrect. It is all too easy to write code which conforms to the language standard but which will result in either program failure (i.e. a crash) or undefined behaviour. Common examples are code which results in accessing memory outside the bounds of an array or an arithmetic operation which results in integer overflow.

Author: Fergus Bolger, cto programming research ltd

The Philosophy of Coding Standards The industry-accepted way to tackle these hazards is to adopt a Coding Standard. In their simplest form, coding standards define a set of consistent coding practices.

Although uniformity of style can be valuable within a software project, they do not address the important attributes of software quality such as reliability, portability or maintainability. The more fundamental role of coding standards is to define a safer subset of the programming language by framing a set of rules which eliminate coding constructs known to be hazardous.

The MISRA coding guidelines, embodying this principle of safe sub-setting, are now accepted world-wide as the benchmarks for developing safety-critical software in C and C++. They have been widely accepted because they are concise and readable and because they focus on essential issues. A very recent poll (Ganssle, 2014) of 500 respondents revealed some interesting data on coding standard adoption rates. The main finding suggested that about 60% of all coding standards in use are MISRA-based.

The strictness of adoption was another interesting finding, with MISRA-based coding rule sets achieving 75% consistent use within the development team, whereas other rule sets achieved less than 50%.

The Principle of Deviation MISRA coding standards contain widely respected guidelines for developing in C and C++ languages. These guidelines focus 12

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on issues which are important when developing critical software systems. MISRA also recognizes that, in some situations, it is unreasonable or even impossible to comply with a coding guideline and that it is necessary to deviate from certain rules. A deviation states the reason for not complying with a particular coding rule in a certain circumstance. It also provide a rationale and description of the extent to which the particular rule is being relaxed, and supplies a properly constructed safety case that includes mitigation against the effects of not complying.

However, in the absence of a carefully stated scope for the non-compliance, a basic deviation facility could be misunderstood or abused and ultimately undermine the efficacy of the guidelines.

Constraining the Use of Deviations In the same way that coding standards themselves need objective creation and wellunderstood rationales, the reasons given for deviating from coding rules similarly need a common expression and agreed interpretation and a precise scope for their application. The automotive industry, the original and still leading application domain for MISRA, has faced up to this requirement.

Both MISRA itself and one national body, the Japanese Automotive Manufacturers Association ( JAMA), have each begun the process of setting out the conditions under which to permit specific deviations from full MISRA compliance.

The thrust of this work is to define a set of rule deviations that are tightly constrained in scope. An important first stage is to categorize the broad reasons for deviation from rule non-compliance.

Categorizing Deviation Reasons By breaking deviations down into the following categories, the practical difficulties with compliance are made more apparent.

Additionally, this categorisation guards against inappropriate deviation and weakening of the coding standard intent. a) performance: It may seem strange and non-intuitive to suggest performance as a reason for not following good coding practice, but the following real-life situation demonstrates the need: As part of the vehicleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engine control system, a timing variable needs to be accumulated at regular intervals. The code, correctly formulated to meet MISRA-C:2012 Rule 10.6 (value not to be assigned to a wider type), reads: extern uint16_t qty, time_step; uint32_t prod = ( uint32_t ) qty * ( uint32_t ) time_step; The casts ensure that the 16-bit operands will not overflow in the 32-bit multiplication for this compiler. However, the compiler performs this operation using â&#x20AC;&#x153;shift and addâ&#x20AC;? mode of long multiplication rather than the IMUL (signed multiplication) mode it is equipped with. The compiler vendor has clarified that IMUL mode only occurs on implicit conversion, requiring the expression to read: uint32_t prod = qty * time_step; // deviate from Rule 10.6

DESIGN

By permitting implicit conversion in this case, the single clock cycle IMUL operation is guaranteed, rather than the ~100 clock cycle worst case execution of the former, thus justifying a controlled deviation on the basis of performance.

b) external (third-party) code: This category includes common libraries, auto-generated code, and legacy internal code modules or even just a complex function encompassing a key application algorithm. Maintainers of public-domain libraries, given their broad application domain, rarely have the motivation to comply with MISRA or other coding standards. Auto-generated code, unless it meets a functional safety standard like ISO 26262, will likely contain inherent MISRA violations. Legacy code may pre-date the project’s adoption of MISRA. The impact analysis of possible refactoring to meet MISRA rules may itself raise a concern. The safety case in all these situations is based on “qualified through use” reliance in combination with specific other quality measures. c) build configurations: A particular feature of automotive supplier applications is to provide many variants of a single codebase according to customer need. Rather than build-level control of this delivery, configuration mechanisms are deployed to control feature delivery for each variant. As a result, MISRA compliance can suffer in terms of redundant code, invariance in expressions, and related global issues. d) access to hardware: In order to access registers, address absolute memory and control interrupts, embedded developers need access to compiler-specific extensions to the C language, resulting in MISRA noncompliance. The safety case will typically require careful unit test coverage. e) defensive coding: Given the absence of robust exception-handling in C, defensive coding practices may involve, for example, programmatic guards against unforeseen behaviour. A fully capable analysis tool will correctly detect invariant conditions and unreachable code as a result. The safety case must involve forced unit test execution of these paths or conditions. f) language features: There are valid code quality reasons to use ‘recent’ language constructs, for example Boolean or ‘long long’ types or inline functions. However, these can require deviation from older versions of MISRA. The safety issue is that even 15-year old C99 constructs are not guaranteed to be supported by all compilers.

Structure of Controlled Deviation Categorisation of the different rationales is a first step in creating a properly constrained

SOFTWARE

deviation structure. This leads naturally into an elaboration of all specific known deviation cases, by rule and by category. MISRA and JAMA are both documenting, with industry participation, documenting a set of rule

When choosing the specific code location where a reported diagnostic is to be suppressed, developers must be constrained to only suppress using the permitted range of controlled deviations.

Figure 1: tool enforcement of controlled deviation scope restrictions, each with detailed justification and safety case. Even outside of an automotive context, these initiatives are important. The MISRA coding standard was originally designed for the automotive sector, but from its early years it found willing adoption in many other embedded environments, from consumer products to medical devices, industrial control to EDA. Equally, the establishment of a controlled deviation structure is important in any industry or organisation adopting coding standards.

Automated Tool Support A coding standard without an automated means of enforcement and a rich audit and reporting capability will soon become a bookcase adornment, rarely referenced or followed. The starting point for a competent automated static analysis tool must be accuracy in its diagnostic output, clarity of comprehension and explanation on each issue raised, and detailed reporting against every version of the software project.

But even an environment of automated tool enforcement needs awareness and application of an approved deviation policy, especially since this removes one impediment to full compliance. Both the coding rules and the deviation policy must be convenient for developers, trusted by leads and managers, and facilitate detailed QA reporting.

A basic deviation system will couple each instance of rule suppression to its supporting deviation, and preserve this coupling through the lifetime of the relevant source code. The requirements are more complex when dealing with controlled deviations.

Any suppression of the relevant coding rules must obey the tighter restrictions in force, and no suppression may take place outside of that controlled set of deviations.

Summary The MISRA C coding standards are synonymous with safe and defensive use of C in many embedded environments and beyond.

Being both comprehensive and wide-ranging in the restricted use of the C language, a system of controlled deviation is now recognized as a necessity, as exemplified by various industry and community efforts to specify such curtailment. In this article, we have explored the categories of deviation, and seen how legitimate specific reasons for deviation are now being crafted for industrial use.

Sophisticated and automated tooling support for the controlled deviation initiative along with reporting and other elements of a compliance solution are available today. bibliography Ganssle, J. (2014, August 4).

Retrieved from The Ganssle Group: www.ganssle.com/tem/tem266.html about the author Fergus Bolger is CTO of Programming Research Ltd. He received his B.E. and Masters of Engineering from University College Dublin. He can be reached at fergus_bolger@programmingresearch.com PRQA’s relationship with MISRA stretches back some 20 years. Major elements of both the MISRA-C and MISRA-C++ guidelines have been derived from our own coding standards and our technical experts remain as key members of the MISRA-C and MISRA-C++ working groups. PRQA static analysis tools, QA·C and QA·C++, are at the forefront in delivering MISRA-C and MISRA-C++ compliance checking as well as a host of other valuable analysis capabilities. For more information go to:

programming research ltd www.programmingresearch.com

www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

13

DESIGN

MCUs

micro:bit unveiled Announced in March this year, the BBC’s micro:bit has been unveiled today. All the people excited by this fantastic initiative can now discover the final device and this extensive set of features on the BBC Make it Digital website. The micro:bit is a pocket-sized computer measuring 4cm by 5cm, and designed to be fun and easy to use. You can code, customize and control to bring your digital ideas, games and apps to life. It allows children and young people to develop an intuitive understanding of programming concepts and controlling hardware in technology and computing.

By Freescale Staff The micro:bit is one of the most ambitious STEM programs in recent years. It will be given freely to every child in year 7 or equivalent across the UK. The scale and scope of this unique initiative has only been made possible by an unprecedented collaboration between 28 international organizations, pioneering start-ups and transformative education organizations. The micro:bit’s products partners, amongst which Freescale, ARM, Microsoft, Samsung, Farnell have led on the software, hardware, design, manufacture and distribution of the device.

Specifically, Freescale has provided a Kinetis MCU and 2 motion sensors – a 3-axis accelerometer, and a 3-axis magnetometer.

They allow the micro:bit to perform the following tasks: • freescale’s Kinetis mcu is controlling the Micro-USB connector. This presents the micro:bit to a computer as a memory stick. This means the program can be dragged onto the micro:bit in the same way a file is dragged onto a memory stick.

• freescale’s 3-axis digital accelerometer can detect movement and tell other devices you’re on the go. It measures on 3 axes X, Y, and Z and sends back the data in milli-gs. The micro:bit can react to this data and tell other devices it is moving.

The device will also detect a small number of standard actions e.g. shake, 14

EP&Dee | September, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

tilt and freefall. Turn the micro:bit into a spirit level. Use it for motion-activated games. Have your micro:bit light up when something is moved.

• freescale’s 3-axis magnetometer, built-in compass, can sense which direction you’re facing and your movement in degrees. This data can be used by the micro:bit in a program or be sent to another device. The magnetometer could also detect the presence of certain metals and magnets.

These leading edge products embarked in the micro:bit are used in some of the most

advanced devices available today on the market. They ensure the boards, while developed for children, are absolutely state of the art, and will provide the perfect foundation on which future innovators can start building their skills.

Detailed specifications of the products Freescale donated for the micro:bit: Kinetis KL26Z – 48 MHz, USB, Connectivity, Ultra-Low-Power MCU The Kinetis KL26 MCU is part of the ultralow-power Kinetis KL2x MCU family based on the ARM® Cortex-M0+ core that includes a full-speed USB 2.0 On-the-Go (OTG) controller.

DESIGN

target applications • Battery-operated applications • Consumer applications • Low-power applications • USB peripherals • Smart monitor applications

MCUs

target applications • Smartphones • Tablets • Remote Controls • Smart monitor applications

accelerometer so that orientationindependent accurate compass heading information may be achieved • Features a standard I²C serial interface and is capable of measuring local magnetic

features: • Core processor: ARM® Cortex®-M0+ • Core size: 32-Bit • Speed: 48MHz • Connectivity: I²C, LIN, SPI, UART/ USART, USB, USB OTG • Peripherals: Brown-out detect/reset, DMA, I²S, LVD, POR, PWM, WDT • Number of I/O: 23 • Program memory size: 128KB (128K x 8) • Program memory type: Flash • RAM size: 16K x 8 • Voltage – Supply (Vcc/Vdd) 71 V ~ 3.6 V MMA8653FC: ±2g/±4g/±8g, Low g, 10-Bit Digital Accelerometer MAG3110: Freescale High Accuracy, 3-Axis Magnetometer The Freescale MAG3110 is a small, lowpower digital 3-axis magnetic sensor with a wide dynamic range to allow operation in PCBs with high extraneous magnetic fields.

The MAG3110:

fields up to 10 Gauss with output data rates up to 80 Hz target applications • Consumer Gaming Headsets • Gaming Equipment • Mobile Phones

The Freescale MMA8653FC 10-bit accelerometer has industry leading performance in a small DFN package. Packed with embedded functions that include: • Flexible user-programmable options and two configurable interrupt pins • Overall power savings through inertial wake-up interrupt signals that monitor events and remain in a low-power mode during periods of inactivity features • Low-profile 2 × 2 × 1.0 mm DFN package • High sensitivity: 1 mg per LSB • Low noise: 150 micro g per root Hertz (independent of resolution) • Low-power mode: 7 micro amps • Interrupt and IIC interface supply: 1.62 to 3.6 V • Supply voltage: 1.95 to 3.6 V • Output data rate: 1.5 to 800 Hz

• Remote Controls • Augmented Reality • Smart monitor applications

• Measures the components of the local magnetic field, the sum of the geomagnetic field and the magnetic field created by components on the circuit board • Can be used in conjunction with a 3-axis

freescale semiconductor www.freescale.com

www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

15

DESIGN

M2M

Wireless design challenges in the fast-growing m2m market

By Stefano Moioli Director Product Management Cellular, u-blox aG Thomas Nigg Senior Director Product Strategy Positioning, u-blox aG

Thomas Nigg has served 15 years at u-blox, 6 years as Manager of Technical Support, and 9 years as Senior Direct Product Strategy. During this time, he has built up considerable knowledge and led a team of specialists in the areas of embedded satellite positioning receivers and cellular modems used for automotive, industrial and consumer applications.

The rate of growth of machine-to-machine (M2M) connections now far exceeds new connections between people and very soon there will be many more machines than people connecting over cellular networks, as shown in the GSM Association forecast illustrated in Figure 1. These machines include security systems, meters, robots, vending stations, asset trackers and emergency call systems. The variety is growing by the day, as are

the silent conversations between millions of machines exchanging data 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no human intervention.

At the same time, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s becoming cheaper and easier to connect to the Internet and even mass produced computing devices are able to gather and process ever-larger volumes of data.

The one potential bottleneck to greater M2M connectivity, the fact that all 4 billion+

Figure 1: the growth of m2m communications (source: Gsm association).

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IP version 4 addresses are already allocated, has been removed with the introduction of IP version 6.

This supports 2 to the power of 128 addresses, more than enough for every grain of sand on Earth to have its very own address. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perhaps no surprise then that LTE, the fourth generation of mobile networks (4G), is designed to deliver services such as data, voice, and video over IP version 6.

DESIGN

To join the M2M networking revolution, all that’s needed is to embed machines with small, economical (wireless) modems. Where location, speed or navigation information needs to be established, the machines also need a Gps (Global Positioning System) or Gnss (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver. Both components, with an antenna, can fit easily in a device much smaller than a mobile phone. (GNSS is the standard generic term for satellite navigation systems that provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning with global coverage. It includes GPS(United States), GLONASS(Russia) , Galileo(Europe), Beidou(China) and other regional systems.

When thinking about how to equip a machine with communications capability, you need to start by thinking about the needs of the application. Factors such as product longevity, geographical network coverage or future-proofing to take account of future wireless network upgrades, 2G to 3G to 4G etc., are all important considerations.

Here are some of the product features you need to consider when selecting wireless modems: 1 battery life is critical The time between battery charging or replacement is critical to the success of some products. A container-mounted tracking device, for example, may be required to run for several days if it’s being shipped by air or road, and up to several weeks if shipped by sea. Battery life must be adequate to support these timescales.

Mobile phones are typically expected to run for 2 or 3 days on a single charge. As a result, consumer expectations for the operating life of health and fitness devices will be similar.

When comparing modem and GNSS receiver specifications in these applications, both the operating and standby current consumption are important, so are power-saving functions.

The latter may include auto-wakeup features and intelligent power-saving modes such as the ability to log data autonomously without waking the host processor. Ideally, components should only wake up when needed.

M2M

required to work in all regions of the world and should include either a quad-band or dual-band GSM modem (depending on the location), or 6-band UMTS modem.

3 certified modems accelerate product approvals Any cellular network device, whether for GSM, UMTS or LTE, needs regulatory, industry and operator certification. It significantly simplifies and speeds up the certification process if the modem embedded in the device is certified.

4 What you need today may be different tomorrow While GSM/GPRS networks are perfectly capably of handling the small volumes of data transmitted in remote metering applications, GSM bands are already being considered for re-allocation to 3G and 4G services. To save the expense of future it can be a good idea to design with future technology standards in mind. Today, this means designing with UMTS/HSPA or LTE modems, or at least future-proofing your hardware to make upgrades easier.

Nested design simplifies technology upgrading Cellular M2M technologies are in continuous evolution and, when designing a new device enabling cellular connectivity, it is of essence to take into consideration its upgradability to newer technologies in order to optimize the design cost. Here, there is layout compatibility across the entire range of cellular modems (GSM, UMTS, CDMA and LTE). With this approach, a single printed circuit board layout can be used for all end-product variations ensuring an easy migration between cellular technologies and module generations, also thanks to the AT command compatibility within the different modules 5 bandwidth requirements rarely decrease The bandwidth demand of tracking applications only goes in one direction – upwards – so it’s important to consider the lifetime costs of your connection. Choose your modem based on what it may need to do 35 years from now, or at least choose one that makes upgrades as easy as possible.

Figure 2: nested design techniques optimize design cost and facilitate easier hardware upgrades.

2 mobility demands multi-standards compliance Global mobility is increasing for people and goods, so it is important to consider where a modem needs to function today and where it may be required to work in the future: GSM is supported by four main frequency bands worldwide, UMTS by 6 and LTE over 30.

An electricity meter is usually static whereas a resource management system may be www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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DESIGN

6 automotive special needs In vehicle-mounted systems, temperature, humidity and vibration can be extreme.

AEC-Q100 qualified devices manufactured in ISO/TS 16949 certified sites will ensure reliable, long-life operation. Qualification tests for each component should conform to ISO16750: “Road vehicles – Environmental conditions and testing for electrical and electronic equipment”. This applies to vehicle-mounted devices and industrial devices that operate in demanding environments such as ships or railcars.

7 emergency call systems are growing in popularity Increasingly, cars are fitted with systems that automatically report accidents or aid recovery after theft. The US, Europe, Russia and Brazil have established initiatives to support such systems and that will increasingly be required by government mandate. For these applications, and example of which is shown in Figure 3, an “In-band modem”, is often needed. It sends data over the modem voice channel in a similar way to a fax machine sending data over the telephone lines. It’s needed because operators prioritize voice over data in mobile networks. In the event of an accident, the voice channel becomes the crucial link for transmitting data to emergency services.

Check that your proposed solution supports in-band modems on both 2G and 3G networks.

8 assisted positioning in urban environments In cities or other urban environments where satellite may be blocked by tall buildings, the drop-out of positional overview can be overcome by calling up a remote A-GPS server.

This is a simple process that downloads a few bytes of satellite orbital data from the

M2M

Internet using a wireless modem. With this aiding data, visible satellites need only be visible for a few seconds to calculate a position, and not the full 30 seconds it takes to receive an entire 1500 bit satellite frame.

Check that the positioning (GPS) receiver vendor offers online assistance with guaranteed availability and that this covers the geographic regions of interest. Client software should support the service transparently and the positioning receiver and wireless modem should both have an interface to support the service. It’s also increasingly important that the service is available for both GPS and GLONASS. 9 dead reckoning support to extrapolate positioning data from sensors Satellite signals can be supplemented with Dead Reckoning support, which extrapolates location and speed based on data from vehicle sensors, as illustrated in Figure 4. This approach helps determine vehicle position in tunnels or other locations where satellite reception is temporarily unavailable. It’s useful in vehicle-based telematics, including insurance tracking systems, where it accurately records position, heading and velocity.

Check that positioning receivers are automotive-grade, support Dead Reckoning and can be plugged into the vehicle CAN bus to acquire the data. Also, will they interface directly with vehicle sensors such as gyros and odometers and does the vendor offer an evaluation environment to speed product development.

10 indoor positioning is possible by combining satellite and cellular data Where an approximate indoor position needs to be established, combining a satellite receiver with a wireless modem overcomes the problem of satellite signals being blocked by walls or other obstructions. This hybrid

Figure 3: in-band modems are required for emergency call systems like these so that data is transmitted over prioritized voice channels.

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solution exploits the visibility of 2G or 3G cells because GSM or UMTS signals easily penetrate walls. Where the boundaries of visible mobile cells are known, an approximate position can be calculated from knowing where the cells overlap. This approach needs a wireless connection to an external service, similar to assisted positioning. Check that your positioning receiver and wireless modem supplier can offer such a solution, that it’s proven and whether it provides an online service. It’s also important to establish that the accuracy of the system is adequate.

Figure 4: dead reckoning extrapolates position data from vehicle sensors, including gyros and wheel tick sensors.

11 positioning system compatibility Until recently, GPS was the only system you needed to consider. Now, there’s Russia’s GLONASS, Japan’s QZSS, China’s BeiDou and Europe’s Galileo to consider. Compatibility with GPS plus at least one other satellite system will be needed to increase system reliability and accuracy, and to fulfill regional government mandates for compatibility with their own systems. Parallel operation that uses two systems simultaneously may be part of the specification. An example is Russia’s new ERA-GLONASS vehicle emergency call system that requires GLONASS compatibility. Look for GPS/GNSS receivers that provide multi-GNSS support and provide parallel GPS/GLONASS or GPS/BeiDou reception.

These are just some of the considerations when adding wireless connectivity to M2M products. Remember that many new standards, both wireless and positioning, are in transition. It’s important to consider the operation of your product over its lifetime and which markets your products will to serve. Also consider whether it’s important to include design support for next-generation performance and network coverage, or opt to design for easy upgradeability of your products in the field ￭ u-blox www.u-blox.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

u-blox introduces a portfolio of cost-efficient LTE Cat. 1 modules for M2M and automotive applications

u-blox introduces TOBy-L201, a 150 Mbps 4G LTE and WCDMA module with multi-carrier support

u-blox announces a portfolio of new LTE low data-rate cellular modules supporting LTE Cat. 1 for IoT and M2M applications in the industrial and automotive markets. Major carriers are rolling out LTE networks worldwide at an accelerated pace, considering the sunset of their existing 2G and 3G networks. Devices that are expected to operate for years to come need to incorporate LTE technology in order to ensure longevity.

The portfolio consists of multi-mode, multi-carrier and of LTE-only modules specific for large North American carriers. All modules provide longterm LTE technology at lower speeds, ideal for industrial and connectedcar applications (10Mb/s download, 5Mb/s upload), at a significantly lower cost than typical LTE Cat. 4 modules. All modules operate from -40°C to +85°C, making them suitable for demanding industrial and automotive devices. The unique combination of performance and versatility makes these modules ideally suited for M2M applications, such as telematics and smart metering, as well as security and surveillance systems with the need for Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE).

u-blox announces TOBY-L201, the world’s first 4G LTE Cat 4 module with 3G WCDMA fall-back, which works on AT&T and Verizon networks. TOBY-L201 switches automatically or via AT command to AT&T’s or Verizon’s network, without the need to load new firmware.

Depending on which carrier’s SIM card is inserted, TOBYL201 recognizes the carrier and starts on that carrier’s network. If devices are equipped with two SIM cards or a configurable SIM chip, TOBY-L201 can be switched between operators on-the-fly via a simple AT command.

“Building on our philosophy of customer-driven innovation, u-blox is once again delivering a competitive advantage with cost-effective and long-term solutions for IoT and M2M applications. The new Cat.1 modules will enable our customers to develop devices supporting LTE technology at an acceptable cost, because LTE Cat. 1 delivers lower speed at a lower cost,” explains stefano moioli, Director Product Management Cellular at u-blox. “We expect LTE Cat. 1 technology to become the future norm for M2M applications,” he adds. the u-blox lte cat. 1 module portfolio includes the following variants: • TOBY-R201 (LTE bands 2, 4, 13, 17 and HSPA bands 2, 5) is a multimode, multi-carrier LTE Cat. 1 module with HSPA fallback for North America. Its form factor in a 24.8 × 35.6 mm2 LGA package is the same as the TOBY-L2 Cat. 4 modules designed for applications requiring high data rates. The first samples will be available in October 2015.

• LARA-R200 (LTE bands 4, 13) and LARA-R202 (LTE bands 2, 4, 17) are LTE Cat. 1 modules for the largest North American carriers, available in a compact 22.0 × 27.5 mm2 LGA form factor, and fit on the nested design pads compatible with other u-blox form factors. The first samples will be available in early 2016.

Additional variants for Europe and APAC are planned.

The modules also follow the u-blox “nested design” philosophy to maintain form factor and software continuity. This allows customers to easily upgrade their products with each new generation of u-blox wireless modules without having to change the PCB designs. It allows for easy migration contributing to maximized investment, simplified logistics and drastically reduced time-to-market.

U-BLOX

www.u-blox.com

The versatile TOBY-L201 module offers best-in-class download speeds up to 150 Mbps and comes in a miniature 24.8 × 35.6 mm LGA form factor. It operates from -40°C to +85°C, making it suitable for most demanding automotive, industrial, and consumer devices. TOBY-L201 is ideal for infotainment systems, telematics control units, rugged mobile terminals, settop boxes, notebooks, tablets, as well as high-speed M2M applications like alarm panels, digital signage, mobile health, remote security and video systems.

“No other cellular module can rival TOBY-L201 for its unique combination of carrier independence and high performance in a very cost-effective, compact package,” said nikolaos papadopoulos, President of u-blox America. “Of course, as all u-blox cellular modules, TOBYL201 is layout compatible with our GSM/GPRS, HSPA/HSPA+, and CDMA modules, making it very easy for customers to upgrade their existing products.”

TOBY-L201 includes IPv4/IPv6 stacks for secure Internet-of-Things applications. The module is designed for easy integration with u-blox GNSS modules and chips to provide both outdoor and indoor positioning capabilities. TOBY-L201 will also include an extensive suite of IP protocols including TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTTP, FTP, and SSL. Linux supports TOBY-L201 modules natively, while u-blox provides RIL software for Android and Embedded Windows free of charge.

The modules are produced in ISO/TS 16949 automotive-certified production sites to ensure the highest quality and reliability.

U-BLOX

www.u-blox.com www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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3D GESTURING

three-dimensional Gesturing The Evolution of the User Interface The advent of modern desktop operating systems such as Microsoftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Windows and Appleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MAC OS created a need for more than just a keyboard and while the mouse was the default device for desktop machines, portable notebook computers relied on something more integrated. Originally the options were a trackball (essentially a mouse turned on its back) or an isometric joystick. However by the early 1990s these somewhat clumsy options were replaced by the more intuitive touchpad. Since then, touchpads have evolved to offer multitouch detection and capacitive sensing, but they still require a considerable amount of space while only detaching in two dimensions.

Author: Andreas Guete, Marketing Manager APAC, HMID, Advanced Input Devices, microchip technology inc.

Figure 1 20

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DESIGN

Using an innovative technique called E-Field, which uses near-field RF technology, Microchip has developed GestIC; a 3D gesture control technology that overcomes the limitations of existing touchpad solutions. Integrated in to a single-chip, the MGC3130 creates an electrical field that can detect in 1D (presence) 2D (touchpad) and 3D (gesture) to provide contact-free position tracking, gesture recognition and approach detection for a range of applications (Figure 1).

Technology Overview The electrical near-field sensing technology employed by GestIC uses a carrier frequency of around 100kHz, which equates to a wavelength of about 3km. However, in its implementation, the distance between the electrodes is much smaller than the wavelength, which allows the magnetic field component and radiated energy to remain at practically zero. This results in a pure quasi-static E-Field that doesn’t create interference in the radio spectrum used by other devices, such as mobile phones.

Furthermore, unlike other sensing technologies sometimes employed to create 3D user interfaces — such as optical, ultrasound or infrared — E-Fields are not affected by light, sound, skin colour, humidity or other ambient parameters.

3D GESTURING

Any movement within the E-Field is detected and translated in to X and Y co-ordinates; moving objects can, therefore, describe gestures which can be recognised. The device can control up to five receiving electrodes to acquire positional data, this is then processed by the onchip Signal Processing Unit (SPU) and, when used with Micropchip’s free Gesture Library software (Figure 2), allows the MGC3130 to detect and decode a wide range of gestures.

With a positional update rate of up to 200/second, the five electrodes allow a vast number of data points to be acquired.

Integrating the on-chip SPU and library on-chip means a truly realtime gesture recognition system can be realised in a single chip. The low power modes available allow an ‘always on’ solution even when implemented in battery powered devices; even in the lowest power mode, approach detection is still enabled, allowing maximum power savings without sacrificing responsiveness or functionality.

Because position data is acquired in three dimensions (X, Y and Z) and processed on-chip to deliver real-time response, users can experience a more immersive interface which is more intuitive and more responsive that existing alternatives. For developers, interfacing to the MGC3130 is also simple, using a 4-pin interface that supports SPI, I2C and more.

Figure 2 www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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3D GESTURING

Existing ‘free space’ detection systems rely predominantly on optical sensors. However, these face a number of challenges, such as angular related detection and coverage. In addition, the average power of optical-based systems can be over 500mW for even rudimentary 3D functionality, while the 50frames/second update rate presents real-time issues. The E-Field solution, on the other hand, requires less than one tenth of that power and offers significantly higher update rates.

Free-Space Keyboard With a dedicated ‘Overkey3D’ solution, GestIC can also be used as an alternative to traditional keyboards in notebook and even desktop computers, be creating a 3D sensing space within existing keyboard designs. This could, for example, allow motions to be detected as pre-defined gestures mapped to specific parts of the keyboard, creating a unified keyboard and input device that uses hand gestures to control functions.

Figure 3

This approach is already supported by Windows 8; hands may never need touch or leave a keyboard to achieve touch command input, allowing position tracking while fingers glide across the keys. Radical as it sounds, this could support control in free space; gestures that

are already available within Colibri Suite. The technology also supports the combination of two GestICs in a ‘master/slave’ configuration (Figure 3), allowing dual-zone control. The GestIC API provides full support for 3Rd Party software developers targeting Windows.

As it supports low-power approach detection, developers can implement effective backlight control based on presence detection that instantly switches key LEDs off or on, eliminating the need to wake a device with a key press. This approach also supports power conservation, as the LEDs can be switched off as soon as the presence (hand, finger etc..) is removed, instead of wasting energy through a timer-based LED off signal.

Manufacturers of ‘all in one’ PCs are currently looking to innovate the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) in response to the impact that gesture-enabled Tablets and the Windows 8 operating system have had. 3D gesture recognition can support these ‘Metro-style’ user interfaces within the same space as the keyboard, instead of using the touchscreen. This would allow users without a touch-enabled display to take advantage of the Metro Panel features Microsoft introduced in Windows 8, such as the touch gestures to control applications and content; in systems without a touch-enabled screen the UX innovations remain inaccessible to the user, GestICenabled keyboards would open them up to all users, even those using Windows 8 in legacy hardware. By providing gesture ‘shortcuts’ for the most frequently users commands, Windows 8 users can gain significant productivity advantages.

Manufacturers looking to innovate at the user interface level can now benefit from advanced, efficient and responsive 3D gesture recognition in a single-chip solution, with dedicated hardware and software resources to enable rapid development of advanced user interfaces. It’s time to ‘wave’ goodbye to the mouse! ￭ microchip technology www.microchip.com

Microchip expands PIC32MX1/2 32-bit microcontroller series with devices featuring cost-optimised 256 KB Flash and performance up to 83 DMIPS Microchip announces a new series within its PIC32MX1/2 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) family that features a large 256 KB Flash configuration and 16 KB of RAM in small-footprint packages. These latest additions to this popular MCU family provide flexibility to low-cost applications that need complex algorithms and application code, and they are coupled with Microchip’s comprehensive software and tools for designs in graphics, touch sensing and general-purpose embedded control.

The new PIC32MX1/2 MCU series boasts a wide variety of rich features, including up to 50 MHz/83 DMIPS performance for executing advanced control applications and mTouch® capacitive touch sensing.

Additional features include an enhanced 8bit Parallel Master Port (PMP) for graphics or external memory; a 10-bit, 1 Msps, 13-channel Analogue-to-Digital Converter (ADC), support for SPI and I2S serial communica22

EP&Dee | September, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

tions interfaces and USB device/host/Onthe-Go (OTG) functionality.

Microchip’s MPLAB® Harmony software development framework further simplifies designs, by integrating the licence, resale and support of Microchip and third-party middleware, drivers, libraries and Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS). Specifically, Microchip’s readily available software packages, including USB stacks and Graphics and Touch libraries, can greatly reduce the

development time of applications such as consumer, industrial and general-purpose embedded control.

This latest PIC32MX1/2 series is supported by Microchip’s free MPLAB® X Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and MPLAB XC32 Compiler for PIC32. The MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger (DV164035) priced at $199.95); and MPLAB REAL ICE™ In-Circuit Emulation System (DV244005) priced at $499.98, are also available.

In addition, the following development board plug-in module supports this series: PIC32MX270F256D Plug-in-Module for Explorer 16 Development Board (MA320014), which is priced at $35. These latest PIC32MX1/2 MCUs are available now in 28pin QFN, SPDIP and SSOP packages and 44pin QFN, TQFP and VTLA packages.

MICROChIP TEChNOLOGy www.microchip.com/PIC32-081115a

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MCUs

feeling alone in your design? connect with the Kinetis team We all know how fast the world is moving, but at its heart are people like you and me, exchanging ideas and making things happen. That’s why I like to connect and talk with people – as many people as possible. Sure, I search the web when I need information, but connecting with people and solving problems together can yield pretty amazing results. What is it they say … ‘two heads are better than one.’ This couldn’t be any more accurate than when it comes to breakthrough innovations.

The idea for this blog came from the conversions that I’ve had with you, our Kinetis MCU fans, customers, general hobbyists and tinkers. What spoke loudest in these discussions is that you have a Kinetis MCU board, but sometimes feel alone in your design process! I was disappointed when I heard this feedback … we certainly never want you to feel alone when working with us and using our solutions.

At FTF 2015, we brought this idea to life with two very well attended panel lead sessions – Connect with Kinetis MCU Experts.

The feedback was good, but I realized that we need to connect with even more people, which is why this idea will live on virtually through a series of blogs. The goal is to provide you with an avenue of useful information and a way to feel more connected to the Kinetis MCU team. I am really proud of what we do as a company and would like to share some ways to find useful information and help you feel like a part of the team.

So, let us get started with our first entry, a simple list of great ways to learn and get connected!

Just getting started?

I would recommend getting one of our more popular Freescale Freedom boards, the FRDM-K64F. Once you have your board, check out the online ‘Getting Started’ process. This webpage was hand crafted by our team of engineers to guide you through 24

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the critical first steps in writing your first application. We’ve even added some helpful links to make it easier for even the most senior Kinetis experts. I really think you will like this Getting Started page and find it helpful.

Where can I find training material?

It’s always great finding free training material. I personally l like to check the following places for content. The first few that come to mind include the Online Academy for on demand training, and the Video Vault which hosts a collection of videos posted by

Freescale. My two personal favorites are the Freescale Technical Sessions library and the Freescale Technology Form (FTF) portal, where you’ll find all of the presentations from FTF to benefit you, even if you weren’t able to attend in person. It’s a great way to find training material prepared and presented by our best Freescale engineers.

Need more, check the community!

Hopefully you find most of what you need on the FRDM-K64F Getting Started page and through the training material, but you will

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MCUs

likely have questions. When you get to this point, I would suggest reaching out to our technical team through the Kinetis MCU Community. It’s also worth mentioning a nonFreescale blog, MCU on Eclipse, which has a huge Kinetistechnology following and provides very useful information for all types of users. Check them out, you may find that others have similar issues and answers have already been provided. All questions welcome, just jump over and start participating!

INDUSTRY NEWS EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Murata to present new products at RFID Tomorrow murata will present its latest rfid products at rfid tomorrow, which takes place in dusseldorf, Germany, 28 – 29 september 2015.

Important documents and content At this point, you will likely be pretty deep into your embedded development and will now need targeted information for specific topics that you encounter. For this challenge I would direct you to our Content Page within our Kinetis Community, and our Documentation site where you can easily search for application notes, data sheets, reference manuals, silicon errata and more.

Classroom training of interest to you?

If you have an interest in attend a training session, then there is always the Designing with Freescale (DwF) seminars. There are a bunch of different topics, locations and solutions that we can tailor for your specific needs. Check it out and let us know if you don’t see what you need.

Hands-on, professional support needed?

If you would prefer that a team of experts join you onsite to help with your next great design, the FreescaleBootstrappers are ready! We also offer Professional Engineering Services to help you focus on what you do best and let us provide you a custom solution designed to meet your need.

Feedback How do you share feedback? Post your comments on this blog and participate within our Kinetis MCU Community. We take your feedback seriously and want to make sure we are providing you with the necessary information. Hopefully you will find what you need, but you are the real judge, so please share your comments!

Featured Murata products focus on enabling Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things.

Products include MAGICSTRAP®, UHF series for PCB and HF/NFC for Smart Plastic creation.

MAGICSTRAP® is a robust miniature RFID tag module that can withstand the injection molding process and is embeddable into a PCB, protecting it for use over a long lifecycle. Copying & pasting one of the cost free standard patterns into the PCB layout allows using the ground plane as a tag booster antenna. This eliminates the need for dedicated antenna design, making it easy to use. One MAGICSTRAP® variant comes with an I²C-interface, so it can be used for software configuration and also as a low cost air interface. Some of the UHF and all of the HF/NFC-variants come with an integrated antenna, allowing it to be used as an ultra compact tag able to survive severe environments such as injection molding.

This technology has important applications across all areas of electronics, particularly sensor applications, modules, industrial PCs, LED applications, PLCs, factory automation, measurement and test equipment.

Murata product managers will be available on the Murata stand during the conference to discuss: •

NFC, HF and UHF miniature tags for tagging and embedding into plastic injection molding RFID modules, with or without I2C interface for electronic products (SMT or embedded) RFID innovation e.g. tag modules enabling the usage of metal within objects as booster antennas

Also, don’t forget, for interesting content and future blogs, visit our Embedded Beat blog ￭

•

Signing off for now …

•

Justin Mortimer, your Customer Advocate and Kinetis MCU Product Marketer.

Murata RFID Business Development Europe manager, Alexander M. Schmoldt, will also deliver a speech on Developers Day (forum 1) at 1730, entitled, Electronics Industry 4.0 – Use RFID throughout entire life cycle of products.

www.freescale.com

MURATA

www.murata.com www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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MCUs

Every day is “Prime Day” for hot-selling Kinetis MCUs July 15 is behind us. If you are like me, you had that day marked on your calendar ever since Amazon first announced their one-day shopping event that promised to include more deals than Black Friday. As expected, many of the deals that Amazon offered were around electronic devices – things like robot vacuum cleaners, wearables, tablets and toys. Hopefully, while you were busy filling your cart with bargains, you also remembered to think about the technology that drives these cool electronics devices, microcontrollers, of course! From an ultra-low power MCU designed into a smart watch to a high-performance MCU designed into your home automation system – the Kinetis MCU portfolio consists of multiple series of products powering the next greatest innovations.

Kinetis K series is based on the ARM® Cortex®-M4 core and designed for scalability, performance efficiency, integration, connectivity, communications, HMI and security.

Kinetis K series MCUs offer industry-leading low-power and significant BOM savings through smart on-chip integration. Target applications are things like gaming consoles, medical devices and home controls.

Kinetis L series is based on the ARM Cortex-M0+ core. These ultra low-power, ultra small scale MCUs are super easy to use with leading scalability and integration.

They’re ideal for Internet of Things (IoT) edge nodes and other battery-powered devices like wearables and portable devices.

Kinetis E series is also based on the ARM Cortex-M0+ core and is designed for applications that require high robustness to EMC/ESD, and/or full 5V IO capability.

Target applications include appliances, DC 26

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fans, and BLDC motors.

The truth is the electronics market is extremely cost competitive. The prices we saw during Prime Day reflected just how cost-competitive electronic devices can be.

As MCUs are the brains inside these smart products, it only makes sense that the MCUs be as cost competitive as possible. Which is why Freescale had its own version of Prime Day, recently lowering the prices (MSRP) of hundreds of Kinetis MCUs that now start as low as just $0.39 (USD) for 10Ku quantities.

Membership not required To buy Kinetis MCUs, you do not need to be a member of a particular club or group.

Students, hobbyists, and customers alike can purchase Kinetis MCUs online at www.Freescale.com or through any authorized Freescale distributor. And you don’t have to rush, as our updated pricing is more than just a one-day marketing ploy. Most

folks will also want join our Kinetis MCU community to access the latest information and general support.

Not sure where to start?

Check out the entire Kinetis MCU portfolio at freescale.com/Kinetis. While you won’t see words like “lightning deals” or fancy icons to show where prices have been slashed, you can still shop with confidence knowing that pricing was adjusted on more than 500 of our most popular Kinetis devices – making the Kinetis MCU portfolio even more competitive than ever before. So, if you are familiar with Kinetis MCUs but thought that it was out of your design price range before – now is the time to have another look. And if you are new to Kinetis, there is no better time to jump into your design ￭ #KinetisConnects www.freescale.com

DESIGN

SINGLE-PHASE MOTORS

Opening doors An explanation of how to complete a low-cost design and analysis using a single-phase AC induction motors and an 8bit microcontroller in a garage door application.

Author: Justin Bauer, microchip technology inc.

Small AC induction motors, say for opening garage doors, can have speed control and soft start added with little cost using a threephase inverter circuit. These permanent split capacitor (PSC) motors are among the simplest and widest used for this type of application. They have low starting torque and current, but can be inefficient due to the non-polarised run capacitor, which often fails before the rest of the motor.

These single-phase motors are often referred to as two-phase motors because they cannot run without sufficient phase shift between the two windings. The capacitor is placed between the input signal and winding to produce an approximate 90Ë&#x161; phase shift.

The switch is often replaced with a relay that can control the direction by swapping which phase leads or lags the other. The value of the capacitor is typically specified by the motor manufacturer and is sometimes in the range of 5 to 50ÂľF for motors that are less than 0.75kW, of the type being looked at here. The capacitor should be carefully chosen to correct the power factor for maximum

power efficiency. Figure 1 shows the topology of a traditional AC induction motor.

The voltage rating is typically high at around 220 to 450V, depending on the input voltage. The capacitor must not be polarised, since it is across an alternating voltage. If this capacitor fails, the motor will cease to turn.

ates heat as it consumes the RMS AC ripple current within its equivalent series resistance.

The permanently installed capacitor trades off starting torque capability at standstill with ripple torque reduction at running speed.

Because of the high VA rating of the capacitor, it is often selected to meet the minimum

Figure 2: single-phase inverter with three half bridges; six pWm signals are used to drive the connected squirrel-cage psc motor.

Figure 1: topology of a traditional ac induction motor; the capacitor provides the necessary phase shift to produce a rotating magnetic field.

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The importance of selecting the correct capacitor is therefore critical.

A practical capacitor has resistance and radi-

starting performance requirements, resulting in poor running efficiency.

For motors that do not have identical wind-

DESIGN

ings, it is necessary to feed the two phases with different voltages. This asymmetry is due to the presence of the capacitor, which forms a resonant circuit with the motor’s inductance. Consequently, this raises the voltage across one of the windings and causes uneven current flow.

However, a three-phase inverter can be used to replace the permanent capacitor, as shown in Figure 2.

This allows the speed of the motor to be adjusted with the appropriate amount of voltage applied to each winding so that weaker windings are not overdriven.

SINGLE-PHASE MOTORS

shaft the fastest and how quickly the load will accelerate; and efficiency to compare the real component of the output power to the input power and to measure the power factor and other inefficiencies.

These three tests cover the largest design considerations in motor control. None of the tests require a special setup from the other tests. Each analysis in the three separate tests can use the same subset of data.

The test set up is shown in Figure 3.

This test used a 0.19kW single-phase motor with a balanced wiring configuration. Both windings had identical resistance and induc-

quency readings did not produce a constant torque curve. Frequencies lower than 60Hz required a fine tuning of the voltage-frequency ratio because of losses in the motor and inaccuracies in the motor drive.

Frequencies below 60Hz were kept at maximum voltage.

tance. A Hall-effect sensor was used to measure the shaft speed. The input was a single-phase, two-wire 220V at 60Hz. The output was fed into the two terminals on the inverter.

The shapes of the curves between the two methods differ greatly. The capacitor method shows a slightly larger starting torque and will accelerate faster than the inverter board at 60Hz. The inverter board produces a curve similar to that of a class D design motor, while the PSC run topology produces a similar class A torque curve. An unequal voltage magnitude caused by the permanent capacitor creates an unequal magnitude of magnetising flux within the stator. The inverter board attempts to create an equal amount of current in each winding, since this particular motor has identical impedance in each.

A low frequency causes a decrease in an inductor’s impedance. The high voltage applied to this lowered impedance raises the current in the stator, which produces higher torque. The fine tuning is needed to make the torque curve linear.

Figure 3: test set-up on the dynamometer.

The motor will still spin without the capacitor if the coils are driven out of phase from one another. This can be achieved by creating three phases in software. These threephase voltages can then be referenced from one another to create two resultant waveforms across the two motor windings. One of the phases is taken as the reference, or neutral, to create the two waveforms. The three phases can be created in software using PWM techniques.

Comparison Three tests can be run to compare the PSC run method with the inverter method with no run capacitor. These are: torque to characterise the effects of variable frequency drive on the motor; acceleration and speed to identify which method turns the motor

The PC interface ran Magtrol’s M-Test 7 software. The programmable controller applied the test set-up from this software to the dynamometer and read the applied torque.

The power analyser performed and logged all the other readings.

Starting with the torque test, it was apparent that the motor had the highest starting torque of around 0.75Nm between 50 and 60Hz in line with the motor design.

Frequencies above and below 60Hz had lower torque profiles. However, the low fre-

The shape of the torque curves are not similar because of these discrepancies in the driving topologies. www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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Looking at the starting torque when the rotor is locked, the inverter would be unable to lift the same-sized load as the PSC method if the inverter were programmed to simply turn the motor at a 60Hz modulation frequency. However, the inverter board can use variable frequency drive to lift an even larger-sized load.

The designer must also take into consideration the trade-offs of large starting torque versus efficiency and speed.

The most obvious benefit of controlling the voltage and frequency is that the designer can control the speed at which the motor shaft spins. The faster it spins, the sooner the load can be pushed or pulled to its destination.

This can be a critical design win in a garage door or gating system application.

Inverter board So, the inverter board allows the motor to out-pace a replica motor that is driven by the PSC method. The PSC method can only be driven at one frequency and, hence, it cannot exceed its synchronous speed.

The inverter board can be constructed as an application-specific platform rather than a general-purpose demo board.

However, it does provide numerous inputs and outputs (I/O) for the user to interact with and modify. The inverter is engineered to drive a single-phase or three-phase AC induction motor.

SINGLE-PHASE MOTORS

An overview of the board is shown in Figure 4 using a PIC16F1509 microcontroller from Microchip.

The board was designed with flexibility in mind, so some of its features can be used or not to achieve optimisation. Most of the I/O are used by the default code but there is still plenty of space for the developer to use custom modifications. The I2C lines are also free for any added slave devices.

Operation The motor is in its idle state when the PIC16F1509 microcontroller initialises pins and stops the motor. When the start button is pressed, the motor starts using a soft-start method where the frequency and voltage are adjusted in a linear fashion to bring the motor up slowly to its operating speed. The motor then moves to its on state when the soft-start operation is completed.

Some of the I/O are multiplexed onto one pin to increase the number of I/O that can be used. All user interface requirements are isolated via two four-channel optocouplers and a one-channel optocoupler.

The motor speed and current trip points are constantly polled in the main loop. If an over-current is detected, the motor is stopped and the status LEDs blink to indicate a fault. The motor is normally stopped by push-button using braking or soft-stop to return it to its idle state.

The board provides two switch buttons and two potentiometers. There are also headers that provide connections for external I/O, such as garage door trip sensors. The two potentiometers have their transistor in the optocoupler circuitry biased in its amplifying region. The output is therefore approximately linear, since the optocoupler LED does not have a linear I-V curve. Large currents in the 30mA range are consumed for each potentiometer.

The digital push buttons and auxiliary inputs are biased to cause an interrupt-on-change (IoC) when either is used. This alleviates the CPU from constantly checking the voltage level on the pins. Whenever an IoC is detected, an ADC reading must be taken to determine which input caused the interrupt.

Figure 4: top level overview of the overall system.

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Conclusion AC induction motors such as used in garage door applications can be driven using an inverter board rather than a traditional capacitor. This allows speed control and soft-start capabilities to be added to the motor at relatively low cost. The inverter board is based around a PIC16F1509 8bit microcontroller from Microchip. ďż­ microchip technology www.microchip.com

INDUSTRY NEWS Microchip expands Industrial Ethernet switch portfolio with enhanced devices featuring IEEE 1588-2008 precision time protocol and low-power options

Microchip announces the addition of the LAN9353, LAN9354 and LAN9355 Three-Port, 10/100 Industrial Ethernet Switches to its reliable, high-quality, and high-performance portfolio of Ethernet solutions, which includes Ethernet switches, controllers, bridges and PHYs. Featuring the IEEE 1588-2008 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) standard for clock accuracy in the sub-nanosecond range, these highly integrated Ethernet switches offload both synchronisation and communications processing from the host CPU. Developers can also take advantage of advanced features such as Transparent Clocking, which improves system accuracy. Additional features designed to reduce overall system power consumption include Energy Efficient Ethernet (IEEE 802.3az), and Wake On LAN. These switches enable the development of advanced hardware in the rapidly growing Industrial Ethernet market, including automation, motion-control, embedded, automotive, security/surveillance and telecommunications applications. The LAN9353/4/5 10/100 Ethernet switches support widely adopted industry standards, such as MII (Media Independent Interface), RMII (Reduced Media Independent Interface), SMI (Serial Management Interface), Turbo MII, I2C™ and SPI/SQI™ communication interfaces, along with digital I/O. This gives system designers the flexibility to select from a wide range of microcontrollers, Systems-onChip (SoCs) or processors to interface with this new family of switches.

Ethernet connectivity has become ubiquitous in communications and networking products. This well-understood technology provides a robust link to ensure reliable communication between devices in a network. To ensure easy installation and network expansion, as well as minimal maintenance, these switches also support 100BASE-FX fibre and copper, along with cable diagnostics that enable system designers and their end-users to determine cable opens, shorts, length to fault and cable length, providing a cost-effective way to extend Ethernet networks over long distances. To enable development with the LAN9353/4/5 ThreePort 10/100 Ethernet Switches, three Microchip evaluation boards were also announced today that support various system architectures. These hardware systems demonstrate how to interface with the switches through basic input/output connections, or with microcontrollers such as the 32-bit PIC32MX family via serial communications.

MICROChIP TEChNOLOGy

www.microchip.com/Ethernet-Switches-071415a

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Microchip boosts USB-C™ connector revolution with introduction of a cost-effective controller Microchip announces the addition of the UTC2000, USBC™ controller to its leading portfolio of USB devices.

With this new device, designers of a wide range of applications covering the consumer, industrial and automotive markets can now simply and quickly implement the radically updated USB-C connector cost effectively, speeding time to market and minimising bills of materials. Housed in a 16-pin QFN package, the UTC2000 controller’s small form factor also enables the deployment of USB-C connectors in mobile applications.

The USB-C cable is now poised to become the “universal” cable, as it is capable of supplying data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps, 100W of continuous power flow and ultra-high-bandwidth video capabilities made available through alternate modes - all with a single connection and cable. For designers wishing to take advantage of the new standard with the same ultra-fast transfer speeds at the lowest cost point, the UTC2000 controller supports up to 15W of power. This is ideal for a wide range of applications in the consumer market such as notebooks, printers and accessories, docking stations, mobile devices and battery chargers; in the industrial market for computers and handheld devices; and in the automotive market for head units, break-out boxes and USB battery chargers; in addition to other applications.

Microchip’s expertise with the USB-C standard provides designers integrating the UTC2000 controller into their products with the confidence that they will meet all of the requirements for USB-C compliance. Additionally, Microchip makes it easy to take full advantage of the USB-C benefits while lowering development costs and product-launch delay risks.

The UTC2000 USB-C controller is supported by Microchip’s UTC2000 Evaluation Kit (EVK-UTC2000) which is priced at $99 and is available today. This kit enables designers to easily convert a traditional USB connector to type C for both UFP and DFP. The UTC2000 USB-C controller is available now for sampling and volume production in a 16-pin QFN package.

MICROChIP TEChNOLOGy www.microchip.com/USB-C-081715a www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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WIRE-TO-BOARD CONNECTIONS

Minimizing Costs for Wire-to-Board Connections

reutilizing tried and tested technologies

Wire-to-board connections incur high costs when handling large quantities in mass markets. Using the right connection technology, however, such expense can be easily prevented. It's often worth considering the use of tried-and-tested technologies that enable cables and circuit boards to be connected at little cost.

Albert Culetto, Business Development Manager Passive & Electromechanical Components, rutronik elektronische bauelemente Gmbh

Traditional plug connectors consist of two individual elements, and the cable is usually the one that requires more work and therefore more cost, meaning that a two-pin wireto-board solution can rarely be achieved for less than 15 cents. This is why technology is needed that can establish the connection between the circuit board and cable more easily and more cheaply. Thinking outside of the box is allowed.

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The constantly growing lighting market, for example, has some innovative solutions to offer. Developers in this field require lowcost connection technologies to enable them to remain competitive when connecting millions of units, and such designs can now also be seen in other vertical market segments. It's a similar trend to that seen in the automotive and industrial sectors, and in the field of white goods in electronics pro-

duction â&#x20AC;&#x201C; anywhere, where high unit quantities mean that fast and cost-effective production technologies are needed.

Established technologies such as idc (insulation displacement connectors), spring systems or crimping present interesting solutions.

They enable any type of cable (single or standard wire) to be cheaply connected to the PCB.

DESIGN

Fewer Work Steps Using IDC IDCs or insulation displacement connectors are suitable for insulated copper cables with multiple wires. IDCs in communication technology with no need for soldering, screwing or insulation stripping have been used since the early 1970s. They enable a gas-tight connection to be established that ensures reliable connection even under rough conditions, and the end product can even be encapsulated. Versions without plastic encapsulation are also available where costs need to be saved. Developers here need to specifically observe the AWG (American wire gauge) system used to prevent wire breakage. In mass production, individual wires are compressed using a bit tool or lever press, which causes all of the wires to make contact through insulation-displacement connectors. The benefit of this is that costly work processes such as wire stripping, pre-soldering and crimping are no longer necessary. The IDC zone can be used up to three times, subject to the parameters specified in the data sheet. IDC is well suited to users who wish to permanently connect sensors, motors, fans or supply cables, as well as other peripheral modules.

Spring Systems and Plug-in Contacts The use of spring systems and plug-in contacts in wire-to-board connections help save a lot of time and therefore a lot of money.

They are used for terminal blocks, which are formed by punching or bending a single piece, and stand out in particular with their

WIRE-TO-BOARD CONNECTIONS

fast installation. Simplified connections using hooks enable a cable to be connected vertically at costs of less than 5 cents. In production, the contacts can be soldered and assembled during the SMT process. The only additional advance work step is the stripping of the wire insulation. The contact is usually disconnected using a special tool.

In vertical systems, you can select from top or bottom entry so that the contact wire sticks out less from the PCB. There are also

Saving Space Using Crimping without Housing Crimping has proven its value as a low-cost connection alternative. For example, the automotive industry uses this technique, where the connection is first approved and then the housing is developed, to make billions of connections each year. Omitting this housing enables considerable costs and lots of space to be saved. This reduces shadowing in lamps in LED applications.

solutions for flat constructions such as solder lugs, which are designed for switches, motors and modules, or Faston terminals for white goods and automotive applications.

The resistance of the connection between the PCB and cable to separation provides high electrical and mechanical reliability.

Crimping is mainly used in serial production and is suitable for soldering and assembly in SMT processes.

To find the commercially and technically best solution from the range of connection methods, expert advice is critical. With a team of Field Application Engineers for passive and electromechanical components, Rutronik supports its customers throughout the entire development cycle â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from concept development to selection, from prototyping to serial production. Customers benefit from Rutronik's many years of experience and an extensive portfolio in the field of wire-to-board connections.

The distributor also cooperates with manufacturers to develop customer-specific products, enabling the finding of low-cost solutions that meet the diverse range of requirements in the wire-to-board segment ďż­ Rutronik www.rutronik.com www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY NEWS

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Renesas Accelerates Functional Safety Implementation in Industrial Equipment with New RX111 Safety Package Solution Renesas Electronics, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, expanded its industrial support with the launch of its RX111 Safety Package, to significantly reduce development time to implement functional safety for industrial equipment and devices, such as sensors, safety controllers, and industrial drives.

Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) movements are driving the need for more robust and inherently safe devices on the factory floor, from the PLCs down to the sensors at the edge of the factory network. The European Machinery Directive also requires that equipment provides support for functional safety. Renesas has built upon its knowledge and experience related to functional safety within the automotive field, and leveraged its expertise in the design and development of microcontrollers (MCUs), to offer developers a broader range of functional safety solutions that help expand the adoption of functional safety in the industrial field.

Tools from IAR Systems enable development of innovative hydrogen-powered racing cars IAR Systems® is proud to announce that its world-leading development tools have helped Forze, a student foundation at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, to develop their hydrogen-powered racing cars. Thanks to its strong code optimizations and easy-to-use interface, IAR Embedded Workbench® has helped the team to accelerate the development cycle and to get their cars into production faster.

Forze is a group of around 70 students at the Delft University of Technology. The team focuses on the development and promotion of new sustainable technology and since 2008, the team has built six hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The entire project is carried by team members who work voluntarily. Earlier this year, their latest car Forze VI broke the lap record for fuel cell vehicles on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring in Germany. Never before has a racing car with a hydrogen fuel cell completed the track so fast.

The new RX111 Safety Package solution supports the power-efficient RX111 MCUs ideal for sensor-based applications, for which demand is growing rapidly as the importance of monitoring the state of industrial systems increases. Certified under the IEC 61508 SIL3 international functional safety standard, and meeting a strict third-party certification for MCUs, the RX111 Safety Package is one the industry’s most comprehensive MCU safety packages. It includes an exhaustive self-diagnostic software library set that reaches diagnostic coverage representing more than 100,000 combinations to cover both random and systematic faults to support both SIL2 and SIL3 applications. In addition, the Safety Manual includes vital information such as FIT rates that can be passed on to a certifying body to reduce complexity in conformance. The solution significantly reduces the development time related to diagnostics performed on the MCU, by providing the safety analysis and study of failure diagnostic methods and diagnostic yields.

The RX111 Safety Package extends Renesas’ commitment to functional safety support and enables seamless compliance with functional safety requirements in a variety of applications, complementing the RX631, RX63N Safety Package introduced in August 2014 for industrial equipment applications requiring high-speed data processing, such as motion monitoring or network communication.

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www.renesas.eu

“Thanks to our sponsors, we are able to let the world know about the great potential of this hydrogen technology and make a clear statement about its place in the automotive industry”, says mart van rijsingen, Chief Electronics and Bodywork, Forze Team, Delft University of Technology. “IAR Embedded Workbench has an intuitive and very user-friendly IDE and it has helped us a lot in structuring our software and filtering errors out. The included debugger performs code checks in a very powerful way to make sure the code is doing what we expect it to do.”

IAR Systems’ world-leading tools help companies and organizations from all parts of the world to bring innovative products to the market easier, cheaper and faster. The complete compiler and debugger toolchain IAR Embedded Workbench provides the embedded industry’s broadest device support, including more than 10,000 devices from all major semiconductor vendors. This unique independence enables developers to build what they want in the platform of their choice and always feel confident that IAR Embedded Workbench supports the device. To read about more companies and organizations that have benefited from IAR Systems’ tools, go to www.iar.com/about-us/customers.

IAR SySTEMS

www.iar.com

PRODUCT NEWS

AUTOMATION

The Contrinex C23 Full Inox Extreme series of inductive full-metal sensors The new C23 Full Inox series of flat, full-metal inductive sensors is ideal for applications where the environment is harsh and space is scarce, but long operating distances are still indispensable. Thanks to Contrinex ASIC technology, these miniature-sized sensors are highly accurate and include an IO-Link interface.

C23 Full Inox Extreme sensors offer the advantage of factor of 1 on steel and aluminum. Compared with similar sensors, they are distinguished not only by their IO-Link interface but also by better quality, a longer service life, greater resilience and, last but not least, by their excellent price-performance ratio.

With this sensor’s embeddable all-metal housing in stainless steel, applications do not need to pull any punches. Shock, vibration or aggressive chemicals can do no harm to this extremely compact sensor, thanks to its stainless steel housing and Condet® technology.

ASIC technology guarantees consistently long operating distances, quick installation and excellent temperature compensation. In addition, it also contributes to vibration resistance, thus ensuring an

exceptionally long service life for the sensor.

The IO-Link interface offers the user various parameterization and diagnostic options. For example, it is possible to switch between NO and NC operation or to program an ON or OFF delay.

Two drill holes ensure that C23 Full Inox sensors can be installed very easily from the front.

Typical areas of applications for the fastest sensor in its class include grippers, clamping devices and gantry robots. advantages at a glance • Extremely robust, small and slim stainless steel housing (20 × 32 × 8 mm³) • Factor 1 on steel and aluminum • Long operating distance: 7 mm • IO-Link • Enclosure rating IP68/69K • Embeddable • Connection via PUR cable or S8 pigtail connector • UL certified (USA + Canada) Tel. +40 256-201346 • office@oboyle.ro • www.oboyle.ro

AUTOMATION

Contrinex rugged inductive sensor measures rotation velocity of wind turbine blades Modern wind turbines operate continuously in remote, highly demanding environments. Exceptional reliability is essential as opportunities for maintenance are limited.

Turbine rotation velocity is a key operating parameter and manufacturers require robust sensor systems that provide accurate measurement in real-time. Rugged presence-sensing systems withstand harsh exposed conditions, both onshore and offshore, while delivering the required accuracy and reliability. customer value • Simple sensor system providing contactless operation • Robust construction withstands corrosion and water ingress • Exceptionally reliable, fit-and-forget operation in a remote, harsh environment 36

EP&Dee | September, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

advantages of dW-as-703-m18-002 inductive sensor • One-piece AISI 303 (V2A) stainless-steel body • State-of-the-art ASIC technology ensures exceptional in-service reliability

• 10 mm sensing range available in physically small sensor • Excellent resistance to extreme operating conditions

• Tel. +40 256-201346 • office@oboyle.ro • www.oboyle.ro

PRODUCT NEWS

Leuze n n n

Optical sensors Sensors for logistic applications Safety at work

SENSORS

ASM n n n

GMW

Linear Sensors Angle Sensors Tilt Sensors

n n n n

Contrinex n n

Optical Sensors Inductive Sensors

Selec n n n

Digital panel meters Panel indicators Bus bar isolators Current transformers

Industrial connectors

PLCs Temperature Controller Timer

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

Sensor Instruments: Color measurement of recycled plastic pellets The color of recycled plastic pellets should be measured. It has to be taken into account, that the

position of the pellets behind the inspection glass can vary, thus a big light spot has a certain advan-

tage to get a proper average measurement value. Furthermore, it should be considered, that the ambient temperature around the inspection glass can reach 120°C. For this purpose a color measurement sensor type SPECTRO-3FIO-MSM-ANA-VIS in connec-

tion with an optical frontend type KL-D-0°/45°-85-1200-A3.0 will be used. Here, the distance of the optical frontend to the inspection glass is approximately 85mm and the white light spot size is around 30mm × 20mm due to the angle of impact of 45°.

• Tel. +40 256-201346 • office@oboyle.ro • www.oboyle.ro www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

Voltage protection relays

Tel. +40 256-201346 • office@oboyle.ro • www.oboyle.ro 38

EP&Dee | September, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

RELAYS

PRODUCT NEWS

SENSORS

46c series from Leuze Because your system needs to run!

With large operating ranges of up to 150 m and many technical highlights, the new sensor family of the 46C series offers up to 80% more function reserve and thereby ensures maximum system availability. In all areas of conveyor and storage technology, the extensive device family scores with a number of new or improved functions, such as improved ambient light suppression A2LS or automatic performance optimization in the event of contamination.

Compact and robust, with innovative technology and large range of features. The furtherdeveloped sensors of the 46C series are the ideal type of standard sensor for nearly all requirements and environmental conditions.

Does your sensor need to cover large operating ranges?

Thanks to its larger function reserve, the compact sensor covers nearly all requirements at a range of up to 150 m.

Does your sensor need to detect reliably even in the event of soiling?

With degree of protection ip 67 or ip 69K as well as automatic performance optimization, the sensors detect very reliably even in rough environmental conditions.

Are you already familiar with the performance and value of our 46B and 96 Series?

The new devices of the 46c series are the further development of the successful 46b and 96 series.

Significantly more performance at an economical price – sound impossible? request a sample unit to test.

SLS 46C hT 46C light scanner with protective throughbackground sup- beam photoelectric sensor pression

Reliable differentiation between object and background with fine adjustment.

For maximum functional reliability and efficient machine safeguarding.

RK 46C VarOS reflection light scanner

Robust Sensors for position / inclination / angle measurement tape extension position sensors positape • Measurement range 0 ... 20000 mm • Analog, 4 ... 20mA, SSI, CANopen, J1939 • Protection class IP68/IP69K

magnetostrictive position sensors posichron • Measurement range 0 ... 5750 mm • Analog, 4 ... 20mA, SSI, CANopen, J1939 • Protection class IP64 up to IP67

magnetostrictive position sensors posichron • Measurement range 0 ... 5750 mm • Analog, 4 ... 20mA, SSI, CANopen, J1939 • Protection class IP67/IP69K

angle sensors and encoders posirot • 360° angle sensor • Non-contact, no wear • With external position magnet • Protection class up to IP67

inclination sensors positilt • 1/2 axes inclination sensor, ±180°, ± 60° • In MEMS technology • Analog output, CANopen, J1939 • Protection class IP67/IP69K

inclination sensors positilt • 1/2 axes inclination sensor, ±180°, ± 60° • Analog output, CANopen, J1939 • Protection class IP67 Flexible and variable detection with light-band optics.

Tel. +40 256-201346 • office@oboyle.ro • www.oboyle.ro www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

AUTOMATION

Sensor Instruments: Concentration control of a passivator in a solvent The amount of a passivator in a solvent should be controlled. For this purpose a color sensor type spectro-3-slu-sa-ana (receiver unit) in connection with a side light

unit type si-slu-dif-16 (transmitter unit) will be used. At this, the distance from the transmitter unit to the entrance window of the object as well as from the receiver unit

to the opposite entrance window of the object is approximately 15mm either.

Furthermore, the distance of the receiver unit to the transmitter unit is around 80mm.

• Tel. +40 256-201346 • office@oboyle.ro • www.oboyle.ro

AUTOMATION

Sensor Instruments: Determination of the number of airbag webs

The number of airbag webs should be detected on a reference background.

For the tests a laser displacement sensor type L-LAS-LT-37 is used. The measurement range of the laser sensor is around 4 mm and the reference distance of the sensor to the object is about 37 mm.

The screenshots shows proper results.

• Tel. +40 256-201346 • office@oboyle.ro • www.oboyle.ro 40

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PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Evaluation Boards for SuperSpeed USB-to-FIFO Bridge ICs

Silicon Labs Launches Industry’s Fastest Isolated Current Sense Amplifier

To encourage the widespread utilisation of its highly cost-effective and easy-to-implement next generation USB interfacing technology, FTDI Chip has unveiled a new family of evaluation/development modules. The company’s FT600/1Q USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ICs, which are already in full volume production, are forthwith backed up by the UMFT60XX offering. This module family is made of 4 models, which provide different FIFO bus interfaces and data bit widths. Through these modules operational parameters of FT600/1Q devices can be fully assessed and interfacing with external hardware undertaken, such as FPGA platforms from the industry’s leading suppliers.

Measuring 78.7mm × 60mm, the UMFT600A and UMFT601A each have a high speed mezzanine card (HSMC) interface with 16-bit and 32-bit wide FIFO buses respectively. The UMFT600X and UMFT601X have dimensions of 70mm × 60mm and incorporate field-programmable mezzanine card (FMC) connectors, again with 16-bit and 32-bit wide FIFO buses respectively. The HSMC interface is compatible with most Altera FPGA reference design boards, while the FMC connector delivers the same functionality in relation to Xilinx boards.

Fully compatible with USB 3.0 SuperSpeed (5Gbits/s), USB 2.0 High Speed (480Mbits/s) and USB 2.0 Full Speed (12Mbits/s) data transfer, the UMFT60xx modules support 2 parallel slave FIFO bus protocols with an achievable data burst rate of around 400MBytes/s. The multi-channel FIFO mode can handle up to 4 logic channels. It is complemented by the 245 synchronous FIFO mode, which is optimised for more straightforward operation.

“We recognized early on that USB 3.0 system designs that are reliant on programmable logic, rather than MCU technology, are going to have a multitude of important benefits to the embedded engineering fraternity. They will allow bill-of-materials costs to be kept under control and the writing/compiling of masses of C code to be avoided,” states fred dart, CEO and founder of FTDI Chip. “As a result we have worked closely with the most prominent companies in the programmable sector to promote this more technologically and financial efficient method of implementing USB 3.0. The new modules we have introduced are designed such that they can plug into most FPGA development platforms supplied by vendors such as Xilinx or Altera.”

For more information, visit: www.ftdichip.com/ft60x FTDI ChIP

www.ftdichip.com

Silicon Labs introduced an isolated current sense amplifier delivering robust isolation and the industry’s highest bandwidth and lowest signal delay.

Silicon Labs’ new Si8920 isolated amplifier provides an ideal current shunt measurement solution for power control systems operating in harsh environments such as industrial motor drives, solar inverters, high-voltage power converters, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and electric/hybrid-electric vehicle (EV/HEV) systems.

Fast, accurate current sensing is essential for all high-power systems and power converters with high-voltage stages.

Measuring current on high-voltage rails (up to 1200 V) with a galvanically isolated amplifier provides critical information to the low-voltage controller that

improves system response time and efficiency. The Si8920 isolated amplifier provides a differential, low-voltage input scaled for connection to current shunt resistors, enabling the controller to make precise measurements of current on high-voltage rails while main-

taining best-in-class electrical isolation. The Si8920 device’s industry-leading signal bandwidth (up to 750 kHz) ensures rapid, precise dc current measurement and accurate representation of the primary signal and harmonics.

SILICON LABS www.silabs.com

Intersil’s highly Integrated Battery Pack Monitor Protects and Extends Life of Multi-Cell Li-ion Batteries Intersil Corporation announced the ISL94203 3-to-8 cell battery pack monitor that supports lithium-ion (Li-ion) and other battery chemistries used in medical mobility carts, wheelchairs, e-bikes, handheld power tools, vacuum cleaners and solar or renewable energy storage systems. Available now through Intersil’s worldwide distribution partners, the device accurately monitors, protects and cell balances rechargeable battery packs to maximize battery life and ensure safe charging and system operation.

OEMs are moving away from NiCd and lead-acid batteries to embrace the more environmentally friendly Li-ion battery chemistries. Li-ion batteries are smaller, weigh less, and deliver

longer battery life, but require monitoring and protection for safe use. The ISL94203 functions as a stand-alone battery management system for rechargeable Li-

ion battery packs. Its internal state machine has five pre-programmed stages that accurately control each cell of a battery pack to extend operating life.

The ISL94203 integrates highside charge/discharge FET drive circuitry, which allows customers to securely ground reference the battery pack to their designs.

INTERSIL www.intersil.com

www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Renesas Delivers R-Car T2 SoC for Vehicle Camera Networks that Enables Transfer of high-Resolution Camera Video through Multiple Systems with Extreme Low Latency Time of Less Than 1 msec Renesas Electronics announced the development of the R-Car T2 system-on-a-chip (SoC), an SoC dedicated for Ethernet AVB-enabled vehicle camera networks, complementing the company's popular R-Car Family devices for infotainment, instrument cluster and ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) applications. The new R-Car T2 enables the delivery of high-resolution camera video through multiple systems while maintaining real-time performance with low latency levels. These capabilities are key to providing the “surround view” monitoring and obstacle detection applications that contribute to safe driving experiences.

IDT Makes Wireless Power Accessible to the Mass Market Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDT®) introduced groundbreaking turnkey wireless power kits that make integrating wireless charging easy, affordable and practical for a broad range of consumer electronics. The new Qi-compliant transmitter and receiver reference kits deliver plugand-play ease of integration, enabling engineers to incorporate wireless charging capabilities into their designs in a matter of hours.

The 5-Watt, 5-Volt solution is suitable for a wide range of applications, including PC peripherals, furniture, medical devices, and other portable devices still hindered by traditional contact-based charging bases or cables.

The transmitter and receiver reference kits are built around proven IDT wireless power semiconductors, and include easy-touse reference boards and comprehensive design support collat-

eral. Support materials include instructional videos, user manuals, foreign object detection (FOD) tuning guides, layout guides, layout instantiation modules, schematics, bill-of-materials (BOM), Gerber files, and more.

Both reference kits offer 2-layer board layout files, providing maximum flexibility for most applications. The boards are Qi-compliant for use as-is.

The kits can be used for immediate prototyping.

IDT www.idt.com

World’s first integrated thermocouple electromotive force-to-degrees Celsius converter from Microchip saves design effort, space and cost Initially used for rear-view functionality and parking assistance applications, the use of vehicle cameras has since expanded to support 360-degree “surround view” functionality that expands what is seen by the system to every direction around the vehicle, helping to improve driver safety. To further optimize safety, vehicle camera video is also now being used in driver assist systems for braking, steering and providing obstacle detection warnings, for instance when changing lanes. These sophisticated systems demand substantially higher processing performance in order to handle the expanded range of image recognition targets and increased processing load imposed by multiple cameras with higher pixel counts. Ethernet AVB offers features such as guaranteed bandwidth and synchronization of multiple cameras simultaneously, and a system involving additional cameras that can be flexibly upgraded. Moving forward, Ethernet AVB is expected to become the mainstream technology for automotive high-speed networking. The R-Car T2 supports multiple standards including IEEE 802.1AS, IEEE802.1Qav, IEEE802.1Qat, and IEEE1722 standards.

RENESAS ELECTRONICS EUROPE 42

www.renesas.eu

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Microchip announces the MCP9600, the world’s first thermocouple-conditioning integrated circuit to combine precision instrumentation, a precision temperature sensor and a precision, high-resolution Analogue-to-Digital Converter (ADC), in addition to a maths engine pre-programmed with the firmware to support a broad range of standard thermocouple types: K, J, T, N, S, E, B and R. Thermocouples are one of the most ubiquitous temperaturemeasurement devices, due to their robustness and accuracy in harsh, hightemperature environments, and their ability to measure temperature over an extremely wide range. The MCP9600 simplifies thermocouple designs by integrating a number of discrete devices into one chip, which also lowers board area, cost and power consumption.

Thermocouples are widely used to measure temperature by the designers of industrial, consumer, automotive/ aerospace and petrochemical applications, among others. The MCP9600 provides them with the world’s first plug-and-play solution for creating

thermocouple-based designs, because it eliminates the design expertise required for a discrete implementation,

such as firmware development using an MCU’s maths engine. Designers no longer have to create precision instrumentation circuitry to accurately measure a thermocouple’s microvolt-level signals, nor do they have to design ADC circuitry for precise temperature calculations. With the MCP9600’s integrated cold-junction compensation, calculating the “Hot” junction temperature of a thermocouple does not necessitate thermal design expertise to precisely measure the reference temperature of the thermocouple’s “Cold” junction.

MICROChIP TEChNOLOGy www.microchip.com/MCP9600-Page-063015a

PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Microsemi Introduces XMC Form Factor SATA SSD for Industrial and Defense Applications Requiring the highest Levels of Security and Reliability extension-of-life® inventory and continuing production for mc680x0 family derivatives including 68020, 68030, 68040 and the 68060. plus ability to support 68882 floating point co-processor and 68360 companion chip.

Microsemi Corporation announced an ANSI/VITA 42.3-2014compliant PCI Express interface XMC form factor serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) solid state drive (SSD) for industrial and defense applications where ultimate security for dataat-rest is required. As part of Microsemi’s TRRUST- Stor® best-inclass self-encrypting drive (SED) technology offerings, the XMC offers powerful key management methods. In the most advanced method, no encryption key is stored in the SSD, leaving data forensically unrecoverable.

Typical embedded systems utilizing secure SSDs require a bolt on external chassis for the drives, adding weight and size to the device. Microsemi solves the problem by offering an XMC form factor that plugs directly into the host card and eliminates the need for an external enclosure. In addition, the advanced TRRUST-Stor family of secure SSDs includes advanced security features such as hardware-based AES256 encryption and advanced key management systems. The XMC SSD has a layered security protocol allowing a hardware or software command to erase the encryption key in less than 30 milliseconds (ms) and erase full flash storage media in less than 10 seconds with no trace of recoverable data.

Key features include: • XMC x2 PCIe interface per ANSI/VITA 42.3-2014 • XMC SATA interface (configurable) • Capacity: 256GB and 512GB reliable SLC NAND flash • Up to 185 megabyte (MB)/second read/write speed • Key management: multiple modes, including customer supplied keys • Hardware-based AES-256 XTS encryption • TRRUST-Purge™ clears encryption key in less than 30ms • Hardware based fast erase, erasing the entire drive in less than 10 seconds with validation • Industrial temperature range • Leading-edge fast sanitization speed • Military sanitization methods/protocols • U.S.-made with full configuration control • Abrupt power interruption protection • Mean time between failures (MTBF): 2.5 million hours • Continuously running built-in self-test MICROSEMI

www.microsemi.com

Lattice Semiconductor Enables Rapid Prototyping of Smart Connectivity Designs with ECP5 Versa Development Kit Lattice Semiconductor Corporation announced the availability of the ECP5™ Versa development kit to accelerate prototyping and testing of connectivity designs targeted for small cells, microserver, broadband access, and industrial video applications worldwide. The family’s low power consumption, small form factor and low cost make it an ideal connectivity solution and enables design engineers to rapidly add features and functions that complement those delivered by ASICs and ASSPs, reducing development risk and accelerating time-to-market.

To help customers interested in the ECP5 device family to quickly design and test application prototypes, Lattice has released an ECP5 Versa development kit. The kit lets customers evaluate the connectivity performance of the ECP5 FPGA with a range of standards, including PCI Express, Gigabit Ethernet, DDR3 and generic SERDES. Lattice also offers several proof-of-concept demos with the ECP5 Versa development kit that can help customers accelerate prototyping and testing of their designs.

Additionally, the ECP5 Versa development kit includes the Lattice Diamond Design Software that offers a complete suite of FPGA design tools with an easy-to-use interface, efficient design flow, superior design exploration and more. The Lattice Diamond software suite tailored specifically for the ECP5 Versa kit will be available free of charge to all users purchasing the board.

The new ECP5 Versa development kit is available direct from Lattice at a limited promotional price of $99 (US). To order the kit or learn more about the kit and its demo and design software, please visit the ECP5 Versa development kit web page.

Lattice optimized the ECP5 family’s architecture with the goal of delivering the best value below 100K LUTs, while adding key new features such as support for soft error correction, and small form factor packages across all densities. Achieving 40% lower cost than competing solutions, optimizations include small LUT4 based logic slices with enhanced routing architecture, dual-channel SERDES to save silicon real estate, and enhanced DSP blocks for up to 4x resource improvements.

LATTICE SEMICONDUCTOR www.latticesemi.com www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Power Integrations Delivers Industry’s First Charger Interface IC Compatible with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 Technology Power Integrations announced its newest member of the ChiPhy™ charger-interface IC family CHY103D, the first IC for off-line AC-DC chargers compatible with the Quick Charge (QC) 3.0 protocol from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Inc.

Used alongside Power Integrations’ InnoSwitch™ AC-DC switcher ICs, the CHY103D device incorporates all of the functions needed to support QC 3.0. The QC 3.0 protocol implemented in the CHY103D device substantially reduces losses in the smart mobile device handset during rapid charging. This permits system designers to choose to charge handsets faster or reduce phone touchtemperature during charging, and enhances the efficiency of the charging process.

The IC improves charging efficiency and reduces heat dissipation by enabling voltage changes in 200 mV increments instead of the larger steps (e.g., from 5 volts to 9 or 12 volts) employed in many current rapid-charging designs. This technique allows the mobile device to optimize the supply voltage from the offline charger, minimizing losses in the phone’s internal charge-management system.

CHY103D includes a wealth of protection features including Adaptive Output Overvoltage Protection (AOVP), which prevents the output from exceeding 120% of the set output voltage, Output Soft Short-circuit Protection (OSSP), which detects partial shorts and stops power delivery to prevent overheating of cable and connector, and a Remote Shutdown Protection (RESP) feature which enables the powered device to shut the adapter off remotely if a fault is detected.

The CHY103D device itself consumes less than 1 mW at 5 V output; in combination with highly efficient InnoSwitch devices, this low power consumption aids designers in complying with stringent efficiency requirements for chargers, such as the upcoming revision to U.S. federal standards for external power supplies.

POWER INTEGRATIONS 44

www.power.com

EP&Dee | September, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

Toshiba Launches Ultra-low Drop-out 500mA LDO Regulator ICs Toshiba Electronics Europe has launched a new series of 500mA LDO Regulator ICs that achieve the industry’s lowest-in-class drop-out voltages.

The devices are ideal for power management applications in smartphones, tablets and other battery operated devices including wearables. To increase efficiency of these LDOs special attention is put on minimizing the drop-out voltage at high output current and low output voltage operation.

The new TCR5AM series achieve an ultra-low dropout voltage by adopting a secondary bias voltage supply (VBAT) as a reference voltage. Applying VBAT = 3.3V enables a 0.6V output voltage operation with typical dropout voltages as low as 0.090V (@ IOUT = 300mA) and 0.150V (@ IOUT = 500mA). This performance makes the

TCR5AM series suitable for high-current loads (such as RF or camera circuits) in battery operated designs.

In addition to the excellent drop-out performance the TCR5AM series includes integrated protection fea-

tures like over-current and over-temperature protection as well as undervoltage lock-out and auto output discharge functions.

TOShIBA ELECTRONICS EUROPE www.toshiba.semicon-storage.com

Murata Extends D1U54 Series AC & DC Input Models at 1200Watt Murata announced the D1U54-D1200 series of DC-input front end power supply modules from Murata Power Solutions. This 1000VRMS isolated power supply provides a 12Vdc output at 1200 Watts, with a standby voltage at up to 20 Watts of power.

With a power density of 28 watts per cubic inch, the slim 54.5mm (2.15“) width and 1U height format minimizes space inside to maximize user utility, and user rear panel area. This configuration is popular with 1U and 2U applications in servers, storage equipment, data centers, and telecommunications network equipment.

D1U54-D-1200 Series DC-input models accommodate an operating input voltage range of -40Vdc to -72Vdc. This product series complements the AC-input D1U54P-W-1200 models and allows plug and play compatibility between products.

The hot swap enabled D1U54-D1200 Series has integral MOSFET ORing in conjunction with active current sharing of the main output. These features allow up to 8 units to operate

in parallel, providing the capability to drive larger loads or to build in N+N redundancy of supplies.

With a PMBus compliant digital interface, the supply can be monitored, managed and controlled using industry standard PMBus protocol commands. Safety features of the D1U54D-1200 Series include over-voltage, over-current and over-temperature protection.

Model selection in the D1U54-D-1200 Series includes choice of a3.3Vdc or 5.0Vdc standby outputs as well as forward or reverse airflow.

MURATA www.murata.com

PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Toshiba Expands Line-up of ARM® Cortex® -Mbased Microcontrollers

Digi International and Digi-Key Introduce New XBee Wireless Connectivity Kit

Toshiba Electronics Europe will enhance its portfolio of ARM® Cortex®-based microcontrollers with the development of the new TXZ family of microcontrollers that support low-power consumption and high-speed operation for IoT and M2M ecosystems.

Digi International®, and Digi-Key Electronics announced the availability of the Digi XBee® Wireless Connectivity Kit (XKB2-AT-WWC).

Initially available exclusively through Digi-Key for the next 90 days for $59, the platform provides a comprehensive resource for developers to better understand how XBee RF modules can be used for wireless device connectivity and sensor networking solutions.

With more than 10 million XBee modules deployed, the technology is proven to enable fast time-to-market, design flexibility, low development costs, and excellent range for those seeking to incorporate wireless capabilities into a whole new range of products and solutions. The new connectivity kit offers beginners and experienced designers and engineers alike the opportunity to easily incorporate wireless communications into their designs.

The new TXZ family has been designed to meet market needs for low power consumption systems by integrating the ultra-low power design technologies adopted in Toshiba’s TZ series of ApP Lite™ application processor family for IoT solutions into current TX family of microcontrollers.

Fabricated using a newly developed embedded flash memory process based on a 65nm logic process, the TXZ series will reduce power consumption by 60% compared to Toshiba’s current microcontroller products.

The first product group will be the TMPM3H, part of the TXZ3 series that will be based on ARM Cortex-M3 core. The TMPM3H group will feature products characterized by small packages with pin counts of 32-100 pins, flash memory capacities of 32KB128KB and standard peripheral functions. Toshiba expects the devices to reduce entire system power consumption, targeting less than 100uA/MHz for the microcontrollers. Sample shipments will start in the second quarter of 2016.

Toshiba will continue to broaden the group line-up. It will launch a second product group of high-speed products based on the ARM Cortex-M4F core and a third product group featuring ultra-low power consumption products based on the same core.

Toshiba has also started to develop microcontrollers with embedded non-volatile memory (NVM) that adopts single-poly multi-time programmable cells on its 130nm logic process technology. These devices will help to reduce cost in applications including power management and motor control. Sample shipments will start in the fourth quarter of 2015.

In reinforcing its microcontroller portfolio and meeting a wide variety of market needs, Toshiba aims to launch 300 products in the next years: 180 products by 2017 and a further 120 by 2018.

Notes: * ARM and Cortex are registered trademarks of ARM Limited (or its subsidiaries) in the EU and/or elsewhere. * TXZ is a trademark of Toshiba Corporation. * ApP Lite is a trademark of Toshiba Corporation.

TOShIBA ELECTRONICS EUROPE

www.toshiba.semicon-storage.com

The kit features two XBee Grove Development Boards - an innovative new board for XBee modules that incorporates the universal 4 pin connector used by Grove sensors, two XBee RF modules and micro-USB cables. With the kit, developers can gain an understanding of how to incorporate wireless connectivity into their solutions, as well as create prototypes for testing proofs-of-concept (POC).

“This is another step in our relationship with Digi-Key to enable hundreds of thousands of engineers to realize the value that Digi products offer,” said richard halliday, vice president of channel sales and alliances, Digi International. “Working with Digi-Key provides an efficient way to expose all types of designers to the entire breadth of innovative wireless capabilities Digi International offers – and demonstrates how easy it can be to incorporate reliable, scalable and secure wireless connectivity within a variety of products and solutions.”

“By providing this solution, engineers can quickly understand all the value that wireless connectivity can bring to their solution and how easy it is to incorporate,” said david stein, Vice President, Global Semiconductors at Digi-Key. “We’re excited to continue introducing offerings that showcase the exceptional capabilities of the XBee product line.”

Digi-Key has created a dedicated site allowing engineers to become more familiar with the extent of XBee capabilities and determine which XBee solutions are best suited to their needs.

DIGI INTERNATIONAL www.digi.com DIGI-KEy ELECTRONICS www.digikey.com www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

Get in Touch with your Inner NEEK with the Terasic MAX 10 Nios II Embedded Evaluation Kit at Mouser Electronics Mouser Electronics, Inc. is now shipping the MAX® 10 Nios® II Embedded Evaluation Kit (NEEK) from Terasic Technologies. This evaluation kit supports test and development of the Altera® MAX 10 nonvolatile field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), offering a comprehensive design environment with everything embedded developers need to create a processing-based system. The kit allows developers to rapidly customize their processor and IP to suit their specific needs, rather than constraining software around the fixed feature set of the processor.

Silicon Labs Simplifies Bluetooth Smart Design with Fully Integrated Blue Gecko Module Silicon Labs introduced a fully integrated, pre-certified Bluetooth® Smart module solution that gives developers the fastest path to low-power wireless connectivity for the IoT. The new BGM111 module is the first in a family of advanced Blue Gecko modules from Silicon Labs delivering best-in-class integration, flexibility, energy efficiency and toolchain support with an easy migration path to Blue Gecko systemon-chip (SoC) solutions. The BGM111 Blue Gecko module simplifies Bluetooth Smart design and accelerates time to market for a wide array of applications including smart phone accessories, beacons, connected home devices, health and fitness trackers, personal medical devices, automotive diagnostics, industrial sensors and point of sale terminals. The BGM111 modules are pre-loaded with the Bluegiga Bluetooth 4.1-compliant software stack and profiles and are fieldupgradable using device firmware upgrades to Bluetooth 4.2 and beyond.

The BGM111 module abstracts the complexity out of RF design, the Bluetooth Smart protocol and embedded programming. Silicon Labs’ Blue Gecko portfolio provides developers with the flexibility to begin Bluetooth development with BGM111 modules

and then transition to Blue Gecko SoCs when needed with minimal system redesign and full software reuse.

Customers can begin designing with the module for faster time to market and minimal design effort, and then later migrate to a Silicon Labs Blue Gecko SoC-based design with a seamless software experience.

SILICON LABS www.silabs.com

Toshiba Launches New Brushless Motor Pre-Driver IC for Electric Power Steering (EPS) Systems The Terasic MAX 10 NEEK, available from Mouser Electronics, provide developers with an integrated platform to develop a wide range of applications on the Altera MAX 10 FPGAs. The MAX 10 NEEK board includes an Altera MAX10 10M50DAF484 C6G FPGA, which features integrated dual analogto-digital converters (ADCs), 1,638 Kbits of embedded memory, and 5,888 Kbits of flash memory, and contains 50,000 programmable logic elements (LE). The embedded 32-bit Nios II RISC processor supports a variety of operating systems and includes free development tools.

The MAX 10 NEEK board offers 256 MBytes of DDR3 SDRAM, 512 MBytes of quad-SPI Flash, and a Micro SD socket for additional storage. The board includes a five-point 800×480 LCD fivepoint capacitive touch panel and digital image module to allow for the development of multimedia applications. Designers can use the onboard USB-Blaster II or optional JTAG (via a 10-pin header) for easy test and debugging. The board features Gigabit Ethernet, PS/2 connection, and a 2×6 Terasic Mini Digital (TMD) expansion header. The board supports 24-bit audio, HDMI RX (including support for 3D video), and an 8-megapixel MIPI CS-2 color camera input.

MOUSER ELECTRONICS 46

www.mouser.com

EP&Dee | September, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

Toshiba has released a new brushless motor pre-driver IC for use in electric power steering systems (EPS). The TB9081FG features enhanced fail safe and failure detection circuits to achieve a high level of functional safety.

With safety-critical automotive systems such as EPS now needing to meet the requirements of ASIL-D, an industry standard designed to minimise the risk from system failures, it is vital for these devices to offer comprehensive redundancy and protection systems.

The new TB9081FG integrates numerous protection functions, including 3phase pre-driver circuits, fail-safe relay pre-driver circuits, motor current detection circuits, plus various additional failure detection circuits to detect latent faults. An initial diagnosis circuit to detect latent faults in the failure detection circuits is also incorporated to provide even higher levels of functional safety.

Toshiba has carried out a range of functional safety analyses to simulate various system failures and will provide customers with documentation, such as

FMEDA, to support safety analysis and design. Built-in fail-safe relay pre-driver circuits drive the semiconductor relay between the motor and MOSFET (driver) and between the power-supply side and MOSFET (driver). The fail-safe relay pre-driver circuits have a total of five channels, three for the motor side and two for the power-supply side.

Both have dedicated input terminals, making independent control possible.

Housed in a LQFP64 package, the TB9081FG measures 12.0mm × 12.0mm × 1.6mm. The device will be entering mass production in 2017, with samples available later in 2015.

TOShIBA ELECTRONICS EUROPE www.toshiba.semicon-storage.com

PRODUCT NEWS

ACTIVE COMPONENTS

MSC Technologies integrates low-power 6th Generation Intel® Core™ processors on COM Express modules

Microchip doubles Flash memory and adds new security options in latest family of eXtreme Low Power PIC® microcontrollers

MSC Technologies, a business unit of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), presents the MSC C6C-SLU Type 6 COM Express™ module family, which is based on the latest 6th Generation Intel® Core™ processors (codename Skylake-U). Intel’s U processor platform integrates the low-power processor with graphics controller and the complete chipset in one multi-chip package.

Microchip announces the expansion of its eXtreme Low Power (XLP) PIC® microcontroller (MCU) portfolio. Features of the new PIC24F “GB4” family include an integrated hardware crypto engine with both OTP and Key RAM options for secure key storage, up to 256 KB of Flash memory and a direct drive for segmented LCD displays, in 64-, 100- or 121-pin packages. Dual-partition Flash with Live Update capability allows the devices to hold two independent software applications, and permits the simultaneous programming of one partition while executing application code from the other. These advanced features make the PIC24F “GB4” family ideal for designers of industrial, computer, medical/fitness and portable applications that require secure data transfer and storage, and a long battery life.

The new processor line is perfectly suited to fill the performance gap between existing Intel® Atom™ and high-end Intel® Core™ two-chip solutions.

The energy-efficient MSC C6C-SLU COM Express™ modules in the compact form factor of 95 mm × 95 mm have a typical power consumption between 17 W and 19 W. Due to their low power consumption they enable the implementation of embedded systems, without the need for extensive cooling requirements. Some typical applications can be found in automation systems, for example.

MSC Technologies offers its powerful MSC C6C-SLU COM family in three processor variants with dual-core Intel® Core™ i76600U, i5-6300U and i3-6100U. The thermal design power (TDP) of the integrated processors is 15 W. The on-chip Intel® HD Graphics Gen. 9 supports DirectX® 12 and OpenGL 4.4.

Three independent displays with up to 4k × 2k pixels can be connected. Hardware-based graphics acceleration and video encoding/decoding complete the feature list.

The wide range of modern interfaces includes 4 × USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports, seven PCIe x1 Gen. 3.0 Lanes, 3 × SATA, Gbit Ethernet, HD Audio, LPC, LVDS or embedded DisplayPort (eDP), DisplayPort, and DVI/HDMI. The modules can be equipped with up to 16 GB DDR3L SDRAM and an integrated Trusted Platform Module (TPM) for additional security features.

In addition to this new product line, MSC Technologies will offer another COM Express™ module family based on the two-chip platform Skylake-H in the coming months.

For evaluation and quick prototyping of the Type 6 COM Express™ module family, MSC Technologies offers the MSC C6MB-EV Mini-ITX carrier board. The universal baseboard provides connectors for USB, GbE LAN, audio, DisplayPort, eDP, and LVDS graphics outputs. The board comes with a PCI Express™ ×16 slot, a PCI Express Mini card socket for functional extension, and a SD Card slot.

MSC TEChNOLOGIES

www.msc-technologies.eu

To protect embedded data, several Microchip Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) that run without the CPU are integrated into the PIC24F “GB4” family. The fully featured hardware crypto engine, which includes support for the AES, DES and 3DES standards, reduces software overhead, lowers power consumption and enables faster throughput. A Random Number Generator is used for generating random keys for data encryption, decryption and authentication, enabling a higher level of security. For additional protection, this family offers the flexibility of choosing from two crypto-key storage options: One-Time-Programmable (OTP) to prevent overwriting keys, or Key RAM that erases keys if power is lost. To allow the application’s Real-Time Clock to continue running when primary power is removed, a VBAT pin can be used to supply back-up power.

Reducing system components, a segmented LCD display driver provides the ability to directly drive up to 512 segments, enabling more informative and flexible displays that include descriptive icons and scrolling.

The PIC24F “GB4” family is supported by Microchip’s standard suite of world-class development tools, including the PIC24FJ256GB410 Plug-In Module (MA240038) for the Explorer 16 Development Board (DM240001), priced at $25.00 and $129.99 respectively.

MICROChIP TEChNOLOGy www.microchip.com/PIC24FJ256GB410-082415a www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS

IoT - Smart technologies for Smart Industrial Environment As a distributor, we are proud to offer a wide range of products that will perform with your application. We bring you new information and new range, adding more than 5.000 new products every month.

No other supplier can offer such a broad choice of electronic components, automation and control gear, maintenance tools, test and measurement equipment, so if you need quality products accompanied by quality services, you will find them at RS. In our days one of the most hot subject in industry and other domains (consumer electronics is a big one), is Internet of Things (IoT). It is possible that you already have to do with IoT, without even realising it.

What iot means?

This concept of Internet of Things (IoT) is not so from the present but more something evolved from the past, some would argue that the discussions started in early 90s. All started with the idea of mainstreaming identification chips (RFID) in and with all items we interact with in our day-by-day life.

Actual, IoT refers to devices with an advanced connectivity, systems and services that interact with one another and cover a variety of protocols, domains and applications. In short terms, devices will (and are) communicate with each other and even will be able to make decisions based on the feedback received from other equipment.

solution of internet of things Arduino Zero Pro The new Arduino Zero Pro board provides increased performance, providing you with the potential to create imaginative and new ideas for IoT devices • Arduino Zero Pro represents a simple, yet powerful, 32-bit extension of the Arduino UNO platform.

• Powered by Atmel’s SAMD21 MCU, featuring a 32-bit ARM Cortex® M0 core.

• Upgraded flexibility and boosts the scope of projects you can make including: • Wearable technologies, high tech automation or wild robotics.

• Ideal educational tool for learning about 32-bit application development.

• Atmel’s Embedded Debugger (EDBG), integrated in the board, provides a full debug interface with no additional hardware.

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EP&Dee | September, 2015 | www.epd-ee.eu

product details • Microcontroller ATSAMD21G18 48pins LQFP • EDBG Microcontroller AT32UC3A4256, 100pins VFBGA • Operating Voltage 3.3V • Input Voltage (recommended) 6-15 V • Input Voltage (limits) 4.5-20 V • Digital I/O Pins 14, with 12 PWM and UART • Analog Input Pins 6, 12-bit ADC channels • Analog Output Pins 1, 10-bit DAC • DC Current per I/O Pin 7 mA • Flash Memory 256 KB • SRAM 32 KB • Clock Speed 48 MHz RS Stock No. 865-9004 Mfr. Part No. a000111

INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS Silicon Labs with EFM8UB10 The energy-friendly EFM8 MCUs are based on the popular 8051 core and are ideal for your IoT applications.

Benefi t signifi cantly from the code density advantages and value of the EFM8 family of MCUs. • The Busy Bee family operate at up to 50 MHz. These MCUs offer highvalue by integrating advanced analog and communication peripherals into small packages, ideal for space constrained applications.

• The Sleepy Bee family for low power and battery powered systems. Incorporates an effi cient 8 bit core, innovative low energy techniques, short wake-up times in a small form factor.

• The Universal Bee family for space constrained USB applications. The most integrated mixed-signal 8-bit microcontroller with USB for any full speed application.

product details • Integrated debugger • Advanced Energy Monitor (AEM) • 128 × 128 pixel memory LCD display, reflective monochrome • 2 × user pushbuttons • Reset pushbutton • Thumb analogue joystick • Access to GPIO via breakout pads • User tri-colour LED • Powered from USB connector or CR2032 coin cell, selected by slide-switch • CR2032 coin cell holder • miniUSB power connector • microUSB device connector • 20-pin Expansion header & Debug connectors • CR2032 battery, getting started card, miniUSB cable and microUSB cable.

mfr. part no.slstK2000a: 48MHz EFM8UB10F16G-A 8051-core microcontroller, 16KB Flash memory, 2304B RAM (RS 865-2387) mfr. part no.slstK2001a: 48MHz EFM8UB20F64G-A 8051-core microcontroller, 64KB Flash memory, 4352B RAM (RS 865-2381) Jorjin WLAN WiFi Modules Get your wireless and iot applications to market fast with Jorjin. fully verifi ed and tested wireless sip modules and application processor system on module (som).

• • • • • • • • • • • •

WA6800-00 audio decoder modules and WA6800-CO Audio Module Designed for WiFi wireless streaming applications Realtek 8188ETV CMOS MAC, baseband PHY and RF in a single chip for IEEE 802.11b/g/n compatible WiFi Built-in 24-bit DAC for analogue stereo output IEC-60958 (S/PDIF) multi-channel (4.1) digital audio output USB, UART and I2C serial interfaces Power LED Reboot button PCB antenna External antenna socket RS Stock No. 841-2505 Power supply: +5Vdc Mfr. Part No. Wa6800-00 Dimensions: 60 × 30 × 8mm

io-link standard, the way for industrial iot The communication standard IO-Link is ideally suited to consistent automation, possible only with sensors and actuators.

Integrating all components is simplified by IO-Link in switchboards and IO-Link on the field level, ensure the maximal consistency and efficiency on the last steps to the process and thereby seamless communication. an io-link system consists of the following basic components: • IO-Link master • IO-Link device (e.g., sensors, RFID readers, valves, motor starters, I/O modules) • Unshielded 3- or 5-conductor standard cables • Engineering tool for configuring and assigning parameters of IO-Link

Components of IO-Link, http://www.io-link.com/ www.epd-ee.eu | September, 2015 | EP&Dee

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INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS

Advantages / standard functions Easy Device Replacement • Precise localization of the sensor within the machine and system.

• Sensors can be replaced safely without the need for additional tools or instructions, even if the personnel have not been trained in this area.

• automatic configuration prevents incorrect settings.

• Replacement scenario precisely documented.

• Reduction in expensive service work.

• Minimized downtime periods.

• Guaranteed machine throughput.

Flexible Sensor Adjustment • Automatic configuration prevents incorrect settings.

• Reduction in downtime periods when product changes take place.

• More machine flexibility.

• Increase in the variety of products a machine can handle.

Condition Monitoring / Diagnostics • Minimized risk of failure.

• Optimization of maintenance and servicing periods.

• Service technician can prepare for maintenance using remote diagnostics.

• Trained personnel carry out the maintenance work.

• The service technician can identify critical sensor statuses and rectify any potential problems before a failure happens.

• Enhanced maintenance contracts that include process monitoring are available.

• Optimized production times.

• Ensures functionality of the sensors.

Sensor visualization and configuration • Comprehensive diagnostics options for the sensor.

• The visualization software also allows advanced functions to be configured.

• Quality values and performance reserve of a sensor signal can be checked and optimized.

• Easier to select the functions and levels of performance required of the sensor to provide a solution for the application.

• Straightforward desktop sensor configuration.

For more information about the products please access ro.rsdelivers.com or contact us by email: compec@compec.ro phone: +40 (0) 213 046 233 / fax: +40 (0) 213 046 234. by http://www.sick.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: mihaela sârbu aurocon compec 50

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