Electronics News October 2013

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ne ws Australia’s Premier Electronics Magazine

www.electronicsnews.com.au INSIDE

OCTOBER 13

Page 4 News 4 Free design software for engineers NI redesigns from the inside out Innovation 12

Lights on at ecoSpectral

Recent advances in low-power microcontrollers makes it much easier to design compact but powerful products that sip electricity Application 14

Perfect storm for 32-bit MCUs

Post Print Approved PP100007879

Healing touch

The story of the HALO digital goniometer and its Australian inventor is one of grassroots innovation and an unyielding drive to succeed Page 8

Design | Communications | Environmental | Industrial | Research | Medical | Consumer

Market competition along with technology development and the economy have conspired to create a near-perfect climate for the adoption of 32-bit MCUs New Products 17

A selection of the best product releases From the world’s smallest WiFi device servers to encapsulated lights Profile 19

Jeff Kodosky Jeff Kodosky cofounded NI and has continued to mentor the organization and pioneer the graphical system design approach through LabVIEW

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NEWS

EDITOR’S MESSAGE

Turning the spotlight on our innovators

PUBLISHER Martin Sinclair martin.sinclair@cirrusmedia.com.au EDITOR Kevin Gomez Tel: (02) 8484 0976 kevin.gomez@cirrusmedia.com.au KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER Tim Richards Tel: (02) 8484 0829 Fax: (02) 8484 0915 tim.richards@cirrusmedia.com.au QLD SALES MANAGER Sharon R. Amos PO Box 3136, Bracken Ridge QLD 4017 Tel: (07) 3261 8857 Fax: (07) 3261 8347 sharon.amos@cirrusmedia.com.au PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Tracy Engle Tel: (02) 8484 0707 tracy.engle@cirrusmedia.com.au GRAPHIC DESIGNER Louis Santos louis.santos@cirrusmedia.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS Customer Service Tel: 1300 360 126. Fax: (02) 8484 0633. customerservice@reedbusiness.com.au Subs: Australia $99 incl GST New Zealand A$109.00 Overseas A$119.00

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WITH a new Federal government in place, there is hope that Australia’s technology landscape will get some much needed attention. Befere the industry seeks new forms of support, we need to Kevin Gomez ascertain if we are making the most of the Editor programs already in place.

For example, there are several Co-operative Research Centres (CRCs) doing pioneering work in several areas of engineering. Local companies can tap into these CRCs and get a hold of some cutting edge technology.

Interestingly, a recent survey of more than 150 companies revealed that more than half were unaware of the existence of CRCs and the benefits companies could derive from these centres. There is a lot of taxpayer-funded money going into these and other initiatives; perhaps we need to find a better way to disseminate this information.

Also, the work done by National ICT Australia (NICTA) needs to get more airtime. Our funding organisations and venture capitalists have not yet developed a risk-taking culture and NICTA’s work in the areas of, for example, data analytics, health informatics, the bionic eye and robotics, show immense commercialisation potential.

Electronics and allied engineering disciplines can deliver productivity gains, better health and a more sustainable use of resources and Next Issue environment in Australia. In some ways, we sit on the periphery of • Communications/Networks this industry and the most prudent • Test & Measurement 1 •2Thermal 0 1 3Management - 0 5 - 3 0 T 1 1 :approach 0 1 : 4 will 1 +E 1N0to1:focus 00103on _ technology 0 0 0 _ MA R . be applications that solve operational • PCB Design

problems in areas such as health, resources, transport and communication.

The goniometer, featured in this issue of Electronics News, is one local innovation that is attempting to go commercial.

Physiotherapist Hayley Warren, enlisted the support of an electronics engineer to develop an instrument to measure the angle at patients’ joints. Despite the immense promise, it has been difficult for Warren to secure financial backing. She has mentioned that raising capital is the biggest hurdle.

This issue of Electronics News features another homegrown innovator, David Keightley, who set up ecoSpectral to develop products and capabilities in smart sensors, lighting and energy consumption control. ecoSpectral’s main focus is on controlled LED lights, which has immediate appeal and results for its target audience. Keightley was encouraged to find a lot of good local expertise in Australia for developing systems and products.

To all our readers, if you know of other innovators, do let us know. We would love to talk to them and look at featuring their work in our publications and sites.

Maybe there is hope for the industry p d fall! P a g e 1 1 6 / 0 5 / 1 3 , after kevin.gomez@cirrusmedia.com.au

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NEWS

DESIGN

Free design software for engineers RS Components (RS) has announced a 3D solid modelling and assembly tool that is available free of charge.

Developed in conjunction with SpaceClaim, a provider of affordable 3D modelling software for engineers, the new DesignSpark Mechanical is expected to bring major benefits to design engineers. It is a step in the continuing evolution of the DesignSpark online resource hub for the engineering community.

Australia is already on board with this new product. “Sydney is number two and Melbourne number four in downloads,” Mark Crundle DesignSpark Mechanical employs direct modelling. told Electronics News at the launch. ated with traditional 3D CAD tools. design solution and can benefit from Crundle is the UK-based Global Not only is DesignSpark 3D modelling to quickly develop Head of Technical Marketing at RS. Mechanical free, its simplicity of sophisticated concepts and products.

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software within minutes, rather than the weeks or months required to become skilled with traditional 3D CAD tools.

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NI redesigns from the inside out CLOSE to 4,000 engineers and professionals from around the world gathered at the Austin Convention Center in Texas for NIWeek 2013, National Instruments’ annual graphical system design conference.

And they were not disappointed as NI released a slew of products and unveiled several interesting applications.

NI has redesigned the CompactRIO from the inside out giving it four times faster performance than previous generations.

The new cRIO-9068 softwaredesigned controller however, maintains full NI LabVIEW and I/O compatibility with the CompactRIO platform. The controller includes the Xilinx Zynq-7020 All Programmable system on a chip (SoC), which combines a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor and Xilinx 7 Series FPGA fabric.

A new Linux-based, real-time OS provides greater flexibility for both LabVIEW Real-Time and C/C++ application developers.

The new NI LabVIEW 2013 offers overhauled sample projects, an expanded training library as well as new tools to facilitate the management, documentation and debugging of complex systems.

The NI cRIO-9068 helps meet

demanding embedded control and monitoring tasks while reducing development time and cost.

Engineers use the CompactRIO platform to build systems that can suppress fires on cargo airplanes, generate electricity through the flight of tethered kites and precisely stack 20 tons of wet concrete.

One of the users is Lime Instruments that has developed a control system for the hydraulic fracturing market. Their solution works with a variety of existing equipment and legacy systems, withstand harsh environments and offer a high degree of reliability.

“The increased performance and capabilities, ultra-rugged specifications and affordable price of the cRIO-9068 make it ideal for our next generation of oil field and electrical grid products,” said Robert Stewart, president of Lime Instruments.

“NI Linux-RT really opens up the CompactRIO system to advanced customisation,” added James Ritter, software engineering manager at Lime Instruments.

“We can take advantage of the remarkable amount of software in the Linux community to improve network security, more easily manage our systems remotely >>

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NEWS

INDUSTRIAL

or use open-source code libraries with ease.”

“Because so many customers have invested in CompactRIO, we took this redesign extremely seriously,” said David Fuller, vice president of applications and embedded software at National Instruments. “Our R&D teams re-examined every part of the controller’s design and made sweeping improvements while maintaining complete backward code compatibility.”

National Instruments also announced an expanded commitment to engineering education with the release of NI myRIO. Based on the same technology as the NI CompactRIO platform, NI The ultra-rugged specifications of cRIO-9068 make it myRIO is smaller and more student-friendly than suitable for Lime Instruments’ next generation of oil its industrial counterpart. field and electrical grid products.

NI myRIO includes the latest Zynq all multiple environments, including LabVIEW and programmable system on a chip (SoC) technology C/C++, allowing educators to incorporate it into from Xilinx, which combines a dual-core ARM their existing controls, robotics, mechatronics and Cortex-A9 processor and an FPGA with 28,000 embedded systems courses. programmable logic cells.

NI also announced the cDAQ-9188XT, an 8-slot Using the NI LabVIEW graphical programming NI CompactDAQ Ethernet chassis designed for environment, students can program the FPGA distributed or remote measurements in extreme and evolve their systems in real time, giving them environments. The cDAQ-9188XT can withstand the flexibility to prototype and quickly iterate on temperatures from -40 to 70°C, 50g of shock and 5g their designs. of vibration. Engineers in the automotive, military The NI myRIO also includes 10 analog inputs, and aerospace industries have used it to successsix analog outputs, audio I/O channels and up to fully acquire data and avoid repeat tests.

40 lines of digital I/O. It includes onboard WiFi, “We’re using the cDAQ-9188XT to track a three-axis accelerometer and several programpressure, vibration, velocity and more in our mable LEDs in a durable, enclosed form factor. jetpowered vehicle as we try to break the world “If I had made a list of everything I wanted land speed record,” said Steve Wallace, data in a portable I/O device, it would have looked acquisition scientist for the North American Eagle almost exactly like the spec sheet of NI myRIO,” Project. “So far it’s survived everything we’ve University of Florida engineering instructor Dan thrown at it and given us great results.”

Dickrell III said. “This little unit is an amazing In addition, the chassis is the first in the piece of engineering.”

Ensuring classroom and laboratory adaptability, NI CompactDAQ platform to offer an onboard watchdog with defined safe states to help protect NI myRIO comes with free downloadable courseyour tests and equipment. The platform includes ware, is compatible with all NI miniSystems and 10 chassis options, three buses and over 50°C connects with many third-party sensors and actuaEN 0 1 3 _ to 0 the 0 0 hardware _ T E K ecosystem 1 2avail0 1 3 - 0Series 9 - 1modules 7 T 1 0with : 0 a4 wide : 5 0range + 1 0of:connectivity 0 0 tors.

In1addition and I/O. The platform also has native integration able for NI myRIO, the device is programmable in

6 october 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

cDAQ-9188XT is designed for distributed or remote measurements in extreme environments.

Seen in the NIWeek exhibition hall : researchers using a lifelike robot to better understand how autistic children react and communicate. with NI LabVIEW system design software, which provides signal processing libraries and user interface controls designed for data visualisation.

Additionally, with the LabVIEW Electrical Power Suite, NI CompactDAQ users can integrate power analysis functions such as energy, frequency, voltage unbalance and event detection into their monitoring systems.

[Electronics News Editor Kevin Gomez filed this report from NIWeek 2013 in Austin, Texas.] australia.ni.com

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FEATURE

MEDICAL

Innovative measures From concept to final commercial product, the story of the HALO digital goniometer and its inventor is one of grassroots innovation – and an unyielding drive to succeed, writes Isaac Leung.

T

HE goniometer is a common tool used by medical practitioners to measure the range of motion of joints.

It is used to assess recovery from an injury, or the degree of disability associated with limited joint movement.

But since its invention in 18th century Europe, the instrument has evolved slowly. As a manual instrument, it remained clumsy to use, and the resulting highly E N 0 8measurements 1 3 _ 0 0 0 _were TEN 1 2 variable, depending on who was using it.

Studying Physiotherapy at Curtin University, Hayley Warren experienced first-hand the difficulty of using the manual goniometer, and hatched the idea of integrating smartphone-generation electronics into a device which would propel the humble goniometer into the digital era.

Four years down the track, that initial seed of an idea is now a commerciallyavailable product, in demand by doctors, nurses, physical therapists, trainers and 0chiropractors.

1 3 - 0 7 - 3 1 T1 0 : 3 7 : 1 1 + 1 0 By all counts, the product development

cycle for the HALO digital goniometer is a case study in successful grass-roots innovation.

An idea takes root Curtin’s School of Physiotherapy doesn’t seem like the most likely of places for next-generation entrepreneurs to roam, but it was while studying to be a physiotherapist that Warren identified the gap in the capabilities of the manual : goniometer.

0 0 And while she had a fairly good idea

The range and angle of movement is determined by a three-axis movement and position sensor inside the device, similar to the motion sensors found in modern smartphones.

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FEATURE

Warren to refine her prototype, program, and a win in the 2010 of what the solution would involve, although the basics remained WA Innovator of the Year Awards.

Warren knew she would need help consistent.

The latter, in particular, gave the with the design and engineering side “In terms of the actual industrial company a $25,000 cash injection, of things. design, [the HALO] was always and another $25,000 worth of legal “I knew the concept and I knew meant to be round,” Warren what I needed, but understanding explained. the technology, or what components The range and angle of “We started with round designs or hardware are out there to do movement is determined that were a lot thicker, and then the job was certainly a limitation,” changed various components Warren said. by a three-axis inside the actual device to make it Warren used her savings and movement and position slimmer.” raised investment from her family to kick-start the process, working with sensor inside the device Funding and beyond design firms Spring and Logicom (Romteck) for the industrial design and marketing advice, allowing As the product took shape, Warren and the prototype electronics.

Warren to optimise the structure of worked on keeping her fledgling The first prototype was completed her company. company, Firstphysio, above the in mid-2010, allowing pilot studies In late 2011, FirstPhysio received water. at Edith Cowan University, Curtin a $50,000 Skills and Knowledge The strength of her idea, and her University and Commercialisation EN1 0 1 3 _James 0 0 0Cook _ MI C P drive a g eto make 1 2it0a1success, 3 - 0 9led - 0to9anT 0 9 grant : 5 3from : 4 0 + 1 0 : 0 0 University. This feedback allowed Australia. This funding allowed appearance on The New Inventors

Warren to obtain advice on IP protection, business planning and capital raising.

Importantly, the win also granted Warren access to a mentor with a proven track record in commercialising medical devices through the Volunteer Business Mentor network run by Commercialisation Australia.

The mentor assisted with business planning and product development, and brought on board industry knowledge and experience which would make the tricky waters of entrepreneurship and product commercialisation a bit easier to navigate.

The mentorship also yielded a business relationship, with a joint venture between FirstPhysio (HALO

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FEATURE

design

Medical Devices) and Ausmedic for distribution of the device.

An evolving venture Warren transitioned the HALO’s software development to a contracted team of engineers from Atamo. To protect the software IP, the source code and all development work is done locally.

With the help of her mentor, she appointed Singapore-based Daviscomms to finalise the industrial design, and create a new schematic for the PCBs, before starting manufacturing.

“The electronics and the industrial design are very closely knit,” Warren explained.

The connectivity feature will allow use of the HALO with smartphones with data transmitted to apps

than-cooperative manufacturers, Warren has had a smooth experience working with the two manufacturers responsible for the HALO device.

The plastic casing is manufactured in China, while the electronics are made and populated in Singapore.

“I used two manufacturers who were recommended to me through one of my business mentors,” Warren told Electronics News. “He has had a 10 year plus relationship with both of them.”

“We have a very effective working relationship and communication between myself and these two companies. We’ve got project managers over there, we regularly meet, and discuss the project, where it’s going and where we need to be.”

By leveraging the expertise of her business mentor, and maintaining a high level of communications, Warren was able to avoid many of the traps that startups commonly face.

a backlit 2.4 inch colour LCD. While the device does not usually come in contact with the skin of the patient during measurements, the HALO can be sterilised using an alcohol wipe, and the plastic itself contains an anti-bacterial agent.

The internal lithium battery, based on a use case of 20 minutes a day (1 to 2 minutes for a patient, 20 patients a day), can be recharged weekly through the HALO’s USB port.

“It was important to me as the inventor, to not have to be charging the device all the time, or swapping batteries,” Warren said.

The next version By eliminating the unwieldy rulers, the HALO can be used with just one hand.

just one hand, allowing use of the other hand for supporting patient limbs. Another important point addressed in the industrial design was a focus on the dimensions of the HALO, to enable a good fit for both A product emerges male and female hand sizes.

“The electronics hardware needs The range and angle of movement to fit inside the plastics, and fit The final device uses medical-class is determined by a three-axis movesnugly to prevent damage from drops. lasers as guides to line up with landment and position sensor inside the So the synergy and the working marks. Unlike the physical rulers device, similar to the motion sensors relationship between Daviscomms used by the old manual variant, found in modern smartphones. and our contracted Atamo engineers the lasers extend to intersect key “It’s similar to the iPhone,” was very important.” points, improving accuracy since Warren said. “It’s not new While many startups find the practitioners no longer have to technology, we just have a unique process of outsourced manufacturing “eyeball” the positions.

0 1 3 _ one 0 0 filled 0 _ Hwith AM 6 2By 0 eliminating 1 3 - 0 9 - the 1 2unwieldy T 1 4 : 5 7 : 4 pairing 7 + 1 0with : 0 software.”

0 to E beNa1daunting The results are then displayed in unexpected set-backs and lessrulers, the HALO can be used with

The HALO goniometer formally launched into the online market in March 2013, and is now looking to break into the US market.

But Warren and her team are already planning the next version.

While R&D efforts are already well underway, the product development and manufacturing process is expected to continue for at least the next 12 months.

“The main difference for HALO2 is a new Bluetooth connectivity, and app integration,” Warren explained.

The Bluetooth chips will be integrated into the electronics, but the overall device dimensions will not change. The second HALO will not include Wi-Fi, due to its potential for interfering with other medical devices.

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FEATURE

This connectivity will allow use of the HALO with smartphones, with data transmitted to apps and then into existing medical software packages. This would expand the market for the HALO beyond medical practitioners.

According to Warren, the aim is for HALO to play a part in pushing towards end-to-end, decentralised health care.

A patient who has undergone hip operation, for example, can be taught by the nurse to use the HALO to monitor themselves at home.

“This would take the pressure off patients coming back into the hospital just to have a check up on their movement range. If they can just do that at home and send the results in, the orthopaedic surgeon or nurse can monitor it,” Warren said.

years of development and running it through tests and getting it to commercialisation, you’re obviously onto a good thing.”

“It’s all about conveying that belief and your concept to others and people jump on board, and that’s what gets you through the process.” www.commercialisationaustralia. gov.au

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Looking back In 2009, Hayley Warren was a physiotherapy student annoyed with a clumsy manual instrument.

By all measures, the past four years have been time well-spent, and Warren has grabbed all the opportunities and leveraged all the expertise available to her, successfully navigating the product development and commercialisation cycle.

But the path of a solitary innovator has never been easy – knock-backs and negative feedback all serve as giant waves that must be overcome.

“At this stage that I’m at now, I’m able to see it’s been worth it,” Warren said.

“But throughout the four-year process, during development, etc, there have been so many speed bumps, getting enough capital to make your idea happen, keeping that capital up, establishing relationships with manufacturers, sounding out business mentors to help streamline through the process.”

With 20/20 hindsight, Warren says the key to her success was her belief in what she was doing, and her ability to articulate her passion.

“If your concept is strong enough to prevail through a couple of

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FEATURE

ENVIRONMENTAL

Lights on at ecoSpectral David Keightley set up ecoSpectral to develop products and capabilities in smart sensors, lighting and energy consumption control.

WITH the convergence of environmental and energy efficiency concerns, and Internet-based remote control and management, home and building automation has become more accessible than ever. ecoSpectral was founded by David Keightley in 2010, with the aim of developing products and capabilities in smart sensors, lighting and energy consumption control.

“I’ve always liked smart sensing and controls,” Keightley said. “I found that my house and the buildings around me didn’t seem to be working very hard to lower my energy consumption and cost. It seemed like an obvious place for control systems and for sensing systems.”

According to Keightley, the industry is in a state of flux, with bigger trends prompting changes to the way home and building owners approach the management of their energy consumption.

“Energy is becoming very costly.

And in many countries, the infrastructure, the actual grid, is ageing, and struggling to meet demand.

Smart grids are not rolling out fast enough,” Keightley pointed out.

With less energy reliability, a greater swing towards supplementing the power from the grid with environmental solutions like solar, Keightley says people will become more and more responsible for their own power supply and quality of life. Battery backup systems and intelligent, closelymanaged power consumption will become the new norm.

“I think they are going to be seeking out those products more and more in the next couple of years, and I am trying to help provide products for that,” he said.

While home and building automation covers a range of technologies, from window shutters to air conditioning to door locks, ecoSpec12 october 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

tral’s main product focus is on controlled LED lights, which has immediate appeal and results for its target audience.

“We can make a big psychological difference very quickly with lighting,” Keightley explained. “It was important to bring some of the automation that big businesses were getting, and make that available ... as cost-effective products that could be used by small business and domestic customers, thereby bringing in those potential savings.”

Working together On the technology side, a big focus for ecoSpectral is standardisation and compatibility. As part of the Connected Lighting Association, it is engineering solutions which work with other manufacturers’ products.

“It’s wireless and it’s standardsbased, and we use standard ZigBee

The current system can detect ambient light levels allowing automatic shut-off when sufficient daylight is available protocols, so once you have the network in place, and your lighting is controlled, there is plenty of bandwidth available for other devices to communicate and use the same network and be controlled,” Keightley explained.

The issue of compatibility informs ecoSpectral’s operations. Part of the start-up’s business model is to partner with lighting companies to help with the R&D in building and providing control networks.

By supplementing their partner companies’ existing lighting product range with networked control technology, ecoSpectral says the existing

Prototypes and pre-production systems of ecoSpectral’s smart sensors. companies can stay at the leading edge of the business.

“We are not trying to own the whole space,” Keightley said. “So while some of our competitors want to own the whole space, we enable small, medium and large lighting companies, and other companies to stay competitive in the market.”

Most of the differentiation for ecoSpectral lies in its algorithms, which are designed to cater to consumers, delivering more intuitive operation, and providing powerful control without the rigidity associated with industrial automation systems.

“As we move to production release in this next quarter, we are spending a reasonable amount of effort on making sure that the interfaces are straightforward, powerful, and a lot of fun.”

The overall industry trends toward intelligent sensing and lowenergy devices are also allowing ecoSpectral to build more compact and more energy efficient modular controllers and drivers.

“One of the sensors that we use is a Panasonic sensor which takes barely a trickle of power. Obviously the ambient light sensors have been traditionally very good, but I am just very impressed with how the occupancy sensor technology has

advanced in recent years.”

The recent advances in low-power microcontrollers also makes it much easier for ecoSpectral to design compact but powerful products that sip electricity in minute amounts.

“Intel, Microchip and some of the others are building chips more and more that take lower voltages to run, and are very smart about being able to shut themselves down to the point where they take barely a trickle and can be woken up by sensor events and other events,” Keightley said.

Flexible network Currently, the ecoSpectral systems are engineered to be connected into the mains – the low power requirements ensure the devices do not consume significantly increased amounts of electricity, which would defeat the purpose of lighting control.

The system establishes a structured ZigBee network for improved scalability over ad hoc networks – nodes can be added or subtracted at any time.

Serving as the bridge computer to connect the ZigBee network with the Internet is an off-the-shelf single board computer selected for its very low energy consumption. The fanless SBC is cooled with heatsinks only, and can put itself into a low power mode.

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FEATURE

While the bridge allows access via the Internet to the network, the intelligent nodes on the network are functional even if the bridge goes down.

“If someone turns off that device, the lighting network continues to run in one of two ways,” Keightley explained. “You can nominate one of the microcontrollers to act as the network controller, so even if the main one goes down, one of the nodes can take up the job.”

“But each of the nodes also knows its profile and can run in standalone mode, and give you perfectly intelligent light in standalone mode…each of the nodes can store quite a few profiles, and each node has a realtime clock, so it knows what time of

Product focus is on controlled LED lights which has immediate appeal and results for its target audience. day it is. That clock is checked on the network periodically so it stays synchronised.”

New nodes are recognised by the network, and the user then defines its behaviour in relation to the other nodes using a connected app on a mobile device.

“The system can control high power lighting of up to a thousand kilowatts, all the way down to a closet light,” Keightley said. “The system can help you add new rooms or new sections of light, and the behaviour becomes trackable and reprogrammable at any time.”

The links between the devices are fully encrypted, and the Internet connection is also secure.

“That is a critical aspect ... because if it’s vulnerable, people driving up would not only be able to see what is going on inside your building, but also being able to access other data through it,” Keightley said.

The brains of the system are either controllers from Microchip,

or an Atom-based processor, while the LEDs are driven by National Semiconductor chips, and ZigBee connectivity are also provided via Microchip’s chipsets.

Working locally ecoSpectral is now on the cusp of full-blown production, having dipped their toes into the water with preproduction runs of the product. This has been the culmination of a pure R&D effort for the past few years, starting with bread boarding, testing and interfacing evaluations.

The first simple prototype system was then produced to prove the concept.

“Then we moved to board manufacturing. We hired a professional embedded systems engineer to work with us. We wrote up the specification of how we wanted the behaviour, met up with the engineer, and he worked on enabling both the ZigBee layers and the actual message layer to send the messages to control the behaviour,” Keightley recalled.

“We took that prototype and tested that in an office and domestic setting. Then we went back, took the significant learning from the test, returned to the board design and redesigned it to address the weaknesses and allow better scalability, then had that a small run of that manufactured in Australia. With only a few changes, that has become our production product.”

Particular focus was put on developing the algorithms for the sensors, in order to deliver natural lighting behaviour which would be user-friendly. Throughout its product development cycle, ecoSpectral worked with a number of local companies. Victoria-based Einstein Tech, for example, is involved with taking the circuit designs, and laying out the PCBs. “We found that there is a lot of good expertise available in Australia for developing systems and products,” said Keightley.

Imagine Team, based in the ACT, was brought in to help with the app development efforts, while

ecoSpectral also collaborated with Sydney-based 4DESIGN to design the product casings.

To help with the programming of the systems, the firm engaged the expertise of control systems engineering company Pesce. For its first production run of around 10,000 units, the company is comparing the costs and exploring the pros and cons of manufacturing in Australia, China or the US. Pre-production run PCBs have thus far been made in China, then populated in Australia

by Einstein Tech.

A bright path forward The current system can detect ambient light levels, allowing automatic shut-off when sufficient daylight E N 1is 0available.

1 3 _ 0 It 0 can 0 _ also NPA control the brightness of the light,

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the rate of change for the brightness, and detect space occupancy.

Keightley has a number of ideas on what future products from ecoSpectral will be able to do. One of these is the ability to control the colour and temperature of the light, which can have a significant impact on human comfort. Another is to make the system more intelligent.

“We are only scratching the surface of what you can do with intelligence,” Keightley said. “There are huge and unexplored savings and services that people can access by processing the data that they are generating with this system.”

He is also exploring other areas and devices, such as smart grid and micro grid related products, as well as 1 solutions 2 0 1 3 for - 0off-grid 9 - 1 capabilities.

7 T1 0 : 0 0 : 4 7 + 1 0 : 0 0 www.ecospectral.com.au

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FEATURE

design

Perfect storm for 32-bit MCUs Market competition, technology development, and the economy have conspired to create a near-perfect climate for the adoption of 32-bit MCUs, writes Isaac Leung.

I

N MANY areas of the electronics industry, especially the industrial and low cost segments, a conservative attitude has reigned over the years. “Don’t fix what ain’t broke” and the cost barrier may have contributed to the resistance against transitioning to 32-bit microcontrollers, but if the designer will not come to the market, then the market will go to the designer.

The 32-bit MCU market is now characterised by declining prices and a stable supply. The proliferation of technology means what used to be a complex task of porting code over from 8/16-bit to 32-bit is now a lot easier. Market trends towards a strengthening automotive electronics industry, and demand for improved performance and features, are also driving designers to adopt 32-bit MCUs.

A changing market In 2009, the global financial crisis hit the MCU market, causing an annual sales decline of 22 percent.

According to IC Insights, sales of MCUs recovered in, with a 36 percent increase in shipments.

However, the current market is characterised by declining prices – even as unit shipments surge, the reduced pricing of MCUs means declining revenues for suppliers.

In 2012, 17.3 billion MCUs were shipped, a record high, but dollar-volume sales were pegged at US$15.2 billion, a three percent drop from the previous year.

While uncertain economic conditions certainly played their part, 14 october 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

this price erosion is largely credited to intense competition over 32-bit MCUs. In particular, the entry

by UK-based ARM into the MCU market, and its highly effective IP licensing strategy, has caused a major shakeup in the market.

As MCU suppliers continue to compete on price and features, electronics engineers are capitalising on the opportunity to reduce the cost of their projects, while boosting the capabilities of their devices by opting to use newer technology.

Even though 16-bit MCUs continue to lead the markets in terms of volumes shipped (7.9 billion units in 2013, compared to 32-bit’s 4.5 billion), 32-bit MCUs are seeing the strongest growth (20 percent for 2013). Additionally, 32-bit is already

Solution differentiation is particularly important in the cost-sensitive spectrum of the market the largest MCU market segment, in terms of dollar-value sales.

According to IC Insights, this strong growth trend means that by 2017, 32-bit devices will account for 55 percent of microcontroller sales, while 16-bit devices will represent 22 percent of market revenues and 4-/8bit will be about 23 percent.

As a key player in the MCU market, STMicroelectronics recognised that cost was a major barrier to 32-bit adoption, especially for lower budget, low volume projects.

However, recent trends and

The Value Line of 32-bit MCUs works with a low-cost development ecosystem. technological breakthroughs have allowed STMicroelectronics to launch low-cost 32-bit MCU products such as the STM32F030 Value Line.

Franck Martins is STMicroelectronics’ Senior MCU Marketing and Applications Manager for the South Asia Region. According to Martins, with the STM32F030 line being cost-competitive against 8-bit and 16-bit MCUs, crossing the line into 32-bit is now an attractive proposal. But Martins recognises that for developers, component cost is only a part of the issue: development time and costs are the main areas of concern, and a major barrier preventing lower-budget players from porting their code over.

“Apart from pure MCU costs, other reasons like reluctance to change from legacy application codes (porting effort), more ‘complex’ and costly development environment, as well as the combination of an overkill features list and performance, were preventing [the adoption of 32-bit MCUs],” Martins told Electronics News.

To ease migration efforts, STMicroelectronics designed the Value Line of 32-bit MCUs to work with a low-cost development ecosystem of discovery kits, applications notes, sample code database and free IDE. According to STMicroelectronics, once the code is ported over, engineers developing in

STMicroelectronics’ Franck Martins says the new 32-bit STM32F030 Value Line is cost-competitive against 8- and 16-bit MCUs. a 32-bit environment can work efficiently at a high level of abstraction, and simplify their software by leveraging enhanced hardware features on the chip.

Demand driver Cost is not the only factor driving designers to take up 32-bit MCUs. Equally attractive are low power designs, increased precision afforded by 32-bit technology in embedded processing systems, and support for connectivity options – features which are essential to the competitiveness of electronic devices in the cutting edge market. The rise of integrated all-in-one devices like smartphones is

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FEATURE

IC Insights’ graph indicating the growth of MCU sales and shipments. impacting customer expectations on what electronics solutions should be capable of.

With the demand for greater flexibility and adaptability, electronics designers now find themselves squeezing more and more powerful software into their products, while balancing performance, features and energy efficiency.

The upshot of this is a need for increased computing power on the part of the MCUs. In the wider market, electronics design and engineering firms hoping to benefit from the rapidly growing automotive market will be taking a close look at 32-bit MCUs. While 8-bit MCUs are sufficient for power seat and lighting controls, and 16-bit MCUs are used for traditional safety aspects such as ABS brakes and airbags, more sophisticated systems which require real-time sensor functionality will require the power of 32-bit.

And this is likely to happen sooner rather than later, as governments around the world start to mandate electronic stability control and anti-crash systems as essential features in vehicles. Beyond that, the move towards semi-autonomous driving features will ensure a continuing and growing role for 32-bit MCUs in automotive electronics. According to IC Insights, over the next few years, complex 32-bit MCUs are expected to account for over 25 percent of the processing power in vehicles.

“We expect to see, globally, a continuous reasonable growth in the market and more in particular the Asia region where many developing countries will see a demand increase in their respective domestic market which will include electronics goods as well as infrastructure development,” Martins said. “Energy efficiency policies will also drive the demand for more low power >> www.electronicsnews.com.au OCTOBER 2013 15

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devices and solutions. This is also a common requirement for new portable devices in medical/healthcare or wireless communication operating on batteries. Overall in all these segments and beyond there will be more demand for cost-effective MCU solutions.”

With MCUs used for such diverse applications as solar inverter controls, smart grid, industrial display drivers, home and building control, lighting, as well as consumer devices, the growth prospect for the entire MCU market remains strong.

Martins points out that the pressure to deliver better solutions with more performance, features and quality is equally felt across the electronics market, from the high-end autonomous driving application, to the budget-conscious.

Solution differentiation, according E N 1 to 0 Martins, 1 3 _ 0 0is 0particularly _ CON important in the cost-sensitive spec-

trum of the market. In many cases, competing solutions have similar price points, so small advantages in performance or features can mean the difference between being a market leader or a straggler.

“Thanks to the STM32 and STM8 Value Lines we see many customers now being able to gain market share or consolidate their product leadership position while proposing more advanced solutions with a minimum or no price lift,” Martins said.

Since the STM32F030 is pin-to-pin compatible with its bigger brothers (STM32F0, F1 and F3), designers are not locked in to a particular product line, and can choose to migrate their projects to compatible MCUs as development efforts continue.

Martins says the STM32F030, with its low price, is the result of an intensive process of manufacturing operation asTwell 1 2 0 1 optimisation, 3 - 0 9 - 1 2 1 0as: the 3 5 : 3 9 + 1 0 : 0 0 integration and linking of features

At the heart of computing.

Block diagram of STMicroelectronics’ STM32F030 Value Line of MCUs.

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into fewer parts.

Promising “32-bits for 32 cents” (for high volume orders), STMicroelectronics is confident that it will be able to penetrate the 8-bit arena and bring designers into its Cortex portfolio of MCUs. “By offering a much more cost effective solution from the main product portfolio, we wish to answer [our] customer needs [for] product evolution while keeping the cost sensitive aspect of their design as a main driver,” Martins said.

But as with any low-cost launch, STMicroelectronics is careful to ensure its economically-priced product line does not cannibalise sales from other areas of the business. According to Martins, the STM32 Value Line keeps practically all device functionalities except for some selected ones as well as some minor performance reduction.

The STM32F030 Value Line, for example, is only available with ARM Cortex-M0 cores, at 48MHz operating frequency. Programmable on-chip FLASH size is limited to 64kB, while

16 OCTOBER 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au ts87 medica_Australia 100wx120h.indd 1

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the maximum internal RAM available in the range is 8kB. The MCUs tend to have a maximum of five 16-bit timers with input capture, output compare and pulse width modulation functions, and no 32-bit timers. In terms of A/D converters, they are limited to a single 12-bit channel.

But the microcontrollers feature an internal RTC and 5-channel DMA, which are features not typically available at that price level.

“Whenever the customer require those features [from the main product lines] or a full performance set, then he can always go for the non value line version of the product family or even move to different higher performance STM32 devices,” he explained.

“The family is built up to deliver the best price offer and feature/ performance combinations with minimum or no overlap.”

Volume production of the STM32F030 Value Line began in Q3 2013. www.st.com

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NEW PRODUCTS

Email your product news to editor@electronicsnews.com.au SPOTLIGHT

Workstations powered by E5 Series processors NextComputing has added the Intel Xeon E5-2600v2 processor product family to its line portable workstations, compact towers, and high-density rackmount computers. Intel Xeon E5-2600v2 processors offer up to twelve processor cores per CPU, allowing power users in many industries to work faster and more efficiently than previously possible. With support for up to two of these processors (24 cores or 48 threads), plus increased memory speeds up to 1866MHz, NextComputing’s compact systems offer the industry’s highest performance computing platforms in the smallest form-factors available. NextComputing is now offering the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600v2 product family in all of its core products, giving users the flexibility choose a form-factor that best suits their environment and workflow.

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packaging. In addition, the SEMS screw incorporates a captivated, free-spinning lock-washer to eliminate wire twisting upon tightening terminals. SEMS screw units are available in horizontal and vertical mounting configurations. Terminals are manufactured from brass with tin-plated finishes and are supplied with SEMS installed and captivated on the terminals or unassembled.

NPA 08 8268 2733 www.npa.com.au

SEMS Screws on PCB terminals secure wires

By installing SEMS Screws on their PCB Screw terminals, Keystone Electronics has expanded the options for quick, secure and stable wire lead attachments, including bare wires. Rated at 15 to 30 Amps, Metromatics this screw terminal features anti07 3868 4255 design making 2 0 1 3www.metromatics.com.au - 0 9 - 2 3 T 1 1 : 2 6 : 2 rotation, 0 + 1 0 non-rocking : 0 0 them suitable for high density

Gigabit Ethernet switch enhances data throughput Kontron 10/40 Gigabit Ethernet switch is designed to enhance and standardise data throughput in network-centric OpenVPX applications. A feature of the fully managed Layer 2/Layer 3 Switch Kontron VX3920 is its 24 highthroughput 10 Gbit/s ports to >>

www.electronicsnews.com.au OCTOBER 2013 17

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NEW PRODUCTS

Email your product news to editor@electronicsnews.com.au SPOTLIGHT

polycarbonate housing and slim profile. Featuring a maintenance-free design, the energy efficient Banner WLA Encapsulated Area lights are designed to withstand high-pressure, high-temperature washdown applications and are rated to IP69K. Easy installation options include quick disconnect or cable versions, a versatile angle bracket and a convenient magnetic mount solution.

Micromax Sensors & Automation 1300 36 26 26 www.micromaxsa.com.au

Module based on 4th Gen Intel Core processors Congatec is offering expanded processor support for the conga-TS87, a pin out Type 6 COM Express module based on the 4th Gen Intel Core 2-chip solution. The most significant innovation is the introduction of Intel Advanced Vector Extensions 2.0 for improved floating point instructions in signal and image processing. In addition to the existing quadcore Intel Core i7-4700EQ processor, other variants such as Intel Core i3-4100E are now also supported. Extended and consistent scalability is achieved by the new Intel Core i5-4100E processor. Five processors of the 4th Gen 2-chip solution are available on COM Express. The focus of 4th Gen Intel Core 2-chip processors is on increased performance per watt. This is evident in the instruction set and vector processing unit expansions, where the performance has almost doubled. congatec Australia 07 5520 0841 www.congatec.com

the data plane. These can be scaled through channel bundling even up to 40 Gbit/s bandwidth. By using this rugged switch for inter- and intra-system communication, OEMs can achieve a performance boost for their applications. Also, other highly individual data buses can now be replaced. Rugged COTS systems profit from the application of Ethernet by reduced costs, enterprise class switching functionalities and a stable technology roadmap, which can also increase long-term system availability. With its high port density and bandwidth, the IPv4/v6 VXP switch is an ideal backbone and infrastructure building block for COTS systems in various mobile and stationary ground based, naval and airborne applications. Application areas include High-Performance Embedded Computing systems for radar, sonar and image processing, 18 october 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

vehicle electronics as well as rapidly deployable networks for flexible communication in the field.

Kontron Australia 02 9457 0047 au.kontron.com

Encapsulated LED Area Lights Micromax has released the Banner Engineering WLA Series Encapsulated Area Lights. Designed for use in industrial environments, these solid-state LED lights are encapsulated in optically clear polyurethane—enhancing chemical compatibility and increasing their resistance to shock and vibrations.

The Encapsulated WLA light is a rugged, high intensity light suitable for machine lighting, visual inspection stations and general industrial area lighting. The sealed light is available in four sizes and has a sleek

Smallest Wi-Fi device servers xPico Wi-Fi is one of the world’s smallest and most flexible Wi-Fi device servers. It is a pin and form factor compatible member of the xPico family, providing low power, Soft AP and simultaneous client mode, full IP and WLAN stacks.

The xPico Wi-Fi is a complete device server suitable for mobile M2M applications and includes a five-year warranty. It is possible to access data and devices from anywhere – wired or wireless.

Lantronix device server application and protocol stacks enables seamless remote access to device data, simplifying design integration, all while providing robust connectivity – including the ability to access data from any mobile device, including smartphones and tablets.

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1.3 CPU Card Backplane Systems has released iBase Technology’s IB965 PICMG 1.3 CPU card which supports the Intel Q77 Express Chipset and 3rd generation Intel Core processors.

Sustaining performance, manage-

ability and power efficiency, the IB965 is optimised for applications in the medical field, industrial automation, transportation and gaming sectors. The IB965 is aligned with the 3rd Generation Intel Core processor family that provides computing power and graphics quality, combining it with advanced I/O interfaces, as well as TPM 1.2 support and iSMART technology. While TPM allows systems to run applications more securely, iSMART provides intelligent power-saving solution for better environmental performance on both board and system levels. The built-in graphics Intel HD Graphics 4000 chipset allows IB965 to aid different display interfaces including CRT VGA, DVI-D and 24-bit dual channel LVDS. It has dual Gigabit Ethernet, two DIMM sockets for up to 16Gbytes of dual DDR3 memory, and flexible SATA III and USB3.0 ports suited for high bandwidth applications.

Backplane Systems Technology 02 9457 6400 www.backplane.com.au

Switch mode power supply Automated Control has introduced the FEAS SNT15024-K Switch Mode Power Supply. To ensure a reliable source of power, the SNT15024-K is designed to withstand inadvertent polarity reversal while also providing an output that is protected from short circuit conditions. Constructed within an industrial IP69 rated aluminium casing and with its electronic system sealed by a durable resin, the FEAS SNT15024-K is designed for applications that must operate under the harshest of environmental conditions. Despite its compact dimensions, this FEAS power supply conforms to the highest level of EMC standards, providing fault free operation within applications prone to the effects of radio signal disturbances.

Automated Control 02 4964 4022 www.automatedcontrol.com.au

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Up close

A conversation with . . .

Jeff Kodosky – cofounder National Instruments

KNOWN as the Father of LabVIEW by engineers and scientists worldwide, Jeff Kodosky cofounded National Instruments in 1976 and has continued to mentor the organization and pioneer graphical system design approach through NI LabVIEW. Kodosky’s invention of LabVIEW was named as one of the ‘Top 50 Milestones for the Industry’ and he holds 68 patents associated with LabVIEW technology.

Electronics News Editor, Kevin Gomez caught up with Kodosky in Austin, Texas at NIWeek 2013 to get some clues on the evolution and future of LabVIEW.

How did G language evolve?

Once we were established as a GPIB supplier we got to thinking, what can we do next to simplify the task of automating measurement systems?

We said, well why don’t we come up with some software tools that would make it easier? We looked at a lot of different things including making libraries for C an BASIC, and basic and so on.

Went out and talked to customers, they said, yeah if you have better library of the fixed basics we’ll do this. But that’s not exactly what we had in mind.

We wanted to do something a little more revolutionary and a little more far reaching. So I went up to an office near campus, scratched my head a lot and pottered around.

A major milestone for me was when I got introduced to the Macintosh computer.

All of a sudden, seeing those graphics made me realise - that’s the future of human computer interaction. I said, this has to be part of our solution.

We’ve got to be able to build virtual instruments on a computer and connect up to real instruments or connect up to the data acquisition part or whatever. We’ve got to have these like front panels because people could then operate it without having to read a big manual, they could experiment.

Programmers were writing basic programs to automate a few instruments and collect data, asking them to write an interactive graphical interface program would be impossible. They just wouldn’t be able to do that. So how would we program a system like that?

So I asked Dr T, give me a few more months and maybe

I can figure out a way that we can use the graphics to do the programming. (Dr James Truchard is the president, ceo, and cofounder of National Instruments and often referred to as ‘Dr T’.)

I was young and naïve and didn’t know that conventional wisdom said that was impossible. So I pottered around, thinking of different ways we could use graphics. Looked at dataflow, it was nice but as soon as you tried to do loops it got inordinately complex. Looked at flow charts, there wasn’t enough leverage in use of graphics. Nothing seemed to be a eureka kind of answer. I kept coming back to dataflow because of its phenomenal logical level of understanding. You could see what’s going on, understand it very easily.

So somewhere along the line it occurred to me that if we could add controlled structures from structured programing into dataflow then we would simplify the creation of loops and other kinds of case structures and so on. It would have the simplicity of dataflow and the composability of structured programming. That was when we realised, okay this is a germ of an idea that could work. So we kicked off the LabVIEW project and the rest is history.

Is mobile is the next big leap for LabVIEW? Mobile devices need to be exploited in test and measurement and control applications. It’s pretty clear that something like data dashboard, being able to view data on machines by proximity or remotely is clearly a need and that’s why we’re doing it.

How much more and the timescale is still kind of fuzzy. We want to make sure that we’re figuring out how we

can use new technology and make it available to our broad base of users.

Sometimes it’s not always clear what the long term is going to be so we have research projects that we do and experiments that we run. I definitely think mobile devices are going to have a profound influence although I’m not exactly sure where it’s going to be. I know what’s in the HMI area but unsure how much more we will see.

Over the years we have been working on major advances that are poised to be included in the LabVIEW framework. The higher level of abstraction that we refer to is a system diagram. Basically a graphical representation of the project where you can see all the components in your system and how they’re interconnected, both at a hardware configuration level as well as a software distribution level.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

Well of course if I knew what I know now back then. it could have influenced a lot of things. Although the technology we had back then is nothing like we have available today. Even if I knew that there were going to be FPGAs in the late 90s back in late 80s I wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it. I think we made different trade-offs because there’s always more to do than we have resources available. If we did this before that, is it better or

worse? You can’t really tell so here’s a simple example. In LabVIEW 4 we had a one-step undo that we finally implemented. Up until that time there was no undo for LabVIEW so if people made a mistake, tough luck.

That was the number one requested feature for a decade but we didn’t know how to do it efficiently and it took us a long time to figure it out. But in LabVIEW 4 we implemented a one-step undo and I was arguing for releasing that because I thought that would be a giant benefit. It’s an infinite increase over zero step undo. But other people on the team felt that it would be better to wait one more release and have a multi-step undo.

Their decision prevailed and we released a multi-step undo that has worked flawlessly ever since. Would we have been better introducing the one-step version earlier and solving part of the problem but not the whole problem or waiting until we had the multi-step?

I don’t know. We did it this way, it seems to have worked fine and so I don’t know how to second guess that.

There’s been a lot of cases, a lot of decisions along the path where it’s not clear what’s best when we made a choice. Thinking about it again you might think, well maybe it would have worked a little better for me on another choice but it’s not really clear that it would. australia.ni.com

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