PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY
Development Kit Accelerates Development of Wireless Sensor Industrial IoT Applications
The SmartMesh IP wireless sensor networking products from Linear Technology now provide the ability to program industrial Internet of Things (IoT) applications directly on the embedded ARM Cortex-M3, running Micrium’s μC/OS-II RTOS. Users no longer need a separate processor for sensor interface and edge data analytics, reducing the cost, footprint and power consumption of the integrated wireless sensor node. Application development time is accelerated with a library of reference code and source code examples. Based on 6LoWPAN, SmartMesh IP mesh networking products include a pre-compiled networking stack that delivers >99.999% network reliability at ultralow power. This is particularly important for industrial IoT applications, where wireless sensor networks (WSNs) may be deployed in harsh and remote environments. The On-Chip Software Development Kit (SDK) provided with the LTC5800-IPM (system-on-chip) and LTP5901/2-IPM (PCB modules) has been designed to ensure that developers can stably run both the pre-compiled SmartMesh IP networking stack and their applications simultaneously. To support the growing community of developers on this platform, the DustCloud Developer Community www.dustcloud.org provides an interactive forum for developers building applications on SmartMesh IP. It contains source code, software reference designs and detailed documentation for the SDK, as well as a developer discussion forum. Applications written within the SDK may read and control peripherals - general purpose input-output (GPIO) pins, analog-to-digital converter (ADC) inputs, universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART), serial peripheral interface (SPI) master, inter-integrated circuit (I2C) master, 1-wire master. They can process data such as statistical analysis and local decision-making and control. And they can Send and receive wireless messages through the SmartMesh IP wireless mesh network. The On-Chip SDK is now available as part of the SmartMesh IP product line.
High-Side Current/Power Sensor Features Configurable Analog Output and 2-Wire Digital Bus
Linear Technology, Milpitas, CA 408-432-1900. www.linear.com
Microchip Technology, Chandler, AZ (480) 792-7211. www.microchip.com
40 | RTC Magazine JULY 2015
A combined analog and digital current sensor is a high-side current sensor with both a digital output, as well as a configurable analog output that can present power, current or voltage over the single output pin. Simultaneously, all power related output values are also available over the 2-Wire digital bus, which is compatible with I2C. The PAC1921 from Microchip Technology is available in a 10-lead 3x3 mm VDFN package and was designed with the 2-Wire bus to maximize data and diagnostic reporting, while having the analog output to minimize data latency. The analog output can also be adjusted for use with 3V, 2V, 1.5V or 1V microcontroller inputs. The PAC1921 is suitable for networking, power-distribution, power-supply, computing and industrial-automation applications that cannot allow for latency when performing high-speed power management. A 39-bit accumulation register and 128 times gain configuration make this device useful for both heavy and light system-load power measurement, from 0V to 32V. It has the ability to integrate more than two seconds of power-consumption data. Additionally, the PAC1921 has a READ/INT pin for host control of the measurement period; and this pin can be used to synchronize readings of multiple devices. The ability to output power measurements in both the digital and analog domains provides designers with a unique level of flexibility. The PAC1921 accomplishes this by combining a digital current sensor to maximize data and diagnostic reporting, together with an analog current sensor to minimize data latency. Pricing starts at $1.18 each in 5,000-unit quantities. The PAC1921 is supported by Microchip’s new PAC1921 High-Side Power and Current Monitor Evaluation Board,which is available for $64.99.