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Redding Traiger

3U VPX SBC follow open systems architecture tech standard

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Aitech Systems now offers the U-C8770, a single board computer (SBC) that couples the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) outlined by the US Department of Defense (DoD) with flagship performance and proprietary, hardware-based cybersecurity features.

Aligned with The Open Group SOSA Technical Standard, the new board is an adaptation of Aitech’s high performance, rugged C877 SBC, and retains the same key technical features and benefits, making it ideal for I/O-intensive data processing applications in the military and aerospace markets, such as RADAR, signal intelligence (SIGINT), electronic warfare (EW) and sensor signal processing. The U-C8770 is fully aligned with the SOSA 3U I/O-intensive SBC Slot Profile, supporting both PCIe 4x and 40GE data plane options for fast transport of large amounts of uncompressed video and sensor data.

The new U-C8770 also features AiSecure, Aitech’s innovative and proprietary cybersecurity framework that increases survivability and level of confidence by detecting and preventing unexpected attacks.  The inherent security features enable both firmware and data protection, as well as prevention of reverse engineering and tampering with system integrity while allowing secure transmission and storage of sensitive data.

The innovative Trusted Platform solution incorporates a sophisticated, distributed Boot Guard mechanism, based on a combination of trusted hardware and firmware that utilizes TPM 2.0, Intel TXT, enhanced Secure Boot, and FPGA-based firmware protection and integrity checks.  The onboard SSD supports write protection, secure, and quick erase in addition to disk data encryption using AES 256.  A battery-backed tamper detection signal ensures system level protection.

An optional large onboard Xilinx Zync UltraScale+ FPGA is also tamper-resistant, with bitstream authentication and readback protection. The FPGA allows users to integrate value-added features onto the SBC, in a power, and cost-efficient manner. Aitech plans to offer several optional add-on FPGA IP cores in the areas of networking and security in the future.

The scalable SBC combines an Intel Xeon-D processor and up to 1 terabyte of onboard security-protected SATA SSD.  It also employs a high-bandwidth bus architecture and offers versatile onboard I/O interfaces, with an XMC site for additional I/O options.  The U-C8770 includes 32 GB of DDR4 SDRAM in a dual-channel configuration with ECC, operating at 2133 MT/s.

PCIe 4.0 NVMe 1.4 controllers boast advanced error correction facilities

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Silicon Motion Technology Corporation announced a new portfolio of PCIe 4.0 NVMe 1.4 controller solutions to address performance, mainstream, and value SSD applications.  The portfolio consists of SM2264 for performance, SM2267 for mainstream, and SM2267XT for value DRAM-less client SSDs.

Silicon Motion’s PCIe 4.0 NVMe 1.4 controller solutions include SM2264 for performance, SM2267 for mainstream, and SM2267XT for value DRAM-less client SSDs.

Silicon Motion’s latest controller family has been designed from the ground up with PCIe Gen4 technology and innovative hardware features especially optimized for true Gen4 performance at low power consumption, advanced error correction as well as data path and EMI protection. To date, ten of the leading global NAND makers and SSD OEMs have selected Silicon Motion’s Gen 4 controllers with 3D TLC and QLC NAND technologies.

Targeted at performance and automotive SSDs, SM2264 features a quad-core ARM R8 CPU with four lanes of 16Gb/s PCIe data flow and supports eight NAND channels with up to 1,600 MT/s per channel. Its advanced architecture, based on 12nm process technology, enables high throughput, lower power consumption, and rigorous data protection while delivering an ultra-high-speed of sequential read/write performance of up to 7,400/6,800 MBs and random read/writes speeds of up to 1,000K IOPs. The quad-core ARM R8 CPU offers high multithreaded performance to handle mixed workload operations required by emerging storage applications. SM2264 is designed with Silicon Motion’s state-of-the-art 7th generation NANDXtend ECC technology with a performance-optimized 4KB LDPC engine and RAID to maximized error correction capability for the latest and next-generation 3D TLC and QLC NAND. SM2264 is also ideal for automotive storage, offering built-in SR-IOV capability that provides a direct, high-speed PCIe interface for supporting up to eight Virtual Machines. SM2264 is currently sampling to leading customers.

Silicon Motion’s SM2267 and SM2267XT meet the requirements of mainstream and value client SSDs and feature four 16Gb/s lanes of PCIe and four NAND channels with up to 1,200 MT/s per channel, delivering an impressive 3,900/3,500 MB/s sequential read/write performance.  SM2267 includes a DRAM interface while the SM2267XT DRAM-less controller enables small form factor SSDs without compromising performance. Both also include NANDXtend ECC technology and support the latest TLC and QLC NAND. SM2267 and SM2267XT have entered volume production.

mmWave radar sensors feature one-inch cube form factor

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D3 Engineering announced its DesignCore RS-6843AOP and RS-6843AOPU mmWave Radar Sensors. These miniature sensors enable the implementation of many different mmWave radar algorithms to measure, detect, and track. The production-intent sensors feature a 1-inch cube form factor, heat-spreading metal body, and mounting tabs. They may be used with a PC or embedded platform to facilitate field testing, sensing evaluation, algorithm development, and application demonstrations.

Industrial applications supported by these sensors include robotics, autonomous machines, industrial vehicle systems, and facility monitoring. Specific applications include driver monitoring, collision avoidance, and people counting and tracking. The sensors can also be used in many other use cases with a tethered host processor or stand-alone.

The sensors feature the TI IWR6843AOP, a single-chip 60-GHz industrial radar sensor integrating a DSP, an MCU, radar accelerator as well as an antenna array built right into the package. The IWR6843AOP RF front end integrates a PLL, three transmitters, four receivers, and a baseband ADC. It covers 60 GHz with bandwidths up to 4 GHz and features 12 dBm transmit power and noise figure 15 dB or better across the band. The processing cores in the IWR6843AOP include a C674x DSP for FMCW signal processing, a hardware accelerator for radar cube processing, and a Cortex-R4F microcontroller for object tracking, classification, and communications.

The RS-6843AOP features a header for connection to optional baseboards or hosts providing additional interfaces and functionality. Included on this interface are I2C, SPI, GPIO, and UART connections. On the other hand, the main interface of the RS-6843AOPU version is a USB-C connector which can act as a power supply input as well as enumerating two serial UARTS, one for console and the other for processed radar returns or other algorithm output.

The sensors include custom firmware ensuring board support for the latest version of the SDK from TI.

For additional specifications and drawings download the DesignCore RS-x843AOP/RS-x843AOPU mmWave Radar Sensor Datasheet

The DesignCore RS-6843AOPU mmWave Radar Sensor is $349 and is available for order.

MCUs integrate configurable analog/digital peripherals, mixed-signal development environment

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Sensor-based Internet of Things (IoT) applications rely on a combination of analog functionality and digital control capability to meet a challenging list of requirements including low cost, small size, performance, and low power. Addressing this challenge through a focus on increased microcontroller (MCU) integration, Microchip Technology Inc. announced the PIC18-Q41 and AVR DB MCU families that are the first to combine advanced analog peripherals and multi-voltage operation with inter-peripheral connections for increased system integration and reduced signal acquisition times and offer the convenience and efficiency of operating in a single design environment.

To address the need for signal conditioning in space-constrained sensing and measuring applications such as IoT end nodes and industrial, medical devices, wearables, automotive and lighting systems, the PIC18-Q41 MCU has a configurable Operational Amplifier (Op-Amp) and Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) with computation and Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs). It is particularly well-suited for IoT and large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) at-the-edge, including predictive maintenance edge nodes in a smart factory. Offered in compact 14- and 20-pin packages, the PIC18-Q41 MCU also makes a good companion to Microchip’s 32-bit MCUs and other controllers that require analog integration.

Mixed-signal IoT systems often include multiple power domains, and the AVR DB MCU simplifies the challenges of these designs while reducing cost by integrating true bi-directional level shifters. This feature lowers cost in a wide range of applications including automotive, appliances, HVAC, and liquid measurement. The addition of three independent and highly configurable Op-Amps, a 12-bit differential ADC, 10-bit DAC, three zero-cross detectors and Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) makes the AVR DB MCU ideal for virtually any application involving analog signal conditioning and processing functions.

The PIC18-Q41 and AVR DB MCU product families are supported by Microchip’s MPLAB X Integrated Development Environment (IDE), it’s MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC), and the MPLAB Mindi Analog Simulator. MCC is a free software plug-in that provides a graphical interface to configure peripherals and functions specific to an application. In addition to MCC, the AVR DB is supported by Atmel START, Atmel Studio, and third-party tools such as IAR and the GCC C compiler. MCC and START help analog and digital designers easily configure an Op-Amp system for various typical use cases through a graphical user interface with no coding required.

Both MCU families offer a compact, cost-effective development board with programming and debugging capabilities: the PIC18F16Q41 Curiosity Nano Evaluation Kit (EV26Q64A) and the AVR DB Curiosity Nano Evaluation Kit (EV35L43A). Quick start guides for the PIC MCU and the AVR MCU are available to start projects immediately.

The PIC18-Q41 and AVR DB MCUs are offered in a range of memory sizes, packages, and price points. The PIC18-Q41 pricing starts at $0.65 in 10,000-unit quantities. The AVR DB pricing starts at $0.95 in 10,000-unit quantities.

UWB ICs optimized to enable new IoT use cases

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At its annual developer’s conference, NXP Semiconductors N.V. announced the next milestone in establishing secure ultra-wideband (UWB) technology as the global standard for fine-ranging and high-precision sensing. Following the introduction of mobile and automotive UWB solutions, NXP has expanded its portfolio to include new UWB ICs. Trimension SR040 and SR150 ICs are optimized to enable new IoT use cases such as smart locks and real-time location system (RTLS) tags, delivering “relative position” with a very high level of accuracy. NXP Trimension is the new designated brand name for NXP’s proven UWB platform – spanning solutions designed for the specific needs of the automotive, mobile, and IoT markets.

UWB is enabling a world where doors lock and unlock in response to the owner’s actual presence, where cars are shared with a simple touch of a screen or accessed handsfree, where smart home automation systems follow their owners intuitively and efficiently from one room to another, and people spend less time searching because misplaced items can be tracked in an instant.

Designed with the specific needs of IoT devices in mind, Trimension SR150 adds angle-of-arrival (AoA) technology for an added level of precision. Trimension SR150 is ideally suited for the UWB enablement of all kinds of larger infrastructures, such as access control installations, indoor localization setups, and payment schemes, as well as consumer electronics. Several SR150 IC devices can be placed in a room as UWB anchors to help localize people and objects as they move.

Optimized for low-power operation, Trimension SR040 is designed for use in battery-operated IoT devices, including UWB trackers and tags, and can be integrated with Bluetooth Low Energy or other connectivity controllers in one device. Trimension OL23D0 complements the range of dedicated IoT solutions as an open, fully customer programmable UWB controller for IoT applications.

Digital I2S outputs added to MEMS microphone line

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CUI Devices’ Audio Group announced the addition of digital I2S output models to its comprehensive line of MEMS microphones. The bottom port CMM-3526D-261-I2S-TR and top port CMM-4030D-261-I2S-TR are housed in extremely compact, low profile packages measuring 3.50 x 2.65 x 0.98 mm and 4.00 x 3.00 x 1.25 mm, respectively. Thanks to their digital I2S interface, these MEMS microphones eliminate the need for a codec, allowing for the microphones to connect directly to digital signal processors and microcontrollers in an end application. This component savings and simplified integration make these digital I2S MEMS microphones ideal for audio recording and voice capture in space-constrained designs such as smartphones, tablets, smart home devices, wearables, and more.

Both microphones are omnidirectional and feature -26 dB sensitivity ratings, operating frequencies from 100 to 10,000 Hz, and current consumption of 400 microamps (µA). The CMM-3526D-261-I2S-TR further carries a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 64 dBA, while the CMM-4030D-261-I2S-TR offers an SNR of 59 dBA.

As reflow solder compatible components, these digital I2S MEMS microphones afford designers additional flexibility where surface mount assembly is required. Both I2S models are also well suited for array applications used to perform beamforming and noise cancelation functions due to their tight sensitivity tolerances of ±1 dB.

The CMM-3526D-261-I2S-TR and CMM-4030D-261-I2S-TR are available immediately with prices starting at $1.59 per unit at 500 pieces through distribution. Please contact CUI Devices for OEM pricing.

Software development tools certified for RISC-V use

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IAR Systems further extends its strong tools offering for RISC-V by announcing a certified version of its development tools. The functional safety edition of IAR Embedded Workbench for RISC-V will be certified by TÜV SÜD according to the requirements of IEC 61508, the international umbrella standard for functional safety, as well as ISO 26262, which is used for automotive safety-related systems. In addition, the certification covers the international standard IEC 62304, which specifies life cycle requirements for the development of medical software and software within medical devices, and the European railway standards EN 50128 and EN 50657.

The functional safety edition of IAR Embedded Workbench includes a functional safety certificate, a safety report from TÜV SÜD, and a Safety Manual. With the certified tools, IAR Systems provides a Functional Safety Support and Update Agreement with guaranteed support for the sold version for the longevity of the contract. Along with prioritized technical support, the agreement includes access to validated service packs and regular reports of known deviations and problems.

Functional safety certification for RISC-V will be available for the next version, 1.40, of IAR Embedded Workbench for RISC-V. The certification process is expected to be finalized in early 2021.

Automotive MCUs emphasize safety, security in next-gen domain/zone architectures

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STMicroelectronics has revealed further details of its innovative Stellar automotive microcontrollers (MCUs) to show how the devices ensure the reliable and deterministic execution of multiple independent real-time applications. This is one of the toughest challenges facing manufacturers in today’s automotive sector as the complexity of new car architectures leads to the consolidation of independent applications into a single powerful Integration MCU and typically involves choosing either determinism or virtualization. Stellar delivers both.

Pioneering this new class of controllers, Stellar Integration MCUs are designed with exceptional computing power to significantly simplify the concurrent and deterministic execution of multiple-sourced software while guaranteeing the highest levels of safety and performance. These capabilities meet system requirements in the electrics/electronics (E/E) architecture of the next generation of connected cars. To do this, Stellar introduces features that include a state-of-the-art processor with hardware support for virtualization, quality of service settings, the ability to firewall peripherals and perform resource separation at interconnect levels. These features allow independent applications, or Virtual ECUs, to coexist in the same physical MCU by guaranteeing freedom from interference and secure compartmentalization of software functions while supporting concurrent multiple ASIL safety levels.

ST has developed this new technology with Bosch, the well-known tier-one automotive electronic module supplier, to meet future OEM integration demands.

Stellar embeds multiple Arm Cortex-R52 cores — some operating in lockstep and some in Split/Lock – and features a 2-level Memory Protection Unit and a low-latency Generic Interrupt Controller. The MCU is suited to hard real-time applications up to the highest safety integrity level, ASIL-D, specified in the automotive functional safety standard, ISO 26262. There are also multiple powerful accelerators for secure data routing, processing, and mathematical functions, with advanced security support and extensive communication command and control.

The Integration MCU offers comprehensive virtualization at multiple levels using a Virtual Machine ID (VMID) at the network-on-chip and memory levels. Firewalls ensure complete separation at all interconnect levels including the peripherals. These firewalls allow Stellar to manage Virtual Machines (VMs) accesses and privileges to peripherals, ensuring the isolation of entire mission-critical functions.

With its unique architecture and hardware-based virtualization capabilities, Stellar assures safety through freedom from interference. It also provides significant advantages over software virtualization, including offloading of processor cores and reducing virtualization’s impact on memory.

At the same time, Stellar manages increasing software complexity and integration with better utilization of its hardware resources. This reduces the total overhead of multiple separate ECUs performing their own housekeeping and managing communication-stack-related latency. In fact, Stellar can support several real-time operating systems (OSes) running independently, without interference. These OSes can separately manage applications with different functional-safety levels and superior processing capabilities for encrypted communication over Ethernet or CAN[1] buses with dedicated AES[2] accelerators to offload the main Hardware Security Modules (HSM) for MACSec[3], IPSec[4], and CAN authentication.

Stellar Integration MCUs feature non-volatile Phase-Change Memory (PCM), offering fast read access times, and single-bit alterability that is not available in Flash memory. PCM ensures Over-The-Air (OTA) updates with zero downtime, even for full-sized memory updates. In addition to increasing flexibility and erase/write cycles, single-bit alterability at runtime (no erase required) extends safety setup by refreshing bits to eliminate single-bit failures and extend the memory’s lifetime.

ST’s embedded-PCM technology has been developed and tested to operate within the most stringent automotive requirements for robust high-temperature operation, radiation hardening, cycling, and data retention. ePCM achieves automotive requirements for AEC-Q100 Grade 0 with an operating temperature up to +165°C.

To date, ST has delivered more than 3000 samples to customers and samples have been running in vehicles for about a year.

Dual-core multi-protocol MCUs boost Bluetooth LE 5.0, Zigbee 3.0, Thread connectivity

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STMicroelectronics has expanded the STM32WB portfolio of dual-core multi-protocol microcontrollers (MCUs) by introducing the STM32WB35 and STM32WB30 Value Line, giving designers more flexibility to target cost-conscious market opportunities.

The extremely low-power MCUs integrate a 2.4GHz radio managed by a dedicated Arm Cortex-M0+ core, with a 64MHz Arm Cortex-M4 for the main application, to permit uninterrupted real-time performance. They support Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0, Zigbee 3.0, OpenThread (IEEE 802.15.4) protocols, and concurrent modes, with built-in security features. All stacks are fully certified, supported, and handled by ST and available free of charge. The new devices are suited to large-scale IoT applications such as fleet and resource management, as well as asset monitoring and tracking.

Packaged in QFN48, the new devices are pin-compatible with existing STM32WB5x devices and share common MCU features, giving users the flexibility to easily scale and migrate their designs. The MCUs integrate the radio balun, USB2.0 Full Speed device with crystal-less oscillator, embedded capacitors for 32MHz crystal, and DC/DC step-down converter to minimize the Bill of Materials (BoM) and platform footprint. Outstanding RF performance, with programmable output power up to +6dBm and with a 102dBm link budget, ensures reliable connectivity over longer distances, while ultra-low power consumption extends battery runtime.

All STM32WB products are supported in the market-proven STM32Cube ecosystem, an exhaustive software development suite offering a combination of embedded software libraries and software tools addressing all the needs of a complete project development cycle, thus ensuring a consistent user experience across the whole portfolio.

The STM32WB35 and STM32WB30 Value Line devices are available with up to 512 KBytes of integrated Flash memory and up to 96 KBytes of SRAM, with a Quad-SPI interface for connecting to external high-speed memory. They also provide a rich selection of analog peripherals, digital interfaces, and fast I/Os, many of which are 5V tolerant.

With a focus on security, the STM32WB MCUs integrate Secure firmware installation (SFI), hardware encryption for the application and radio stacks, hardware public-key Authority (PKA), hardware accelerators for state-of-the-art cryptographic algorithms, and support for secure Over-The-Air (OTA) firmware updates.

The STM32WB35 and STM32WB30 Value line are in production now, in the QFN48 package. Prices start from $1.57 for the STM32WB30CEU5A for orders in volume.

Open-source software, hardware advances autonomous applications with GNSS

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Septentrio announces two important open-source resources for its GPS/GNSS module receivers. The first, ROSaic, is a ROS (Robot Operating System) driver for the mosaic-X5 module as well as other Septentrio GNSS receivers. The second project, mosaicHAT, is an open-source hardware reference design combining mosaic-X5 with a Raspberry Pi single-board computer. Both projects facilitate the integration of centimeter-level reliable positioning into robotic and other machine automation applications.

ROSaic driver operates on ROS, a widely-used programming environment within the industry as well as academics, commonly used for integrating robot technology and developing advanced robotics and autonomous systems. ROS allows data from numerous sensors to be combined allowing high levels of autonomy.

The mosaicHAT project facilitates accurate and reliable GNSS positioning for robotics and automation on a hardware level. Numerous engineers today use Raspberry Pi for prototyping and initial integrations. The mosaicHAT board is an easy way for integrators to get started with Septentrio’s mosaic-X5 GNSS module. By plugging mosaicHAT into a compatible Raspberry Pi, users have access to high-accuracy positioning with a high update rate, ideal for machine navigation and control. The small 56×65 mm board exposes basic interfaces such as USB, serial, and general-purpose communication pins. The reference design, footprint, and documentation are available for easy board printing or further customization.