SEGGER Microcontroller, in cooperation with Renesas, announces the availability of its entire product portfolio for the Renesas RE Family microcontroller units (MCUs). This includes a full line of development tools, embedded software, and production tools, making firmware development for the Arm-based Renesas RE MCUs fast and easy. Development can now begin with SEGGER’s Embedded Studio […]
Wearables
MPPT chip boosts efficiency of space-constrained solar harvesters
Designers of space-constrained designs can now significantly increase runtime with the MAX20361 single-/multi-cell solar harvester with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) from Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. The industry’s smallest solar harvesting solution is ideal for space-constrained applications such as wearables and emerging internet of things (IoT) applications. Designers are often challenged with the tradeoff between […]
MEMS motion sensor/software combo targets smart TV, robotics, AR/VR, wearables, IoT apps
TDK Corporation announces the availability of the InvenSense ICM-40627 and ICM-42688-V high-performance MEMS motion tracking solutions (6-axis IMU + dedicated software library). As a leader in consumer IoT, TDK continues to provide a complete suite of SmartMotion sensor solutions for a broad range of consumer and IoT applications. In addition, a comprehensive development platform, the […]
Next-gen MEMS microphone sports 73 dB SNR, high acoustic overload point
Infineon is launching a next-generation analog MEMS microphone that renders even better results – the XENSIV MEMS microphone IM73A135. In microphones, designers often have to accept trade-offs: high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a small package, high acoustic overload point, low power consumption, MEMS versus electret condenser microphones (ECM). For this reason, applications that require the highest […]
Neural net ICs target audio and sensor processing apps
Syntiant Corp. announced the availability of its Syntiant NDP120 Neural Decision Processor (NDP), the latest generation of special-purpose chips for audio and sensor processing for always-on applications in battery-powered devices. The NDP120 applies neural processing to run multiple applications simultaneously with minimal battery power consumption, including echo-cancellation, beamforming, noise suppression, speech enhancement, speaker identification, keyword […]
LTE Cat 1 chip platform handles VoLTE/100 kbps IoT apps
Sequans Communications S.A. announced that its second-generation LTE Cat 1 chip platform, Calliope 2, will soon be sampling. Calliope 2 is designed for the cost-effective support of IoT applications that require VoLTE and a data rate higher than 100 kilobits per second that cannot be supported by LTE-M or NB-IoT technologies. Typical Calliope 2 applications […]
New 0.7-Micron pixel smartphone image sensor brings 32-MP resolution to selfie cameras
OmniVision Technologies, Inc. announced in advance of CES the OV32B image sensor, featuring a 0.7-micron pixel size to provide 32 megapixel (MP) resolution in a 1/3” optical format. This enables smartphone designers to offer the highest possible front-facing, selfie camera resolution in the limited space available. The OV32B also supports 2- and 3-exposure HDR timing for up to […]
Air quality sensor platform carries waterproof rating
Renesas Electronics Corporation expanded its popular ZMOD4410 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) sensor platform with the industry’s first software-configurable IP67-qualified waterproof option for IAQ applications operating in wet or dirty environments such as kitchens, bathrooms, and hospital rooms, where they are frequently exposed to water, oils, and dust. The firmware-configurable waterproof ZMOD4410 sensor features a unique hermetically sealed package […]
RISC-V for ultra-low power processing and AI on the edge
RISC-V is an exciting and rapidly-emerging technology. RISC-V is software; it is an open standard instruction set architecture (ISA) based on established reduced instruction set computer (RISC) principles. So far, this FAQ series has looked at how “RISC-V is growing and offers stability, scalability, and security,” the “Growing availability of tools reducing the risk of […]
Curved, side-mounted capacitive sensor optimized for mobile devices
Fingerprint Cards AB announces the launch of a new, slim and curved capacitive touch sensor for biometric authentication. Following the success of the FPC1540 sensor, the uniquely curved FPC1542 sensor is set to enable innovation in the latest borderless smartphone designs. As demand for side-mounted touch sensors grows, the curved sensor offers OEMs enhanced design […]