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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.

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.

PCIe 4.0 NVMe 1.4 Controllers optimized for Gen4 performance at low power consumption

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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 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.

More information about Silicon Motion SSD controllers can be found at www.siliconmotion.com.

Raspberry Pi compute module 4 boasts smaller footprint, more memory

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Newark launched the new Compute Module 4 (CM4) from Raspberry Pi. The CM4 brings the power of the Raspberry Pi 4 to the compute module family and is accompanied by two accessories, the Compute Module 4 I/O (CM4IO) Board and the Compute Module 4 Antenna Kit.

CM4 is a faster and more powerful System on Module (SoM) than previous models, offering a greater range of connectivity and memory options for design engineers building embedded solutions. Key features include a small form-factor, greater power efficiency, PCle support, and a variety of multimedia interfaces. The power and versatility of CM4 make it an ideal solution for Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and a wide range of home and industrial automation applications. Raspberry Pi products are increasingly being used in product design with an estimated 40-50 percent of Raspberry Pi boards now being sold to industrial customers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). As the highest volume manufacturing partner of Raspberry Pi, Newark has heavily invested in stock to ensure availability for volume orders, meaning that design engineers can integrate CM4 and other Raspberry Pi Compute Modules into new products with confidence.

CM4 is based on the acclaimed Raspberry Pi Model 4B single-board computer, with an updated form factor accommodating new interfaces such as dual HDMI, PCIe, and Gigabit Ethernet, in a reduced footprint. Access to the processor interfaces and GPIO pins is provided via dual 100 pin high-density connectors. For maximum flexibility, CM4 is available with different eMMC flash and DRAM density options, and with optional dual-band wireless connectivity. A “lite” variant is available without the eMMC fitted, making it an ideal solution for cost-sensitive applications.

The CM4 is packed with performance and connectivity features including Processor: a Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 64-bit processor clocked at 1.5GHz, offering industry-leading performance and power efficiency; Memory: from 1GB to 8GB of LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM and up to 32GB of eMMC Flash memory depending on the model; Multimedia: hardware codec support for H.265 (up to 4kp60 decode) and H.264 (up to 1080p60 decode and 1080p30 encode); Connectivity: optional fully certified radio module, supporting dual-band IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac wireless networking and Bluetooth 5.0. An on-board electronic switch selects between an external or PCB antenna.

The CM4IO Board has been designed to simplify the development of new products using the CM4. It is suitable for the evaluation and prototyping of new products, serving as a reference design to interface external devices to the CM4, and can also be embedded directly into end products. The CM4IO Board can be used with the complete range of CM4 modules and features: Gigabit Ethernet connectivity with PoE support (requires separate Raspberry Pi PoE HAT); Two full-size HDMI connectors; Two USB 2 sockets, with a header for two more sockets; A micro-USB socket for updating the CM4 and a micro SD card socket for CM4Lite modules; A PCIe Gen 2 x1 socket

Also available, for use with CM4 variants with an on-board wireless module, is the Compute Module Antenna Kit. The Kit includes an external antenna which has been pre-certified or uses with the CM4, reducing additional compliance requirements when an external antenna is required within the design. It is supplied with a bulkhead fixture and a cable with a U.FL connector.

Newark stocks a market-leading range of SBCs from over 100 supplier franchises and offers 24/5 technical support to ensure customers can take advantage of the latest technology innovations for experiments and embedded solutions. Newark can also support customers as they take ideas from specification through to production with end-to-end product development solutions offered via the Avnet ecosystem.

The Raspberry Pi’s Compute Module 4 and accessories including the Compute Module 4 I/O Board and Compute Module 4 Antenna Kit are available from Newark in North America.

NAND-based SSDs optimized for low-volume uses

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ATP Electronics launches the A700Pi/E700Pi Series, a new generation of Premium Line pSLC NAND-based embedded SSDs. A game-changing highlight for this generation is a new ATP-developed firmware and supporting mass production infrastructure, which is fully customizable to endurance configurations that are tailor-fitted to customer’s requirements, to address any variety of embedded/industrial usage cases. This once again demonstrates ATP’s commitment to delivering optimal total cost of ownership (TCO) value for its customers as storage demands of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), edge computing, and other high-reliability applications continue the upsurge.

ATP’s Premium Line uses advanced controller and firmware technologies to make sure that the offerings meet and even exceed the endurance requirements of demanding applications.

Premium Line storage solutions are purpose-built for applications that require uncompromising endurance and reliability at lower user capacities. These embedded flash storage devices are configured with pseudo-single-level cell (pSLC) to extend the general endurance to more than 10 times of the same triple-level cell (TLC) products. The pSLC technology dramatically improves the sustained write performance and reliability of the drives, making them suitable for write-intensive applications. By storing only 1 bit per cell, Premium Line solutions drive down TCO with longer service life using the most cost-effective NAND flash technology available.

ATP experts are available to help customers assess the best TCO solution through customization options. By carefully assessing, customizing, and delivering products fitted to customer’s requirements, ATP can help ensure the most optimal purchase decisions.

Software modem and reference design simplify design complexity for IoT apps

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Semtech Corporation announced two new enabling solutions for its LoRa Edge platform: LoRa Basics Modem-E, a LoRaWAN-based software modem for the LoRa Edge platform that runs inside the LoRa Edge transceiver, and the LoRa Edge Tracker Reference Design, a device-to-cloud commercial-grade reference solution for asset tracking applications.
 
LoRa Basics Modem-E, which forms part of the LoRa Basics library of software tools and solution accelerators, is fully compliant with the LoRaWAN protocol and designed specifically to run on the LoRa Edge hardware platform. The LoRa Edge Tracker Reference Design incorporates LoRa Edge hardware with the LoRa Basics Modem-E software modem in a streamlined industrial sensor design integrated with LoRa Cloud services to provide a ready-to-deploy reference solution for asset tracking.
 
LoRa Basics Modem-E embedded software, which will be tested and maintained by Semtech along with the latest versions of the LoRaWAN protocol, supports AES-128 bit encryption and enables the secure connection of sensors to any LoRaWAN compliant gateway. In addition, as a fully-certified production-ready LoRaWAN protocol-based modem, LoRa Basics Modem-E fast tracks the LoRa Alliance certification process, further accelerating time-to-market. LoRa Basics Modem-E also has APIs to easily integrate with Semtech’s LoRa Cloud Geolocation and LoRa Cloud Device & Application Services, including GNSS almanac updates, further simplifying solution development.
 
The LoRa Edge Tracker Reference Design has been developed in collaboration with Actility and Tago.IO, leveraging both companies’ expertise in the asset tracking space, and includes LoRa Cloud Geolocation capabilities and Tago.IO’s Cloud-based dashboards and analytics to support the rapid deployment of POCs. Actility will also provide a complete tracking kit including the LoRa Edge Tracker Reference Design and a pre-provisioned gateway based on the LoRaWAN protocol to enable customers to quickly evaluate a complete end-to-end IoT tracking system.
 
To learn more, visit the LoRa Developer Portal. The software is available on GitHub.

IoT data management software runs on BeagleBone platform

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Digi-Key Electronics announced that it will be the exclusive global distributor of the industry’s most affordable ready-to-use IoT data management software for the BeagleBone platform, Machinechat JEDI One for BeagleBone.

Machinechat’s JEDI One is an all-in-one software application for IoT developers and solution architects to provision IoT data collection, visualization, monitoring, and local storage capabilities in minutes. Offered as a single binary software application that is installed on-premise, JEDI One for BeagleBone is the industry’s most affordable ready-to-use IoT software solution that enables developers and their customers to have complete control over their data, along with an advanced set of data management tools that can be leveraged in minutes.

Available exclusively through Digi-Key Electronics for $39, Machinechat JEDI One for BeagleBone allows engineers to embed robust edge-based data collection, transformation, monitoring, and visualization to any IoT project in minutes.

Machinechat JEDI One for BeagleBone is available exclusively through Digi-Key Electronics for a one-time fee of $39.00 for a single premium license. Each license supports one BeagleBone board and up to 16 devices and sensors.