Dual Cortex-A7 and Cortex-M4 integrated – graphics, communication and real-time control on one chip – evaluation board available

Kontron, a leading global provider of IoT/Embedded Computing Technology (ECT), is one of the first companies to introduce a System-on-Module (SOM) based on the brand-new STM32MP157 processor by STMicroelectronics. By the Dual Cortex-A7 and the Cortex-M4 processors’ three cores in one chip, the module – with dimensions of only 1 inch x 1 inch (25.4 x 25.4 mm) – achieves maximum performance in terms of visualization and computing power. In addition, it offers extensive interfaces that are predestined for applications in industry, automation, medical technology, POS/POI applications as well as IoT and Industry 4.0. Its compact design is ideally suited for a wide range of baseboard designs. Kontron has already provided a corresponding evaluation board in the 4.3-inch form factor as a reference design.

SOM-STM32MP157 Specifications

• CPU STM32MP157 (2x Cortex A7, 1x Cortex M4)
• DDR3-RAM 256/512 Mbyte, NAND-Flash 256/512 Mbyte
• Ethernet, USB, Serial, CAN, I/O, SDIO,i²C, SPI, PWM, LCD

The new STM32MP157 processor from STMicroelectronics offers sufficient computing and graphics power for demanding visualization and internet communication applications as well as for control tasks within mechanical engineering and equipment technology. Based on a pre-installed embedded Linux operating system, the Cortex-A7 Dual Core handles complex visualization tasks, including the display of web content. In this context, touch displays and wireless technologies are also supported, as they are mainly used in IoT solutions. The integrated Cortex-M4 offers proven microcontroller technology with a multitude of interfaces for industrial measuring and control technology.

The System-on-Module based on the STM32MP157 processor provides a powerful, compact and cost-effective basis for individual board designs. As it is a solderable module, the costs for connectors on the SOM module and the baseboard below are omitted. The module’s long-term availability is provided for a period of ten years.

Read more: KONTRON PRESENTS SOM BASED ON THE NEW STM32MP157 BY STMICROELECTRONICS

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This tutorial was done on Windows. Authors claim it could also be used on Linux by using Mono, but I haven’t tried and don’t understand a lot about Mono to see what could be done. I am switching to Linux nowadays, so I’d be very grateful to anybody that’d make instructions on how to launch it, however – and I’m sure other fellow Linux-wielding engineers will be grateful, too =)

This is the GitHub issue describing steps to launch it on Linux, half-successfully (thanks to @jlbrian7 for figuring this out)

The tool I’m personally using to panelize boards is GerberPanelizer from ThisIsNotRocketScience.nl. It’s a wonderful tool that allows you to panelize PCBs, mainly using tabs&mousebites. There are more tools in the archive, they all seem Gerber-related but I didn’t even go through them =)

I’m using KiCad myself, so I’ll mainly work with KiCad-made gerbers. The panelizer project page has some tips for Eagle users as well, related to CAM files, so if you’re an Eagle user, check it out, it can help with some moments. I’d love to cover Gerber generation for different EDA packages (actually, not), but Internet has plenty of tutorials on those. There’s a good online Gerber files viewer (needs gerber ZIPs) which gives out pretty renderings of your board, so you can use it to check your Gerbers – I do that all the time (and KiCad 3D viewer helps, too).

No matter your EDA tool, the workflow is simple – first, you have to have gerber files in separate folders for each project.

Gerber export tutorial – KiCad (with important Panelizer-specific notes)

Generate gerbers for each project that you want to include on the panel. You should have a couple of separate folders with gerber files – or in case you want to panelize multiples of the same board, just one folder.

Read more: Panelization – using GerberPanelizer on Windows

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Boundary Devices has unveiled its “Nitrogen8M-Mini” SBC, the first SBC that is based on NXP’s new i.MX8M Mini SoC, and also the second embedded board with the first being Variscite’s DART-MX8M-Mini module. The SBC runs Linux on an up to 2GHz, quad -A53 i.MX8M Mini, and offers 2GB RAM, up to 128GB eMMC, PCIe, MIPI CSI/DSI, GbE, and optional WiFi/BT and PoE. Boundary Devices says:

the Nitrogen8M_Mini series of SBCs will include a robust set of attribute options, allowing them to be scaled up or down to fit any embedded project.

This points to the company’s extensive customization services. You can buy the board as a sandwich-style COM/carrier product on special request.

The Nitrogen8M-Mini may be priced at under $200. This is based on the premise that the Nitrogen8M which has more features sells for about $170. The NPX i.MX8M Mini was announced a year ago, aiming at 1Q 2019 production. The SOC is still listed as “preproduction” phase, and the Boundary Devices announcement is meant for a “pre-release” without pricing, which suggests it is currently available to a selected number of customers. You need to be a registered user to gain access to full documentation, 3D files, and schematics, and there are no community features such as a forum. NXP’s i.MX8M Mini exploits a more advanced 14LPC FinFET process than the i.MX8M, enabling the NXP to have lower power consumption and higher clock rate for both the Cortex-A53 and Cortex-M4 parts. The i.MX8M however, clocks out at 1.5GHz for the two to four -A53 cores and 266MHz for the -M4 MCU, the i.MX8M Mini can clock 1.5GHz to 2GHz and 400MHz, respectively.

Read more: NITROGEN8M MINI IS THE FIRST SBC WITH I.MX8M MINI SOC

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Determine the power absorbed by the VCVS in the figure. Solution: The VCVS consists of an open circuit and a controlled-voltage source. There is no current in the open circuit,

so no power is absorbed by the open circuit. The voltage vc across the open circuit is the controlling signal of the VCVS. The voltage Vc (across 2 ohm resisitor) measures vc to be vc = 2V. The voltage of the controlled voltage source is vd = 2 vc = 4V. The current in the controlled voltage source is 6V/4 ohm= 1.5A. The element current id and voltage vd adhere to the passive convention. Therefore, p = id*vd = (1.5)(4) = 6W is the power absorbed by the VCVS.

For more detail: Power and Dependent Sources

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Boundary Devices has unveiled its “Nitrogen8M-Mini” SBC, the first SBC that is based on NXP’s new i.MX8M Mini SoC, and also the second embedded board with the first being Variscite’s DART-MX8M-Mini module. The SBC runs Linux on an up to 2GHz, quad -A53 i.MX8M Mini, and offers 2GB RAM, up to 128GB eMMC, PCIe, MIPI CSI/DSI, GbE, and optional WiFi/BT and PoE. Boundary Devices says:

the Nitrogen8M_Mini series of SBCs will include a robust set of attribute options, allowing them to be scaled up or down to fit any embedded project.

This points to the company’s extensive customization services. You can buy the board as a sandwich-style COM/carrier product on special request.

The Nitrogen8M-Mini may be priced at under $200. This is based on the premise that the Nitrogen8M which has more features sells for about $170. The NPX i.MX8M Mini was announced a year ago, aiming at 1Q 2019 production. The SOC is still listed as “preproduction” phase, and the Boundary Devices announcement is meant for a “pre-release” without pricing, which suggests it is currently available to a selected number of customers. You need to be a registered user to gain access to full documentation, 3D files, and schematics, and there are no community features such as a forum. NXP’s i.MX8M Mini exploits a more advanced 14LPC FinFET process than the i.MX8M, enabling the NXP to have lower power consumption and higher clock rate for both the Cortex-A53 and Cortex-M4 parts. The i.MX8M however, clocks out at 1.5GHz for the two to four -A53 cores and 266MHz for the -M4 MCU, the i.MX8M Mini can clock 1.5GHz to 2GHz and 400MHz, respectively.

Read more: NITROGEN8M MINI IS THE FIRST SBC WITH I.MX8M MINI SOC

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As Internet of Things (IoT) devices are optimized for lower power consumption and affordability, most of them have poor computing resources. As consequence, these devices are more vulnerable to hacking attacks. The good news is there are several options for using cryptography to make it difficult for hackers to gain access to IoT devices of your smart connected home.

Cheap IoT devices that have little protection or no protection at all can be hacked to flood websites with high traffic and shut the servers down. As “things” are increasingly getting connected to the “internet”, chances are that hackers may have the water or electricity shut off, security system disabled, and even worse – they can cause loss of human life by attacking medical devices.

So, what is the solution? Well, the answer is, “Authentication and Encryption using embedded cryptography”. Now we shall discuss these methods of securing IoT devices from cyber attacks.

Authentication

For the IoT, authentication works in both directions. An IoT device ensures that it is interacting with an authorized gateway and cloud service, and the cloud service (remote server), in turn, verifies it is working with an authentic IoT node. Only when both the sender and the receiver are sure that they’re dealing with “real” client/server, they proceed further and exchange confidential information. This authentication is done by using a hashing algorithm and shared secret keys to generate a tag known as a message authentication code (MAC). This MAC address is compared with a locally stored address.

Now, it’s clear that effectiveness of the authentication process depends on the strength of the MAC, and the MAC address itself depends on the strength of the hashing algorithm, the length of the key used, and whether the key is shared secretly and stored securely. The current state-of-the-art hashing algorithm for cryptographic purposes is SHA-256 with 256-bit keys. That means if the key is unknown, it will take 2^256 attempts to crack it.

The generated key must be shared over a secure channel to prohibit hackers from cracking it by sniffing the packets. The key can also be shared over an insecure channel using Diffie–Hellman key exchange method. Another important task is to store the key securely. It’s highly recommended not to store the key in the same place along with other application data.

Encryption

AES is the accepted encryption method to encrypt and decrypt messages using digital keys. Symmetric key cryptography uses the same key to encrypt and decrypt the message. So it’s vital to keep the key secret. Asymmetric key cryptography uses the combination of a shared, public key and a private key which is kept secret locally. Asymmetric key cryptography is more useful and safer to use over insecure channels. But, this method is too much computationally expensive. That means it requires more computing resources to deal with asymmetric key cryptography.

A typical IoT device may not have enough computational strength to encrypt and decrypt all the data with asymmetric key cryptography. Rather this method can be used to create a secure channel only for sharing symmetric keys that encrypt/decrypt all messages.

To make the data exchange more secure, dedicated authentication chips and cryptographic co-processors can be used. This technique makes embedded systems more power efficient and in the long run, it’s the best thing to do.

Source: EMBEDDED CRYPTOGRAPHY FOR INTERNET OF THINGS SECURITY

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Scientists at the University of Stuttgart and the KIT succeed in important further development on the way to quantum computers.

Quantum computers one day should be able to solve certain computing problems much faster than a classical computer. One of the most promising approaches is based on the utilization of single photons to carry and process quantum information. Scientists of the University of Stuttgart and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)were now able to integrate three necessary main components (single-photon source, beamsplitters and single-photon detectors) on a single chip and operate it on the single-photon level. This experiment demonstrates the functionality of the basic components for a scalable system for photon-based quantum information processes.  The results got published in Nano Letters.

In contrast to the widespread silicon technology, the experiment was implemented on a gallium arsenide (GaAs) platform, allowing the direct integration of nanometer-sized structures, called quantum dots (QDs), which can serve as efficient on-demand sources of single photons. In addition, GaAs allows guiding these single photons to optical logic circuits and to special on-chip detectors made of superconducting nanowires. In the experiment, single photons emitted by an optically pumped quantum dot were guided inside a photonic waveguide and divided by an on-chip beamsplitter into two waveguide-arms, each equipped with a detector.

One of the challenges so far in this type of fully on-chip experiment was the close proximity of the excitation laser to the on-chip detectors”, explains Mario Schwartz.

The PhD student from the Institute of Semiconductor Optics and Functional Interfaces (IHFG), University of Stuttgart, was working over the last years on the realization of a proof-of-principle experiment to show the feasibility of combining all main components on one single photonic chip. The project was realized in close collaboration with the PhD student Ekkehart Schmidt from the KIT, who is an expert for the design and implementation of the on-chip detectors.

Read more: THREE QUANTUM COMPUTER COMPONENTS INTEGRATED ON ONE CHIP

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This project is a 5.5W – 2 Channel Audio Amplifier based on LA4445 IC.

DESCRIPTION

The small 2 Channel amplifier constructed around Sanyo’s LA4445 IC delivers 5.5Watts +5.5 Watts at 4 ohm load, supply in 12V DC 2Amp, Input impedance 30K.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Dual Channels output : 5.5W
• Minimum External Parts
• Very small pop noise at the time of power supply ON/OFF
• Good ripple rejections
• Small residual noise
• Built-in protectors 1. Thermal Protector 2. Overvoltage Surge Protector
• Standard Audio signal
• Supply 12V DC
• Load : 4 Ohms Speaker on Each Channel
• Voltage Gain : 50DB
• Output 5.5W on each Channel (THD 10%)
• Total harmonic distortion 1% Max @ Po=1W
• Input impedance 30 K-ohms

SCHEMATIC

PARTS LIST

PCB

Source: 5.5W – 2 CHANNEL AUDIO AMPLIFIER

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The PicoScope 9404-05 is the first of a new class of oscilloscopes that combine the benefits of real-time sampling, equivalent-time sampling and high analog bandwidth.

The PicoScope 9404-05 has four 5 GHz input channels with market-leading ADC, timing and display resolutions for accurately measuring and visualizing high-speed analog and data signals. It is ideal for capturing pulse and step transitions to 70 ps, impulses down to 140 ps and clocks and data eyes to 3 Gb/s. Most high-bandwidth applications involve repetitive signals or clock-related data streams that can be readily analyzed by equivalent-time sampling (ETS). The SXRTO is fast: it quickly builds ETS, persistence displays and statistics with up to 2 million triggered captures per second. The PicoScope 9404-05 has a built-in full-bandwidth trigger on every channel, with pretrigger ETS capture to well above the Nyquist sampling rate. There are three acquisition modes—real time, ETS and roll—all capturing at 12-bit resolution into a shared memory of 250 kS.

Features

• 5 GHz bandwidth, 70 ps transition time
• 1 TS/s (1 ps) equivalent-time sampling
• Four 12-bit 500 MS/s ADCs
• Pulse, eye and mask testing to 70 ps and 3 Gb/s
• Up to 2 million triggered captures per second
• Logical, configurable, touch-compatible Windows user interface
• Comprehensive built-in measurements, zooms, data masks and histograms

The PicoSample 4 software is derived from our existing PicoSample 3 and PicoScope 9000 products, which together represent over ten years of development, customer feedback and optimization.

The high-resolution display can be resized to fit any window, filling 4k and even larger monitors or arrays of monitors. Four independent zoom channels can show you different views of your data down to a resolution of 1 ps. Most of the controls and status panels can be shown or hidden according to your application, allowing you to make optimal use of the display area.

Read more: NEW PICOSCOPE 9400 5 GHZ OSCILLOSCOPE

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Now available in the store: With GPS, Without GPS.

We showed a demo of this clock at Maker Faire Tokyo 2014 and it is now available in our online shop!

VFD Modular Clock IV-18 SMT edition is a special solder-free kit version of the original VFD Modular Clock . The kit comes with all electronics pre-soldered, but you still assemble the enclosure yourself.

Features:

• IV-18 8-digit Russian VFD Display Tube
• Open source mbed based firmware
• LPC1347 ARM Cortex-M3 64kb microcontroller
• GPS (option)
• Four Letter Word
• Easy to update firmware with no special drivers required (LPC1347 usb bootloader)

For more detail: VFD Modular Clock IV-18 SMT

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Have you ever wondered owning a fully powered NAS (Network-Attached Storage) system, but the cost buying one has been holding you back, well, now this is past, and you can easily build a simple NAS platform for just a fraction of the cost.

The Nano Pi M4 launched by FriendlyElec back in 2018, was one the smallest, and most affordable Rockchip RK3399based SBC, sharing similar layout as the Raspberry Pi 3 and it is generally better than the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ in terms of performance. It shares some identical features, as it supports 2 – 4 GB RAM, HDMI, 4 USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 40pin GPIO port, and many others. One distinct feature of the Nano Pi M4 is the 2.54mm pitch header, which was used to expose the 2-lane PCIe interface of the Rockchip Processor.

FriendlyElec has now launched a 4x SATA HAT for NanoPi M4 board that leverages on the 2.54mm pitch header on the NanoPi M4 board with PCIe 2x signals. The SATA HAT has four SATA ports which support three communication rates: 6 Gbps, 3 Gbps, and 1.5 Gbps. Its 4-Pin power connector includes a 12V and 5V outputs and they are also able to carry large currents.

The SATA HAT is the perfect add-on if you are considering designing your own NAS powered system, with it’s included 4x SATA ports you can connect an array of high-speed storage devices to it. With inbuilt LEDs, you can easily see the status of each SATA port.

Specifications

• PCIe to SATA Chipset – Marvell 88SE9215 four-port 6Gbps SATA I/O controller
• USB – 2x 4-pin USB 2.0 host connectors
• Expansion – NanoPi M4 40-pin header exposed
• Misc
  • Power key, unpopulated power key jumper
  • Power LED, 4x SATA LEDs
  • Heat dissipation – 2x PCB nuts for mounting a heatsink on top of Marvell chipset; 2-pin header for a fan, PWM modulation for 12V output
• Power Supply
  • 12V DC input via power barrel jack or 4-pin header; 2A needed for one 3.5″ hard drive or four 2.5″ hard drives; 5A needed for four 3.5″ hard drives
  • 4-pin power connector with 12V and 5V output
• Dimensions – 65 x 56 mm
• Weight – 33.48 grams

The same OS support provided for the NanoPi M4 board can easily be used with the M4 SATA HAT. OS support for this board includes Android 7.1.2 and three Ubuntu-based Linux distributions: Lubuntu 16.04, FriendlyCore 18.04(Ubuntu Core), and FriendlyDesktop 18.04.

Read more: DIY NAS SYSTEM WITH NEWLY LAUNCHED NANO PI SATA HAT

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Story

For more detail: Windows 10 IoT Core and TSL2561

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At the Embedded World Conference 2019, imec, a world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, presents a silicon-based compact microchannel heat sink that enables high heat flux dissipation.

The imec heat sink assembled to a high performance chip for cooling the latter one achieves a low total thermal resistance of 0,34K/W to 0.28K/W at less than 2 W pump power. The advantages of using silicon (Si) technology for fabricating microchannels are reflected in the high quality and low cost of the final devices. Imec’s chip cooler may be the answer for the heat challenge that the new generation of power electronics and systems in a Package are faced with.

The downscaling of integrated chips and their packaging is a major trend in the electronics industry. However, with the resulting ever-increasing power density come detrimental heat effects that impact the reliability and performances of the devices. Liquid is more effective in removing that heat compared to air, because of its higher thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity.  Silicon as a material is a relatively good heat conductor. The use of small, parallel, high-aspect-ratio silicon microchannel structures of 32µm wide and more than 260µm deep in imec’s chip cooler further increases the convective heat transfer surface area and the heat transfer coefficient, enabling high heat flux removal. This makes it possible to dissipate power of more than 600W/cm2 while keeping the component temperature below 100°C.

The key attribute of silicon is that it can realize high-aspect-ratio microstructures at low cost by leveraging massively parallel production processes and is directly integrable in the semiconductor infrastructure. In the current version, the Si-based microchannel heat sinks are fabricated separately and then interfaced to the back side of a heat-dissipating chip. Using an optimized Cu/Sn-Au interface, imec achieves a very low thermal contact resistance between both parts. Finally, since the fluidic performance and thermal behavior can be predicted with high degree of accuracy, imec’s microcooler can also be tailored according to external system constraints such as space and liquid supply.

Read more: A MINIATURE MICROFLUIDICS HEAT SINK FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE CHIP COOLING

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The miniSpartan3 is our new, low cost, tiny, FPGA kit. It starts at just $25, and there is a more powerful FPGA chip available for $35.

Features:

• The Spartan 3A XC3A50 FPGA ($25), or the Spartan 3A XC3A200 FPGA ($35) from Xilinx.
• An on-board USB JTAG Programmer to power and program your FPGA.
• An on board USB to Serial Interface.
• One HDMI port.
• 41 digital I/O pins.
• A 4-channel analog to digital converter running at 200 KSPS with 8 bit resolution.
• 4 Mbit SPI Flash.
• 32Mhz oscillator.
• 3 LEDs for debugging.
• 2 DIP switches.

Dimensions:

• 1.6 inches wide
• 2.5 inches long

For more detail: miniSpartan3

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NXP’s MCU-based solution for Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service (AVS) leverages the i.MX RT crossover processor, enabling developers to quickly and easily add Alexa voice assistant capabilities to their products. This ultra-small form-factor, turnkey hardware design comes completely integrated with Amazon qualified software for an out of the box AVS experience.

NXP’s production-ready solution is a time-and-cost-effective way for OEMs to build Alexa into their products. It’s fantastic to see NXP create another solution that simplifies the integration process and enables device makers to bring Alexa built-in products to market even faster. — Priya Abani, AVS Director

In terms of hardware, the i.MX RT 106A Crossover MCU features an Arm Cortex-M7 processor (1Mb of SRAM, 32K I-cache/D-cache, FPU) which supports the microphone (supports 3X MEMS microphones, 2X external digital microphones) and processing , a TFA9894D Class-D Amplifier, 8-/16-bit Parallel Camera Interface, Bluetooth/BLE 4.1, and an (optional) A71CH secure element to handle end-to-end security. The board also sports a secure interface JTAG, PLL OSC, eDMA, 4x Watch Dog, 6x GP Timer, 4x Quadrature ENC, 4x QuadTimer, 4x FlexPWM, and IOMUX.

The i.MX RT106A is a solution-specific member of the i.MX RT1060 family of crossover processors, targeting cloud-based embedded voice applications. It features NXP’s advanced implementation of the Arm® Cortex®-M7 core, which operates at speeds up to 600 MHz to provide high CPU performance and best real-time response. i.MX RT106A-based solution enables system designers to easily and inexpensively add voice control capabilities to a wide variety of smart appliances, smart home, smart retail, and smart industry devices.

Read more: NXP LAUNCHES I.MX RT CROSSOVER MCU FOR ALEXA VOICE SERVICE

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There are several ways to produce a negative voltage from a positive voltage source, including using a transformer or two inductors and/or multiple switches. However, none are as easy as using the LTC3863, which is elegant in its simplicity, has superior efficiency at light loads and reduces parts count compared to alternative solutions.

Advanced Controller Capabilities

The LTC3863 can produce a –0.4V to –150V negative output voltage from a positive input range of 3.5V to 60V. It uses a single-inductor topology with one active P-channel MOSFET switch and one diode. The high level of integration yields a simple, low parts-count solution.

The LTC3863 offers excellent light load efficiency, drawing only 70μA quiescent current in user-programmable Burst Mode operation. Its peak current mode, constant frequency PWM architecture provides positive control of inductor current, easy loop compensation and superior loop dynamics. The switching frequency can be programmed from 50kHz to 850kHz with an external resistor and can be synchronized to an external clock from 75kHz to 750kHz. The LTC3863 offers programmable soft-start or output tracking.

Safety features include overvoltage, overcurrent and short-circuit protection, including frequency foldback.

–5.2V, 1.7A Converter Operates from a 4.5V to 16V Source

The circuit shown in Figure 1 produces a –5.2V, 1.7A output from a 4.5V–16V input. Operation is similar to a flyback converter, storing energy in the inductor when the switch is on and releasing it through the diode to the output when the switch is off, except that with the LTC3863, no transformer is required. To prevent excessive current that can result from minimum on-time when the output is short-circuited, the controller folds back the switching frequency when the output is less than half of nominal.

For more detail: AppNote: Inverting DC/DC controller converts a positive input to a negative output with a single inductor

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A new milestone is hit by Congatec, as they recently announced Type 7 modules. Congatec has struggled hard to take Linux friendliness to the very next level and to make server response to quickest possible till date. To do that, two Type 7 modules are introduced to the market which provide support of up to 96GB DDR4 and designed for converged edge servers in aircraft.

The two modules introduced are:

• Conga-B7XD – Intel Xeon D and Pentium D based Conga-B7XD
• Conga-B7AC – Intel Atom C3xxx based Conga-B7AC

Congatec has not competed for COM express in the past. But the game is interesting now, as they got themselves prepare for the race. That’s good for inventions. To cope up with the market, they also introduced a Windowssupported version of type 7 module, in addition to the Linux. These are specially designed to run in aircraft computers, to make them extra efficient.

Conga-B7XD & Conga-B7AC COMs

Conga-B7XD board is the first one we will take a look and uses a Xeon D 15xx based core. While, Conga-B7AC, the second one is an Atom C3xxx based. It has an inbuilt memory of DDR4 type, ranging up to 96 GB DDR4 SODIMMs which are available via 3x 32GB-ready sockets. The 12 virtual machines on the system now can use 8GB RAM on each partition.

These new set of modules will excel in applications like augmented reality, airborne platforms for connected aircraft, passenger infotainment, Big Data applications, video surveillance, cloud-based flight data recordings, AI-based virtual assistants for improving pilot productivity and efficiency, and similar because of their demand for higher performance and memory, which is something the new Congatec easily cater for.

Due to its use in highly sophisticated devices, like the cockpit and streaming devices, their durability for temperature ranges and vibrations have builtin. Temperature range is matched from 0 to 60°C or an industrial -40 to 85°C, depending on the processor type. While hard sort of vibration and shockproof material is used, all of this together makes it a powerful device to have.

Read more: CONGATEC ANNOUNCES A COM EXPRESS TYPE 7 MODULES FOR THE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY

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LT series LED drivers with 10-100W power represent a complete solution with wide possibilities of control. Exceptionally narrow and slim design, remained even at high-power versions, provides a high flexibility of use.

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Aldec’s TySOM-3A-ZU19EG embedded system development board, showcased at Embedded World 2019, supports the early co-development and co-verification of hardware and software.

Aldec, Inc., a pioneer in mixed HDL language simulation and hardware-assisted verification for FPGA and ASIC designs, has launched the TySOM-3A-ZU19EG, to assist in the development of AI, Deep-learning Neural Network (DNN) and other applications dependent on complex algorithm acceleration in firmware.

This much-anticipated addition to Aldec’s popular family of embedded development kits showcased at Embedded World on booth 4-560 in Hall 4, features a Xilinx Zynq® UltraScale+™ ZU19EG FFVB1517 MPSoC, which has more than 1 million logic cells, and a quad-core ARM® Cortex-A53 platform running at up to 1.5GHz. The kit provides 64-bit processor scalability while combining real-time control with soft and hard engines for SoC prototyping solution, IP verification, graphics, video, packet processing and early software development.

This latest addition to the Aldec TySOM range is our most powerful yet,” comments Zibi Zalewski, General Manager of Aldec’s Hardware Division, “and while it is suitable for the development of some of today’s most complex applications, such as AI and DNN, it is an extremely scalable solution, so remains a cost-effective proposition for small to mid-size SoC FPGA and ASIC prototyping. Few if any other platforms represent a similarly sound and long-term investment.

The TySOM-3A-ZU19EG is designed to provide flexibility when selecting peripherals, because of leveraging all the features of the Zynq UltraScale+.

The kit contains 8GB DDR4 SODIMM Memory for the Programmable Logic (PL) and 8GB DDR4 SODIMM Memory for the Processing System (PS). It also includes 2GB NAND memory, supports Micro-SD card storage, SATA storage and features a 512MB QSPI Flash Memory.

Read more: LATEST TYSOM KIT ACCELERATES THE DEVELOPMENT OF AI

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I worked on creating a Internet connected last week using my open source WiFi relay project as platform. We observe quite dry air at our house, I suspect this is due to the fact that we use fan coils for heating/cooling. Humidity levels at home are usually below the 30% mark, which poses a health risk along with uncomfortably dry air. I’ve found these interesting charts that got me convinced I need to do something:

Low humidity helps spread virus/bacteria over air.

The comfortable zone for humans depends on the temperature, here is what it looks like for most of us:

We own a ultrasonic humidifier, but it has no setpoint, just on/off with intensity setting. Also, I’d like it to work only in certain times, not all of the time, so that called for using the WiFi thermostat scheduling function, only re-worked to take the humidity as to determine on/off state rather than temperature:

I realize there are homes with exact opposite problem, i.e. humidity is too high. For that reason I have a “Dry” function to use with  air drier as well so the relay will function using opposite logic i.e. activate when humidity is exceeded.

The project uses a DHT22 temperature sensor mounted to the side of the enclosure for better ventilation and reliable reading:

I threw in a ultra-cheap I2C OLED status display to get a visual reading. Milling the box so that the OLED shows was pretty nasty, hated it. I cut a piece of paper and placed it on top of the cover, below the transparent lid to cover up for the lousy milling job:

For more detail: Internet connected smart humidifier

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