Author Archives: david manners

ARM, IBM expand IoT collaboration

imageIBM today announced an expansion of its IoT platform – called IBM IoT Foundation – through a collaboration with ARM mbed-enabled devices connecting to analytics services.

This fusion will allow data from devices such as industrial appliances, weather sensors and wearable monitoring devices to be gathered, analyzed and acted upon.

IBM also announced the first in a series of IBM Cloud-based, industry-specific IoT services with IoT for Electronics. The service will enable electronics manufacturers to gather data from individual sensors that can be combined with other data for real-time analysis.

The IBM IoT Foundation is a platform upon which a family of fully managed, cloud-hosted offerings on the SoftLayer Infrastructure is built. IoT Foundation makes it simple to derive value from Internet of Things (IoT) devices, IBM says. It includes:

  • “Analytics tools capable of dealing with large quantities of fast-moving data”,
  • “Access to IBM Bluemix, IBM’s Platform-as-a-Service, that is capable of handling the immense flow of data and provide anytime access for decision makers”
  • “Security systems capable of helping organizations protect IoT data as rigorously as they do their own confidential financial, IP and strategy information”.
Internet of Things - IoT

Internet of Things – IoT

The integration between IBM and ARM will allow products powered by ARM mbed-enabled chips to automatically register with the IBM IoT Foundation, and connect with IBM analytics services. This unifies the ARM mbed IoT Device Platform and the IBM IoT Foundation at the point where information gathered from deployed sensors in any connected device is delivered to the cloud for analysis, says IBM.

The IoT connection also enables delivery of actionable events to control equipment or provide users with alerts or other information. For example, the triggering of an alarm message on a washing machine to ask the owner to confirm a breakdown engineer appointment if a fault is detected.

According to the company:

This integration can help clients improve engagement, accelerate innovation and enhance operations through connected devices and analysis of the data. Custom hardware built around ARM’s chip technology and IBM’s IoT services for predictive maintenance, better asset performance, operational risk management and managed continuous engineering, can help provide organizations with enterprise-grade tools designed to help them build value from their Iot installations.

 

david manners

ARM, IBM expand IoT collaboration

imageIBM today announced an expansion of its IoT platform – called IBM IoT Foundation – through a collaboration with ARM mbed-enabled devices connecting to analytics services.

This fusion will allow data from devices such as industrial appliances, weather sensors and wearable monitoring devices to be gathered, analyzed and acted upon.

IBM also announced the first in a series of IBM Cloud-based, industry-specific IoT services with IoT for Electronics. The service will enable electronics manufacturers to gather data from individual sensors that can be combined with other data for real-time analysis.

The IBM IoT Foundation is a platform upon which a family of fully managed, cloud-hosted offerings on the SoftLayer Infrastructure is built. IoT Foundation makes it simple to derive value from Internet of Things (IoT) devices, IBM says. It includes:

  • “Analytics tools capable of dealing with large quantities of fast-moving data”,
  • “Access to IBM Bluemix, IBM’s Platform-as-a-Service, that is capable of handling the immense flow of data and provide anytime access for decision makers”
  • “Security systems capable of helping organizations protect IoT data as rigorously as they do their own confidential financial, IP and strategy information”.
Internet of Things - IoT

Internet of Things – IoT

The integration between IBM and ARM will allow products powered by ARM mbed-enabled chips to automatically register with the IBM IoT Foundation, and connect with IBM analytics services. This unifies the ARM mbed IoT Device Platform and the IBM IoT Foundation at the point where information gathered from deployed sensors in any connected device is delivered to the cloud for analysis, says IBM.

The IoT connection also enables delivery of actionable events to control equipment or provide users with alerts or other information. For example, the triggering of an alarm message on a washing machine to ask the owner to confirm a breakdown engineer appointment if a fault is detected.

According to the company:

This integration can help clients improve engagement, accelerate innovation and enhance operations through connected devices and analysis of the data. Custom hardware built around ARM’s chip technology and IBM’s IoT services for predictive maintenance, better asset performance, operational risk management and managed continuous engineering, can help provide organizations with enterprise-grade tools designed to help them build value from their Iot installations.

 

david manners

Hirai talks Sony

Kaz Hiimagerai, CEO of Sony

Kaz Hiimagerai, CEO of Sony

Kaz Hirai, CEO of Sony, has just given the following interview to CNBC:

CNBC: A number of new products launched today, what are you most excited about?

“We are really excited about a range of products that we highlighted today. We are talking about the new Xperia Z5 smart phones, series there, including the first 4K smart phone – the world’s fastest auto focus for example – we are also talking about some additions to our digital imaging products and a great range of high extended range dynamic range televisions as well. So a lot of great products here at IFA.”

CNBC: The Sony smart phone have always measured up well in specs according to the critics, but they have struggled to get market share in the top ten and you’ve struggled to maximise returns on the hardware – how are these products any different?

“I think that we strive to make sure we that we bring to the market Smart phones that are uniquely Sony, so incorporating lots of the Sony assets and technologies we have – and it really then becomes a challenge for us to make sure we get the marketing message out to all the customers in Japan and elsewhere around the world. To see and have the customers really understand the difference that we bring to the table with our smartphones.”

CNBC: When you made the comments that Sony would no longer peruse sales growth in areas, such as smart phones, some people took that to mean a potential exit from the smart phone market. Is that what you meant?

“No, we actually meant that we need to be a bit smarter about how we arrange our portfolio of products and that in some instances, it’s all about making sure we have a profitable business, as opposed to just gaining market share at all costs.”

CNBC: Some people say you should take the fight to Apples door – will you do that with this range?

“Actually, what we’ve done with the Xperia Z5, and all of our flagship models in the past, is that we’ve always been shooting towards to mid to higher range of the market – where, because we believe our products can command a premium in the market.”

CNBC: There was no reference today to Sony Pictures and the recent numbers, we saw a 12 per cent sales slump and operating losses posted, is this a hangover from the cyber-attack last year, and what can you do to try and arrest the slide?

“I think this is not really something that is attributable to the cyber-attack per se, it’s really just a product line up or portfolio pipeline issue, and one of the things that we’ve done recently is we’ve brought in a new management in the Sony Pictures studio to make sure that we have a fresh pair of eyes to take a look at the studio operations going forward, both creatively and also from a business perspective as well, and that’s in Tom Rothman that we’ve brought on board.”

CNBC: Are you confident that a hack of a similar size couldn’t happen again?

“We beef up security every time obviously, we look at this all the time, there’s nothing that’s perfect in that space, but we try to do everything that’s possible to make sure that, you know, our information and all of the assets that we have are well protected.”

CNBC: Just finally, I wanted to ask you about the overall strategy because you are half way through this turn around. Is Sony still going to be a very strong consumer products brand or do you see it going down the path of being innovative solutions?

“We pride ourselves in the fact that we have some very strong businesses that are in the B2B space, namely Image Sensors for example, but at the same time we believe that we can continue to make innovations and also make differentiator products that really provide not just creative input, but also a lot of emotional value to our customers in the electronic space as well, so we’re committed to being in the B2B space but also the consumer electronic space as well.”

david manners

Hirai talks Sony

Kaz Hiimagerai, CEO of Sony

Kaz Hiimagerai, CEO of Sony

Kaz Hirai, CEO of Sony, has just given the following interview to CNBC:

CNBC: A number of new products launched today, what are you most excited about?

“We are really excited about a range of products that we highlighted today. We are talking about the new Xperia Z5 smart phones, series there, including the first 4K smart phone – the world’s fastest auto focus for example – we are also talking about some additions to our digital imaging products and a great range of high extended range dynamic range televisions as well. So a lot of great products here at IFA.”

CNBC: The Sony smart phone have always measured up well in specs according to the critics, but they have struggled to get market share in the top ten and you’ve struggled to maximise returns on the hardware – how are these products any different?

“I think that we strive to make sure we that we bring to the market Smart phones that are uniquely Sony, so incorporating lots of the Sony assets and technologies we have – and it really then becomes a challenge for us to make sure we get the marketing message out to all the customers in Japan and elsewhere around the world. To see and have the customers really understand the difference that we bring to the table with our smartphones.”

CNBC: When you made the comments that Sony would no longer peruse sales growth in areas, such as smart phones, some people took that to mean a potential exit from the smart phone market. Is that what you meant?

“No, we actually meant that we need to be a bit smarter about how we arrange our portfolio of products and that in some instances, it’s all about making sure we have a profitable business, as opposed to just gaining market share at all costs.”

CNBC: Some people say you should take the fight to Apples door – will you do that with this range?

“Actually, what we’ve done with the Xperia Z5, and all of our flagship models in the past, is that we’ve always been shooting towards to mid to higher range of the market – where, because we believe our products can command a premium in the market.”

CNBC: There was no reference today to Sony Pictures and the recent numbers, we saw a 12 per cent sales slump and operating losses posted, is this a hangover from the cyber-attack last year, and what can you do to try and arrest the slide?

“I think this is not really something that is attributable to the cyber-attack per se, it’s really just a product line up or portfolio pipeline issue, and one of the things that we’ve done recently is we’ve brought in a new management in the Sony Pictures studio to make sure that we have a fresh pair of eyes to take a look at the studio operations going forward, both creatively and also from a business perspective as well, and that’s in Tom Rothman that we’ve brought on board.”

CNBC: Are you confident that a hack of a similar size couldn’t happen again?

“We beef up security every time obviously, we look at this all the time, there’s nothing that’s perfect in that space, but we try to do everything that’s possible to make sure that, you know, our information and all of the assets that we have are well protected.”

CNBC: Just finally, I wanted to ask you about the overall strategy because you are half way through this turn around. Is Sony still going to be a very strong consumer products brand or do you see it going down the path of being innovative solutions?

“We pride ourselves in the fact that we have some very strong businesses that are in the B2B space, namely Image Sensors for example, but at the same time we believe that we can continue to make innovations and also make differentiator products that really provide not just creative input, but also a lot of emotional value to our customers in the electronic space as well, so we’re committed to being in the B2B space but also the consumer electronic space as well.”

david manners

Hirai talks Sony

Kaz Hiimagerai, CEO of Sony

Kaz Hiimagerai, CEO of Sony

Kaz Hirai, CEO of Sony, has just given the following interview to CNBC:

CNBC: A number of new products launched today, what are you most excited about?

“We are really excited about a range of products that we highlighted today. We are talking about the new Xperia Z5 smart phones, series there, including the first 4K smart phone – the world’s fastest auto focus for example – we are also talking about some additions to our digital imaging products and a great range of high extended range dynamic range televisions as well. So a lot of great products here at IFA.”

CNBC: The Sony smart phone have always measured up well in specs according to the critics, but they have struggled to get market share in the top ten and you’ve struggled to maximise returns on the hardware – how are these products any different?

“I think that we strive to make sure we that we bring to the market Smart phones that are uniquely Sony, so incorporating lots of the Sony assets and technologies we have – and it really then becomes a challenge for us to make sure we get the marketing message out to all the customers in Japan and elsewhere around the world. To see and have the customers really understand the difference that we bring to the table with our smartphones.”

CNBC: When you made the comments that Sony would no longer peruse sales growth in areas, such as smart phones, some people took that to mean a potential exit from the smart phone market. Is that what you meant?

“No, we actually meant that we need to be a bit smarter about how we arrange our portfolio of products and that in some instances, it’s all about making sure we have a profitable business, as opposed to just gaining market share at all costs.”

CNBC: Some people say you should take the fight to Apples door – will you do that with this range?

“Actually, what we’ve done with the Xperia Z5, and all of our flagship models in the past, is that we’ve always been shooting towards to mid to higher range of the market – where, because we believe our products can command a premium in the market.”

CNBC: There was no reference today to Sony Pictures and the recent numbers, we saw a 12 per cent sales slump and operating losses posted, is this a hangover from the cyber-attack last year, and what can you do to try and arrest the slide?

“I think this is not really something that is attributable to the cyber-attack per se, it’s really just a product line up or portfolio pipeline issue, and one of the things that we’ve done recently is we’ve brought in a new management in the Sony Pictures studio to make sure that we have a fresh pair of eyes to take a look at the studio operations going forward, both creatively and also from a business perspective as well, and that’s in Tom Rothman that we’ve brought on board.”

CNBC: Are you confident that a hack of a similar size couldn’t happen again?

“We beef up security every time obviously, we look at this all the time, there’s nothing that’s perfect in that space, but we try to do everything that’s possible to make sure that, you know, our information and all of the assets that we have are well protected.”

CNBC: Just finally, I wanted to ask you about the overall strategy because you are half way through this turn around. Is Sony still going to be a very strong consumer products brand or do you see it going down the path of being innovative solutions?

“We pride ourselves in the fact that we have some very strong businesses that are in the B2B space, namely Image Sensors for example, but at the same time we believe that we can continue to make innovations and also make differentiator products that really provide not just creative input, but also a lot of emotional value to our customers in the electronic space as well, so we’re committed to being in the B2B space but also the consumer electronic space as well.”

david manners

ADI launches GaAs pHEMT driver amplifier

Analog Devices has introduced a medium-power, distributed driver amplifier which operates between 24GHz and 35GHz.

The HMC1131 amplifier provides 22dB of gain, +35dBm output IP3, and +24dBm of output power at 1dB gain compression.

ADI launches GaAs pHEMT driver amplifier - ADI hmc1131

ADI launches GaAs pHEMT driver amplifier – ADI hmc1131

It reduces the number of components required to achieve the desired output power and small signal gain, which lowers development costs and design time by enabling simpler transmit line-ups and higher integration, according to Analog.

Based on a GaAs pHEMT design, the HMC1131 is intended for civil and defence communications systems, including point-to-point and point-to-multi-point radios and VSat and Satcom applications.

The HMC1131 can supply +25dBm of saturated output power with 16% PAE and is housed in a compact, leadless 4x4mm ceramic surface-mount package.

The company writes:

The HMC1131 is a gallium arsenide (GaAs), pseudomorphic high electron mobility transfer (pHEMT), monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC), driver amplifier that operates from 24 GHz to 35 GHz. The HMC1131 provides 22 dB of gain at the 24 GHz to 27 GHz range, 35 dBm output IP3, and 24 dBm of output power at 1 dB gain compression, while requiring 225 mA from a 5 V supply. The HMC1131 is capable of supplying 25 dBm of saturated output power and is housed in a compact, 4 mm × 4 mm ceramic leadless chip carrier (24-lead LCC). The HMC1131 is an ideal driver amplifier for a wide range of applications, including point-to-point radios, from 24 GHz to 35 GHz.

See also: ADI integrates 24-bit sigma-delta converters into sensor interface chip

Read more Analog Devices stories on Electronics Weekly  »

david manners

Imec delivers clothing display

Imec delivers clothing display

Imec delivers clothing display

Imec, the Centre and CMST, Imec’s associated lab at Ghent University, have demonstrated the world’s first stretchable and conformable thin-film transistor (TFT) driven LED display laminated into textiles.

The conformable display is very thin and mechanically stretchable. A fine-grain version of the proven meander interconnect technology was developed by the CMST lab at Ghent University and Holst Centre to link standard (rigid) LEDs into a flexible and stretchable display.

The LED displays are fabricated on a polyimide substrate and encapsulated in rubber, allowing the displays to be laminated in to textiles that can be washed. Importantly, the technology uses fabrication steps that are known to the manufacturing industry, enabling rapid industrialization.

Next generation displays feature smaller LEDs mounted on an amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) TFT backplane that employs a two-transistor and one capacitor (2T-1C) pixel engine to drive the LEDs.

These second-generation displays offer higher pitch and increased, average brightness. The presentation will feature a 32×32 pixel demonstrator with a resolution of 13 pixels per inch (ppi) and average brightness above 200 candelas per square meter (cd/m2). Work is ongoing to further industrialize this technology.

david manners

China launches FPGA family

Gowin GW1N FPGA

Gowin GW1N FPGA

Twenty-month-old Gowin Semiconductor of Guangdong has a two-device family of FPGAs called GW1N – GW1N-1K and GW1N-9K.

They are made on TSMC’s 55nm process with an embedded flash block which can be randomly accessed.

According to Gowin they have up to 9K LUTs; up to 198K embedded block SRAM bits and nearly 20K Shadow SRAM bits; up to 2 million user flash memory bits; up to 20 dedicated 18×18 multipliers and accumulators; up to 276 I/O which include 44 true LVDS output and also support PLLs and DLLs applications.

Packages include WLCSP25, QFN32, LQFP100, LQFPQ44, MBGA160, BGA204, PBGA256, and PBGA484.

FPGA “instant on”

The FPGAs have an “instant on” when powering up and support two types of core Vcc devices: LV and UV. It also supports multiple IO standards and protocols, JTAG, MSPI configuration and a dual boot option.

The front end of Gowin design flow is supported by Synplify of Synopsys. The back end of the design flow is supported by proprietary Gowin tools. From HDL/RTL to bit stream data file generation, the entire design flow is covered.

Gowin expects to provide engineering samples and an evaluation board in Q4, 2015.

david manners

Harsh environment isolated current sense amp from Si Labs

Harsh environment isolated current sense amp from Si Labs

Harsh environment isolated current sense amp from Si Labs

Silicon Labs has introduced an isolated current sense amplifier for delivering current shunt measurement for power control systems operating in harsh environments such as industrial motor drives, solar inverters, high-voltage power converters, UPS and electric/hybrid-electric vehicle (EV/HEV) systems.

Measuring current on high-voltage rails with a galvanicly-isolated amplifier provides critical information to the low-voltage controller that improves system response time and efficiency.

The Si8920 isolated amplifier provides a differential, low-voltage input scaled for connection to current shunt resistors, says the company, enabling the controller to make precise measurements of current on high-voltage rails while maintaining electrical isolation. The device’s isignal bandwidth (up to 750kHz) ensures rapid, precise DC current measurement and accurate representation of the primary signal and harmonics.

The amplifier uses Silicon Labs’ CMOS-based isolation technology, which meets UL, VDE, CQC and CSA standards, supports up to 5kV withstand and 1,200V working voltage, and offers a wider operating temperature range, better noise immunity and longer lifetimes than competing isolation technologies, the company claims, adding that the device’s 1µV/°C offset drift ensures stable performance over diverse operating conditions.

It is aimed at industrial automation, green energy and Internet infrastructure equipment, where many power systems feature long lifetime warranties and are expected to operate for 25 years or more in the field and isolation often can be a point of first failure and a lifetime-limiting device in many power systems.

According to Silicon Labs, CMOS-based isolation components such as the Si8920 isolated amplifier operate over a full industrial temperature range and can support product lifetimes of up to 100 years.

The amplifier has 0.75µs signal delay across the isolation barrier, allowing power control systems to react rapidly to transient load conditions. Low signal delay enables control loops to respond quickly, it says, resulting in a more efficient and stable system as the controller can act sooner to maintain performance. Low signal delay also enables the power system to make quick corrective responses to unusual, potentially dangerous events, which helps reduce equipment repair and maintenance costs.

The Si8920 isolated amplifier is available in standard SOIC and DIP packages, which are easy to handle with automated assembly systems. Si8920 pricing in 10,000-unit quantities begins at $2.39.

The Si8920ISO-KIT evaluation kit costing $29 enables developers to connect quickly to a shunt resistor to evaluate Si8920 analogue isolation functionality including low-voltage differential input, response times, offset and gain characteristics.

david manners

Spectrum adds pre-amp to digitiser

For applications where low-level electronic signals need to be acquired and analysed, Spectrum has added a range of pre-amplifiers that can be used to boost signal levels. When combined with a Spectrum digitiser these low noise pre-amplifiers can greatly increase the measurement systems overall dynamic range and sensitivity.

The pre-amps are designed to complement the built-in amplifiers of the digitiser, effectively extending the available input ranges, and allowing the detection and measurement of much smaller signals. spectrum

Seven different pre-amplifiers are available making it easy to select a model that can best match the digitizer being used. They offer gain ranges from 20 dB to 60 dB, bandwidths from 10 MHz to 2 GHz as well as 50 Ω and 1 MΩ terminations. Most of the pre-amplifiers also have true DC coupling and an adjustable output offset control to further extend their operational use.

To utilize the resolution and maximize the precision of a digitizer it is important that the signal being measured covers as much of the ADC’s dynamic range as possible. Spectrum digitizers already feature highly configurable input amplifiers that offer a variety of input ranges. However, the new pre-amplifiers extend this even further.

For example, the 16 bit M2i.46xx series digitizers come with 8 programmable input settings offering from 50 mV to 10 V full scale range. Using an SPA.1231 pre-amplifier can provide an additional gain of either 40 dB or 60 dB (x100 or x1000) effectively delivering a Full Scale Range (FSR) that can go as low as 50 μV.

The low FSR together with the 16 bit resolution of the digitizer makes it possible to detect signal variations that are way down into the nano-volt range.

The fastest pre-amplifier SPA.1841 with a bandwidth of 2 GHz perfectly matches the Spectrum M4i.22xx series digitizers that offer up to 5 GS/s sampling rate and a bandwidth up to 1.5 GHz. Using the combination of a M4i.2230-x8 and a SPA.1841 amplifier one can sample signals in the GHz range with a FSR of 2 mV resulting in a resolution of 15 μV per step at the given digitizer resolution of 8 bit.

Such high gain often means high noise, especially when amplifying small signals, so careful design of both the digitizer and pre-amplifier is crucial. All SPA series pre-amplifiers are optimized for minimum input noise with models available that reach values as low as 0.9 nV/√Hz. For applications that need to push the technology even further signal processing functions, such as averaging and filtering, can be used on the digitised data. Such signal processing techniques can help to reduce the effects of random noise and greatly improve the overall signal-to-noise ratio of the measurements being made.

david manners