Archive : 19 June 2016 год

An out of the box industrial IoT starter kit from Avnet is designed to simplify prototype and development efforts, while providing an easy transition to production.

The platform is based on Avnet’s MicroZed system on module (SoM) with a Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoC from Xilinx and pluggable sensor solutions from Maxim Integrated and STMicroelectronics. The kit also integrates the IBM Watson IoT Platform agent on top of a custom configured certified image of Wind River’s Pulsar Linux operating system.

Using the standard MQTT messaging protocol, secure connection is provided to the Watson IoT Platform and additional cloud services, as well as applications from the IBM Bluemix portfolio.

“The market for IoT connected systems is exploding, but ensuring that all the pieces of an edge to enterprise solution work properly requires a broad range of technologies and expertise,” said Eric Williams, Avnet’s vice president, IoT.

The Avnet Industrial IoT Starter Kit includes: a MicroZed 7010 SoM; a MicroZed Arduino carrier card; pluggable sensors, including a motion and environmental sensor board from STMicroelectronics and a thermocouple-to-Digital Pmod sensor module from Maxim Integrated; Ethernet, USB and power cables; and a free trial of IBM Bluemix services.

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

Bluetooth 5, expected to launch around the end of this year, will offer significantly increased range, speed and broadcast messaging capacity, according to the Bluetooth SIG.

The organisation says longer range will deliver robust, reliable IoT connections, whilst higher speeds will optimise responsiveness. Meanwhile, increased broadcast capacity will enable the next generation of what it calls ‘connectionless’ services, such as beacons and location-relevant information and navigation.

“Bluetooth 5 will transform the way people experience the IoT by making it something that happens simply and seamlessly around them,” said Mark Powell, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG.

Bluetooth 5 is expected to quadruple range and double data transmission rates of low energy connections, while increasing connectionless data broadcast capacity by a factor of eight.

Powell added: “Today, there are 8.2billion Bluetooth products in use, and the enhancements in Bluetooth 5 and planned future Bluetooth technical advancements mean that Bluetooth will be in more than one-third of all installed IoT devices by 2020. The drive and innovation of Bluetooth will ensure our technology continues to be the IoT solution of choice for all developers.”

* Meanwhile, Blossom Group has been named as the 30,000th member of the Bluetooth SIG. The startup is building infrasound and low frequency noise relaxation products.

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

Cambridge CMOS Sensors has been acquired by sensor specialist ams in an all cash transaction. Founded in 2008 as a spin off from Cambridge University, CCMOSS has built expertise in micro hotplate design and manufacturing for gas and infrared sensing.

Alexander Everke, ams’ CEO, said: “The addition of CCMOSS makes ams the clear leader in gas and infrared sensor technology and completes ams’ portfolio of products and technologies for the environmental sensor market.

“This highly strategic acquisition is another key step in making ams the world’s leading provider of sensor solutions for consumer, automotive, industrial, and medical applications.”

CCMOSS’ micro hotplates are MEMS based devices with applications in the automotive, industrial, medical, and consumer markets. Its technology is said to complement ams’ capability in detecting gases such CO, NOx, and VOCs.

The micro hotplate allows an area on the device to be heated to as much as 1000°C in less than 25ms. Originally, this was used to create a source of IR light but, by using the same device and by adding electrodes and a suitable sensing material, the hotplate can create a chemical reaction between the sensing material and a particular gas.

Because CCMOSS makes the structures on CMOS wafers, it enables the creation of monolithically integrated CMOS sensor ICs. 
CCMOSS also offers a range of IR radiation sources and detectors for sensor applications which is said to complement ams’ strategy for next generation optical sensor technologies.

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

Imagination Technologies and Intrinsic-ID are collaborating to bring higher levels of security to products that use Imagination based technologies.

The first product from the partnership is the availability of Intrinsic-ID’s Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) technology for Imagination’s M5150 CPU,targeted at low power applications such as M2M, IoT and embedded control. Intrinsic’s PUF technology – called Hardware Intrinsic Security, or HIS –extracts security keys and identifiers from the ‘silicon fingerprint’ of standard SRAM circuits

Jim Nicholas, executive VP for MIPS Processor IP, said: “PUF technology is an important element of SoC security. Intrinsic-ID’s technology is used widely across governments and other highly secure markets. We’re delighted to bring this efficient technology to the many customers using MIPS M5150 CPUs.”

A system with multiple domains enabled by Imagination’s OmniShield-ready MIPS CPUs is said to allow for HIS key extraction and management functions to be implemented securely in software.

Pim Tuyls, Intrinsic’s CEO, added: “Since Intrinsic-ID’s PUF technology doesn’t require any change on the silicon, it can be deployed widely and inexpensively. Providing high security at low cost, it is a natural choice for chip vendors.”

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

Belgian research centre imec has described work on the development of junctionless gate all around (GAA) nanowire FETs (NWFETs) created in lateral and vertical configurations.

Such devices are said to offer simplified processing, improved reliability, reduced low frequency noise and lower IOFF values, making them attractive for advanced logic, low power circuits and analogue/RF applications. In particular, GAA-NWFETs are believed to be a promising candidate for scaling CMOS processes beyond the 5nm node.

“Imec’s work has contributed to an increased and more in depth understanding of junctionless GAA-NWFETs,” stated Dan Mocuta, director of logic device and integration at imec. “Our thorough evaluation highlighted the excellent performance of junctionless lateral and vertical nanowire devices for beyond 5nm logic devices. Moreover, junctionless devices appeared as a viable option for analogue/RF applications, whereas stacked junctionless vertical NWFETs could reduce SRAM area significantly.”

By taking advantage of the process simplicity of junctionless devices, imec proposed an SRAM cell design with two vertically stacked junctionless vertical NWFETs with the same channel doping, reducing the SRAM area per bit by 39%.

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

Xilinx has added dual core devices to its Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC portfolio. The dual core CG family members are said to add processing scalability at a lower cost entry point than current UltraScale+ parts.

“The new members of the portfolio address customers’ need for a scalable, common hardware platform, giving them flexibility with dual-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor solutions,” said Sumit Shah, senior SoC product line manager. “They address an even broader range of markets and applications, offer lower cost entry points and are pin migration compatible across our Zynq UltraScale+ portfolio.”

According to Xilinx, CG devices feature a heterogeneous processing system featuring a dual core Cortex-A53 and a dual core Cortex-R5 real time processing unit and are optimised for industrial motor control, sensor fusion and industrial IoT applications. Originally, the UltraScale+ range featured a quad A53 implementation.

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

A survey which quizzed more than 350 IT professionals in the US about their organisations’ IoT security practices revealed that, while most acknowledge growing numbers of IoT devices on their networks, they are unaware of how to secure them properly.

Amongst the findings of the survey – conducted on behalf of US network security specialist ForeScout Techologies – are that 70% of respondents lacked confidence in their ability to see devices joining their networks – and 25% said they weren’t confident at all.

Other key findings include 30% of respondents saying their company didn’t have a specific solution to secure IoT devices, while more than a quarter didn’t know if there were security policies on their devices.

“This survey demonstrates not only how pervasive the IoT is within the enterprise, but also how much confusion there is around how to secure it,” said Rob Greer, ForeScout Technologies’ CMO. “Everyday, new ‘things’ are being added to corporate networks with little regard to their level of security risk. Each insecure device represents a vulnerable point-of-entry into a company’s larger network and companies are starting to realize this.”

The report found that the current penetration of IoT devices is perceived to be quite low, but that respondents are not confident their perception is accurate. When asked which devices were networked, the survey found the current penetration of IoT devices was actually quite high – and uncontrolled.

The report concluded there is a ‘dire need’ for advanced security – and for addressing hurdles to advanced security.

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk