This Week's Focus: Microcontroller Watch
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Protect IoT Designs with PUF Circuitry
 
As IoT designs proliferate, security is lagging behind. Shared secrets and public-key cryptography provide some options, but not without their own vulnerabilities. On the other hand, hardware-based security using physically unclonable function (PUF) circuitry strongly protects connected products against invasive attacks. 
 
 
     
Automotive Echo Cancellation Available for Integration on NXP Processors

NXP Semiconductors has announced a new echo cancellation noise reduction solution (ECNR) that significantly reduces the problem of noisy voice communications and provides car-makers with a consumer pleasing, hands-free calling experience. The cost-effective solution combines innovative ECNR software that can be easily ported onto NXP i.MX processors and NXP's leading car radio tuners and DSPs. The new NXP ECNR solution is also ITU-T P1110 and CarPlay pre-certified.
Echo and noise can make communication on the road difficult. Echo occurs when the speakers within a car transmit a voice signal from an incoming call, which subsequently ricochets through the vehicle and returns to the microphone. This causes the caller to hear their own voice, which is distracting and can result in broken communications. Additionally, road noise from fans, exhaust, tires, windows and passengers can infiltrate calls and render them unintelligible, ultimately disrupting the driving experience and causing frustration.

The new NXP ECNR solution deals with both problems by removing echoes and filtering out unwanted noise from the cockpit to enhance the sound quality of conversations. Since the ECNR solution can be ported to NXP chipsets and is ITU-T P1110 and CarPlay pre-certified, it can reduce carmakers' R&D expenses and speed up the design cycle.

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Should hardware designers be concerned about security for IoT edge devices? And, is it worth the effort and cost to ensure security at this level? Mentor's Jim Miller explores internal design vulnerabilities and 3rd-party attacks on IoT edge devices in this white paper in order to answer those questions.
 
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STM32 Software Brings Alexa Tech to Simple Connected Objects
 
The X-CUBE-AVS software package from STMicroelectronics enables Amazon's Alexa Voice Service (AVS) to run on STM32 microcontrollers, allowing simple connected objects such as smart appliances, home-automation devices and office products to support advanced conversational user interfaces with cloud-based intelligence like automatic speech recognition and natural-language understanding.

As an expansion package for the STM32Cube software platform, X-CUBE-AVS contains ready-to-use libraries and open routines that accelerate porting the AVS SDK to the microcontroller. With application samples also included, it abstracts developers from the complex software layers needed to host AVS on an embedded device. While AVS development usually targets more power-hungry and expensive microprocessors,this is the first package to cater specifically for microcontrollers, As a result, X-CUBE-AVS makes Alexa technology accessible to a wider spectrum of developers and projects.



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And congratulations to last week's raffle winner, Leslie T., who won a 1 year subscription to Circuit Cellar. Thanks to all who participated!   
On-Chip Flash MCU Uses 28 nm Process Technology  

Renesas Electronics has announced the sample shipment of the industry's first on-chip flash memory microcontroller using a 28 nm process technology. To contribute to the realization of next-generation green cars and autonomous vehicles with higher efficiency and higher reliability, the RH850/E2x Series MCU incorporates up to six 400 MHz CPU cores. According to Renesas, that makes it the first on-chip flash memory automotive MCU to achieve processing performance of 9600 MIPS. The new MCU series also features a built-in flash memory of up to 16 MB as well as enhanced security functions and functional safety.

Under Renesas Autonomy, an open, innovative and trusted platform for assisted and automated driving, Renesas provides end-to-end solutions that advance the evolution of vehicles towards next-generation green cars, connected cars and autonomous-driving vehicles. There are two main pillars of the Renesas Autonomy Platform. One is this new 28 nm automotive control MCU. And the other is the R-Car Family of SoCs designed for cloud connectivity and sensing.

Car OEMs and Tier 1 manufacturers, such as Denso, have already started to adopt the new 28 nm MCU. Reasons cited include the MCU's superior processing performance capable of developing next-generation fuel-efficient engines, as well as its scalability. Scalability is important because of the expected electronic control unit (ECU) integration to come from changes in automotive electrics/electronics (E/E) architecture.

  


Cypress Semiconductor has announced its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo solution is used on the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ IoT single board computer. The Cypress CYW43455 single-chip combo provides high-performance 802.11ac Wi-Fi for faster Internet connections, advanced coexistence algorithms for simultaneous Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) operations such as audio and video streaming, and low-power BLE connections to smartphones, sensors and Bluetooth Mesh networks. The combo's high-speed 802.11ac transmissions enable superior network performance, faster downloads and better range, as well as lower power consumption by quickly exploiting deep sleep modes. The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ board builds on the success of existing Raspberry Pi solutions using Cypress' CYW43438 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo SoC.

The wireless circuitry is reportedly encapsulated under a metal shield (shown on upper left of board), which has enabled the entire board to function as a radio module under FCC rules, which in turn will significantly reduce the cost of conformance testing. The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ board features a 64-bit, quad-core processor running at 1.4 GHz, 1 GB RAM, full size HDMI, 4 standard USB ports, Gbit Ethernet over USB2, Power over Ethernet capability, CSI camera connector and a DSI display connector. The platform's resources, together with its 802.11ac wireless LAN and Bluetooth/BLE wireless connectivity, provide a compact solution for intelligent edge-connected devices.

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Industry News & Recent Posts
 
04-06-2018 16:38:46 PM
Analog Devices, in collaboration with Microsemi, has introduced a high power evaluation board for half-bridge SiC power modules with up to 1,200 V and 50 A at 200 kHz switching frequency. The isolated board is engineered to improve design reliability while also reducing the need to create additional prototypes---saving time, lowering costs, and decreasing time to market for power conversion and energy storage system designers. ... Continue reading →...» 
 
04-06-2018 16:06:33 PM
TDK has announced the introduction of the TDK-Lambda RSEV series of EMC filters, with a voltage of 250 VAC/VDC and a choice of 6-, 10-, 16-, 20- and 30-A currents ratings. The RSEV has an integrated touch-resistant terminal block with recessed, captive screws. ... Continue reading →...» 
 
04-05-2018 10:13:45 AM
We take for granted sometimes that the tolerances of our electronic components fit the needs of our designs. In this article, Robert takes a deep look into the subject of tolerances, using the simple resistor as an example. ... Continue reading →...»
 
04-03-2018 13:10:49 PM
By Eric Brown
Innocomm announced a 50 mm x 50 mm "WB10" module with an NXP i.MX8M Quad SoC, 8 GB eMMC, Wi-Fi-ac, BT 4.2, GbE, HDMI 2.0 with 4K HDR and audio I/O including SAI, SPDIF and DSD512. ... Continue reading →...» 
 
04-02-2018 20:53:30 PM
CUI's Power Group has announced a line of DC-DC converters ranging from 5 W to 40 W. The AE series, available in board mount, chassis mount, and DIN rail mount configurations, offers power ratings of 5 W, 10 W, 15 W and 40 W with input voltages up to 1,500 Vdc and input ratio ranges up to 10:1. ...Continue reading →...»
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