Augmented Reality Gets Physical with Haptics

July/August 2014 european www.electronics-eetimes.com business press

Augmented reality gets physical with haptics

Executive interview: FREE mCube’s CEO Ben Lee SHIPPING ON ORDERS Design Focus: Data Encryption & Security OVER €65! DIGIKEY.COM/ EUROPE

020212_FRSH_EET_EU_Snipe.indd 1 2/2/12 12:37 PM 140129_TOPB_EET_EU.indd 1 1/27/14 11:33 AM July/August 2014

opinion DESIGN & PRODUCTS

4 Will sensor fusion drive neuromorphic computing? SPECIAL FOCUSES: - GEOLOCATION & NAVIGATION 50 Rousset judgment is economic and social mistake 25 Enabling sub-10cm positioning accuracy NEWS & TECHNOLOGY Impulse Response Ultra Wideband (IR- UWB) comes to the rescue for indoor 6 Clearing away the fog of computing for IoT navigation. Intel is bringing its expertise from silicon manufacturing to the Internet 27 Hold back your high tech marketing tactics! of Things with two new ‘Ignition’ Labs in Europe. 28 LEDs tap indoor location technology for social shopping 7 Infineon to create 200 new jobs in Austria

8 Augmented reality gets physical with haptics If all of us are familiar with the - INDUSTRIAL COMPUTING basic silent-mode of most mobile phones, a crude form of haptics, 30 A duel of Atoms: Qseven vs COM Express Mini there is much more to come on When Intel launched the first generation of the Atom the display side. processor Z500 series (codenamed Silverthorne), this represented a major step forward in terms of multimedia 14 E-car research project sets efficiency standards features in compact and mobile applications with an X86 architecture. 15 Can rust really revolutionize solar cell technology? Researchers at Swiss Materials Science and Technology Institu- - DATA ENCRYPTION & SECURITY tion – Empa - have developed a photoelectrochemical cell that 34 Hacking airliners: lessons learned in firmware imitates plant photosynthesis. integrity assurance In April 2013, a security consultant made headlines 16 Iconic Insights: in conversation with Hanns Windele when he claimed he could use an Android smartphone Based in Israel, Inuitive is a natural user to hack in and commandeer commercial jets. interface semiconductor start-up created by communications entrepreneur Shlomo 36 Securing cryptographic assets for Gadot. Hanns Windele of Mentor the Internet of Things Graphics finds out what the future holds A review of various white box for the gesture interpretation market. cryptography techniques for protecting critical cryptographic 18 5G, IoT pose new challenges to testing operations and data in an Jonathan Borrill, Director of Market Strategy at RF environment where white-box attacks are available. test technology provider Anritsu gives us a glimpse of what the hot issues are. 38 Software is the new asset to protect in modern manufacturing 19 Crunch the IoT data before it clogs your network 40 Ethereal encryption: Key management in the Cloud 21 China, not Apple, is way to go, says mCube CEO Ben Lee, CEO of MEMS startup mCube, explains why he wants to 46 Reader offer spend $37 million on being a supplier of sensors to Chinese ODMs and This month, Altium Ltd is offering EETimes Europe’s avoiding a design win with Apple or readers the chance to win one Samsung. TASKING VX-Toolset for ARM Cortex-M Premium Edition, 22 Xilinx’ SDNet: where software defined networks normally licensed for 2.395 Euros. truly begin

23 Red phosphors enhance white-emitting LEDs 49 DISTRIbution corner

24 Websites’ emotional impact 51 WHITEPAPERS revealed by webcams

3 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com Will sensor fusion drive neuromorphic computing?

By Peter Clarke

Sensor fusion is the technique of combining data from are highly parallel and matched to graphics rendering. We are several sensors for improved performance and is one of the starting to see the emergence of computer vision processors latest hot topics in mobile computing partly as a result of large that can be optimized to extract useful information from image numbers of sensors coming on board. sensor data. This could be object detection and recognition, What sensor fusion can do is turn data from what may gesture and facial recognition and increasingly it is being found become hundreds of sensors to useful information for the ap- that the most energy efficient way to perform these tasks are plication processor to use, such as power up the modem and with computing architectures with similarities to neuromorphic graphics as the user has likely picked up the phone – or turn systems. We are seeing CMOS image sensors move towards up the screen brightness because the user has probably gone the hyperspectral to try and extract more information, such as outside. distance or depth information, at the pixel level. Contrast that with neural Finally the adoption of sensor networking, which was a hot fusion in mobile phones is edu- topic 25 years ago as software cating developers to think along simulations of weighted sum- neuromorphic lines. This means a ming networks started to show temperature sensor can be used some interesting abilities to learn to help calibrate a pressure sen- how to process data. However, sor which in turn can help provide hardware integration was less information to inertial sensors. In successful as the number of the end the accuracy of the multi- neurons was relatively limited sensor cross calibrated system is and interfacing to conventional greater than that of the individual computing was a burden. sensors. I predict that neural networks A follow–on from that might – or neuromorphic computing as be to develop architectures of the topic is now called – is about variable resolution. There is no to go through a renaissance and point in wasting energy calculat- could be encouraged by sensor ing values to 32-bit accuracy fusion acting as a pioneer. throughout multiple processors if A first part of the landscape you only want a go/no-go deci- behind this conclusion is that the sion about whether to power-up complexity of conventional digital the LTE modem. circuits with multiple software- And so it should come as programmable cores has reached no surprise that Qualcomm is a level that it is becoming almost working on neuromorphic cores impossible for human developers for potential inclusion in future to understand all the use cases Snapdragon-like application and software paths through the “Neural networks are about to go through a processors. Qualcomm is system and develop tests for renaissance and could be encouraged by sensor developing something called the them. Even though a building Zeroth processor that comprises block approach is taken to make fusion acting as a pioneer” a spiking neural network because use of previously tested sub- of its energy efficiency for systems to try and curtail this exponentially growing problem, encoding information. the fact remains that many companies are now betting their Qualcomm thinks of mobile phone as brain covered in existence on products they cannot be absolutely sure will not sensors including pressure, touch, vision, hearing, humidity. It enter some sort of deadlock condition under some unforeseen envisions a neural processor core able to live side-by-side with set of conditions. conventional software-programmable cores in future application What is really needed is a system that while not perfectly processors. In this way it is possible to develop programs using tested is fit for purpose the vast majority of the time and has the traditional programming languages, but also to lean on the neu- ability to learn and adapt to the time it is not. Does this sound romorphic processor to train the device for human interaction like a neural network? and behaviour. A second part of the landscape is that as more specialized This holds out the promise of not only energy-efficient application-specific processors become economically viable learned behaviour but also a human-machine interface that is because of the size of markets they can serve, their architec- human-friendly. So as sensors proliferate – both on the mobile ture is moving away from general-purpose architectures and phone and in Internet of Things applications – I expect neuro- towards neuromorphics ones. For example graphics processors morphic computing to follow.

4 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com

Clearing away the fog of computing for the Internet of Things

By Nick Flaherty

Intel is bringing its expertise from silicon manufacturing strong engineering expertise.” to the Internet of Things with two new ‘Ignition’ Labs in Europe One areas of focus is the gateway, using processors such to drive the development of IoT systems with a specific focus as Atom and the lower power Quark, to control the interface to on the Internet of Things for smart cities. The labs – in Swindon, sensor networks. This is particularly important for connecting UK and Munich, Germany – follow the first two in Istanbul and legacy systems securely to the Internet, she says, and is part of Stockholm last year. the move to ‘fog computing’ with The labs bring together the whole more intelligence at the edge of eco-system of developers, from the network. hardware to software and services, “Intel believes the numbers are in one room to create a complete, growing exponentially and when interoperable solution over the you are in the billions of devices space of several weeks. range what you really want to This was a lesson learned from do is have the data where it is Intel’s silicon manufacturing exper- needed to make the decision – tise, and particularly from Doug Da- the edge provides the ability to vies who was previously the general make the decision where they are manager of the Intel’s Arizona fab needed.” before taking over as general man- She points to a recent proj- ager of the IoT group at Intel. ect for smart toilets in Heathrow “What we learnt from our fabs Airport’s newly re-developed was that when something goes Terminal 2 in London, which uses wrong, they don’t have a meeting a week for a month, they pull boards and middleware from partner Eurotech, as an example people off the line and put them in a room until its solved,” said of fog computing. Karen Lomas, director of IoT Smart Cities for EMEA at Intel. “With smart toilets you have a people counter, and notify “So when Doug Davies came out from manufacturing to run IoT cleaners every 50 people,” she said. This gives cleaner toilets, he saw there’s a lot we can learn from running a fab and this is reducing queues, improving customer experience and allows what they do, bring the experts together, fix the problem and customers to be directed to other toilets if one is particularly then deploy it to the factory floor.” busy. The eco-system is the vital element, she says. “Intel doesn’t “That’s all done at the edge, that’s not in the cloud,” she want to be a system integrator, we provide hardware and soft- said. “The cloud link is storing the information for predictive ware expertise as part of the analytics and trend analyt- process, then we can figure ics – if the toilets are hardly out where the value is and ever used should they have where everyone can make a different use such as a money. Then the lab space is store cupboard. Different to physically make the prod- compute capability needs ucts work together.” to be done at different times The proximity to London with different data sets. If you as a large, congested city look at the IoT gateways we was an important factor, says have Quark and Atom prod- Lomas, as it is predicted to ucts and depending on the add 100,000 people a year. specification of the gateway This equates to adding a you can do more or less of city the size of Birmingham the information partitioning, by 2030, and that has huge depending on what the need challenges for the infrastruc- is.” ture that can be tackled by Karen Lomas, director of IoT for smart cities for EMEA at Intel in the Latency is also important. Having local processing the Internet of Things. newly launched UK Ignition Lab with Gerry Hodgeson, managing “We felt that the provides quicker feedback director of IoT services company Cascade 3D. prioritisation is where the and reliability if there is a ecosystem partners are, and that’s in the big cities,” she said. problem with the communications link, as well as reducing the “Some of the greatest innovations come out of need so there load on those links. “If you think about billions of bits of data are some fantastic innovations come out of Istanbul and we’ve if you are truly looking at systems of systems there is so much gone for some of the other leading cities such as Stockholm data coming out and there’s the delay as well – that determines where we have very strong business partnership and very whether you need to do that in the cloud or just send exception

6 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com data to the cloud. I think it’s a choice thing,” she said. “The end building blocks in the software and services – from chip to customer and the use case shapes the solution, whether it’s cloud,” she said. “We have bought some services companies edge or cloud. There’s power in both those parts, depending on into the Intel family such as Mashery and Aepona which provide the use case, and Intel embraces fog computing.” API management as a service and that enables people’s data, The gateway approach is most important in brownfield appli- access control and security and allow them to be monetized by cations. “Building automation gateways and sensors gives us a seeing who is using the data for data as a service, we provide quicker return,” she said. “Take for example a vending machine. that as a platform service.” These typically have four microcontrollers in them and compa- Part of this is driven by the recent recession. “I think the nies refresh a fifth of equipment each year as they are expen- credit crisis forced value into and waste out of the value chain sive. If you don’t want to take the whole system out how do you so companies have had to move. There’s not as much room in get the reward from the predictive maintenance or the supply the value chain for multiple margins so companies like Eurotech chain with transaction data? If you can add a gateway and very have bought companies that provide cloud services and API simply connect that to the microcontrollers with a very simple management and provide fewer pain points for the customer deployment you gain huge benefits without upgrading.” and Intel is doing the same thing.” But she points out that Intel is also moving down into the All this is brought together with the first ‘lighthouse’ project sensor technologies with the recent acquisition of wearable in the Swindon Ignition Lab, working with Accenture and other technology company Basis and also up into the service API partners to develop an IoT system for a sports stadium, look- interfaces. ing at the use cases from booking travel all the way through to “We are happy to create sensor technologies and Intel is highlighting which concession stands have shorter queues and moving from being a leading edge chip company to having yes, which toilets are available. Infineon to create 200 new jobs in Austria

By Paul Buckley

Infineon Technologies AG is planning to expand the com- Infineon will construct a leading-edge building complex for pany’s Villach site in Austria by investing €290 million to create research, production and measurement technology worksta- approximately 200 new jobs primarily in R&D during the period tions. Logistics, miscellaneous infrastructures and the plant from 2014 to 2017. equipment will also be expanded to meet future demand. The The investment will focus on the expansion of expertise for investment aims to enable Infineon to mobilize the productivity the manufacturing of the future as well as research and devel- and automation called for in international competition, while at opment. The company’s ‘Pilot the same time increasing flex- Space Industry 4.0’ initiative aims ibility. Infineon has been ac- to realize and test an innova- tively engaged in the Industry 4.0 tive concept for networked and initiative from the beginning; its knowledge-intensive production. pilot space in Villach is another step towards realizing this vision. Peter Schiefer, President of Industry 4.0 embodies a para- Operations at Infineon Tech- digm shift in value creation and nologies and responsible for the brings opportunities to European worldwide production sites, said: industry. “The continuing development of Villach is a part of our group-wide The pilot operation in Villach manufacturing strategy. At the will feature production based site, important developments will on a cyber-physical system with be advanced and production- highly modern production control ready innovative technologies will and automation systems. Under be transferred by Infineon to other sites. At the same time our the prerequisite of the highest possible data security and data strategy will include expansion of our volume manufacturing on integrity levels, the interaction of man and machine will attain 300mm thin wafers in Dresden and on 200mm wafers in Kulim, a new dimension in the pilot facility. At the same time, Infineon Malaysia”. will continue to pursue its goal of increased energy efficiency in production. With the expansion concept Villach is reinforcing its important role as a factory of innovation and a competence center for A wide-scale research program with innovations in materials, power electronics within the corporate group. We’re making an processes, technologies and system expertise is the second pil- important contribution to the success of the company by cou- lar of the Villach site expansion, supporting development of the pling the innovation factory in Villach with volume production in next generation of energy-efficient products. Here the program Dresden using the example of 300mm thin wafer production for focuses on the integration of innovative substrates such as power semiconductors, explained Sabine Herlitschka, CEO of gallium nitride and silicon carbide, on MEMS (Micro-Electro- Infineon Technologies Austria AG. Mechanical Systems) and sensor technologies as well as on the continuing development of 300mm thin wafer technology. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 7 Eurohaptics 2014

Augmented reality gets physical with haptics

By Julien Happich if all of us are already familiar with the basic silent-mode of most mobile phones, a crude form of haptics (sensing the buzz of a vibrating mass in your pocket), there is much more to come on the display side. From the lab to startups, the race is on adding physically perceptible volumes and textures to whatever is displayed on screen, ranging from a simple keyboard with a “click” feel to the complex rendering of 3D shapes and textures, either in volume or on a seemingly flat surface.

The EuroHaptics 2014 conference which took place in Versailles (France) from the 24th to the 26th of June was buzzing with actuators and haptic devices of all sorts. Well On the right, the haptic control pad developed by Continental, over a hundred papers, posters and dozens of demos were smooth but with distinct scroll & click feels for easy menu presented, covering experimental research setups about human touch perception on one end, and various tangible navigation. haptic interfaces on the other end of the spectrum, with plenty The physical overlay was painstakingly custom made and of force and feedback encoding schemes in between. static. But ideally, this is an area where dynamically reconfigu- Before any sensory information can be effectively put to rable haptic displays could play a bigger role. good use in a haptic interface, one should understand how we humans perceive touch, and how our perception and our expe- Nowadays, you’ll find subtle haptic effects to replace the rience of the world affect our individual capacity to discriminate clicking feel of buttons and scrolling wheels in high-end con- features and objects. A lot of fundamental research goes into sumer applications, such as in the cockpit of Mercedes Benz’s understanding the limitations of touch-only haptic devices, latest 2014 C-Class model BR205, where the overall HMI can versus multi-modal haptics where touch is combined with vision be controlled through a central pad with no moving parts. and/or sound to provide a better perceptual illusion. The smooth curved touchpad developed by Continental Often, the experiments show that a multisensory interface, as combines a capacitive touchpad overlay and proximity light most of us would naturally experience with real world objects, sensors for finger detection, and built-in coils that vibrate the provide a much better illusion and makes it easier for the end- assembly. The haptic feedback characteristics can be tuned user to manipulate virtual objects. Sometimes, they just high- in a wide range by varying the position and force level for the light how a dual combination would be the most effective (sight “press” state and the length of the haptic pulse profile. and touch, or sound and touch). Then tricks can be developed by haptic device designers to Targeting high-end white appliances and medical equip- tune into our perceptual illusions and create haptic feedback ments, startup company Aito offers so-called Software effects that are felt stronger or different than what the actual Enhanced Piezo technology, combining piezoelectric sensing interface material really should provide (for example feeling a and a feedback loop processed through the dedicated AitoChip textured shape on a truly flat glass surface). companion chip to drive 200mm thin piezo-actuators stacked One of the posters presented by Anke Brock from the CNRS underneath the user interface. Because it is a very low cost & University of Toulouse was exploring the combinations of and highly reliable solution (no moving parts), Aito’s CEO Rene flat displays and haptics that would best suit visually impaired de Vries hopes his solution will become an industry standard, people for gestural interaction enabling the comforting “click” feel of (touch displays often only offer mechanical switches even through the visual cues). toughest steel, glass or ceramic casings For the purpose of her (not excluding plastic or wood). The investigation, Brock designed company has even set up a web portal, an interactive map prototype http://sep-touch.org/ to foster a com- including a raised-line map munity of software developers and tech- overlay for gestural interac- nology partners around its Aito chip. tion with contoured buttons for accessing different types of “Now we are too small a company information such as opening to approach the automotive market, hours, distances. The draw- but as we get more visibility, I am sure ings were made in the Scalable that automakers would see the benefit Vector Graphics (SVG) with a of our technology”, told us de Vries, configuration file written in XML Aito’s Software Enhanced Piezo technology relies on claiming that his piezoelectric solution is so as to be interpreted by the very thin embedded piezoelectric discs driven by a much more cost effective and simpler to interface application. companion chip for touch-sensing and active feedback. implement than coil-based solutions.

8 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com Your Global Link to the Electronics World

Automotive Electronics

AUTOMOTIVE www.automotive-eetimes.com www.eetsearch.com

Analog

ANALOG www.electronics-eetimes.com www.analog-eetimes.com

LEDLighting

www.ledlighting-eetimes.com www.edn-europe.com

Power Test & Measurement Management

TEST & MEASUREMENT POWER MANAGEMENT www.tm-eetimes.com www.power-eetimes.com Eurohaptics 2014

cal vibration distributed uniformly on the Visibly flat but feeling rough screen’s surface. While 3D geometric Researchers from the University of features can be represented by adjusting Electro-Communications (Japan) jointly the lateral friction forces using electro- with company EyePlusPlus Inc. de- vibration, tactile patterns are generated monstrated what they call a tactile vision through mechanical vibration to convey substitution system, dubbed HamsaTouch. 2D texture information at the surface of The electro-tactile display features tiny the geometric features. Here, both the me- electrodes on the upper side (where you chanical vibration and the electrovibration would put the palm of your hand) tied to as can be driven independently to simulate many optical sensors on the other side of all touch-aspects of real objects, on a flat the tablet. When fitted to the LCD screen screen. of a smartphone which is used as the camera and image processor for extracting For some, altering flat screen sur- objects and landscape contour informa- faces is not enough. In a paper titled tion, the optical sensing side translates the “Diminished Haptics: Towards Digital contrast information into tactile information Transformation of Real World Textures”, onto the palm-facing side. Spaced about researchers from the University of Tokyo 3mm apart, the tiny electrodes send 300V The optical sensing side of the developed a method for altering real-world at 5mA, modulated in frequency to create HamsaTouch electro-tactile display. textures, for example, from paper-like to a tactile feel onto the skin. metal-like, from wood-like to paper-like. One could easily identify lines, moving The researchers use a 28kHz trans- contours, or swipe their fingers to “read” ducer coupled to the object whose texture the contrasted image in a Braille-like should be altered. By controlling the am- fashion. plitude of the input signal, the researchers are able to determine the levitation height A sponsor of the event, Finnish com- of the finger relative to the material’s pany Senseg offers a transparent coating surface, based on the squeeze effect. To they call the Senseg Tixel, together with approach the real thing, they use high a driver chip to manage electrical signals resolution real world textures (collected sent to the Tixel surface. By modulating Conceptual illustration of Senseg’s Tixel using a three-axis accelerometer) instead the signal, the company’s Tixel delivers haptic surface through electro-vibration. of synthesized data. a sophisticated sensation of touch and The idea is that various textures could texture using an electrostatic field (Coloumb’s force creating an be mapped to an existing manufactured prototype, to reflect attraction between bodies of different electrical charges). When CAD changes during the product elaboration. By tracking the dragging a finger across the surface, the so-called electro- finger position and with an image projection showing different vibration can create varying degrees of friction, making the textures across the surface, the researchers also envisage the fingers slip more or less as if they encountered ridges or asperities which can complement the visual cues (sand paper background, rough stone, buttons etc... Senseg has recently secured $6 million in a Series B round of funding led by NXP Semiconductors NV, but it has yet to see its technology in a commercial product. Another interesting paper presented by researchers from the Korea Science Academy of KAIST illustrated a surface display enabling realistic 3D haptic rendering with both kinesthetic feedback (position, force, orientation) and tactile feedback (contact pressure, slip, vibration). Altering real-world textures for quick prototype perceptual changes. simulation of multiple patches of different textures on the same surface. As a first pre-processing step, the researchers reduce the original real-world texture of the object. In a second pass, they aim to rewrite the texture by applying ultrasonic vibrations at adequate frequencies. Haptic screens bulging with information At this year’s EuroHaptics, several research labs were presenting their attempts to make mechanically KAIST’s on-screen 3D haptic rendering uses both mechanical vibration and re-configurable haptic interfaces, with pistons and ac- electro-vibration for 2D textures and 3D features respectively. tuators protruding from the screen’s surface. Because In a fully transparent layered approach, the researchers these implementations are typically bulkier and non-transparent, combine electrovibration (the use of a frequency-modulated they would not qualify for integration into smartphones and tab- electrostatic force through a capacitive gap) with mechani- lets, but may be convincing as enhanced table top keyboards.

10 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com Researchers from the Keio University (Yokohama, Japan) electromagnetic actuators (individual coils with composite iron/ designed a MEMS tactile display to create virtual surface aluminium cores) overlaid by a capacitive touch deformable textures. The small prototype unit features large-displacement layer for finger position detection. MEMS actuators underneath a titanium faceplate with 0.48mm A matrix of thin copper wires moulded into an elastic silicone diameter holes in it. Each large-displacement MEMS consists layer makes the deformable touch screen with taxels that can of a piezoelectric actuator pushing a plastic piston through a move out of plane up to 1.9mm. A two-stage locking mecha- cavity filled with an incompressible polymer fluid that pushes its nism makes them bi-stable so as to reduce power consump- way through a deformable latex membrane. tion. In its current implementation, the device which is to be integrated in the centre console of vehicles has a reported refresh rate of 2Hz. At a reasonable deformation of about 0.25mm, a force of about 1.25N can be applied to the device, which would provide enough haptic feedback to give a “clicking impression” to the user. The researchers hope to redesign their system with a higher actuator density, packing 289 taxels spaced about 3mm apart to enable a non-pixelated surface shape.

Keio University’s MEMS actuators for bulging taxels. Slightly different but qualifying as a bulging screen, Tactus Upon actuation, the hydraulic amplification mechanism Technology’s Tactile Layer panel, showcased two years ago at squashes the fluid and makes the small latex membrane bulge SID 2012, relies on a transparent layer of microfluidics to raise through the faceplate hole. For a good discrimination through liquid-filled bumps over ordinary touch-LCDs, creating dynamic a finger’s tactile receptors, the tactile pixels were spaced a few physical buttons that users can see and feel. With a refresh rate millimetres apart, with the bulges protruding over 100μm at about 1Hz, this interface is clearly aimed at keyboard-on-screen several Hz, and several μm at high frequencies up to 200Hz. By implementations. controlling the displacement, the vibration frequency, and the actuator driving patterns, the researchers reported various tactile feelings, mimicking various surface textures such as wood, urethane foam, and sandpapers.

Researchers from the University of Michigan Tactus’ Tactile Layer panel with raised buttons detailed a tactile display Tactus Technology claims it could create almost any type of prototype using pneu- button configuration or layout on a panel (set in the manufactur- matics to actuate a 7x8 ing process). The company has yet to find a tablet or smart- array of pins, 1.2mm in phone partner to integrate the pumped-up keyboard to their diameter and spaced offering. 2.5mm apart, with a clear orientation to haptically- Close encounter of the haptic type encode information to An interesting branch of haptics deals with so-called visually impaired users encountered-type interfaces, whereby the user can not only (such as Braille and tactile touch but grasp the interface (often a joystick, a pen, a plate graphics). You may call it or a ball) mounted on a retro-active feedback mechanism. The the steampunk of haptic Pneumatic actuators for Braille reading. retro-active force allows the system to “resist” the user’s input displays, with pressurized air routed via small pipes to move the based on what the user ought to feel when interacting with the sliding pins up (with a 0.75mm vertical course). objects shown on a screen. The force feedback can be calcu- Pushed upwards, the pins deflect a thin elastic membrane lated based on simulated material properties (for example when and protrude from the faceplate. The system has a fairly slow interacting with virtual objects), or it can be derived from real refresh rate just under 2Hz, which really makes it applicable to sensor data, for example Braille reading but would fall short of simulating textures and when the user is operating “click” feels. a robot remotely. At the CEA’s Sensorial and Ambient Interfaces Two industrial sponsors Laboratory, researchers of this year’s EuroHaptics, came up with an interest- Force Dimension and ing piston-variant of the Haption are well estab- bulging haptic display. In lished players in this mar- a paper titled “Morphing ket, offering joystick-like Tactile Display for Haptic interfaces with resistive Interaction in Vehicles”, forces and torques felt co-authored by research across multiple degrees of engineers from car maker freedom. The perception Renault, the CEA LIST lab you get is bluffing as you described a tactile display manipulate virtual ob- CEA LIST’s morphing tactile display. based on an array of 32 jects in 3D, with hard and Force Dimension’s offering. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 11 Eurohaptics 2014

soft boundaries, weights and elastic behaviour. When operat- To summarize it simply, the joystick is replaced with a robot- ing robots, the scaling of movement and forces can be tuned arm-mounted screen featuring a tensioned polyethylene sheet arbitrarily in software. In the case of robotic surgery, appropriate in front of the user for adequate compliance. Markers both on software can filter out tremors and breathing movements for the user’s index and on the screen’s frame, allow a camera to added precision. precisely track the index’ position relative to the screen. Not In academia, new shapes and implementations crop up, such only the screen follows the index position, but the tracking sys- as the adaptive interface presented by researchers of the Kyung tem also computes how much stiffness there ought to be in the Hee University (Korea). By controlling the size of a movable interfacing sheet when the user comes into contact and moves silicone balloon (inflated through a pneumatic actuator in accor- over or inside the surface, to match the impedance of the soft dance with the size of a virtual object being touched) and with virtual object being touched. finger video tracking, the researchers recreate the sensation of Other virtual 3D manipulation haptic interfaces can take the a real interaction with soft round-shaped objects. shape of multiple finger straps tied to various strings whose tension is precisely controlled by motors. Such arrangements, dubbed SPIDAR (Space Interface Device for Artificial Reality) by researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, can be rather complex but can offer full digit operation, as demonstrated with their SPIDAR-10. The wire-driven multi-finger haptic interface can render a 3 degree-of-freedom spatial force feedback on all ten fingers through 4 wires attached to each fingertip. For the unconstrained manipulation of virtual objects, with both hands, rotary frames support the string actua- (a) Kyung Hee University’s pneumatic haptic interface; (b-d) the size of tors that allow users to twist the balloon is adjusted to fit the contact area; (e-g) the user can grasp the their hands (say interface and move the hand to feel the variations in size. to solve a virtual The balloon is mounted on a position-controlled robotic arm Rubik’s cube), rotating with A wire-driven multi-finger haptic so as to adapt its position to follows the user’s hand and get in the user’s hands to reduce interface with spatial feedback. contact only when the both the hand and the object are mak- the interference of the wires. ing contact in the virtual world. This system could be used to interact with a human avatar, or to palpate virtual organs, say To round up this report, I would like to highlight two startups for medical training purposes. freshly setup. Spun-out from the Institut des Systèmes Intelli- gents et de Robotique (ISIR) in Paris and co-founded by profes- The solution unveiled by researchers of the University of sor Vincent Hayward, General Chair of the EuroHaptics 2014 Leuven (Belgium) in their paper “Towards Palpation in Virtual conference, Actronika was demonstrating haptic effects based Reality by an Encountered-type Haptic Screen” is somewhat a on a seemingly simple idea, the use of recorded sounds through hybrid approach between a screen and the encountered-type a vibrotactile transducer to add the haptic effect corresponding interface described earlier. to what would offer the real world experience. In one demonstration, you were holding a chopstick fitted with a Haptuator (a high-bandwidth 9x9x32mm vibro-tactile transducer from Canadian company TactileLabs) while looking at a video of a stylus pushing its way through a box full of marbles. By driving the Hap- tuator with the original audio recordings of the video, just like a common loudspeaker but only with acceleration outputs, pushing the vibro-tactile chopstick on a flat screen gave the exact sensation Large VR object palpation through a encountering display: of pushing it through Actronika’s Haptuator Mark II concept and flow chart (University of Leuven). colliding marbles. demonstration on a chop stick.

12 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com eu.mouser.com

The Newest Products for Your Newest Designs®

Another demonstration consisted of the same Haptuator mounted underneath an empty plastic glass. As water was poured into the glass and moved around in the video, the haptic effects rendered through the empty glass truly gave the impression that you were holding the real thing. Bluffing, yet, I am not sure how this would be implemented in commercial applications. Actronika was officially registered only the day before the conference started and freshly named CEO Rafal Pijewski, a former Mechanical Design Engineer at ISIR, was happy to We speak discuss the potential applications. “At this stage, we are only proving a concept so we have yet to see how this would be commercialized”, told us Pijewski, customer “but we want to show how one can easily add haptic effects to any object and match any displayed content, real or virtual”. The company is building libraries of haptic effects based on service this principle and encourages an open-source model so that more developers and companies can develop and exchange these haptic effects. Actronika would act as a consultancy and ﬂ u e n t l y . get royalties for licensing the IP. “We’ll first go through an incu- bation period to identify in which markets we can best develop our activity”, added Pijewski. When it comes to delivering the newest products, One application I can think off is TV advertising, where view- faster, local knowledge is everything. Mouser has ers would get these haptic sensations through their remote worldwide coverage providing professional and control, but that could also apply to video games or to movies excellent sales service and technical support with for better immersion (with haptuators embedded in your seat). invaluable local knowledge and experience. A year-old startup, Elitac is busy selling waist-belts and various bands fitted with tiny vibration motors whose modular configuration is easily re-organized using Velcro straps. The European Headquarters vibration motors are controlled through a Bluetooth-enabled Germany unit, making these tactile belts a customizable tool for research Elsenheimerstr.11 on haptics. The company commercializes a Science Suit Kit and 80687, Munich various add-ons, but it is also exploring commercial applica- +49 (0) 89 520 462 110 tions of their own. One application under development at Elitac [email protected] is a haptic GPS-guidance system for motorbikers. With localized vibrations, the waist-strap indicates the wearer when to turn right or left, or warns about a wrong path. More information could be encoded of course, it is just a matter of finding the appropriate combinations that are the most intuitive to interpret. “Such haptic feedback doesn’t require the motorbiker to look at a GPS screen, it doesn’t distract the rider with voice commands either” told us Jasper Dijkman, Elitac’s commercial director. Ideally, the company would strike a partnership with a motorcycle jacket manufacturer. The company is also working on the RANGE- IT project to combine a stand-alone wearable haptic interface with 3D camera hardware and image recognition software, for detecting and Elitac’s Science Suit kit. presenting close range objects (less than 7m away) to the wearer, in any indoor space. This could serve visually-impaired people but also firemen or any other rescue staff in difficult environments. At the conference, one paper was suggesting that wearable haptics could improve athlete coaching units, as athletes could receive direct feedback during their performance (rather than Authorised distributor of semiconductors looking at their watch or analysing data afterwards). An entire and electronic components for design engineers. routine could be programmed with thresholds to cross and performance levels to maintain, with haptic effects to validate when these performance levels are reached or not. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 13 GlobalLoc_PanEuro_93x277.indd 1 14/04/14 15:21 E-car research project sets efficiency standards

By Christoph Hammerschmidt

The prototype of an electric car, developed by the believes doubling of capacity within ten years can be expected. Technical University of Munich along with a consortium of The low total weight (including batteries) of 548 kg is owed carmakers and technology companies, outlines some general to the aluminium body of the two-seater; in the final version design trends for electrical vehicles. due later this year, some body components will be made of The design Goal of Visio.M, as the project has been baptised, carbon fibre. With such a low mass, the designers found a is two-fold: The research battery of just 13.5 kWh consortium wants to strong enough to bring devise an electric vehicle the car with its relatively that offers a maximum of small engine of 15kW to energy efficiency and at a top speed of 120 kmph. the same time features a Though these figures do sporty driving behaviour, not really make the race or, as the researchers put driver’s heart beat any it, an “efficient car with the faster, they have to be genes of a sportsman”, set in context with the the latter one obviously efficiency goals, said an inheritance from BMW research team member as one of the two carmak- Patrick Stenner. Besides ers who joined the project the low weight, another consortium as research key feature to maximise partners. The other one, the efficiency was the by the way, is Daimler. minimisation of drag and The Visio.M, though still friction; the vehicle offers in the prototype phase, is a drag coefficient of 0.24 not just a research vehicle. - lower than any series Instead, it also has been vehicle today, as the team designed with industrial Fig. 1: The Visio.M electric car prototype. claims. production and low total The sportsman’s genes cost of ownership (TCO) in mind. The vehicle will be as afford- find their expression in the torque vectoring differential gear able as a subcompact car - with a purchase price of somewhat on the rear axle: Here, an additional microprocessor-controlled above 15.000 euros but extremely low energy and maintenance small motor of 1 kW maximum power allows active torque dis- costs. These figures anticipate a serial production of at least tribution to the traction wheels, giving the vehicle a rather sporty 50.000 units per year - an ambitious but not unrealistic goal. cornering behaviour. In addition, this concept is said to allow With regard to the battery significantly better energy recu- concept, the Munich research peration. As to the main motor, team followed the standard set the researchers chose an induc- by Tesla Motors: They use a tion motor, because this type of- battery block composed of small fers better energy efficiency than lithium-ion cells like they are used a permanently excited synchro- in laptop computers. According nous motor, Stenner said. to Markus Lienkamp, professor at Another measure to reduce the Munich Technical University the energy consumption is the and head of the research team, heater: instead of a heat pump this design offers the highest which uses electric energy or a energy density currently available. range extender (bad efficiency), “Tesla has the best batteries of all the engineers put a small heater electric vehicles”, Lienkamp said. into the vehicle that burns bio Though recently a number of ethanol. alternative materials and bat- Besides BMW and Daimler, tery concepts such as lithium-air Fig. 2: Power it like Tesla: the battery pack of the Visio.M is other consortium members are or zinc-air made a splash in the automotive suppliers Autoliv and based on the same principles as Tesla Motors. media, these alternatives are Continental, chipmaker Texas In- years, if not decades away from industrialisation, Lienkamp struments, technology company Siemens and certification ser- said. “Over the past years, lithium-ion batteries achieved an im- vices provider TÜV Süd. The results of the Visio.M project and provement of 7 percent per year” Lienkamp said, adding that he the final version of the vehicle will be introduced on October 22.

14 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com Can rust really revolutionize solar cell technology?

By Paul Buckley

Researchers at Swiss Materials Science and Technology Institution - Empa - have developed a photoelectrochemical cell that imitates plant photosynthesis by recreating a moth’s eye to boost its light col- lecting efficiency. The cell is made of cheap raw materials – iron and tungsten oxide and could see rust – iron oxide – being used to revolutionize solar cell technology. The substance can be used to make photoelectrodes which split water and generate hydrogen. Sunlight is thereby directly converted into valuable fuel rather than first being used to generate electricity. Fig. 1: Tiny particles of tungsten oxide (yellow microspheres) are applied to an electrode and Unfortunately, as a raw material then covered with a thin layer of iron oxide. iron oxide has its limitations. Although it is cheap and absorbs light in exactly the wavelength enemies. The microstructure of their eyes especially adapted region where the sun emits the most energy, rust conducts elec- to the appropriate wavelength of light. Empa’s photocells take tricity poorly and must be used in the form of a thin film in order advantage of the same effect. for the water splitting technique to work. The disadvantage of In order to recreate artificial moth eyes from metal oxide this is that the thin-films absorb too little of the sunlight shining microspheres, Florent Boudoire sprays a sheet of glass with on the cell. a suspension of plastic particles, each of which contains at its center a drop of tungsten salt solution. The particles lie on Empa researchers Florent Boudoire and Artur Braun claim to the glass like a layer of marbles packed close to each other. have solved the problem. A special microstructure on the pho- The sheet is placed in an oven and heated, the plastic material toelectrode surface gathers burns away and each drop of salt in sunlight and does not let it solution is transformed into the out again. The basis for this required tungsten oxide micro- innovative structure are tiny sphere. The next step is to spray particles of tungsten oxide the new structure with an iron salt which, because of their satu- solution and once again heat it in rated yellow colour, can also an oven. be used for photoelectrodes. The researchers have been The yellow microspheres are running calculations modelling applied to an electrode and the process on their computers then covered with an ex- and have been able to simulate tremely thin nanoscale layer the ‘capturing of light’ in the tiny of iron oxide. When external spheres. The results of the simu- light falls on the particle it is lation agree with the experimental internally reflected back and observations, as project leader forth, till finally all the light Artur Braun confirms. It is clear to is absorbed. All the entire see how much the tungsten oxide energy in the beam is now contributes to the photo current available to use for splitting Fig. 2: How the ‘moth eye solar cell’ functions: with the help of and how much is due to the iron the water molecules. oxide. Also, the smaller the mi- sunlight water molecules are split into oxygen and hydrogen. In principle the microstruc- crospheres the more light lands ture functions like the eye of a moth, explains Florent Boudoire. on the iron oxide underneath the tiny balls. As a next step the The eyes of the night active creatures need to collect as much researchers plan to investigate what the effect of several layers light as possible to see in the dark, and also must reflect as of microspheres lying on top of each other might be. little as possible to avoid detection and being eaten by their www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 15 ICONIC INSIGHTS: In conversation with Hanns Windele A gesture to the future

Based in Israel, Inuitive is a natural user interface (NUI) semiconductor start-up created by communications entrepreneur Shlomo Gadot. Hanns Windele of Mentor Graphics finds out what the future holds for the developing gesture interpretation market.

Hanns Windele (HW): You’ve been working with start-up companies in the electronics sector for three decades now. What gave you the idea to go into NUI? Shlomo Gadot: Well, I needed to do something that was not in communications, because I could see that, due to of the maturity level of the technology, there was not much new that I could bring to that area. So I said ‘let’s change.’ I then tried to consider what would be the next Big Thing in a completely new area for me, where I could learn much more than just continuing in comms. At AT&T Labs, I was in the first group in the world to do ADSL and in my first year I learned so much. It was the best and most exciting year in my career. And I wanted to have that learning experience again. In NUI even most of the technology now exists – maybe it is not in the right place yet – but it is time to make the real change.

HW: Where are Inuitive’s products on the maturity curve? SG: The main market of natural user interface is progress- ing, but not yet in volume. Some vertical sectors have reached maturity, such as home surveillance for the elderly, 3D scanning, security, edutainment. These verticals will bridge the gap between early adopters and allowing the NUI idea to become mainstream. Where are we on this curve? We are following the pathway where people still need to be convinced and where

QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS with Shlomo Gadot ‘When you are trying to get people to change their habits, the process can take a long time…’ How do you relax? they are still hesitating. My experience is that when you are try- By walking along the shore, hiking, gardening and reading. ing to get people to change their habits, the process can take What was the last non-work related book you read? a long time. But I think that people like the idea that we bring a I tend to read scientists’ biographies. But I also like Vikram holistic approach to NUI. Seth’s Equal Music or A Suitable Boy. Do you own your mobile phone, or does it own you? HW: What’s the first product you are releasing? I discipline myself to turn it off and I don’t take it into the SG: We are developing a chip for the NUI market, which is garden. just about to launch. This chip will be able to serve two seg- What technology are you nostalgic for? ments of the market. First there is the personal space: PC, Mainframe computers that have less computing power than laptop, tablet and smartphone. Second there is the living space, your phone. which is TV and home. The only difference between the two What did you want to be when you were younger? is in the optics. This chip was built as a co-processor to the I was planning to be a medical doctor. main processors and will create a depth map (3D image) for If you won $5 million on the lottery would you stop work? both segments from two aligned HD sensors. It also includes a I won the lottery when I sold my companies, and I kept computer vision processor to deal with NUI functions such as working. face recognition, eye-gazing, hand and finger tracking, voice Who would you share a prison cell with? recognition, and many more. Ghandi. The Middle East would be a different place today if we had someone like him. HW: Would you say that the acceptance level of NUI follows Of which company, outside of the tech-world, would you like to be CEO? HANNS WINDELE is Vice President, Europe and India at I would like to be mayor of my city. Mentor Graphics. www.mentor.com What sports do you follow? FOR FURTHER DETAILS about Inuitive visit Israeli basketball and Barcelona football club. www.inuitive-tech.com

16 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com ICONIC INSIGHTS: In conversation with Hanns Windele

that of speech recognition, which took a long time to come you are angry or excited, for example. The first thing required through? to implement this is to get different experts together to discuss SG: Yes it is the same. Speech recognition took forever, be- the issue and draft the architecture of the system, which later cause we had to recognise that the real problem was that only on will become the layout of the chip architecture. You need to 90 per cent accuracy was nowhere near good enough. With NUI be aware of the limitations of contemporary technology and ask there are even more areas of misinterpretation than there are what is out there on the market that we can bring to our product with speech. What we do is to combine several NUI features at in a reasonable time. So we are looking for something that can once (multi-modality) so that intelligent interpretations can be be done in the 1-2 year timeframe. increased to an accuracy close on 100 per cent. HW: Did you know that you were going to develop a chip? HW: What do you see as the one change across the market SG: We were aware that we were trying to set a high barrier that has left the biggest impression on you? that no one else could compete with in the next year. To do this, SG: There have been two revolutions, one of which I have we needed to combine hardware, software, firmware, systems made a minor contribution to. The internet world (access to any and so on. The only way to do it is with an integrated chip. data) and later on mobile 3G/4G where there is access to data everywhere. This has changed completely the way we think and HW: Fortunately, you never went into EDA, but from where the way we are communicating. you’re standing, what advice do Twenty years ago if you told you have for that market? someone that you could speak SG: The big thing that needs to to them while driving your car emerge from EDA is the ability to here in Tel Aviv, while they were arrive at a solution more quickly driving theirs in Australia, they and in a more methodological way. would not have believed you. When you start to design some- They would think you were thing, you start with a big problem crazy. And yet, when you look that you need to breakdown into back at the beginning of the lots of smaller problems. Solving internet no one thought it would these problems and then reinte- be so revolutionary. grating the bigger solution is the key. It’s like in early days when HW: Do you have any regrets people were trying to program a about selling your two earlier chess game. In most cases the hu- companies, and how do you man player will beat the machine decide when the time is right to because the designer can’t think sell a company? of every possible requirement and SG: Regrets? Yes and no, outcome. because it’s hard to let go of a company. But you know when HW: Do you see the world of it is right to sell the moment automotive design opening up for you think it is not easy to grow NUI? by yourself. You reach a point SG: What we are doing can where unless you can see a be used in automotive design, al- way of bringing in a definite though we are probably ten steps amount of resources you away from that today. The issue is cannot see how growth will reliability. Misinterpretation when happen. There are not many you are sitting in front of your venture capital investors that television may not have the same are able to take the risk of impact as when there is a misin- injecting tens of millions of dol- terpretation in your car. This is why lars, and so you have to sell it the NUI market started with gam- to someone who can invest that ing. In gaming if you miss some- money or you run the risk of the thing, well, you’ve just missed it, company stagnating, or worse. that’s all. But in automotive it is all a bit more challenging. It’s not just black and white, but ‘In future we won’t be short of technology: it’s just that you do have to consider if there many people won’t be able to afford it…’ are 50 families involved in your HW: What are the main chal- company whether there are advantages for them in entering an lenges for new technology over the next two decades? acquisition. SG: The main problems we will face in the next 2 decades are medical and aging issues. Cell phones will become increas- HW: How do you start to devise gesture interpretation ingly important as a health monitoring and diagnosis system. products? Economic issues will also play a part. We won’t be short of SG: You start with the idea that you own a smart device that technology: it’s just that many people won’t be able to afford it. is not being used for most of the time. Then the process is to Also medicine always lags behind technology, because in most turn that device into a kind of a smart friend that can recognise cases it exists to provide a cure, rather than having come into and advise you when needed and the same time detect when place as a preventative.

www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 17 executive interview

5G, IoT pose new challenges to testing

By Christoph Hammerschmidt

With test automation being a burning issue, 5G radio Borrill: One part of the IoT is the concept of having wireless networks in the transition from the embryonic to the fetal phase communication modules in everything. To connect to the Inter- and the Internet of Things taking shape, manufacturers of test net, one needs an RF module in every device at really low cost. equipment are active in a terrain mined with technology deci- The challenge we have then is to enable also testing at low cost sions that need to be taken but many uncertainties as to which - but imagine the huge volume of testing. So on one side, the direction the markets will develop. EE Times Europe discussed volume of test - which means the cost of test - goes up and up, these issues with Jonathan Borrill, Director of Market Strategy but there is a need to bring the cost down. So the challenge is at RF test technology provider Anritsu to keep the test good enough and keeping the price adequate for low cost modules. EE Times Europe: Which are currently the hottest technology trends in RF for your business? EE Times Europe: These considerations seriously limit the price for test equipment? After all, there are billions of IoT nodes Jonathan Borrill: There are two important trends. In the mo- to be tested. bile phone communications business we see that handsets and networks are having more and more Borrill: It is not a limitation but a chal- radio bands. This raises the require- lenge for us. The pressure is on to bring ments to RF technology and compo- the cost of test down. nents in terms of bandwidth, efficiency, multiband designs, antennas, multiband EE Times Europe: Is test automation amplifiers - you name it. In this context, something that helps to reduce these the use of MIMO is going to spread - all costs? LTE handsets today are using MIMO, and we think that about 70% of all new Borrill: Absolutely. Today, for commu- smartphones are LTE-enabled. These nications devices we can fully automate handsets transmit and receive in some the test process. But it is still the sheer 14, 15 different radio bands - plus Blue- volume of testing. We do apply smart tooth, Wi-Fi, FM radio and NFC. This algorithms to schedule testing - the leads to very complex RF designs in a sequence in which you do the tests can handset. We have to test all the bands affect the test time. There is actually a and their combinations and which is major technology change in the work the real challenge - the interferences with the designers of the chipsets. For between the different bands. Testing instance, if you test a handset and you each band individually is a very straight- want to see if you can make a call, you forward approach; it is the interactions “For mobile phones, in GSM, 3G and set up the call, you make your measure- between the different bands that make ment and then release the call. This all the whole thing complex. Wideband CDMA Europe really led the takes time. We have examples where Another challenge is the testing ef- world in the technology. In LTE Europe the test itself runs for tens of millisec- forts. For the design engineer this can onds but it takes ten seconds to put the mean weeks of testing - he needs to lost this leading position.” mobile phone in the right condition to know with effects like intermodulation get those milliseconds of data. So there between adjacent frequency bands and similar things come are new algorithms where we can talk directly to the chipset and into effect. Testing up to 14 frequency bands plus their interac- tell it to just transmit what we need. Thus, those ten seconds of tion takes more time than just testing 14 frequency bands. And setup time can be reduced to milliseconds of setup time - which yes, there are physical limits - it takes a certain time to sweep makes a massive improvement in test time. Thus, you can cut across the spectrum. But our customers can’t afford to increase down a mobile phone production test from three minutes down the testing time so much. It has to be faster, cheaper. Neverthe- to 20, 30 seconds. less, it can take maybe two weeks to put a handset through the entire certification. EE Times Europe: Is 5G communications technology already something that affects your developments? EE Times Europe: Two weeks for every single mobile phone? Borrill: We are starting to see the first requirements and basic Borrill: No, this refers to the design testing. On the production technical directions of 5G. We see that millimetre wave back- line it is different. There you only test the actual manufacturing haul is requiring more advanced high-performance testing, we process. On the production line the test takes 20 seconds. expect wider bandwidth modulation schemes, wider bandwidth for signal generators or for signal analysers. EE Times Europe: How does the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) wave affect testing and measuring? EE Times Europe: are there different modulation schemes compared to current-generation mobiles?

18 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com Borrill:: At the moment there are several different schemes EE Times Europe: Are there any flagship projects or institu- being evaluated by different companies and being proposed. tions that are leading the pack? But even the standards body for 5G has not selected a waveform yet, and part of that is that even the operators haven’t Borrill: There is one project that is called the 5G innova- set the requirements yet. We don’t even have a requirements tion centre, 5GIC, led by the University of Surrey in England, document for 5G. We certainly don’t have a standard of what and there are many industrial participants. There is the METIS waveform will be used. Many universities and research institu- project, an industry collaboration, and there are some EU-driven tions are investigating different waveforms. There are several projects. waveform candidates that seem very popular at the moment. We also don’t know exactly which ones will be chosen in the EE Times Europe: How would you assess the role of Europe end but there are some clear candidates which we are looking in this technology - will the business be driven more by Asian at. One of them is called FBMC - Filter Bank Multi-Carrier. This companies as this is the case in 3G and 4G? is probably the top technology that has been discussed as a waveform, and then there are some variations on that as well. Borrill: It seems that the reason for the EU funding is that the EU governments want to try to recover the business back to EE Times Europe: Does the 5G development already have an Europe. For mobile phones, in GSM, 3G and Wideband CDMA influence to your business? Europe really led the world in the technology. In LTE Europe lost this leading position. There are governments that seem deter- Borrill: We are certainly excepting the business to start this mined to bring that technology back to Europe; in particular the year. If we look at the research projects in the industry, it is start- British and German government who signed an agreement to ing from now. The fundamental research in terms of waveforms, do joint developments so we can rebuild our expertise, build the modulation, devices, wider bandwidth of device, higher sensitiv- telecommunications industry. We regard this as very positive. ity devices - all this fundamental research takes place now. Crunch the IoT data before it clogs your network

By Julien Happich

In today’s IoT frenzy, a lot of companies rush to connect intelligence. sensors and provide all sorts of monitoring services, and car- “That way, networks evolve beyond object connectivity, riers will happily bill them for the data that transit through their to data services”, says Glynn. “Last year, Cisco would have networks. But sending all the raw data to the cloud for pro- supplied a router, but now they offer routers bundled with data cessing and intelligence is inefficient and expensive notes Paul services” he added. Glynn, CEO of Irish startup Davra Networks. With the release “For example, our solution is already implemented in a large of its RuBAN application enablement platform, the 3-year old fleet of school buses operating in rural areas, in Texas. A gate- Irish company jumps on the “fog computing” bandwagon with a way onboard each bus provides WiFi for the passengers, but it clear goal to add local value to IoT data before it even reaches also aggregates engine data for driver behavior monitoring, it the cloud. logs speed and traffic density, the “Out of the estimated 50 actual position of the bus, and all billion connected devices these information enable us to build that may be deployed by new data services that largely pay 2020, the vast majority will for the WiFi installation alone.” not have a direct connec- “As computing power goes to tion to the cloud but will the edges of the network, data pass on their data through analysis has a bigger role to play at local gateways or routers” the edge” continues Glynn. “With explains Glynn. “Often, the RuBAN platform, it is as if we most of the generated data were dropping a virtual network en- is irrelevant, a sensor may gineer at gateway level to act upon indicate it’s still operational, the data flow and decide remotely or that the values it monitor remain unchanged, and that data and on-the-fly what makes sense to be routed further and what could be dumped”, he told EETimes Europe. should be dumped to reduce the stream of data”. While a lot of network and mobile operators see the IoT as The RuBAN platform can presents the data on any connect- an opportunity to sell more SIM cards and data plans, Glynn ed interface, it requires no customization and also handles au- presents the cloud-based RuBAN platform as a way to build tomated network troubleshooting, response and problem repair new data services while focusing on data reduction. In Davra’s remotely. It can be used to connect many different industries solution, data is gathered, filtered and managed near its source, horizontally, while the granularity of each data analysis solution and only relevant information is sent to the cloud to be turned is based on the customer’s specific requirements, established into insightful business intelligence, calling for action. Following locally. Cisco’s fog computing concept, simple sets of rules running on In the future, this sort of data intelligence could even become the gateways’ embedded computers can enable local an integral part of software defined networks. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 19 executive interview

China, not Apple, is way to go, says mCube CEO

By Peter Clarke

Ben Lee, CEO of MEMS startup mCube, explains why he The company was founded in September 2009 with the mis- wants to spend $37 million on being a supplier of sensors to sion of commercializing a method for integrating MEMS motion Chinese ODMs and avoiding a design win with Apple or sensors above electronic circuitry in a standard CMOS wafer Samsung. fab using through-silicon via connections. The process includes Fabless inertial sensor startup mCube Inc. is just about to hermetic sealing of the assembly. enter phase three of a startup’s progress. That’s why it has just The inherent advantage that Lee talks about is primarily size. secured $37 million of Series C venture capital, CEO Ben Lee The use of wafer bonding and through-silicon-vias (TSVs) allows told EE Times Europe. mCube to produce a combination inertial sensor in a package Lee, who joined to lead the company in January 2013 as measuring 3mm by 3mm, without needing bond wiring and CEO, explains that in a startup’s first bond pads inside the package. phase it has a little bit of money for While market leaders Bosch and development work and to create a STMicroelectronics use traditional product, but no customers. In the hybrid manufacturing techniques they second phase it has a product but can have been challenged more recently only support – and only listen to – a few by InvenSense with its stacked chip customers. The third phase – for those approach, Lee indicated in a slide that make it that far – is the growth presentation. But all three will now be phase where a company starts to have challenged by mCube with is monolithic revenue and can expand its product CMOS approach which can dispense and customer bases. with bond wire and bond pads to pro- But in that third phase it remains duce smaller size and lower parasitic crucially important to keep making the capacitance resulting in better accu- right choices in terms of customers and racy, he claimed. application areas to which a company The approach gives mCube an ad- is applied. vantage in terms of die size, packaged mCube (San Jose, Calif.) is going to footprint, sensor accuracy and energy use its $37 million Series C money to consumption, Lee claims. This in turn maintain focus on the entry- to mid-lev- will not only let mCube steal design el smartphones in the Chinese market slots from its better-established peers while pursuing innovative applications mCube’s CEO, Ben Lee: “We’ve in smartphones and tablet computers in wearable equipment and the Internet focused on the Chinese market and but will also help the company help of Things, where it feels its combina- drive wearable equipment and Internet tion MEMS sensors have an inherent now have 60 to 80 active customers” of Things markets. advantage. Small is beautiful mCube has spent four years in the first two phases of the startup’s progress but is now eas- ing itself into the third phase. The company has already shipped more than 60 million units into a range of smartphone, gaming and tablet reference designs since 2012 and its MEMS sensors are featured on the approved vendor lists of chipset partner – and investor – MediaTek. “We are primarily in tablets and smartphones for the Chinese market, and some Bluetooth headsets and smartwatches. We’ve focused on the Chinese market and now have 60 to 80 active customers,” said Lee. But what about high-volume, high-profile design wins in Apple and Samsung equipment that are surely the goal of every consumer electronics oriented component supplier? Lee explains why such a design win is not Fig. 1: Three generational approaches to making inertial MEMS. Source: mCube. always good news. “Apple and Samsung tends to be a two-year design cycle. It tends to be

20 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com hit or miss. And when you are kicked out it is very disruptive to the company,” he said pointing at companies that have been more or less destroyed by the loss of an Apple design win. The Chinese market is faster moving and much finer-grained with scores of “white-box” companies designing and making equipment for brands in China, said Lee. “There are a slew of ODMs [original device manufacturers] supplying the brands in China. Part is brand supply then there is also a domestic no-brand market. And then there are also emerging markets in India, Africa, Indonesia and elsewhere. Fig. 2: Bonding wafers and use of TSVs produces a monolithic There is a market of about 600 million phones shipped annually CMOS sensor just 600-micron thick. Source: mCube served by 100 ODMs in China that go into local and international markets,” said Lee. “But you have to behave like a Chinese achieve 8-bit resolution, Lee said. supplier. It’s the wild, wild East,” he said. But it offers a number of things that are much better for a startup than an Apple Grain of sand or Samsung design win. “It’s fast time to market, fast time to With sensors in 3mm and 2mm packages mCube is already money and fast time to feedback,” Lee said. down at the same sort of size as a grain of sand – coarse sand “And now there is wearables. mCube has the world’s small- comes in at 1mm to 2mm. est accelerometer – that’s confirmed by Yole Developpement,” But what if, with the monolithic construction mCube could said Lee. “So our timing is very good.” forego the plastic packaging and directly bond its hermetically Lee explained that while the motion of gaming and phone sealed die to the PCB? “The z-height goes even lower,” said handsets and tablet computers is definite and relatively easy Lee. “We have to look at structural integrity issues and how the to detect, wearables are throwing up the need to detect subtle cavity inside the sensor performs. But we have alpha customers movements. “Trying to detect very slight movements in wear- and it’s very exciting,” said Lee. ables is pushing companies to deploy three or four sensors as Lee also has an mCube take on the sensor fusion, sensor hub far apart as possible on the PCB, which means the sensors debate. Does it mean that mCube will be adding microcontroller must be small. So it’s not a 1:1 attach rate but multiple separate circuitry for software programmability within the company’s tiny devices.” combination sensors? Lee said there are three main approaches: Fabless with TSMC 1) running the sensor fusion software on the application pro- But mCube is fabless and so the manufacturing of its MEMS cessor, such as a MediaTek octocore; sensors comes courtesy of foundry supplier Taiwan Semicon- 2) having a separate sensor hub IC, such as Apple’s M7; ductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. What’s to stop TSMC offering the 3) and putting an MCU inside the MEMS package. process to others creating competitors? The decision is usually based on the lowest power for an “We co-developed the process with TSMC,” said Lee. always-on solution so that motion of the equipment can be used mCube has also filed more than 100 patent applications. Lee to wake up the circuitry. “Most of our customers don’t want us does not rule out the possibility that other companies might to do it in the third option. But that doesn’t mean they don’t want use manufacturing services from TSMC of a similar nature but us to write the software. They want us to provide a library of added: “It’s true we are the designers but in MEMS design and algorithms for accurate pedometer and so on.” As an extension manufacturing are highly integrated.” of this, mCube has written a couple of games that can show of Lee points out that one of their key patents covers how to the ability of the company’s iGyro component. accurately control the depth of etching for a TSV so that there is For now Lee is determined that mCube should follow the a connection but no damage on the primary wafer that carries business model of its investor and partner MediaTek. “China is the electronic circuitry. Without that technique the approach our first focus. We’re not concentrating on any other customers is closed off to potential rivals. With it mCube is able to create but those. But our reputation for smallest size does mean we are 14-bit resolution sensors when other companies struggle to starting to get cold calls for the wearables market,” said Lee.

ISO9001:2008

www.norsun.com.tw For more information please contact [email protected] directly www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 21 Xilinx’ SDNet: where software defined networks truly begin

By Julien Happich Even when designed into large volume applications, FPGAs the actual savings made over CapEx and OpEx so it is difficult are increasingly competing with ASICs and ASSPs, mainly for to put hard numbers” said Gilles Garcia, Director of Marketing & easy bug fixing during development, then to update hardware Corporate Global Account Manager for Wired Communications functions on-the-fly once deployed in an application. The typical at Xilinx, “but they can expect a 10 fold increase in productivity trade-off is mostly end-product cost versus design flexibility. to develop a new line card” he added. Not only FPGAs are getting more cost-competitive with every “There is a fierce competition between server players, and new node, Xilinx is now promot- when they are using ASSPs, ing them as the only viable solu- only software is the differen- tion for what the company calls tiator at the control plane”, “Softly” Defined Networks, a step explained Garcia. “For future in flexibility that goes far beyond networks, we need to transi- Software Defined Networks (SDN) tion from 1Gbit to 10 or even as they are conceived today. 100Gbit line cards, but none In contrast to traditional SDN of the server farms natively architectures, which employ fixed support these speeds, so there data plane hardware with a nar- is a need for accelerators, for row southbound API connection packet processing, for data to the control plane. pre-processing to optimize Softly Defined Networks are network integration with spe- based upon a programmable cific algorithms, multiple SSD data plane with content-intelli- controllers” Garcia added. gence and a rich southbound API Those driving this transition control plane connection. to software defined networks By using FPGA fabric instead of ASICs or ASSPs for the data are mostly Telco providers and data centres. Garcia gave us plane, Softly Defined Networks are flexible on both software some examples of new services enabled by softly defined net- and hardware counts, while enabling reconfigurable content- works. These could include specific packet searches and data- aware data pre-processing at wire speed. For network OEMs, filtering, say to provision premium services for Netflix video-on- carriers and multiple systems operators (MSOs), this translates demand services with a set Quality of Service (QoS). into new services that can be provisioned on a per-flow basis, In the future, this flexible approach to designing reconfigu- with in-service network upgrades while operating at 100 percent rable networks could enable smarter network boxes, maybe line rate. designed with more cache capacity so more decisions could be Key to these “Softly” Defined Networks is Xilinx’ Software made on the data at the line card level rather than the data hav- Defined Specification Environment, SDNet. Combined with the ing to go all the way to a data centre for processing. This could company’s All Programmable FPGAs, SDNet allows system play in favour of so-called Fog Computing, where data generat- architects to specify and deploy ed by IoT devices and gateways exact application services with- at the edges of the network out requiring an understanding of could be pre-processed and the underlying device architec- re-routed according to a set ture or a complex programming of application specific rules, language – see figure 3. all configured using the same Compared to ASIC or ASSP- SDNet software interface. based line cards, the “softly” Other trends facilitated by defined line card envisaged by SDNet include server virtualiza- Xilinx would drastically reduce tion and storage virtualization OpEx (no need to go and physi- whereby a bulk of storage ca- cally change hardware) while ex- pacity made up of pure memory tending the reach of CapEx with racks could be used across a line cards staying longer into the data centre at several levels of network infrastructure. cache, linked to pure computing The FPGA vendor has already racks. This is where you would shipped its SDNet framework need very high speed switches to tier-one customers who are to route the data between stor- currently evaluating new packet processing and data forwarding age pools and processing pools, transparently for the end-user. scenarios that the added flexibility gives them. Looking at its ultimate line card implementation, one could “Network OEMs are still working to understand what will be conclude that Xilinx aims at displacing ASICs out of the net-

22 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com working business. lars in revenue in last fiscal year and the “We are going head-to-head with company hope to double this figure over companies like Broadcom”, admits Garcia, the current fiscal year. “with our FPGAs, customers can imple- Being the first to ship 20nm based ment exactly what they need, when they FPGAs, Xilinx also claims a 100% FPGA need it to address new services, without market share at this node and hopes to overprovisioning their line cards, or without keep its market advantage in the net- having to design unwieldy swiss-army working space by locking the SDNet knife ASICs”. software development platform to its own Only 18 months after it started ship- devices. ping its first FPGAs designed at 28nm, So could ambitious Xilinx become a the company claims to have a 70% FPGA takeover target? market share at this node, reflected in the After a few seconds remaining silent, network and server markets. This node Garcia simply declined to comment. alone generated about 350 million US dol- Red phosphors enhance white-emitting LEDs

By Paul Buckley

Chemists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in The process sounds simple, but its practical realization is Munich have developed a novel type of red phosphor material very challenging. It requires phosphors which display extremely that claims to enhance the performance of white-emitting LEDs. high thermal stability and operate with high efficiencies. In cooperation with Dr. Peter Schmidt of Philips Technolo- gie GmbH in Aachen, a team of researchers led by Prof. Dr. “The problem with commercially available white-light LEDs Wolfgang Schnick, who holds the Chair of Inorganic Solid-State is that there is always a trade-off between optimal energy ef- Chemistry at LMU Munich, has developed a new material for ficiency and acceptable color rendition,” said Schnick. The red- application in light-emitting diodes (LEDs). “With its highly emitting phosphor materials so far used are the principal factor unusual properties, the new material has the potential to revo- responsible for this, because they have a significant influence lutionize the LED market,” explained Schnick. The two teams on the so-called color rendering index. There is also a grow- report their results in the latest edition of Nature Materials. ing demand in the industrial sector for new phosphors capable Conventional incandescent light bulbs have a low energy of emitting in the deep-red region because this would enable conversion efficiency, which has led the conflicting demands of the EU to order their withdrawal from optimal efficiency and most the market. As a result, light-emitting natural color rendition to be diodes (LEDs) have become the light reconciled. source of choice for the foreseeable future. The light emitted by LEDs is The new material devel- generated by electronic transitions oped by Schnick, Schmidt in solid-state semiconductors. In and their colleagues contrast to so-called energy-saving is based on the nitride lamps, which contain toxic mercury, Sr[LiAl3N4]. When doped LEDs are environmentally friendly. Moreover, they are highly effi- with an appropriate amount of europium, a rare-earth metal, the cient and promise significant reductions in energy consumption. compound displays intensive luminescence over a narrow range of frequencies in the red band. Peak emission occurs at wave- A single LED can produce light of only one color tone. How- lengths of around 650 nm and peak width (full width at half- ever, Schnick and his team had previously achieved a notable maximum) is only 50 nm. The first prototype LEDs incorporating technological breakthrough by synthesizing innovative phos- the new material generate 14% more light than conventional phor materials that allowed the blue light produced by con- white-light LEDs and have an excellent color rendering index. ventional LEDs to be converted into all the colors of the visible spectrum – in particular, those at the red end. Mixing of the dif- “With its unique luminescence properties the new material ferent colors results in high-quality white light and this invention surpasses all red-emitting phosphors yet employed in LEDs earned Schnick and his colleagues a nomination for the German and has great potential for industrial applications” suggested Future Prize 2013. Schnick. LEDs that generate blue light can be converted into white- light emitters by coating them with various luminescent ceram- Dr. Peter Schmidt and his associates at the Lumileds Devel- ics. The materials absorb some of the blue light and re-emit the opment Center Aachen (Philips Technologie GmbH) are current- energy at wavelengths corresponding to all the other colors of ly modifying the synthesis of the new red phosphor to optimize the visible spectrum from cyan to red. The combination of these it for large-scale manufacture. Their goal is to open the way to color components with the unabsorbed blue light results in pure the next generation of brighter and more efficient white-emitting white light. LEDs with the best possible color rendition characteristics www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 23 Websites’ emotional impact revealed by webcams

By Julien happich A spin-off from the Université catholique de Louvain A simple widget on the website invites users to share their (UCL), Belgium startup GetSmily - www.getsmily.com - has emotional feedback and asks them if they wish to activate developed a set of web analytics tools that correlate page the webcam for that purpose. There are no cookies and each views, mouse cursor’s movements and click-through rate with web-browsing session will ask for permission to use the the emotional state of whoever visits the website. Central to webcam. GetSmily’s customers can then access the so called this new concept is the ability for “emolytics®” report, mixing the visited website to look back traditional web analytics with at the user’s facial expressions emotion-based feedback to yield through a webcam. an Emoscore, a sort of emotional- Dubbed Emolytics as a con- impact ranking. traption of the two words emotion But why would you accept to be and analytics, the new concept filmed as you browse the web? stems from academia, when UCL For end-users surfing the web, researcher David Frenay was Hachez sees the new widget as a developing very granular video new opportunity to express their analytics algorithms for the de- satisfaction or dissatisfaction, a tection of human emotions. very simple and unobtrusive way Until now, the most prominent to let them provide natural feed- use-cases for emotion analysis remained fairly niche and didn’t back, without being limited to a questionnaire. From live testing make it quite out of the lab. For example in the health sector, performed on several partners’ websites, the natural inclination emotionally-aware robots could adapt their behaviour to the of users to let their emotions speak for themselves translated emotional response of a person, they could help autistic chil- into an acceptance rate ranging from 8 to 19%. In the future, dren communicate their feelings, or find the most appropriate websites could increase that acceptance rate by offering recur- help scenario for the elderly while ring visitors to download a free mimicking a human presence. report of their emotional stats, or By enabling these algorithms visitors could qualify momentarily to operate through a simple web- as expert user-interface tester. cam, GetSmily’s co-founder and The new tool enables brands CEO David Hachez expanded to perform large-scale audits to these tools to a broader market. track users’ emotional involvement In Hachez’ vision, technology over time, a decentralized and should adapt to humans, and more cost-effective way to perform Emolytics is one step in the right group tests. direction, taking human emotions into account for the optimiza- “Humans are complex, they have varying moods, they don’t tion of web user interfaces. behave linearly and what a single person will experience surfing According from market data provided by Hachez, 90% of a given web page one day could differ broadly from another brands and businesses design their websites to offer what they day”, says Hachez, “but the Emoscore of a page could be used think is the best service, but only to adapt the layout or the wording 8% of consumers would agree so as to improve the perception the websites offer an excellent that one could have from what surfing experience. “There is a they read, based on their state of huge gap between what brands mind”. and what consumers perceive as Once GetSmily will have gath- a satisfying and easy to navigate ered and correlated enough empiri- website” says Hachez, “and by cal data about end-user behaviour adding the human factor that is and website user-interfaces, the emotion into web analytics, we are able to reduce that gap”. company could well identify specific layout tactics to play on The tool is set up in under a minute, and since the algorithm the end-user’s mood. So in the future, you could even conceive runs on the cloud, only two extra lines of code are needed for emotion-adaptive web design, a notch above adaptive design a website to analyse and explore the emotional feedback of its that only takes screen-size into consideration. visitors. Hachez totally understands the possible concerns that “I won’t detail more as we have several patents pending on users may have for their privacy, and the tool is built in such a this topic”, said Hachez. way that it doesn’t record the full video but only keeps facial The startup is just about to close its first round of investment, emotional metadata extracted from a complex adaptive mesh hoping to secure one million euros for a commercial launch in that is superimposed on the video stream. July.

24 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com NAVIGATION & GEOLOCATION

Enabling sub 10cm positioning accuracy

By Mickael Viot and Matt Gross

GPS was the first major revolution to happen in the domain of navigation in centuries, allowing us to find our way around IR-UWB: a game changer without maps or landmarks. Unfortunately, GPS does not oper- Impulse Response Ultra Wideband (IR-UWB) and it implementa- ate indoors, where 85% of our time is spent. tion as per the IEEE802.14.4-2011 strandard finally offers the This is the start point of navigation and geo-location for performance needed for accurate and reliable indoor position- indoor positioning. The first examples of indoor positioning are ing. This UWB signal consists of narrow pulses, typically no already around us, with many shopping malls and public places more than 2ns wide. offering services and apps to help consumers and visitors navigate their way around. However, people are used to very accurate and reliable outdoor GPS systems. What they require – and expect - is the same level of user experience indoors. While being able to locate a 50m wide shop in Fig. 1: Narrowband time based. a large mall is nice, being able to find a pair of shoes within a store is much better. This makes it highly immune to multi-path and interference - And this was simply impossible with existing indoor positioning see figure 2. The IEEE802.15.4 UWB technology supports 10cm technologies. of geolocation accuracy with a reliability of over 99%, with a Many technologies currently being used for indoor position- range varying from up to 35m in Non Line of Sight, up to 250m ing are based on measuring RF signal strength. The positioning in Line Of Sight. is based on the assumption that signal strength and distance The high-ranging makes possible to achieve accurate have a deterministic relationship, according to the Friis equa- positioning, precise enough to pinpoint an object in a drawer. tion. Unfortunately, the Friis equation is only applicable in free The time-based ranging also allows a deployment that is cost space. In an indoor environment, multi-path interference and effective without time-consuming calibration and environment lack of sight channels can cause the range estimate to have an dependent processes. With IR-UWB, it is possible to implement accuracy of tens of meters. a real-time location system (RTLS) that can offers two different location services, separately or simultaneously. With post-filtering and fingerprinting, these systems are able to improve reliability and accuracy to a few meters in a friendly Tracking of people and assets environment, but any change in the floor plan will require a new In tracking, the location of an object or a person is provided to round of calibration. This approach will never reach the accu- the system via tags that transmit data packets to be received racy required by many applications. by fixed beacons. As the beacon clocks are synchronized, it is The idea of building indoor location systems on the time of possible to determine the Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) to flight of the RF signal is relatively new. By simply measuring the the beacons. By using TDOA and multi-lateration algorithms the time of flight, you can accurately estimate the distance between system virtually draws hyperboles - see figure 3. an RF transmitter and RF receiver. The intersection of those hyperboles determines the exact There have been attempts to build time of flight systems position of the object that transmitted the blink. This localization using standard narrowband RF Wi-Fi or other 2.4 GHz signals. can be achieved in 2D or in 3D with an accuracy of 30cm in 3D The problem here is that due to the narrow bandwidth, the ris- and a reliability of 95% or better. ing edge of the signal is slow and it is difficult to determine the It is now possible to locate in which drawer an ECG machine exact time of arrival in multi-path and low signal to noise ratio resides or to determine whether staff has stopped to wash their environment - see figure 1 - resulting in accuracy of several hands before entering the surgery room. meters, with reliability still very dependent on the environment. Navigation Mickael Viot is Marketing Manager at Decawave - Navigation provides location information to a moving object www.decawave.com such as a person, a robot, or a forklift. Unlike tracking, where Matt Gross is responsible for Technology Partnerships at Red the information flows from the mobile device to the system, the Point Positioning RTLS systems - www.redpointpositioning.com location information is flowing the opposite way. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 25 NAVIGATION & GEOLOCATION

Fig. 2: UWB time based. It is possible to extend the tracking scheme previously discussed and let the mobile device retrieve the location informa- What’s next? tion from the system. This is, however, rather cumbersome and Highly accurate and highly reliable indoor positioning is now bandwidth inefficient. The latency incurred may be too large a reality thanks to IR-UWB. Enterprise applications such as to meet the requirement for real-time navigation. Additionally, healthcare, factory automation, and warehousing are already the privacy may also be a concern in such an implementation leveraging this technology to track goods, tools, staff and in- since the mobile device location information is available to the crease their productivity. system. The best option in this case is to use the beacons in broad- cast mode and have the tag do the positioning computation. Once again, the clocks from the beacons are synchronized so the tag can apply exactly the same algorithms described above and determine its position. This approach is similar to GPS, where the infrastructure network acts like the satellites and mobile devices like GPS re- ceivers. Since the mobile node does not need to transmit at all, there are two significant benefits of such an implementation: the mobile location is kept at the node and therefore guarantee of complete privacy; the mobile nodes do not take up any bandwidth and therefore there can be a very large number of devices operating in the navigation mode in a network.

Hardware and software requirements At first glance, a UWB-based RTLS system might appear to be very complex, requiring high computation and thus not really cost effective. However, a close look at the hardware and software requirement will show that such a system can actually be more cost-effective than existing products. On the hardware side, thanks to the latest advances from the semiconductor industry, there are single chip CMOS solutions available on the market. Fig. 3: Multi-lateration based on time difference of arrival. A complete radio device can be built in a compact form factor using the IR-UWB radio chip. Taking advantage of power Car manufacturers are also integrating this technology to of- efficient protocols and positioning algorithms, a radio node fer secure passive entry systems by measuring the real distance can be capable of operating for more than 3 years in tracking between the key and the car avoiding relay attack. mode and more than 48 hours in navigation mode. There are Consumers will benefit from this technology in the near significant developments on the software side. Efficient stacks future. The number of applications enabled by a sub-10cm and location algorithms have been developed to allow excellent positioning is endless: from carts that will guide them directly to power efficiency and bandwidth efficiency. a product on a shelf to intelligent homes capable of controlling The radio node can have a low cost, low power MCU that light, HVAC and alarm based on the user’s exact position. is powerful enough to run the complete stack and positioning Exactly as GPS has become so important in our daily life and engine all at once. Abundant software is already available for has been integrated into the mobile phone to offer outdoor indoor mapping, route planning and navigation on both desktop navigation, the integration of IR-UWB technology will allow and smartphone/tablet and can be easily harvested for UWB- anyone to seamlessly navigate outdoors and indoors with a based applications. high level of accuracy.

26 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com Hold back your high tech marketing tactics!

By Julien Happich

In a recent survey carried out across its 1,500,000 strong Retale App user base in the US, mobile coupon- ing and digital flyer publisher Retale depicts customers as mostly unaware of even fairly mature mobile technologies such as NFC (near field communication) and weary of all the services that may be pushed at them. “Despite the growth of NFC, iBeacon, and mobile payment and the seemingly popularity of these technologies in the media, the average user is not aware of these new services that are offered to them”, told us Tim Gray, US Head of Corporate Communications at Retale. But how could retailers conciliate the fact than most mobile Retale’s survey was asking both iOS and Android users users don’t want to be tracked, with their own thirst for more about their mobile shopping experiences, usage and overall data and more sales? In that case, helping consumers to better awareness. More than 3,000 active app users responded, and understand the benefits of these technologies is like helping 75% of them said they were unaware that iBeacon exists, while them to swallow an unsavoury pill. only 11% of Android users claim to use Google Wallet. Just For the providers of technology, the game is about “educat- 23% of iOS users have tried Passbook for coupon shopping ing” consumers, or confusing them with plenty of saving incen- offers. tives and coupons more favourably obtained if they accept the According to the same sur- retailers’ terms of service “i.e. being tracked”. vey, 56% of mobile shoppers Gray remains fairly confident that his business won’t be don’t know near field commu- affected by these findings, as Retale is keeping it very simple nications (NFC) is a contactless for its users. payment system used for mobile The concept of Retale™ began in Germany with the award- payments, and the 38% who winning kaufda.de web portal and kaufDA Navigator app. After are familiar with the technology demonstrating success in Germany, kaufDA expanded abroad choose not to use it. Only 5% to as ofertia.com in Spain, bonial.fr in France, lokata.ru in Russia 6% say they regularly use NFC and guiato.com.br in Brazil. It claims 13 million App users to pay retailers. globally. With its “Weekly Ads & Deals” app, Retale offers its “On a secondary level, some App users to find all the latest information for local shopping, users are fearful, showing con- in their city, with a quick digital access to the latest weekly cern about their privacy”, Gray ads and flyers they are already used to pick up in print at their added. favorite stores. Users can sign up to receive regular updates In a time of growing privacy and deal alerts. concerns about big data and “When retailers print a circular, we digitize it without chang- with new personal data har- ing the format, the digital circular is the same as the paper vesting scandals emerging every week, it is not surprising that one, and when users open it, they recognize it straight away”, every new tracking technology setting the balance too much Gray says, “But retailers get more statistics about the engage- in favour of advertising companies would not be well received ment from App users, which products, which ads are browsed by consumers. The survey also highlighted that iOS users are and how they interact with it”. “They simply help retailers drive more receptive to in-store push notifications, while the majority more traffic to their physical stores”, he concluded. of Android users said they don’t want notifications sent to their mobile while shopping. More alarmingly for in-store geolocalized advertising and all the notification push strategies designed around iBeacon, 71% of mobile app users clearly say they don’t like the idea of being tracked into a store via their smartphones. Only 29% of respon- dents are not concerned with being monitored. Of course, this goes against the ongoing trend among companies to make the most of their customers’ visit by trying to use smartphones to connect consumers’ online behaviour to offline activities, in-store. Often these types of surveys are carried out by technology providers to help retailers understand how consumers perceive the new incentives to buy that are pushed their way, and how brands and retail stores can work around old habits to engage with their customers through new channels. A lack of technology awareness may be fixed by retailers being more proactive, assisting shoppers with the new technology. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 27 NAVIGATION & GEOLOCATION

LEDs tap indoor location technology for social shopping

By Paul Buckley The next generation of LED lighting pers position and direction fixtures that communicate with shoppers’ in the aisle combined with smart devices while in-store, enabling retail- shopping history; present ers to provide new location-based services customer reviews, play have been revealed by GE Lighting and product information videos ByteLight. Using GE LED infrastructure the and connect on-demand innovative solution features GEs Lumination with virtual associates to LED Luminaire - IS Series and ByteLights make brand choice easier. indoor location technology. The use of GEs LED ByteLights indoor location technology em- fixtures for location-based bedded inside GE LED fixtures provides the services brilliantly demon- ability to understand the precise location of shoppers using an strates how LEDs can go beyond the traditional ROI of energy opt-in application powered by ByteLight on their smartphones and maintenance savings to fundamentally change the way and tablets. The solution combines Visible Light Communication people shop by combining data with location, said Jerry Duffy, (VLC), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and inertial device sensors, General Manager, Global Product Management at GE Lighting. and supports any Android or iOS application on a smart device ByteLights technology ensures a cost-effective approach for in- equipped with a camera and/or Bluetooth Smart technology. door location by not requiring additional hardware infrastructure The comprehensive approach enables retailers to reach a beyond the lights themselves. broad number of shoppers across the largest area - from the ByteLight was the first company to combine Visible Light parking lot to anywhere in the store there is LED light. As a Communication (VLC), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and inertial result, retailers can achieve continuous ROI on their conversion device sensors, to determine the precise location and direction to GE LED lighting while providing a strategic platform for the of shoppers in the aisle. connected retail store of the future. Launched in 2011, ByteLights patented LED indoor loca- To help retailers increase in-store traffic and basket size, GE tion technology uses existing lighting infrastructure rather than and ByteLight are connecting smart LEDs to digital marketing requiring additional equipment like beacons, bringing faster platforms to deliver contextually relevant content and create so- ROI to LED deployments. It determines the precise location cial shopping experiences. For example, welcome repeat cus- and direction of shoppers anywhere there is light with accuracy tomers with personalized shopping lists as they approach the within three feet and reaches every connected shopper that store front, then provide an easy-to-follow map to optimize their has a mobile device equipped with a camera and/or Bluetooth shopping time; offer coupons and promotions based on shop- Smart technology.

Magnetic position sensors Bluetooth beacon draws less Accelerometer designed for with on-chip compensation than 20µA average emergency call activation AMS has introduced a family of mag- EM Microelectronic’s COiN Bluetooth STMicroelectronics NV (Geneva, netic position sensors that perform beacon is a low power solution that can Switzerland) has developed a dynamic angle error compensation on be deployed anywhere iBeacon technol- three-axis accelerometer that can the sensor chip. AMS AG (Unterprem- ogy is used, measure a full-scale range of +/-24g staetten, Austria), formerly known as but which and qualified to AEC-Q100 reliability Austriamicrosystems, has introduced also sup- stress tests. The unit has a digital a family of magnetic position sen- ports wire- output and can be used to trigger an sors for angle detection that perform less sensor automated cellular call to emergency dynamic angle error compensation networking services giving the location and se- (DAEC) due to propagation delay on and many verity of the collision as part of man- the sensor chip. The ability to output other applications over Bluetooth Smart dated emergency call procedures. a compensated reading, provides a wireless communications. COiN con- The AIS3624DQ has a selectable high accuracy down to +/-0.17 de- sumes less than 20µA average in a typi- full-scale range of 6g, 12g or 24g and gree at 14,500 revolutions per minute cal application, resulting in more than 18 16-bit data output. It is housed in a and allows users to dispense with months’ operation from a single CR2032 QFN24L package that measures 4mm error compensation that is conven- battery, which is included in the beacon. by 4mm by 1.8 mm and is currently tionally done in software in a separate It also contains a built-in pushbutton available as engineering samples. DSP chip or in a host processor. The switch, thus guaranteeing that your Examples of emergency call systems “47 series” are based on Hall effect beacons have a full charge when they that are becoming mandatory for new principles with four sensors on the are deployed. Integrated red and green vehicles include Onstar in the United die so that the direction and speed of LEDs provide users with feedback about States, eCall in the European Union rotation can be married. the device’s operating mode. and ERA Glonass in Russia. AMS EM Microelectronic STMicroelectronics NV www.ams.com www.emmicroelectronic.com www.st.com

28 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com Bosch reduces size, power of 6-axis IMU Accurate automotive, 3-axis digital-output Bosch Sensortec has taken the power consumption of an iner- gyroscope tial measurement unit below 1mA with a view to gaining design The MAX21001 is a low-power, low-noise, automotive 3-axis wins in wearable equipment. Bosch Sensortec has produced a angular rate sensor that, says Maxim Integrated, delivers new 6-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) that consumes less than levels of accuracy and sensitivity over temperature and time, 1mA and has a packaged size of exhibiting high bias stability. 2.5mm by 3.0mm by 0.8 mm. This The device operates with compares with Bosch’s BMI055 a supply voltage as low as which consumes more than 5mA 1.71V for minimum power and has a package size of 3mm by consumption. It includes a 4.5mm by 0.95mm. BMI160 Inertial sensing element and an IC Measurement Unit (IMU) integrates interface that provides the a 16-bit 3-axis, low-g accelerometer and a 3-axis gyroscope measured angular rate to and has been designed for always-on 6-axis and 9-axis ap- the external world through a digital interface (I2C/SPI). The plications in smart phones, tablets, wearable devices, remote IC has a full scale of ±31.25/±62.50/±125/±250/±500/±1k/± controls, game controllers, head-mounted devices and toys. It 2k degrees per second (dps) and measures rates with a finely can also serve as an input to 9-axis sensor fusion computation. tunable user-selectable bandwidth. The low short-time bias The part is available in a 14-pin 2.5×3.0×0.8mm3 LGA pack- instability, the high stability over temperature, and the opera- age. When the accelerometer and gyroscope are in full operational flexibility make the IC suitable for in-dash navigation tion mode, the typical current consumption is 950µA, best in systems. The IC is a highly integrated solution available in a class by a factor of two, Bosch claims. The BMI160 can use an compact 3x3x0.9mm plastic land grid array (LGA) package external geomagnetic sensor to synchronize the inertial accel- and does not require any external components other than erometer and gyroscope sensor data for applications requiring supply bypass capacitors. It can operate over the -40°C to exact, low latency 9-axis sensor data fusion. Additional sensors +85°C temperature range. such as geomagnetic or pressure sensors can be connected as Maxim Integrated slaves via a secondary I2C interface. In this configuration, the www.maximintegrated.com BMI160 controls data acquisition of the external sensor with all sensor data being stored in the BMI160’s built-in FIFO. Bosch Sensortec www.bosch.com

Sensor system AFE improves road hazards detection TI’s AFE sensor technology for automotive radar applications, a quad-channel analogue front end, doubles sampling speed and reduces power more than 30%: TI positions it as the fastest and lowest power baseband receiver analogue front end (AFE) for ADAS applications. The 4-channel AFE5401- Q1 is designed for the next generation of automotive radar applications where space constraints and increasing radar performance are driving a need for greater bandwidth, high integration and low power. Delivering twice the sampling rate and bandwidth spectrum of existing solutions, the AFE5401- Q1 enables quick position and speed discrimination of even the fastest moving scenes. At 30% less power and 20% less board space it enables a small device for optimal in-car installation. The 25Msamples/s-per-channel sampling speed enables automotive radar designers to implement industry- leading position and speed detection of fast-moving targets. The chip draws 65mW per channel, it comes in a 9x9mm, 64-pin QFN package. TI www.ti.com

www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 29 INDUSTRIAL COMPUTING

A duel of Atoms: Qseven vs COM Express Mini

By Zeljko Loncaric When Intel launched the first generation of the Atom pro- Qseven and COM Express. They offer developers the comfort cessor Z500 series (codenamed Silverthorne), this represented and safety of a standard board solution combined with the a major step forward in terms of multimedia features in compact flexibility of custom designs. COM manufacturers such as and mobile applications with X86 architecture. In the consumer congatec offer compatible, application-ready modules that market, it led to the emergence of Atom Inside netbooks, later are pre-integrated for many standards and real-time operating to be replaced by the first tablet PCs and smart phones. In the systems and already include all appropriate peripheral driv- industrial environment, advances were just ers. So the customer can buy compatible as exciting with increasingly smaller ITX modules to mount onto his own specific, single board computers and the introduction mostly custom-made carrier boards without of new computer module standards such as further costly adjustments. Thanks to close Qseven and COM Express Mini for specific cooperation between the module suppliers applications. With the launch of the new and chip manufacturers such as Intel, the generation of Atom processors (codenamed latest technology is available immediately Bay Trail), it is time for a fair comparison after the announcement of new building between the two computer modules. blocks for own implementations, without the need for difficult and expensive in-house Advances in Atom technology development effort. With the addition of some well-known Core i This reduces product development time processor extensions, such as out-of-order and costs quite dramatically. execution for faster chain of command Fig. 1: Footprint comparison: Qseven Another great advantage of the COM execution plus modern and competitive vs COM Express Mini Computer-on- concept is that the carrier boards continue graphics with DX11 and OpenGL 3.2 sup- to be manufactured in-house. This not Modules. port, Intel’s new Bay Trail Atom and Celeron only preserves resources and jobs but also processors are technologically back on trend. The new feature eliminates the need to share know-how, which often lies in the sets and options bring them significantly nearer to the Core i peripherals and connections, with outsiders. Thanks to the series and close the performance gap. variety of compatible modules, own products can often be ad- With manufacturing based on the latest 22nm tri-gate justed to individual customer requirements by simply swapping transistor technology, production costs and power consump- modules. However, for the whole process to work as described, tion are both reduced while performance the module manufacturer needs to have remains competitive. According to Intel, the all the required qualifications with years of same power consumption yields three times experience and also be able to provide the greater performance, while achieving the appropriate support for the development of same performance requires only one-fifth of custom boards. Even though the modules the power consumption of previous Atom themselves are standardized, a lot of useful processor generations. This means that the benefits are hidden in the detail, such as the computing power per watt is even greater scope and quality of the supplied firmware than with the latest ARM processors. For and software or operating system custom- the first time, the Atom and Celeron proces- izations. sors are now also available as quad-core It is particularly useful and practical if processors. These extend the range of the other important system components are previous dual-core processors with hyper- pre-integrated on the COM, or if configu- threading, which is no longer available for Fig. 2: COM concept exemplified by ration is an option. This is especially true the new processors. The updated Turbo Qseven computer module and carrier where battery management needs to be burst which, if necessary, allows individual expanded for mobile solutions, or an ad- board based on the Intel Bay Trail cores and the graphics to be clocked much ditional graphics unit is required for designs processor. higher depending on the load within the that offer extreme scalability in terms of thermal budget, ensures further performance gains. processor and graphics performance.

The COM concept facilitates fast product Advantages of COM Express Mini and development Qseven One of the best ways to integrate new processors into applica- The small module form factors COM Express Mini and Qseven tions are Computer-on-Module (COM) form factors such as developed for the Atom processors have both successfully established themselves in the market with their respective Zeljko Loncaric is Marketing Engineer at congatec AG - advantages. www.congatec.com The COM Express Mini form factor (55x84mm), which was

30 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com A8E_EE-Times-Eur_2-375x10-875_A8.qxd 5/27/14 3:

ount incorporated in the PICMG (PCI Industrial ace M Surf In) Computer Manufacturers Group) specifi- nd Plug cation in May 2012, offers a better choice (a and for compact applications. The existing Transformers COM Express design know-how can be Inductors used to quickly expand a product series immediately for even the smallest applications. With s full Catalog s.com Pico’ tronic DC power input ranging between 4.75 See coelec ww.pi and 20 volts, a broad base of applica- w tions with 5, 12 and 19 volts are possible. Fig. 3: Height comparison of Qseven Low Profile from Rectangular in shape, COM Express Mini module versus COM Express Mini in is 5% smaller than the Qseven module. typical application. ht. Qseven was specified by congatec, .18" MSC and Seco in July 2008 as an independent standard for small applications and incorporated in the SGET (Standardization Group Embedded Technologies) in 2012. By using the established MXM connector, it was simultaneously possible to reduce the costs for the connector and achieve a lower overall height. Because Qseven supports 2x24 Bit LVDS, it can control higher-resolution displays than COM Express Mini, which only supports 1x24 Bit LVDS. Revision 2.0 of the Qseven specification also ex- Audio Transformers Impedance Levels 10 ohms to 250k ohms, tends the use of ARM processors in order to achieve an even lower power dissipation. Power Levels to 3 Watts, Frequency Response Today, there are more than 20 manufacturers who develop and sell Qseven modules ±3db 20Hz to 250Hz. All units manufactured and tested to MIL-PRF-27. QPL Units available. in over 100 different variations. The technical features of both modules are very similar (see Fig 4). Ultimately, the Power & EMI Inductors choice of module is down to the experience of the user. If the aim is the “miniaturiza- Ideal for Noise, Spike and Power Filtering tion” of an existing COM Express solution, the Mini module is the preferred solution; Applications in Power Supplies, DC-DC Converters and Switching Regulators for complete redesigns, Qseven usually is the preferred choice. Pulse Transformers Similarities of COM Express Mini and Qseven with Bay Trail 10 Nanoseconds to 100 Microseconds. ET Rating to 150 Volt Microsecond, Manufactured Both module standards can support single-core to quad-core processors of the em- and tested to MIL-PRF-21038. bedded Atom E3xxx series as well as the appropriate embedded Celeron processors. The graphics are based on Intel Gen7, as in the HD3000 of Ivy Bridge. However, Multiplex Data Bus with the new Atom and Celeron processors there are only 4 instead of 16 execution Pulse Transformers Plug-In units meet the requirements units. In addition to the latest DirectX version 11 and OpenGL in version 3.2, hardware of QPL-MIL-PRF 21038/27. encoding/decoding of HD video, 3D stereoscopic output and two independent HD Surface units are electrical equivalents of QPL-MIL-PRF 21038/27. displays are supported. With the addition of AES-NI, the Atom and Celeron processors are for the first DC-DC Converter time providing hardware support for the widely used AES encryption algorithm. It is Transformers therefore now also possible to encrypt or decrypt data for transmission or storage Input voltages of 5V, 12V, 24V And 48V. Standard Output Voltages to 300V (Special with these processors in real time without voltages can be supplied). Can be used as self burdening the CPU significantly. This is saturating or linear switching applications. All units manufactured and tested to MIL-PRF-27. particularly important when using semiconductor mass storage devices (SSDs), 400Hz/800Hz since data can never be completely Power Transformers deleted. Intel® Virtualization VTx and ther- 0.4 Watts to 150 Watts. Secondary Voltages 5V to 300V. Units manufactured to MIL-PRF-27 Grade 5, mal monitoring are also supported. Class S (Class V, 1550C available). The new and improved power management supports power saving modes up to one week Delivery-Stock to C6 and – like some previous models – quantities Intel SpeedStep® technology. For added for sample security, it is possible to designate a specific boot loader with the UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) in the secure boot option to prevent the execution PICO Electronics, Inc. 143 Spar ks Ave. Pel ham, N. Y. 10803 of malicious software and other unwanted E Mail: [email protected] or unauthorized programs. www.picoelectronics.com With USB 3.0, DisplayPort, SATA Gen 2 Pico Representatives and PCI Express Gen 2, the new Bay Trail Germany processors are equipped with all the latest ELBV/Electronische Bauelemente Vertrieb E mail: [email protected] interfaces on-chip, thereby providing a Phone: 0049 (0)89 4602852 true system-on-chip (SoC). Fax: 0049 (0)89 46205442 England The modules run with up to 8 GB Ginsbury Electronics Ltd. soldered DDR3L memory; standard 4GB E-mail: [email protected] Fig. 4: Feature comparison of Qseven Phone: 0044 1634 298900 eMMC Flash is available for mass storage versus COM Express Mini pin outs. Fax: 0044 1634 290904 which can be used as SSD or boot de- www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 31 INDUSTRIAL COMPUTING

The performance is equal if not superior to recent Pentium and Celeron systems, which allows the use of compact, fully enclosed systems Fig. 5: Table comparing Bay Trail Intel processor versions for where complicated COM Express Mini and Qseven. cooling solutions were previously re- vice. In total, there are up to eight USB 2.0 ports, two of which quired. The additional can be used for USB 3.0 SuperSpeed. Four PCI Express 2.0 performance gain lanes and two SATA interfaces with up to 3 Gb/s enable fast also allows the use of and flexible system extensions. modern virtualization An Intel® I210 Gigabit Ethernet Controller guarantees best techniques, such as software compatibility. ACPI 5.0, I2C bus, LPC bus for easy hypervisors. integration of legacy I/O interfaces and Intel® High Definition The gap to the Audio complete the feature set. Windows 8, Windows 7, and high-performance embedded Linux operating systems are supported. Core i series processors has been Current uses and applications successfully closed Due to their compact footprint, high performance and low Fig. 6: Block diagram: conga-MA3 on COM with the latest Intel power draw, both modules are ideal for compact and semi- Atom generation and Express Mini vs conga-QA3 on Qseven. stationary applications in the medical and industrial auto- both Qseven as well mation sector. Special characteristics include the built-in, as COM Express Mini have broadly established themselves in touch-sensitive HD graphics with support of two independent, industrial applications. high-resolution screens and high operational reliability due to With M2M and “Internet-of-Things” (IoT) applications need- the exclusive use of ceramic capacitors. ing to become smarter and safer at the same time, Qseven and Unlike comparable ARM-based systems, full x86 code com- COM Express Mini modules supporting the Intel Atom E3800 patibility is provided with minimum power consumption. Exist- processor family (codenamed Bay Trail-I) provide the appropri- ing x86 applications can therefore continue to be used without ate embedded hardware. The validated combination of hard- any need to port them to a new platform. ware with software from McAfee and Wind River, the so-called Other application areas include fanless, passively cooled “Intel Gateway Solution for IoT”, provides a stable and secure digital signage and monitoring systems and display PCs, as well platform for all IoT applications and ensures secure communi- as standard industrial applications such as machine controllers. cation with the cloud.

Kalray launches 1TFLOP PCI Express TURBOCARD2. There is a big expectation from the market supercomputer on this card. Not only does it bring a huge computing power French multicore processor developer Kalray has launched a but it does so for a fraction of the energy needed by all other supercomputer on a PCI Express board that delivers 1TFLOPS acceleration solutions available on the market today” said Eric of processing for just 50W of power. The MPPA TURBO- Baissus, the new CEO of KALRAY. The TURBOCARD2 will CARD2 uses four of Kalray’s MPPA-256 manycore processors be shipped to key customers in September 2014 and general with 32Gbytes of DDR3 memory to boost servers and work- availability will be in Q4 2014. The MPPA ACCESSCORE SDK stations used in Oil & Gas, Computational Finance, Cryptanal- provides a nonesuch trace and debug tool to quickly develop ysis and Numerical simulation. Other applications include real and optimize an application, speeding up the development time transcoding of 4K UltraHD time by a factor of four, ac- video, compressing large amounts cording to customers. In April of data from seismic measure- Kalray raised $8m in funding ments for storage and genome and appointed Eric Baissus as sequencing. The TURBOCARD2 CEO to replace co-founder Jol is a full length, full height PCIe Monnier. Monnier remains as a board that can use either active non-executive director. Gilles or passive cooling and will also Delfassy and Eric Bantegnie, allow the deployment of 1 PFLOPS of double precision float- two prominent industry executive, also joined the companys ing point compute in two industry standard racks. Each of the Supervisory Board as President and Vice-President respec- processors provides 256 compute cores addressing 4 or 8 GB tively. Delfassy like Baissus worked at Texas Instruments of DDR3 memory as well as a series of high speed interfaces wireless division, and is now Chairman of the Board of Movea, such as two 8-lane PCIe Gen3, eight 10 Gb Ethernet and a and a director at both Imagination Technologies and Sequans unique low latency inter-chip interface called NoCX that scales Communications. Eric Bantegnie is the founder and CEO of up to 80Gbps. “We are delighted to answer the demand of test software house Esterel. our customers in the server market by addressing inten- Kalray sive computing and video processing applications with this www.kalray.eu

32 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com A29E_EET_2-375x10-875_A29E.qxd 5/27/14 3:19 PM Page 1

IoT gateway platform unites Intel’s Quark SoC and ASUS Cloud In collaboration with Intel and ASUS Cloud, AAEON has unveiled what the company claims to be the world’s first Intel Quark SoC gateway, the AIOT-X1000. The processor core at the heart of this system-on-a-chip (SoC) is a 32-bit, single-core, single-thread Intel Pentium instruction set architecture (ISA) compatible CPU operating at speeds up to 400 MHz. The SoC includes support for DDR3, Mini-PCIe, Ethernet, USB device, USB host, SD, UART, I2C, PIO, SPI, JTAG, IDE and WinRiver Linux. The AIOT-X1000 platform can support CAN Bus, PAN (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, RFID), LAN (Ethernet, t Wi-Fi), and WAN (2G/3G/LTE). Development for the u AIOT-X1000 is supported by the Intel Gateway Solu- s p tions for the Internet of Things (IoT) Development Kit DK100 and the Intel Gateway r t Solutions for IoT Production Kit PK100 Series. The gateway is designed to connect e u t edge devices to the cloud. It relies on the ASUS Cloud platform to connect and r O compile numerous signals on various types of smart devices and sensors, to have e such signals gathered, computed, and analyzed on the platform. v C AAEON n D www.aaeon.com o V

C 0 Rugged vehicle computers host Intel processors C 0 0 D The VERSO+ 10 computer with quick-install feature combines performance with max- , - imum ruggedness in the industry’s smallest form factor. Swedish company JLT Mobile 0 Computers has introduced the VERSO+ 10 computer with QuickLock, a new class C of rugged vehicle terminals. Equipped with an Intel Core i5 processor, the VERSO+ D 1 10 computer suits installations in tight cabins or other small o areas. With a quick-mount feature, QuickLock, the computer t

can easily be attached and detached in a vehicle. With a 10-in. V sunlight-readable XGA display and scratch resistant multi- 2 point touch, the unit is an extension of the heavy-duty JLT VERSO series that also includes 12-in. and 15-in. computers. It survives tough environments such as mining, ports, yard- • Over 2500 Std. DC-DC logistics, freezer storage, forestry, and agriculture. The computer comes with an Intel Converters Core processor or an Intel dual-core Atom D2550 processor. Built-in features include • Surface Mount a 9-36 VDC power supply, a backup battery to ensure uninterrupted operation during • From 2V to 10,000 VDC power drops, WLAN communication with built-in highly sensitive PIFA antennas, for Output reliable Wi-Fi connectivity in environments with poor coverage. • 1-300 Watt Modules JLT Mobile Computers • Isolated/Regulated/ www.jltmobile.com Programmable Models Available • Military Upgrades Available 4MP 60fps global shutter camera comes with quad core x86 • Custom Models, Consult ADLINK Technology has released the NEON-1040 smart camera, featuring the Factory quad core Intel Atom processor E3845 1.9 GHz, a 2048x2048 pixels at 60fps 1” ly mediate talog im .com monochrome CMOS global shutter image sensor, and PWM lighting control sup- full Ca tronics See icoelec port. The quad core CPU increases computing power, and FPGA coprocessors www.p and GPU deliver advanced image processing, both beyond the capabilities of conventional smart cameras. Rich software support and API compatibility further enable easy migration from original platforms, making it simple for system PICO Electronics, Inc. integrators to fulfill a variety of inspection application needs. 143 Sparks Ave. Pelham, N.Y. 10803 E Mail: [email protected] With FPGA coprocessor support, the NEON-1040 acceler- ates image pre-processing, including LUT (look up table) Pico Representatives Germany and ROI (region of interest), and shading correction, thereby ELBV/Electronische Bauelemente Vertrieb reducing CPU loading and enabling complex acquisition at E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 0049 89 4602852 high speeds The whole unit measures 68.5x110x52.7mm, Fax: 0049 89 46205442 housed in a sturdy, dust-proof, washable IP-67-rated casing England with M12 connectors Ginsbury Electronics Ltd. LiPPERT ADLINK Technology E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 0044 1634 298900 www.adlinktech.com Fax: 0044 1634 290904

www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 33 data ENCRYPTION & SECURITY

Hacking airliners: lessons learned in firmware integrity assurance

By David Kleidermacher In April 2013, a security consultant made headlines when he Secure boot and remote attestation claimed he could use an Android smartphone to hack in and Secure boot is the most obvious and effective way to prevent, commandeer commercial jets. The smartphone hacker used or at least detect, permanent roots. The goal of secure boot is Android to wirelessly inject malicious commands into a simu- to ensure that the entire platform, including its hardware, boot lated flight management system (FMS), which would cause the loaders, operating system, and critical applications – everything simulated aircraft’s autopilot to alter its flight accordingly, with that contributes to the establishment of known, trusted system horrific ramifications. state – is measured and found to be authentic. There are two major claims in the research. First, messages If the hardware and boot loader have the capability to load sent to the FMS are not cryptographically authenticated. Sec- the system firmware (operating system, hypervisor, entire TCB) ond, vulnerabilities in the FMS software enabled the unauthenti- from an alternative device, such as USB, rather than the intend- cated commands to actually hijack the plane. ed, trusted device (e.g. flash), then an attacker Soon thereafter, the FAA, EASA, and avion- with access to the system can boot an evil oper- ics firms issued general statements reassuring ating system that may act like the trusted oper- the public that the Android hacking demo is not ating system but with malicious behaviour, such feasible in actual aircraft. One vendor’s state- as disabling network authentication services or ment was more specific, stating that the simu- adding backdoor logins. But this is only one way lated FMS “doesn’t have the same protections to subvert systems that lack secure boot. against overwriting or corrupting as our certified Instead of a malicious boot loader or operat- flight software.” ing system, an evil hypervisor can be booted, Putting aside the concern about unauthenti- and the hypervisor can then launch the trusted cated messages (for which there exist plenty of operating system within a virtual machine. The obvious solutions based on digital signatures), evil hypervisor has complete access to RAM and this hack should be taken as a stern reminder hence can silently observe the trusted environ- to all electronics developers of the importance ment, stealing encryption keys or modifying of protecting the integrity of the critical firm- the system security policy. King, et al., provide ware/software used within their systems. Most a good example of this attack in a paper that computer systems in the world today have no describes SubVirt, a malware hypervisor. Another such protections in place, as evidenced by the infamous attack, called the BluePill, extended rootkit epidemic. In 2011, McAfee asserted the the SubVirt approach to create a permanent existence of over 2 million unique rootkits and rootkit that could easily be launched on the fly that 1200 new rootkits were being detected using weaknesses in the factory-installed Win- every single day. dows operating system. By ensuring that only trusted software is The typical secure boot method is to verify running on the platform, attacks like the one the authenticity of each component in the boot performed on the simulated aircraft cannot suc- chain. If any link in the chain is broken, the se- ceed or at least cannot go undetected. cure initial state is compromised. The first stage There are two ways that firmware integrity ROM loader must also have a hardware-protect- can be violated. First, the disk or flash blocks ed cryptographic key used to verify the digital that contain trusted software might be modi- signature of the next level boot loader. This key fied. Malware installation can be performed may be integrated into the ROM loader image with a physical attack on the storage system itself, installed using a one-time programmable or by using an operating system vulnerability Fig. 1: Secure boot chain. fuse, or stored in a local TPM that may provide to gain run-time access to the storage system. enhanced tamper protection. These are sometimes referred to “permanent roots” since they The signature key is used to verify the authenticity of the continue to operate even after a reboot. The second method is second stage component in the boot chain. The developer has to “hook” into the trusted software’s critical execution pathways the option of allowing any authentic image or a specific set of during run-time. known-good images (in which case, the known good signa- Much of the world’s modern operating system security tures must also be stored in the hardware-protected area). The research is centered on making it more difficult for malware to verification of the second level component covers its execut- take hold by obfuscating operating system execution (e.g. ad- able image as well as the known good signature and signature dress space layout randomization) and reducing general operat- verification key of the third stage, if any. The chain of verification ing system vulnerabilities. can be indefinitely long. It is not uncommon for some sophisticated computing systems to have surprisingly long chains or David Kleidermacher is CTO at Green Hills Software - even trees of verified components that make up the TCB. Figure www.ghs.com 1 depicts an example three level secure boot sequence.

34 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com The good news for secure boot is that most general-purpose rootkit attacks; secure boot is required to ensure that only the microprocessors have on-chip key storage for this root of trust trusted agent is installed and able to use these capabilities. And approach without requiring any other specialized hardware. the trusted agent itself must be secure against attack. Secure boot by itself does not prevent malicious imperson- A commercial example of hyperhooking is McAfee’s Deep- ation. For example, a smart meter can be ripped off of the tele- SAFE technology (Intel VT hardware specific), although little phone pole and replaced with a rogue smart meter that looks is publicized about what DeepSAFE actually does. Another the same but covertly sends private energy commercial example that uses Intel VT is accounting information to a malicious web Bromium’s vSentry, in which the hyperhook site. Users and administrators may require agent’s actions in response to hardware assurance that a deployed product is ac- traps can be configured via policy. Both tively running the known good TCB. DeepSAFE and vSentry attempt to retrofit When embedded systems are connected rootkit protection to sophisticated operating to management networks, remote attesta- systems. But as has been proven with other tion can be used to provide this important OS-visors like SELinux, there simply is too security function. A simple, hardware- much complexity in these operating sys- independent approach can be used for tems to manage and control. The retrofit will any computing system by establishing a only temporarily raise the bar for attackers. mutually authenticated connection (e.g. via In 2009, an excellent research paper IKE/IPsec or TLS). As long as the device’s demonstrated how thousands of Linux static private key and secure connection control functions could be protected against protocol software are included in the TCB manipulation using hyperhooking. Yet the validated during secure boot, the attester researchers admit that the technique fails to has assurance that the device is running address the independent problem of mal- known good firmware. An improvement to ware that manipulate dynamic data objects this approach, providing assurance that the (vs. control flow) to achieve their purpose. device is running a specific set of trusted Even the set of protected functions is not firmware components, is to have the client Fig. 2: Hyperhooking. complete; a single vulnerable control point transmit the complete set of digital signa- is sufficient to defeat the entire system. As tures corresponding to the TCB chain to the attester that stores the researchers state, “a fundamental limitation … is that hook the known good set of signatures locally. access profiles are constructed on dynamic analysis and thus may be incomplete.” The researchers admit that determining Hyperhooking the complete set of exploitable kernel hooks exploitable is an Secure boot and attestation do not protect against run-time “interesting research problem” with no known solution. subversion via some vulnerability – the genre used in the airliner hack. The software security industry is overflowing with snake Hyperhosting oil solutions claiming to prevent such malware. But every day Rather than use virtualization hardware hooks for operating brings a zero-day, and rootkits remain commonplace. system introspection, they can be used to remove and isolate Computer security and operating system firms are slowly critical capabilities of the operating system by moving them into coming to the realization that modern separate virtual machines or processes. sophisticated operating systems cannot Regardless of what malware may be be adequately protected from within, but successfully installed in the operating rather require some out-of-band mecha- system or its applications and services, nism. Due to its increasing availability the hyperhosted components remain in chipsets from all major embedded unaffected. microprocessor architectures, hardware- Hyperhosting scope can range from based virtualization support is rapidly simple cryptographic functions, such emerging as the mechanism of choice. as those commonly found in smart Hardware virtualization hooks en- cards, to full-scale secondary operating able a piece of software to take over system environments. The INTEGRITY control of the computer during certain Multivisor is an example of bare metal security-sensitive computing operations hypervisor that runs on ARM or Intel (e.g. operating system exceptions and processors and provides hyperhosting interrupts, supervisor mode instructions, capabilities. Unlike typical hypervisors, write accesses to sensitive memory INTEGRITY Multivisor can hyperhost locations, etc.). We introduce the term lightweight processes in addition to hyperhooking for this general security full virtual machines containing guest approach: the hardware virtualization operating systems such as Linux. hooks enable a trusted agent to look This architecture - see figure 3 - can for malware by examining system state Fig. 3: Hyperhosting security functionality. be used for malware hyperhooking, during these trapped operations – see network security, data encryption, figure 2. These are the same hardware hooks that commercial operating system root detection, system monitoring, etc. The hypervisors use to provide virtual machine services. hypervisor is built on top of separation kernel technology that The enterprising reader will note that these same hardware has been certified to numerous security and safety certifications virtualization hooks were used in the aforementioned hypervisor (including flight safety). www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 35 DATA ENCRYPTION & SECURITY

Securing cryptographic assets for the Internet of Things

By Michael Mehlberg

This article surveys various white box cryptography techniques for protecting critical cryptographic operations and data in an environment where white-box attacks are available. We will review the need for white-box cryptography, describe the techniques and technologies behind a typical white-box cryptography implementation, review how white- box cryptography prevents attacks on critical cryptographic data and operations, and discuss important features in any white-box implementation. Finally, due to the expanding need for software cryptography combined with a rise in threats and attacks in the Internet of Things, we aim to conclude that white-box cryptography should be considered an essential technology for protecting cryptographic operations in any software systems.

The need for white box cryptography The economic growth of the Internet of Things is unlike any other in recorded history. With estimates of over 200 billion connected devices by 2020, Internet-connected devices are influencing nearly every facet of modern life. The Internet of Things is impacting a multitude of markets from robot- ics to point-of-sale systems to mobile computing devices to 3D-printing. Embedded systems produced in these markets are helping to inform us, make autonomous decisions on our behalf, communicate with business associates and even Fig. 1: The relationship between the white-box and classical key manage our finances. is non-trivial making it impractical to reconstruct the classical key Access to data, information systems, and digital content using the tools available to a network-based attacker. on these systems is commonly protected by encryption. To protect encrypted information, it is imperative that the cryptog- mobile (laptops, tablets, phones), they become more accessible raphy key used to encrypt such data is never revealed. Stan- and therefore vulnerable to white-box attacks without appropri- dard cryptography implementations leave both the algorithm ate security measures. and key vulnerable to tampering and reverse engineering: the single point of failure for any crypto system is the instance in A white-box algorithm is typically obscured such that access which the key is used. This point is easily identifiable in modern to or knowledge of the implementation doesn’t compromise the systems using signature, pattern, and memory analysis. As an key material, even during cryptographic operations. A typical example, key extraction attacks against keys coded as literal white-box implementation of a cryptographic standard en- data arrays in unprotected software can typically be success- crypts, decrypts, signs, and verifies sensitive data in the same fully completed in a matter of hours. way as a classical implementation, yet it forces the attacker to reverse engineer complex mathematical transformations to White box cryptography overview obtain the secret key. White-box cryptography is a well-described method for obfus- Thus, white-box cryptography is useful wherever cryptog- cating a cryptographic algorithm such that the key material is raphy must be performed in a potentially vulnerable environ- sufficiently hidden from prying eyes. White-box cryptography ment, where the crypto keys and/or plaintext data must be aims to prevent critical information (such as a key) in crypto- protected, or where an untrusted user could take control of the graphic operations from being revealed to a would-be attacker host system. Such use cases include compromise of networked with full access to the system. systems, software delivered to business competitors, or com- The name “white-box cryptography” is derived from what is mercially deployed software with private keys. known as a white-box attack. As opposed to black-box attacks in which an attacker does not have access to system internals, Preventing attacks with white box a white-box attack is one in which the attacker has full access cryptography to the system, its memory, its software routines, etc. One can One relevant example of a high-profile attack is the 2014 Heart- safely assume, as modern systems become more open and bleed vulnerability that allowed an attacker to retrieve memory contents from vulnerable server-side software (namely OpenS- Michael Mehlberg is Vice President of Sales & Product SL) controlling security on a server. A properly constructed Management at Microsemi - www.microsemi.com Heartbleed attack allows the memory contents to be retrieved

36 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com which may contain portions of cryptographic key material used Side-channel resistance to secure communications between that server and the outside Resistance against side-channel attacks (such as simple or world. Exposing keys can lead to compromise the very (sen- differential power analysis) is paramount to protecting the sitive) data being protected by that secure communications key material from exposure. A solid white-box cryptography channel. implementation should utilize numerous side-channel analysis To protect encrypted information, it is imperative that the countermeasures to resist exposing the key to such attacks. key never reveals itself in memory or on disk. Standard crypto implementations (as were exploited in OpenSSL in the afore- Important obfuscations mentioned Heartbleed attack) leave both the algorithm and key Certain attacks against many cryptographic algorithms may vulnerable to tampering and reverse engineering. White-box yield well-known answers. Many times, standard cryptography cryptography mathematically transforms the key into a complex algorithm designs result in implementations that have funda- graph of numbers and executable code. This graph has multiple mental vulnerabilities to white-box attacks because they make valid paths randomly chosen at runtime based on a user-sup- an explicit assumption of executing on a secure host. A strong plied random source. white-box implementation should not preserve these vulner- Combining mathematical algorithms, data, and code ob- abilities. fuscation techniques to transform the key and related crypto operations in complex ways requires deep knowledge in multiple disciplines to attack. Importantly, the key is never present in static or runtime memory. Rather, the key becomes an inert collection of data that is useless without the uniquely generated white box algorithm. In short, replacing the standard cryptographic libraries with a white-box enabled library would never expose the keys, thereby preventing such attacks from ever being effective.

Important techniques in a white box implementation White-box products and technologies vary from institution to institution. Naturally, certain features and techniques are stronger than others. The following techniques should be considered fundamental to any white-box implementation for use in a potentially vulnerable system:

Diversity Rather than implementing a single white-box cryptography algorithm for all users (which would lead to break-once-run-everywhere attacks), code generators should be used to produce unique variants of the algorithms. This mitigates first pass observations of sensitive data (i.e., keys or selected plaintext). Uniquely, “tailored algorithms” also eliminate algebraic attacks that could easily unwind data protections that result from under- Fig. 2: A diverse white-box implementation should include standing a single standard implementation. randomization and multiple transformation obfuscations Algorithms should be implemented using alternate math- leveraging the underlying mathematics of the cryptography ematical methods. White-box algorithms should not simply au- algorithm. tomate transformations of standard algorithms. Each algorithm/ cipher should be modified in ways that leverage the specific White-box obfuscations should prevent well-versed attack- properties of the underlying mathematics; blanket transforma- ers from exposing the underlying mathematical principals of tion should never be applied over all algorithms. an algorithm to trick the algorithms into yielding an obfuscated version of a well-known answer. Additionally, obfuscations such Hardware binding as round boundary blurring should be employed to hide clear Software is inherently easier to attack than hardware. By simply cut attack points that would compromise, as an example, an copying the original software system bit for bit, an attacker is AES round. guaranteed unlimited attempts to break the system. Hardware however can enforce more permanent penalties. A strong white- Using white-box cryptography, keys are made unavailable box cryptography implementation should take advantage of to an attacker forcing them to go through the pain of reverse hardware when available to limit reverse engineering attempts engineering complex and numerous combinations of obfusca- on the obfuscated algorithm(s). tion transformations with a detailed understanding of Abstract One such technique includes hardware binding. Crypto- Algebra and Discrete Math. graphically binding a hardware identifier to the white-box Given the rise in mobile Internet connected devices com- algorithm and/or data forces an attacker to reverse-engineer a bined with a growing need for secure operations and com- complex, dynamically changing key-graph while tied to a single munications, a strong white-box cryptography implementation hardware system—a system that can enforce more permanent using (at a minimum) the techniques described above should penalties should an intrusion be detected. be considered an essential component to any software system using cryptography. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 37 DATA ENCRYPTION & SECURITY

Software is the new asset to protect in modern manufacturing

By Oliver Winzenried

Considering the entire span of human history, it seems or even illicit production shifts, resulting in revenue and a loss like yesterday when the first industrial revolution changed the of competitive advantages. From a technological point of view, complete structure of society, attracted people from the coun- their priority is to avert cyber-attacks in the form of reverse engi- tryside to central areas of aggregation, determined the creation neering, tampering, and piracy. Even though initially manufac- of cities, improved efficiency, and introduced quality standards. turers might be tempted to develop proprietary solutions, they Now, with Internet connection and utilities being available glob- soon realize that coping with a myriad of operating systems, ally and constantly, manufacturing sites can be built practically portable devices, and integrations with other platforms erode anywhere; they are automated to an extent that was unthinkable their resources. The answer comes from vendors who have just a few years back and been vertically focused on they can be monitored and digital rights management programmed remotely. for decades, who closely ob- This accelerated pace to- served the Internet of Things wards a machine-to-machine while it penetrated the indus- kind of control has shifted trial environment, and who the attention from hardware marshalled their resources to to software. Even if the need face this challenge. for physical access control These vendors’ solutions remains necessarily high, make use of existing tech- the threats have become nologies in completely new sneakier. On the other side ways. Take, for example, the of the planet, a hacker or a case of symmetric encryp- competitor can get hold of tion: the software is stored your machineries, tamper encrypted in the device’s non- the code, and severely damage the production cycle. However, volatile memory. At runtime, required parts of the software are the opposite is also true: you can maintain your machinery and decrypted in the RAM of the system. The cryptographic keys for guard your facilities from far away. this decryption need to be stored securely so that they cannot What can software developers, device manufacturers, and be duplicated. This is readily seen in TPM chips or smart card companies operating such systems as smart grids, traffic chips in industrial dongles. Such apparently simple, and yet control, and facility management actually do to guarantee innovative systems, protect the software embedded in a control cyber-security and even safety in their premises? Imagine device, and in turn hinders the theft or reproduction of intellec- some real scenarios: an attacker that develops a “fake” device, tual property. looking like the original but whose functions have been altered An additional solution is represented by also encrypting the for nefarious purposes; or a program code. This will pro- perpetrator who develops his tect the know-how by making own software and runs it by the use of decompilers and replacing the memory card disassemblers impossible. in the embedded system; or Additional measures are a transgressor who extracts necessary to avoid dumps of the memory card from the decrypted code from RAM. embedded system, manipu- Algorithms are often the result lates the software and plugs of intensive and expensive re- the card back into the system. search and development, and Or still someone that, without embody the unique selling even accessing the premises, points of a device or machine. controls the communication If able to analyze these algo- interfaces from outside and rithms and understand their alters the data. principle without large efforts, competitors can quickly imitate. Being aware of such dangers, manufacturers can implement More sophisticated security techniques protect against security measures aimed at multiple scopes. From a business tampering. In principle, a typical embedded system is powered perspective, their ultimate goal is to prevent the copying of up after the successful completion of multiple steps, associated machine designs, the unlawful transfer of essential know-how, to consecutive shells. It has to be kept in mind that an outer shell can access the memory of an inner shell, whereas in most Oliver Winzenried is the CEO and founder of Wibu-Systems - cases the opposite is not possible, as the outer shell (hardware www.wibu.com / boot loader) is the initial shell of the overall process.

38 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com The sequence below outlines the actions needed to imple- the actual boot loader. To prevent attacks from the outside, it is ment an integrity protection system. developed only once and cannot be updated on the system. The boot loader verifies the integrity of the operating system Private keys are then used for signing the program codes and loads it after validation. and parameters. These are saved in a secure hardware device. The operating system only starts once the boot loader has The certificates are saved as files and contain the public key, been validated to be trustworthy through a reverse check. validity restrictions (for example, an expiration date or a binding The operating system verifies the integrity of the application to a specific device), the purpose (for example, to sign the boot and loads it only if it has been validated. loader, the application, the configuration files, or to create other The application only starts if the operating system has been certificates), and the certificate of the key that was used to cre- validated to be trustworthy through a reverse check. The ap- ate this certificate chain. plication verifies the integrity of the configuration data and only The root certificate is stored securely and only used when uses it if successfully validated. new certificates must be created. The root certificate must not Should the configuration data also contain executable code, be compromised under any circumstances whatsoever. a verification of the application level of trust is also possible. The integrity of embedded systems can be ensured us- Additionally, the unprotected original software has to be ing cryptographic methods in a clearly defined process and signed and encrypted in accordance with the following proce- a secure hardware device for key storage and state machine. dure: Secure implementation of symmetric and asymmetric encryp- Hash values of the original software have been calculated. tion methods (AES, RSA, and ECC) as well as hash functions The hash value has been signed with the private key of the (SHA-256), functions for signature validation (ECDSA), and vendor. a random number generator allow the implementation of the The original software has been encrypted using a key that explained mechanisms. is generated from a seed value within the original software, a secret key of the vendor, and some other parameters that the One commercial solution offering encryption and signature publisher selects. of the program code, storage of the shared secrets for decryp- The public portion of the signature certificate has been at- tion, storage of the private keys on the vendor’s site, signature tached to the encrypted software. and hash verification during loading and runtime operations, The first part of the integrity check is the forward check, (i.e., the verification of the software to be loaded or the corresponding data) and consists of the following steps, which are executed while the application is being loaded: The encrypted software is decrypted if a valid license is present.. The certificate attached to the credentials or the certificate chain is verified against the public root key. The hash value of the decrypted original software is calculated. The signature of the hash is verified using the public key. Furthermore, extra measures can be implemented to increase the security to a higher level, such as advanced handling of certificates for the authorized use of a specific device. It is also possible to implement checks against a preset expiration date of the certificate, or the existence of a certificate revocation list. Such verifications can be executed periodi- cally at runtime in the system memory (watchdog). The backward check then verifies whether the boot process was executed correctly by the operating system. Unless this step is present, the integrity check of the operating system and support of both traditional computer platforms, as well as by the application is difficult to carry out because the subse- embedded systems like VxWorks, PLCs like CODESYS, and quent step has only limited access to the previous step. OPC UA authentication, communication encryption and certifi- To compensate for the missed access, a state machine in a cate deployment, is CodeMeter® from Wibu-Systems (www. trustworthy hardware is needed. Such configuration is found in wibu.com). CodeMeter’s technology, which received the CODiE the Trusted Computing Group. Award 2014 for Best Content Rights and Delivery Solution, goes By using the so-called Trusted Platform Modules, it is pos- beyond product and know-how protection: it also improves sible to save correct states in registers. These registers include, logistics and business processes. A fully integrated lean and for example, measurements of the boot loader, which will be flexible license management system responds to needs such considered later by the operating system to verify the integrity as license scalability, enablement of new business models, and of the previous step. upselling features. Time or volume-limited licenses are available At the end of the day, a safe first step is essential, since all for installation, maintenance, and repair services. This condi- subsequent checks depend upon its accuracy and requires that tional option generates interesting new business opportunities no attacker is ever able to decipher the code, or extract secret for mechanical engineers, as it allows product designs to be re- keys. One solution is called “System on Chip” (SOC), in which stricted to a defined production run or batch size. The machine these codes and keys are stored permanently on the chip, safe itself becomes a first line of defense against illicit products like from any reading or manipulation attempted from the outside. expensive designer fashions being produced in clandestine This compact pre-boot loader simply ensures the integrity of ‘third shifts’ and placed into the black market trade. www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 39 DATA ENCRYPTION & SECURITY

Ethereal encryption: Key management in the Cloud

By James Parry Hyper-connected enterprises are seeing data being inherently weak, transmitted insecurely or not rotated properly, made more accessible over multiple devices supported and any encryption used is immediately flawed and provides an synchronised from the Cloud. The hosting of data provides organisation with a false sense of security. Too many organisa- significant benefits in the form of economic and operational tions continually underestimate the importance of sensible key advantages, however security and privacy concerns remain management, which is very often left until the end of a project, regarding the utilisation of Cloud services. In a bid to address as an afterthought. By this stage it is often too late, leading to these and reassure customers post-PRISM, Cloud Service significant impact and a need to redesign, incurring an increase Providers (CSPs) are now offering Cloud encryption tools with in cost. Google, Amazon and Microsoft all recently adding server- In addition, if an organisation does side encryption capability to their existing cloud services. Yet not fully understand the entire busi- encryption can be a double-edged sword. Yes, it provides data ness life-cycle and required data protection by creating a barrier but at the same time it can be- sets, it cannot ensure the right type of come a barrier that impedes business if badly encryption mechanisms are applied to managed. the data in the right way. For example, As with many security projects, the prob- an organisation which has decided to lem lies in the perception of Cloud security. encrypt sensitive Human Resources Encryption tends to be offered as a solution (HR) data may not realise that its by IT with little regard for how it will mesh with finance department interfaces with the business process. All Cloud deployments the data set for payroll purposes on a are fundamentally about empower- monthly basis. This could have seri- ing the business but this focus can ous consequences if the encryption become blurred during discussions mechanisms have not been applied about security. When evaluating correctly. If the infrastructure architect encryption options, there are many factors that must be consid- does not realise that sensitive personal records such as Crimi- ered so as not to impede access, breach governance require- nal Record declarations are held in the HR system, they may ments or disrupt other business functions. not apply the correct type of encryption. What about system integration? How will they know what can and cannot be done Easy to get wrong to the data and at what points in its life, if integration require- It is far easier to get cloud encryption wrong than it is to get it ments are not understood? right. There are a number of areas which pose substantial risk to an organisation’s data and their required cloud encryption Transparent encryption strategy. The more complex the cloud infrastructure becomes, Providers have become conscious of the scenario where the the more thought and consideration needs to be applied to the payroll clerk in the HR may be more preoccupied with doing encryption strategy. his/her job efficiently and effectively than with the “latest and Getting it wrong can result in catastrophic consequences, greatest” encryption engine deployed on the backend. For this ultimately impacting any solution’s integration capability, reason, many engines are designed to operate in the back- speed and search-ability as well as having dire consequences ground. Making it transparent to the end user means “letting on maintaining confidentiality and the integrity of stored and the machines do the work” and this includes the requirement to processed data. Getting it right demands careful design and the provide key retrieval, tokenising or reversing queries to access correct application of encryption around the business life-cycle: data as quickly and securely as possible. this requires understanding the business life-cycle in detail, While many system providers have proactively integrated understanding the data and developing comprehensive require- encryption capabilities, early adopters being storage and ments before working with the CSP to develop an encryption database providers, CSPs have been late to the party, offering system – but more importantly, don’t forget the keys! traditional protection for data at rest but treating everything else This may seem obvious but many organisations do exactly as an afterthought or out of the scope of their delivery. Because this. Consumed by the need to ensure the systems have ac- of this, it is essential to closely examine exactly what is on offer cess, they endanger the keys by design. Key derivation, storage and how it will be managed. and management must be carefully considered. Technology When it comes to assessing cloud encryption key manage- can provide the most robust encryption mechanisms available, ment providers, look at their credentials. If they are using a but if access and storage of keys are not controlled in an ap- product, what is it, how is it built and to what standards? Some propriate manner, it all goes to waste. Similarly, if your keys are standards such as NIST FIPS 140-2 also include key management mechanism considerations and may provide a suitable James Parry is Senior Consultant and Technical Architect at level of assurance for the majority of cases. Does the provider data, ICT and security consultancy Auriga – www.auriga.com - abide by or is certified against ISO27001? And if so, how He can be contacted at [email protected] widely does the scope of its certification apply? What clearance

40 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com processes are staff members subject to? Also, consider under management, what happens if a compromise is discovered? whose jurisdiction the keys will fall: make sure your keys are not Who gets notified? What happens to existing keys? What gov- being held in a country where access to them can be mandated ernance requirements and expectations need to be met? by the state without due process being employed. Organisations must also ensure access to keys is made Yet, while this is all sound advice, obtaining this level of detail available at all times, as business continuity is paramount. Ask from large a CSP can prove difficult. In such circumstances, the organisation what they do with regards to their Business organisations will need to put in the hard graft themselves by Continuity Plan (BCP). Are they BS25999/ISO22301 certified? carefully considering the potential consequences and appropri- What guarantees are in place that access to the keys will be ately risk assessing any potential outcomes before proceeding. maintained at all times and what Service Level Agreements Organisations must also be wary of using CSPs with proprietary (SLAs) are in place? encryption software and mechanisms. What happens when you Cloud encryption and key management are still nascent decide to move to a new Cloud Provider, for instance? markets but are becoming an integral part of service offerings It is also more difficult to protect your data when you are rather than a bolt-on. Many of the large CSPs such as AWS and retro-fitting encryption to an already established cloud solu- Azure have begun to offer key management services to sup- tion. By design, encryption should be intrinsic to the solution: port their existing and established service offerings. In addition, it should be considered from the outset, enabling a provider more and more key management organisations are entering to offer a solution which applies the most appropriate type of the market because this service is seen as a lucrative addition encryption to the right parts of the infrastructure. In addition, to existing web-based ICT offerings. There is a temptation for be wary of how the solution has been implemented. Spend these providers to think that if they can provide online backup, time researching options, arranging a trial and even prototyp- they can provide key management, however this is a specialist ing a solution, and be sure your organisation understands its area. The more companies that offer these services without fully feature set and any limitations before a decision is made. It is understanding the nuances, the more likely there will be a major very common for most solutions to appear to use standard and compromise or loss of keys. established encryption algorithms such as AES-256, however In the future, key management is likely to become part of the implementation and storage of the encrypted data often business intelligent encryption solutions which integrate with result in a proprietary product that is not compatible with other existing security tools and give rise to the concept of ‘enterprise provider offerings. A good example of this are the products pro- encryption in a box’. However for now, existing key manage- vided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, and ment and storage requirements will continue to be extended the inability to migrate data in its original raw encrypted form beyond the physical boundaries of traditional ICT. Key manage- between the two services. At present, considerable migration ment and storage requirements are already integrated into most planning and effort would be required to transfer data between governance and regulatory regimes. What is new is the out- the two platforms. sourced nature of today’s key management options. Outsourcing key management will require additional con- Keeper of the keys tractual and physical requirements within the existing gover- Try to utilise asymmetric keys where possible and ensure the nance and regulatory regimes: a requirement that will continue derivation and management process is robust. Always ask to become more important as the market grows. Compliance where the keys are to be stored and understand the mecha- regimes such as ISO 27001 seem to have enough catch-alls to nisms in place for the management of those keys. Wherever you capture out-sourced key management and storage at the mo- employ encryption, ensure you understand where your keys are ment but as the market matures, expect to see more pressure held, who has access to them and when, and what supporting brought to bear upon the CSP. After all, he who keeps the keys processes are in place. For example, with regards to incident rules the world.

Dual radio transceiver for Car-to-X applications Key Features of the TEF510x include an RF-Transceiver for With the second product for its RoadLink family of after the global C2X standards, covering Europe, US and Japan, as well SAF10x baseband chip, NXP continues as DSRC and Wi-Fi (802.11abgn) stan- to populate the market for Car-t-X prod- dards and support for various antenna ucts. The TEF510x dual radio multi band configurations and diversity schemes. RF transceiver provides OEMs and tier ones with a 802.11p modem that sup- Together with SAF510x, the new chip ports global deployments and multiple enables best-in-class 802.11p reception system configurations. The TEF510x performance and communication range meets Japanese 760Mz C2X require- for mobility use cases even in non-line- ments, US and European (5.9GHz) as of-sight conditions. well as Wi-Fi and DSRC (5.8GHz) speci- AEC-Q100 qualification scheduled for fications. It will be released for automo- 2015. tive production in 2015 and is expected NXP named Japanese component to be available to consumers in 2016. manufacturer ALPS Electric as an early Together with the SAF510x baseband processor jointly devel- adopter of the RoadLink platform. As part of its commitment to oped by NXP and its Car2X technology partner Cohda Wireless, deliver connected car technology, ALPS chose the NXP/Cohda the RoadLink TEF510x takes C2X communications to the next tandem for its application-ready C2X solution, level by bringing safety-critical information to the driver signifi- NXP cantly faster than current, conventional applications can. www.nxp.com/connected-mobility

www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 41 Trace and edit your ECU calibration data MOSFET transistors aim for extreme The new CDM Studio software tool from Vector supports temperatures efficient editing and management of parameter set files used X-REL Semiconductor has broadened its XTR2N family of high- in ECU calibration. This tool lets users conveniently display, temperature MOSFET transistors by introducing two new mid- compare and edit calibration parameter values. It supports power P-channel and two small-signal P- and N-channel tran- all commonly used data formats sistors intended for high-reliability, such as ASAM CDF 2.0, DCM, Intel extreme temperature and extended Hex, Motorola-S, PAR and PaCo. lifetime applications. The mid-power This broad support for both tradi- P-channel transistors introduced are tional and emerging new file formats divided into two families depend- makes CDM Studio a tool with high ing upon the maximum operating flexibility today and into the future. voltage. Devices XTR2N0325 and ECU calibrators can also read in parameter set files directly XTR2N0350 are intended for a maximum operation drain-source from external tools, such as INCA from ETAS or Vision from voltage of -30V, whereas XTR2N0525 and XTR2N0550 can sus- Accurate Technologies, and manage them. When performing tain drain-source voltages of up to -50V. In each sub-family, two complex tasks, filters are used to reduce the number of vis- different transistor sizes, “25” and “50”, are available providing ible parameters. It is easy to set parameter values and merge two possible maximum drain currents. The small signal transis- parameters from different files into new revision levels. Si- tors released are the XTR2N0307 30V P-channel MOSFET, and multaneous comparison of multiple parameter set files gives the XTR2N0807 80V N-channel MOSFET. The XTR2N0307 small users an overview of the different parameterization variants. signal 30V P-channel has an on-state resistance at 230°C of A number of different comparison reports can be quickly 7Ω, whereas that of the XTR2N0807 small signal 80V N-channel generated for post-processing. CDM Studio saves the devel- is 9.1Ω, with respective continuous drain currents of 350mA opment status of individual parameters in ASAM CDF 2.0 or (900mA peak) and 200mA (450mA peak). The devices are able PaCo files together with a history of the maturity level. The to reliably operate well below and above the -60°C to +230°C calibration data files may be saved as M-script or code files (5 years at +230°C) temperature range. The expected lifetime of (in C or hex format) to enable integration of parameter values X-REL Semiconductor parts in a driver application operating at into the software development process. Tj=150°C is over 35 years. Informatik X-REL Semiconductor www.vector.com www.x-relsemi.com

Recuperation heater offloads battery USB data acquisition unit with dedicated 24-bit in electric vehicles A/D converters The REOHM BWD330 is a high voltage recuperation heater With the DT9826 series, Data Translation offers a USB data for electric vehicles. Forming an integral part of the vehicle acquisition series that features a 24-bit A/D resolution and a thermal management system, the D330 reduces energy high measurement accuracy along with all the advantages of consumption and offers a dedicated A/D converter increased cooling efficiency for each channel as well during emergency braking. In as galvanic isolation. The conventional fuel engines, any modules are available with 4, waste heat generated is usu- 8 or 16 analog inputs, each ally reused to heat the cabin. providing sampling rates of up However, until now electric to 41.6 kHz. In combination vehicles have had to use with the 16 digital I/O chan- electrical energy for heating both the cabin and the batteries nels, two counter/timers and during winter. This has the detrimental effect of diminish- a tachometer input as well as ing battery life, increasing the running cost and detracting the included QuickDAQ ready-to-measure application software, from the potential maximum range. The key barrier to the the series supports a wide variety of portable high-precision adoption of electric vehicles has been battery life and range. measurement applications. The analog inputs, the digital I/O The BWD330 minimises this dependency on the battery by channels and the two counter inputs are galvanically isolated using the energy generated from the act of braking, which is (±500 V) to protect the computer, and can be run simultane- stored and reused for heating as and when required. Besides ously and synchronously. This allows the acquisition of analog improving the energy efficiency, the BWD330 saves space - it and digital I/O signals from all subsystems at once, even at the occupies 66% less installation space than standard units, full sampling rate. The additional tachometer input can measure claims appliance manufacturer REO UK who developed and rotational speeds and also be used for high-resolution phase produces the recuperation heater. The unit weighs less than measurements between the tachometer input and the A/D sam- 10kg with a rating of 420-450V DC and a maximum braking ples. All USB modules ship with the QuickDAQ measurement power rating of 60kW. In the event of drive system failure, software as well as 32/64 bit drivers for the standard Windows the heater unit can discharge the DC link to safely dissipate operating systems and a comprehensive range of software unwanted power. tools, such as interfaces for LabVIEW, MATLAB and .NET. Reo Data Translation www.reo.co.uk www.datatranslation.eu

42 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com Reference design drives Cree LEDs Rugged 1200V IGBTs reduce losses, as standard lamp bulbs offer longer lifetimes Power Integrations has released a driver reference designs for STMicroelectronics’ 1200V IGBTs use second-generation Cree LED bulbs, representing a simple, reliable drivers that will trench-gate field-stop high-speed technology to yield up enable efficient, long-lasting PAR 30 and PAR 38 bulb formats. to 15% lower turn-off losses and up to 30% lower turn-on A total of four reference designs losses. The saturation volt- describe drivers for dimmable PAR age (Vce(sat)) down to 2.1V 30 and PAR 38 LED light bulbs. (typical, at nominal collector Jointly developed by Power Inte- current and 100°C) ensures grations and Cree, the designs use minimal overall losses for Power Integrations’ LYTSwitch-4 higher-efficiency operation driver ICs and CREE MT-G2 at switching frequencies EasyWhite LEDs. DER-364 and above 20kHz. Offering DER-365 detail low- and high-line PAR 30 LED bulb drivers, re- increased energy efficiency spectively, while DER-350 and DER-396 address low- and high- and ruggedness in applications such as solar inverters, weld- line PAR 38 bulbs. These reference designs are hosted at www. ers, uninterruptible power supplies, and Power-Factor Cor- powerint.com/ledrivers/cree LYTSwitch-4 ICs are highly efficient rection (PFC) converters, these 1200V IGBTs offer the option and deliver accurate output current regulation in bulb and tube of an integrated very fast-recovery anti-parallel diode for op- replacement applications and high-bay lighting. The devices timum performance in hard-switching circuits and minimising simplify design and reduce cost while ensuring that lamps energy losses in circuits with a freewheel diode. The IGBTs deliver uniform light output and perform in TRIAC-dimmable ap- are also extremely rugged, with latch-up-free operation at up plications. LYTSwitch-4 ICs combine PFC and constant current to four times the nominal current, and minimum short-circuit in a single-stage topology, resulting in power factor greater than time of 5 µsec (at 150°C starting junction temperature). The 0.95 and typical efficiencies of better than 90%. The single- extended maximum operating junction temperature of 175°C stage approach also eliminates temperature-sensitive electro- helps enhance service lifetime and simplify system cooling. A lytic bulk capacitors, increasing the bulbs’ reliability and lifetime. wide Safe Operating Area (SOA) boosts reliability in applica- LYTSwitch-4 ICs also operate at a high switching frequency tions where high power dissipation is required. (132 kHz), enabling smaller, lower-cost magnetics to be used, STMicroelectronics while frequency jittering reduces the need for EMI filtering. www.st.com Power Integrations www.powerint.com HDMI 2.0 compliance test and debug package Battery-free RFID resistance meter tag includes 4K coverage Farsens’ RMETER is a battery-free RFID resistance meter Tektronix has a Method of Implementation (MOI) using a fully tag: it is a full passive RFID tag that measures the resistance automated compliance test and debug solution for the recently value of the device connected to it with a 10Ω to 10 MΩ released HDMI 2.0 specification, that has been approved by the range. The RMETER RFID sensor tag transmits a unique HDMI forum as the official compli- identifier and the associated resistance measurement data to ance solution. The Tektronix solution a commercial EPC C1G2 reader without the need of a battery provides comprehensive coverage on the sensor tag. This device can measure resistances in a of the required HDMI 2.0 transmitter range from 100 Ω to 500 kΩ with an accuracy of ±3%. It also and receiver electrical PHY tests to offers an extended operation range from 10 Ω to 10 MΩ with ensure consistent interoperability. an accuracy of ±7%. The RMETER has a 96 bits EPC num- The Tektronix HDMI 2.0 test solu- ber, a 32 bit TID and a password-protected Kill command. tion reduces test set-up complexity The tag comes in a variety of antenna designs and sizes through the use of new automation framework for Transmitter to adapt the performance to the required application in the testing and a direct synthesis approach for Receiver testing 860-960 MHz band. The reading distance for the battery-free that eliminates the need for additional equipment such as cable thermistor tag is around 1.5m and it can be embedded in a emulators and noise stressors. The successor to the widely- wide variety of materials such as plastics or concrete. It can adopted HDMI 1.4a/b standard, HDMI 2.0 is designed to meet also be encapsulated in an IP67 or IP68 casing for usage in the bandwidth requirements of forthcoming Ultra HD or 4K harsh environments. Evaluation kits are available. The RME- televisions while using existing cabling for backward compat- TER can be used without batteries, allowing for a wide range ibility. It significantly increases bandwidth to 18 Gbps and adds of opportunities monitoring resistance in applications where such features as 32 audio channels and simultaneous delivery the accessibility is restricted, or where the use of batteries of video and audio streams to multiple users. As with previous is not recommended. RMETER tags offer R&D teams the HDMI versions, compliance and debug test solutions are criti- opportunity of using proprietary resistance based sensors in cal to ensuring successful implementation of the specification. battery-free mode. Typical resistance based sensors include With the Tektronix AWG70000 arbitrary waveform generators, thermistors, light dependent resistors (LDRs), soil moisture engineers can produce required receiver test signals and speci- sensors or strain gauges amongst others. fied impairments automatically using direct synthesis methods Farsens which reduce test setup time and additional instrument cost. www.farsens.com Tektronix www.tektronix.com www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August2014 43 Ceramic capacitors feature Flexible, future-proof PXIe vector signal reduced acoustic noise analyzer covers 1 MHz to 3 GHz or 6 GHz A range of MLCCs from Murata have an extra interposer In this video learn about Agilent’s M9391A PXIe Vector Signal substrate that reduces acoustic “squealing” noise The ZRB Analyzer which covers 1 MHz to 3 GHz or 6 GHz and provides series of monolithic ceramic capacitors (MLCC) is pack- 40 MHz (standard), 100, or 160 MHz analysis bandwidth. The aged on an interposer substrate instrument features designed specifically to reduce easily upgrad- acoustic “squealing” noise typically able hardware induced by mechanical vibration of with license keys. the capacitor. Available in the same M9391A leverages size as conventional MLCCs, the PXIe to reduce RF ZRB is available in EIA 0402 (1.0 components test x 0.05 mm) and EIA 0603 (1.6 x 0.8 mm) package formats times by enabling with working voltages of 6.3, 10, 16 and 25 VDC. With this power servos to approach, the ZRB becomes a replacement part to update converge faster an end-application design without the need for modification with outstanding of the PCB layout. This form of acoustic noise has become of linearity, repeatabil- concern for the electronics industry and affects many types ity and absolute amplitude accuracy. It is ideal for high speed of consumer electronics devices such as laptops, tablets and embedded hardware accelerated Power, Spectrum and IQ smartphones. The PCB can (mechanically) amplify the audio measurements and in addition supports X-series measurements noise generated by the capacitor, so by using an interposer applications for modular instruments that include resource man- substrate the MLCC becomes mechanically isolated from ager software to quickly switch between hardware commands the PCB. Reduction in audio noise can be achieved against a and standards-based measurements. traditionally designed MLCC. Agilent Murata Europe www.agilent.com www.murata.eu Testing analog radio equipment digitally Microcontrollers target capacitive sensing for The CMA180 Radio Test Set from Rohde & Schwarz is designed for manufacturing tests and servicing of analog HMI applications radio equipment. The instrument combines all features of a Silicon Labs’ energy-efficient capacitive sensing microcon- high-end product trollers (MCUs) are aimed at human-machine interfaces (HMI). with a price level The C8051F97x MCU family combines Silicon Labs’ ultra- of a midrange low-power technology with the instrument. The industry’s fastest, most accurate R&S CMA180 capacitive sensing to provide touch Radio Test control solutions for the Internet of Set covers the Things, home/building automation, frequency range consumer and industrial markets. from 100kHz to Silicon Labs’ F97x MCUs offer low- 3GHz. Thanks to its large touch screen display and its clearly est energy consumption in active, sleep and deep-sleep modes, structured menu, it can be operated easily and quickly. Test claiming the longest battery life of any 8-bit capacitive sensing signals are generated by an integrated ARB generator and MCUs. With 200 A/MHz active current, the F97x MCUs com- controlled by software. Thus, users can generate any desired bine low energy consumption and system performance. The output signal shape at a bandwidth of up to 20MHz - a MCUs 2 sec wake time minimises energy consumption while feature that normally characterize much more expensive in- transitioning from sleep to active mode. The F97x MCUs offer struments. The ease of operation also becomes visible in the the lowest sleep mode energy consumption in their class: 55 nA way, users can generate additional signals just by a couple sleep current with brownout detector enabled and 280 nA sleep of mouse clicks - according to Rohde & Schwarz an industry current with a 16.4 kHz internal oscillator. The F97x MCUs tar- first among radio measuring stations. For instance, users this get battery-powered and capacitive touch sensing applications way can generate interfering signals to test common-channel for handheld industrial devices, toys, gaming machines and suppression. In addition, service technicians and test engi- remote controls, as well as touch-panel switch replacements for neers can utilize the integrated sequencer to generate au- white goods such as washers, dryers, ovens and dishwashers. tomated test runs. The power input of the CMA180 accepts The F97x MCU family offers capacitive sensing technology with signals of up to 100W continuous power and 150W peak - a sub-micro-amp (<1 A) wake-on-touch average current, 16-bit feature that has no comparable test station. Thanks to its resolution and 100:1 dynamic range to support buttons, sliders, digital signal processing, the CMA180 achieves very exact wheels, and capacitive proximity sensing with up to 43 chan- results - something that makes the instrument suited for nels and multiple scanning modes. They incorporate Silicon Software Defined Radios (SDRs). As an option, highly exact Labs SAR charge-timing capacitance-to-digital converter (CDC) power measurement heads are available for power tests. technology. Rohde & Schwarz Silicon Labs www.rohde-schwarz.de www.silabs.com

44 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com Reference platform enhances Bluetooth 50A point-of-load regulator features infotainment options dynamic loop compensation Open Synergy’s Blue SDK (v4.3) for the CE4A Bluetooth Refer- With output uprated to 50A, this regulator offers high power ence Platform is now available. This platform integrates Blue density of 32.61 W/cm-cubed (534 W/in-cubed) and 25% SDK with a variety of automotive-relevant profiles. Thanks to more output current compared to previous version and in the update, it is now possible to display the album cover of the same footprint. Dynamic Loop the current track and download and browse calendar entries, Compensation improves stability: to-do lists, and notes. In addition, support for missed calls has paralleling of seven modules with been improved. CE4A has adopted all new features provided phase-spreading delivers 350A, by the update. Since 2009, device manufacturers have been while ripple-and-noise is reduced to able to use the reference platform to test the Bluetooth fea- the lowest possible level. Ericsson’s tures in their products, ensuring conformity with the automotive 3E series BMR464-50A is a third- industry requirements. The integrated Bluetooth stack with its generation digital point-of-load (POL) regulator that features wide range of features and the profiles with all mandatory and Dynamic Loop Compensation (DLC) and also extends output optional features of the Bluetooth specification enable manufac- current up by 25% to 50A from the 40A offered by the turers to implement each of the many test scenarios that they BMR464-40A, yet it comes in a fully compatible footprint. require to be able to install Bluetooth applications in car kits The product also features a full set of PMBus commands and infotainment systems. To do so, CE4A uses the Hands-free enabling systems architects to fully monitor and dynamically (HFP), Phone Book Access (PBAP), Message Access (MAP), control the energy delivered to strategic components, such Audio Video Remote Control (AVRCP), SIM Access (SAP), and as processors, FPGAs and ASICs, down to a very low and Personal Area Networking (PAN) profiles. The new release also highly economical level. Embedding the latest Dynamic Loop includes updates to other profiles, as well as adds new ones: Compensation technology, the BMR464-50A runs the DLC AudioVideo SDK v3.0 – with AVRCP 1.6 and support for AVRCP algorithm as default following the enabling of the output. Cover Art, enabling users to browse and display metadata, such However, three more settings are also available via the PM- as the album cover of the current track. CTN SDK 1.0 – imple- Bus for systems architects to choose the most appropriate mentation of the Bluetooth calendar, tasks, notes profile for method for the application with the DLC algorithm run every v1.0, enabling users to download and browse calendar entries, second or every minute or simply disabled. to-do lists, and notes. Ericsson Power Modules Open Synergy www.ericsson.com www.opensynergy.com

SiTime offers MEMS oscillator Rigol adds MSO functionality to its DS2000A for wearables, IoT and DS1000Z scopes SiTime has announced the SiT1552, a drop-in replacement The MSO extensions of Rigol Technologies’ digital oscilloscope for a 32kHz temperature-compensated crystal oscillator. The series DS2000A and DS1000Z, announced in February, are device is expected to win design slots in wearable equipment now available. The mixed-signal extension provides additional and Internet of Things applica- functionalities to the user. tions. SiTime claims the 1552, Both models leverage Rigol’s in its 1.5mm by 0.8mm chip- ultra-vision technology from scale package, is the smallest the DS6000 series, offering MEMS TCXO available and is superior performance and func- 20 percent of the size of quartz tionality in this class. Designed TCXO. Also when compared to reduce test time in research, with quartz TCXO the 1552 is development and failure half the power drawing less than 1-microamp and half the analysis applications, the DS2000A and DS1000Z series digital thickness at 0.55mm package height. The 300ms startup oscilloscopes facilitate detecting signal and device characteris- time is one tenth of quartz; the 500 million hours MTBF is 15 tics with comprehensive trigger functions, hardware based real times higher than quartz and the shock resistance is 30 times time waveform records, replay, search and analysis functions. that of quartz, SiTime said. The device can be used for such The multilingual user interface allows easy configuration of functions as a reference for real time clock (RTC) function, the oscilloscopes in the local language. The analogue specs a sleep clock for connectivity – Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low are similar to the existing DS1000Z and DS2000A devices, Energy, WiFi. Additional features of the SiT1552 include: but were extended by 16 digital MSO logic analyser channels. ±5 PPM frequency stability that enables two to three times The sample rate is now 1 GS/s for 8 DIOs and 500MS/s for 16 longer battery life compared to a 180ppm quartz resonator, DIOs. The wfrm/s waveform capture rate along with the 256 a programmable low voltage swing output that interfaces level intensity grading 8” display enables usrs to quickly identify directly to the oscillator or real-time clock circuit in the appli- infrequent events. Trigger functions include, among others, cations processor or power management IC and 1.5 to 3.6V runt, setuphold, windows, edge, and automatic measurements operation making it suitable for use with coin-cell or superca- with statistics. These digital oscilloscopes feature serial bus pacitor battery backup. trigger and decodes such as I2C, SPI, RS232, CAN Bus (MSO SiTime Corp. DS2000A) as well as advanced math functions. www.sitime.com Rigol Technologies www.rigol.com www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 45 Reader Offer

Time-of-flight sensor brings gesture Prototyping with ARM Cortex-M: recognition to car cockpit Get the Altium boost Belgian chipmaker Melexis is utilizing the time-of-flight 3D motion sensing technology from software company SoftKinet- This month, Altium Ltd is offering EETimes Europe’s read- ics, also from Belgium, to implement a sensor chip that detects ers the chance to win one TASKING VX-Toolset for ARM gestures to control several functions within Cortex-M Premium Edition, normally licensed for 2.395 the car. Thus, the Melexis chip enhances Euros, for ultra-rapid prototyping and code development the range of basic technologies to be em- around ARM Cortex-M based microcontrollers. ployed in Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs): The VX-toolset for ARM is the first TASKING compiler suite Besides pusing buttons, turning knobs or to receive the Software issue spoken instructions to the vehicle, now Platform technology, HMI concepts also can include gestures. which is seamlessly The technology will be used in the infotainment domain in the integrated into the tool- first place. The MLX75023 camera sensor, featuring SoftKinetic set’s Eclipse based IDE. technology and manufactured in Melexis’ Automotive grade The complete offering CMOS mixed signal process, is the highest resolution 3D sen- also includes a C/C++ sor available. Unlike competing implementations, it works in full compiler, simulator and sunlight, making it the perfect solution for a vehicle’s cockpit. hardware debugger, It can be used for natural 3D gesture recognition and driver and a wide collection monitoring, bringing a new level of infotainment navigation of frequently used middleware components, such as TCP/ control and safety features. The MLX75023 features a resolution IP, USB, CAN, web server, graphical user-interface, and an in QVGA format (320 x 240 pixel). It represents an implementa- RTOS. At the cost of a traditional development toolset the tion of SoftKinetic’s DepthSense 3D Imaging technology and developer gets everything needed to build an application will typically be used with that company’s image processing much faster than is possible with other compiler suites and software. Now drivers can adjust the temperature and radio, additional third party middleware components. or make a phone call, using simple gestures and without taking their eyes off the road. Driver behavior and context can be Check the reader offer online at monitored, creating a safer environment for all passengers. Melexis www.electronics-eetimes.com www.melexis.com

Paper-thin batteries target Internet-of-Things Acoustic middleware improves hands-free STMicroelectronics has announced limited production of its EnFilm advanced rechargeable batteries that are less than sound quality 0.25mm thick. These paper-thin batteries free designers from The weakest part of the communications link in cars typically the constraints of standard battery sizes for personal tech- is not the wireless connection but the sound quality of the nology and Internet- hands-free equipment. Software maker QNX now has intro- of-Things (IoT) duced a new version of its Acous- devices. At 220µm tics middleware platform that could thick and measur- resolve this problem. QNX Acous- ing 25.7x25.7mm, tics for Voice 3.0 targets high-end ST’s EFL700A39 hands-free equipment and voice EnFilm solid-state recognition systems, offering im- lithium thin-film bat- proved echo cancellation and noise tery is suited for use reduction, adaptive equalisation, and automatic volume control. in ultra-low-profile In addition, the software supports the Wideband Plus voice rec- devices. Surface-mount terminals allow direct attachment to ognition standard and thus meets the requirements regarding the circuit board, which simplifies assembly and eliminates sound quality as defined by the latest smartphone connectivity wires and connectors. Optional tape-and-reel packaging protocols for telephony and VoIP services. According to QNX, allows high-speed automated placement. With 3.9V nominal the software has been developed with the intention to filter out voltage and 0.7mAh capacity, the EFL700A39 can power a noise generated by the vehicle’s wheels, engine, air condition- wide range of applications. Its lithium technology recharges ing and similar sources. The software features an improved rapidly from a 4.2V charging circuit and displays low capacity voice recognition algorithm for Wideband Plus that causes less loss as well as long cycle life allowing some 10 years of use CPU load. As a result, more CPU power is available for other if charged once per day. The EFL700A39 is RoHS compliant acoustic and infotainment applications. A comprehensive diag- and UL certified, satisfies UN tests and criteria for battery nosis tool set facilitates the fine-tuning of the parameters and transportation, meets IEC 62133 safety specifications, and thus enables users to reduce the time-to-market. Voice recog- meets the ISO7816/IEC10373 mechanical and flexibility stan- nition can be handled quite flexible: Depending on the user’s dards for smart cards. requirement, this function can be implemented in the cloud or STMicroelectronics embedded in the car. www.st.com QNX Acoustics www.qnx.com

46 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com Blackfin processors target Diagnosis over IP for communications modules power-constrained intelligent lighting Test system manufacturer Goepel electronic has enhanced the Analog Devices, Inc. has introduced the ADSP-BF70x Black- functionality of its series 61xx communications module: The fin processor family, which is a high-performance DSP series company added the Diagnostic over IP (DoIP) capability to that delivers a class-leading 800 MMACS of processing product’s feature set. The IP protocol implementation has taken power at less than 100 mW – double place on the basis if ISO standard the performance or half the power of 13400 Part 2; both ISO/DIS 13400- competing devices. The cost-effec- 2:2010 and 2:2012 are supported. tive eight-member Blackfin processor The interface cards automatically family includes up to 1 MB of internal detect which DoIP version is used. SRAM, eliminating external memory During diagnosis execution, the in many applications, while a second interface module represents the ex- configuration features an optional ternal part of the test equipment and DDR memory interface. The combination of performance, communicates with the device under power efficiency, integration and value allows designers to test (DUT) through the internet protocol. As the DUT, typically incorporate 16- and 32-bit processing in a range of new automotive components are targeted. In this process, the IP embedded vision use cases, including industrial imaging and address of the communications partner is transmitted automati- building controls as well as portable and automotive audio. cally. The DoIP functionality is completely implemented in the The ADSP-BF70x family offers designers unparalleled flex- G-API (Goepel electronic Application Programming Interface) ibility and functionality through an array of advanced con- software which is included with the 61xx communications mod- nectivity options (including USB, SDIO, CAN, ePPI, SPORT, ule. This enables utilising the interface comfortably through any QuadSPI) while enabling power sensitive bus-powered ap- application. Comprehensive timing parameterising options allow plications and extending the life of battery-powered devices. tweaking the performance of the unit. The on-board software The processor family’s low-power consumption, new 32-bit of the modules opens parameter handling for external sources, math and large on-chip SRAM also suits it to portable audio thereby facilitating and simplifying manual parameter entries by and automotive audio, where deterministic real-time process- the user. The new feature is available for all hardware variants of ing is critical for high-fidelity sound. the 61xx series. It makes use of the existing Ethernet interface Analog Devices which in the past has been used exclusively as a host interface. www.analog.com Goepel electronic www.goepel.com

Digital potentiometers operate at 36V Laser multi-chip package Supporting wide signal swings, Microchip’s DigiPots also offers 50W optical output feature high terminal/wiper current support and an extended A compact laser multi-chip package developed by Osram temperature range. for industrial, automotive and audio appli- Opto Semiconductors can pack up to 20 blue laser chips cations. Microchip has expanded its 36V digital potentiometer in the PLPM4 450 module. The developers have managed (digipot) portfolio with two to double the optical new volatile-configuration, 2I C output of the individual devices—the MCP45HV31 and chips, with the result MCP45HV51 (MCP45HV31-51). that the new laser mod- These are the first digipots to ule now offers an overall offer a 5 kΩ resistance with a output of 50 W. The specified operating voltage of result is that profession- 36V. They provide 10V to 36V al laser projectors can analogue operation and 1.8V to achieve a brightness 5.5V digital operation, for systems requiring wide signal swings level of more than 2000 or high power-supply voltages. The MCP45HV31-51 digipots lumen with one component. Instead of taking the laborious support both 7-bit and 8-bit resistor configurations, and a high approach and constructing a light source from individual terminal/wiper current, including the ability to sink/source up laser diodes, it is now possible to reduce the complexity of to 25 mA on all terminal pins for driving larger loads. These laser projectors. Osram Opto Semiconductors is strength- features, combined with an extended temperature range of ening its leading position in light sources for laser projec- -40°C to +125°C, suit the MCP45HV31-51 for high-voltage and tors with its blue PLPM4 450 multi-chip package. Osram high-temperature applications, including those in the industrial, developers are the first to adapt the ‘butterfly’ package for automotive and audio markets. The MCP45HV31’s 7-bit resistor projection applications. The powerful laser module measures network resolution enables 127 resistors and 128 taps, while the 25.5x35mm and accommodates four copper bars with up to MCP45HV51’s 8-bit configuration supports 255 resistors and five blue laser chips connected in series and operated at 2.3 256 taps. Additionally, both digipots provide RAB resistance A each. The multi-chip product offers a light output of 50 W options of 5, 10, 50 and 100 kΩ. Both devices also feature a 1 from a typical electrical input of 165 W, with wavelengths of µA typical serial-interface inactive current, and a 2 MHz typical 440 to 460 nm. The package achieves an efficiency of 30%. bandwidth operation (-3 dB) at the 5 kΩ resistance level. Osram Opto Semiconductors Microchip www.osram-os.com www.microchip.com www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 47 Software-based instrument puts 5 bench Power inductors with shielding instruments in one box target DC/DC designs National Instruments’ VirtualBench “reshapes instrumenta- This power inductor family includes enhanced magnetic tion” - the software-based, All-In-One device offers five shielding in a miniature-sized, cost-effective solution. Bourns’ essential instruments in a single unit with an innovative semi-shielded SRN model series combines the features of non- software experience, shielded and shielded creating new pos- inductors, suiting for use sibilities for engineers in DC/DC converters using benchtop test and industrial applica- equipment. Virtual- tions such as LED light- Bench is an all-in-one ing, control circuits and instrument that inte- GPS equipment. The grates a mixed-signal series includes models oscilloscope, function SRN2010, SRN2012, generator, digital SRN2510, SRN2512, multimeter, program- SRN4012, SRN4026, mable DC power supply and digital I/O. Users interact with SRN5040 and SRN6028, spanning 0.24 to 220 μH. The series VirtualBench through software applications that run on PCs also features high-rated current with Irms up to 4.7A and Isat or iPads. The device provides the most common functionality up to 8A. Bourns designed its new power inductor family using affordably and opens up new possibilities for how engineers semi-magnetic shielding technology instead of the conventional can use benchtop instruments. Because VirtualBench uses ferrite shield. Preventing uncontrolled magnetic coupling of the today’s consumer computing platforms, engineers and sci- windings, the shielding compound is applied to the perimeter of entists can take advantage of the latest technologies such as the inductor, which envelops the winding, resulting in enhanced multitouch displays, multicore processors, wireless connec- magnetic shielding and lower radiation emissions compared to tivity and intuitive interfaces. The simplification and increased non-shielded inductors; these power inductors have a greatly capability through software leads to more efficient circuit reduced footprint and are more cost-effective compared to debugging and validation. competitively-sized conventional ferrite shield inductors. National Instruments Bourns www.ni.com www.bourns.com

DAC drives 10mA and 1000pF on 16-channels 8-channel oscilloscope is tailor-made LTC2668-16 is a 16-channel, 16-bit voltage-output digital-to- for power electronics measurement analogue converter (DAC) with SoftSpan outputs, each of which Solar power generation, electric vehicle propulsion and can be independently configured for one of five selectable similar applications where high-power, variable frequency unipolar and bipolar output ranges up to ±10V. Each rail-to- circuitry is combined with digital controls pose a specific rail DAC output is capable of composition of challenges to sourcing or sinking 10 mA with developers. Teledyne LeC- guaranteed load regulation and roy has developed its new is stable driving capacitive loads HDO8000 oscilloscope as large as 1000 pF. This makes product line with exactly this the LTC2668 suitable for driv- combination in mind. The ing a variety of demanding loads HDO8000 features eight ana- in applications such as optical log input channels with 12 bits modules, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), MRI and X- of vertical resolution, and all ray imaging, automatic test equipment, laser etch equipment, this at a bandwidth of 1 GHz. Oscilloscopes with a high input spectrum analysers and oscilloscopes. The LTC2668 offers channel count and high resolution are also ideal for debug- space-saving features in a 6 x 6-mm QFN package, nearly 50% ging systems that contain a complex mix of power electron- smaller footprint than alternative 16-channel DACs and can be ics, clock, digital logic, serial data and analog sensor signals. operated from a single 5V supply, or from dual bipolar supplies Examples are deeply embedded systems in application depending on the output voltage range requirement. The device fields such as automotive ECUs, industrial systems and even includes a precision 2.5V 10 ppm/°C max reference to gener- household appliances. Besides being equipped with eight ate the five SoftSpan output ranges, or it can be driven with an input channels, the HDO8000 offers a high vertical resolution external reference. A 16:1 high-voltage analogue multiplexer of 12 bits. This high resolution is perfected by amplifiers with enables the user to monitor circuit integrity or perform in-circuit a high signal-to-noise ratio and a low-noise overall system calibration, saving significant board real estate. The LTC2668 architecture, baptised HD4096 High-Definition technology. also supports an A/B toggle function for generating an AC bias Through this technology, the oscilloscope at hand can cap- or for applying dither to a system. Configuration of the LTC2668 ture and display signals of up to 1GHz with - according to is handled via an SPI-compatible serial interface which can be LeCroy - 16 times more resolutions than other scopes. powered from an independent 1.8V to 5V digital supply. Lecroy Linear Technology www.teledynelecroy.com www.linear.com

48 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com Start-up, relayr distributes Internet of Things Raspberry Pi embedded compute module starter kit through Conrad development kit from element14 Distributor Conrad Business Supplies has announced that it is Distributor element14 has added to its development kit working exclusively with Berlin based start-up company relayr range; the Raspberry Pi Compute Development Kit is aimed (iThings4U GmbH) to support the development and launch of at taking power of the Raspberry Pi to embedded applica- the Open Source tions. The original Raspberry Pi has ‘Internet of Things’ now sold over three million units (IoT) starter kit worldwide, with applications rang- known as ‘Wunder- ing from a child’s first experience Bar’. Start-up com- of computing through to space pany, relayr is fo- explorations. Increasingly, due to cussed on enabling its low cost, high performance and applications using stable support package, many connected devices, design engineers are incorporat- and providing the ing a complete Raspberry Pi unit into their end design. With infrastructure that significant interest in using the Raspberry Pi in industrial and will allows many of embedded applications the logical next step is to provide en- the product concepts currently circulating as Internet-of-Things gineers with all the benefits the traditional board in a flexible ideas, the get the real world and to function. Medium- and form factor to support embedded design, hence the develop- long-term, relayr’s business model is to, in effect, ‘commodi- ment of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module. The Raspberry tise’ aspects such as the cloud services that will produce real Pi Compute Module allows design engineers to use their own and useful services from the IoT. The company is considering interface board that will host the compute module and deliver models similar to the “app” environment with revenue streams a smooth experience as they move from prototyping on the coming from small subscriptions or one-time payments, for Pi through to shipping commercial product in volume. Small IoT-based functions and services. It is developing a range of and powerful, SODIMM sized (6.5 x 3 cm), the Compute offerings such as its Open Sensor Cloud concept, which will be Module contains the BCM2835 chip with 512 MB RAM with an environment where data from myriad smart devices can be an on board 4 GB eMMC Flash memory for booting the OS. collated and made useful by an embedded rules engine. element14 relayr www.element14.com http://relayr.io

Pre-configuredW iFi kit enables wireless Digi-Key upgrades its Free Scheme-it connectivity to the cloud circuit design tool Mouser Electronics has the Ayla IoT Design Kit, equipped Digi-Key announced new enhancements to its popular Scheme- with a Murata Wireless Wi-Fi connectivity module. This it circuit design tool, freely available on the distributor’s website. design and development kit allows you to securely connect The tool was co-designed and built by Aspen Labs LLC, a busi- devices to the cloud from ness-media company focused on anywhere in the world the needs of engineers. Digi-Key’s with an internet connec- Scheme-it design tool provides tion. The Ayla Design Kit users with a simple, free-to-use with Murata WiFi Con- way to record their circuit design nectivity allows devel- idea in a shareable, electronic opers to easily connect form. The tool implements the en- their projects to Ayla’s tire Digi-Key catalog, allowing us- cloud service. Wireless ers to design with actual parts available for immediate shipment connectivity is supported from Digi-Key. “The impetus for developing a tool like Scheme-it by a Murata Type-YD 2.4 revolved around lowering the barrier to design, allowing users GHz 802.11b/g/n radio module supporting WEP, WPA-PSK, to move their design from back of napkin to bill of materials,” and WPA2-PSK encryption. The Murata Type-YD module according to David Sandys, Director, Digi-Key Supplier Market- includes a TCP/IP stack, security firmware, and other net- ing. “Integration with the Digi-Key catalog truly differentiates work application features. Murata’s Wi-Fi module mounted the tool from other free options, as designers are able to design on Ayla’s design kit allows devices to be securely controlled parts into their circuit with the knowledge that they can move using OAuth-based authentication from anywhere. Develop- right into ordering them from Digi-Key.” The circuit diagrams ers can use these technologies to provide interactive control can be set at the Block, Icon, System, or Schematic level with a of industrial systems, lighting applications, HVAC, and more, library of over 700 generic symbols. Custom symbols can also all with minimal modifications to existing systems. Murata be created. Together with access to over 4 million components also has a certified version of this module; the Type YDD (YD via Digi-Key Catalog integration, the designs can remain private module mounted on a daughterboard) enables designers by or can be shared easily via a link, or embedded into web pages, eliminating regulatory approval. blogs or emails. The final circuit comes with an integrated BOM, Mouser they can be exported into PDF or PNG files. www.mouser.com Digi-Key www.digikey.com www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 49

Publisher André Rousselot Rousset judgment is +32 27400053 [email protected]

Editor-in-Chief economic and social mistake Julien Happich +33 169819476 By Peter Clarke [email protected]

EDITORS Philippe lambinet, director at €18 million against 9.5+24+12 = €45.5 Nick Flaherty General Vision Inc. and leader of the million. +44 7710236368 NeuroMem Semiconductor project there, This judgement is not only an indus- [email protected] asks: “Where is the France that created trial and social disaster. It is also a disas- Christoph Hammerschmidt the smart-card industry?” It is not in ter from a pure economic point of view. +49 8944450209 evidence in a decision that has sold the No matter how you look at it, this [email protected] chip manufacturing heritage of Rousset decision from the Tribunal de Commerce Peter Clarke to a would-be Brazilian wafer fab. is a bad decision. It is also a missed +44 776 786 55 93 Below are his comments on the whole opportunity to have France and Europe [email protected] LFoundry Rousset saga. play a leading role in the emergence of Paul Buckley neuromorphic computing, which is, as +44 1962866460 EE Times Europe is correct in its IBM’s CEO repeatedly said, the next big [email protected] report about the LFoundry Rousset liqui- thing in computing. Jean-Pierre Joosting dation when it says that the +44 7800548133 bid from SIX Semiconduc- [email protected] tores was €18 million and that from General Vision was Circulation & Finance €9.5 million. Luc Desimpel However, with all bids [email protected] except ours the site will Advertising Production & stop being a semiconductor Reprints fab and therefore the land, Lydia Gijsegom building and remaining pip- [email protected] ing will need to be decon- taminated. Art Manager The cost of this de- Jean-Paul Speliers contamination will be €24 Accounting million, according to the liq- Ricardo Pinto Ferreira uidator. SIX, as they will not operate the site, will not take Regional Advertising care of this cost. Because Representatives our bid was a continuation Contact information at: of a wafer manufacturing http://www.electronics-eetimes.com/en/ operation, no decontami- about/sales-contacts.html nation was necessary. So, this €24 million cost of European Business Press SA decontamination should be “No matter how you look at it, this decision 7 Avenue Reine Astrid subtracted from the €18 1310 La Hulpe million bid. from the Tribunal de Commerce is a bad Tel: +32 (0)2 740 00 50 european In addition, we would business press Fax: +32 (0)2 740 00 59 have saved a lot of money decision. www.electronics-eetimes.com for the French social system. France was smart enough to leverage VAT Registration: BE 461.357.437 If we add the social contributions, the patents of Mr Moreno in the 1980s RPM: Brussels paid by the employers, which we will and create the smart-card industry, Company Number: 0461357437 not pay and the unemployment ben- which created tens of thousands of jobs efits the workers will get, we estimated in France. © 2014 E.B.P. SA that this tragic end will cost about €12 Unfortunately, France was not smart ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TIMES EUROPE is published 11 times in 2014 by European Business Press SA, million over two years to the French enough this time to do the same with the 7 Avenue Reine Astrid, 1310 La Hulpe, Belgium social system. This amount should also patents of two other French people: Guy Tel: +32-2-740 00 50 Fax: +32-2-740 00 59 be subtracted from the €18 million bid Paillet and Anne Menendez (of General email: [email protected]. VAT Registration: BE 461.357.437. RPM: Nivelles. Volume 16, Issue 7 EE Times P 304128 from SIX. So, if you want to make a fair Vision). It is is free to qualified engineers and managers involved in comparison you should really compare It’s a real shame for the French and engineering decisions – see: http://www.electronics-eetimes.com/subscribe European high-tech industry. Copyright 2014 by European Business Press SA. Philippe Lambinet is Director of General All rights reserved. P 304128 Vision - http://general-vision.com

50 Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 www.electronics-eetimes.com www.electronics-eetimes.com/en/Learning-center/

A leading reference resource for electronics engineers, EE Times Europe’s White Paper library includes over 600 white papers, application notes, technical articles, books and case studies that can be downloaded free of charge. The latest featured papers are available below.

Flexible and Low Power Driving Precision Industrial Systems Demand of Solenoid Coils a New Level of Data Conversion Accuracy

In many microcontroller applications inductive loads, such as monostable or bistable relays, valves, or lifting solenoids must be operated from higher supply voltages. Specifically in industrial applications they can often be 12 to 24 V, which have to be controlled At the core of many precision industrial systems is an analog-to- with 3.3 V logic signals. The digital converter (ADC). The ADC plays a pivotal role, translating control should be as flexible and energy-saving as possible and signals from the analog domain to digital for digital signal process- should not impair the microcontroller’s operation through feedback ing. The accuracy and performance of the ADC often defines the disturbances during switching of inductive loads. accuracy and performance of the overall system. www.electronics-eetimes.com/en/Learning-center/ www.electronics-eetimes.com/en/Learning-center/

Exploring the Business Model Evolution I/O Interfaces - An STA Perspective of High-Tech Equipment Manufacturers Systems-on-chip and systems-in-package encounter a number of I/O interfaces in both chip and packaged designs. It is not unusual This paper discusses some of to see that a number of common the challenges faced by today’s I/O interfaces are implemented in high-tech equipment manufactur- the same chip in today’s high- ers and goes further to uncover the speed IC designs (e.g., DDR2, evolution that has been taking place SSTL, PCI-express etc.). An I/O over a number of years. Modern interface is a means of communi- high-tech equipment manufactur- cation between two sets of devices ers are transitioning from what was – the device under consideration once a pure hardware-based business model to a software-based and the outside world. Since, there business model. This paper goes further to illustrate some of the is a communication going on, there must be some set of rules to tools used by equipment manufacturers to successfully make the govern the communication. Both the devices may act as transmit- transition. Tools and methodologies that enable continued innova- ter and receiver. Data sent by one device is received by the other, tion, competitive advantage, better control of operational costs, and vice-versa. This set of rules, which governs the transmission and increased revenue by providing real added value for end users. and reception of signals, is what we term as an I/O interface. www.electronics-eetimes.com/en/Learning-center/ www.electronics-eetimes.com/en/Learning-center/

Designing Capacitive Touch Sensors Localized Haptic Feedback for Touch Controls using MBR in 5 Easy Steps Haptic, or tactile, feedback has rapidly become familiar to consumers, mainly through their mobile devices. At the same time Traditional user interfaces are touch switches are increasingly designed with mechanical replacing mechanical switches in buttons which can be unreli- appliance markets. Haptic feedback able, bulky, and unattractive. can enable clear benefits in main- Capacitive buttons have stream appliance and similar touch begun to replace mechani- control markets but the adoption cal buttons, which blend into of this technology has been held the product design and never back by the perceived high cost of wear out. Capacitive touch implementation and past issues with touch switch performance sensing solutions are the impacting reliability and quality. Most haptic solutions are based trend in user interfaces design. However user interface design with on vibrating the whole device, or at least the whole user interface capacitive buttons is not easy. It’s often a laborious task for system module in larger appliances, which simply cannot provide a quality engineers to implement a robust solution. This paper will focus on user experience. Then there is the challenge of reliably adapting a how to easily design capacitive touch sensors with MBR devices. single solution across a wide range of touch switch applications. www.electronics-eetimes.com/en/Learning-center/ www.electronics-eetimes.com/en/Learning-center/ www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe July/August 2014 51 Lighting Solutions for LED Setting New Standards in Energy E iciency

Infineon’s energy-e icient LED Lighting introduces a new era in Lighting applications. Existing Lighting solutions become more energy e icient with dimmable and non- dimmable LED retrofit lamps. For your LED driver we provide you best-in-class LED driver ICs and a full portfolio of high and low voltage Power MOSFETs. Even drive multiple strings of LEDs with either our DC/DC LED driver ICs or with linear LED driver ICs.

Infineon o ers a broad range of products and solutions: n Low-cost LED driver ICs for LED retrofit lamps n LED Driver ICs with thermal protection for professional indoor and outdoor lighting n Comprehensive portfolio of high-voltage (CoolMOS™) and low-voltage Power MOSFETs (OptiMOS™) n Microcontroller XMC for Smart LED Lighting

For further information please visit our website: www.infineon.com/lighting Join the Webinar!