Nuvation talks Atmel and batteries at EELive! 2014

Nuvation CEO Mike Worry is at Atmel’s EELive! 2014 ToT booth presenting a series of Tech Talks about his company’s EV Battery Management System. His presentations have been covered by a number of prominent journalists, including Steve Taranovich of EDN.

“We’e seen enough instances of battery disasters occurring over the last few years in our industry. Batteries have a tremendous amount of energy within and if not properly handled and charged/monitored can be dangerous,” writes Taranovich.

“With chemistries such as Lithium, each cell must have its voltage monitored and balanced. This not only extends battery life, but prevents tragedies. [This is why] Nuvation has expertly developed their customizable battery Management System (BMS) that can handle 10s to 1,000s of cells. The system is easily made compatible with lithium, nickel, silver based and other battery chemistries.”

In terms of the Tank Controller, Nuvation selected Atmel’s ATSAM4E8C, a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 controller to power a wide range of features, including Ethernet, UART, CAN, current shunt and optically-isolated GPIO.

As Taranovich notes, the Tank Controller is also equipped with an optically-isolated interface to battery pack management (PackMan) strings.

“The system handles soft-start, main start and emergency disconnect and controls the charging system to protect the battery,” says Taranovich.

Meanwhile, the PackMan, or BMS slave utilizes Atmel’s ATA6870N, a Li-Ion, NiMH battery measuring, charge balancing and power-supply circuit.

This IC is tasked with measuring all cell voltages simultaneously – and balancing cells with higher voltage. 

Each IC is capable of monitoring 6 cells, with a daisy chain configuration supporting up to 16 PackMan board or 96 stacked cells.

“Nuvation’s BMS must deal with the balance/imbalance of a battery pack. It looks at the state-of-charge (SOC) between cells in the pack,” Taranovich adds. “The usable SOC of pack is determined by the lowest energy cell and then the BMS has the task of balancing these cells accurately and quickly without overcharging or overheating the cell.”

Interested in learning more? You can check out Nuvation’s official site here, while the full text of Steve Taranovich’s “Nuvation at EELive: The Fun in Electronics Design” can be read on EDN here.

Sullivan says the IoT is becoming a reality

Patrick Sullivan, VP of Marketing at Atmel’s MCU Business Unit, hosted an Internet of Things (IoT) Engineering Summit co-sponsored by Xively at EE Live! 2014.

Essentially, the Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a future world where all types of electronic devices link to each other via the Internet. In 2009, there were 2.5 billion connected devices; most of these were mobile phones, PCs and tablets. By 2020, there will be over 30 billion connected devices of far greater variety.

“IoT is definitely a mega-trend in our industry. Everyone is talking about the IoT, it is everywhere,” said Sullivan. “That is why numerous companies are working to set up specific business units to manage various aspects of the Internet of Things.”

However, Sullivan noted that while the IoT is well on its way to becoming a reality, only a minority of devices are currently connected to the Internet.

“The IoT is still in a relatively nascent stage. Nevertheless, the Internet of Things will quickly evolve as it becomes a particularly explosive market. Security and privacy are going to be especially critical for the IoT, specifically when it comes to wearables,” Sullivan explained.

Atmel-powered Agent Smartwatch

“Similarly, managing IoT-related Big Data will be another challenge for the industry. How does one efficiently store, process, track and analyze terabytes of real-time streaming data – all while tailoring the information for a specific individual? Companies that figure out that formula, namely making IoT data useful and easily accessible for the non-technical masses, will be successful.”

In addition to monitoring exercise stats, wearables like smartwatches or pendants can be used to improve the health of individuals, no matter what their age or level of physical fitness.

“Health insurance companies can leverage wearables such as fitness trackers to monitor individual heath in real-time, with healthy lifestyles helping to drive down premiums. Obviously, such devices must be easy to use and comfortable to wear,” he noted.

Atmel-powered Amulyte pendant

“Health-based wearables can also help doctors more easily monitor and analyze a patient’s blood sugar, heart rates, sleep patterns, exercise and daily activities.”

Smart energy platforms is another topic Sullivan discussed, as designing an efficient, connected grid will go a long way in helping to reduce waste in residential and commercial buildings.

“Pumps, gas-lines and related infrastructure will ultimately be connected to the IoT, helping utility companies to pinpoint issues before they become a real problem for people,” Sullivan added.

Image Credit: Daimler

“We’ll be seeing the very same approach when it comes to next-gen vehicles, as both cars and trucks roll out of the factories loaded with advanced sensors to help alleviate traffic and significantly reduce accidents, whether on a crowded city street or fast highway. For example, your car will tell you, perhaps via a HUD (heads-up display) when a specific route is jammed and automatically choose another route. Your car will also talk to other vehicles, helping to avoid collisions.”

Last, but certainly not least, Sullivan talked about the automated IoT home, which, in the not too distant future will be protected by smart locks, cleaned by intelligent vacuum cleaners and filled with connected appliances such as intelligent lighting and thermostats, washing machines, refrigerators, coffee makers and ovens.

“The IoT will play a big part in connected homes, providing instant market intelligence to companies and remotely alerting users when their refrigerators are empty, clothes are clean, coffee is hot, food is ready, house is too cold and room is too dim,” he concluded.

Interested in learning more about the IoT? You can check out Atmel’s recent IoT SoMa panel on the subject here and our extensive Bits & Pieces IoT article archive here.

Atmel @ EELive! 2014: Day 1

Atmel kicked off EELive! 2014 with a full schedule of well-attended Tech Talks across a wide variety of topics including the IoT, Maker Movement, battery management, embedded security and Cortex-M (ARM) SAM D20 microcontrollers (MCUs).

Meanwhile, hundreds of EELive! attendees lined up outside of Atmel’s Tech on Tour trailer for the opportunity to pick up a free Atmel XMEGA-E5 Xplained evaluation kit and check out the following exhibits:

• Agent smartwatch (Secret Labs) powered by Atmel’s ARM-based SAM4S and tinyAVR MCU
• Philips Hue Bulbs with Atmel‘s ZigBee and Lightweight Mesh Stack
• Turtle Beach i60 Wireless Gaming Headset with Atmel Wi-Fi
• Direct
Roku3 remote with Atmel’s Wi-Fi Direct
• Venstar Color Touch Thermostat with Atmel’s ARM9-based MCU
• Makerbot 3D printer with Atmel AVR microcontrollers
• ASUS T100 Transformer with Atmel’s MaxTouch T Series Cap Touch controller and XSense Metal mesh touch sensors
• Atmel Studio IDE

Atmel, along with Xively, also co-hosted an Internet of Things (IoT) Engineering Summit at the event.

Atmel’s very own Patrick Sullivan discussed a number of IoT-related subjects, including embedded processing, security, connectivity, interface, as well as software, tools and development.

Super Awesome Sylvia (Atmel booth)

Stay tuned to Bits & Pieces for more EELive! 2014 updates.

MIT wins prize for $20 AVR robot

Researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) recently received top honors in multiple categories at an international competition focused on designing affordable, classroom-friendly robots.

The team from CSAIL Director Daniela Rus’ Distributed Robotics Lab earned first place in the hardware and curriculum categories for a printable, origami-inspired Segway robot dubbed SEG at the “Ultra-Affordable Robot” competition sponsored by the African Robotics Network (AFRON) and the IEEE Robotics and Automaton Society.

The design by Rus, Ankur Mehta, Joseph DelPreto, Benjamin Shaya and Lindsay Sanneman, allows an individual to build a printable, Atmel AVR-powered (tinyAVR/Arduino Pro depending on version) robot for as little as $20, in just five steps.

The small robot – made of polyester – moves around on two large wheels and is capable of avoiding obstacles with an onboard sensing and navigation system. The team also adapted graphical drag-and-drop software that’s convenient for first-time programmers, while simultaneously developing a curriculum that teaches students some basic control systems to implement with SEG.

“We’re excited to have been able to make some really encouraging upgrades to our prototype in such a way that it is more effective, more intuitive and more affordable,” said Mehta. “With this kind of progress, we envision a future where robots that can help you with important daily tasks could be printed for a few dollars from your desktop printer.”

Interested in learning more? You can check out the project’s official page here, along with the relevant files and instructions.

Atmel visits Beijing Makerspace

Sander Arts (@Sander1Arts), VP of Corporate Marketing at Atmel, visited the Beijing Makerspace on Monday, March 31, 2014.

After participating in a well-attended press event, Arts met a number of journalists, tinkerers and entrepreneurs to discuss Atmel’s place at the heart of the rapidly growing global Maker Movement.

According to Beijing Makerspace co-founder Justin Wang Shenglin, the community workshop can perhaps best be defined as a social enterprise.

“We organize fun workshops, seminars and other events for people who’d like to turn their ideas into physical prototypes or products,” Shenglin told the South China Morning Post during a recent interview.

“Most of our activities are open to the public, while a few are for members only. People who join us come from all walks of life: IT engineers, programmers, designers, artists, students – even psychologists. The thing they have in common is a desire to make cool stuff.”

Shenglin also described China as a “paradise” of sorts for Makers.

“All the materials they could want are here and extremely cheap. At markets like Zhongguancun, you can find almost everything you need,” he explained.

“[Plus], there are more than 20 Maker organizations in China, where the concept has only just started. [Nevertheless], it will take time to get more people involved.”

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, Chinese government officials are also taking a keen interest in the Maker Movement due to its lucrative economic and educational potential.

For example, Shanghai’s municipal government has backed plans to build 100 Maker Spaces throughout the city. Each location is slated to be equipped with a 3D printer and will host staff to help visitors with traditional crafts such as woodworking.

Interested in learning more about China and the Maker Movement? Be sure to check out our Bits & Pieces article archive on the subject here.

Atmel celebrates International Arduino Day

Today we celebrate Arduino Day and mark the first successful decade of the Atmel-powered boards.

It’s a 24 hour celebration – both official and independent – with Makers all over the world meeting up to share their DIY experiences.

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, Atmel is at the very heart of most Arduino boards on the market today.

Indeed, as 
Atmel MCU Applications Manager Bob Martin recently pointed out, Atmel’s 8- and 32-bit microcontrollers have been the MCUs of choice for Arduino since the boards first hit the streets for DIY Makers way back in 2005. More specifically, he attributes the success of Arduino to its easy-to-use, free cross-platform toolchain and its simple do-it-yourself packages with Atmel MCUs.

“These factors helped initially steer the Arduino team to choose our AVR microcontrollers – and today, both our AVR and ARM-based MCUs,” Martin explained.

In addition to the DIY Maker Movement, the boards are popular with veteran designers, architects and engineers.

“It’s very easy to try out design by building a prototype so that they can see what solutions work and toss out those that don’t. This is much easier to do early in the design process before more money has been spent on bringing an idea to fruition; Arduino can play a key role here,” Brock Craft, author of “Arduino Projects for Dummies,” told ItProPortal in late 2013.

“Just a simple example – I know a lighting company that recently used Arduino to control dimmable lighting effects for architectural lighting products they were developing. Using an Arduino helped them try out their ideas in an afternoon, rather than waiting weeks.”

Arduino boards are also extensively used in the educational community, with science and computing teachers in secondary schools choosing the versatile platform to teach kids the principles of programming and computational thinking.

“[Of course], Arduino is used in colleges and universities, [where] they are often found in design programs, particularly in product design, because Arduinos can quickly be used to prototype products that do physical things – like toasters or dispensers or remote controls, for example,” said Craft.

“It is also widely used in digital arts programs for making interactive artwork, music and performances. [Yes], there have been similar products on the market for many years and education curricula have used other alternatives. But what makes Arduino different – and is driving teachers to use them – is that Arduinos are easy to use. And if they need help, it’s easy for teachers and students to get it in the extensive online communities.”

As Arduino co-founder Massimo Banzi notes, communities are the primary drivers for contribution in the Maker community.

“What you find is that if you can create a community around an open source project then it becomes really alive because everyone starts to contribute. If you don’t have an ecosystem, the platform won’t be successful. If you start charging for everything, everything dies very quickly,” he said.

“There are millions of sandwich places around the world, the recipe for sandwiches is open. Nobody can patent the recipe for a BLTs but yet there’s like a million restaurants doing BLTs. Everyday each one of them is adding a little source, each one is improving the recipe with technique, but effectively what goes inside the sandwich is out there and open and people still make money.”

As Bazni points out, open source hardware like the Arduino helps encourage creativity.

“I think it enables people to share the efforts that are needed to get the certain type of product or project started. Each person adds what some people call the secret source. You can take open source knowledge and add your own secret source,” he added.

“Or you can sell it or sell services around that product. [Arduino] wants to create a platform that’s going to take this and multiply the efficiency, [while] multiplying the value that people get by being part of that community… The challenge is to build a platform that solves a simple problem for a specific group of people: beginners for example. Our boards enable people to get ideas into products very fast. It’s people over Megahertz.”

 

Arduino in a cardboard box

If you went to Maker Faire New York, you saw Atmel’s tables had flashing LEDs on the edge.

The tables Atmel had at NY Maker Faire had LED strips built into them.

Those strips were powered by these custom “Arduinos in a box.” The cardboard box was perfectly in keeping with cardboard tables, made by chairigami.

We created a battery-powered Arduino to run the LED lights on the cardboard tables.

Inside the box is an Atmel-powered Arduino, as well as the battery pack used to run the board and LED strip.

This side has the D-sub connector used to connect to the LED strips. There is also a power connector if you don’t want to run on the internal batteries.

The boxes have a cut-out for the USB connector, should you need to do some emergency programming on the show floor.

A nice touch is the Velcro strip on the back of the battery pack that holds it to the side of the box. You can see the “ECO” (engineering change order) where the USB hole was on the same side, but that got changed in the prototyping stage. Every product tells a story.

Be sure to check out the Atmel booth at Maker Faire Bay Area (Silicon Valley), World Maker New York (in Queens), and in just a few weeks (April 6-7, 2014) we will be at Maker Faire @ Shenzhen (China).

A closer look at the Atmel-powered Arduino Due (SAM3X8E)

We are proudly celebrating Arduino Day, a global event that showcases a decade of success for the Atmel-powered boards! To mark the event, we’d like to take a closer look at the Arduino Due. Powered by Atmel’s versatile SAM3X8E ARM Cortex-M3 CPU, the board hit the streets back in October 2012.

The very first Arduino board based on a 32-bit ARM core microcontroller features 54 digital input/output pins (of which 12 can be used as PWM outputs), 12 analog inputs, 4 UARTs (hardware serial ports), an 84 MHz clock, USB OTG capable connection, 2 DAC (digital to analog), 2 TWI, power jack, SPI header, JTAG header, a reset button and an erase button.

Additional key specs include:

• 32-bit core allows operations on 4 bytes wide data within a single CPU clock.
• 96 KBytes of SRAM.
• 512 KBytes of Flash memory for code.
• A DMA controller capable of sharing memory intensive tasks with the CPU.

“The board contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a micro-USB cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started,” an Arduino rep explained on the product’s official page.

“The Due is compatible with all Arduino shields that work at 3.3V and are compliant with the 1.0 Arduino pinout. [However], the maximum voltage that the I/O pins can tolerate is 3.3V. Providing higher voltages, like 5V to an I/O pin could damage the board.”

The Arduino Due can be programmed with the Arduino software. However, the process of uploading sketches to the SAM3X is somewhat different than with other AVR-based Arduino boards, as the flash memory needs to be erased before being re-programmed. Uploads to the chip are managed by ROM on the SAM3X, which is run only when the chip’s flash memory is empty. Unlike other Arduino boards which use avrdude for uploading, the Due relies on bossac.

More specifically, either of the USB ports can be used for programming the board, though Arduino officially recommends using the programming port due to the way the erasing of the chip is handled.

The maximum length and width of the Arduino Due PCB measures 4 and 2.1 inches respectively, with the USB connectors and power jack extending beyond the former dimension. Three screw holes allow the board to be attached to a surface or case.

Last, but certainly not least, the Arduino Due is designed to be compatible with most shields designed for the Uno, Diecimila or Duemilanove. Digital pins 0 to 13 (and the adjacent AREF and GND pins), analog inputs 0 to 5, the power header, and “ICSP” (SPI) header are all in equivalent locations. In addition, the main UART (serial port) is located on the same pins (0 and 1). Nevertheless, it should be noted that I2C is not located on the same pins on the Due (20 and 21) as the Duemilanove / Diecimila (analog inputs 4 and 5).

Interested in learning more about the Atmel-powered Arduino Due? You can check out the official Arduino Due product page here and order the board here.

Hitting the electric race track with Atmel MCUs

Written by Stuart Cording

Motorsport: the smell of fuel and oil, permanently in the air; highly-tuned, multi-cylinder engines radiating heat; and the incessant drone and whine, earsplitting at times, as cars come tearing around the track.

None of which you will experience at a race where municHMotorsport e.v. is competing with the PWe4.13, its latest high-performance, all-electric Formula Student Car. The team, comprised of students from the Fachhochschule München, Germany, has many successes behind them and grand plans for the upcoming season which kicks-off summer 2014. The vehicle has an impressive array of specifications, including: acceleration 0-100km/h of <4 seconds; top speed of 110km/h; single-piece monocoque body; and two 60kW electric motors.

The team competes in “Formula Student Germany” which defines the rules and provides the infrastructure for the racing events. Other countries have similar organizations allowing teams to compete all across the world. Electric vehicles have been included as a category for the last four years, perhaps reflecting not only the raised level of interest in “green technologies” but also the maturity and low price-of-entry for the technology needed to build an all-electric racing vehicle.

Racing against one-another is considered too dangerous for self-built vehicles and amateur drivers selected from the available teams. Thus, the competition focuses on areas such as vehicle acceleration, maneuverability and endurance. In 2012 the team suffered a bitter blow in the 22km (13.6 miles) endurance test as the vehicle rolled to a halt just 100m (330 feet) from the finish line. In 2013, however, they bounced back delivering a first place in the Spanish competition in Barcelona. The season ended with the team ranked number 5 worldwide in the electric vehicles category.

Atmel has provided the Control/Electrical System department with ATmega32M1 automotive microcontrollers to support them in their efforts this year. The MCU was selected to fulfill two applications in the vehicle. One MCU sits snugly in the carbon-fiber steering wheel, where control switches and LEDs provide the driver interface, controlled by the on-chip CAN interface. Meanwhile, the second MCU functions as an aggregator for many of the analogue sensors built into the vehicle. Information, such as wheel rotation and tire temperature, are collected and forwarded to one of the vehicle’s four CAN networks.

Like any racing team, telemetry data during testing and racing is essential for the team to understand how and where to improve the vehicle.

Talking to Maximilian Werner (Sponsoring) and Christian Schenk (Teamleader Control & Electrical Systems), the two described the project as a never ending search toward the perfect solution. As this year’s vehicle sits on the starting grid, a new group of students will join the team and the graduates will leave, meaning that valuable knowledge and know-how will have to be passed on if the team is to remain successful.

The team is also made up of cross-discipline students, with electronics and mechanical engineers focusing mainly on design and construction and business studies students undertaking marketing, sponsoring and cost analysis roles.

As I leave the electronics development team behind, we cast an eye over what the mechanical design group is doing.

The smell of glue and epoxy wafts over me as students fill moulds with carbon-fiber matting, sand surfaces to perfection and let finished parts cure. Six crushed nose cones hang on the wall. Maximilian explains that they are proof positive that the car is not only fast, but safe – the result of the mandatory crash testing required before participating.

From left to right: Maximilian Werner (Sponsoring); Andreas Welzmiller (Team Leader High-Voltage System); Tanja Elischer (Media/PR); Fabian Sengl (Braking Lights/TSAL); Manfred Brandstetter (Energy Recuperation); Christian Schenk (Team Leader Control & Electrical Systems)

I am left feeling amazed at the immense focus, drive and passion of a group of people, determined to do their best and deliver at every event. We wish them all the best for the coming season and hope they are first to cross the finish line at every event.

Atmel’s ToT hits the road for EELive!

Atmel’s Mobile Training Center is heading to Las Vegas Nevada on March 26th and EE Live! in San Jose in early April.

We’ll be at the McEnery Convention Center on 150 W San Carlos on Tuesday, April 1 – Thursday, April 3, showcasing a wide variety of tech across a number of spaces 
including touch, security, microcontrollers (MCUs), wireless, lighting and automotive.

More specifically, you can check out:

• Agent smartwatch (Secret Labs) powered by Atmel’s ARM-based SAM4S and tinyAVR MCU
• Philips Hue Bulbs with Atmel‘s ZigBee and Lightweight Mesh Stack
• Turtle Beach i60 Wireless Gaming Headset with Atmel Wi-Fi
• Direct
Roku3 remote with Atmel’s Wi-Fi Direct
• Venstar Color Touch Thermostat with Atmel’s ARM9-based MCU
• Makerbot 3D printer with Atmel AVR microcontrollers
• ASUS T100 Transformer with Atmel’s MaxTouch T Series Cap Touch controller and XSense Metal mesh touch sensors
• Atmel Studio IDE

Atmel, along with Xively, will also be co-hosting an Internet of Things (IoT) Engineering Summit at EE Live! on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 @ 11:00 – 11:45 am. Participants are slated discuss the following IoT-related topics:

• Embedded processing and security
• Connectivity and interface
• Software tools and development

You can register for Atmel’s ToT Las Vegas stop here and EE Live! here.

Interested in learning more about Atmel and the IoT? You can check out our article archive on the subject here as well as Atmel’s recent SoMa panel discussion on the IoT here.