Watch an Embedded World 2015 demo of a Thread Stack mbed OS on an ARM Cortex-M using an Atmel 802.15.4 radio.
Seppo Takalo, ARM Senior Software Engineer, shares some the latest updates from Thread Stack, the native support for thread development built into ARM mbed OS. In the video below, Takalo shows off the integrated stack on an ARM Cortex-M using an Atmel 802.15.4 radio.
The fact that these MCUs are targeting highly-sophisticated connected car applications like infotainment and ADAS means that the journey toward bigger and more powerful chips is now inevitable.
The automotive industry has reached a new era marked by giant initiatives like infotainment, connected car and semi-autonomous vehicles. And, no one seems more excited than the MCU guys who have been a part and parcel of in-car electronics for the past two decades. However, the humble microcontroller is going through a profound makeover in itself in order to come to terms with the demands of the connected car environment.
Take Atmel Corporation, one of the top MCU suppliers, who has launched its SAM DA1 family of microcontrollers at Embedded World 2015 in Nuremberg, Germany. The automotive-grade ARM Cortex-M0+-based MCUs come with capacitive touch hardware support for human-machine interface (HMI) and local interconnect network (LIN) applications. The SAM DA1 series integrates peripheral touch controller (PTC) for capacitive touch and eliminates the need for external components while minimizing CPU overhead. The feature is aimed at capacitive touch button, slider, wheel and proximity sensing applications.
Moreover, SAM DA1 microcontrollers offer up to 64KB of Flash, 8KB of SRAM and 2KB read-while-write Flash. The other key features of SAM DA1 series include 45 DMIPS and up to six serial communication interface (SERCOM), USB and I2S ports. SERCOM is configurable to operate as I2C, SPI or USART, which gives developers flexibility to mix serial interfaces and have greater freedom in PCB layout.
Atmel | SMART SAM DA1 ARM based Cortex-M0+ microcontrollers
The automotive-grade MCUs — operating at a maximum frequency of 48MHz and reaching a 2.14 Coremark/MHz — are qualified to the AEC Q-100 Grade 2 (-40 to +105degreeC). According to Matthias Kaestner, VP of Automotive at Atmel, the company is targeting the SAM DA1 chips for in-vehicle networking, infotainment connectivity and body electronics.
Automotive touch surface demo at Embedded World 2015
The fact that the SAM DA1 devices are based on powerful ARM cores clearly shows a trend toward more performance and the ability to run more tasks on the same MCU. The Cortex-M0+ processor design comes with a two-stage pipeline that improves the performance while maintaining maximum frequency. Moreover, it supports a new I/O interface that allows single cycle accesses and enables faster I/O port operations.
That’s no surprise because the number of electronic control units (ECUs) is on the rise amid growing momentum for connected car features like advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). However, a higher number of ECUs will make the communication among them more intense; so automotive OEMs want to reduce the number of ECUs while they want more value from the MCU.
Moreover, car vendors want to bring down the number of ECUs to avoid complexity within the larger car network. The outcome of this urge is the integration of more performance and functionality onto the MCU. Each ECU has at least one microcontroller.
Atmel’s SAM DA1 device is another testament that the boundaries between MCU and SoC platforms are blurring. The fact that these MCUs are targeting highly sophisticated connected car applications like infotainment and ADAS means that the journey toward bigger and more powerful chips is now inevitable.
Atmel is an MCU company, and this product line has played a crucial role in its transformation that started in the late 2000s. At the same time, however, the San Jose, California–based chipmaker seems fully aware of the critical importance of the system-level solutions. Atmel calls the SAM DA1 family of chips MCUs; however, its support for more peripherals, larger memories and intelligent CPU features show just how much the MCU has changed over the course of a decade.
Memory Protection Unit in Cortex-M0+
Atmel has a major presence in the automotive market with its MCUs and touch controllers being part of the top-ten car vendors. It’s interesting to note that, beyond its MCU roots, Atmel has a lot of history in automotive electronics as well. Atmel was one of the first chipmakers to enter the automotive market.
Moreover, Atmel bought the IC division of Temic Telefunken Microelectronic GmbH for approximately $110 million back in 1998. Telefunken was an automotive electronics pioneer with an early success in electronic ignition chips that made way into Volkswagen cars back in 1980.
The release of SAM DA1 series marks a remarkable opportunity as well as a crafty challenge for Atmel in the twilight worlds of MCU and automotive electronics. Tom Hackenberg, a senior analyst at IHS, calls the phenomenon ‘SoC on wheels.’
Hackenberg says that the automotive industry consumed approximately a third of all MCUs shipped in 2013. However, now there is an SoC on the road, the brain behind the connected car, and it commands a deeper understanding of the AEC-Q100 standard for automotive quality and ISO 26262 certification for car’s functional safety.
Atmel’s AvantCar touchscreen demo at the CES 2015
The integration of touch controller into SAM DA1 chips can be an important value proposition for the car OEMs who are burning midnight oil to develop cool infotainment platforms for their newer models. Next, while AEC Q100 Grade 2 qualification is a prominent part of the SAM DA1, Atmel might have to consider augmenting the ISO 26262 certification for functional safety, a vital requirement in ADAS and other connected car features.
Majeed Ahmad is author of books Smartphone: Mobile Revolution at the Crossroads of Communications, Computing and Consumer Electronics and The Next Web of 50 Billion Devices: Mobile Internet’s Past, Present and Future.
Arrow’s latest development board is optimized for Internet of Things connections.
Arrow Electronics has launched an Atmel | SMART based development board packed with sensor options, communication interfaces and connection to the cloud for Internet of Things (IoT) designs.
The board, which is aptly named SmartEverything, utilizes the SIGFOX global network cellular connectivity solution to enable access to the IoT.
SmartEverything is equipped with an Atmel | SMART ARM Cortex-M0+ based CPU USB host orchestrator chip to manage traffic between peripherals, while an Atmel CryptoAuthentication device (ATSHA204) enables the implementation of a full security SHA-256 hash algorithm with message authentication code.
Additional features of the dev board include STMicroelectronics proximity, humidity, temperature and acceleration sensors, a TDK Bluetooth Low Energy interface for short-range connectivity, and an NXP NFC tag with I2C serial interface for authentication. A Dynaflex 868MHz antenna and Linear Technology power management devices are also incorporated.
Integrating the Bosch intelligent 9-axis sensor, these new extension boards provide IoT and wearable designers the ability to prototype designs using Atmel | SMART MCUs.
During Embedded World 2015, Atmel launched a new extension board for the highly-popular Xplained platform. Featuring a Bosch Sensortec BNO055 intelligent 9-axis absolute orientation sensor, the next-gen device connects directly to Atmel’s Xplained board making it ideal for prototyping projects for the Internet of Things, wearables and gaming markets, for applications like personal health and fitness, indoor navigation, as well as others requiring context awareness and augmented reality for a more immersive experience.
The low-cost, easy-to-use Xplained prototyping and evaluation platform for Atmel | SMART ARM-based MCUs can be customized with a wide range of extension boards. The platform enables easy development with a rich selection of example projects and software provided in the Atmel Software Framework (ASF), Atmel Studio and third party integrated development environments.
“As a leading provider of secure, smart and connected solutions, we are committed to providing the essential tools and platforms to bring more IoT and wearable designs to market,” explained Steve Pancoast, Atmel Vice President of Development Tools and Software.
The new extension board enables designers to easily allow developers to prototype motion control and smart sensing designs using Atmel’s broad portfolio of MCUs. The extension board is compatible with the Xplained-PRO expansion connector, and software examples are provided through the Atmel Studio integrated development environment.
“We are excited about the opportunity to feature our BNO055 sensor in the Xplained ecosystem,” added Jeanne Forget, Global Director Marketing of Bosch Sensortec GmbH. “Our advanced BNO055 absolute orientation sensor complements the Atmel | SMART ARM Cortex-based MCUs and will allow developers to bring their designs quickly to market. We look forward to strengthening our collaboration with Atmel with this product.”
Interested? The Xplained extension board is now available in the Atmel Store for $19.00.
Arduino’s acceptance into the biotech research community is evident from its increasing mentions in high-profile science and engineering journals. Mentions of Arduino in these journals alone have gone from zero to more than 150 in just in the last two years.
While it may be best known as staple for hobbyists, Makers, and hackers who build on their own time, Arduino and Atmel have a strong and rapidly growing following among professional engineers and researchers.
For biotech researchers like myself, experimental setups often require highly specific instruments with strict design rules for parameters such as timing, temperature, motion, force/pressure, and light. Such specific instruments would be time-consuming and expensive to have custom built, as the desired experimental conditions often change as we investigate different samples, cell types, etc. Here, Atmel chips and Arduino boards find a nice niche for making your own affordable, custom setups that are repeatable, precise, and automated. Arduino and Atmel provide microcontrollers in a myriad of form factors, I/O options, and connectivity that are available from a number of vendors. Meanwhile, freeware Arduino code and hardware drivers are also available with many sensors and actuators to go with your board. Best of all, Arduino is designed for a wide audience and range of experiences, making it easy to use for a variety of projects and complexities. So as experimental conditions or goals change, your hardware can easily be re-purposed and re-programmed according to specifications.
Arduino’s acceptance into the biotech research community is evident from its increasing mentions in high profile journals in science and engineering including Nature Methods, Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, Lab on a Chip, Cell, Analytical Chemistry, and the Public Library of Science (PLOS). Mentions of Arduino in these journals alone have gone from zero to more than 150 in just in the last two years.
In recent years, Arduino-powered methods have started to appear in a variety of cutting edge biotechnology applications. One prominent example is optogenetics, a field in which engineered sequences of genes can be turned on and off using light. Using Arduino-based electronic control over lights and motors, researchers have constructed tools to measure how the presence or absence of these gene sequences can produce different behaviors in human neurons [1][6][7] or in bacterial cells [2]. Light and motor control has also allowed for rapid sorting of cells and gene sequences marked with fluorescent dyes, which can be detected by measuring light emitted to photodiodes. While the biology driving this research is richly complex and unexplored, the engineering behind the tools required to observe and measure these phenomena are now simple to use and well-characterized.
![Neuroscientists Voights, Sanders, and Newman at the Open Ephys project provide walkthroughs and add-ons for using Arduino to help them create tools for probing cells. From left to right, Arduino-based hardware for creating custom electrodes, providing multi-channel input to neurons, and for control over optogenetic lighting circuits. [6],[7]](https://atmelcorporation.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/open-ephys-project-provide-walkthroughs-and-add-ons-for-using-arduino.png)
Neuroscientists Voights, Sanders, and Newman at the Open Ephys project provide walkthroughs and add-ons for using Arduino to help them create tools for probing cells. From left to right, Arduino-based hardware for creating custom electrodes, providing multi-channel input to neurons, and for control over optogenetic lighting circuits. [6],[7]
Arduino-based automation can be used for supplanting a number of traditional laboratory techniques including control of temperature, humidity, and/or pressure during cell culture conditions; monitoring cell culturing through automated sampling and optical density measurements over time; neurons sending and receiving electrochemical signals; light control and filtration in fluorescence measurements; or measurement of solution salinity. This kind of consistent, automated handling of cells is a key part of producing reliable results for research in cell engineering and synthetic biology.
Synthetic biologists Sauls et al. provide open-source schematics for creating an Arduino-powered turbidostat to automate the culturing of cells with recombinant genes. [5]
![Synthetic biologists Sauls et al. provide open-source schematics for creating an Arduino-powered turbidostat to automate the culturing of cells with recombinant genes. [5]](https://atmelcorporation.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/open-source-schematics-for-creating-an-arduino-powered-turbidostat.png)
Synthetic biologists Sauls et al. provide open-source schematics for creating an Arduino-powered turbidostat to automate the culturing of cells with recombinant genes. [5]
Microfluidic devices made from paper (left) or using polymers (right) have been used with Arduino to create powerful, compact medical diagnostics (Left: Ebola diagnostic from Pardee et. Al [4], Right: Platelet function diagnostic from Li et al. [9])
![Microfluidic devices made from paper (left) or using polymers (right) have been used with Arduino to create powerful, compact medical diagnostics (Left: Ebola diagnostic from Pardee et. Al [4], Right: Platelet function diagnostic from Li et al. [9])](https://atmelcorporation.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/microfluidic-devices-made-from-paper.png)
Microfluidic devices made from paper (left) or using polymers (right) have been used with Arduino to create powerful, compact medical diagnostics (Left: Ebola diagnostic from Pardee et. Al [4], Right: Platelet function diagnostic from Li et al. [9])
![The compact Arduino Yun microcontroller combines the easy IDE of Arduino with the accessibility of built-in wi-fi to help you take care of your experiments remotely [8]](https://atmelcorporation.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/arduino-yun.png)
The compact Arduino Yun microcontroller combines the easy IDE of Arduino with the accessibility of built-in wi-fi to help you take care of your experiments remotely [8]
Simply put, Arduino is a tool whose ease of use, myriad applications, and open-source learning tools have provided it with a wide and growing user base in the biotech community.
Melissa Li is a postdoctoral researcher in Bioengineering who has worked on biotechnology projects at UC Berkeley, the Scripps Research Institute, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Washington. She’s used Arduino routinely in customized applications in optical, flow, and motion regulation, including a prototype microfluidic blood screening diagnostic for measuring the protective effects of anti-thrombosis medications [9], [10]. The opinions expressed in this article are solely her own and do not reflect those of her institutions of research.
[1] L. J. Bugaj, A. T. Choksi, C. K. Mesuda, R. S. Kane, and D. V. Schaffer, “Optogenetic protein clustering and signaling activation in mammalian cells,” Nat. Methods, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 249–252, Mar. 2013.
[2] E. J. Olson, L. A. Hartsough, B. P. Landry, R. Shroff, and J. J. Tabor, “Characterizing bacterial gene circuit dynamics with optically programmed gene expression signals,” Nat. Methods, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 449–455, Apr. 2014.
[3] E. K. Sackmann, A. L. Fulton, and D. J. Beebe, “The present and future role of microfluidics in biomedical research,” Nature, vol. 507, no. 7491, pp. 181–189, Mar. 2014.
[4] K. Pardee, A. A. Green, T. Ferrante, D. E. Cameron, A. DaleyKeyser, P. Yin, and J. J. Collins, “Paper-Based Synthetic Gene Networks,” Cell.
[5] “Evolvinator – OpenWetWare.” [Online]. Available: http://openwetware.org/wiki/Evolvinator. [Accessed: 12-Jan-2015].
[6] “Open Ephys,” Open Ephys. [Online]. Available: http://www.open-ephys.org/. [Accessed: 12-Jan-2015].
[7] Boyden, E. “Very simple off-the-shelf systems for in-vivo optogenetics”. http://syntheticneurobiology.org/protocols/protocoldetail/35/9 [Accessed: 12-Jan-2015].
[8] “Arduino Yun”. http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/ArduinoYun [Accessed: 12-Jan-2015].
[9] “Can aspirin prevent heart attacks? This device may know the answer,” CNET. [Online]. Available: http://www.cnet.com/news/can-aspirin-prevent-heart-attacks-this-device-may-know-the-answer/. [Accessed: 12-Jan-2015].
[10] M. Li, N. A. Hotaling, D. N. Ku, and C. R. Forest, “Microfluidic thrombosis under multiple shear rates and antiplatelet therapy doses.,” PloS One, vol. 9, no. 1, 2014.
Atmel launches automotive grade ARM Cortex-M0+-based MCUs with capacitive touch hardware support for HMI and LIN applications.
Just in time for Embedded World 2015, Atmel has officially launched its next-generation family of automotive-qualified ARM Cortex-M0+-based MCUs with an integrated peripheral touch controller (PTC) for capacitive touch applications.
The SAM DA1 is the first series in this Atmel | SMART MCU automotive-qualified product family, operating at a maximum frequency of 48MHz and reaching a 2.14 Coremark/MHz. Atmel’s SAM DA1 series is ideal for capacitive touch button, slider, wheel or proximity sensing applications and offers high analog performance for greater front-end flexibility. The new devices are available down to a very compact QFN 5x5mm package with wettable flanks for automated optical inspection.
Eliminating external components and offering more robust features, devices in the SAM DA1 series come with 32 to 64 pins, up to 64KB of Flash, 8KB of SRAM and 2KB read-while-write Flash and are qualified according to the AEC Q-100 Grade 2 (-40 to +105°C).
“As a leader in both automotive touch and LIN solutions, we are committed to bringing innovative, cost-effective solutions to next-generation vehicles,” explained Atmel’s VP of Automotive Matthias Kaestner. “With a comprehensive peripheral set for connectivity and state-of-the-art touch support, the SAM DA1 series allows system designers to perfect the human-machine interface in the automobile with capacitive touch. We are committed to offering a wide range of cost-optimized auto-qualified products for in-vehicle networking, infotainment connectivity and body electronics.”
Key features of the SAM DA1 series include:
To accelerate the design development, the ATSAMDA1-XPRO development kit is available to support the new devices. Furthermore, the new SAM DA1 series is also supported by Atmel Studio, Atmel Software Framework and debuggers.
Interested? The company is currently working on the SAM DA1 series with lead customers, with general sampling slated to begin at the end of April 2015. In the meantime, you can head over to the MCU family’s page here.
Why develop a new MCU instead of using a high-performance MPU? Eric Esteve says “simplicity.”
By Eric Esteve
If you target high growth markets like wearable (sport watches, fitness bands, medical), industrial (mPOS, telematics, etc.) or smart appliances, you expect using a power efficient MCU delivering high DMIPs count. We are talking about systems requiring a low bill of material (BoM) both in terms of cost and devices count. Using a MCU (microController) and not a MPU (microProcessor) allows for the minimizing of power consumption as such device like the SAM S70 runs at the 300 MHz range, not the GigaHertz, while delivering 1500 CoreMark. In fact, it’s the industry’s highest performing Cortex-M MCUs, but the device is still a microcontroller, offering multiple interface peripherals and the related control capabilities, like 10/100 Ethernet MAC, HS USB port (including PHY), up to 8 UARTs, two SPI, three I2C, SDIOs and even interfaces with Atmel Wi-Fi and ZigBee companion IC.
The Cortex-M7 family fits within the SAM4 Cortex-M4 and the SAM9 ARM9 products.
The Cortex-M7 family offers high performance up to 645 Dhrystone MIPS but as there is no Memory Management Unit, we can not run Operating System such as Linux. This family targets applications with high performance requirements and running RTOS or bare metal solution.
This brand new SAM S/E/V 70 32-bit MCU is just filling the gap between the 32-bit MPU families based on Cortex-A5 ARM processor core delivering up to 850 DMIPS and the other 32-bit MCU based on ARM Cortex-M. Why develop a new MCU instead of using one of this high performance MPU? Simplicity is the first reason, as the MCU does not require using an operating system (OS) like Linux or else. Using a simple RTOS or even a scheduler will be enough. A powerful MCU will help to match increasing application requirements, like:
Building MCU architecture probably requires more human intelligence to fulfill all these needs in a smaller and cheaper piece of silicon than for a MPU! Just look at the SAM S70 block diagram below, for instance.
SAM S70 Block diagram
The memory configuration is a good example. Close to the CPU, implementing 16k Bytes Instruction and 16k Bytes Data caches is a well-known practice. On top of the cache, the MCU can access Tightly Coupled Memories (TCM) through a controller running at MPU speed, or 300 MHz. These TCM are part of (up to) 384 Kbytes of SRAM, implemented by 16 Kbytes blocks and this SRAM can also be accessed through a 150 MHz bus matrix by most of the peripheral functions, either directly through a DMA (HS USB or Camera interface), either through a peripheral bridge. The best MCU architecture should provide the maximum flexibility: a MCU is not an ASSP but a general purpose device, targeting a wide range of applications. The customer benefits from flexibility when partitioning the SRAM into System RAM, Instruction TCM and Data TCM.
As you can see, the raw CPU performance efficiency can be increased by smart memory architecture. However, in terms of embedded Flash memory, we come back to a basic rule: the most eFlash is available on-chip, the easier and the safer will be the programming. The SAM S70 (or E70) family offers 512 Kbytes, 1 MB or 2 MB of eFlash… and this is a strong differentiator with the direct competitor offering only up to 1 MB of eFlash. Nothing magical here as the SAM S70 is processed on 65nm when the competition is lagging on 90nm. Targeting a most advanced node is not only good for embedding more Flash, it’s also good for CPU performance (300 MHz delivering 1500 DMIPS, obviously better than 200 MHz) — and it’s finally very positive in power consumption.
Indeed, Atmel has built a four mode strategy to minimize overall power consumption:
Target Applications depicted above for Atmel’s SMART | ARM based Cortex M7 SAM S Series. The SAM S series are general-purpose Flash MCUs based on the high-performance 32-bit ARM based Cortex-M7 RISC processors with floating point unit (FPU).
If you think about IoT, the SAM S70 is suited to support gateway applications, among many other potential uses, ranging from wearable (medical or sport), industrial or automotive (in this case it will be the SAM V70 MCU, offering EMAC and dual CAN capability on top of S70).
This post has been republished with permission from SemiWiki.com, where Eric Esteve is a principle blogger as well as one of the four founding members of SemiWiki.com. This blog first appeared on SemiWiki on February 22, 2015.
The recent partnership highlights a new approach to IoT security and management along with ultra-secure hardware at Embedded World 2015.
Sequitur Labs, a developer of advanced security solutions and policy management for the mobile computing and connected devices markets, and Atmel will be demonstrating a joint platform for enhanced security and manageability of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and applications at Embedded World 2015 in Nuremberg, Germany.
The Seattle-based company has integrated their programmable, context aware security and manageability platform for embedded and smart gadgets with Atmel’s SAMA5D4 and SAM D21 MCUs, ATWINC1500 Wi-Fi modules, as well as ATECC508A crypto element devices employing ultra-secure hardware-based key storage. The joint solution significantly raises the bar on countering threats aimed at the IoT by implementing a system-wide, dynamic approach to security policy enforcement.
As recent reports suggest, the IoT market is projected to grow significantly with 69% of U.S. consumers planning to buy network-connected technology for their homes by 2019. And, with the number of intelligent devices entering the market on the rise, enhanced security and manageability of data becomes critical for IoT adoption. Threat vectors are expected to multiply quickly as connected nodes increase in volume with immense potential repercussions for business, critical infrastructure, medical systems, transport systems and personal data.
“Security and manageability of IoT nodes are the primary needs in this market. ‘Thing’ makers must stay ahead of the game by creating devices that are ‘secure by design’ and that employ a systems-driven approach. This means robust security and management need to be designed right from the outset and not added as an afterthought,” explained Phil Attfield, CEO of Sequitur Labs.
It should be noted that Sequitur’s security framework includes secure, policy driven command and control, enhanced data protection and hardware encryption, secure firmware updates, and programmable policy for greater customization.
“As a leader in security, Atmel is committed to delivering comprehensive, ultra-secure solutions to the billions of forthcoming connected devices,” said Bill Boldt, Atmel Senior Marketing Manager for Crypto Products. “Atmel’s innovative ecosystem partner, Sequitur Labs, is accelerating and simplifying IoT and embedded system development to provide the full complement of security capabilities, specifically confidentiality, data integrity and authentication. We are excited to work with Sequitur Labs to continue bringing ultra-secure, hardware-based key storage solutions to a wide range of applications including IoT, wireless, consumer, medical, and industrial, among others.”
The Sequitur Labs and Atmel product demonstration platform can be seen in the Atmel booth (4A-230) all week long at Embedded World. Additionally, Sequitur Labs CEO Phil Attfield will present “Reducing Risk and Liability of IoT with a Systems-based Approach to the 20 Critical Security Controls,” while Atmel’s very own Kerry Maletsky will explore “Making IoT a Reality—Leveraging Hardware Security Devices.”
Interested in learning more? Head over to Sequitur Labs’ official page here.
Kaivan Karimi, Atmel VP and GM of Wireless Solutions, explores the ongoing privacy issues around the Internet of Things.
When it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT), most people use the security and privacy issues of IoT as a two-in-a-box item that go hand-in-hand. This means, if you don’t have security, you cannot have privacy and vice versa, right? Well, yes and no. There is a lot being said and done to secure the end-to-end IoT systems via advanced policy-driven private and public keys, and threat management systems. More needs to be done, and we will have to figure it out. That is, until someone finds a vulnerability and the technology race starts over with new best practices being promoted. I plan to blog on some of the pitfalls we are experiencing in security technology rollouts in the future. But, for this specific blog, I will only focus on the privacy issues of IoT, since privacy issues can only be resolved through strong legislation and enforced by governments (aided by privacy and security technologies).
Today, I am promoting Privacy by Design (PbD). In the U.S., I am less hopeful that we will get real privacy legislation correct. As an IoT evangelist, my issue with the privacy requirements of IoT is not with the governments collecting meta data for fighting terrorism, but more so with private sectors having access to my personal data. Specific to this angle, my views are very similar to Blackberry CEO John Chen, who articulated his views here. (My hats off to John for a piece well done on this topic.)
A couple of years ago, I talked about my privacy concerns of private sectors having access to my personal data at a Gigaom conference. The Internet of People is the Wild Wild West. Today in the Internet of People, any time someone is surfing the web, there are over 200 private entities shadowing you. Unfortunately, our laws in the U.S. support “Opt Out,” meaning you have to opt out of a “service” in order to get out of it — unlike in most European countries that have implemented “Opt in” policies. In the U.S., companies have made it extremely difficult to opt out of this intrusion with methods that are still entirely legal. So in my humble opinion, the American government didn’t get it right when it came to the privacy of its citizens on the Internet of People. The government caved in to special interest groups who advocated for “Opt Out” policies in their own interest to use one’s data to advertise goods and service. While for the Internet of People, our government failed us, we all know that for the Internet of Things, the stakes will be much higher.
With IoT on the cusp of rapid growth, and intelligent sensors being integrated into every aspect of one’s lives, without sound privacy laws there will be a few thousand “intruders” following you, via your homes, cars roads, at work, in school, and more. Add your contextual compute platforms (smart devices) along with local and remote data analytics engines to the mix, and the “intruders” would know everything about you — even better than you do. Are you comfortable with that? Not to mention what criminal elements would do with that data.
Among the many benefits of IoT, I believe the healthcare industry will be revolutionized through discoveries on many scientific parallel fronts and the evolution and convergence of disciplines that are disjointed today (e.g. biogenetics, data analytics, sensor fusion, database linkages, etc.). One such technology is the impact that wearables with integrated biometric sensing will have on the future of healthcare. This new category of wearables will put the focus on prevention versus disease management, but new privacy laws need to be in place so that people are not turned off by their “fitness” data (politically correct with the new FDA ruling – subject of another blog) in the hand of these “intruder-advertisers.” Here’s a link to one of my talks on “healthcare revolution,” which includes the required privacy laws, from Toronto’s Smart Week 2014 held last October. The talk starts at 2:55:00 here.
A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog entitled “The need for Internet of Things (IoT) Consumer Bill of Rights.” There, I talked about the privacy and security concerns of IoT and posted a link to What your Telco knows about you: six months of data visualized.
If you click on the link and press the “play” button below the map, you will see how cell phones are being tracked by various towers and all that data is available through your wireless operators. Die Zeist (which means “The Time” or “Times”) is the most widely read and highly-accredited German weekly newspaper. This paper is not a news outlet from the fringes of sanity. In this paper, you can see ‘black-and-white’ how easily your center of universe (your smart phone) is allowing you to be tracked. Nothing new here, but It has a different effect when you can actually visualize it in black and white. With the Internet of Things, this would be the tip of the iceberg.
Regarding opting out, when you are using a screened device (your computer or smart device) and have no clue how to “Opt out,” how are you expected to “Opt out” through a ‘headless’ (screenless) device or sensor? The only way is to enforce privacy laws through legislation.
Due to these scenarios and (the lack of) privacy of our web, I have been keenly following FTC’s hearings and positions on IoT privacy issues. The first FTC conference on IoT was held in November 2013, a time when there was lot of talk around IoT privacy — especially after FTC’s 2012 Privacy Report — where it defined a number of categories deemed to be ‘sensitive’ data. One of the more fascinating talks at that conference was the keynote by Mr. Vint Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist of Google. For those of you who don’t know, Mr. Cerf was a lead engineer on the Army’s early 1970s Internet prototype, ARPANET, hence a celebrity around the web and one of the pioneers of the Internet.
During the keynote, Mr. Cerf mentioned: “Privacy is something which has emerged out of the urban boom coming from the industrial revolution. [Therefore] privacy may actually be an anomaly [and not the norm].” In fact, this is a creation of the industrial age. He basically promoted the idea that privacy rules of the Internet of Things should be as hopeless as the privacy laws for the Internet of People. I was amazed at the cavalier approach displayed with that keynote by Mr. Cerf at the FTC event, making the wrong impression on the FTC officials who were considering making policy choices.
The topic surfaced again at CES this year during a keynote by FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez discussing the three privacy challenges of IoT including:
According to Ramirez, “In the not-too-distant future, many, if not most, aspects of our everyday lives will be digitally observed and stored. That data will contain a wealth of revealing information that, will present a deeply personal and startlingly complete picture of each of us when patched together.” She promoted the ideas of security by design, minimizing and anonymizing data for privacy, and increasing transparency by companies as key steps that need to be taken.
It was a brilliant speech and you can find it here. There is an array of hope for all individuals who want to accelerate the adoption of IoT technologies and the benefit these technologies can bring to society. Ramirez’s views on the privacy laws required for the IoT is a stark contrast to the laws in the book protecting the privacy of individuals in the Internet of People. For a few days I was grateful, and hopeful that the lobbyists wouldn’t bully the legislators into a meaningless version of Ramirez’s speech.
Since CES, several legislators have come out against Ramirez’s speech, stating that legislating privacy of IoT will suppress innovations. They’ve continued to argue against Ramirez’s view and stating that the report issued after that was “without examining costs or benefits… encourages companies to delete valuable data…primarily to avoid hypothetical future harms.” These legislators have also argued that the FTC hasn’t done enough economic analysis to issue industry guidelines or legislative proposals for what he called the “still-nascent Internet of Things.” I have seen this movie before, and it seems again as if the interest of a handful of very large advertising companies strong-arming the legislators will be taking precedence over promoting sound IoT privacy laws.
With the recent talk on Capitol Hill chastising Ramirez’s speech, I am now not very hopeful that the IoT privacy laws in the U.S. are going to be any better than our privacy laws for the Internet of People here. Hence I stand my ground and effectively promote the Privacy by Design principals, as the next best thing to strong privacy laws.
Interested in reading more from Kaivan Karimi? Be sure to check out his recent pieces on both Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity and net neutrality.
Demonstrations to showcase Atmel | SMART and Atmel AVR MCUs and MPUs highlighted in a variety of technology zones.
In a matter of days, Atmel will be showcasing a number of smart and securely connected solutions that will power next-generation Internet of Things (IoT) applications at Embedded World 2015 held in Nuremberg, Germany, February 24-27. These demos will be available in the company’s booth located in Hall 4A / Booth 4-230.
To better illustrate Atmel’s broad portfolio of IoT solutions, the demonstrations will be highlighted in several technology zones.
Atmel’s automotive technology pod will showcase the company’s broad automotive product portfolio for car access systems, networking, drivers, Ethernet Audio/Video Bridging (AVB), and the future of human machine interface (HMI) in next-generation center consoles. By popular demand, Atmel will also be showcasing its next-generation AvantCar concept demo, a host of passive entry car access solutions using Atmel’s latest and highly secure products, including AES encryption 125kHz LF and and RF technologies, along with its popular maXTouch and QTouch capacitive touch solutions. The Atmel | SMART SAM V71 ARM Cortex-M7-based MCU will also be highlighted in an automotive application to deliver the world’s highest performance Cortex-M-based Flash MCU, along with an automotive touch application powered by Atmel’s recently launched Touch Controller solution. And, a demonstration running Audioweaver from DSPConcepts showcasing the SAM V71 ARM Cortex-M7 processor-based MCU will also be exhibited in this zone.
In the industrial technology pod, Atmel will showcase a variety of smart, secure and connected solutions for the industrial market powered by Atmel | SMART solutions including an Ultra home automation and smart fridge application running on the SAMA5D4 Xplained, and Atmel | SMART ARM Cortex-A5 processor-based boards displaying HDMI video. Other industrial applications on display include a power supply temperature monitoring and cooling using an Atmel temperature sensor and an treadmill application featuring an Atmel | SMART SAMA5D4.
Highlighting the latest innovations for your living room, the Smart Living technology zone will highlight a number of applications ranging from a low-power Bluetooth beacon to a digital temperature sensor, a ZigBee-based smart lighting with cryptographic security (ATSHA204), and a secure IoT camera system featuring Atmel’s newly announced elliptic curve network security chip, the ATECC508A. See Atmel’s recently launched SIGFOX IoT solution, powered by Atmel’s ATA8520, communicating to the cloud while transmitting metering values, alarm signals and more. The company will also be showcasing the Atmel SmartConnect family, leveraging ultra-low power secure, wireless connectivity. A number of applications will be demoed including a weight scale, door bell with camera, Wi-Fi connected speaker, motion sensors on the window, smart plug, light bulb and gateway connected via ZigBee technologies—all controllable through a smart, mobile device. A QTouch-based water level sensing application showcasing advanced HMI and sensing capability will also be exhibited, along with a display demonstrating the world’s lowest power capacitive touch surface. Other demonstrations powered by Atmel’s maXTouch technologies and Atmel AVR MCU solutions showcasing ultra-low power smart, connected devices will be available in this zone.
IoT requires a system-level solution encompassing the whole system, from the smallest edge/sensing node devices to the cloud. The company has partnered with best-in-class cloud partners that can support a variety of applications for both Tier-1 OEMs and smaller companies. Atmel has integrated the partners’ technology into the company’s cloud solutions framework adding the cloud platform functionality seamlessly to all of Atmel’s wireless MCU offerings, regardless of standards or transport technology. Come meet some of the cloud platform partner solutions from companies like PubNub, Proximetry and Arrayent that are available on Atmel wireless MCUs today.
Highlighting the latest smartphones, tablets and wearables available today, everything from a wireless drive and narrative life logging camera to record your every step, to fitness bands, to Atmel’s latest MCU and touch technologies, will be on display. See ‘wear’ the market is headed next!
The Maker space showcases the well-received Arduino Wi-Fi Shield which enables rapid prototyping of Internet of Things (IoT) applications on the Arduino platform, and will be featured to highlight its simplicity for the professional and Maker communities. The company will also display a number of Maker demonstrations including a remote-controlled Maker Robot powered by the Atmel | SMART SAM D21 will be displayed. “Mr. Abot” is controlled through an Android app and the communications driven through Atmel’s recently announced WINC1500 Wi-Fi solution.
Additionally, Atmel’s resident security expert Kerry Maletsky will be presenting “Making IoT a Reality – Leveraging Hardware Security Devices” on February 25 from 12-12:30 pm CET (Session 09/I).
And for those of you waiting to see the one-and-only AVR Man, you’re in luck. The embedded community’s favorite superhero will be in attendance!
