The SAM L21 not only boasts the performance of an ARM Cortex-M0+ core, it also consumes just one-third the power of comparable products in the market today. The Atmel | SMART MCU delivers ultra-low power running down to 35µA/MHz in active mode, consuming less than 900nA with full 32kB RAM retention. With rapid wake-up times, Event System, Sleepwalking and the innovative picoPower peripherals, the SAM L21 family is ideal for handheld and battery-operated devices for a variety of Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
In Eieland’s video below, the SAM L21 is powered from the heat of a hand through a Peltier Element. This is enough energy to modulate a music file and transmit it with AM modulation at 1MHz to the nearby radio receiver. This demo shows that the latest ARM Cortex-M0+ MCU is truly unique in supporting ultra-low power consumption in active mode without having to limit Flash or SRAM size.
(And, let us apologize ahead of time for the Rick Astley tune that’ll surely be stuck in your head. You’ll see what we mean around the 2:30 mark.)
The average person takes their phone out, unlocks it, and checks messages over 150 times a day. Uno says that’s too much.
Seattle-based startup Uno believes that most of us take out our smartphones too many times per day, and has devised a way to solve that issue. Unlike a number of other wearables on the market today, the Noteband is focused primarily on notifications, a feature that caters to today’s on-the-go lifestyle.
The device, which is currently live on Indiegogo, displays messages from incoming calls, texts, emails, calendar reminders, as well as social feeds such as Twitter and Facebook. And for the gamers out there, the Noteband is even integrated with Xbox Live, Playstation Network and Steam. Meaning, you’ll no longer need to put down the controller to access a message, game alert or invitations.
Spritz, the speed-reading app, allows wearers to a notifications up to 80% faster at rates ranging from 250 to 1,000 words per minute. This eliminates any need for dual-hand scrolling, which enables users to get through that long email in a single click. When an alert is receives, the wristband vibrates and displays the message upon a tap of the finger. Swipe right to turn notices on, swipe left to get rid of them. It’s as easy as that!
Built around a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0 MCU, the Noteband is equipped with an OLED display, Bluetooth Low Energy, and a battery capable of lasting for days on a single charge. The device, which is compatible with both the Android and iOS operating systems, also packs a six-axis gyroscope and accelerometer to let users to keep track and achieve their fitness goals, while syncing with the Apple Health and Google Fit platforms. Interested in learning more? Hurry over to its official Indiegogo page, where the team has already well exceed its $50,000 goal.
Global smartphone shipments totaled 1.167 billion units in 2014.
Chinese companies accounted for nearly 40% of global smartphone sales and represent six of the top 10 smartphone brands worldwide in 2014, according to a new report from TrendForce.
“2014 was definitely an impressive year for Chinese brands as they gained more share of the global market,” explained Avril Wu, TrendForce Global Smartphone Analyst. Total worldwide shipments totaled 1.167 billion units last year, with combined shipments of Chinese brands surpassing 453 million units.
Atop the list of vendors was Samsung who lead the pack with 28% market share, with Apple not far behind at 16.4%. Lenovo, with Motorola under its wing, ranked third after shipping over 90 million smartphone last year. LG, Huawei and Xiaomi followed with 6.0%, 5.9% and 5.2% market share, respectively.
TrendForce notes that Xiaomi has had a particularly strong showing in recent years, having doubled in growth YoY since 2011. “As for the smartphone makers with the best cost-performance products, the title goes to Xiaomi. Its flagship models cost around $300 to $350, but they match their high-end counterparts from international vendors in hardware specs.”
Other notable names rounding out the list included Coolpad, Sony, ZTE and TCL. By 2015, TrendForce projects that three of the top five companies will be Chinese.
Last January, Strawbees made its debut on Kickstarter. At the time, it was a construction kit that enabled Makers of all ages to create toys by simply connecting drinking straws and pieces of cardboard together. Now a year later, a spinoff project has emerged. The team behind the aptly named Quirkbotis working together with Strawbees to explore a whole new world of robotic creatures.
Using the new DIY platform, young Makers will have the ability to build and program quirky robots, blinking outfits and weird sounding “Qreatures” out of ordinary drinking straws, LEDs and hobby servo motors. Quirkbot itself is based on an ATmega32U4 MCU with an Arduino-compatible bootloader that can be made part of a Strawbees creation without any soldering or breadboarding.
The open-source, hackable tool allows Makers to easily program the bot directly from its website via USB. Quirkbot’s unique drag-and-drop components also enable users to connect and upload their toys with just a click of the mouse.
“Any child or grownup can do it. Let your creations express themselves and interact with their environment through sound, light and motion. Standalone or connected to computers, tablets or musical instruments. You’ll quickly see the potential in learning how to program something physical — the magic of connecting online and offline worlds,” the team shares.
At its most basic level, Quirkbot kits include dual-color LEDs, light sensors, a servo and backpack, as well as a USB cable. Meanwhile, more advanced users can obtain backpack extension sets that feature distance and sound sensors, along with speakers and MIDI capabilities. Adding these components to a project are done through what the team calls “squeeze on electronics.” Just like it sounds, Makers effortlessly squeeze the parts onto the toy’s legs using ordinary drinking straws. So, whether it’s devising a bot that hulas, sweeps, crawls, or rocks out, Makers are only limited by their own imagination.
“The Quirkbot has two ways of doing touch sensing already built-in to make almost anything into an interface. Loop touching for bigger things with water in them like humans and other fruits and capacitive sensing for metallic things. When plugged to a computer, the Quirkbot can work like a keyboard or mouse input. This makes it very easy to program the Quirkbot into a controller for any game or application,” its creators add. “The Quirkbot can also act as a MIDI-device, so it can play with music programs and you can even use it with an iPad.”
The low-cost Chinese smartphone maker plans to start testing four new smart home products.
As Xiaomi looks to broaden its range of devices for the Internet of Things, the Chinese smartphone maker has unveiled a new plan for a suite of four new smart home modules that will offer enhanced security features. In a recent GeekPark Innovation Festival presentation, Xiaomi President Bin Lin revealed that the company will begin consumer testing on January 26. Bloomberg notes that the components comprising the Smart Home Suite will be a motion sensor, an open/close sensor, a connected module for home appliances and a hub to connect these devices.
(Source: Tech in Asia)
Each of these modules will be capable of measuring things such as light, sound, temperature, and movement, while relaying information to other smart gadgets throughout the house. For instance, the tiny motion sensor can be placed anywhere and can detect a moving object with a 170-degree angle. Meanwhile, door and window sensors will provide homeowners will real-time, remote monitoring.
(Source: Tech in Asia)
“In the past, motion sensors were very complicated and large in size, so that if you wanted a system you needed professional installation,” Lin told attendees. “For this suite, there is not a single nail or wire. These components are all very simple.”
(Source: Tech in Asia)
The new products will also be equipped with a wireless switching device for appliances, as well as a multi-functional gateway that wirelessly connects the components with other devices, enabling control with the press of a smartphone. The soon-to-be launched lineup will join previously announced home products from the company including an air purifier that sends pollution readings to mobile phones and alerts users when its filter is dirty and a light bulb that can change colors by remote control. Tech in Asia reveals that the devices will communicate using the ZigBee protocol.
(Source: Tech in Asia)
This announcement comes with little surprise, in the wake of a rather “smart” CES 2015 and a number of optimistic IoT reports. One in particular, IDC estimates that the market for Internet-enabled devices will grow to $7.1 trillion by 2020, up from merely $1.9 trillion in 2014.
“Xiaomi is well-positioned to take on this market, as it already has the cloud infrastructure, a hardware background, a huge fan following, and several devices at its disposal,” Tech in Asia concludes.
In the end, the electronics company is hoping that consumers will be able to use their smartphones to link all the smart devices together and control each of their appliances with a Xiaomi developed app on their smartphone — like the highly-popular, mXT641T powered Mi4.
Iconic toy systems like Tinkertoy, LEGO and K’NEX have served as building blocks for the Maker Movement for decades, inspiring young do-it-yourselfers to piece together bricks, interlock rods and connect wheels to whip up some incredible projects. And, it’s clearer than ever before that today’s DIY culture is spurring an appetite for modular tools, as seen with the rise of littleBits and open-source machines.
Embodying many of the same principles, UberBlox is a new high-quality metal construction set for Makers to devise rigid structures and automated machines. The prototyping system features a unique single-connector locking mechanism that uses a common tool to quickly and precisely lock each block to the next. Affixing the components together creates an accurate, strong and rigid frame that can be used for a variety of applications and structures.
Aside from the basic blocks, the set also includes a growing catalog of compatible and reconfigurable parts, such as moving components, sub-assemblies, motors, electronics and controllers based on popular boards like the Atmel basedArduino, for a complete solution. This provides even the most sophisticated Makers the ability to build impressive machines, ranging from 3D printers and CNC machines to various forms of robots as their knowledge and understanding of the UberBlox system increases.
What’s more, UberBlox allows Makers to quickly and easily test out new design concepts for either entire 3D printing systems or portions of them for that matter, without getting bogged down in the fabrication process.
In addition to just 3D printers, the modular system can also come in handy for those seeking to construct various types of robots, including manipulator arms, rovers, and humanoids.
“We believe the time is right to bring a sophisticated high-quality construction system and prototyping set, backed by great support and community engagement, to Makers of all levels,” explained UberBlox founder Alex Pirseyedi.
Indeed, the creative nature of the UberBlox concept makes the innovative system an ideal project for Kickstarter. The company plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can watch its trailer below!
A toy robot that teaches kids basic programming and music skills at once.
With the emergence of the Maker Movement, we’ve seen a number of low-cost, easy-to-use kits seeking to make building robots a more enjoyable experience. Instead of generating commands using a smartphone or PC, a company by the name of Wigl is looking to make learning as simple as picking up an instrument and hitting the right note.
Wigl is equipped with a microphone, some motors for movement and what we believe is an Arduino Uno (ATmega328) for its brain. (An Uno had been used for prototyping.) How it works is relatively simple: The device’s built-in microphone registers a recognized note in auto mode, the bot responds by lighting its LEDs and moving in a specific way. The note A played on a recorder, guitar or fiddle, for example, might move it forward, a C could result in a right turn or a D might put it in reverse.
Meanwhile, in programming mode, the bot sits still and listens to the notes being played, storing it in its memory. Every note played is memorized, like lines of code in a computer program. In order for an aspiring Maker to run their Wigl program, they must play a special “ENTER” note. Different notes result in different actions, and planning the order of those notes makes Wigl move in various ways.
Electrical engineer Vivek Mano developed the first prototype way back in July 2013 before beginning to test the proof-of-concept at a Portland, Oregon school. Now, he’s working on creating content for schools to complement the robot in a two-month courses, targeted towards alternative elementary education establishments, such as Waldorf and Montessori.
“I want to effectively alter the way kids approach learning,” Mano told Gizmag. “Seeing a child’s eyes light up when they realize that sound thatthey’re making (via musical instrument) can control something is powerful. It’s not something they’re used to. That gets them curious as to what else is possible and (hopefully) will lead them down that rabbit hole.”
As the company continues to generate more exposure and financial support, Wigl as a whole can go one of two ways: open or closed-source. Mano reveals that it can be sold as a standalone, pre-built robot geared more towards the consumer and musical education programs, or as a ready-to-assemble kit incorporating the Arduino bootloader for ease.
“Arduino code is very similar to C code (almost interchangeable at some points) and is a highly marketable skill to learn,” Mano explained to Gizmag.
The Connected Cree LED Bulb looks to enhance the lighting experience with compatibly across almsot every platform.
Fresh on the heels of CES, connected living continues to be a key theme of 2015. Among the rapidly emerging categories, which ranges from thermostats to locks, are lights. While Philips Hue has become one of the most notable names in the smart bulb space, a number of companies are now looking to tap into the Internet of Things‘ bright future. One in particular, Cree, has become the latest to enter the market with its 60W-equivalent Connected Cree LED Bulb.
For the time being, smartphone-controlled lighting is seldom inexpensive. However, that is something Cree is aspiring to change with its new sub-$15 product line. Not only compatible with Home Depot’s Wink hub, the Connected Cree Bulb will work with any ZigBee-certified platform. Users can simply sync their iOS or Android device with the bulb to to trigger a number of light settings: dim or brighten, schedule, and remotely turn them for an added layer of security.
“Everything Cree does is based on the promise of providing the best lighting experience, and that starts with superior LED light. The Connected Cree LED Bulb delivers on that promise while also creating a simple user experience for consumers seeking device connectivity in their homes. The Connected Cree LED Bulb provides the uncompromising combination of a superior LED light experience with multi-platform compatibility, all at an affordable price,” explained Cree CMO Betty Noonan.
Moreover, the smart bulb is also designed for compatibility with future Cree supported hubs and market-leading platforms, including the Apple HomeKit platform, as consumers adopt new platforms for home connectivity. For those homeowners looking to enhance their lighting, the connected bulb will go on sale at HomeDepot.com later this month.
As the smart home market surges ahead, Atmel is well-positioned to remain at the heart of many of these Internet-enabled systems. The Atmel | SMART SAM R21, for example, has become a go-to choice for many developers looking to easily design connected lighting and wireless sensor networks.
Manga Screen is a 4.3″ LCD screen with a capacitive touch panel and HDMI input.
Developed by Oslo-based Maker Elias Bakken, the Manga Screen is a high-definition, 4.3” LCD screen. Powered by USB, the capacitive multi-touch screen can be used with any device that has an HDMI output, including a Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone Black, Odroid and Arduino Tre.
At the heart of the fully open-source project lies an ATmega16U4, along with several other electronic components including a DVI receiver, a capacitive touch panel controller and an LCD screen.
“The resolution is high for such a small screen with 800×480 (WVGA) and the capacitive touchscreen driver used is the fabulous mXT224 from Atmel. It adds a few bucks more than the Chinese copies, but when you touch it, you will know where that extra money went,” the Maker writes.
As demonstrated by Bakken’s working prototype, the Manga Screen can be a welcomed addition to a wide-range of applications, such as a RepRap 3D printer display, a DIY automated coffeemaker control panel or a monitor for an array musical projects.
In today’s constantly-connected world, there is often a disconnect between raw data collection and sensor management. LifeQ has the answer.
According to LifeQ, who made its debut back at CES 2015, the future of wearables may not actually be wearables but instead the data that they collect. The South African startup is looking to tap into the human sensor by combining two technologies to give people the ability to optimize and improve the condition of the body and live intelligently. This pair of technologies, continuous physiological monitoring and bio-mathematical modeling, provide insights around personal and population-wide health, making it possible to significantly improve decision making for anyone’s well-being.
We had the chance to catch up with LifeQ executive founder Riaan Conradie along with lead engineer Nicol Carstens to explore the ways in which its Atmel | SMART SAM4L ARM Cortex-M4-based solution will enable wearable device companies, application developers, data scientists and other experts to better monitor, understand and manage physiology, behavior and health. It’s important to note: LifeQ is not a wearables company.
At the moment, computational systems biology is a relatively new field, with only a small group of scientists studying and publishing on the topic. LifeQ’s multi-disciplinary team is pioneering this effort and has a vision of enabling every human being to really understand their own bodies and health, and make decisions based on highly personalized health records and insights.
LifeQ’s technology focuses on highlighting and improving six major verticals in one technological device for users to optimize their health and well-being including: fitness, nutrition, sleep and stress, medical, health and data mining. Given that deep analysis of data isn’t just a one-company task, it will require extensive collaborations to provide meaningful insights. Currently, the startup is partnering with a wide-range of brands to enable them to tap into the LifeQ model specific to their industry.
In fact, DailyDot reports that LifeQ ended CES 2015 with four partners who will include the company’s technology in their devices in the near future, and another 10 to 15 slated to be onboard by year-end. Among the early partners for implementation is First Alert with its Onelink smartwatch, which will take advantage of LifeQ’s ability to add functionality as it gathers more consumer data in its research cloud.
“Mobile health is following a very similar evolution to weather forecasting, going from simply going outside, through barometers to sophisticated computational forecasting,” explained Conradie. “Just like in weather forecasting, the traditional meteorological recording equipment is still needed, but it’s more about analyzing and using that data.”
Undoubtedly, LifeQ’s data pool will continue to expand as more consumers buy its partners’ wearable gadgets. As companies include these sensors into their next products, information will be sent to the cloud, and the resulting streams will be made available to app developers and device makers. Interested in learning more? Head over to the company’s official page here.
