Electronica 2014 may be the ‘smartest’ show yet!

As we prepare to head off to Munich, Germany for perhaps one of the ’smartest’ shows of the year, Electronica 2014 attendees are in for a treat! Over the next couple of days, we will be unveiling a number of new solutions to further enable smart, connected and secure devices for the ever-growing Internet of Things (IoT) — ranging from consumer and industrial to automotive and Maker applications.

During the week of November 11-14, head over to Messe München where you will find a plethora of IoT solutions in the Atmel booth — located in Hall A5, Booth 542 — including:

Low-power embedded processing

• Industry’s lowest power ARM Cortex-M0+ MCU for the Internet of Things
• A new QTouch safety platform for home appliance user interfaces
• Next-generation 8-bit AVR MCUs accelerating development of low-power applications

Secure connectivity

• Industry’s first FCC-certified Wi-Fi and MCU integrated module
• Atmel’s new CAN transceiver family
• A next-generation LIN system basis chip portfolio for in-vehicle networking

Easy-to-use software and tool

• IAR Systems supports Atmel’s complete microcontroller portfolio, expanding Atmel’s IoT software and tools ecosystem
• An ultra-low cost Xplained mini development platform available for only $8.88 USD that is compatible with any Atmel 8-bit megaAVR MCUs
• Xplained Ultra evaluation kit for fast prototyping and evaluation of Atmel | SMART SAMA5D4 Cortex-A5 based MPUs
• A security module compatible with all Xplained boards that supports SHA256, AES128 and ECC256 hardware authentication for IoT nodes

Our broad portfolio of next-gen tech powering the Internet of Things will be showcased at Electronica in various pods, such as the smart home, industrial, automotive, and of course, Maker areas.

Atmel’s SMART HOME ZONE brings more intelligent, connected devices together.

• Showcasing hardware security with wireless connectivity to a variety of edge nodes applications, the well-received Atmel WINC1500 will demonstrate a video camera, temperature sensor and LED control highlighting ease-of-use connectivity to mobile handsets and cloud architecture. Strong key protection is provided by the ATEC108 Elliptic Curve security chip.
• For the intelligent home, this demonstration highlights Atmel’s popular AVR architecture using a mega168PB, AT86RF212, XMEGA128A1U and MXT143. The demo showcases an AVR with a wireless connection running on a battery with a graphical display.
• The QTouch safety robustness demonstration showcases Atmel’s SAM D20 with the company’s new QTouch safety library, displaying the superior capacitive touch performance of the peripheral touch controller while achieving best-in-class noise immunity and moisture tolerance required in home appliances. Attendees can enter to win one of the QTouch safety evaluation kits by viewing the demonstration.
• Demonstrating security for the connected world, this three-light switch demo communicates via ZigBee to a remote panel with 3 LEDs. The switches and LEDs include an Atmel ATSHA204 device with stored crypto keys. When the switch is flipped, only the LEDs with the corresponding key will light—demonstrating symmetric authentication.
• Showcasing the latest lighting solutions, the Philips Hue LED colormix bulb, the Philips Lux dimmable bulb and the Philips Tap switch highlights how users can create their own personal wireless lighting environment with the tap of a switch or through an app on the users’ mobile device.

Atmel’s INDUSTRIAL ZONE enables smart, machine-to-machine connections.

• Demonstrating a smart fridge, this home automation demonstration powered by Atmel | SMART SAMA5D4 includes a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen that includes a 720p video playback showcasing the processors performance and data processing in a secure environment.
• Powered by Atmel’s maXTouch mXT1666T2 and maXStylus, this rugged Inari10 tablet demonstrates support of a glove, moisture rejection and support for maXStylus.
• Through a Sigfox base station, this demo utilizes Atmel’s ATA8520 and ATA8510 to demonstrate the company’s IoT connectivity solution.
• Highlighting Atmel’s support of capacitive touch buttons, sliders and wheels using the company’s QTouch technologies, Atmel will showcase two QTouch demos. The first is powered by the Atmel | SMART SAM D21 MCU on an Xplained Pro board demonstrating mutual capacitance and the intelligent peripheral touch controller—all enabled by Atmel QTouch. The second demo, powered by the Atmel | SMART SAM D11 MCU, is supported by the QTouch Library enabling capacitive touch button sliders and wheels on smaller, lower cost Atmel MCUs using the Peripheral Touch Controller.

Atmel’s AUTOMOTIVE ZONE brings IoT to the connected car with simple, touch-enabled human-machine interface.

• Showcasing a smart, connected car, Atmel will be highlighting the well-received AvantCar demo, a next-generation automotive center console concept with curved touchscreens highlighting Atmel’s XSense, maXTouch, QTouch, and 8-bit AVR MCU technologies.
• Highlighting car access, this demo will enable passive entry and passive start for automobiles through capacitive touch and proximity detection technology controlled by a tablet PC using Atmel’s maXTouch technologies. This demo is powered by Atmel’s automotive devices including the ATA5791, ATA5831, ATA5702, ATA5790N, ATA5833 and Atmel | SMART SAM D21.
• Several other automotive demos are also featured in this zone, including a door handle powered by Atmel’s fourth generation LIN device that includes a curved touch-enabled glass display, providing excellent multi-touch performance for future automotive applications, and utilizing Atmel’s XSense and the maXTouch 2952T.

Atmel’s MAKER ZONE showcases IoT inventions, enabling unlimited possibilities.

• Being at the core of the Maker Movement, Atmel will be showcasing a number of Maker demonstrations including a remote-controlled Maker Robot powered by the Atmel | SMART SAM D21. “Mr. Abot” will be controlled through an Andriod app and the communications will be driven through Atmel’s recently announced new WINC1500 Wi-Fi solution.
• Atmel will also be showcasing a Skittles sorting machine for the candy lover. This Atmel | SMART powered sorter uses the SAM D21 device and will sort the Skittles into individual containers by color using an RGB light sensor.

Wait, there’s more!

In the wake of recent incidents, it is becoming increasingly clear that embedded system insecurity affects everyone and every company. On a personal level, these vulnerabilities can lead to a breach in unprivileged financial and medical data. For a company, the impact can be quite profound. Products can be cloned, software copied, systems tampered with and spied on, and many other things that can lead to revenue loss, increased liability, and diminished brand equity.

Atmel’s resident security expert Kerry Maletsky will be address these growing concerns in his session, “IoT Security Should Be Hard, By Definition.” Join Maletsky on Thursday, November 13 at 2:00pm CET in Hall A6 / A6.353 at the Embedded Forum as he explores the basics of hardened security in every designer’s IoT device.

UK invests big in the IoT

The UK government will reportedly spend an extra £45m on developing Internet of Things (IoT) technology. The pledge, made by British Prime Minister David Cameron, more than doubles the amount of IoT-related funds currently available to UK tech firms.

“I see the internet of things as a huge transformative development,” British Prime Minister David Cameron recently told CeBIT attendees in Germany in a statement quoted by the BBC. “[It is] a way of boosting productivity, of keeping us healthier, making transport more efficient, reducing energy needs [and] tackling climate change.”

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the IoT is essentially a combination of multiple market segments, tens of thousands of OEMs and hundreds of thousands of products.

“It is seen by many as the next wave of dramatic market growth for semiconductors. If you look at the different estimates made by market analysts, the IoT market will be worth trillions of dollars to a variety of industries from the consumer to financial, industrial, white goods and other market segments,” Dr. Reza Kazerounian, Senior VP and GM of the Microcontroller Business Unit at Atmel, recently told EEWeb.

“Companies that provide cloud-based services, service providers and semiconductor companies will also benefit from this market. The number of small or new companies that are showcasing connective devices has increased – there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020. These nodes will have characteristics such as low-power embedded processing, a human-machine interface and connectivity.”

Interested in learning more about the IoT? You can check out previous Bits & Pieces articles on the subject here.