Video Diary: A look back at Embedded World 2015

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Weren’t able to join us in Nuremberg? 

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With another Embedded World in the books, here’s a look back at some of Atmel’s latest smart and securely connected solutions that are ready to power next-generation Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

Andreas von Hofen shows off the new automotive grade ARM Cortex-M0+-based SAM DA1. The recently-revealed family of MCUs feature an integrated peripheral touch controller (PTC) for capacitive touch applications.

Geir Kjosavik demonstrates a QTouch-based water level sensing application that highlights its advanced HMI and sensing capabilities. Notable uses for this solution include automotive liquid containers and coffee machines.

Dr. Atta Römer explores the latest advancements in phase measurement by exhibiting various localization applications based on 802.15.4 transceivers. Among those examples is Agilion, who showed off its latest e-ink display ID badge based on an Atmel transceiver that is capable of tracking employees in emergency situations, transmitting data and managing access.

Ingolf Leidert addresses Atmel’s newest development kit for ZigBee Light Link solutions using a pair of SAMR21ZLL-EK boards. In this particular demonstration, one board served as a ZigBee LightLink remote, while the other acted as a light.

Controllino is an open-source programmable logic controller (PLC) built around ATmega328 and ATmega2560 microcontrollers. The startup’s CEO Marco Riedesser went 1:1 with Artie Beavis to delve deeper into the Arduino-compatible PLC that enables Makers and designers to produce and control a wide-range of IoT projects, ranging from industrial to home automation applications.

Lionel Perdigon introduces the newest series in the Atmel | SMART ARM Cortex-M portfolio, the SAM E70 and the SAM S70. These Cortex-M7-based MCUs are ideal for connectivity and general purpose industrial applications, while the auto-grade SAM V70 and SAM V71 are perfectly suited for in-vehicle infotainment, audio amplifiers, telematics and head unit control.

The Internet of Things requires a system-level solution encompassing the whole system, from the smallest edge/sensing node devices to the cloud. That is why Atmel has partnered with best-in-class cloud partners — including PubNub, Proximetry and Arrayent — that can support a variety of applications for both Tier-1 OEMs and smaller companies. As Ramzi Al-Harayeri explains Atmel has integrated the partners’ technologies into Atmel’s cloud solutions framework adding the cloud platform functionality seamlessly to all of the company’s wireless MCU offerings.

Thomas Wenzel showcases the latest version of Atmel’s connected car solution, AvantCar 2.0. Focusing on user requirements for next-generation vehicles, this futuristic center console concept delivers an advanced human machine interface (HMI). Beyond that, the new centerstack includes curved touchscreens highlighting HMI in upcoming automobiles using Atmel technologies including XSense, maXTouch, AVR MCUs and local interconnect network.

Bosch Sensortec’s Fabio Governale and Divya Thukkaram unveil the latest extension board for the incredibly-popular Xplained platform. Featuring a 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, as well as for applications like personal health and fitness, indoor navigation, and others requiring context awareness and augmented reality for a more immersive experience.

David Lindstrom of Percepio takes us through some of the innovative features of Atmel Studio 6.2, including the MTB support available on the new SAM D21 board. As the demo reveals, it’s super easy to get started, enable Trace View and run the system using the all-in-one collaborative environment for embedded design.

Sankaranarayanan Kitchiah delves deeper into Atmel’s BLDC motor control development platform using a SAM D21 MCU and the Atmel Data Visualizer (ADV) application.

TetraBIN combines of 8-bit video games and waste removal

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One Maker duo is combining the old-school game of Tetris and the Internet of Things to create one ‘smart’ trash can. 

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We’ve seen talking water fountains. We’ve seen smart benches. We’ve even seen LED sidewalks. Now, add interactive trash cans to the growing list of ambient objects you’d likely come across in any public park. The brainchild Sam Johnson & Steven Bai, TetraBIN uses custom-built electronics and LED panels to reimagine an everyday garbage can and to help promote sustainable behaviors and playful experiences throughout a city. A pair of prototype installations initially debuted back at Vivid Sydney 2014, which happens to be the largest lighting festival in Australia.

“It’s the childhood dream of both of us to create products and services to encourage sustained changes in people’s lives. Motivated by the idea of play as a way of inspiring people (especially the younger generation) to be aware of environmental sustainability issues such as littering problems, we have augmented a trash bin with the latest computing technology,” the duo writes.

Reminiscent of ‘80s video games with its sounds and 8-bit images, the aptly-named TetraBIN allows users to collaboratively control Tetris-like blocks on its screen on its outer surface. The pattern of these blocks vary based on the size and shape of the litter, as well as the timing of disposal. 

Each Arduino-compatible TetraBIN is powered by an ATmega32U4 and equipped with WS2812 RGB LEDs, IR beam sensors and chiptune sounds made by an 8-bit processor that are emitted from a built-in speaker. What’s more, the interactive trash can is remotely accessible from the Internet, further bridging the gap between the digital and physical world.

The installation itself utilizes the latest in LED media façade technology. Johnson and Bai implemented custom-produced displays — each with 900 LEDs that were manually mounted onto laser-cut Perspex and covered with a translucent layer of polycarbonate — onto the circular surface of the trash container. Three pairs of custom-developed infrared sensors were used on each bin to recognize the items being thrown away. This information is then relayed to the Arduino, causing similarly-sized digital block to appear on its external panel and fall to the bottom. The vibrantly-colored brick stays there until the next person deposits their rubbish and one row of the panel is filled. Then, just like in the game Tetris, the row disappears.

“TetraBIN explores how digital technologies can be used to motivate positive change in urban environments. It uses gamified approaches – making use of game mechanics and game thinking – turn an activity traditionally considered trivial, such as depositing rubbish into a bin, into a joyful event.” 

The project recently launched on Kickstarter, however was unsuccessful in achieving its goal. Nevertheless, this concept is certainly an innovative way to make litter more entertaining, and more importunity, will hopefully encourage more folks to partake in proper waste disposal. Intrigued? Head over to its official page here, and be sure to watch it in action below!

 

 

This smart button delivers pizza right to your house

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One Italian IoT startup wants to make ordering pizza easy as pressing a single button on the fridge. 

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Envision this: It’s two o’clock in the morning and you’re just getting back to your dorm room after a night out on the town. A little intoxicated yet cognizant that you’re in need of a late-night snack, you head over to your fridge door to hit a big red button. In a matter of moments, pizza is ordered and delivered to your door. Sound like something you’ve always wanted? Well, you’re in luck. 

Invented by an Italian Internet of Things startup called La Comanda, the aptly named Click’N’Pizza is a smart magnetic button that affixes to your refrigerator. When pushed, your favorite pie order is wirelessly transmitted in real-time over to a local pizza parlor and 14” of cheesy deliciousness is sent to your residence.

As you can imagine, users still have to input their information beforehand using its circular screen, including address, contact and payment information, as well as up to four of your favorite topping orders. Beyond that, you can use its scrolling wheel to rank order priority. For example, the primary selection can be ordered with a single push of the button, while secondary orders can be found by turning its dial. After an order is placed, the gadget excitedly confirms delivery with the message, “Pizza is coming!”

La Comanda introduced the Click’N’Pizza at the Mobile World Congress 2015, along with a slew of partnerships including one with Pizza Hut in North America. Pizza Hut will sell branded Click’N’Pizza buttons this summer at select locations. According to the startup, this is merely the beginning. A recent press release lists plans of an entire family of e-commerce and takeaway devices, ranging from Click’N’Taxi that calls your local car service when in need of a ride, to Click’N’Coffee to reorder your favorite coffee pods when stock is low, to Click’N’FedEx that notifies your delivery guy know you’ve got a package that needs sending.

Report: Internet of Things expected to quadruple in size by 2020

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Verizon reveals that while the IoT has expanded massively in the last couple of years, we’ve barely scratched the surface.

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The Internet of Things has certainly transcended beyond its state of infancy and is well on its way of gaining momentum, according to Verizon at least. In its latest findings, the carrier revealed that more than a billion devices are already connected and running business-to-business IoT operations.

In its “State of the Market” report, Verizon published that there were 1.2 billion various smart devices, and that the number is expected to rise to 5.4 billion by 2020 for an annual growth rate of 28%.

“It’s not hype. The Internet of Things is already having a massive impact on business. It offers organizations the opportunity to transform how they operate, and gives both new entrants and established players the ability to innovate and disrupt,” the company writes. “Adoption is growing rapidly, but IoT isn’t yet widespread. Whether you’re in the public sector or private; big or small — if you don’t have an IoT strategy, you should.”

Verizon experienced a 45% year-over-year revenue growth in its IoT business in 2014, with 4G LTE activations growing by 135%. Currently, the telecom manages more than 15 million IoT-enabled connections for a wide range of industries. To date, company experts estimate that just 10% of enterprises have deployed IoT technologies extensively, however research commissioned by Verizon from ABI Research forecasts massive growth ahead, with the number of business-to-business IoT connections more than quadrupling over the next five years.

Additionally, the global communications company also cites ABI Research in its revelations that organizations will introduce more than 13 million health and fitness tracking devices to the enterprise by 2018. In doing so, wearables can enhance wellness throughout the workplace, not to mention improve efficiency in hospitals and reduce the cost of healthcare.

Among those who use Verizon’s services, manufacturing has seen the biggest increase in machine-to-machine operations, with a 204% increase year-over-year. It’s followed by finance and insurance with a 128% increase, and media and entertainment, which has experience an uptick of 120%. Home monitoring and hospitality weren’t too far beyond with 89% and 88% jumps, respectively. Verizon data also shows an 83% YoY growth in IoT in the transportation and distribution sector as well.

In fact, Verizon’s telematics experts note that 14 car manufacturers account for 80% of the worldwide automotive market, and all of them have a connected car strategy. The report predicts that by 2025, at least five countries will have set a “zero road fatalities” target, relying on intelligent connected cars and smart road infrastructure to avoid and mitigate accidents.

Verizon analysts add that in 10 years, smart cities capabilities will become a critical consideration for companies deciding where to invest and open facilities, due to their impact on operating costs and talent availability. Recent data already shows a 46% YoY growth in the number of IoT connections in the public sector.

According to the report, IoT growth is being fueled by a mix of technological, political and social factors which are driving more organizations to adopt IoT-enabled solutions. For example, use of social media and mobile technology has transformed consumer and citizen expectations, while the declining cost of sensors, connectivity, and data processing power is making the ROI equations for IoT projects look even more appealing.

The carrier went on to highlight ever-growing security concerns for a constantly-connected world as well by noting, “In a mature IoT world, there will be millions of intelligent endpoints, such as cars, pacemakers, and aircon units, each equipped with dozens of active sensors and millions of lines of code. Many of these endpoints will be accessible, often physically, to hackers. The network connections that these endpoints use to communicate may also be vulnerable, giving access to central applications and databases.”

Interested in reading the Verizon report in its entirety? Download it here.

This French agency is quantifying everything in its office

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Sid Lee is bringing everything in its office online to track coffee pours, toilet flushes, light switches, faxes sent, and more.

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Do you love numbers and real-time data? Are you interested in useless facts and figures? Most likely not as as much as France-based creative agency Sid Lee Paris does.

In celebration of its sixth anniversary, the agency has tapped into the Internet of Things to track our infinitely quantifiable world using real-time data. To do so, the team had placed digital Arduino-embedded sensors throughout its Paris office to count everything that goes on, ranging from how many cups of coffee are poured in a day, to how many times the toilets flush, to how many times doors are opened, to how many steps are taken on the stairs, to how many liters of water are drunk, among countless other things.

This content is then presented in a sleek online dashboard so you too can monitor a day inside the walls of Sid Lee. Users can click on a specific measurement to compare the running statistics with other figures to date, enabling you to see some interesting patterns. Intrigued? You can check out their dashboard here. In the meantime, watch the video below.

Keyboardio looks to make keyboards better and brighter

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This next-gen keyboard will give your pinkies a rest and eliminate mice. 

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The arrangement of characters on a QWERTY keyboard was first designed back in 1868 by Christopher Sholes, who happened to also be the inventor of the typewriter. According to popular myth, Sholes arranged the keys in their odd fashion to prevent jamming on mechanical typewriters by separating commonly used letter combinations. Other than adding a few function and arrow keys, the text entry device has remained relatively unchanged for nearly 150 years. 

Have you ever thought about how you might improve the standard QWERTY layout? Well, Jesse Vincent and Kaia Dekker have with their butterfly-shaped keyboard that places a greater emphasis on the thumb, lessens the stress on your pinkies, and offers a more natural position for the hand and wrist — something that may prove to be a lifesaver for those suffering from carpal tunnel or arthritis.

“The traditional keyboard was designed for typewriters, not hands. Staggered columns made room for mechanical components, without concern for wrist angles or finger lengths. Shift keys were placed under the weakest fingers,” Vincent explains.

Instead, the aptly named Keyboardio puts keys such as control, alt, delete, shift and a new ‘function’ button under the typists’ palms, all within easy reach of the thumbs. Vincent says that the team has also been experimenting with ways to eliminate the mouse altogether by using the W, A, S and D keys for general cursor movements and other keys to tell the mouse where to go on the screen.

And, unlike its predecessors, this next-gen keyboard is Bluetooth-enabled allowing users to switch between devices and carry it from one meeting to the next. Not only does Keyboardio ship with the source code and a screwdriver, it can even be programmed to create your own shortcuts.

The modular keyboard is built around an ATmega32U4 and a pair of Semtech SX1509 IO expanders, along with some battery charging circuitry, World Semi WS2812Bs LEDs and a Bluetooth module — all housed inside a CNC-milled anodized aluminum enclosure with wood-grain hand rests. Beyond that, the keyswitches are Matias Quiet Click switches with ultra-bright, colorful LEDs located under each one.

After quite a bit of prototyping, the team has finally revealed what they’re calling the Keyboardio Model 01 — 20 of which will begin shipping in the coming weeks. Until then, Vincent and Kaia are working intensively on preparing a Kickstarter campaign that is expected to launch sometime this spring. In addition to that, the team is currently planning a “startup kit” with a set of keyboards geared towards the Maker crowd.

While Keyboardio may initially appeal to the enthusiast crowd, the open-source nature of the gadget will certainly entice a number of hardware and software fans to offer their own set of modifications as well. Interested? You can click over to its official page here.

10 smart crowdfunding campaigns you may want to back this week

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Every Friday, we’re taking a look at some of the smartest, most innovative projects that have caught our attention on Kickstarter and Indiegogo over the last seven days. 

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Qduino Mini

This Arduino-compatible board features a built-in battery charger and fuel gauge. Qtechknow is currently seeking $12,500 on Kickstarter.

Ringo

This palm-sized, Arduino-based digital pet robot is packed with an accelerometer, gyrosocope, 6x RGB LED lights, sound, and communication sensors. Plum Geek is currently seeking $12,000 on Kickstarter.

Sesame

This smart device will let you enter your home with a secret knock on either the door or phone, thereby replacing your keys in a matter of seconds. Sesame is currently seeking $100,000 on Kickstarter.

FlexCharger

This all-in-one charging station allows simultaneous charging for multiple smart devices. FlexCharger is currently seeking $10,000 on Indiegogo.

Woolet

This next-generation, Bluetooth-enabled wallet keeps your cash and cards safe. Woolet is currently seeking $15,000 on Kickstarter.

Smart Rope

This LED-embedded jump rope connects to your smartphone and creates an “anywhere, anytime” fitness experience. Tangram Factory is currently seeking $60,000 on Kickstarter.

STACKER

This inexpensive, commercial-grade 3D printer offers high speed, a large build volume, and is specially-designed for composite filaments. STACKER is currently seeking $100,000 on Kickstarter.

MIDIWidget

This widget makes it easy to control real-world things using MIDI messages from your computer or controller. MIDIWidget is currently seeking $6,000 on Kickstarter.

FOGO Adventure Gadget

This device boasts a flashlight, GPS, Bluetooth, a backup battery and a digital walkie-talkie, making for the ultimate adventure gadget. FOGO is currently seeking $125,000 on Kickstarter.

SPARK Electron

This tiny Arduino-like cellular development kit comes with a SIM card and an affordable data plan for low-bandwidth things. Spark.IO is currently seeking $30,000 on Kickstarter.

Did you happen to miss last week’s notable campaigns? If so, you can check them out here.

The Sesame smart lock lets you open the door with a secret knock

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A play on the phrase “open sesame,” Candy House is hoping to usher in an entirely new era of smart home entry.

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With the rise of in-house connected devices such as thermostats and lights over the last couple of years, there certainly has been no shortage of smart locks in 2015. However, a majority of them require a phone or some sort of code to gain access. Imagine instead of having to sift through your belongings in search of keys, just a knock on the front door could do the trick — much like the method used for entering your treehouse or special fort as a child. That’s the idea behind Candy House’s latest product, anyhow.

Sesame — which recently hit Kickstarter — is smart lock that lets you get inside your home with a secret knock on either the door or phone. Beyond that, the system comes with an optional Atmel based Wi-Fi bridge that plugs into a nearby wall, enabling owners to remotely control the lock, share access to guests and receive notifications whenever the door is opened and closed via its companion mobile app. Sesame will even automatically lock behind you — something that’ll come in handy for the forgetful type.

Candy House claims its interface is simpler, connection time is faster and the unit itself more affordable than others on the market today. Impressively, the easy-to-install device fits on any existing lock in seconds, without having to remove or swap anything. In fact, its creators claim that users can affix their gadget to a door with a single strip of 3M Command tape.

“Have a weird lock? No problem. Our five-patented design works with just about any single cylinder deadbolt in the world,” a company rep explains.

The Wi-Fi Access Point runs open-source OpenWrt Linux and uses 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and a Bluetooth LE 4.0 radio. It’s also fully-compatible with Arduino IDE v1.5.4 or later, making it an ideal choice to connect Bluetooth devices to a home/mesh Wi-Fi network. The lock features a built-in accelerometer tasked with detecting special knock patterns and a multi-color LED indicator light. As for power supply, Sesame lasts approximately 500 days on lithium batteries and will alert a user when the batteries are low through its app.

The device, which resembles that of an old-school kitchen timer, measures in at 3.36″x 2.21” and weighs just over 6 oz. For the launch of its Kickstarter campaign, Sesame comes in a variety of colors including piano black, leather white, metallic silver, champagne pink, and a two-toned light wooden with a beige center. What’s more, the gadget boasts an additional layer of security with AES 256-bit and TLS 1.2 encryption.

Those who can’t say goodbye to their keys completely, or worry about Sesame’s battery dying, can take comfort in knowing that they can still use a traditional key to open the door.

Interested? Head over to its official crowdfunding page, where Candy House is currently seeking $100,000. Pending all goes to plan, the first batch of Sesames are expected to ship at the end of April 2015, with additional units slated for May and June. If the campaign is able to attain its $2 million and $3 million stretch goals, the team says it will explore the use of voice commands and facial recognition, respectively, as means of access.

Photos: Atmel @ Embedded World 2015

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Weren’t able to join us in Nuremberg? Here’s a look back at what you missed from Embedded World 2015.

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Well, another Embedded World has drawn to a successful close. With the Internet of Things (IoT) undoubtedly the focal theme of this year’s show, Atmel took center stage by exhibiting a number of new smart and securely connected solutions.

To better demonstrate the company’s extensive lineup of IoT devices, Atmel’s (jam-packed) booth played home to various technology zones highlighting the latest (and smartest) in connectivity for automotive, industrial, smart living, security, the DIY community as well as cloud computing with partners like PubNub, Proximetry and Arrayent.

In addition, the area showcased a number of popular products on the market today that are powered by Atmel microcontrollers, such as the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard (XMEGA), Braun Series 7 Electric Shaver (AVR), Philips Hue (ATmega256RFR2) and Kärcher’s Window Vac (tinyAVR) — which all proved to be quite a hit amongst attendees.

Aside from a series of technical sessions and presentations around CryptoAuthentication, the week also ushered in a wave of some pretty big announcements — which garnered the attention of media including GigaOM, Electronics Weekly and EE Journal — most notably the debut of the SAM DA1 automotive grade MCUs, the launch of an Xplained extension board with Bosch intelligent sensor, as well as a newly-formed partnership with Sequitur Labs to bring robust adaptive security to the IoT.

Even before the show opened its doors, the company kicked off the Embedded World experience aboard a train ride from Munich to Nuremberg on Monday, where a handful of Atmel VIPs were joined by a dozen or so journalists, editors and industry analysts.

Oh, and who could forget AVR Man? Once again, the Maker community’s favorite superhero captured the hearts of many, both students and experienced engineers alike.

Want to browse through all the photos from this past week’s show? View the entire album here.

Atmel’s new car MCU tips imminent SoC journey

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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.

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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 and the Evolution of MCU

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.

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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.