Wireless solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a future world where all types of electronic devices link to each other via the Internet. Today, it’s estimated that there are nearly 10 billion devices in the world connected to the Internet, a figure expected to triple to nearly 30 billion by 2020.

And as Maker Afroditi Psarra recently noted, wearable computing is on track to ultimately connect our physical bodies (wearable tech) with the Internet of Things (IoT).

Clearly, wireless connectivity is more important than ever, as as wireless extends from PC peripherals and home entertainment applications to the smart grid and beyond. To support these sophisticated applications, Atmel offers a complete line of IEEE 802.15.4-compliant, IPv6/6LoWPAN based, ZigBee certified wireless solutions.

They are based on Atmel’s family of RF transceivers, 8-bit and 32-bit AVR and ARM microcontrollers. To facilitate rapid development and speed time to market, Atmel offers a variety of free software stacks, reference designs, wireless modules and development kits. Simply put, the provide everything engineers need to meet the unique needs of low-cost, low-power, wireless control and sensor network applications.

Key features include:

• Single-Chip Solutions — The Atmel IEEE 802.15.4-compliant single-chip solution combines an AVR microcontroller and best-in-class 2.4GHz RF transceiver. This particular combo is ideal for applications requiring minimal board space and cost – without compromising on MCU and RF performance.
• Transceivers – Atmel’s wide range of high performance, low-power IEEE 802.15.4-compliant transceivers support regional 700/800/900MHz frequency bands available in China, Europe, Japan and North America, as well as the 2.4GHz band available worldwide. For maximum flexibility, these unique RF transceivers can be combined with Atmel’s microcontrollers over the SPI Interface.
• Bundles – Flexible IEEE 802.15.4-compliant bundles make it easy to create a solution that is appropriately aligned to your application needs.
• Modules – ZigBits are compact 802.15.4/ZigBee modules featuring record-breaking range performance and exceptional ease of integration. ZigBits also pack a complete FCC/CE/ARIB certified RF design that eliminates costly and time-consuming RF development and gets your product to market on-time and on-budget.

Additional information about Atmel’s MCU Wireless controllers can be found here.

Atmel powers data concentrators

Data concentrators are typically used in AMR (automatic meter reading) and AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) architecture to collect information and data, often from multiple meters, before forwarding the data to a utility company. Understandably, they are heavily used in densely populated areas.

Some AMI architectures might utilize a multi-utility communications unit or communications gateway at each home, instead of a meter, to support the HAN and WAN. These communications products or meters connect to a data concentrator, which manages anywhere from 10-2000 devices, depending on the architecture and communication medium adapted.

Atmel microcontrollers can be used to provide the necessary connectivity and processing power for data concentrators, MUCs and communications gateways.

Indeed, Atmel MCUs offer a number of key features for engineers, such as multiple connectivity options that include Ethernet, multiple UARTs, USB and SDIO. Meanwhile, select AVR microcontrollers support USB and OTG, with full or high speed Atmel solutions offering support for a variety of USB classes, including CDC, HID, MS and DFU. Atmel also offers power line communications (PLC) system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions with full digital implementation to deliver high performance, high temperature stability and best-in-class sensitivity.

Additional key specs include robust processing power supporting application functionality, CryptoAuthentication for security, RF transceivers to facilitate intelligent connectivity and non-volatile serial memory to enable data logging.

“It is important to note that data concentrators are usually positioned in transform centers, and collect communications from several different homes for transfer to the utility. As such, not all of the above communications examples will be supported on any one unit. Basically, communications depend on the AMI architecture implemented,” an Atmel engineering rep told Bits & Pieces.

“Some AMR/AMI architectures do not use a smart electricity meter as the hub of the home system, but instead utilize multi-utility communications (MUC) and communications gateways. These products can connect to a single HAN, or can look after several in an apartment block. MUCs and communications gateways usually supply a bridge between the HAN and WAN, and will connect to data concentrators. Atmel solutions deliver the robust processing power and solid security that is key for critical communications.”

A full list of suggested Atmel devices for data concentrators can be found here.

Atmel expands maXTouch auto lineup

Atmel has rolled out a new maXTouch family to facilitate single-layer shieldless designs in automotive center stacks, navigation systems, radio interfaces and rear seat entertainment platforms.

“The mXT336S is optimized for 7-inch touchscreens, while the mXT224S targets smaller touchscreens and tablets,” said Stephan Thaler, Atmel Marketing Director for Automotive Touch Products. “Both are AEC-Q100-compliant and fully automotive qualified.”

Dedicated firmware and a high signal-to-noise ratio makes these devices ideally suited for very noisy environments. Since only a high signal-to-noise ratio enables detection of touches with a “gloved” finger, the devices provide full support for gloved hand operation on automotive touchscreens.

As Thaler notes, conventional touch controllers are unable to handle LCD noise, so an additional shield layer is typically required to prevent noise coupling.

“However, thanks to the [optimized] noise handling and filtering capabilities of our new automotive- qualified maXTouch devices, shields are no longer required, and designers can use single-layer sensors instead of dual or triple layers, which are typical in many current applications,” he explained.

“By eliminating an additional layer, designers have a thinner stack which reduces the overall system complexity, lowering the overall cost and power consumption, which results in higher yields during production.”

Indeed, the mXT336S/mXT224S devices support touch detection, up to 10 simultaneous touches, touch size reporting, single- and dual-touch gesture calculation, communication of X/Y positions, gesture support and the ability to eliminate unintended touches. Users can also perform multi-touch gestures (pinch, stretch, etc.), while unintended touches are rejected, such as a resting hand on the screen. Simply put, the above-mentioned key features help bring the smartphone experience into contemporary cars.

Samples of the automotive-qualified mXT336S and mXT224S touch controllers are currently available in TQFP64 packages, while demo kits for both devices can also be ordered to support design-in and shorten time-to-market.

Wearable tech and the IoT

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, wearable tech and the rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT) are intertwined. Simply put, the IoT refers to a future world where all types of electronic devices link to each other via the Internet. Today, it’s estimated that there are nearly 10 billion devices in the world connected to the Internet, a figure expected to triple to nearly 30 billion by 2020.

Recently, Ben Arnold, director of industry analysis for consumer technology at the NPD Group, told the AFP that traditional tech companies will have to start paying attention to how sensors are enabling us to live.

“[People] are ultimately going to become more aware of their data in the digital ether,” he explained. “I suspect wearables are going to disrupt the way tech firms are doing business now.”

Yesterday, Mike Muller, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of ARM, expressed his belief that wearable technology will indeed play a “key role” in taking the Internet of Things (IoT) to the next level.

“Wearable technology will be all about creating highly personalized experiences that enhance day-to-day leisure, work, convenience and health. These elements have become known as ‘the quantified self’, which is a movement to incorporate technology into data acquisition on many aspects of a person’s daily life,” he told Business Today.

“This technology encompasses self-monitoring and self-sensing, which combines wearable sensors and wearable computing. The IoT will enable devices to be joined, anywhere, anytime. The challenge is to make this new world work as easily and as seamlessly for the user, as for web pages to link to devices today.”

According to Mr. Muller, the future of the IoT will be realized when all of today’s devices (and future tech) are connected, sharing trusted data.

“The Internet of Things is an enabler. It will be driven by whoever has the energy and the best solutions. It will have many facets. Like the Internet, it is not one thing. Wearables will also disrupt app development. While fitness apps started the trend, it is set to branch out to cover other life and social functions,” said Mr. Muller.

“Interfaces continue to play an important part in this ecosystem – but the best ideas will undoubtedly drive some interesting new developments here too and even redefine what an interface actually is.”

Interested in learning more about wearable tech? Check out what Atmel has been up to in this exciting space.

Designing next-gen UIs with the SAMA5D3 MPU

Intuitive user interfaces (UIs) are ubiquitous for smartphones, tablets and personal media players. But what about user interfaces in the world of industrial automation applications and home control units?

Frédéric Gaillard, Atmel Product Marketing Manager, tells Bits & Pieces the use of MIMIC diagrams and traditional switches and rotary controls are still quite commonplace for industrial equipment. Ditto for home thermostats, the majority of which are mechanical.

“There are actually some very good reasons for this, as gloved hands, moisture, and condensation can play havoc with touchscreen controls. The industrial operating environment may dictate large switches for these reasons,” Gaillard explains.

“Safety considerations may warrant the use of traditional control mechanisms such as switches. Nevertheless, equipment manufacturers are keen to update both the functionality and cosmetic aesthetics of their products. Industrial automation equipment is increasingly networked.”

Clearly, when it comes to home automation, there is a need for an integrated display and control center to control heating, ventilation and smart-energy monitoring.

“You need a higher performance microprocessor, but with a more intuitive, easy-to-understand user interface (UI). When embarking on a new control panel application, embedded developers are likely to select a microprocessor device rather than a microcontroller,” says Gaillard.

“This is dictated by the processing power required for the connectivity and the need to manage a TFT LCD screen and associated UI. An example of such a microprocessor is the Atmel SAMA5D3 MPU, based on an ARM Cortex-A5 core. It’s 65nm low-power process geometry delivers up to 850 DMIPS (drhystone million instructions per second) at 536 MHz and up to 1,328 MB/s at a 166 MHz bus speed.”

The SAMA5D3 also features a floating-point unit (FPU) for high-precision compute-intensive applications, along with a 24-bit TFT LCD controller and graphics accelerator for image composition. Optimized for use in industrial control and HMI (human-machine interface) applications, the device is equipped with a comprehensive set of peripheral interfaces including dual Ethernet, high-speed USB and dual CAN.

Simply put, the Atmel SAMA5D3 MPU is an ideal candidate for most control panel-oriented designs. With its Cortex-A5 core and vector FPU, the MPU is capable of achieving accelerated graphics processing. Coupled with the 32-bit DDR (dual data rate) controller performing up to 1,328 MB/s, it offers enough raw horsepower to drive a high-resolution screen display via the 24-bit TFT LCD controller block. Resistive touchscreen support is integrated into the device, although one can alternatively interface to an external Atmel maXTouch capacitive touchscreen controller.

On the software side, Atmel has partnered with TimeSys to port the Qt framework and its comprehensive range of development tools for easy UI design. Qt can best be described as a cross-platform application framework with a reliable, easy-to-use toolkit to develop complex graphical user interfaces.

“Qt is based on a comprehensive set of widgets that you use to create a GUI screen design. Within the Qt Creator development environment, the Qt Designer tool allows you to lay out the interface design and plan the human interaction,” Gaillard adds.

“The excellent support for multimedia and 3D graphics, plus all the traditional concepts of text entry, check-boxes, and radio buttons, all help to facilitate the easy creation of industrial interface designs. Indeed, the Qt Designer creates C++ code that integrates into your application, while QML defines all the necessary visual graphical interface elements to create and animate visual interaction.”

Interested in learning more? Check out Atmel’s official white paper on the subject here.

Motor control with AVR MCUs

Microcontrollers (MCUs) are becoming more and more common for motor control applications as they replace Application-Specific Standard Products (ASSP) and ASICs. Simply put, MCUs are equipped with embedded peripherals – thereby offering considerable flexibility while reducing costs.

Typical applications for motor control MCUs – such as Atmel’s extensive AVR lineup – include compressors and fans in refrigerators, fans in cooker hoods, as well as drums and pumps in washing machines.

“Atmel AVR MCUs are particularly well suited for motor control applications. First off, Flash memory provides flexibility that enables developers to use the same microcontroller for multiple applications, all while easily upgrading the program during an application’s lifetime,” an Atmel engineering rep told Bits and Pieces.

“Secondly, code compatibility allows engineers to port existing development to other Atmel AVR microcontrollers based on new application requirements. Thirdly, the extended family of Atmel 8-bit AVR microcontrollers helps engineers choose a perfect fit for a specific application, while keeping costs under control. And lastly, dedicated peripherals such as high-end PWM modules and ADC are ideal for motor control applications.”

Numerous motors  can be appropriately paired with Atmel AVR MCUs, including a three-phase BLDC, two-phase BLDC, asynchronous AC and stepper.

Interested in learning more? Additional information about using Atmel AVR MCUs for various motor control applications is available here.

Wearable computing with Atmel MCUs

Atmel is smack in the middle of the rapidly evolving wearable tech revolution. First off, Atmel’s SAM4S and tinyAVR MCUs are inside the Agent smart-watch which recently hit Kickstarter.

Atmel MCUs have also tipped up in a number of Maker projects for wearable tech, like the LED pocket watch we featured earlier this month, as well as Adafruit’s Flora, which is built around Atmel’s Atmega32u4 MCU.

And why not? Simply put, Atmel offers a wide range of wearable computing platforms designed for ultra-low power consumption – both in active and standby modes. Indeed, Atmel’s EventSystem with SleepWalking allows peripherals to automatically connect with each other even in ultra low power modes, thereby simplifying sensor interfacing and further optimizing power consumption. Meanwhile, “Wakeup” times are minimized, facilitating the use of low-power modes without missing communications data or sensor events.

In addition, Atmel devices integrate numerous features to save circuit board space, such as USB transceivers and embedded termination resistors. Many devices are offered in very small form factor packages, a critical characteristic for engineers and Makers designing wearable tech.

On the software side, the Atmel Software Framework (ASF) includes communications libraries to support external Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, mesh and point-to-point networking on Atmel’s 802.15.4/Zigbee AT86RF radios as well as a full range of USB drivers. The ASF also contains libraries and driver functions for many popular third-party sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers.

In addition, standalone Atmel controllers support off-the-shelf capacitive buttons, sliders and wheel (BSW) implementations. Plus, all our microcontrollers can directly manage capacitive buttons via provided software libraries, while the maXTouch series of capacitive touchscreen controllers are capable of managing optically clear touch sensors overlaid on LCD displays.

And last but certainly not least, Atmel’s touch platforms may be tuned to function when moisture is present – which is often a key requirement for wearable applications. Interested in learning more? Check out Atmel’s white paper on wearable tech here.

Video: Experience touch like never before

Devices powered by Atmel’s maXTouch controllers boast a wide array of features to facilitate a superior user experience.

This includes intelligent touch processing algorithms, optimized noise suppression, high responsiveness, pinpoint precision and sensor hub technology – all fusing together input from motion-processing sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers.

This allows engineers to design a highly responsive, high-fidelity touch experience in mobile devices – even in the most punishing noise environments.

Key applications include:

• Smartphones
• Tablets
• Windows 8 Notebooks and Ultrabooks
• Digital still cameras
• e-Readers
• GPS systems
• Portable media players

Want to learn more about Atmel’s maXTouch S technology? You can check out additional details here.