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TETRA or P25 legacy narrowband technologies no longer meet the connectivity needs of today’s first responders. As mission-critical network requirements grow, broadband connectivity is the answer. Proper device and mobile network testing eases the migration to 3GPP-compliant broadband mission-critical services (MCX). At Critical Communications World 2024 (CCW 2024) in Dubai, Rohde & Schwarz will demonstrate its integrated solutions that enable reliable operation of mission-critical devices, networks and services. Solutions that enhance situational awareness for law enforcement and protection round out the exhibited portfolio.

When lives are at stake, reliable communications are vital to emergency services. While voice applications are still the top priority for first responders, data and video-based mission-critical applications are becoming increasingly important in crisis situations and for efficient day-to-day operations. Public safety and government agencies around the world are migrating their various communications networks from narrowband land mobile radio (LMR) like TETRA or P25 to broadband networks that meet this new need not only for voice but also for high-speed data services.

This migration to either 3GPP-compliant isolated secure networks or commercial 4G/5G-based cellular networks with embedded mission-critical capabilities must be planned and executed very carefully in order to maintain existing narrowband capabilities. Narrowband networks will still be in use in parallel for another decade, providing features such as push-to-talk (PTT) to their users. The 3GPP-defined internal architecture for MCX services includes amongst others user/group management, policy and charging enforcement, signaling control, and cross-network interworking. Applying appropriate and advanced test and measurement techniques during this ongoing migration process is essential to ensure reliable operation of critical communications for first responders and to save lives in crisis scenarios.

As an established partner of the critical communications ecosystem, Rohde & Schwarz is showcasing its comprehensive range of test solutions for MCX at Critical Communications World 2024, taking place from May 14 to 16 at the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, UAE. At booth M20, visitors can learn from Rohde & Schwarz experts about the full range of test solutions, extending from R&D and conformance testing of end devices to network testing including MCX application verification. Solutions for spectrum monitoring and network protection complete the exhibited portfolio, all aimed at ensuring the reliable operation of mission-critical networks and services.

Device R&D and conformance testing

Rohde & Schwarz is bringing its extensive expertise in 3GPP conformance testing to the world of critical communications, demonstrating at CCW 2024 for the first time its industry-leading 3GPP MCX device conformance test suite on the R&S CMX500 4G/5G one-box tester. The test suite includes comprehensive 3GPP RF, functional, protocol and application tests for rugged MCX devices. In addition, the R&S CMA180 radio test set for testing PMR (public mobile radio) and LMR (land mobile radio) devices will be on display, highlighting the company’s cutting-edge solutions for device R&D and conformance validation for MCX device manufacturers.

Network testing

As an expert in mobile network testing, Rohde & Schwarz will also present its know-how in active and passive mobile network testing methods and solutions that cover the entire MCX network lifecycle, from coverage and interference measurements to specific MCX service testing like MCPTT and MCVideo quality. Visitors will be able to experience a unique MCX smartphone-based test solution implemented on the QualiPoc. This solution can be used in any MCX environment to assess the performance of MCX private and group calls, including measurement of 3GPP-specified MCX KPIs. Another test solution based on the R&S ROMES4 drive test software and the R&S TSMA6B mobile network scanner provides a universal tool for network engineering and optimization.

Spectrum monitoring and analysis

The Rohde & Schwarz portfolio also includes efficient solutions for stationary, transportable and portable spectrum monitoring systems that provide comprehensive spectrum awareness. At CCW 2024, Rohde & Schwarz will be exhibiting the R&S PR200, a tried-and-tested portable monitoring receiver for interference hunting in and around specific areas and facilities. It is an indispensable tool for regulatory authorities, mobile network operators, police forces, military units and other security organizations.

Cellular network analysis

R&S NESTOR is a turnkey mobile communications solution for situational awareness, law enforcement and protection of critical infrastructure. It is a software platform used in conjunction with R&S TSMA6B mobile network scanners and QualiPoc smartphones to analyze cellular networks via the air interface. Public authorities and security organizations, for example, use it to detect, identify, locate and analyze deployed cellular technologies and occupied bands and channels.

Rohde & Schwarz will present its comprehensive portfolio of solutions for mission-critical communications at Critical Communications World 2024 at the Dubai World Trade Centre from May 14 to 16, 2024, at booth M20. In addition, Rohde & Schwarz experts will share their insights at the Focus Forum on testing and certification of broadband devices on May 15, 2024 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

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In the third blog of this four-part series, we will explore the range of personal micromobility solutions available within the consumer market, the technical challenges they face, and how technology can resolve these issues.

1. Introduction
2. Urban Infrastructure and Micromobility
3. Personal Transportation and Consumer Challenges
4. How Technology Will Shape the Future

Personal Micromobility Solutions

Personal micromobility solutions come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from e-bikes and e-scooters to electric skateboards and hoverboards. For some, they are a form of transportation used as an alternative to walking or driving; for others, they are a form of exercise equipment.

E-bikes are one of the more prominent micromobility solutions; analysts Precedence Research expect the e-bike market to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.89 percent from 2023 to 2032, achieving a market value of $44.08 billion.[1]

Whereas early e-bikes were essentially bicycles with heavy bolt-on batteries and hub motors, modern e-bikes are significantly lighter and are designed from the ground up to accommodate electric drive systems and batteries. Wiring is now carefully passed through the frame’s tubing to avoid damage. For midrange and above models, mid-drive motor units are located between the pedals to optimize the drivetrain’s efficiency and weight distribution (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Modern urban e-bikes feature mid-drive motors and integrated batteries. (Source: stockphoto-graf/stock.adobe.com) Beyond e-bikes

In addition to e-bikes, there is a wide array of micromobility alternatives, such as hoverboards, Segways, electric skateboards, and e-scooters. Although ownership of these is legal, their usage in the UK and most of the EU is restricted to private land due to the prohibition of their presence in public spaces, such as footpaths, roads, and cycle lanes.

In terms of electronic design, these products are similar to e-bikes, with a motor, control interface, and battery pack. The distinction between them and e-bikes lies in the control of their movement, as they rely exclusively on an electric powertrain operated through a throttle or, in the case of hoverboards and Segways, a gyroscopic sensor that the user can manipulate to regulate the speed.

Challenges of Personal Micromobility

While personal micromobility solutions have seen incredible growth in recent decades—a trend set to continue—barriers are impacting the market. While regulatory issues need to be addressed, there are still technical challenges faced by existing personal micromobility solutions that must be resolved.

Battery Fires

Perhaps the most prevalent issue is battery fire due to the failure of individual cells or the battery management system (BMS). The London Fire Brigade reported 116 fires in 2022 caused by e-bike and e-scooter batteries, with occurrences becoming more frequent. At the start of 2023, emergency calls specifically regarding e-bike and e-scooter battery fires averaged as every other day.[2] Transport for London (TfL) has banned electric scooters, hoverboards, and skateboards from its services since 2021 due to a rise in fires.

Within modern micromobility batteries are an array of lithium-ion (Li-ion) 18650 cells linked together to provide the necessary charge capacity and voltage (usually 36V, 48V, or 52V). The electrolytes used within Li-ion cells are lithium salts. While lithium salts are ideal for this application, they are also volatile and flammable; as a result, lithium cells are extremely sensitive to temperature changes and can experience thermal runaway.

When a cell is compromised, either through damage, manufacturing defects, external heat, or over-charging/discharging, its temperature increases rapidly until it catches fire or explodes, igniting the rest of the battery pack and creating a runaway event. Furthermore, because the cathodes in Li-ion batteries contain oxygen, any fire is self-fueling and extremely hard to extinguish.

Maintaining Safety

While micromobility fires are far too common, they are almost completely restricted to devices at the lower end of the market, with mid- and premium-tier manufacturers having few to no cases of fires.

Designing Safe Batteries

To save costs, lower-end batteries often use a simple BMS designed only to balance the cells charging and discharging, with a fuse on the charging line and power outlet.

In comparison, higher-end models implement much more sophisticated safety measures, like those recommended by Littelfuse, which provides a wide range of solutions designed for e-bikes and other micromobility designs (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Littelfuse e-bike battery pack block diagram. (Source: Mouser Electronics)

Negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistors are recommended within its battery block diagram, such as the Littelfuse KC Series, which can be used to monitor the temperature of cells independently, allowing for microcontrollers to act before thermal runaway can occur.

These are used alongside battery-level overcurrent and overvoltage protection devices, including the compact surface mount 0805L Series polymeric positive temperature coefficient device (PPTC), while Littelfuse ITV Battery Protectors allow for additional protection (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Littelfuse ITV battery protectors. (Source: Mouser Electronics)

Sitting between the combined cells output and the BMS unit, the ITV battery protectors are a fast-responding and cost-effective surface-mount solution designed to cut the circuit when an IC or field-effect transistor (FET) detects an overvoltage.

Conclusion

Micromobility fires present a considerable risk to consumers and dent confidence in the market. To guarantee the safety of Li-ion batteries, designers must include multiple safety measures throughout the battery, targeting voltage, current, and temperature at both the battery pack and cell level. In addition, rigorous third-party testing and complying with local regulations help ensure designs are less likely to fail, and if they do, they fail in a safe manner, preventing thermal runaway.

In the final blog of this series, we will explore the future of micromobility.

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Along with Microchip’s Mi-V ecosystem, new device family helps system designers to lower power, size and weight and speed time to market

Developers of spacecraft electronics utilize radiation-tolerant (RT) field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to ensure high performance, reliability, power-efficiency and the best-in-class security for emerging space domain threats. To take it a step further and help provide fast, cost-effective software customization, Microchip Technology (Nasdaq: MCHP) has introduced the RT PolarFire® system-on-chip (SoC) FPGA. Developed on Microchip’s RT PolarFire FPGA, it is the first real-time Linux® capable, RISC-V-based microprocessor subsystem on a flight-proven RT PolarFire FPGA fabric.

With today’s announcement, developers can now start designing using the commercially available PolarFire SoC (MPFS460) device and Libero® SoC development tools. Along with Microchip’s extensive Mi-V ecosystem, PolarFire SoC solution stacks, the PolarFire SoC Icicle Kit or the PolarFire SoC Smart Embedded Vision Kit, developing lower power solutions for the challenging thermal environments seen in space can happen today.

Safety-critical systems, control systems, space and security applications need the flexibility of the Linux Operating System (OS) and the determinism of real-time systems to control hardware. RT PolarFire SoC FPGAs feature a multi-core Linux-capable processor that is coherent with the memory subsystem. The RT PolarFire SoC enables central satellite processing capabilities similar to those in single board computers which are common in the space industry for command and data handling, in platform avionics and in payload control. The SoC allows for flexible implementation of highly integrated designs, customization and evolution of function while improving size, weight and power considerations.

Systems deployed in space are subjected to harsh radiation, prompting design methodologies that can provide protection for the most critical radiation-induced upset types. Unlike SRAM FPGAs, the RT PolarFire SoC is designed for zero configuration memory upsets in radiation, eliminating the need for an external scrubber and reducing the total system cost. Satellites are designed to deliver both peak and average power and to dissipate heat through conductive paths, namely metal. Starting with a SoC FPGA that can reduce your power consumption by up to 50 percent simplifies the entire satellite design, allowing designers to focus on the mission at hand.

“By delivering the design ecosystem for the industry’s first RISC-V-based radiation-tolerant SoC FPGA, Microchip is driving innovation and giving designers the ability to develop a whole new class of power-efficient applications for space.” said Bruce Weyer, corporate vice president for Microchip’s FPGA business unit. “This will also allow our clients to add enhanced edge compute capabilities to aerospace and defense systems.”

Microchip’s comprehensive Mi-V ecosystem helps designers slash time to market by providing support for symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) rich operating systems like Linux, VxWorks®, PIKE OS and more real time operating systems like RTEMS and Zephyr®. Mi-V is a comprehensive suite of tools and design resources, developed with numerous third parties, to support RISC-V designs. The Mi-V ecosystem aims to increase adoption of the RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA) and support Microchip’s SoC FPGA portfolio.

The RT PolarFire FPGA has already received the Qualified Manufacturers List (QML) Class Q designation based on specific performance and quality requirements as governed by the Defense Logistics Agency. There is also a clear path for this device to achieve QML Class V qualification, the highest qualification standard for space microelectronics.

For more than 60 years, Microchip’s solutions have powered space flight missions. Building on a history of providing reliable, low-power SONOS-, Flash- and antifuse-based FPGAs in the industry, the company works to help streamline the design of high-speed communications payloads, high-resolution sensors and instruments and flight-critical systems for Low Earth Orbit (LEO), deep space or anything in between. To learn more, visit Microchip’s radiation-tolerant FPGA page.

Availability of Development Tools

Customers can start designs now with the development tools and boards provided for the commercial equivalent PolarFire SoC. For more information, visit the PolarFire SoC page.

Resources

High-res images available through Flickr or editorial contact (feel free to publish):

• Application image:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/microchiptechnology/53640600685/sizes/l/

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Real-time application awareness from next-gen DPI engine R&S®PACE 2 to power traffic aggregation and optimization algorithms in XipLink’s multi-path hybrid networking solution

ipoque, a Rohde & Schwarz company and a leading provider of next-gen deep packet inspection (DPI) software for networking and cybersecurity solution providers, today announced that it is partnering with XipLink, a leading global technology provider of optimized, secure and intelligent multi-path hybrid networking. The technology partnership sees the creation of the XipLink Application Classification Engine (XipACE) by integrating ipoque’s cutting-edge DPI technology R&S®PACE 2 into the XipLink operating system (XipOS), delivering advanced application visibility for multi-orbit networking.

Layer 7 visibility for multi-orbit networking

Leveraging standards-based SCPS protocol acceleration, link bonding, Layer 2 switching and Layer 3 routing, XipLink delivers intelligent multi-orbit networking that ensures network performance and QoS across satellite, cellular and wireless networks. Embedding the next-gen DPI software R&S®PACE 2 introduces traffic visibility up to Layer 7 and beyond, powering the traffic aggregation and optimization algorithms used by XipLink. “Instantaneous identification of protocols and applications enables intelligent and contextual routing policies that are aligned to the criticality of the underlying applications and prevailing network conditions,” said Dr. Martin Mieth, VP Engineering at ipoque. Prior to R&S®PACE 2, XipLink relied on its built-in classification engine that supported network traffic visibility only up to Layer 4.

R&S®PACE 2 combines behavioral, statistical and heuristic analysis with metadata extraction to accurately and reliably identify protocols, applications and application attributes in real time. “Our breakthrough AI-based encrypted traffic intelligence, which includes machine learning and deep learning techniques, and high-dimensional data analysis, brings traffic awareness to the next level by identifying any type of IP traffic, despite encryption, obfuscation and anonymization,” said Dr. Mieth.

“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with ipoque to integrate their cutting-edge DPI software, R&S®PACE 2, into our XipOS product. The inclusion of R&S®PACE 2 underscores our dedication to delivering top-tier solutions to our customers who require enterprise-grade quality and efficiency,” said Jack Waters, CEO, XipLink. “Application-aware networking plays a crucial role in optimizing network resources, enabling us to meet the escalating demands while ensuring compliance with SLAs,” added Waters.

Delivering high-performance networks

By tapping into R&S®PACE 2’s high throughput and light-weight, efficient software form-factor, XipACE is able to augment the performance of its core functions, which include QoS management, traffic analytics, steering decisions, load balancing and dynamic link bonding. Apart from performance and scalability, XipLink’s selection of ipoque’s R&S®PACE 2 is also driven by the engine’s extensive feature and plug-in set, such as first packet classification, customizability of app signatures or tethering detection. “ipoque provides us with a proven technology that has been tested in challenging network environments. Its weekly updated signature library ensures that we keep tabs on the latest traffic trends.” said Jaco Botha, SVP Product at XipLink.

Driving the responsiveness and resilience of multi-orbit networks

From offloading traffic from congested pathways to tapping into GEO satellites to alleviate latency issues, insights from R&S®PACE 2 enable XipOS to support network diversity and resilience. At the policy level, it enables application prioritization and SLA compliance. With a growing number of applications that are bandwidth-hungry and latency-sensitive, R&S®PACE 2’s granular traffic analytics help operators to optimize their networks continuously and improve resource efficiency. The insights also pave the way for autonomous and self-healing networks via data-driven decision making. DPI analytics also support hybrid aggregation of GEO and NGSO, enabling XipOS to improve network scalability and security. “The partnership strengthens our position as the most efficient link aggregation and optimization solution in the market, especially in addressing networks that comprise constrained wireless links such as LEO services,” added Sasmith Reddi, SVP Marketing at XipLink.

The new partnership will boost XipLink’s multi-orbit networking portfolio, benefiting customers in various verticals including mobile, satellite, maritime, government and defense, as well as modem OEMs.

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Sushil Motwani, Founder, of Ayetexcel Pvt. Ltd. writes about the environmental impact of electronic waste and how smart projectors can help mitigate it 

Sushil Motwani, Founder, Ayetexcel Pvt. Ltd.

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Lithium-ion batteries are a crucial enabler in the ongoing global quest to electrify the transportation sector. While lithium-ion batteries are not the only solution for mobile energy (hydrogen-based fuel cells are also highly promising for certain applications) they appear certain to play a key role in vehicle electrification for years to come. Compared to other chemical batteries such as nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion batteries offer 50%+ greater capacity by weight.

To Download the Whitepaper Please Fill in the Form. >>>>

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Author: STMicroelectronics 

STM32CubeMX 6.11 is a new milestone as it allows developers to use the unique features of the new STM32H7R and STM32H7S. The software also continues to simplify development on STM32 by offering popular USB middleware previously bound to an OS. Similarly, it is the first version of CMake, which will significantly optimize workflows. STM32CubeMX thus continues to stand as the reference application for STM32 developers thanks to its UI that removes complexity and increases the accessibility of the STM32 ecosystem. Furthermore, the new version inaugurates support for the NUCLEO-U031R8, NUCLEO-U083RC, NUCLEO-H7S3L8, NUCLEO-H533RE.

What’s new in STM32CubeMX 6.11 Support for the STM32H7R and STM32H7S

STM32CubeMX 6.11 is a crucial update for the new STM32H7R and the STM32H7S MCUs because the software helps take advantage of their memory capabilities. Indeed, the devices have a smaller flash, which makes them the most cost-effective STM32H7. Since the device targets applications that must use external storage, the new memory can help significantly lower the bill of materials. Additionally, to make the embedded flash even more meaningful, ST introduced the boot flash, which stores the entire boot sequence, thus replacing the ROM we see on MCUs. Consequently, the embedded storage becomes even more flexible and practical since it isn’t only used for application, but boot, and initialization as well.

To make the boot flash more accessible, we are exposing the feature on STM32CubeMX. Put simply, the GUI will help developers configure the embedded flash to take advantage of its boot capabilities. Similarly, since the STM32H7R and STM32H7S will be used in systems with external memory, STM32CubeMX can set up an external loader so applications like STM32CubeProgrammer can program those discrete flash modules directly. It will also help developers load the main application in the embedded memory and the rest of the system in the external one.

Support for USBX middleware

The new version of STM32CubeMX adds support for the USBX middleware in a bare metal environment. USBX is a software stack that enables the use of a USB host or device. Until now, developers who wanted to use it had to install ThreadX RTOS. The problem is that if teams wanted to do away with the operating system to optimize their system, they couldn’t use USBX. Thanks to STM32CubeMX, it is now easier to include the right middleware into projects.

Make project generation

STM32CubeMX 6.11 inaugurates its support for CMake, an open-source suite of tools that allow developers to build, test, and package their software. It’s especially useful in large multi-platform projects because it helps streamline large workflows. The current CMake support current focuses on applications that run on a single-core MCU and do not use Trustzone. Over time, we will continue to update our CMake support to allow STM32CubeMX to generate projects for more STM32 microcontrollers.

What is STM32CubeMX?

STM32CubeMX is a graphical tool that helps developers generate code that initializes a microcontroller and its application. Users get an interface to configure the MCU’s pinout, resolve conflicts, and set up hardware peripherals and middleware. Users can also configure the clock tree and benefit from a wizard that automates specific calculations. Similarly, it can help set up and tune the DDR on STM32 MPUs. The tool also helps select MCUs or MPUs and download their software packages. Hence, it’s very often the first point of contact with developers. The tool is available in STM32CubeIDE or as a standalone download.

STM32CubeMX also assists developers in other parts of their job. For instance, finding the proper documentation can be tricky, especially with such a vast library. ST is famous for its extensive documentation, and partners tell us that it’s one of the reasons they select our devices. Hence, we offer tutorial videos within the standalone version of STM32CubeMX to help developers search for information. We offer content on configuring the clock tree, the pins, or different software features. Programmers who are new to our tools can start their application quicker, thus further lowering the barrier to entry and reducing friction.

For readers who may be less familiar with STM32CubeMX, here is a rundown of some of the features we’ve released in the past.

A UI for quick feature access

Embedded system developers must grasp the numerous layers of abstractions within their ecosystem. A typical PC or mobile app developer can do all their work with only one or very few high-level languages and scripting frameworks. Conversely, working with a microcontroller forces teams to consider the many existing layers. For instance, a team looking for the ultimate optimizations will work as close to the metal with low-level code. However, those looking for a more practical approach that can still yield excellent performance will use our hardware abstraction layer (HAL), and those with a priority on rapid development will use our board support package (BSP), which abstracts the HAL.

However, too many embedded ecosystems fail to understand that the higher the abstraction, the more developers seek convenience. Indeed, if teams must spend hours or even days setting up an abstraction layer, it becomes pointless. Consequently, CubeMX 6.10.0 introduced a new UI that helps initialize our BSP functions under “New Projects” -> “Start My Project”. The UI currently works with only a few of our newest development platforms (NUCLEO-C031C6, as well as NUCLEO-H563ZI and NUCLEO-U5A5ZJ-Q when TrustZone is disabled), but our teams are working to support more development boards over time.

Let’s take the example of a blinking light demo on the NUCLEO-H563ZI. The first step is to ensure that at least USER LED GREEN is selected in the Human Machine Interface dropdown menu. When choosing this option in the new UI, the system automatically commits the right pins, instead of just suggesting which pin to use and sets up the HAL so developers can immediately use the BSP function to toggle the LED on or off. Hence, users simply have to push the GENERATE CODE button on the top right side and open the main.c file in Core/Src/ to see the BSP_LED function initialized and ready to use in the main function and ready for use in the while loop.

Additionally, ST included a “Generate demonstration code” option, which adds comments and examples in the generated main C file. Hence, beyond automating the initialization process, the new UI can also serve as a guide for new developers who can open their new files and see how to toggle a light on and off, for instance. Consequently, even a developer with a cursory knowledge of C can run a blinking light application with minimal coaching. In a nutshell, the new version of STM32CubeMX aims to make embedded systems more accessible, even to those with minimal experience in the field.

No admin rights required

With version 6.10.0, STM32CubeMX for Windows managed to do away with the admin privilege requirement. Previously, the operating system would ask for the admin password when installing the utility. Now, thanks to a reworking of the installation process, Windows no longer asks for admin permissions, which is a tremendous help for users with a locked-down computer. Often, corporations lock their machines to prevent hacks or misuse, and it can be very cumbersome to ask the administrator to authorize an installation. STM32CubeMX 6.10.0 solved that. The Linux and macOS versions of STM32CubeMX don’t suffer the same issues due to how each operating system manages user privileges.

New support for the STM32H5 and STM32MP13

STM32CubeMX is often the first utility developers launch when working on their STM32 MCU because it lets them initialize their device, select the correct firmware package, configure the clock tree, and more. As a result, ST aims to add support for our latest devices continuously. For instance, this new version is compatible with the ability to generate files for secure projects running on our new STM32H5, which introduces new security safeguards. Similarly, STM32CubeMX now provides a memory management tool for the STM32WB and STM32WBA MCUs. The latter is also getting options to support its Thread, Zigbee, and 802.15.4 millimeter wave RF functionalities. Finally, as promised, we are also adding RTOS support for the new STM32MP13.

Memory Management Tool (MMT)

STM32CubeMX comes with a Memory Management Tool. The graphical user interface vastly facilitates the configuration of registers on devices like the STM32H5 or STM32U5, among others. For instance, it can help set up a device to use TrustZone, a secure environment, or a memory protection unit with only a few clicks. Previously, developers had to figure out which registers governed what function. The new MMT removes much of the complexity to create a far more intuitive experience. Furthermore, as STM32CubeMX 6.10.0 shows, we continue to bring the MMT to new STM32 devices.

Boot Path Management

The Boot Path Manager facilitates the configuration of the new boot loader available on the STM32H5. The latest mainstream MCU from ST supports an immutable root of trust (iRoT) and an updatable root of trust (uRoT). Depending on their security needs, developers can choose to use both, one or none. STM32CubeMX makes this possible by helping users select their configuration from a menu, automatically generate keys, and set up the boot path to secure the microcontroller. As STM32H5 development boards are increasingly available, we ensure that STM32CubeMX can help them take advantage of the new features.

Secure Manager

Secure Manager is another critical feature announced in early 2023 that is now accessible from STM32CubeMX. Secure Manager is our first Trusted Execution Environment. As part of the STM32 Trust initiative, it includes binaries and can help with certification at the system level. As a result, customers targeting a SESIL & PSA Level 3 Certification can vastly hasten their qualification process. In a nutshell, developers use STM32CubeMX to set up all the functionalities in Secure Manager, and the system then uses a scripting mechanism relying on the latest version of STM32CubeProgrammer CLI to configure the MCU.

Pre- and post-flight scripts

ST added pre- and post-flight scripting capabilities in STM32CubeMX to automate various tasks. Put simply, users can ask the application to launch scripts before and after it performs a code generation to adapt to the needs of expert users. For instance, a programmer could automatically copy files to a new folder or send them to GitHub before they are erased by the new files generated. It would enable engineers to keep a history of their configuration in case they’d like to revert to a previous state. Similarly, a post-flight script could add the newly generated files to a project and launch an IDE.

Authentication STM32CubeMX

STM32CubeMX requires users to log in to their my.ST.com account before downloading a package, which may perplex some in our community. Previously, users had to leave the application, go to ST.com, and enter their credentials when downloading a piece of software. A few versions ago, STM32CubeMX created a more cohesive experience by ensuring users don’t have to leave the software. However, it does mean asking for their credentials. However, it’s still possible to use STM32CubeMX without an account until that point

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Easily Incorporate Embedded Security Using Microchip’s PIC32CK 32-bit Microcontrollers with Hardware Security Module

The new legislation takes effect in 2024, mandating stricter requirements on cybersecurity on everything from consumer IoT devices to critical infrastructure. Meeting these new security compliance requirements from a product and supply chain perspective can be complex, costly and time-consuming. To provide developers with an embedded security solution that allows them to design applications that comply with these requirements, Microchip Technology announces the new family of PIC32CK 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) with an integrated Hardware Security Module (HSM) subsystem and Arm Cortex-M33 core featuring TrustZone technology to help isolate and secure the device.

The PIC32CK SG is the first 32-bit device on the market that combines the strong security of an HSM with TrustZone technology, a hardware-based secure privilege environment. Microchip’s latest innovation for mid-range MCUs provides designers with a cost-effective embedded security solution for their products that meets the latest cybersecurity mandates. The inclusion of an HSM provides a high level of security for authentication, secure debug, secure boot and secure updates, while TrustZone technology provides an additional level of protection for key software functions. The HSM can accelerate a wide range of symmetric and asymmetric cryptography standards, true random number generation and secure key management.

The PIC32CK MCUs from Microchip are designed to support ISO 26262 functional safety and ISO/SAE 21434 cybersecurity standards. For increased flexibility and cost efficiency, the PIC32CK MCU family offers a wide range of options to tune the level of security, memory and connectivity bandwidth based on the end application’s requirements. Options include up to 2 MB dual-panel Flash and 512 KB SRAM, with various connectivity options like 10/100 Ethernet, CAN FD and USB.

“Emerging requirements make security mandatory for the majority of IoT-connected devices. The PIC32CK makes it cost-effective to provide hardware-based security to mid-range microcontroller applications,” said Rod Drake, corporate vice president of Microchip’s MCU32 and MPU32 business units. “Microchip’s ecosystem of tools and security expertise help our customers navigate the complexities of the new requirements and provide lifecycle support for their products.”

For product supply chains that require additional security and safety protection such as in industrial designs, medical devices, home appliances and consumer IoT devices, the PIC32CK will be supported with Microchip’s Trust Platform Design Suite for provisioning as a service. This platform enables the secure factory provisioning of keys, certificates and IP without the need to reveal these secrets within the supply chain.

Development Tools

The 32-bit PIC32CK MCU family is supported by Microchip’s software platforms including MPLAB Harmony v3 and Trust Platform Design Suite. The PIC32CK family is also supported by the PIC32CK SG and PIC32CK GC Curiosity Ultra Development Boards including the EV33A17A and EV44P93A.

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Furthering its commitment to foster the next generation of semiconductor talent, Cadence Design Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd., a fully owned subsidiary of Cadence Design Systems, Inc., has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the College of Science and Technology (CST) at the Royal University of Bhutan. This partnership marks a significant step towards bridging the industry-academic gap by leveraging Cadence’s latest EDA tools to enhance VLSI design capabilities within the college and showcases Cadence’s commitment to providing access to its latest technology tools, even in some of the most remote places in the world.

As a part of this three-year agreement, Cadence will provide research bundle and AWR Design Environment bundle licenses as part of the Cadence University Program to the College of Science and Technology (CST) at the Royal University of Bhutan. This will provide the students and faculty with access to Cadence’s cutting-edge EDA tools, allowing them to delve deeper into the field of VLSI design and facilitating hands-on learning experiences through real-world projects.

The MoU will open new opportunities for internships and placements, enabling students to gain practical industry exposure and refine their skills in preparation for future career endeavours. As a part of this collaboration, Cadence will also provide suggestions on various courses, making them more industry-relevant in alignment with the Cadence University Program.

Speaking on the partnership, Jaswinder Ahuja, Corporate VP – International Headquarters and India Managing Director at Cadence, said, “Through our partnership with the College of Science and Technology at the Royal University of Bhutan, Cadence continues its mission to nurture the semiconductor leaders of tomorrow. By providing access to our cutting-edge EDA technologies, we aim to empower students and faculty to push the boundaries of VLSI design. This collaboration highlights Cadence’s commitment to promoting innovation and bridging the gap between academia and industry.”

“On behalf of the Royal University of Bhutan, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Cadence for supporting us in our pursuit of excellence in education and research. Integrating Cadence’s cutting-edge EDA tools into our curriculum amplifies our commitment to providing students with a robust, industry-aligned educational journey. We are excited to collaborate with Cadence and empower our future engineers with the expertise and capabilities essential for thriving in the ever-evolving landscape of VLSI design.” – Dasho Nidup Dorji, Vice Chancellor, Royal University of Bhutan

The Cadence University Program grants easy access to the leading electronic design automation tools used for academic research and education to develop advanced users of Cadence technology. Through this program, Cadence aims to train the next generation of innovators, influencing the electronics industry for years to come. Cadence has also partnered with MeitY to provide EDA tools to 104 universities, aiming to create a talent pool of 85,000 engineers in VLSI Design by 2027. Cadence aims to work closely with academic institutions to enhance, improve, and extend the knowledge, capabilities, and expertise of the ecosystem.

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Dual Core, Excels in Security Capabilities, Memory Capacity, and Rich Peripheral

Nuvoton is pleased to announce the NuMicro MA35D0 series, a high-performance microprocessor targeted at industrial edge device applications. The MPU features extensive connectivity and security, which is ideal for smart infrastructure, manufacturing automation, and new energy systems requiring control and networking. Meeting the computing demands of these scenarios, the device is based around dual power-efficient high-performance 64/32-bit Arm Cortex-A35 cores (Armv8-A architecture), running at up to 650 MHz, with 32 KB of L1 instruction and data cache for each core, plus a 512 KB shared L2 cache. The MA35D0 also features high-performance hardware floating-point units (FPU) that enhance its digital signal processing (DSP) capabilities.

To help achieve the cost, performance, size, and energy consumption requirements of its target applications, the MA35D0’s LQFP package, with 128 MB or 256 MB of stacked DDR SDRAM, significantly reduces PCB layer count, device size, BOM cost, and electromagnetic interference (EMI). The chip has an extensive operating temperature (Tj) range from -40°C to +125°C, ensuring reliable operation in challenging edge computing environments.

With all these features, the MA35D0 is well-suited for industrial and other edge and Industrial IoT roles, including factory automation, industrial control, smart buildings, smart homes, smart gateways, and new energy systems.

Extensive Toughened Security Keeps Critical Data Safe

The MA35D0 series can easily establish fast encrypted communications, keep sensitive user data safe, and offer a secure environment for critical applications. The MPU supports secure booting in four modes: USB, SD/eMMC, NAND, and SPI Flash (SPI NOR/SPI NAND).

This chip provides a trusted system that meets the practical security requirements of industrial applications. Arm TrustZone secure boot, and other security features help this MPU safeguard valuable data and code. In addition to TrustZone, it includes Snoop Control Unit (SCU) L2 cache protection and built-in cryptographic accelerators with AES, SHA, ECC, RSA, SM2/3/4—plus a True Random Number Generator (TRNG). The MPU’s cryptographic key store and OTP memory further protect sensitive data.

Wide Choice of Connectivity

For high-performance edge device roles, such as industrial control or gateway applications, the MA35D0 series provides high-speed connectivity and advanced control interfaces, such as 2x megabit ethernet (complying with IEEE 1588 v2), high-speed USB host and device connections, SD3.0/eMMC, 3x CAN FD, and 11x UART. The MA35D0 series also provides touchscreen support and a TFT LCD controller, with resolutions up to 1280×800.

Generous Evaluation and Development Resources

Nuvoton provides rich design resources for the MA35D0 series. The evaluation and development system, the MA35D0 EVB, is pre-loaded with remote control examples, such as browser status access and cloud connectivity, allowing users to begin evaluation and development immediately.

For more information about the MA35D0 series of industrial edge MPUs, please visit https://www.nuvoton.com/products/microprocessors/arm-cortex-a35-mpus/ma35d0-industrial-edge-device-series/

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Target applications include electric sunroof, window lift, sliding doors, and power-trunk lift gate

The L99H92 automotive gate driver from STMicroelectronics provides an SPI port for programming and diagnostics, a charge pump, protective features, and two additional current-sense amplifiers for system monitoring.

Containing two high-side and two low-side drivers, the L99H92 can control a single H-bridge powering one bidirectional DC motor or two half bridges for two unidirectional motors. Typical applications for the highly integrated and easily configurable driver include electric sunroof, window lift, powered trunk, sliding doors, and seat-belt pre-tensioners.

The charge pump powers the high-side drivers to maintain correct operation as the vehicle battery voltage fluctuates, enabling the outputs to function with a supply as low as 5.41V. The charge-pump output is also available at an external pin to control a MOSFET for reverse-battery protection.

The gate-driving current is programmed through the SPI port, allowing slew-rate control to minimize electromagnetic emissions and thermal dissipation. Programming the current saves up to four external discrete components per MOSFET, typically needed for slew-rate setting with conventional drivers. The maximum drive current of 170mA gives designers flexibility to use the driver with a wide variety of external MOSFETs, including high-power devices with large gate capacitance.

With many features for system protection and diagnostics, the L99H92 is built for reliability and safety. There is overcurrent protection with a programmable threshold, detected by monitoring the MOSFET drain current. Also, cross-conduction protection with programmable dead time ensures safety and efficiency. Additional protection includes overtemperature early warning and shutdown, overvoltage and undervoltage protection on analog and digital power supply inputs, and open-load and output short-circuit detection in off-state diagnostic mode.

A fail-safe input can turn off all MOSFETs instantaneously and a dedicated diagnostic pin provides immediate fault warning without waiting for periodic SPI transfers.

Additionally, two current-sense amplifiers are integrated for system-status monitoring, helping minimize the bill of materials. Suitable for high-side, low-side, and inline sensing, the amplifiers have independent programmable gain, low offset, and low thermal drift. They can be independently disabled to reduce current consumption when unused.

The L99H92 is in production now and packaged as a TQFP32 or QFN32 with wettable flanks to facilitate inspection. Pricing starts from $1.7062 in the QFN32 package and $1.7246 in the TQFP32 package, for orders of 1000 pieces. For further information please visit: www.st.com/l99h92

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Raptee is a full-stack two-wheeler EV startup with their flagship product highly tech-enabled and IoT-centred. The team began operations out of Chennai in 2019 with a mission to democratise electric mobility in India. They are crafting a two-wheeler EV that is more of an augmented machine which is intelligent, intuitive and safe with features like throttle mapping, blind-spot detection, and Bluetooth connectivity. So far, Raptee has over 31 technological patents in its name.

Mr. Dinesh Arjun, CEO & Cofounder, Raptee

Rashi Bajpai, Sub-Editor at ELE Times spoke with Mr Dinesh Arjun, CEO and Co-founder at Raptee on various aspects of EV with a prime focus on the Indian market.

This is an excerpt from the conversation.

 

 

 

1. Can you throw some light on the go-to features/ major USP of Raptee’s electric motorcycle?

Our bikes come with an onboard charger that plays an essential role in bidirectional charging modes thus making the riding experience hassle-free. Additionally, we stand out as the only electric two-wheeler company in India to leverage the ubiquitous CCS2 charging standard. This compatibility grants you access to the extensive public charging network, allowing you to top up your bike from 0 to 80% in a mere 45 minutes.

2. What core technologies and concepts does the team Raptee work on? Please highlight your key expertise and core competencies.

As the sole electric two-wheeler (e2W) utilizing a high-voltage drivetrain, we deliver superior performance surpassing any internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts. The seamless integration of VCU and cloud computing not only enhances rider experience with smoother acceleration and improved handling but also offers practical benefits like efficient trip planning through real-time battery status updates, showcasing Raptee’s commitment to innovation and practical functionality on the road.

3. As India moves towards self-reliance in the area of information and technology, a wave of innovations and ideas has taken over the nation. How well is Raptee prepared to pursue development in the EV sector under the “Make in India” policy?

Raptee substantiates its alignment with the “Make in India” policy through its complete in-house design and development of all components. This comprehensive approach not only ensures technological sovereignty but also fosters a culture of innovation and expertise within the domestic industry. Additionally, Raptee’s establishment of a complete supply chain ecosystem from scratch addresses a critical gap in the market, particularly concerning high-voltage technology. This initiative not only reduces dependency on imports but also enhances the resilience and competitiveness of India’s EV sector.

4. What is your view on EV battery swapping booths and can its implementation help India come closer to sustainable electric mobility?

As battery technology evolves, the range of EVs is steadily increasing, reducing the need for frequent charging. This improvement diminishes the perceived advantage of battery swapping, which is often promoted as a quick solution for limited-range EVs. As batteries become more energy-dense and charging times decrease, charging stations become more efficient and comparable in terms of convenience.

5. India’s electric two-wheeler (E2W) sector is expected to cross the one million mark in 2024-what are the factors that will influence the market to reach the mark?

India’s E2W market is on an electric revolution, with sales expected to breach the one-million mark in 2024. This surge is driven by a customer-centric approach. Gone are the days of limited choices. Manufacturers are offering diverse options, from high-performance motorcycles to practical everyday rides, catering to every rider’s needs. Range anxiety is fading too, with advancements in battery technology and a rapidly expanding charging network. Additionally, robust customer support with readily available service and informative resources empowers riders, building trust and confidence in E2Ws. This focus on customer satisfaction, coupled with innovation and infrastructure development, is paving the way for a million E2Ws and a sustainable transportation future for India

6. How can better implementation of the charging infrastructure accelerate the sales of EVs?

A well-developed charging infrastructure plays a pivotal role in accelerating electric vehicle (EV) sales by addressing critical consumer concerns. Firstly, it alleviates the fear of “range anxiety” among potential buyers by ensuring a widespread network of charging stations along highways and in urban areas, thereby assuring drivers they can recharge conveniently during their journeys. Secondly, the availability of fast-charging stations, such as those utilizing the CCS2 standard, significantly reduces charging times, making EVs more competitive with traditional gasoline vehicles. This not only enables quicker trips but also enhances overall convenience by minimizing wait times at charging stations. Moreover, a robust charging infrastructure sends a powerful message to the public, signaling that EVs are a practical and supported transportation choice. This reassurance can sway hesitant consumers, ultimately driving increased EV adoption.

7. Tell us about Raptee’s goals and vision for the next decade.

Raptee’s vision is nothing less than a revolution in personal mobility. We are committed to accelerating the shift towards safe, smart, and sustainable transportation solutions, making them accessible to everyone. Fueled by a deep-tech core, we’re pioneering innovative technologies like HV drivetrains to achieve this ambitious goal.

Our focus isn’t limited to electric vehicles. We see ourselves as architects of the future of mobility, constantly exploring new product landscapes based on customer preferences and inventing disruptive technologies across different segments.

By the next decade, Raptee aspires to be a global leader in personal mobility, with a significant market share. This leadership will be built on the foundation of our unwavering commitment to safety, sustainability, and cutting-edge technological innovation.

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Engaging Multiple EU Partners, the Projects Will Apply Intelligent Sensing and AI-enabled Learning Technologies

As part of the European Union’s drive to support a multifaceted approach to addressing 6G challenges and promises, CEA-Leti has been chosen to coordinate two projects to help build first-class 6G technology capabilities and boost standardization efforts across Europe.

The two projects were among 27 chosen in a competitive proposal process by an EU partnership that divided €130 million between the projects. “These projects present a significant stride towards advancing smart networks and services, offering breakthrough innovations, experimental platforms and large-scale trials, driving world-class research and shaping the world’s digital connected future,” said the group, called the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU).

6G-DISAC (Distributed Intelligent Sensing and Communication) and 6G-GOALS (Goal-Oriented AI-enabled Learning and Semantic Communication Networks) launched their three-year projects in January with multiple EU collaborators.

The two projects mark the first time a single RTO or company has been chosen to coordinate two competitive EU proposals in the same initiative. CEA-Leti has coordinated several EU projects, including the recently completed RISE-6G project. That SNS JU effort developed a disruptive new concept as a service for wireless environments by dynamically controlling wireless communication for brief, energy-efficient and high-capacity communications on a variety of surfaces, such as such as walls, ceilings, mirrors and appliances.

6G-DISAC

This project will develop and innovate on a widely distributed intelligent infrastructure compatible with both real-world integration constraints, new semantic and goal-oriented communication and sensing approaches, and the flexibility requirements of future 6G networks. It will apply theoretical approaches and operational and standards-compatible, distributed joint communication and sensing, by leveraging the expertise of world-leading network vendors, verticals, SMEs, research laboratories and academic institutions spanning the value chain.

Current approaches to integrated communication and sensing use centralized architectures and pass sensed information through a centralized controller.

“This project will bring the integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) vision into reality, going well beyond the usual restrictive standalone or localised scenarios, by adopting a holistic perspective, with large numbers of connected users and/or passive objects to be tracked,” said Emilio Calvanese Strinati, coordinator of the project and CEA-Leti’s smart devices & telecommunications strategy program director.

“With demonstrations that validate the vital 6G-DISAC concepts, the project will revolutionise various applications, from extended reality and robot-human interaction to vehicular-safety functions and improving communication key performance indicators (KPI) with sensing-aided communications,” he explained.

In addition to defining use cases and designing innovative network architecture, the 11 6G-DISAC partners will develop novel physical-layer waveforms, distributed sensing and communications methods, and optimised resource allocation methods and protocols.

Specific targets include:

• tracking connected user equipment (UE) and passive objects,
• performing ISAC with many distributed base stations, efficient distributed signal processing and machine learning for semantic ISAC, and
• incorporating extremely large multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technologies and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, and intelligent sensing activation.

“While addressing these fundamental and practical challenges, the team will focus on the distributed implementation of ISAC, unlocking real sensing applications and providing a multi-perspective view of networks in space and time for tangible communication gains,” Calvanese Strinati said.

6G-GOALS

This project is designed to reduce data traffic by conveying only the most relevant information and produce data-efficient, robust and resilient protocols that can adapt to network conditions and communication objectives using modern AI/ML techniques.

“As wireless mobile communication requires ever-higher data rates and 5G’s scope expands to include massive and ultra-reliable low-latency links, wireless evolution has been pressed to solve the technical problem of reliable data exchange between two end-points,” said project coordinator Calvanese Strinati.

“The 6G-GOALS project will take the wireless system design to its next stage by considering the significance, relevance and value of the transmitted data and transforming the potential of the emerging AI/ML-based architectures into a semantic and goal-oriented communication paradigm, offering a solid step toward cooperative generative AI technologies,” he said.

Semantic communication is instrumental in inducing reasoning and shared understanding among intelligent agents by exchanging pragmatically selected information in which its meaning to the receiver is designed to efficiently accomplish a goal or a task. With current approaches, data is sensed and transferred from sensors to the destinations without prior semantic extraction functions.

A recent paper written by 6G-GOALS participants noted that advances in AI technologies have expanded device intelligence, fostering federation and cooperation among distributed AI agents. These advancements impose new requirements on future 6G mobile network architectures.

“To meet these demands, it is essential to transcend classical boundaries and integrate communication, computation, control, and intelligence,” the paper, “Goal-Oriented and Semantic Communication in 6G AI-Native Networks: The 6G-GOALS Approach”, reports.

“These projects are fundamental to explore the capabilities of AI/ML solutions on the networks of the future, especially dealing with joint communication and sensing and semantic communications,” said Mauro Boldi Renato, EU project program coordinator at TIM (Telcom Italia). “Working with CEA-Leti represents a solid basis for their success and for bringing European industry towards implementation of 6G around 2030.”

“The exploitation of 6G-DISAC and 6G-GOALS project results will represent a transformative step for manufacturers and 6G industrial players, like NEC Corporation, by fostering the development of distributed intelligent networks and semantic/AI-driven communication strategies,” said Vincenzo Sciancalepore, principal researcher at NEC Laboratories Europe GMBH/ Germany and a member of the 6G-DISAC team. “Such an unprecedented approach will enable more efficient, flexible, and responsive network infrastructures that can support advanced applications, such as extended reality and automated mobility, meeting the increasing demand for high-capacity, low-latency and sustainable communication.”

6G-DISAC Partners

• Coordinator: CEA-Leti/France
• Technical Manager: Chalmers Tekniska Hogskola AB/Sweden
• Innovation Manager: Nokia Networks/ France
• Telecom Italia Spa/Italy
• Orange S.A./France
• Ethniko Kai Kapodistriako Panepistimio Athinon/Greece
• Institut Polytechnique

De Bordeaux/France

• NEC Laboratories Europe GmbH/Germany
• NEC Italia S.P.A/Italy
• Robert Bosch GmbH/Germany
• RadChat AB/Sweden

6G-GOALS Partners

• Coordinator: CEA-Leti/France
• Technical Manager: Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Telecomunicazioni/Italy
• Innovation Manager: NEC Laboratories Europe GMBH/ Germany
• NEC Italia S.p.A/Italy
• Telecom Italia S.p.A/Italy
• Eurecom GIE/France
• Aalborg Universitet/Denmark
• Hewlett-Packard/France
• Hewlett-Packard Italiana S.R.L/Italy
• Toshiba Europe Limited UK
• Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine UK
• Singapore University of Technology and Design

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Microchip’s ATMXT2952TD 2.0 family of touch controllers offer cryptographic authentication and data encryption

As we see an increased number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road, the necessary charging infrastructure must expand to meet the increased demand. Adding credit card payment options to EV chargers is becoming a standard practice in many countries—and is a mandate in the European Union—and chargers need to meet Payment Card Industry (PCI) security standards. To help EV charger designers protect their payment architectures, Microchip Technology has launched the MXT2952TD 2.0 family of secure touchscreen controllers.

Typical touch-enabled human-machine interface (HMI) and radio frequency identification (RFID) combination-based payment systems are vulnerable to hacking attacks via malicious software updates or man-in-the-middle attacks when a user enters their personal identification number (PIN) on the touchscreen. Physical mesh barriers and sensors are often used around these integrated circuits (ICs) for protection from hacking. Constant reflashing of software and device resets are used to help safeguard software integrity. The MXT2952TD 2.0 family is designed to encrypt touch data and cryptographically authenticate software updates to minimize risk and meet PCI certification compliance standards. When the RFID reader IC and the touchscreen controller are on different printed circuit boards (PCBs), it is especially difficult and expensive to build physical barriers for hack protection. Embedded firmware on the MXT2952TD 2.0 provides a more easily implemented solution for EV charger manufacturers to remain compliant with security regulations and avoid the cost of adding a second, expensive touchscreen payment module to the charger.

The outdoor nature of EV charger HMI demands they withstand harsh weather conditions, function accurately in the presence of moisture and are resistant to vandalism. MXT2952TD 2.0 touch controller-based touchscreens remain effective when designed with IK10 standard 6 mm-thick glass, anti-reflective, anti-glare and anti-fingerprint coatings and IR filter/UV filter layers. Microchip’s proprietary differential touch sensing delivers exceptional noise immunity for superior touch performance even when used with thick gloves.

“The maXTouch 2952TD 2.0 family provides EV charger designers with a cost-effective, secure design architecture for implementing credit card payments with PIN entry on their touchscreens,” said Patrick Johnson, senior corporate vice president overseeing Microchip’s human machine interface division. “Combined with the rugged, outdoor HMI touchscreen technology that Microchip’s maXTouch portfolio is known for, the new addition to the 2952TD family of touchscreen controllers offers our customers secure designs and the exceptional touch performance necessary for outdoor applications.”

In addition to EV chargers, the MXT2952TD 2.0 family is well-suited for most unattended outdoor payment terminals such as parking meters, bus ticketing meters and other types of point-of-sale (POS) systems. The 2952TD 2.0 is specifically optimized for 20” screen sizes and its sister part, the MXT1664TD, is available for 15.6” screen sizes.

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• Q1 net revenues $3.47 billion; gross margin 41.7%; operating margin 15.9%; net income $513 million
• Q1 free cash flow $(134) million after Net Capex1 of $967 million
• Business outlook at mid-point: Q2 net revenues of $3.2 billion and gross margin of 40%

STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, reported U.S. GAAP financial results for the first quarter ended March 30, 2024. This press release also contains non-U.S. GAAP measures (see Appendix for additional information).

ST reported first-quarter net revenues of $3.47 billion, a gross margin of 41.7%, an operating margin of 15.9%, and a net income of $513 million or $0.54 diluted earnings per share.

Jean-Marc Chery, ST President & CEO, commented:

• “Q1 net revenues and gross margin both came in below the midpoint of our business outlook range, driven by lower revenues in Automotive and Industrial, partially offset by higher revenues in Personal Electronics.”
• “On a year-over-year basis, Q1 net revenues decreased 18.4%, operating margin decreased to 15.9% from 28.3% and net income decreased 50.9% to $513 million.”
• “During the quarter, Automotive semiconductor demand slowed down compared to our expectations, entering a deceleration phase, while the ongoing Industrial correction accelerated.”
• “Our second quarter business outlook, at the mid-point, is for net revenues of $3.2 billion, decreasing year-over-year by 26.0% and decreasing sequentially by 7.6%; gross margin is expected to be about 40%.”
• “We will now drive the Company based on a revised plan for FY24 revenues in the range of $14 billion to $15 billion. Within this plan, we expect a gross margin in the low 40’s.”
• “We plan to maintain our Net Capex1 plan for FY24 at about $2.5 billion focusing on our strategic manufacturing initiatives.”

Quarterly Financial Summary (U.S. GAAP)

(US$ m, except per share data)	Q1 2024	Q4 2023	Q1 2023	Q/Q	Y/Y
Net Revenues	$3,465	$4,282	$4,247	-19.1%	-18.4%
Gross Profit	$1,444	$1,949	$2,110	-26.0%	-31.6%
Gross Margin	41.7%	45.5%	49.7%	-380 bps	-800 bps
Operating Income	$551	$1,023	$1,201	-46.1%	-54.1%
Operating Margin	15.9%	23.9%	28.3%	-800 bps	-1,240 bps
Net Income	$513	$1,076	$1,044	-52.4%	-50.9%
Diluted Earnings Per Share	$0.54	$1.14	$1.10	-52.6%	-50.9%

 

First Quarter 2024 Summary Review

Reminder: On January 10, 2024, ST announced a new organization which implied a change in segment reporting starting Q1 2024. Comparative periods have been adjusted accordingly. See the Appendix for more details. 

Net Revenues by Reportable Segment (US$ m)	Q1 2024	Q4 2023	Q1 2023	Q/Q	Y/Y
Analog products, MEMS and Sensors (AM&S) segment	1,217	1,418	1,400	-14.2%	-13.1%
Power and discrete products (P&D) segment	820	965	909	-15.1%	-9.8%
Subtotal: Analog, Power & Discrete, MEMS and Sensors (APMS) Product Group	2,037	2,383	2,309	-14.5%	-11.8%
Microcontrollers (MCU) segment	950	1,272	1,448	-25.3%	-34.4%
Digital ICs and RF Products (D&RF) segment	475	623	486	-23.8%	-2.1%
Subtotal: Microcontrollers, Digital ICs and RF products (MDRF) Product Group	1,425	1,895	1,934	-24.8%	-26.3%
Others	3	4	4	–	–
Total Net Revenues	3,465	4,282	4,247	-19.1%	-18.4%

Net revenues totalled $3.47 billion, representing a year-over-year decrease of 18.4%. Year-over-year net sales to OEMs and Distribution decreased 11.5% and 30.8%, respectively. On a sequential basis, net revenues decreased 19.1%, 320 basis points lower than the mid-point of ST’s guidance.

Gross profit totalled $1.44 billion, representing a year-over-year decrease of 31.6%. Gross margin of 41.7%, 60 basis points below the mid-point of ST’s guidance, decreased 800 basis points year-over-year, mainly due to the combination of sales price and product mix, unused capacity charges and reduced manufacturing efficiencies.

Operating income decreased 54.1% to $551 million, compared to $1.20 billion in the year-ago quarter. ST’s operating margin decreased 1,240 basis points on a year-over-year basis to 15.9% of net revenues, compared to 28.3% in the first quarter of 2023.

By reportable segment, compared with the year-ago quarter:

In Analog, Power & Discrete, MEMS and Sensors (APMS) Product Group:

Analog products, MEMS and Sensors (AM&S) segment:

• Revenue decreased by 13.1% mainly due to a decrease in MEMS and Imaging.
• Operating profit decreased by 44.8% to $185 million. Operating margin was 15.2% compared to 23.9%.

Power and Discrete products (P&D) segment:

• Revenue decreased by 9.8% mainly due to a decrease in Discrete.
• Operating profit decreased by 41.6% to $138 million. Operating margin was 16.8% compared to 26.0%.

In Microcontrollers, Digital ICs and RF products (MDRF) Product Group:

Microcontrollers (MCU) segment:

• Revenue decreased 34.4% mainly due to a decrease in GP MCU.
• Operating profit decreased by 66.7% to $185 million. Operating margin was 19.5% compared to 38.3%.

Digital ICs and RF products (D&RF) segment:

• Revenue decreased 2.1% due to a decrease in ADAS more than offsetting an increase in RF Communications.
• Operating profit decreased by 8.2% to $150 million. Operating margin was 31.8% compared to 33.9%.

Net income and diluted Earnings Per Share decreased to $513 million and $0.54 respectively compared to $1.04 billion and $1.10 respectively in the year-ago quarter.

Cash Flow and Balance Sheet Highlights

				Trailing 12 Months
(US$ m)	Q1 2024	Q4 2023	Q1 2023	Q1 2024	Q1 2023	TTM Change
Net cash from operating activities	859	1,480	1,320	5,531	5,577	-0.8%
Free cash flow (non-U.S. GAAP)[1]	(134)	652	206	1,434	1,715	-16.4%

Net cash from operating activities was $859 million in the first quarter compared to $1.32 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Net Capex (non-U.S. GAAP)1 was $967 million in the first quarter compared to $1.09 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Free cash flow (non-U.S. GAAP)1 was negative at $134 million in the first quarter, compared to positive $206 million in the year-ago quarter.

Inventory at the end of the first quarter was $2.69 billion, compared to $2.70 billion in the previous quarter and $2.87 billion in the year-ago quarter. Days sales of inventory at quarter-end was 122 days compared to 104 days in the previous quarter and 122 days in the year-ago quarter.

In the first quarter, ST paid cash dividends to its stockholders totalling $48 million and executed an $87 million share buy-back as part of its current share repurchase program.

ST’s net financial position (non-U.S. GAAP)1 was $3.13 billion as of March 30, 2024, compared to $3.16 billion as of December 31, 2023, and reflected total liquidity of $6.24 billion and total financial debt of $3.11 billion. Adjusted net financial position (non-U.S. GAAP)1, taking into consideration the effect on total liquidity of advances from capital grants for which capital expenditures have not been incurred yet, stood at $2.78 billion as of March 30, 2024.

Business Outlook

ST’s guidance, at the mid-point, for the 2024 second quarter is:

• Net revenues are expected to be $3.2 billion, a decrease of 7.6% sequentially, plus or minus 350 basis points.
• Gross margin of 40%, plus or minus 200 basis points.
• This outlook is based on an assumed effective currency exchange rate of approximately $1.08 = €1.00 for the 2024 second quarter and includes the impact of existing hedging contracts.
• The second quarter will close on June 29, 2024.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

ST will conduct a conference call with analysts, investors and reporters to discuss its first quarter 2024 financial results and current business outlook today at 9:30 a.m. Central European Time (CET) / 3:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (ET). A live webcast (listen-only mode) of the conference call will be accessible at ST’s website, https://investors.st.com, and will be available for replay until May 10, 2024.

Use of Supplemental Non-U.S. GAAP Financial Information

This press release contains supplemental non-U.S. GAAP financial information.

Readers are cautioned that these measures are unaudited and not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as a substitute for U.S. GAAP financial measures. In addition, such non-U.S. GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled information from other companies. To compensate for these limitations, the supplemental non-U.S. GAAP financial information should not be read in isolation, but only in conjunction with ST’s consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

See the Appendix of this press release for a reconciliation of ST’s non-U.S. GAAP financial measures to their corresponding U.S. GAAP financial measures.

Forward-looking Information

Some of the statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 or Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended) that are based on management’s current views and assumptions, and are conditioned upon and also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those anticipated by such statements due to, among other factors:

• changes in global trade policies, including the adoption and expansion of tariffs and trade barriers, that could affect the macro-economic environment and adversely impact the demand for our products;
• uncertain macro-economic and industry trends (such as inflation and fluctuations in supply chains), which may impact production capacity and end-market demand for our products;
• customer demand that differs from projections;
• the ability to design, manufacture and sell innovative products in a rapidly changing technological environment;
• changes in economic, social, public health, labor, political, or infrastructure conditions in the locations where we, our customers, or our suppliers operate, including as a result of macroeconomic or regional events, geopolitical and military conflicts, social unrest, labor actions, or terrorist activities;
• unanticipated events or circumstances, which may impact our ability to execute our plans and/or meet the objectives of our R&D and manufacturing programs, which benefit from public funding;
• financial difficulties with any of our major distributors or significant curtailment of purchases by key customers;
• the loading, product mix, and manufacturing performance of our production facilities and/or our required volume to fulfill capacity reserved with suppliers or third-party manufacturing providers;
• availability and costs of equipment, raw materials, utilities, third-party manufacturing services and technology, or other supplies required by our operations (including increasing costs resulting from inflation);
• the functionalities and performance of our IT systems, which are subject to cybersecurity threats and which support our critical operational activities including manufacturing, finance and sales, and any breaches of our IT systems or those of our customers, suppliers, partners and providers of third-party licensed technology;
• theft, loss, or misuse of personal data about our employees, customers, or other third parties, and breaches of data privacy legislation;
• the impact of intellectual property (“IP”) claims by our competitors or other third parties, and our ability to obtain required licenses on reasonable terms and conditions;
• changes in our overall tax position as a result of changes in tax rules, new or revised legislation, the outcome of tax audits or changes in international tax treaties which may impact our results of operations as well as our ability to accurately estimate tax credits, benefits, deductions and provisions and to realize deferred tax assets;
• variations in the foreign exchange markets and, more particularly, the U.S. dollar exchange rate as compared to the Euro and the other major currencies we use for our operations;
• the outcome of ongoing litigation as well as the impact of any new litigation to which we may become a defendant;
• product liability or warranty claims, claims based on epidemic or delivery failure, or other claims relating to our products, or recalls by our customers for products containing our parts;
• natural events such as severe weather, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions or other acts of nature, the effects of climate change, health risks and epidemics or pandemics in locations where we, our customers or our suppliers operate;
• increased regulation and initiatives in our industry, including those concerning climate change and sustainability matters and our goal to become carbon neutral by 2027 on scope 1 and 2 and partially scope 3;
• epidemics or pandemics, which may negatively impact the global economy in a significant manner for an extended period of time, and could also materially adversely affect our business and operating results;
• industry changes resulting from vertical and horizontal consolidation among our suppliers, competitors, and customers; and
• the ability to successfully ramp up new programs that could be impacted by factors beyond our control, including the availability of critical third-party components and performance of subcontractors in line with our expectations.

Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results and performance of our business to differ materially and adversely from the forward-looking statements. Certain forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “believes”, “expects”, “may”, “are expected to”, “should”, “would be”, “seeks” or “anticipates” or similar expressions or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions.

Some of these risk factors are set forth and are discussed in more detail in “Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors” included in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 22, 2024. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this press release as anticipated, believed or expected. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation, to update any industry information or forward-looking statements set forth in this release to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Unfavorable changes in the above or other factors listed under “Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors” from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, could have a material adverse effect on our business and/or financial condition.

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Rohde & Schwarz has teamed up with IPG Automotive, a pioneer in virtual test driving, to redefine automotive radar Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) integration testing thereby reducing the cost by bringing Autonomous Driving (AD) testing from the proving ground to the development lab. Combining the CarMaker simulation software from IPG Automotive with the R&S AREG800A radar object simulator and the R&S QAT100 advanced antenna array provides vehicle manufacturers with the ability to simulate ADAS/AD scenarios like those defined in the Euro NCAP in a controlled, safe, time-efficient and cost-reducing way. This combination provides automotive OEMs and radar sensor suppliers with a comprehensive radar sensor testing platform. It is applicable for validation and real-time, closed-loop characterization of radar sensors and enables compliance with Association for ASAM standards.

IPG Automotive’s CarMaker simulation solution is designed for the development and end-to-end testing of cars and light commercial vehicles at all development stages from MIL/SIL to HIL and VIL. The open integration and test platform allows vehicle manufacturers, engineering services companies and Tier 1 suppliers to implement virtual test scenarios in the application areas of powertrain, vehicle dynamic chassis functions and ADAS/AD functions. Thanks to a high-resolution 3D engine, the simulation of the complete sensor stack is possible in very high detail. Seamless integration into existing tool landscapes is also possible with a variety of supported standards and interfaces like the ASAM Open Standards.

The R&S AREG800A, in conjunction with the R&S QAT100, generates multiple artificial objects, each with independent range, Radar Cross Section (RCS), angle (azimuth/elevation) and radial velocity. The Open Simulation Interface (ASAM OSI) links R&S AREG800A with the CarMaker HIL test automation, creating a comprehensive test setup, proving extremely valuable for realistic driving scenario assessment within radar HIL testing. Moreover, the solution includes a Scenario Editor, specifically designed for non-simulation experts. This feature greatly simplifies the process of testing maneuver-based driving scenarios and their associated complex traffic-related configurations and makes it accessible to a wider range of professionals.

The simulation solution CarMaker features an advanced Test Manager, capable of building and running automated test sequences. It can run tests individually or simultaneously, locally or in the cloud, providing flexibility and scalability. Additionally, it automates the calculation and evaluation of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and generates reports automatically, thereby saving considerable time and effort.

The Model Manager CarMaker helps to define the configuration of virtual vehicle prototypes. This enhances the realism and accuracy of simulations, making them more useful for testing and development.

Andreas Höfer, Chief Technology Officer at IPG Automotive: “With the collaboration between Rohde & Schwarz and IPG Automotive, we intend to provide the automotive industry with a comprehensive Hardware-in-the-Loop integration test solution, bringing tests from the proving ground into the lab, resulting in significant time and cost savings in the development process.”

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Highly integrated chips support multiple wireless technologies and the latest security standards, perfectly addressing requirements for smart industrial, medical, and consumer devices

STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, has revealed the next generation of its short-range wireless microcontrollers. These innovative, all-in-one components enable wearables and smart objects including smart home devices, health monitors, and smart appliances to become ever more miniaturized, easy to use, secure and affordable.

Short-range wireless technologies like Bluetooth LE, Zigbee and Thread (popular in smart meters and smart buildings) are the fabric connecting smart devices to home bridges, gateways, and controllers including smartphones. As we all seek solutions for making life more economical, sustainable, and comfortable, vendors are looking to bring creative and high-performing new solutions to market more quickly, within tight cost constraints. They need to be stylish, too: tiny, low-profile, or even embedded out of sight in other equipment, such as in smart bulbs. Going wireless is a part of this trend, for freedom, flexibility, and fashion.

Wireless microcontrollers like ST’s new STM32WBA5 product line allow a one-chip solution that’s extremely compact, reduces the bill of materials, and shortens the time to market by relieving wireless design challenges. Also, being compatible with the development tools and software packs of the STM32 microcontroller development ecosystem, the new line simplifies migrating existing products designed for wired connections.

The new series’ flagship STM32WBA55 microcontroller can communicate using multiple wireless standards concurrently, including low-energy Bluetooth LE 5.4, Zigbee, Thread, and Matter (Thread RCP). Matter border router is a perfect match with the STM32WBA5 for this new open-source connectivity standard for smart-home and IoT (Internet of Things) devices. In this way, the STM32WBA55 supports a great user experience while simplifying hardware and software engineers’ development journey, aiding affordability and time to market for the new product.

With this new generation, ST has also introduced support for the recently completed Bluetooth LE Audio specifications that enable exciting and innovative new products for richer listening and hearing experiences. These include the new Bluetooth Auracast feature, which opens the door to a new world of audio broadcasting applications.

“Lead customers are already appreciating the enhanced wireless performance, flexibility, and security of our latest STM32WBA wireless microcontrollers. They are creating diverse products including smart thermostats, tracking devices, smart chargers, headsets, power tools, and smart meters,” said Benoit Rodrigues, Wireless MCU Division General Manager, STMicroelectronics. “The extensive software ecosystem that provides communication stacks, microcontroller-specific software packs, sample code, and tools helps developers bring new products to market based on these MCUs quickly and efficiently.”

The STM32WBA series is the first wireless MCU in the market to achieve the important SESIP (Security Evaluation Standard for IoT Platforms) Level 3 security certification. With this, smart devices containing STM32WBA microcontrollers are ready to satisfy the US Cyber Trust Mark and EU Radio Equipment Directive (RED) regulations due to become mandatory in 2025.

“We work with smart asset tracking devices which are connected through Bluetooth to mobiles and through mobile apps to the cloud, enabling us to deliver complete asset tracking management for our customers. ST’s microcontrollers bring wireless connectivity to our multi-mode trackers,” said Olivier Hersent, CEO, Abeeway (Actility Group). “We have selected the new wireless connectivity product, STM32WBA5, for its enhanced performance with ultra-low power radio capabilities, which is key for our battery-powered devices. They ensure stable connectivity in the harsh industrial environment where we operate, combined with security that meets the highest industry standards.”

“We believe that gaming peripherals should be as unique and accessible as the gaming community itself,” said Tom Roberts, CTO, Performance Designed Products (PDP). “ST and PDP have worked together through several Video Game generations, and we have used STM8 and STM32 devices for many years. ST products consistently provide the features we need in our highly competitive market segment. We recently selected ST’s short-range wireless connectivity product, the STM32WBA5, based on the integrated MCU and Bluetooth low-energy technology, as the right solution for a new, groundbreaking game controller.  The STM32WBA offered us an ideal combination of performance, peripherals, cost efficiency and ecosystem support that enabled simple and fast development.”

Sample requests and pricing information are available from local ST sales offices. ST will introduce a ready-to-use module containing the STM32WBA, integrated with necessary external components including power-supply and antenna-balancing circuitry, in June 2024.

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Available with four frequency options each covering from 8 kHz to 12.75 GHz, 20 GHz, 31.8 GHz or 40 GHz, the new R&S SMB100B microwave signal generator from Rohde & Schwarz brings excellent output power, spectral purity, very low close-in phase noise, and practically no wideband noise to analog microwave signal generation.

The new R&S SMB100B analog microwave signal generator from Rohde & Schwarz offers outstanding, market-leading performance for analog signal generation up to 40 GHz in the midrange class. Thanks to its easy operation and comprehensive functionality, the versatile R&S SMB100B is now the first choice for all applications requiring clean analog signals or high output power from 8 kHz to 40 GHz. Typical applications include testing radar receivers, semiconductor components, upconverters, downconverters or amplifiers. Thehigh output power and low phase noise make it ideal as a source for simulating interferers for blocking tests.

The R&S SMB100B microwave signal generator features a signal purity which combines very low single sideband (SSB) phase noise, excellent non-harmonics suppression, and low wideband noise for all carrier frequencies. For users seeking even better close-in phase noise and frequency stability, and less temperature-based variation in performance, in addition to the standard OXCO reference oscillator, a higher performance version is available for all frequency ranges. In addition to the conventional 10 MHz reference frequency, users can choose optionally 1 MHz to 100 MHz as well as 1 GHz reference frequency signals. Optional high output power of measured 25 dBm at 20 GHz and 19.5 dBm at 40 GHz is activated by keycode, so users can install it at any time. Considering the microwave frequency range covered by the instrument, the R&S SMB100B microwave signal generator is light (10.7 kg) and compact, fitting in a 19” rack and only two rack units in height.

The level accuracy of the output directly from an R&S SMB100B itself is excellent. With each increase in the frequency of the required signal, the challenge of obtaining the correct level input to a device increases: The R&S SMB100B supports two additional features to compensate for path losses and variations in the signal caused by setups with additional test fixtures, cables or amplifiers. These features help to provide the wanted power level at the reference plane i.e. at the input of the device under test. One of them, the user correction function (UCOR), compensates if the frequency response of the setup is known and stable. However, there are still unknown factors especially if the setup includes additional active devices such as an amplifier. Then 1/2 the frequency response of the setup with an external additional amplifier can vary over level or temperature. Closed-loop power control can compensate for all these variations by continuously measuring the input level to the DUT i.e. at the wanted reference plane with a suitable R&S NRP power sensor feeding its measured level back to the generator to adjust the output power accordingly. More details about this use case can be found in the application note 1GP141.

The R&S SMB100B is user-friendly in every detail. Users can create their own customized menus, so that the parameters they most use are always available. They can generate code to automate measurements first made manually with the SCPI macro recorder while the measurements are set up and run, then use the code generator to export the instructions in languages such as MATLAB. Thanks to R&S Legacy Pro, the R&S SMB100B (and other Rohde & Schwarz test equipment) can be used to emulate other instruments such as R&S SMB100A or competitor instruments directly, as a drop-in replacement using the existing code.

The new R&S SMB100B microwave signal generator up to 40 GHz is now available from Rohde & Schwarz and expands the R&S SMB100B analog signal generator family with its established RF models up to 6 GHz.

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Having delivered 13% revenue growth in FY24, Tata Elxsi is among the world’s leading design and technology service providers across industries including Automotive, Broadcast, Communications, Healthcare, and Transportation. They mark high competence in servicing through design thinking and development in digital technologies like IoT, Cloud, Mobility, Virtual Reality, and AI.

Jayaraj Rajapandian, Head of Avionics, Transportation, Tata Elxsi

Rashi Bajpai, Sub-Editor at ELE Times spoke with Jayaraj Rajapandian, Head of Avionics, Transportation, Tata Elxsi on various aspects of aerospace/ aviation – from what’s trending to what the future holds for the industry.

This is an excerpt from the interaction.

 

 

ELE Times: What are some of the latest trends in Aerospace electrification?

Jayaraj Rajapandian: The aerospace industry is rapidly evolving, with many innovations redefining the field. One of the latest advancements is in aerospace electrification. This is a major boost to meet the UN sustainable development goals set for the Aerospace industry. It involves implementing electric propulsion technologies such as electric motors and turbo-electric propulsion by using electric energy to power the aircraft fully or in hybrid mode.

The electrification of propulsion systems made Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicles a reality and it is a step closer to commercial operation. Smaller aircraft and drones provide decreased emissions, quieter operation, and improved efficiency. Electrical actuators drive fuel efficiency and are replacing the hydraulic-driven actuators.

Hybrid-electric propulsion systems combine traditional fuel-powered engines with electric propulsion systems. The larger aircraft adapts them to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) can be used to reduce aviation’s environmental impact. However, the investment to scale the SAF production is to be monitored against aviation demands.

Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) vehicles enable vertical takeoff and landing, which reduces the dependency on infrastructure like a dedicated runway. Vertiport unlocks the potential for urban air mobility. These vehicles will be incorporated more for logistics and aerial combat vehicles.

Moreover, advancements in battery technologies are seeing exponential growth in fuel cells for storage, effective power conversion, and distribution, necessitating effective battery management solutions. Lithium polymer batteries enable long-endurance owing to their lower weight and higher power storage.

ELE Times: Give us some insights into the future innovations in Unmanned Air Systems.

Jayaraj Rajapandian: Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) have been incredibly useful in improving efficiency, reducing costs, reaching remote and inaccessible areas, improving defence systems, and, most importantly, enhancing safety. The primary focus is to improve autonomous navigation and control by incorporating cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to operate effectively in complex environments and all-weather conditions and push the endurance for extended missions.

Currently, commercial usage of UAVs is being monitored by regulators, mainly when operating beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS). However, advanced sensor and payload technologies such as LiDAR and thermal imaging systems could help improve the availability and reliability.

Unmanned Combat Systems consist of aerial, land, and underwater drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles are used to gather intelligence, conduct surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and carry munitions. Governments worldwide recognize Unmanned Combat Systems as an asset comparable to manned fighter jets as they consume a significant portion of defence budgets. Researchers are exploring swarm intelligence to enable several drones to work together and operate collectively, ensuring the mission is never compromised, even if many UAVs are lost.

ELE Times: Elaborate on some of the latest technologies in avionics development for advanced navigation and control.

Jayaraj Rajapandian: In the past couple of decades, satellite-based navigation and communications systems have become more widespread, electronic systems have become more scalable, and higher redundancy has become more common in recent aircrafts. Fly-by-wire flight control systems have replaced mechanical controls with electronic interfaces, allowing for precise and adaptive control of aircraft flight surfaces. Using a single pane of glass in the cockpit flight decks turned the operation to be more seamless. However, by the mid-2030s, ICAO predicts that airspace will witness double the current traffic and the industry requires more than incremental innovation, a transformation is needed.

Currently, the focus is on bringing compact form factors and platforming the systems. Aerospace OEMs and technology partners are collaborating on this next journey. RISC-V-based processing units are gaining attention for their security features and custom-built capabilities that meet OEMs’ needs. The collaboration on Avionics such as FMS, used in different aircraft supplied by various vendors, to create a unified family of products signifies a strategic move towards standardization and interoperability in the aviation industry. This reduces inventory costs for OEMs and the training costs of airlines.

Innovations to counter deceived sensors to manage spoofing, anti-jamming and to distinguish friends from foes, and security in communications are gaining attention. A growing number of regional players are developing Avionics for UAVs, breaking the technology entry barrier. To stay competitive and relevant, defense OEMs require transformational effort to reduce cycle time which typically takes 5 to 7 years. Digital Twin, Investment in Big-Data processing with High Processing Computing capability can accelerate this cycle time.

Tata Elxsi’s advanced process flow can be used in the development of a cloud-based Digital Twin of a sub-system. The features developed from the Digital Twin are scalable and can be used for multiple systems simultaneously.

ELE Times: How can AI/ML be adopted for aerospace design and maintenance?

Jayaraj Rajapandian: With AI and ML capabilities, aerospace design and maintenance can improve efficiency, reduce downtime, and improve the health of systems. AI and ML can analyze extensive datasets from simulations, past designs, and real-world operations to pinpoint the most effective configurations for aircraft components, structures, and systems.

AI and ML tools also help to build virtual prototyping and testing of aircraft systems and components. It generates precise simulations using high-processing computers, anticipating performance traits, and fine-tuning design parameters. More importantly, AI and ML algorithms also help in predictive maintenance. These algorithms can analyze sensor data from aircraft systems and components to detect anomalies, predict failures, and schedule maintenance proactively. AI and ML tools also help in care for health monitoring systems and analysis of root causes. We will soon see certifications through simulations of numerous scenarios exercised on the system models.

Our solution accelerator for TEDAX- Tata Elxsi’s big data platform is being used to build system models and visualize the data. Tata Elxsi’s AI-based Video Analytics AIVA resolves complex scenarios in real-time.

ELE Times: How is Tata Elxsi enhancing aircraft production efficiency?

Jayaraj Rajapandian: The aerospace industry is picking up the pace in demand post-slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the boost in demand, OEMs will need to enhance their production efficiency by tapping into advanced manufacturing technologies, adding cost-effective suppliers, and integrating product lifecycle management techniques. Technologies like 3D printing, robotics, digital twins, and automated assembly systems can enhance aircraft production.

Tata Elxsi designs and implements Industry 4.0 solutions, improving manufacturing performance. We are also working with OEMs in identifying suppliers to source raw materials, build-to-spec, and certify their products.

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NORD drive solutions for the process industry

From 10 to 14 June 2024, NORD will be presenting a wide range of products at ACHEMA in Frankfurt am Main. The focus is on ATEX-compliant drive concepts for the process industry and the robust heavy-duty MAXXDRIVE® industrial gear unit, in particular for agitator and mixer applications. Further focal points at the trade fair will be the new decentralised NORDAC ON/ON+ frequency inverters, the revolutionary DuoDrive geared motors and IE5+ synchronous motors as well as the NORDCON APP with NORDAC ACCES BT. Interested trade visitors can find out more about NORD’s wide range of solutions at the trade fair grounds in Frankfurt am Main in Hall 8.0, Stand B52.

Whether in the chemical, pharmaceutical or food industries: Companies that extract, transport or process raw materials require industry-specific, innovative drive solutions. As a system supplier, NORD offers matched drive systems consisting of gear unit, motor and drive electronics that are tailored to the respective requirements of the customer application.

ATEX drives for explosion-protected areas Flammable gases and dust in processing industries create serious safety risks. NORD has decades of experience with gas and dust explosion protection and offers particularly robust electric motors with powers from 0.12 to 200 kW especially for this field of use. The explosion-protected electric motors can be operated in category 2D or 3D dust atmospheres (zones 21 and 22) as well as in category 2G or 3G gas atmospheres (zones 1 and 2) and are approved according to ATEX and HazLoc. The dust-protected motors feature the ignition protection category “Protection by enclosure” (tD). Depending on the requirements, the motors in the gas explosion protection version are available in the following ignition protection classes: increased safety
(e), pressure-resistant encapsulation (d/de) and non-sparking design.

Industrial gear units for high torque applications NORD’s MAXXDRIVE® industrial gear units power heavy-duty applications such as agitators, mixers and grinders in food or cosmetic production. The parallel and right-angle gear units cover a speed ratio range from 5.54:1 to 400:1 – and with a first-stage gear unit, even up to 30,000:1. They feature:

• High output torques from 15 to 282 kNm for reliable operation even under extreme conditions
• Torsionally rigid, one-piece UNICASE housing for a longer bearing life and efficient power transmission
• Large low-friction roller bearings for extremely high radial and axial load capacities and a long service life
• High-precision axis alignment for guaranteed quiet running
For mixer and agitator applications, the industrial gear units can also be equipped with a SAFOMI-IEC
adapter:
• The adapter is available for parallel gear units and in sizes 7 to 11, i.e. for maximum output torques from 25
to 75 kNm.
• The adapter is compact and simple in design and has an integrated oil expansion volume; oil tanks and hoses as well as the radial shaft seal that is subject to leakage and wear between gear unit and IEC cylinder are therefore not required.

Decentralised drive electronics

The NORDAC ON frequency inverters are part of the NORD modular system and can be optimally combined with the manufacturer’s motors.
• NORDAC ON was designed for applications with asynchronous motors,
• NORDAC ON+ was designed for the combination with highly efficient IE5+ synchronous motors.
The inverters are designed for power ranges from 0.37 to 3 kW.

Energy-efficient IE5+ synchronous motors

The IE5+ motor generation from NORD DRIVESYSTEMS guarantees the highest level of efficiency and operational reliability, thanks to IE5+ technology. The motors are available as a TENV smooth-surface motor, as a TEFC motor with cooling fins and as an integrated DuoDrive motor. The latter combines a highefficiency IE5+ motor and a single-stage helical gear unit in one housing. The IE5+ synchronous motors with motor efficiencies of up to 95% are available in the TEFC version with a power of up to 4.0 kW, in the TENV
version with up to 2.2 kW and in the DuoDrive version with up to 3.0 kW.

Mobile maintenance and commissioning

With the NORDCON APP for mobile maintenance and commissioning of NORD frequency inverters, NORD enables the diagnosis, analysis, parametrisation and monitoring of the drive systems via a mobile terminal device for service use. The NORDAC ACCESS BT is a Bluetooth stick that is used directly with the frequency inverter – this ensures convenient mobile access to the drive data while at the same time access control.

NORD will present its comprehensive range of solutions at ACHEMA in Hall 8.0, Stand B52.

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