Embedded Developer: August 2014

AUG

UST

201

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IoTHome Brew

Ayla Makes Connection with IoT

Atmel at White House

System Taps

Your Guide to Embedded MCUs and Development Tools.

w w w . e m b e d d e d d e v e l o p e r . c o m

Everything you’re looking for in one place.

http://embeddeddeveloper.com/

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INTEGRATED DESIGN?Webinar on How to Calculate Cost of Buying Versus Designing from Scratch

OVERVIEW New product features, certification, increased performance and quicker design cycles are pressuring device manufacturers to reduce costs and still meet their time-to-market requirements. One option is using MCU-based modules with production-ready BSPs to possibly eliminate development time and save on design and manufacturing costs.

This webinar will show you how to use the Buy Vs. Build online calculator to help navigate steps and costs involved with building the project. The following topics are handled:

• Concept, selecting memory, interfaces, certification

• Hardware design, reviews, documentation• Layout design, test points, autorouting• Initial prototyping, BOM costs, test tools• Software design, BSP and OS selection,

validation• Preproduction qualification, testing• Manufacturing costs• Risk, investment and lifecycle management

Buy a Module or Build Your Own

The Buy Vs. Build webinar is a presentation of Convergence Promotions, Freescale and TQ Systems. Copyright 2014, Convergence Promotions

PRESENTERLuis Torrico is a Convergence Promotions FAE, specializing in technical support for the embedded modules division. Luis Torrico has also worked as director of engineering for an embedded modules design and manufacturing company based in Rhode Island for 10 years.

Q & AWolfgang Heinz-Fischer is the head of marketing for TQ Systems in Germany. He has worked for some of the industry’s leading board manufacturers and is an acclaimed speaker and author of numerous whitepapers and technical articles on embedded modules, standards, and the industry.WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Firmware developers

Software developers

Engineering managers

Purchasing managers

Distributor, VAR and supplierFAEs & sales reps

• Are you pressured to develop a new product in a hurry?

• Do you find increased performance and demands for lower design and manufacturing costs challenging?

• Can your engineering resources be freed up?• Do you know how to calculate costs of

building an integrated design or buying an off-the-shelf solution?

• Does the right OS have the BSPs needed?

Join this webinar and learn how to use the innovative Buy Vs. Build Calculator to:

• Speed time to market• Free up engineering resources• Lower development and manufacturing costs

Take This Quiz

CLICK TO REGISTER

Buy Vs. Build Calculator TQMA28

?9:00 AM PDT / 12:00 PM EDT / 16:00 GMT / 17:00 CET

OCTOBER 30, 2014

TAKE AWAYAt the completion of this 30-minute free webinar, you will emerge with the knowledge to accurately calculate whether to buy an embedded module or build an integrated system in-house. Plus, you can download the calculator on your computer as a free gift from us for attending!

Attend this webinar and receive a free, downloadable version of the calculator!

White House

By Alex Maddalena, Contributing Writer

Maker FaireAt the heart of the maker movement, Atmel joins gathering of innovators from across the country.

AtmelShows American Pride

at the

“Today’s DIY is tomorrow’s ‘Made in America,’” President Obama

proclaimed in his opening remarks at the White House Maker

Faire in June of 2014. With the rise of open-source hardware

like the Arduino Uno, the limits of innovation, manufacturing,

and technology have become boundless. To commemorate the

rise in DIY innovation, the White House sponsored its first-ever

Maker Faire in Washington DC and invited makers of all ages

from around the country to show off their innovations. Projects

ranged from robotic giraffes to a mobile 3D printing fab lab—all

of them demonstrated for President Barack Obama himself.

The New Age of Single-Board Computers

If you have been interested in programming, electronics, or computing in general in the past several years, then you probably have used the Raspberry Pi.

It is a wonderful, little piece of hardware that can help you learn how to code. At least, that was the intended use of the Raspberry Pi. With advanced knowledge about electronics and coding, the Raspberry Pi can be turned into more than a coding tutorial. This powerful piece of hardware can be converted into a weather station, a retrogaming device or a touchscreen tablet. The Pi does this by boasting a 700 MHz processor, 512MB SDRAM, and a dual-core multimedia co-processor. These components allow the Raspberry Pi to be a great embedded single-board computer. But, what if a project required more processing power and more data storage? A BeagleBone Black could be used, or the Raspberry Pi could be upgraded.

Banana Pi

By Rob Riemen

AUG

UST

201

4

IoTHome Brew

Ayla Makes Connection with IoT

Atmel at White House

System Taps

GRAND PRIZEClemens ValensMultipurpose PWM Wave Shaper

E ngineers all over the world participated in our AXP Logic

contest. In January 2014, we asked

contestants to use our new AXP1G57

low-power, configurable, multiple-function

logic gate as a design platform. Completed

entries submitted before the closing deadline had the opportunity to win one

of several prizes.Contestants were requested to go to the

AXP Design Contest landing page on EEWeb, answering some industry survey

questions on their use of logic devices.After contestants fulfilled this requirement,

we would then ship a free 3.5 by 4 inch

AXP1G57GM eval board with four configurable logic devices, on-board

power supply decoupling, and the ability

to configure each of four AXP1G57 devices

in one of seven unique functions. Full

documentation and design tips were provided, along with online design support.

The contest was also promoted at the

Embedded World event in February 2014.The contest ran for six months and garnered some impressive stats and even

greater results. Just over 650 people registered online and a number of

excellent designs were submitted. The

eventual winners are listed on the right.

WINNERS

RELATED LINKSConfigurable gates category page AXP family category page

HONORABLE MENTIONYuri TikhonovA Smarter nanoRobot

HONORABLE MENTIONRobert KongWireless Sensors Using NXP 74AXP1G57 Devices

Announcing the

Download the Contest Winners’ Work(click on the image above)

AXP Logic 2014 Design Contest

THIRD PLACEA. YoussefDry Soil and High Temperature Circuit Warning

SECOND PLACEMonte ChanWide Voltage Range Inductorless LED Driver

FIRST PLACERyszard MilewiczLight Sensor and Photosound

New AXP low-power logic

stimulates engineer’s

high-powered creativity

Six months, six continents, six hundred contestants and six winners later,

the results of the high-powered creativity contest were....well....logical?

Launched in January of this year, the

2014 AXP Logic Design Contest, billed as

Our Low-power Logic and your High-

power Creativity, used the AXP1G57

Low-Power configurable multiple func-

tion gate as a design platform.Designed and produced by Convergence

Promotions and Aspen Labs for NXP

Logic division, the contest ran for six

months and garnered some impressive

stats--and even more impressive results.

This article details the unbelievable

amount of creativity the contestants

delivered to win thousands of dollars in

prizes and made the contest a success.

Phase one of the contest was registra-

tion, and contestants were required to go

to the AXP Design Contest landing page

on EEWeb and answer some industry

survey questions on logic devices.

In phase two, they were shipped a free

3.5 inch by 4 inch AXP1G57GM Eval

Board with four configurable logic de-

vices, on-board power supply decou-

pling, and the ability to configure each of

four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven

unique functions. Full documentation and some design tips

were provided, along with on-line design

support. From there--the game was on!1

AylaDesign Kit

The Ayla Design Kit features a Murata Wi-Fi connectivity module. By utilizing this module with the embedded Ayla agent, developers are able to

connect products to the Ayla cloud service and quickly create applications for the Internet of Things (IoT).

With Murata Wi-Fi Connectivity Module

TECH ARTICLEAtmel Shows American Pride at the White House Maker Faire

UPCOMING EVENTSListen, Watch, Ask, Learn

FEATURED ARTICLEBanana Pi: The New Age of Single-Board Computers

COVER ARTICLEHome Brew System Taps IoTHome brewer Michael ImObersteg

DESIGN CONTESTSContestants Design to Win

TECH WATCHAyla Design Kit with Murata Wi-Fi Connectivity Module

CONTENTS

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44

White House




at the











5

TECH ARTICLE

5

White House




at the











66

These makers, as well as makers across the globe, have embraced the easy-to-use hardware and

software of the Arduino platform, based on Atmel 8-bit (AVR) or a 32-bit (ARM-based) microcontrollers (MCU). Cited for their ease-of-use, low-power, and high-performance capabilities, the Atmel AVR MCUs have enabled designers, inventors, and even school children to learn and innovate at a previously unheard of level. Atmel’s connection with the Arduino boards earned them an invitation to this year’s Maker Faire to see the variety of projects their MCUs have powered. EEWeb spoke with Sander Arts, vice president of marketing at Atmel, about his experience at the White House and how being involved in the maker community will enable the next generation of entrepreneurs.

CROWD-FUNDED, PRESIDENT-APPROVED

“When Atmel was invited to the White House Maker Faire, we were obviously excited,” Arts said, then added, “Atmel has always celebrated the makers, so to be acknowledged as being at the heart of the maker movement has been big for us.” The focus on the maker movement began when Atmel saw a surge of new projects online, ranging from hobbyists engineers to large tech companies who developed innovative technology using the inexpensive Arduino platform.

With the rise of Kickstarter campaigns and other crowd-funded tech projects, Atmel embraced the ever-growing DIY community as the new frontier for tech innovation. Part of that community and invited to the White House Maker Faire were Quin Etnyre and Sylvia Todd (aka Super Awesome Sylvia). These two 12-year olds (yes, 12) have both made a mark on the maker community and came to the White House under the Atmel flag. Etnyre is the founder and CEO of Qtechknow, a company devoted to supplying Adruino-related kits for tinkering and learning, while Super Awesome Sylvia hosts her own YouTube show dedicated to DIY tech projects. “30 years ago, you had to be an electrical engineer in order to do something with hardware,” Arts remarked. “Nowadays, we have 12-year-old entrepreneurs developing projects with Arduino boards and presenting them at the White House.”

“Cited for their ease-of-use, low-power, and high-performance capabilities, the AVR MCUs have enabled designers, inventors, and even school children to learn and innovate at a level that has never before been seen.”

While these projects stood out for their innovative merits alone, many were celebrated for linking their projects to the job market. President Obama noted the projects that took advantage of 3D printing and commented that the success of such products would help return manufacturing to U.S. shores. However humble the roots of these projects, whether garage or classroom made, they held the potential to have a positive impact on the U.S. economy not unlike that of the first Apple computer Steve Wozniak built in his garage.

“Atmel has always celebrated the makers, so to be acknowledged as being at the heart of the maker movement has been big for us.”

Arduino boards for makers

Arduino starter kit

7

TECH ARTICLE

7

These makers, as well as makers across the globe, have embraced the easy-to-use hardware and

software of the Arduino platform, based on Atmel 8-bit (AVR) or a 32-bit (ARM-based) microcontrollers (MCU). Cited for their ease-of-use, low-power, and high-performance capabilities, the Atmel AVR MCUs have enabled designers, inventors, and even school children to learn and innovate at a previously unheard of level. Atmel’s connection with the Arduino boards earned them an invitation to this year’s Maker Faire to see the variety of projects their MCUs have powered. EEWeb spoke with Sander Arts, vice president of marketing at Atmel, about his experience at the White House and how being involved in the maker community will enable the next generation of entrepreneurs.

CROWD-FUNDED, PRESIDENT-APPROVED

“When Atmel was invited to the White House Maker Faire, we were obviously excited,” Arts said, then added, “Atmel has always celebrated the makers, so to be acknowledged as being at the heart of the maker movement has been big for us.” The focus on the maker movement began when Atmel saw a surge of new projects online, ranging from hobbyists engineers to large tech companies who developed innovative technology using the inexpensive Arduino platform.

With the rise of Kickstarter campaigns and other crowd-funded tech projects, Atmel embraced the ever-growing DIY community as the new frontier for tech innovation. Part of that community and invited to the White House Maker Faire were Quin Etnyre and Sylvia Todd (aka Super Awesome Sylvia). These two 12-year olds (yes, 12) have both made a mark on the maker community and came to the White House under the Atmel flag. Etnyre is the founder and CEO of Qtechknow, a company devoted to supplying Adruino-related kits for tinkering and learning, while Super Awesome Sylvia hosts her own YouTube show dedicated to DIY tech projects. “30 years ago, you had to be an electrical engineer in order to do something with hardware,” Arts remarked. “Nowadays, we have 12-year-old entrepreneurs developing projects with Arduino boards and presenting them at the White House.”

“Cited for their ease-of-use, low-power, and high-performance capabilities, the AVR MCUs have enabled designers, inventors, and even school children to learn and innovate at a level that has never before been seen.”

While these projects stood out for their innovative merits alone, many were celebrated for linking their projects to the job market. President Obama noted the projects that took advantage of 3D printing and commented that the success of such products would help return manufacturing to U.S. shores. However humble the roots of these projects, whether garage or classroom made, they held the potential to have a positive impact on the U.S. economy not unlike that of the first Apple computer Steve Wozniak built in his garage.

“Atmel has always celebrated the makers, so to be acknowledged as being at the heart of the maker movement has been big for us.”

Arduino boards for makers

Arduino starter kit

88

NEW FRONTIERS

In today’s ever-changing tech industry, it’s not uncommon to find a new connected device whose developers are unsure of the product’s use. The most popular example of this is the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). While there are a plethora of interconnected devices on the market today, tech companies and analysts still struggle to envision exactly how the IoT will take shape. “About 50 percent of the companies that are going to be a part of the IoT are companies that don’t exist today,” Arts explained. Conceivably, someone in a garage developing a smart weather meter with an Arduino and sensors may be the next big thing in the tech industry. Arts also noted that there have been 160 companies

started on Arduinos that were launched on Kickstarter, and 103 of them were successfully funded. “103 companies started on Atmel chips and that’s a significant number for us,” Arts concluded, “which is why we chose to take an active part in the maker community.”

For Atmel, the White House Maker Faire is just the beginning. The company’s next step is to continue to build an audience through social media platforms. In fact, Atmel boasts one of the largest social media footprints of any semiconductor company. As a result, Atmel is poised to engage with makers who promise to be the future of emerging tech markets.

“103 companies started on Atmel chips, and that’s a significant number.”

Find us at Booth #37310World Maker Faire New York

http://www.pcbweb.com

1010











Firmware developers

Software developers


Purchasing managers









Take This Quiz

CLICK TO REGISTER



OCTOBER 30, 2014



11

UPCOMING EVENTS

11











Firmware developers

Software developers


Purchasing managers









Take This Quiz

CLICK TO REGISTER



OCTOBER 30, 2014



http://go.intersil.com/power-module.html

13

UPCOMING EVENTS

13

Connecting Global Competence

50 years26th International Trade Fair forElectronic Components, Systems, and Applications.Messe MünchenNovember 11–14, 2014www.electronica.de

Tickets & Registrationwww.electronica.de/en/tickets

1414




Banana Pi

By Rob Riemen

15

TECH ARTICLE

15




Banana Pi

By Rob Riemen

1616

It takes a lot of experience to design a circuit board. It takes even more knowledge to be able spin the board,

meaning to design and produce a physical copy of a circuit board. So, performing electronic surgery on the Raspberry Pi to upgrade the components is not recommended. Lemaker has taken the difficulty of upgrading the circuit board to create what is called the Banana Pi. The Banana Pi has very similar architecture to the Raspberry Pi except that it is fitted with an AllWinner A20 SoC, which runs at 1GHz and 1GB DDR3 SDRAM. The AllWinner processor is actually an A20 ARM® Cortex™-A7 dual core.

Having a dual-core processor gives the Banana Pi twice the processing power of the original Raspberry Pi. The dual core gives the operating system the illusion that the computer has two 1GHz processors. All of those projects that you could not accomplish with the Raspberry Pi because of computing power? The worry can be eliminated with the Banana Pi. The AllWinner A20 SoC can more than make up for the lack of processing power. Along with this powerful processor, the Banana Pi allows for a 64GB SD card, giving the user the ability to store much more data. These improvements make the Banana Pi a manageable upgrade for an asking price of $50.

So what makes the AllWinner A20 SoC so special? It’s the first dual-core ARM A7 chip. As is the case with modern computer processors, multiple cores help with multitasking. Multiple applications can send and receive data at once, giving the user more power over the tasks a user is planning to accomplish with a project. The ARM A7 processor supports integer division through it’s own hardware instruction. In other ARM based processors, integer division is calculated

through software. With the integer division in hardware, this frees up memory space from software instructions allowing the processor to function more effectively. The ARM A7 processor also has 40-bit memory addressing. This allows the processor more bandwidth to access the

computer primary storage. This increase in bit addressing allows the processor to complete more tasks in a shorter amount of time.

Along with a beefier processor, the Allwinner A20 SoC comes with an accelerated graphics processing unit (GPU). This GPU follows along in the footsteps of the main processor and sports a dual-core Mali 400MP2 graphical unit. Along with dual cores, the Mali 400MP2 has 256 KiB of level 2 cache. This allows for greater storage of recently accessed information, as this is how

AllWinner A20 SoC

Image courtesy of www.lemaker.org

“With this technology, a graphical user interface (GUI) will load very quickly, graphical engines will process more efficiently, and movies or images will load with a higher definition.”

“Having a dual-core processor gives the Banana Pi twice the processing power of the original Raspberry Pi.”

Banana Pi

17

TECH ARTICLE

17

It takes a lot of experience to design a circuit board. It takes even more knowledge to be able spin the board,

meaning to design and produce a physical copy of a circuit board. So, performing electronic surgery on the Raspberry Pi to upgrade the components is not recommended. Lemaker has taken the difficulty of upgrading the circuit board to create what is called the Banana Pi. The Banana Pi has very similar architecture to the Raspberry Pi except that it is fitted with an AllWinner A20 SoC, which runs at 1GHz and 1GB DDR3 SDRAM. The AllWinner processor is actually an A20 ARM® Cortex™-A7 dual core.

Having a dual-core processor gives the Banana Pi twice the processing power of the original Raspberry Pi. The dual core gives the operating system the illusion that the computer has two 1GHz processors. All of those projects that you could not accomplish with the Raspberry Pi because of computing power? The worry can be eliminated with the Banana Pi. The AllWinner A20 SoC can more than make up for the lack of processing power. Along with this powerful processor, the Banana Pi allows for a 64GB SD card, giving the user the ability to store much more data. These improvements make the Banana Pi a manageable upgrade for an asking price of $50.

So what makes the AllWinner A20 SoC so special? It’s the first dual-core ARM A7 chip. As is the case with modern computer processors, multiple cores help with multitasking. Multiple applications can send and receive data at once, giving the user more power over the tasks a user is planning to accomplish with a project. The ARM A7 processor supports integer division through it’s own hardware instruction. In other ARM based processors, integer division is calculated

through software. With the integer division in hardware, this frees up memory space from software instructions allowing the processor to function more effectively. The ARM A7 processor also has 40-bit memory addressing. This allows the processor more bandwidth to access the

computer primary storage. This increase in bit addressing allows the processor to complete more tasks in a shorter amount of time.

Along with a beefier processor, the Allwinner A20 SoC comes with an accelerated graphics processing unit (GPU). This GPU follows along in the footsteps of the main processor and sports a dual-core Mali 400MP2 graphical unit. Along with dual cores, the Mali 400MP2 has 256 KiB of level 2 cache. This allows for greater storage of recently accessed information, as this is how

AllWinner A20 SoC

Image courtesy of www.lemaker.org

“With this technology, a graphical user interface (GUI) will load very quickly, graphical engines will process more efficiently, and movies or images will load with a higher definition.”

“Having a dual-core processor gives the Banana Pi twice the processing power of the original Raspberry Pi.”

Banana Pi

1818

the level 2 cache is used. This transfers into faster computing, and in terms of graphical displays, this means the faster rendering of computing intensive graphical units. With this technology, a graphical user interface (GUI) will load very quickly, graphical engines will process more efficiently, and movies or images will load with a higher definition. This GPU was built for the accelerated creation of objects on a screen. With this design, the user is able to run an operating system such as Android or Ubuntu without any of the hiccups that may come with a slower GPU.

Now, what can you do with a little bit more processing power, more RAM, and more storage space? Actually,

and make life easier in general. All this is possible because Banana Pi’s advanced technology. Along with advanced projects, the Banana Pi can run many of today’s modern operating systems. With the addition of a touchscreen, or even a regular monitor, the Banana Pi can fly through operating systems such as Android 4.4 KitKat, Ubuntu 13.01 or even a multimedia OS such as XBMC. But, many of the Banana Pi’s features are comparable to other cutting edge single-board computers.

With all of the single-board computers coming out at Maker’s Fair, at Consumer Electronics Show, and across the Internet, it is hard to find one that will be perfect for any project. The Banana Pi builds on the famous Raspberry Pi, to create a fast, yet inexpensive solution for many electronic projects that need intensive computing. This is all possible because the Banana Pi is an open source. Being one of the first boards to use a dual-core processor, the Banana Pi leads the way into the development of faster and more inexpensive single-board computers. Dual core makes it possible to accomplish many more tasks that the Raspberry Pi cannot. The next generation of single-board computers is here, and the Banana Pi is leading the way.

Banana Pi versus Raspberry Pi

“By adding sensors in various rooms and a Banana Pi interfaced to the sensors, you can create a life that is connected to the Internet.”

“The Banana Pi builds on the famous Raspberry Pi, to create a fast, yet inexpensive solution for many electronic projects that need intensive computing.”

quite a bit. What use to be a weather station, a retrogaming device, and a touchscreen tablet can become a full-fledge multimedia PC, a general purpose computer, or a modern gaming device. The specs of the Raspberry Pi are no longer limiting. The Banana Pi comes with all of the standard peripherals that a Raspberry Pi has, such as HDMI out, 10/100/1000 Ethernet out, audio out, and GPIO headers.

With such a board, you can turn your home into the Internet of things. By adding sensors in various rooms, and a Banana Pi interfaced to the sensors, you can create a life that is connected to the Internet. This will help you remember your habits, assist with daily functions,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fxstation. Front of Banana Pi. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wiki, 3 Apr. 2014. Web. 4 June 2014.

Jwrodgers. Raspberry Pi. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 July 2012. Web. 4 June 2014.

Popolon. Allwinner A20. Digital image. SUNXI. Linux-Sunxi, 14 Sept. 2013. Web. 4 June 2014.

19

TECH ARTICLE

19

the level 2 cache is used. This transfers into faster computing, and in terms of graphical displays, this means the faster rendering of computing intensive graphical units. With this technology, a graphical user interface (GUI) will load very quickly, graphical engines will process more efficiently, and movies or images will load with a higher definition. This GPU was built for the accelerated creation of objects on a screen. With this design, the user is able to run an operating system such as Android or Ubuntu without any of the hiccups that may come with a slower GPU.

Now, what can you do with a little bit more processing power, more RAM, and more storage space? Actually,

and make life easier in general. All this is possible because Banana Pi’s advanced technology. Along with advanced projects, the Banana Pi can run many of today’s modern operating systems. With the addition of a touchscreen, or even a regular monitor, the Banana Pi can fly through operating systems such as Android 4.4 KitKat, Ubuntu 13.01 or even a multimedia OS such as XBMC. But, many of the Banana Pi’s features are comparable to other cutting edge single-board computers.

With all of the single-board computers coming out at Maker’s Fair, at Consumer Electronics Show, and across the Internet, it is hard to find one that will be perfect for any project. The Banana Pi builds on the famous Raspberry Pi, to create a fast, yet inexpensive solution for many electronic projects that need intensive computing. This is all possible because the Banana Pi is an open source. Being one of the first boards to use a dual-core processor, the Banana Pi leads the way into the development of faster and more inexpensive single-board computers. Dual core makes it possible to accomplish many more tasks that the Raspberry Pi cannot. The next generation of single-board computers is here, and the Banana Pi is leading the way.

Banana Pi versus Raspberry Pi

“By adding sensors in various rooms and a Banana Pi interfaced to the sensors, you can create a life that is connected to the Internet.”

“The Banana Pi builds on the famous Raspberry Pi, to create a fast, yet inexpensive solution for many electronic projects that need intensive computing.”

quite a bit. What use to be a weather station, a retrogaming device, and a touchscreen tablet can become a full-fledge multimedia PC, a general purpose computer, or a modern gaming device. The specs of the Raspberry Pi are no longer limiting. The Banana Pi comes with all of the standard peripherals that a Raspberry Pi has, such as HDMI out, 10/100/1000 Ethernet out, audio out, and GPIO headers.

With such a board, you can turn your home into the Internet of things. By adding sensors in various rooms, and a Banana Pi interfaced to the sensors, you can create a life that is connected to the Internet. This will help you remember your habits, assist with daily functions,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fxstation. Front of Banana Pi. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wiki, 3 Apr. 2014. Web. 4 June 2014.

Jwrodgers. Raspberry Pi. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 July 2012. Web. 4 June 2014.

Popolon. Allwinner A20. Digital image. SUNXI. Linux-Sunxi, 14 Sept. 2013. Web. 4 June 2014.

2020


Engineers all over the world participated in our AXP Logic contest. In January 2014, we asked

contestants to use our new AXP1G57 low-power, configurable, multiple-function logic gate as a design platform. Completed entries submitted before the closing deadline had the opportunity to win one of several prizes.

Contestants were requested to go to the AXP Design Contest landing page on EEWeb, answering some industry survey questions on their use of logic devices.

After contestants fulfilled this requirement, we would then ship a free 3.5 by 4 inch AXP1G57GM eval board with four configurable logic devices, on-board power supply decoupling, and the ability to configure each of four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven unique functions. Full documentation and design tips were provided, along with online design support. The contest was also promoted at the Embedded World event in February 2014.

The contest ran for six months and garnered some impressive stats and even greater results. Just over 650 people registered online and a number of excellent designs were submitted. The eventual winners are listed on the right.

WINNERS

RELATED LINKS

Configurable gates category page

AXP family category page



Announcing the

Download the Contest Winners’ Work

(click on the image above)





New AXP low-power logicstimulates engineer’s high-powered creativitySix months, six continents, six hundred contestants and six winners later,

the results of the high-powered creativity contest were....well....logical?Launched in January of this year, the

2014 AXP Logic Design Contest, billed asOur Low-power Logic and your High-

power Creativity, used the AXP1G57Low-Power configurable multiple func-


Promotions and Aspen Labs for NXPLogic division, the contest ran for six

months and garnered some impressivestats--and even more impressive results.This article details the unbelievable

amount of creativity the contestants delivered to win thousands of dollars in


Phase one of the contest was registra-tion, and contestants were required to go

to the AXP Design Contest landing pageon EEWeb and answer some industry

survey questions on logic devices. In phase two, they were shipped a free3.5 inch by 4 inch AXP1G57GM Eval

Board with four configurable logic de-vices, on-board power supply decou-

pling, and the ability to configure each offour AXP1G57 devices in one of seven

unique functions.

Full documentation and some design tipswere provided, along with on-line design


21

DESIGN CONTESTS

21


Engineers all over the world participated in our AXP Logic contest. In January 2014, we asked

contestants to use our new AXP1G57 low-power, configurable, multiple-function logic gate as a design platform. Completed entries submitted before the closing deadline had the opportunity to win one of several prizes.

Contestants were requested to go to the AXP Design Contest landing page on EEWeb, answering some industry survey questions on their use of logic devices.

After contestants fulfilled this requirement, we would then ship a free 3.5 by 4 inch AXP1G57GM eval board with four configurable logic devices, on-board power supply decoupling, and the ability to configure each of four AXP1G57 devices in one of seven unique functions. Full documentation and design tips were provided, along with online design support. The contest was also promoted at the Embedded World event in February 2014.

The contest ran for six months and garnered some impressive stats and even greater results. Just over 650 people registered online and a number of excellent designs were submitted. The eventual winners are listed on the right.

WINNERS

RELATED LINKS

Configurable gates category page

AXP family category page



Announcing the

Download the Contest Winners’ Work

(click on the image above)





New AXP low-power logicstimulates engineer’s high-powered creativitySix months, six continents, six hundred contestants and six winners later,

the results of the high-powered creativity contest were....well....logical?Launched in January of this year, the

2014 AXP Logic Design Contest, billed asOur Low-power Logic and your High-

power Creativity, used the AXP1G57Low-Power configurable multiple func-


Promotions and Aspen Labs for NXPLogic division, the contest ran for six

months and garnered some impressivestats--and even more impressive results.This article details the unbelievable

amount of creativity the contestants delivered to win thousands of dollars in


Phase one of the contest was registra-tion, and contestants were required to go

to the AXP Design Contest landing pageon EEWeb and answer some industry

survey questions on logic devices. In phase two, they were shipped a free3.5 inch by 4 inch AXP1G57GM Eval

Board with four configurable logic de-vices, on-board power supply decou-

pling, and the ability to configure each offour AXP1G57 devices in one of seven

unique functions.

Full documentation and some design tipswere provided, along with on-line design


2222

Design Freedom!

with

Join Digi-Key, Freescale, and ARM in the2014 European Freedom Design Contest

It’s easy to join and easy to win –Get ready to experience real design freedom!

Experience the latest in low-cost tool options from Industry leaders and enter to win thousands of Euros in prizes!

Phase I – Best Hardware and Software Submission: an Apple® iPad Air valued at no more than €489.

Phase I - Second Place Prize: an Apple® iPad Mini valued at no more than €399.

Phase I – Three Honorable Mention Prizes: an Apple® iPod touch valued at no more than €249.

Phase I – Conceptual Design (6 May 2014 to 10 October 2014)

Phase II – Hardware and Software Design(1 July 2014 to 10 October 2014)

Phase II – Best Hardware and Software Submission: a football table valued at no more than €1,500.

Phase II - Second Place Prize: a Jura espresso machine valued at no more than €1,000.

Phase II - Honorable Mention Prize: a bicycle valued at no more than €750.

Contest winners will be announced November 11, 2014

*The Freescale Semiconductor Freedom Development Platform is a small, low-power, cost-effective evaluation and development system perfect for quick application prototyping and demonstration of Kinetis MCU families. The platform offers an easy-to-use mass-storage device mode flash programmer, a virtual serial port and classic programming and run-control capabilities.

For more information on Freescale Freedom Development Platforms: http://www.digikey.com/product-high-lights/us/en/freescale-freedom-development-platform/3851

REGISTER NOW

23

DESIGN CONTESTS

23

Design Freedom!

with

Join Digi-Key, Freescale, and ARM in the2014 European Freedom Design Contest

It’s easy to join and easy to win –Get ready to experience real design freedom!

Experience the latest in low-cost tool options from Industry leaders and enter to win thousands of Euros in prizes!

Phase I – Best Hardware and Software Submission: an Apple® iPad Air valued at no more than €489.

Phase I - Second Place Prize: an Apple® iPad Mini valued at no more than €399.

Phase I – Three Honorable Mention Prizes: an Apple® iPod touch valued at no more than €249.

Phase I – Conceptual Design (6 May 2014 to 10 October 2014)

Phase II – Hardware and Software Design(1 July 2014 to 10 October 2014)

Phase II – Best Hardware and Software Submission: a football table valued at no more than €1,500.

Phase II - Second Place Prize: a Jura espresso machine valued at no more than €1,000.

Phase II - Honorable Mention Prize: a bicycle valued at no more than €750.

Contest winners will be announced November 11, 2014

*The Freescale Semiconductor Freedom Development Platform is a small, low-power, cost-effective evaluation and development system perfect for quick application prototyping and demonstration of Kinetis MCU families. The platform offers an easy-to-use mass-storage device mode flash programmer, a virtual serial port and classic programming and run-control capabilities.

For more information on Freescale Freedom Development Platforms: http://www.digikey.com/product-high-lights/us/en/freescale-freedom-development-platform/3851

REGISTER NOW

24

By Suzanne Touchette Kelso Contributing Writer

The time-honored craft of home brewing only gets

better with the introduction of electronics. Find out how a DIYer improved his beer by using the popular Arduino module.

Home Brew System

IoTTaps

COVER ARTICLE

25

By Suzanne Touchette Kelso Contributing Writer

The time-honored craft of home brewing only gets

better with the introduction of electronics. Find out how a DIYer improved his beer by using the popular Arduino module.

Home Brew System

IoTTaps

26

Brew Tech ToolsWork remotely, turn lights on

remotely, and now, brew beer remotely thanks to the Arduino

module. Using this microcontroller module along with a variety of electronics components, home brewer Michael ImObersteg put together a brew system that allows him to monitor his tanks from miles away.

ImObersteg, who started making beer in college, developed a sophisticated electronics brewing system that is hassle free. “Brewing can be very hands-on, messy, and time consuming,” he notes, “so I wanted to streamline the process.”

ImObersteg started his new brew system with the Arduino-based BrewTroller, which controls everything from volumes to temperatures, to analog or digital inputs, to valves and more. “I also used a Raspberry Pi,” tells ImObersteg, “and this powers a touchscreen monitor which is connected to the Internet.” In this way, he can remotely access the web-based GUI on the BrewTroller to control the brewery. “No matter where I am in the world,” remarks ImObersteg, “I can check in on the brewing process and control what’s going on with the batch at hand.”

Because most of the brewing is done outside, conditions can suddenly change. “A flame on the burner can go out,”

ImObersteg explains, “or the temperature can shift. I can access all this information and make adjustments through my phone.”

Not only do ImObersteg’s brew-system electronics allow for remote access when conditions change, but because it’s paired with an E-Stop module which reads the Arduino board, the system will drop into standby mode and come to a complete stop if something goes awry. At that point all valves close, all pumps stop, and all burners turn off. Honeywell intermittent pilots receive feedback from the system and burner, so if the burner isn’t lighting, the operation shuts down.

Freescale pressure sensors attached to a pump measure the pressure in each tank. This information is used to determine the number of gallons per tank. “I’m always testing, checking, and measuring throughout the process,” says ImObersteg, “because consistency is important in order to get the finished-product volume the same for each batch.”

While some might want a total brew experience of being elbow-deep in hops and barley, ImObersteg is content with letting his electronics system handle the tedious part of brewing. This leaves him more time for the enjoyable part of crafting beer—the tasting.

Arduino MicrocontrollerCustom module running BrewTroller firmware.• DE v1.0.5-r2 supports ATMEGA 1284P• Atmel 8-bit AVR RISC-based

microcontroller• 128KB flash, 4KB EEPROM, 16KB SRAM

Raspberry Pi Model B used as touchscreen interface for Internet connection and for GUI.• Ethernet port in conjunction with

NETGEAR adapter• 2 USB ports, HDMI

Freescale Pressure SensorUsed to detect amount of liquid in tanks.• MPX5010DP with 1.45PSI pressure range• Integrated silicon sensor• On-chip signal conditioning

Capacitive TouchscreenDisplays data and connects to Internet. • 10” screen with LCD IPS technology• HDMI-LVD board powering Raspberry Pi• Ambient light sensor for LCD control

Check out the various tech devices in Michael ImObersteg’s brewing system:

“I can check on the brewing process from anywhere in the world and control what’s

going on with the batch at hand.”

COVER ARTICLE

27

Brew Tech ToolsWork remotely, turn lights on

remotely, and now, brew beer remotely thanks to the Arduino

module. Using this microcontroller module along with a variety of electronics components, home brewer Michael ImObersteg put together a brew system that allows him to monitor his tanks from miles away.

ImObersteg, who started making beer in college, developed a sophisticated electronics brewing system that is hassle free. “Brewing can be very hands-on, messy, and time consuming,” he notes, “so I wanted to streamline the process.”

ImObersteg started his new brew system with the Arduino-based BrewTroller, which controls everything from volumes to temperatures, to analog or digital inputs, to valves and more. “I also used a Raspberry Pi,” tells ImObersteg, “and this powers a touchscreen monitor which is connected to the Internet.” In this way, he can remotely access the web-based GUI on the BrewTroller to control the brewery. “No matter where I am in the world,” remarks ImObersteg, “I can check in on the brewing process and control what’s going on with the batch at hand.”

Because most of the brewing is done outside, conditions can suddenly change. “A flame on the burner can go out,”

ImObersteg explains, “or the temperature can shift. I can access all this information and make adjustments through my phone.”

Not only do ImObersteg’s brew-system electronics allow for remote access when conditions change, but because it’s paired with an E-Stop module which reads the Arduino board, the system will drop into standby mode and come to a complete stop if something goes awry. At that point all valves close, all pumps stop, and all burners turn off. Honeywell intermittent pilots receive feedback from the system and burner, so if the burner isn’t lighting, the operation shuts down.

Freescale pressure sensors attached to a pump measure the pressure in each tank. This information is used to determine the number of gallons per tank. “I’m always testing, checking, and measuring throughout the process,” says ImObersteg, “because consistency is important in order to get the finished-product volume the same for each batch.”

While some might want a total brew experience of being elbow-deep in hops and barley, ImObersteg is content with letting his electronics system handle the tedious part of brewing. This leaves him more time for the enjoyable part of crafting beer—the tasting.

Arduino MicrocontrollerCustom module running BrewTroller firmware.• DE v1.0.5-r2 supports ATMEGA 1284P• Atmel 8-bit AVR RISC-based

microcontroller• 128KB flash, 4KB EEPROM, 16KB SRAM

Raspberry Pi Model B used as touchscreen interface for Internet connection and for GUI.• Ethernet port in conjunction with

NETGEAR adapter• 2 USB ports, HDMI

Freescale Pressure SensorUsed to detect amount of liquid in tanks.• MPX5010DP with 1.45PSI pressure range• Integrated silicon sensor• On-chip signal conditioning

Capacitive TouchscreenDisplays data and connects to Internet. • 10” screen with LCD IPS technology• HDMI-LVD board powering Raspberry Pi• Ambient light sensor for LCD control

Check out the various tech devices in Michael ImObersteg’s brewing system:

“I can check on the brewing process from anywhere in the world and control what’s

going on with the batch at hand.”

28

iKeg Senses Keg ContentHome brewers may want to know how much beer is in their tanks as part of the brewing process, but barkeepers have a different motivation for keeping tabs on quantity. They want to ensure an adequate supply of popular drafts and avoid having kegs of expired beer. Bartenders often use a simple method to determine volume; they just shake a keg.

For those who don’t want to do the shake, craft-brew aficionados and software guys Steve Hershberger and Steve Kremer teamed up to develop an online system for calculating beer volume in kegs. The two called their beer brain, “iKeg.” This inventory management system tracks information such as how much beer remains in a keg, when the keg will empty, when another delivery is planned, and so on.

The iKeg system relies on a sensor, which includes a Freescale MC13224V microcontroller in the bottom of the keg. A RFID tag on the keg handle uses a 13.56MHz inlay to obtain data from the sensor. Then the data is transmitted using ZigBee.

3030

AylaDesign Kit




31

TECH WATCH

31

AylaDesign Kit




3232

Hardware

Watch Video

Specs

To watch a video overview and demonstration on use of the Ayla Design Kit, click the image below:

The Murata type YD certified module equips developers with a precertified, fully integrated 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi module based on Broadcom’s BCM43362 chipset and an ST Micro STM32 ARM Cortex-M3 MCU. Wi-Fi and transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) network stacks, security features, and other network application software are preloaded on the module. The type YD module has universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART), and serial peripheral interface (SPI). In addition, it can be used as a simple serial-to-Wi-Fi connectivity solution in any application using those interfaces.

The Murata module with Ayla’s embedded agent enables connection to Ayla’s platform, an end-to-end connectivity solution for IoT applications with the ability to remotely monitor performance and diagnostic information and as well as deploy firmware upgrades from computers and mobile devices.

Prototyping with the kit can be done with the on-board STM32F discovery development board, or by connecting your microcontroller (MCU) to the SPI or UART headers.

1

2

3

1 Ayla Development Board

2 Murata Wi-Fi Module

3 STM32F Discovery Board

33

TECH WATCH

33

Hardware

Watch Video

Specs

To watch a video overview and demonstration on use of the Ayla Design Kit, click the image below:

The Murata type YD certified module equips developers with a precertified, fully integrated 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi module based on Broadcom’s BCM43362 chipset and an ST Micro STM32 ARM Cortex-M3 MCU. Wi-Fi and transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) network stacks, security features, and other network application software are preloaded on the module. The type YD module has universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART), and serial peripheral interface (SPI). In addition, it can be used as a simple serial-to-Wi-Fi connectivity solution in any application using those interfaces.

The Murata module with Ayla’s embedded agent enables connection to Ayla’s platform, an end-to-end connectivity solution for IoT applications with the ability to remotely monitor performance and diagnostic information and as well as deploy firmware upgrades from computers and mobile devices.

Prototyping with the kit can be done with the on-board STM32F discovery development board, or by connecting your microcontroller (MCU) to the SPI or UART headers.

1

2

3

1 Ayla Development Board

2 Murata Wi-Fi Module

3 STM32F Discovery Board

http://www.eeweb.com/company-blog/mouser/ayla-design-kit/

Sierra Circuits:A Complete PCB Resource

PLUS: The Ground ” Myth in PrintedCircuits

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PCB Resin Reactor+

Ken BahlCEO of Sierra Circuits

Let There Be

How Cree reinvented the light bulb

LIGHT

David ElienVP of Marketing & Business

Development, Cree, Inc.

New LED Filament Tower

Cutting Edge Flatscreen Technologies

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M o v i n g T o w a r d s

a Clean Energy

FUTURE— Hugo van Nispen, COO of DNV KEMA

MCU Wars 32-bit MCU Comparison

Cutting Edge

SPICEModeling

Freescale and TI Embedded

Modules

ARMCortex

Programming

From Concept to

Reality Wolfgang Heinz-Fischer

Head of Marketing & PR, TQ-Group

Low-Power Design Techniques

TQ-Group’s Comprehensive Design Process

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PowerDeveloper

Octobe r 20 13

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Embedded Developer: August 2014

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Transcript of Embedded Developer: August 2014