Texas Instruments TMAG5328Low-Power Hall-Effect Switch is a high precision, low-power, resistor adjustable Hall effect switch sensor with a low operating voltage. The TMAG5328 external resistor sets the operational BOP value. Users can follow a simple formula to calculate the resistor value needed to set up the correct BOP value. The Hysteresis value is fixed; therefore, the BRP value is defined as BOP Hysteresis.
The TI TMAG5328 Low-Power Hall-Effect Switch utilizes the adjustable threshold feature for easy and quick prototyping, fast design to market, reuse across different platforms, and easy last-minute modifications in case of unexpected changes. The device outputs a low voltage when the applied magnetic flux density exceeds the BOP threshold. The output stays low until the flux density decreases to less than BRP, and then the output drives a high voltage. By incorporating an internal oscillator, the device samples the magnetic field and updates the output at a rate of 20Hz for the lowest current consumption. The TMAG5328 supports an omnipolar magnetic response.
The TMAG5328 is housed in a standard SOT-23-6 package and operates from a VCC range of 1.65V to 5.5V.
Features
Supply range of 1.65V to 5.5V
Adjustable BOP from 2mT to 15mT
Using 2kΩ to 15kΩ resistors or 160mV to 1200mV voltage source
Texas Instruments LMR51430 SIMPLE SWITCHER® Buck Converters are easy-to-use with the capability of driving up to 3A load current. Offering a wide input range of 4.5V to 36V, the LMR51430 is ideal for a comprehensive range of industrial applications for power conditioning from an unregulated source. The 500kHz and 1.1MHz switching frequency on the device support the use of relatively small inductors resulting in an optimized solution size.
The TI LMR51430 Buck Converters provide a PFM version to achieve high efficiency at a light load and an FPWM version to attain constant frequency and small output voltage ripple over the entire load range. The device requires minimum external components with soft-start and compensation circuits implemented internally. Additionally, the LMR51430 offers built-in protection features, including cycle-by-cycle current limit, hiccup mode, short-circuit protection, and thermal shutdown in case of excessive power dissipation.
The LMR51430 is housed in a 6-pin SOT-23 package.
Features
Functional safety-capable
Documentation available to aid functional safety system design
Configured for rugged industrial applications
4.5V to 36V input voltage range
3A continuous output current
70ns minimum switching on time
500kHz and 1.1MHz fixed switching frequency options
–40°C to 150°C junction temperature range
98% maximum duty cycle
Start-up with pre-biased output
Internal short circuit protection with hiccup mode
±1.5% tolerance voltage reference
Precision enable
Small solution size and ease of use
Integrated synchronous rectification
Internal compensation for ease of use
SOT-23 package
Pin-to-pin compatible with the TPS54202 and TPS54302
PFM and forced PWM (FPWM) options are available
Create a custom design using the LMR51430 with the WEBENCH® Power Designer
SparkFun has just launched a new family of four boards: the Qwiic Micro, which offers popular breakouts in a really small footprint.
“Qwiic Micro is our smallest I2C-supported board form-factor yet!” says the company. “At only 0.75in. by 0.30in. (or 24.65mm by 7.62mm for metric friends), Qwiic Micro is perfect for projects and applications that have space or weight concerns.”
The new Qwiic micro family is smaller than the normal Qwiic board by more than a third, one may want to think that the company probably wants to get rid of their Standard Qwiic Board size of 1 x 1 inch but they have insisted that they have no plans for such as the new Qwiic Micro board family is just a new board size offering.
The new board family is said to be perfect for portable and other size-or-weight projects since they are way smaller than their full-scale predecessors. Though the boards did not come with the second Qwiic connector and the unpopulated 2.54mm pin headers as is in their full-size equivalents, they were duly compensated for by the presence of unpopulated ground and interrupt pins.
Qwiic Micro launches with four sensor boards: the first is with the BMP581 absolute Pressure Sensor from Bosch Sensortec, the second with the BMP384 pressure sensor from Bosch Sensortec also, the third with STMicroelectronics’ ISM330DHCX Six Degrees of Freedom IMU while the fourth with a triple-axis MMC5983MA magnetometer by MEMSIC. These breakouts are extremely small, you can install them in projects with exceptionally tight spaces. The Qwiic Micro Sensors communicate over I2C, so you don’t need any soldering to connect them to the rest of your project.
The Micro-sized SparkFun Qwiic BMP581 Absolute Pressure Sensor board – The BMP581 claims an exceptional resolution and accuracy of 1/64Pa. It uses on-chip linearization and temperature compensation to provide true absolute data for pressure and temperature. It also has a wide pressure sensing range of 30 to125 kPa as well as output data rates up to 622Hz. The minimum current consumption in all operating modes is just 1.5µA (typical) while the peak current consumption by the sensor is 260µA.
The SparkFun Qwiic BMP384 Pressure Sensor board – The BMP384 is a low-cost sensor with a high resolution of up to 21-bit. It consumes approximately 2µA when it is idle and ~700µA at peak during measurements. The sensor is not water-proof but it is a great option for monitoring pressure in humid environments as it provides extra resistance to liquid. The sensor also gives a very good accuracy in wide pressure and temperature ranges (300hPa to 1250hPa, -40 to +85°C).
The SparkFun Qwiic Micro ISM330DHCX Six Degrees of Freedom IMU – STMicroelectronics’ ISM330DHCX is a high-performance 3D digital accelerometer and 3D digital gyroscope tailored for smart applications. It has a full-scale acceleration range of ±2/±4/±8/±16 g and supports multiple modes that allow for peripheral only, secondary I2C, and auxiliary three or four-wire serial interface. It also has a wide angular rate range of ±125/±250/±500/±1000/±2000/±4000 dps that enables its usage in a broad range of applications as well as an unmatched set of embedded features (Machine Learning Core, programmable FSM, FIFO, sensor hub, event decoding and interrupts).
The board is perfect for applications such as optical image, lens stabilization, robotics, and industrial automation, navigation systems, and vibration monitoring and compensation.
The SparkFun Qwiic Micro MMC5983MA Magnetometer – The highly sensitive MMC5983MA Magnetometer can sense down to 0.4 mG, with a heading accuracy of ±0.5°. It is said to be ideal for electronic compass applications; has output rates of 1000Hz, ±8G FSR, and 18-bit resolution.
All four boards are very much available and sell for affordable prices. The BMP581 goes for $20.95, the BMP384 for $16.95, the ISM330DHCX for $25.95, and the MMC5983MA for $15.95.
Edge Impulse has announced support for Arduino’s compact Nicla Sense ME board targeted at Edge AI Motion and Environment projects — a new standard for intelligent sensing solutions. The edge AI and tinyML expert promised to give full support for the device’s newly integrated sensors.
Less than a year ago, in September 2021, Arduino partnered with Bosch’s sensor division to launch the Nicla Sense ME, development board, with a stamp-like ultra-compact design. The high-performance, low-power board was designed to bring smart sensing solutions to the edge.
“Its small size and robust design make it suitable for projects that need to combine sensor fusion and AI capabilities on edge, thanks to a strong computational power and low-consumption combination that can even lead to stand-alone applications when battery operated,”
Edge Impulse’s Jenny Plunkett explains the compact development board.
Features and Specifications Include:
64 MHz Arm® Cortex M4 (nRF52832) microcontroller
Bluetooth® 4.2 connectivity
512KB Flash / 64KB RAM, 2MB SPI Flash for storage, 2MB QSPI dedicated for BHI260AP
1x I2C bus (with ext. ESLOV connector), 1x serial port, 1x SPI, 2x ADC, programmable I/O voltage from 1.8-3.3V
Power: Micro USB (USB-B), Pin Header, 3.7V Li-po battery with Integrated battery charger
Dimensions: 22.86 mm x 22.86 mm
Weight: 2 grams
Usage and Applications:
Predictive maintenance
Robotics
Accelerated medical recovery
Logistics and supply chain
Gas detection
Detection of toxic substances
Home Automation
Monitoring of environmental conditions
Edge Impulse also extended support to four state-of-the-art sensors from Bosch Sensortec:
BHI260AP motion sensor system with integrated AI
BMM150 magnetometer
BMP390 pressure sensor, and,
BME688 four-in-one gas and environment sensor with AI and integrated high-linearity.
With the range of Bosch Sensortec hardware and the powerful Nordic SeminRF52832 system-on-chip, the Nicla Sense ME compact development board can be used to easily measure and analyze rotation, acceleration, temperature, pressure, humidity, air quality and CO2 levels.
Here are some of the benefits you get with using the Arduino Nicla Sense ME Development Board:
It has tiny size, yet is packed with amazing features
It has a low power consumption rate
It adds sensing capabilities to existing projects
It becomes a complete standalone board when battery-powered
It has a very powerful processor, capable of hosting intelligence on the Edge
Robust hardware including high-quality Bosch sensors with embedded AI (accelerometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic, gas, pressure, temperature & humidity sensors)
Bluetooth LE connectivity maximizes compatibility with professional and consumer equipment
It can measure motion and environmental parameters easily (motion, gas, pressure, temperature, humidity, and more)
Always-on sensor data processing at extremely low power consumption
It is compatible with Arduino Portenta and MKR families
Battery or USB powered
Video
The company provided a quick guide on how to get started with the board; flashing the Nicla Sense ME with the Edge Impulse firmware for data collection and inference.
“Once you have collected enough data samples from your desired sensor, you can follow the building of a continuous motion recognition system tutorial to develop and deploy a machine learning model using one of the many Bosch sensors on the Nicla Sense ME,” says Plunkett.
These details and other useful information on the Nicla Sense ME development board can be found on the documentation site or on the Arduino Store where it sells for $82.80.
The numbers used in real life for routine financial matters, numeric records, and in mathematical calculations, etc. are either positive or negative in sign. The positive numbers are usually unsigned and do not carry a positive (+) sign. Moreover, a number without any sign is understood to be a positive number. Contrary to this, a negative number is a signed number that is represented by a negative sign (-) on the leftmost side of the number e.g. -12345 or -1234510.
The binary numbers, which are discussed in the previous articles, are unsigned binary numbers i.e. positive values only. As the architecture of digital systems and computers understand only binary numbers, the representation of real-life signed numbers in binary by a positive (+) or negative (-) sign is not possible. Because the binary numbers are represented by binary digits (bits) which can have a value of either “0” or “1” i.e. they can have only two numbers to represent a bit. The bit value either “0” or “1” is a mere representation of the logic level which is dependent on the digital circuit. That said, representation and understanding of any other number besides “0” and “1” are not possible at the hardware level of the digital system. Contrary to decimal numbers, it is not possible to include a negative sign with a binary number to represent a negative value.
Sign-and-Magnitude
A number, essentially, should have two values i.e. sign and magnitude in order to represent positive and negative values. This representation is known as Sign-and-Magnitude (SM) notation. For example, a negative number (-12345) is represented by using this Sign-and-Magnitude (SM) notation. This method, Sign-and-Magnitude, is the simplest and most commonly used method to represent numbers both positive and negative. The Sign-and-Magnitude method can also be applied to binary numbers to represent negative and positive numbers. The binary number carrying a sign (positive or negative value) along with the magnitude is termed signed binary numbers.
The binary number is represented by only “0”s & “1”s and there is no provision to include (+) or (-) sign in order to use Sign-and-Magnitude notation. In order to adopt this Sign-and-Magnitude method, the most significant bit (MSB) is used as a sign to indicate the positive or negative value of the binary number. For representing, a positive signed binary number a “0” is used as a most significant bit, whereas, a “1” represents a negative signed binary number. Using this Sign-and-Magnitude notation, the most significant bit of a signed binary number holds the sign (positive or negative notation) and the rest of the bits represent the magnitude or value of the signed binary number.
The signed binary number having “n” number of bits uses one (1) bit to indicate the sign and “n-1” bits to represent the magnitude or value. Using the Sign-and-Magnitude notation, the positive and negative value of a decimal number (45) is represented below as a signed binary number. The decimal number can be converted to a binary value by using the repeated-division-by-2 method which is discussed in the previous article.
Figure 1: The Sign-and-Magnitude notation of Signed Binary Numbers
However, the Sign-and-Magnitude notation has a number of disadvantages. The usage of one (1) bit as a sign bit reduces the number of bits to hold the magnitude or value. In a comparison with an unsigned binary number having “n” number of bits, the signed binary number is going to have “n-1” bits to represent a value. The sign-and-magnitude notation splits the number values into two halves i.e. one on each side of zero (0). In order to understand this, the decimal ranges of unsigned and signed binary numbers are given below. The size of both unsigned and signed numbers is set to eight (8) bits.
The range of numbers for an eight (8) bit unsigned number is from “0” to “255” i.e. a total of 256 numbers that can be represented. Whereas, the signed binary number ranges from “–127” to “127” including the middle value of “0”. The number of values represented by the signed number is “255”. Likewise, for the 4-bit unsigned and signed binary numbers the decimal ranges are:
Similarly, the ranges for 4-bit unsigned and signed binary numbers are (0 to 15 = 16) and (-7 to +7 = 15), respectively. Here, again, the sign-and-magnitude notation has reduced the number of values by one (1) compared to the equivalent unsigned binary number.
Besides, the sign-and-magnitude notation has two zero (0) values each representing a positive and negative zero. For example, a sign bit of “0” placed with a “0” value shows a positive zero i.e. 00002. Likewise, a sign bit of “1” placed with “0” values shows a negative zero i.e. 10002. According to sign-and-magnitude notation, both are valid and this occupies one of the number values discussed above.
Signed Binary Number Examples
In the following table, a number of examples are given to represent both positive and negative decimal numbers with their equivalent signed binary numbers. The conversion from decimal to binary number is achieved by the application of the repeated-division-by-2 method.
In order to use sign-and-magnitude notation, the sign bit is placed at the most significant bit (MSB), whereas, the rest of the bits represent magnitude or value. If the magnitude or value is less and does not occupy all of the magnitude bits then the remaining magnitude bits are set to zero (0). This arrangement helps in identifying the sign bit’s location i.e. MSB of 8-bit, 16-bit, or 32-bit, etc.
One’s Complement
The One’s Complement is another method to represent negative numbers of a signed binary number. The positive values remain unchanged and are, as such, called non-complemented values. The positive values are the same as shown for sign-and-magnitude positive values. However, the negative values are one’s complement that is inverted or negated. For example, the complement of “0” is “1” and of “1” is “0”. Therefore, the negative of a given positive signed binary number can be determined by taking one’s complement or changing “0”s to “1”s and vice versa. For example, the one’s complement of 101100112 is 010011002. In digital or logic circuits, one’s complement is achieved by using “Inverters“. The number of parallel inverters required is dependent on the size or length of the signed binary number (number of bits).
Figure 3: Implementation of 1’s complement using NOT Gates
Similar to the sign-and-magnitude notation, the one’s complement has n-bit notation ranging from –(2n-1-1) to (2n-1-1) and has two values to represent a zero i.e. 00002 (positive) and 11112 (negative) for a 4-bit signed number.
Addition and Subtraction using One’s Complement
The one’s complement can be used to subtract binary numbers. The addition of two binary numbers is achieved by using Adder circuits resulting in Sum and Carry bits. The Adder result depends on the values of the input values. In mathematics, the subtraction of numbers can be formulated as A + (-B) which is the addition of two numbers having inverted to be subtracted operand. Using this formulation, the subtraction of two binary numbers can be performed by using one’s complement on the desired operand. For example, the mathematical expression 108 – 45 = 63 is performed carried out using one’s complement.
The decimal numbers are converted into equivalent decimal numbers and both binary numbers are adjusted to 8-bits by adding leading zeroes.
In order to subtract 4510 from 10810 using addition or adder, the one’s complement of 4510 is determined by inverting its every bit. The equivalent binary of 4510 is 001011012 and its one’s complement is 110100102. Now, this one’s complemented added to 10810 = 011011002 gives the one’s complemented subtraction as shown below.
In the above result, the 9th bit is an overflow bit and indicates subtraction resulted in a positive number. If subtraction results in no overflow bit then the result is a negative number. So, in this case of overflow, the 9th bit or overflow bit can be safely ignored. Now, to convert this one’s complemented result into a real result, a “1” is added as shown below.
The subtraction using one’s complemented produced the result (001111112) which when converted to the equivalent decimal number is 6310. The equivalent decimal number of (001111112) is determined using the sum of the weighted product i.e. (32+16+8+4+2+1) = 63. So, one’s complement can be used in binary adders such as 74LS83 or 74LS283, etc. to subtract the signed binary numbers.
Two’s Complement
The two’s complement is another method to represent the negative binary number in a signed binary number system. Just like Sign-and-Magnitude and One’s Complement methods, the positive binary numbers remain unchanged. Whereas, a negative number in two’s complement method is one’s complemented plus (+) “1” to the least significant bit (LSB). The negative binary number when added to its counterpart positive number results in zero. The two’s complement does not include the double zeros issue which was observed in Sign-and-Magnitude and One’s Complement methods. Further, it is much easier to obtain two’s complement making arithmetic operations relatively much easier. The range of two’s complement signed binary number is given below.
Using the previous example of one’s complement, the two’s complement of (4510 = 001011012) is obtained by first getting one’s complement and adding “1” to it i.e. (110100102 + 000000012 = 110100112).
The two’s complement of 4510 equals -4510 in a signed binary number. The subtraction (10810 – 4510) is, thus, obtained by adding both signed binary numbers as shown below.
The overflow bit is discarded and the rest of the 8-bits constitute the subtraction result which is equivalent to (6310 = 32+16+8+4+2+1).
In the following table, a comparison of different methods to represent 4-bit signed binary numbers is shown.
Conclusion
The signed binary number system is used to represent both positive and negative numbers in binary. The methods used to represent signed binary numbers are Sign-and-Magnitude, One’s Complement, and Two’s Complement.
The Sign-and-Magnitude uses the most significant bit (MSB) as a sign bit. The zero (0) shows a positive magnitude and a one (1) shows a negative magnitude of a binary number. The range of numbers is split into -127 to -0 and +0 to +127. The disadvantage involves double zeros i.e. 00002 and 10002.
In One’s Complement method, the positive numbers remain unchanged whilst the negative numbers are obtained by inverting each bit of its relevant counterpart positive. The range of numbers is split into -127 to -0 and +0 to +127. Similar to Sign-and-Magnitude, the One’s Complement has the disadvantage of having double zero in its range of numbers. The addition or adder can be used along with one’s complement to perform the subtraction of two binary numbers.
The Two’s Complement has unaltered positive numbers just like Sign-and-Magnitude and One’s Complement methods. The negative number is obtained by first determining the one’s complement of the relevant positive number and then adding “1” to it. The range of numbers is -128 to 0 to +127 and includes only one zero in the range.
The two’s complement is the most commonly used method to represent signed binary numbers compared to other presented methods. The usage of the two’s complement method avoids the issue of double zero and the arithmetic operations become relatively much easier.
This is an 8-pin SOIC/MSOP/SOT23-3/4/5/6 prototype board. This is a blank PCB that allows the operation of many chips from various manufacturers. Each device pin is connected to a pull-up resistor, a pull-down resistor, an in-line resistor, and a capacitor on VCC. All pins are provided with a male header connector.
Note: Example schematic of temperature sensor LM35 provided.
Features
Supports 8-pin SOIC package
Supports 6-pin SOT23-3/4/5/6 (TSSOP) package
Supports 8-pin MSOP package
All Resistors and capacitor Size 0805
Each device pin has a footprint for an optional pull-up resistor, a pull-down resistor, In line resistor
2 Pin Male Header connector and power supply filtering capacitors
A rechargeable battery’s load should be disconnected at the point of complete discharge, to avoid a further (deep) discharge that can shorten its life or destroy it. Because a battery’s terminal voltage recovers when you disconnect the load, you can’t simply disconnect the load when the terminal voltage dips below the established threshold and then re-connect it when the voltage returns above that threshold. Such action may produce chatter in the disconnect switch. The project shown here is a complete solution to this problem.
The circuit disconnects the load when the battery level goes below a set point. The project is built using the MAX882 chip, which has a low-battery comparator and error amplifier that share the internal reference and the external resistor divider. With the resistor values shown, the low-battery output (LBO) goes low and disconnects both the battery and load when the output falls eighty percent below its nominal value. The battery and load then remain disconnected until RESET is clicked by SW1. Two factors enable the latching action in this circuit: the low-battery comparator remains active during shutdown (most regulators deactivate this comparator during shutdown), and the circuit monitors the regulated output voltage instead of the battery voltage (regulator voltage can’t recover until the regulator is turned back on). The circuit also provides an active-low POWER FAIL signal (LBO, pin 1) that goes low 50ms before the output is turned off. When LBO goes low, C1 discharges through R1 until the active low STBY input reaches its threshold (1.15V). The IC then enters its standby mode and disconnects the battery. IC1 is a linear regulator capable of sourcing 150mA with a 350mV dropout voltage. It has a 10µA standby current.
The disconnect voltage level is set to 3.08V. When the battery voltage drops to 3.08V, it disconnects the load, to reverse the condition, recharge the battery or replace and press the SW1.
Note: It is advisable to use low tolerance 0.1% resistors (R4, R5, R6, R7), for high accuracy,
Forlinx Embedded, a leading manufacturer and supplier focused on designing and providing customers with trusted, ready-to-use, and easy-going ARM single board computers have introduced a new OK6254-C single board computer compatible with a FET6254-C SoM which is based on the quad-core Sitara AM6254 processor from Texas Instruments. The OK6254-C SBC boasts up to 8GB of eMMC, 2Kbit EEPROM, and up to three displays (one 16-bit RGB parallel interface and two dual-channel LVDS ports).
The FET6254-C SoM is a cost-effective and high-performance SoM based on AM62x series industrial grade SoCs. These SoCs, powered by 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores, come with dual display support, a 3D graphics processing unit, one general-purpose memory controller, and high-speed interfaces.
The SoM is designed with ultra-thin connectors on its back for mating with the carrier board and has a combined height of only 2mm that allows for plug operations and maintenance. The SoM also has rich peripheral interface resources including dual GbE LAN ports, USB 2.0, RGB parallel, UART, CAN-FD, Camera, and Audio.
The SoM is widely applicable in projects like edge computing, retail automation, medical and laboratory equipment, appliance user interface and connectivity, industrial computer, industry 4.0, Human Machine Interfaces (HMI), 3D Re-configurable automotive instrument cluster, Telematics Control Unit (TCU), etc.
Key Features and Specifications of the FET625x-C SoM Include:
Processor: TI AM6254
CPU: 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 quad-core processor (up to 1.4GHz)
MCU: Cortex-M4F (up to 400MHz)
GPU: AXE1-16M GPU that supports OpenGL ES 3.1 and OpenCL 3.0 and Vulkan 1.2
1GB DDR4 (option for 2GB)
8GB eMMC
-40 to +85℃ operating temperature range
5V DC working voltage
Dimensions: 60 mm x 38 mm; 4 x 80-pin board-to-board connector
OS: Linux 5.10.87 + QT5.14.2
OK6254-C Carrier Board
OK6254-C Carrier Board Specifications Include:
128 Mbit QSPI
2 Kbit EEPROM
1x microSD card slot (up to 104 MB/s)
1x LVDS dual asynchronous channel (up to 1080×800 @60fps)
1x 16-bit RGB parallel via FPC connector (up to 1024×600 @60fps)
1x headphone output, 1x MIC input
1x FPC connector
2x GbE LAN ports
IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band Wi-Fi (via On-board AW-CM358M, up to 433.3Mbps)
Bluetooth 5.0 (up to 3Mbps)
1x MicroSIM card slot (optional)
3x USB 2.0 Host
1x USB 2.0 OTG
1x RS485
2x CAN FD, 2x I2C, 1x SPI (via pin headers)
16x ADC pins (via pin headers)
1x 20-pin JTAG
3x Debug UART
1x Onboard RTC
Power: DC 5V/3A (Type-C)
Dimensions: 190 mm x 130mm
Other useful details on the SoM, SBC, and recommended accessories can also be found on the product page. The company however did not state how much they cost at the moment.
Snapdragon has launched a new hardware platform for next-gen wearable devices for extended battery life, enhanced user experience, and innovative design architecture– Snapdragon W5+ and W5. Adoption of these new hardware platforms comes with the announcement that Oppo and Mobvoi will release the first smartwatches with 25 designs in the pipeline across segments.
Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 is designed with new enhancements to hybrid architecture offering 50% lower power, 2x better performance, 2x richer features, and 30% smaller size compared to the previous generator. The purpose-built platform is manufactured on a 4-nm-based system-on-chip and 22-nm-based integrated always-on co-processor. The hardware platform is capable of supporting low-power connectivity options– Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, and GNSS.
Inside the Snapdragon W5+ and W5 system architecture are the Qualcomm SW5100 and SW5100P powerful system-on-chip featuring a quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor, Qualcomm Adreno 702 GPU with dual ISPs supporting 16-megapixel cameras, 4G LTE multi-mode modem, and dual Qualcomm Hexagon DSPs. The always-on co-processor is an ultra-low-power Qualcomm QCC5100 system-on-chip featuring Arm Cortex-M55 processor core with U55 ML core, HiFi5 DSP, and integrated Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity.
“The new wearable platforms – Snapdragon W5+ and Snapdragon W5 – represent our most advanced leap yet,” said Pankaj Kedia, senior director, product marketing, and global head of Smart Wearables, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Purpose-built for next generation wearables, these platforms address the most pressing consumer needs by delivering ultra-low power, breakthrough performance, and highly integrated packaging.”
Specifications of Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 Platform:
SoC: Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 at 1.7GHz optimized for wearables, fabricated using 4nm process technology and runs Wear OS by Google and AOSP
Co-processor: Arm Cortex-M55 at 250MHz, fabricated using 22nm process technology, and features a U55 machine learning core
GPU: Qualcomm Adreno 702 graphics unit at 1GHz
DSP: Dual Hexagon QDSP V66K
Memory:
Wireless connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 802.11n, Co-ex for Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, Wi-Fi, LTE, and NFC supported via third party
Display: MIPI-DSI for the SoC and QSPI with DDR for the QCC5100 co-processor supporting up to 1080 pixels at 60 frames per second, optimized for wearables
Power management: New wearable PMIC optimized for low power and high integration systems
Operating system: Wear OS by Google and Android Open Source, FreeRTOS on AON co-processor
“We are thrilled to be working with a range of customers and partners, thus expanding our thriving wearable ecosystem, and are delighted to announce 25 designs in the pipeline across segments based on the new platforms. We have collaborated extensively with our first customers, Oppo and Mobvoi, over the last year and look forward to seeing their products,” said Kedia.
For more information, head to the official product page of the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 wearable platform.
Pixcore, a Shenzhen-based embedded device manufacturer, has launched a crowdfunding campaign that aims to raise $6300 USD for its powerful mini personal computer, PIX NII, with advanced dual 4K HDMI video streaming using Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. Pixcore PIX NII mini-PC is powered by the Intel Pentium N6005 CPU with a small form factor, perfect for those looking for a next-generation mini-PC to easily switch between work and entertainment.
Pixcore PIX NII mini-PC looks very similar to the Apple Mac mini but weighs only 160 grams and delivers high performance leveraging the four Tremont CPU cores at a speed of up to 3.3GHz with 10-nm process technologies. The company claims the PIX NII mini-PC outperforms most of the other mini-PCs on the market due to its improved CPU performance.
The PIX NII mini-PC is marketed with a feature that supports two 4K HDMI video streams at 60Hz output for high-end gaming or office work. This enables the user to utilize two monitors simultaneously for more screen space for efficient workflow. Regarding wireless connectivity, the PIX NII mini-PC is designed to support Wi-Fi 6 connectivity to provide 3x faster Wi-Fi speeds, lower latency of around 10ms, and advanced traffic management to deliver a smooth Internet experience.
There also comes Bluetooth 5.2, which is an essential connectivity protocol for any personal computer in the modern electronics ecosystem that allows the user to connect dozens of Bluetooth-compatible devices for easy and remote control of the mini-PC. The manufacturer has provided a list of devices that can be interfaced using various expansions, including HDMI, a USB 3.2 port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. These devices include a monitor, TV, projector, flash drive, keyboard, mouse, printer, speaker, mic, and headphones. For additional storage, the PIX NII mini-PC comes with a MicroSD slot for optional SD card storage.
To efficiently handle massive workloads, the PIX NII operates silently with a dedicated cooling solution to ensure optimal heat dissipation. The mini-personal computer delivers peak performance at all times without the noise of a fan through its highly efficient cooling system. For software support, the PIX NII works on multiple operating systems, including Windows, Ubuntu, and Linux, and gives the flexibility to the user to choose one for the best performance.
The crowdfunding campaign is actively looking for more supporters to help the manufacturer develop the NIX PII mini-PC. The pledge option starts at $249.00 for 16GB RAM and 1TB NVMe storage. Head to the official Indiegogo page and show your support.