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Arduino Portenta Vision Shield LoRa for Computer Vision Applications

Posted on 11 February, 2021 by Saumitra Jagdale

We saw the launch of Arduino Porenta H7 last year, it features programming in high-level languages and AI and at the same time, it performs low-latency operations on its customizable hardware. However, the board supported an inbuilt module dedicated to professional and industrial applications, apart from its popularity amongst the hobbyists.

Arduino also launched a Vision Shield add-on for enabling edge computer vision on Arduino Porenta H7 in late 2020. The Vision Shield add-on was a significant enhancement, as it allowed the computer vision and “always-on voice capabilities” supporting the additional hardware needed for on-device computing.

Portenta Vision Shield LoRa is another variant in the edge AI vision board that features LoRa wireless connectivity. It comes with a Himax HM-01B0 low-power camera sensor and an all-directional pair of microphones. Additionally, it has a new LoRa radio module capable of enabling long-range communication links.

Arduino says

“Both the video and audio data can be stored on an SD card and transmitted through the LoRa module to the Arduino IoT Cloud or your own infrastructure. Also, Companies across the whole world are already building their commercial products based on this simple-yet-powerful approach to detect, filter, and classify images, QR codes, and others. “

Technical Specifications of Arduino Portenta Vision Shield LoRa

Himax HM-01B0 camera module for computer vision applications
Resolution of 320 x 320 active pixel resolution with support for QVGA
Image sensor features high sensitivity 3.6μ BrightSense pixel technology
2x MP34DT05 microphones capable of detecting acoustic waves
868/915MHz ABZ-093 LoRa Module with ARM Cortex-M0+ for connectivity
Length: 66 mm and Width: 25 mm
Weight 8 grams

Portenta Vision Shield LoRa features a camera sensor that works on the core to perform image recognition algorithms. The device uses the OpenMV framework for the Arduino editor. It supports a long-range 868/915MHz LoRa wireless connectivity for Portenta H7 for interfacing IoT with low power consumption. It also comes with a pair of on-board microphones for directional sound detection. This enables real-time sound capturing and analysis. Also, the JTAG connector functions low-level debugging of the device using an external programmer.

Talking more about the OpenMV framework, it provides a free license to the OpenMV IDE. The environment is simple to integrate computer vision functionalities using the MicroPython as a programming medium. One can download the OpenMV for Arduino Editor from the professional tutorials site and browse through the examples that the company has created on the platform itself.

Hackster’s post has brought to our attention that the LoRa connectivity allows the

“new Portenta Vision Shield to connect with The Things Network, a community-driven worldwide network of LoRaWAN gateways designed to offer ultra-low-cost high-performance connectivity for a range of IoT applications.”

The Arduino Portenta Vision Shield LoRa is available at a price of $63 from the Arduino Store. For more information visit the official product page. Images and technical specifications have also been taken from the product page.

Raspberry Pi HAT Features K210 AI processor

Posted on 11 February, 2021 by Tope Oluyemi

XaLogic had launched a campaign on Crowdsupply for a Kendryte K210 based HAT. The K210 AI Accelerator is a compact Raspberry Pi HAT that utilizes the Kendryte K210 AI processor to enable 0.5 TOPs (Tera Operations Per Second) of processing power. Kendryte K210 is a dual-core RISC-V AI processor that was launched in 2018, and you can find it in several smart audio and computer vision solutions. The HAT also supplies a Trust-M security chip. The 65 x 30mm HAT is designed to be compatible with any 40-pin Raspberry Pi equipped with an RPi camera add-on. The HAT enables you to add AI features to your RPi based camera even if you don’t know how to train your model. The plugin module, as well as the pre-trained models, will make your camera AI-enabled in minutes with a few Python API calls. Its Kendryte K210 SoC provides 0.5-TOPS NPU performance and can run at as low as 0.3W. This is in contrast to Coral Edge TPU which clocks at 2W, and 1.5W for Intel’s Myriad X powered Neural Compute Stick 2, with both of them running at about 4 TOPS.

XaLogic K210 AI Accelerator functions best with Raspberry Pi Zero and camera and enables you to make use of pre-trained models for evaluation such as object detection, face detection, age, and gender estimation, simple voice commands, and vibration abnormally detection. You can also train your own model using a more powerful host machine. You can make use of an NVIDIA GPU, with TensorFlow. You can make use of TFLite, Caffe, and even ONNX format through the aid of conversion tools. You can make use of Visual Studio Code, which is recommended by XaLogic to modify K210 C code directly on Raspberry Pi if need be. With the aid of the Visual Studio Code for Raspberry Pi and the pivotal toolchain for the K210, you can develop all the K210 firmware on the Pi itself. The K210 AI Accelerator features an Infineon Trust-M onboard which enables you to establish a secure connection to AWS through MQTT without exposing the private key. This feature is important for your privacy when you are deploying your IoT devices in the field.

The K210 is open source, and the company says:

“Schematics, C code in the K210, and all code running on the Raspberry Pi will be open-sourced. Pre-trained models are provided in binary form. Also, sample Caffe and Tensorflow projects are available to help you create your own custom neural network.”

The company plans to manufacture the K210 AI Accelerator in China. They have also carried out a trial run of a small batch to iron out any manufacturing issues. Regarding Logistics, Crowd Supply will fulfill your pledges via their logistics partner, Mouser Electronics. The K210 AI Accelerator HAT is over halfway toward its $3,000 goal. The module will ship in late May. Available also is a 40-pin extender for $3 which enables connection with the Raspberry Pi 3B+ or 4B to avoid an obstruction conflict with the PoE header.

K210 AI Accelerator board specifications:

SoC – Kendryte K210 dual-core 64-bit RISC-V processor @ 400 MHz with 8MB on-chip RAM, various low-power AI accelerators delivering up to 0.5 TOPS,
Host Interface – 40-pin Raspberry Pi header using:
*SPI @ 40 MHz via Lattice iCE40 FPGA
*I2C, UART, JTAG, GPIOs signals
Security
*Infineon Trust-M cloud security chip
*128-bit AES Accelerator and SHA256 Accelerator on Kendryte K210 SoC
Expansion – 8-pin unpopulated header with SPI and power signals
Misc – 3x LEDs,
Power consumption – 0.3 W
Dimensions – 65x30mm Raspberry Pi Zero HAT

Funding ends on Mar 11, 2021 at 03:59 PM PST (11:59 PM UTC) More information may on Crowd Supply page and the XaLogic website.

QuickLogic Launches Qomu – an Open Source SoC Dev Kit That Fits in Your USB Port

Posted on 11 February, 2021 by mixos

QuickLogic Corporation, a developer of ultra-low power multi-core voice-enabled SoCs, embedded FPGA IP, and endpoint AI solutions, today announced the introduction of its new Qomu development kit, a tiny form factor Arm® Cortex®-M4F MCU + eFPGA combination that fits into a USB Type A port. Optimized for the QuickLogic Open Reconfigurable Computing (QORC) initiative, the kit is supported by a wide variety of vendor-supported open source development tools, including Zephyr, FreeRTOS, SymbiFlow and Renode, which broadens access and enables designers to develop applications virtually anywhere.

Highlights:

Tiny form factor fits in USB Type A port found on almost every computer, enabling portability and development anywhere
Supported by 100% open source hardware and software tools for the MCU and embedded FPGA core

The Qomu development kit contains QuickLogic’s EOS S3 MCU + eFPGA SoC, which enables an incredible amount of processing capability for such a tiny development kit. The MCU enables seamless software development while the embedded FPGA (eFPGA) can be used to accelerate or offload algorithms from the MCU, or to simply implement custom IP or provide glue logic. While the kit can implement a wide range of functionality for a broad set of market segments, it is especially well-suited to edge IoT applications – especially those requiring ultra-low power consumption and artificial intelligence or machine learning capabilities.

QuickLogic’s QORC initiative has led to a completely open source, vendor supported development tool environment for the Qomu development kit. Open source development tools include SymbiFlow synthesis, place & route, and bitstream generation. Many example applications and gateware are readily available for free. In addition to standard Verilog support with SymbiFlow, Qomu supports nMigen for a Python-to-FPGA design flow. Additional open source tools include Zephyr, FreeRTOS and Renode.

“The Qomu dev kit is a milestone for the industry in many ways. It packs an incredible amount of functionality in the size of a USB port,” said Mao Wang, senior director of marketing at QuickLogic. “More importantly, this open source dev kit was designed in close collaboration with one of the most respected designers in the open source community,Sean Cross.”

Availability

The Qomu development kit is available on an exclusive basis through Crowd Supply. To purchase the kit, please visit https://www.crowdsupply.com/quicklogic/qomu.

For more information, visit www.quicklogic.com/qomu.

SEH Technology launches new printserver ONE to improve professional connectivity in any environment

Posted on 11 February, 2021 by mixos

In a time where change is inevitable, businesses need to stay ahead of the curve to remain competitive within their industries and ensure the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t cause a decline in success. Large scale companies are looking for ways to manage services from one central console, as they prepare for a post pandemic working environment. To cater to these market needs and satisfy increasing customer demands, SEH Technology has launched its new print server, the print server ONE, for improved professional connectivity in any environment.

Second network interface for printers

Network printers often provide unsecured access to the home LAN or the company network, which creates vulnerabilities via the open Internet. With the printserver ONE, users can utilise the existing USB port on network printers, and create a separate, additional Ethernet interface for the printer, which can receive print data fully encrypted and even secured via an IPSec tunnel. Having this technology enables the printserver ONE to be used amongst public sector industries, such as hospitals and schools, ideal for admin purposes and much more, during a time when the public sector is at such high demand.

In addition, using the printserver ONE allows businesses to create a second Ethernet port on the printer via the USB interface. This means that outsourced computers or remote employees can be connected without any danger to the company network. All print processes from the “Internet computer” are forwarded to the printer in encrypted form, independently of the actual network, providing peace of mind for companies when navigating the disruptions from COVID-19.

Configuration and management

By integrating all printers and multifunction devices via the printserver ONE into the network environments, the print output devices can be managed centrally for improved flexibility. This effectively increases employee productivity, due to less print support related issues and also ensures complete control over settings of the user’s printer profiles.

For improved usability, monitoring and management, there is also a brand new network device management tool named “SEH Product Manager” for the latest editions of Microsoft Windows and macOS, which means it works with two of the most popular operating systems in the enterprise. Furthermore, the printserver ONE has an internal print server homepage that integrates the user interface for configuration, administration, monitoring and maintenance via the browser. In addition, with printserver ONE there is support for key management tools, such as EpsonNet Config and many other SNMP based tools.

At a Glance

1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 superspeed port
Performance-enhanced throughput rate
Compatible with almost all USB-compatible printer models
Separation of private and public networks by means of secure printing via IPSec connection
Safe working thanks to SSL / TLS encrypted printing via LAN, VPN, Internet to the printing system
Up to 60 months free warranty

Security benefits and modernisation

Improved security in a print server allows users to monitor who can print what and where. To bolster this, the printserver ONE supports authentication and certificate management, as well as IPsender protection which allows domain owners to publish a list of IP addresses or subnets that are authorised to send information for printing. The general security for the print server also includes access control and password protection, protecting the servers from being used by those without access. It also prevents the reading of print server parameters and status information by unauthorised persons.

These security features are built in with the newest technology, modernising the field of print servers and creating safer use for them as demand increases. The printserver ONE Control Center is key as it makes the use of the printserver ONE more versatile in modern environments. There is currently little competition for this solution on the market, meaning the popularity of this model will only increase as business employees become used to the modern technological environment in today’s fast-paced and turbulent market.

The new printserver ONE is available through SEH’s UK subsidiary. For more information, please visit the product page.

WL-VCSL Vertical Cavity Surface Laser

Posted on 10 February, 2021 by mixos

Würth Elektronik’s lasers are an emitter for homogeneous light and high optical power output

Würth Elektronik offers SMD vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSLs), WL-VCSL series. Vertical cavity surface lasers are emitters for homogeneous light and high optical power output. The WL-VCSL series features a robust package with low thermal resistance and have a different field of view due to the special diffused silica glass, which allows them to be used in multiple applications; for example, 3D sensing, LiDAR, and biometric identification. Compared to standard LED emitters, VCSLs provide coherent light, which can be used not only for illumination but also as structured light for 3D and depth sensing.

Characteristics

Wavelength: 940 nm
High optical power
Homogeneous radiation patterns
- 60° x 45°
- 110° x 85°
Homogeneous radiation behavior

Applications

Biometrical
3D recognition
LiDAR
Time of flight
Autonomous robotics
Autonomous industry

more information: https://www.we-online.com/catalog/en/VCSL_LASER

NJU7890 can directly detect 1000V voltage with ease and high precision

Posted on 10 February, 202110 February, 2021 by mixos

New Japan Radio (NJR) has developed a high voltage monitor IC “NJU7890” that can detect DC 1000V voltage and output with high precision, and announced that mass production has begun.

Small size and high performance have been required for inverters and batteries in eco-friendly cars such as hybrid cars and electric cars. Among them, the voltage monitor module has been composed of multiple detection resistors and operational amplifiers discretely, so there have been some problems, for example, the area of high voltage circuits has increased in ECU and the discrete configuration has caused the deterioration of the attenuation rate precision. NJR has developed a new IC NJU7890 with high input resistance as a one-package solution and high precision, and it has entered mass production.

The voltage monitor block with NJU7890 improves the performance of eco-friendly cars and makes them smaller and lighter.

Features

Realizes High voltage monitor up to 1000V and high precision of attenuation rate ±1%

Conventional high voltage monitor circuits have required multiple detection resistors, operational amplifiers, etc. to construct high input resistance with discrete parts. In order to ensure multiple parts and creepage distance, there have been some problems with external parts, for example, the mounting area has increased in the ECU and the error of each part has caused the deterioration of the attenuation rate precision.

The NJU7890 realizes high precision of resistance matching by integrating a high input resistance of 30 MΩ and a high precision amplifier in one-package.

It is possible to apply a voltage up to 1000V directly to the NJU7890, and attenuation rate precision is reduced to 1/10 of the conventional value in the operating temperature Ta=-40 to +125 °C range, and the attenuation rate can reach ±1%.

Therefore, it can realize high precision voltage monitoring and contribute to more efficient electrical energy control.

Use the package PMAP11 with high reliability and small size, and it is ideal for small size and weight reduction of ECU

The NJU7890 uses a small size package PMAP11 that ensures the 1000V voltage creepage distance. PMAP11 is a leadless package with mounting strength of 2000 cycles or more by expanding the 4 corner terminals. The wettable flank configuration enables visual inspection of solder joints during the installation of the ECU. Since all the feedback resistors are built-in, the external parts are no longer required.

The NJU7890 uses the package PMAP11 which can provide safety and security and ensure reliability and can meet the small size and weight reduction for automotive ECUs. So it contributes to a significant reduction of the mounting area compared with the conventional discrete circuit configuration.

Characteristics

Common-mode input voltage ＋1000V
Differential input voltage ±1000V
High precision attenuation rate ±1％,(Ta=-40 to +125℃)
High input resistance 30MΩ min
Operating voltage range 2.2V to 5.5V
Operating temperature range Ta=-40 to +125℃
Package PMAP11

Please see the following page for product details: https://www.njr.com/electronic_device/products/NJU7890.html

Datasheet: https://www.mev-elektronik.com/files/MEV%20Elektronik%20Service/produkt-downloads/power-management/NJU7890%20(E)%2020190129_Industrial.pdf

ams TMD3719 Proximity Sensors features ambient light and color (RGB) sensing

Posted on 10 February, 2021 by mixos

ams TMD3719 Proximity Sensors feature ambient light and color (RGB) sensing, flicker detection, and proximity detection. The ambient light and color sensing function provide six concurrent ambient light sensing channels like red, green, blue, clear, leakage, and wideband. These proximity sensors integrate three IR VCSELs and an advanced VCSEL driver. The TMD3719 sensors integrate direct detection of ambient light flicker for 4 selectable frequency bins. These proximity sensors include multiple VCSEL emitters to lower the optical power density and proximity function synchronized with a display.

The TMD3719 sensors operate at -30°C to 85°C temperature range and 1.7V to 1.98V supply voltage range. These proximity sensors offer a 10mA maximum VCSEL current and 2.9V to 3.6V emitter supply voltage range. Typical applications include brightness management for displays, color management for displays, camera image processing, flicker-immune camera operation, and touch screen disable.

Block Diagram

Features

High sensitivity
Leakage channel
Minimized display distortion for proximity behind OLED
Proximity function synchronized with the display
Multiple VCSEL emitters to lower the optical power density
Improved lux accuracy for ALS behind OLED

Specifications

30°C to 85°C operating temperature range
1.7V to 1.98V supply voltage range
10mA maximum VCSEL current
2.9V to 3.6V emitter supply voltage range
-0.3V to 3.6V emitter supply voltage range to GND
-0.3V to 1.98V supply voltage range to GND

Note: Evaluation board is available

more information: https://ams.com/tmd3719

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors OSLON® PURE 1010 Chip-Scale Package LEDs

Posted on 10 February, 2021 by mixos

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors OSLON^® PURE 1010 Chip-Scale Package LEDs offer superior and high flux density with a “real” chip-scale package of 1 x 1mm². The PURE 1010 LEDs feature excellent color-over-angle with customized very high-density clustering. The PURE 1010 LEDs are ideal for customized arrays in spot, downlights, and tunable color applications.

The OSRAM Opto Semiconductors OSLON PURE 1010 Chip-Scale Package LEDs deliver small LES customized color spectrum flexibility, allowing color mixing before secondary optics. The LEDs reduce secondary optics size and costs.

Features

“Real” chip-scale package (1 x 1 mm²)
Surface-emitting flip chip
True size of 1.01mm x 1.01mm x 0.17mm
Phosphor layer on top of the chip
Excellent color-over-angle
Highly flexible for customized high-density clustering
Small LES customized color spectrum feasible – color mixing before secondary optics
Reduction of secondary optics size and costs

more information: https://www.osram.com/ecat/OSLON%C2%AE%20Pure%201010%20GW%20VJLPE1.EM/com/en/class_pim_web_catalog_103489/prd_pim_device_4077186/

Firefly dual-lens AI Camera Module Supports Computer Vision at Edge

Posted on 10 February, 2021 by Saumitra Jagdale

Firefly has launched two dual-lens AI camera modules with a built-in NPU (Neural Processing Unit) accelerator supporting up to 2 TOPS of performance. The modules feature Rockchip’s AI vision processors, RV1109 for CAM-C1109S2U module and RV1126 for CAM-C1126S2U module. The processor also supports FastBoot, TrustZone technology, and multiple crypto engines.

CAM-C1109S2U module’s RV1109 SoC comes with a 1.5GHz dual-core Arm Cortex-A7 CPU and a 400MHz RISC-V processor. It is also equipped with a 2D-capable graphics processor, and a VPU (Vision Processing Unit) compatible with H.264/H.265 encoding at 30 fps, and an NPU performing up to 1.2 TOPS.

CAM-C1126S2U module comes with a more powerful Rockchip RV1126 which has a quad-core Arm Cortex-A7 instead of the dual-core Arm Cortex-A7 in the CAM-C1109S2U module. Hence, this enhances the capacity of VPU encoding and decoding to allow up to 4K from the visible-light camera module and increases the NPU performance up to 2 TOPS.

Both the firefly camera modules have almost similar specifications, apart from the processors.

Technical Specifications of Firefly Camera Modules

1 or 2GB DDR4 RAM constitutes the system memory
Storage of 8 or 16 GB eMMC 4.51 flash
RGB camera features 1920×1080 resolution GC2093 image sensor with 650nm filter and 80cm focus distance
IR camera features 1920×1080 resolution GC2053 image sensor with 850nm filter and 80cm focus distance
30-pin FPC header to connect MIPI display (TBC) for video output
Working temperature ranges from 10 to 60°C
Power Supply of 5V through USB Type-C port
84 x 22.45 x 19.35 mm dimensions with aluminum alloy housing.

The on-board video CODEC of the firefly camera modules supports 2K H.254/H.265 at 30FPS and multi-channel video encoding and decoding. Hence, it fulfills the requirement of low bit rate and low-latency encoding. Thus, making the video tenure smaller. The built-in 3F-HDR ISP and 3F-HDR feature multi-level noise reductions. It also comes with a dual-lens 2M (RGB+IR) WDR camera for working in strong light, backlight, and darkness.

The Firefly camera modules are compatible with the Linux environment. It operates with the Rockchip RKNN toolkit working in Windows and Mac OS. The AI camera module has dynamic connectivity for host mediums on android devices. The modules run on tools for AI algorithms for direct conversion and deployment of TensorFlow, PyTorch, Caffe, MxNet, DarkNet, ONNX frameworks. Hence, the firefly camera modules are suitable for various ML/DL applications. This includes face recognition and gesture recognition. It can also be used in domains like gate access control, smart security, smart IP camera, smart doorbell/peephole, self-service terminals, smart finance, smart construction, smart travel, and other industries.

For more information visit the official product page. CAM-C1109S2U and CAM-C1126S2U AI camera modules are available now for respectively $89 ad $95 on Firefly store. Images and technical specifications have also been taken from the product page.

AI Digital Signage System Features an Apollo Lake SoC, Dual Myriad X VPUs and Triple HDMI ports

Posted on 10 February, 2021 by Emmanuel Odunlade

Artificial intelligence, no doubt, has made its space in the digital signage world. Before now, we could only use a digital signage player for displaying photos and text or playing videos or PowerPoint slides but AI was introduced and it became possible to use a digital signage system for advanced techs like facial recognition where it can anonymously capture more personalized information such as gender, age, and even mood, as well as for weather detection where it pulls in local weather feeds and displays them automatically on the screen.

To further expand the impact of AI on this versatile tool, IEI designed an ultra-compact digital signage system called IDS-310AI, optimized for use in energy-saving AI applications.

The IDS-310AI features an Intel Celeron J3455 Apollo Lake processor with 2x Intel Movidius Myriad X VPUs and up to three HDMI ports for image output. The Myriad X VPUs offers “excellent inference performance per watt, 16 SHAVES cores for AI calculations and native FP16 support,” and are deployed via a mini-PCIe module.

The Linux-ready mini-PC also supports Intel’s Open Visual Inference Neural Network Optimization (OpenVINO) which enables convolutional neural network-based, pre-trained models to be used at the edge with little effort. Training models like AlexNet, GoogleNet, Tiny Yolo, Squeezenet, resNet are quick and easy to implement.

Other features include a micro SD card slot, 3x USB 3.2, 2x GbE LAN ports, 1x M.2 A-key slot, pre-installed 8 GB DDR3L SO-DIMM memory, and a 128GB SATA disk on module for storing user data and loading OS.

Specifications:

SoC: Quad-core, 1.5GHz / 2.3GHz Intel Celeron J3455 processor with 10W TDP
1 x 204-pin DDR3L SO-DIMM, 8 GB pre-installed
128GB SATADOM for storing user data and loading OS
1x MicroSD card slot
3x HDMI 1.4b ports with a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels at 30Hz each
1x Mic in, 1x Line out
2x RTL8111H-powered GbE ports
Optional 802.11ac/BT M.2 module and external antenna
3x USB 3.2 Gen1 ports
1x RS-232/422/485 DB-9 with AFC functionality
1x M.2 2230 A-key slot with support for PCIe x1 and USB 2.0
1x mini PCIe slot fitted with Mustang-MPCIE-MX2 (2x Myriad X VPU) AI accelerator card
Power & reset button
AT/ATX switch
Power and storage LEDs
Power Consumption: 2.6A @ 12V
Power Supply: 12V DC via screw jack
Security: TPM 2.0
Dimensions: 137 mm x 102.8 mm x 49.2 mm
Weight: 910g
Operating Temperature Range: -20°C to 45°C
Humidity: 10% to 95%, non-condensing
Operating Shock: Half-sine wave shock 5G, 11ms, 100 shocks per axis, IEC68-2-27
Operating Vibration: MIL-STD-810G 514.6C-1
Certifications: CE/FCC
Operating System: Windows 10 or Linux

IDS-310AI is basically a digital signage system designed for specific applications that tap the AI capabilities of the Myriad-X VPUs, but you can also use it as an embedded PC, an AIoT Edge computer, for surveillance applications, smart automation, traffic management, and more.

There’s no word on pricing or availability yet but other useful details can be found on ICP Germany’s announcement (German) or the product page on IEI website.