WHAT'S NEW IN ELECTRONICS COVER STORY

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

CONTENTS
4 Wearable technology and the future of
electronics

14 Faster and faster, further and further

16 Biomorphic batteries could provide more

energy for robots
High-speed digital designs, power integrity
22 Industry 4.0: edge computing power is key verification, Wi-Fi 6, IoT, IIoT, and imaging
and gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors
26 New design enables brighter LEDs utilise frequencies between 2 and 6 GHz
that are currently underserved or require
37 What is accelerated ageing testing — and
costly trade-offs. Testing these new prod-
why might I wish to consider it?
ucts requires time- and frequency-domain

40 Optical data transmission record broken equipment capable of simultaneous

analog and digital channels, ideally with
42 AI system for precise recognition of hand software-enabled protocols, standards,
gestures built-in test assistance and test team
remote collaboration.
Keysight’s new Infiniium MXR-Series
mixed signal oscilloscope comes with eight
analog channels at 6 GHz and 16 simul-
taneous digital channels. It includes eight
instruments in one, including a real-time
spectrum analyser (RTSA), oscilloscope,
digital voltmeter (DVM), waveform genera-
tor, Bode plotter, counter, protocol analyser
and logic analyser. It is complemented by
an extensive suite of software solutions
focused on power integrity, high-speed
digital test and verification. Built-in software
includes a fault hunter function that speeds
root cause identification and resolution of
rare or randomly occurring errors.
In addition, powerful remote collabora-
tion with PathWave Infiniium Offline Analysis
software enables design teams to do
extensive analysis and data manipulation
after bench measurements are complete,
enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness
of the test bench.

READ ONLINE!
Your copy of What's New in Electronics is available as an online eMag.
www.electronicsonline.net.au/magazine Keysight Technologies Australia Pty Ltd
www.keysight.com
 WEARABLE
TECHNOLOGY
AND THE
FUTURE OF
ELECTRONICS
Jade Bridges, Global Technical Support Manager
©stock.adobe.com/au/Tran

4 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 WEARABLES

Wearable technology started with the watch enabling individuals to

tell the time — initially in the 1500s via a necklace-worn device
and later in the 1900s as the wristwatch. Pulsar’s calculator
wristwatch was the first consumable wearable device to achieve
global success.

F
ast forward to the 21st century effective in studies illustrating positive
and we now see computer tech- changes of behaviour.
nology integrated into so many The future may hold many further col-
parts of daily life. In the year laborations between clothing manufactur-
2000 the first Bluetooth headset was sold ers and technology companies inputting
and 2004 saw the launch of the Go Pro. smart sensors with 5G technology and
2013 heralded the development of Google enabling closer connections between
Glass, the first voice-operated optical humans and the IoT. In a recent study by
head-mounted display with hands-free Statista from 2019, the most popular areas
internet access, augmented reality and the of the world for wearable technology are
ability to capture images. Amazon’s first China, USA, India, UK and Germany, with
Echo-Loop was launched in 2019 — a sleek the largest market share of 36.4% falling
design enabling users to make payments, between the age group of 25 to 36 years.
manage stress and inspire innovation. Regular users of wearable technology
Connected wearable devices are ex- tend to be on the lookout for the latest
pected to have reached over 1.1 billion and greatest versions of their favourite
worldwide by 2022 with the change from 4 gadgets. The use of the smart watch
to 5G. Pioneers have successfully extended by Apple has become a way of life for
and enriched the functionality of clothing, many. As well as telling the time, it can
harnessing the electronic functions used make voice calls, receive emails, record
in everyday life and incorporating them noise levels, track heart rates and so
into devices and accessories that can much more. Similar technology is used
comfortably be worn on the body. to alert family members of potential falls
Athletics has been one of the areas to and accidents of vulnerable loved ones,
really benefit from wearable technology, allowing them to live alone but retain a
with numerous devices able to monitor degree of independence. This is becom-
an athlete’s movement, heart rate and ing particularly significant with an ageing
performance alongside environmental population.
conditions and potential health risks. The Moodmetric smart ring is des-
The wearable technology market has tined for exponential growth in 2020 as
been steadily increasing over the past it is capable of stress measurement and
few years with the huge popularity of management, payments, vehicle access
fitness trackers monitoring diet, exercise, and control of other smart devices — a
sleep and movements. Some devices will monumental amount of features for such
even prompt the wearer to move after a small device. Mental health issues are
a sedentary position for 20 minutes as currently very topical and a ring that can
prolonged sedentary behaviour has long help to measure stress as a key earlier
been associated with health concerns. indicator of depression could prove invalu-
Prompts to improve posture have been able to the medical profession.

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 5

WEARABLES

THERE ARE TWO HUGE CHALLENGES WHEN DESIGNING A FUNCTIONING will show the performance of a device pro-
WEARABLE DEVICE: WILL THE DEVICE BEHAVE/INTERACT/COLLECT DATA AS
tected with a suitable potting compound in
a similar but more aggressive environment.
REQUIRED AND WILL THE DEVICE CONTINUE TO FUNCTION WHEN EXPOSED TO This is obviously just one example of many
THE ENVIRONMENTS IN WHICH IT IS DESIGNED TO FUNCTION? different considerations; the degree of flex
and toughness of the device, the operating
temperature range and the possibility of
any chemicals coming into contact with
the device are all possible factors to take
into account during the selection process.
Just considering the medical profession be afforded in the form of encapsulation
Thinking about all of these properties
a little further, the options are endless. resins or conformal coatings. The variety
and not forgetting the need to allow con-
Just think for a moment about the kind of potential applications can also generate
nectivity and information transfer, there
of wearable devices (still in the prototype another challenge: to select the most suitable
are many properties such as the dielectric
stage) that could be specifically designed for protection compound. As we have already
constant, salt mist resistance, shore hard-
the prevention of disease and maintenance concluded, the wearable device is likely
ness and elongation at break that can be
of good health such as weight control, to collate and transfer data, whether it be
used to find the optimal product for in-use
blood pressure monitoring and monitoring direct to another device or system or via
testing. It is clear that each application
of physical activity. Data gained from the a sensor to record changes in information
of wearable technology will have its own
wearable device could have a direct impact gathered. This connection to other devices
criteria in terms of performance, environ-
on a clinical decision regarding medication, may operate via radio waves and therefore
ment and expected use, and in all cases a
for example. any protection compound used must allow
reliable and accurate response is required
There are arguments in favour of more RF signals to be transmitted without any
from the device.
wearable tech for these kinds of devices interference. In addition to this, the envi-
Whatever the application, the wearables
to improve patient care, as the ‘big data’ ronmental conditions and general use of
market is definitely a hot topic and right
that these devices are capable of collecting the device must be considered in order to
now technology is shaping our lives more
and utilising with AI could revolutionise the produce a full picture of its working life.
than ever. Home working and home school-
treatment of some extremely serious condi- To enable a better understanding of likely
ing are changing before our very eyes as
tions such as heart diseases, Parkinson’s performance and simplify the selection pro-
technologies such as podcasts, videos
and diabetes. But as the devices are still cess, it is possible to draw on experience
with flipped classrooms and the myriad
at prototype phase, there is still a long from other industries and technologies. For
of apps, games, AR/VR and simulations
way to go in terms of patient acceptance, instance, if we think of a wearable device
available on wearable devices become part
security and confidentiality, ethics and the that can be worn by a swimmer to monitor
of the educational system that the new
artificial intelligence (AI) required to cope heart rate and general health when in the
generation are facing. New concepts and
with the data outputs. 5G will also play a pool, it is immediately understood that this
developments will continue in the future,
huge part in the volume of data that can be device must still work when immersed in
and with the variety of devices possible
transmitted and communicated to numerous water. Any changes in temperature will be
will come the vast array of requirements
hospital devices at the same time. minimal but quite rapid and the frequency
which will define the need for a suitable
Looking into these developments, gener- and length of time the device could be im-
protection medium.
ally speaking, there are two huge challenges mersed in water is an unknown quantity.
Wearable technology is designed with the
when designing a functioning wearable It is therefore a sensible assumption that
intention to make everyday tasks easier and
device: will the device behave/interact/ the device will be required to be constantly
more accessible. It will encourage different
collect data as required and will the device operational when immersed in water.
methods of interaction and communication,
continue to function when exposed to the This application can be likened to that of
increasing our mobility within the electronic
environments in which it is designed to a sonar buoy used in marine applications
world and further enhancing relationships
function? For example, a temperature sensor where sensors are utilised for providing
and collaborations in this field.
on a static device will have to withstand vital information about the sea environment.
the temperatures within that immediate en- In this case, the device will have to send
vironment and any thermal shock or cycling an RF signal and operate when constantly
that may take place. A temperature sensor immersed in salt water — a similar environ-
as part of a wearable device has the added ment to that of the wearable health tracker
consideration of physical interactions; the worn by the swimmer. Trackers used on sea
device will be moved and worn, may see or river dwelling creatures to study habits
impact, may be flexed and may be potentially and behaviour must also receive similar
exposed to a number of additional elements, consideration.
such as water or chemicals, for example. It As a company, Electrolube effectively
is therefore imperative that these devices utilises and compares the information and
are protected accordingly to ensure reliable knowledge gained from other industries.
performance when utilised in their end-use For example, salt water is generally more Jade Bridges
environments. corrosive than the water found in a swim-
Protection for the exposed electronics/ ming pool and therefore the application Electrolube
components of the wearable device can experience gained from the sonar buoys www.electrolube.com.au

6 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

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SHORTcircuits
EXTENDING THE LIFE CYCLE OF LITHIUM–SULFUR BATTERIES
Researchers from The University of Texas at the battery. This starts a reaction that can lead
Austin have found a way to stabilise one of to the battery’s overall degradation.
the most challenging parts of lithium–sulfur The deposits break down the electrolyte that
batteries, bringing the technology closer shuttles lithium ions back and forth. This can
to becoming commercially viable. Their trap some of the lithium, keeping the electrode
breakthrough has been published in the from delivering the full power necessary for
journal Joule. the ultralong use the technology promises. The
Lithium–sulfur batteries have been hailed as reaction can also cause the battery to short-
the next big step in battery technology, suitable circuit and potentially catch fire.
for devices that need lightweight batteries and A glovebox used for testing the batteries. The researchers found that creating an
can run for a long time on a single charge artificial layer containing tellurium on top of
and don’t require a large number of charge the lithium electrode can make it last four
cycles, such as drones. Both the positive and times longer. The artificial layer protects the
negative electrodes in lithium–sulfur batteries electrolyte from being degraded and reduces
hold 10 times as much charge capacity as the the mossy structures that trap lithium from
materials used in lithium-ion batteries, which forming during charges.
means they can deliver much more use out of “The layer formed on the lithium surface
a single charge. allows it to operate without breaking down the
Sulfur is also widely available as a by- electrolyte, and that makes the battery last much
product from the oil and gas industry, making The batteries were tested in Arumugam longer,” said study co-author Amruth Bhargav.
the batteries inexpensive to produce, and is Manthiram’s laboratory. Co-author Sanjay Nanda added, “The stabilising

Image credit: The University of Texas at Austin.

more environmentally friendly than the metal layer is formed by a simple in-situ process
oxide materials used in lithium-ion batteries. However, lithium–sulfur and requires no expensive or complicated pre-treatment or coating
batteries don’t currently last as long as their lithium-ion counterpart, procedures on the lithium-metal anode.”
degrading over time. Solving the instability of this part of the battery is key to extending
Lithium is a reactive element that tends to break down other its cycle life and bringing about wider adoption, with corresponding
elements around it. Every cycle of a lithium–sulfur battery — the author Professor Arumugam Manthiram saying the new method can be
process of charging and discharging it — can cause mossy, needle-like applied to other lithium- and sodium-based batteries. The researchers
deposits to form on the lithium-metal anode, the negative electrode of have since filed a provisional patent application for the technology.

ELECTRONEX RESCHEDULED TO MAY 2021

Electronex – The Electronics Design and Assembly Expo, which was to be held in November at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney, has
been rescheduled to 5–6 May 2021.
Following the recent outbreak of COVID-19 in Victoria, which resulted in tighter border restrictions around Australia,
show organiser Australasian Exhibitions & Events (AEE) surveyed
exhibitors to determine the impact that this would have on their ability
to participate in the expo — with a number of suppliers and company
staff normally travelling from interstate for the event. More than 90%
of the exhibitors indicated that they would be impacted by the border
closures or preferred that the event was postponed to 2021.
AEE Managing Director Noel Gray said, “We were confident that the
event would be able to proceed with a COVID-safe plan in place until
the state borders were shut due to the Victorian outbreak. As a result
of the feedback from our exhibitors, the difficult decision was made
to move the expo to May next year, which has been welcomed by the
industry. We are committed to the long-term success of Electronex and
did not want to compromise the brand and our exhibitors by holding an
event that was not a proper representation of the industry.”
For enquiries or further information, email [email protected].

8 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

SHORTcircuits
FAST DATA TRANSFER WITH OLEDs
An international research team has developed a visible light communication
(VLC) set-up, capable of a data rate of 2.2 Mbps, by employing a new type of
organic light-emitting diode (OLED, pictured).
The project is a collaboration between Newcastle University, University
College London, the London Centre for Nanotechnology, the Institute of Organic
Chemistry at the Polish Academy of Sciences and Italy’s Institute for the Study
of Nanostructured Materials – Research National Council (CNR-ISMN). It has
been published in the journal Light: Science & Applications.
The demand for faster data transmission speeds is driving the popularity
of light-emitting devices in VLC systems. LEDs have multiple applications and are used in lighting systems, mobile phones and TV displays.
While OLEDs don’t offer the same speed as inorganic LEDs and laser diodes do, they are cheaper to produce, recyclable and more sustainable.
Dr Paul Haigh, from Newcastle University’s Intelligent Sensing and Communications Group, was part of the research team. He led the
development of a real-time transmission of signals that transmit as quickly as possible. He achieved this by using information modulation
formats developed in-house, achieving approximately 2.2 Mbps.
“Our team developed highly efficient long wavelength (far-red/near-infrared) polymer LEDs free of heavy metals, which has been a longstanding
research challenge in the organic optoelectronics community,” Dr Haigh said. “Achieving such high data rates opens up opportunities for the
integration of portable, wearable or implantable organic biosensors into visible/nearly (in)visible light communication links.”
By extending the OLED’s spectral range to 700–1000 nm, the team successfully expanded the bandwidth and achieved what is claimed to
be the fastest-ever data speed recorded in real time for solution-based OLEDs — high enough to support an indoor point-to-point link, with a
view of IoT applications. The researchers highlighted the possibility of achieving such data rates without computationally complex and power-
demanding equalisers.
Together with the absence of toxic heavy metals in the active layer of the OLEDs, the new VLC set-up is promising for the integration
of portable, wearable or implantable organic biosensors. In the future the technology may be applied in many different areas, ranging from
individual communication-enabled pixels in display technologies right through to under- or through-skin biosensing for active health monitoring
and faster care linkage.

NEW ORGANIC MATERIAL TO UNLOCK

FASTER ELECTRONIC DEVICES
An organic material that is thin, bendable and powerful could be
used to create the next generation of mobile phones and other
electronic devices, according to a study led by The Australian
Image credit: Jack Fox, ANU.
National University (ANU) and published in the journal Nature:
Light Science & Applications.
In 2018, the team invented a semiconductor with organic and
inorganic materials that could convert electricity into light very Associate Professor Larry Lu and Dr Ankur Sharma.
efficiently — and was thin and flexible enough to help make devices
such as mobile phones bendable. Now they’ve been able to improve also able to control the growth of their novel organic semiconductor
the organic part of the material, allowing them to completely remove material by stacking one molecule precisely over the other.
the inorganic component. “The material is just one carbon atom thick, a hundred times
Lead researchers Dr Ankur Sharma and Associate Professor thinner than a human hair, which gives it the flexibility to be bent
Larry Lu, both from ANU, say their material will help create the into any shape. This will lead to its application in flexible electronic
next generation of ultrafast electronic chips, which promise to be devices,” Assoc Prof Lu said.
much faster than the current electronic chips we use. Dr Sharma noted that the removal of the inorganic component
“Conventional devices run on electricity — but this material means the material is made from “just carbon and hydrogen”,
allows us to use light or photons, which travels much faster,” Dr which would mean devices could be biodegradable or easily
Sharma said. “The interesting properties we have observed in this recyclable — thus avoiding the tonnes of e-waste generated by
material make it a contender for superfast electronic processors current-generation electronics. And while he acknowledged that
and chips.” actual devices might still be some way off, the new study provides
Assoc Prof Lu said the researchers observed functions and a demonstration of the organic material’s immense capabilities.
capabilities in their organic material that were previously unseen, “We now have the perfect building block to achieve flexible next
and should help to achieve ultrafast electronic devices. They were generation electronics,” he said.

10 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 Image ©DGIST.
The DGIST team prepared lab-scale CZTSSe solar cells.

SUSTAINABLE COMPONENTS FOR

SOLAR PANELS
Scientists from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and
Technology (DGIST) have identified a novel method to create
efficient alloy-based solar panels free of toxic metals, publishing
their results in the journal Advanced Energy Materials.
Most common thin-film solar panels consist of expensive rare-
earth elements like indium and gallium, or highly toxic metals like
cadmium. Environmentally friendly solar panels consisting of more
abundant materials offer attractive alternatives, but are hindered by
their low practical efficiency compared to their theoretical potential.
DGIST researchers, led by Dr Jin-Kyu Kang and Dr Dae-Hwan Kim,
have now discovered a solution to this problem.
“Thin-film solar cells using bronze (Cu-Sn) and brass (Cu-Zn)
as base materials are composed of non-toxic earth-abundant
materials, and have been studied worldwide because of their low
cost, high durability and sustainability,” said Dr Kang. However,
using these alloys in thin film technology has its own drawbacks.
While the theoretical efficiency of these panels matches the
efficiencies of top-market products, they tend to underperform
drastically in practice. This is because of the formation of various
defects in the materials, such as point defects, surface defects
and volume defects, during the annealing (heating and cooling)
process. These defects undermine the current flow, resulting in
loss of electricity generated.
The scientists wanted to find a way to synthesise the best-
quality CZTSSe (copper, zinc, tin, sulfur and selenium) thin
films. They played around with the annealing profile, which has
a strong effect on the grain size of CZTSSe thin film: the longer
the annealing time and higher annealing temperature, the larger
the grains and the lesser the electricity loss. However, as the
annealing temperature and time increase, there is a change in
the properties of the CZTSSe thin film due to decomposition.
To bypass this issue, the team used a special ‘liquid-assisted
method’, which allowed the grains of CZTSSe to grow at a faster
rate. This meant that the grains could grow large even at low
temperatures, preventing the change in the properties of the
CZTSSe thin film. The scientists thus managed to overcome a
significant hurdle in the search for low-cost, environmentally
friendly solar energy, with one of their CZTSSe solar cells
exhibiting an impressive 12.6% conversion efficiency.
“Our technology has diverse applications, including in
electronic devices, household goods, buildings and vehicles,”
Dr Kim said. “The best part is that CZTS solar cells are free of
the current drawbacks of toxic and rare metals. We can install
everywhere we want!”

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 11

STAINLESS STEEL INDUSTRIAL ZVS BUCK
ENCLOSURES REGULATORS
The EJSS family of enclosures from Hammond Vicor has released the PI3323
Electronics is available in 304 or 316 grade stain- and PI3325 ZVS buck regula-
less steel, supplied in a natural smooth brushed tors, with an extended operat-
finish. Sealed to IP66, the series is designed ing temperature range of -55
for use as an instrument enclosure; an electric, to +120°C and an optional
hydraulic or pneumatic control housing; an electri- tin-lead 10 x 14 mm SiP BGA package for Mil COTS applications.
cal junction box; or a terminal wiring enclosure. The high-density and high-efficiency buck regulators have a 14–42 V input voltage
In applications such as food processing, a range and support nominal outputs of 3.3 and 5 V, adjustable over ranges of 2.2–4
formed lip on the enclosure diverts flowing liq- and 4–6.5 V, respectively. The devices offer up to 22 A of continuous operation
uids and contaminants away from the seamless and up to 96% peak efficiency and are easy to parallel for higher power delivery.
poured-in place gasket in the door, enabling it to Vicor Corporation
be hosed down during cleaning. Stainless steel www.vicorpower.com
is also a suitable material for installation in areas
where corrosion may be a problem.
The EJSS family is available in 22 sizes, ranging
from 102 x 102 x 76 mm to 406 x 356 x 254 mm.
All but the two smallest sizes are supplied complete
with a 1.6 mm-thick internal unpainted galvanised
steel panel. The series meets IEC 60529 IP66 for
European and CE, UL and NEMA 3R, 4, 4X, 12
and 13 requirements for North American markets.
The body and cover are formed from 1.3 mm
stainless steel with smooth, continuously welded
seams without knockouts, cutouts or holes. Integral
heavy-duty, full-width top and bottom brackets
facilitate mounting the enclosure to an external
surface. The cover, mounted on a heavy-duty
continuous hinge, opens through 180° for good LINEAR MOTORS
access; a quarter-turn latch prevents casual unau- The LM 1483, with a continuous force of 6.2 N and a peak force up to 18.4 N,
thorised access by requiring a tool for operation. is the latest in the portfolio of FAULHABER Linear DC-Servomotors, which now
A bonding stud is provided on the door and a provide a performance range with continuous force from 1.02 to 9.2 N and a peak
grounding stud is fitted to the enclosure. force from 2.74 up to 27.6 N.
Hammond Electronics Pty Ltd As with other models in this family, the LM 1483 combines highly dynamic mo-
www.hammondmfg.com tion (acceleration up to 220 m/s2) with high precision and repeatability (down to
120 and 40 µm respectively). It measures 14 x 20 x 83 mm with a 6 mm diam-
eter rod and is available with different stroke lengths ranging from 20 to 80 mm.
In addition, the stainless steel rod has welded end caps that provide a robust
interface to the application.
Using three integrated linear Hall sensors, the -11 version can easily be com-
bined with FAULHABER Motion Controllers (MC 5004 and MC 5005 as well as the
FAULHABER MCLM 300x). For sin/cos output, the -12 version is also available.
FAULHABER Linear DC-Servomotors are suitable for small and micro linear
motion applications. They combine dynamic performance and robust design
typical of a pneumatic system with the silence of a brushless motor. Applications
include solutions where highly dynamic positioning is required, with the products
enabling long lifetime (millions of cycles) and low maintenance. They are useful in
any complex system, such as pick-and-place machines, medical devices, piston
pumps, optics and instrumentation.
ERNTEC Pty Ltd
www.erntec.net

12 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 FASTER AND
FASTER,
FURTHER AND FURTHER

When it comes to presenting new electric vehicles, automobile manufacturers are constantly beating each other
with increasingly shorter charging times and longer ranges. It is easy to determine that this calculation only
works to a limited extent. In addition, this procedure is anything but beneficial for the service life of a vehicle.

M
ore and more cities want to impose a driving ban on been the best-selling electric vehicle for a long time: we need
diesel vehicles due to stricter air pollution regulations. 22 hours at a standard 230 V socket (10 A/1.8 kW) via a charger
The pressure on the automotive industry to offer ve- belonging to the vehicle, which should only be a practicable value
hicles with the lowest possible emissions is growing. for real emergencies. Moreover, it should be remembered that these
After all, who buys a vehicle they will no longer be allowed to socket outlets are not designed to withstand such continuous loads.
drive into town tomorrow? It makes more sense and is also recommended by the manu-
So the potential buyers have to be convinced with pithy slogans facturer to use their own wall box, a separate charging station.
that the latest electric model can be charged from zero to 100% However, the installation of such a terminal belongs in the hands of
in just a few minutes and can cover hundreds of kilometres. Un- an electrician. In a one-phase network, the lithium-ion battery can
fortunately, it is not that simple. Physics cannot be outwitted with be charged with 3.7 kW of power, which still leads to a charging
such sayings. Here are a few simple facts. time of 11 hours. So we have to switch to the three-phase grid
to get more power. The next call to the electrician is scheduled.
How long does it take to charge?
The calculation is done quickly. Take the battery capacity of a vehicle Required charging capacity
in kWh and divide it by the power (kW) of the charging station. If you are in the privileged position of owning a detached house,
This way you get the number of hours for a full charge (0–100%). you can easily get a powerful home charging station. The story
is different, however, for apartment owners and tenants who park
The weakest link their vehicles in an underground car park used by several par-
When charging, always note that the charging process consists ties. The apartment owner must obtain the consent of the owners
of the mains, the charging station, the charging cable and the corporation, and the tenant needs the permission of the landlord.
charger itself like a chain. The weakest link of such a chain always Let’s take another small example: there is room for 30 cars in a
determines the maximum charging power. If the charger can only normal underground car park. If a conventional vehicle is replaced
cope with 6.6 kW, it won’t help if you ‘pump’ electricity into the by an electrically operated one with a three-phase charging station,
batteries with a 22 kW charging station. this should not cause any problems. The situation is different for
At this point, you should say goodbye to the information provided three, five or even 10 electric vehicles. The power system for the
by some manufacturers, who attribute particularly short loading underground car park was simply not designed for such loads.
times to their vehicles. Please read the small print! Under which It is therefore not only advisable, but also absolutely imperative,
conditions are these loading times realistic — at an external three- to clarify from the outset how many charging stations the reserves
phase high-performance charging station or at home? of the house’s connected load are sufficient for and whether it will
be possible at all to boost them later. If several electric cars are
Charging at home attached at the same time, it is best to choose intelligent charging
In practical terms, this results in the following charging times at stations that measure the load on the power grid and include it in
home for the Nissan LEAF with the 40 kWh battery, which has the respective charging capacity.

14 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 EV CHARGING

©stock.adobe.com/au/Buffaloboy

Figure 1.

Fast charging is no good overview of the most common systems currently in use with
No matter what the marketing strategists of the automobile their key specifications.
manufacturers say, fast charging harms a lithium-ion battery. The The large number of different connections and charging
IU charging process, which is used for lithium-ion cells, works standards may seem confusing from a potential consumer’s
with constant current (CC) and constant voltage (CV). Like the point of view. In everyday life, however, it is less problematic
service life, the charging time also depends on various factors, than one might think at first glance. However, what still needs
with higher charging capacities above all on the temperature. to be simplified, particularly in the case of public charging
Short charging times or high charging currents have a nega- points, is access authorisation and payment options. For the
tive effect on the electrode material, shortening the service life sake of simplicity, it should be possible to pay by Maestro or
and the number of cycles. Gentle charge/discharge massively credit card, as at a petrol station. This will take some time, but
increases the service life. there is no way around it.

Lithium plating IATF 16949: experienced partner

Charging and discharging Li-ion cells at high currents or low tem- SCHURTER is certified according to IATF 16949 and serves a
peratures can lead to lithium plating. Lithium ions are preferably large number of customers with fuses that have been tested
deposited on the anode surface instead of between the layers of according to AEC-Q200 for various applications (battery man-
graphite. This effect leads to significant losses in performance, agement, climate control, engine-related electronics for diesel/
lifetime and safety. In extreme cases, lithium plating can even petrol engines and many more). Millions and millions of fuses
lead to a short circuit or, since metallic lithium is highly flam- to protect against overcurrent and overtemperature (thermal
mable, to a fire. protection) are in use worldwide. The close networking with
international automotive organisations and the industry itself
Communication/BMS make SCHURTER a competent partner for questions concerning
BMS (battery management systems) are responsible for controlling the protection of electronics in automotive engineering. In addi-
and monitoring the charging and discharging process of high- tion, the company has a competence centre for EMC solutions,
performance battery packs. Their main task is to ensure that each which has been developing customised solutions for industrial
individual cell does not exceed or fall short of a defined state and medical applications for decades.
of charge (SoC) during both charging and discharging. The SoC
value denotes the remaining capacity of a battery in relation to Conclusion
the nominal value. The value is given as a percentage of the fully The subject of ‘charging electric vehicles’ is characterised by
charged state. For example, 30% means that the battery still has an uncanny dynamic. It’s about a future market worth billions.
a residual charge of 30% relative to full charge. Depending on Mobility for all of us. In Germany alone, more than 800,000 jobs
the application, the upper and lower limit values for the SoC are depend on the classic automotive sector. The introduction of
20% to 100% for max power and 30% to 70% for max service life. electro mobility will change a lot. Accordingly, the manufactur-
ers of electric vehicles are struggling with tough bandages and
Charging systems overview pithy slogans. One should not always believe everything one is
Unfortunately, there is no standardised method for charging elec- presented with. Much is simple physics.
tric vehicles. There are both country- and manufacturer-specific SCHURTER (S) PTE LTD
techniques and plug/socket combinations. Figure 1 provides an www.schurter.sg

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 15

BATTERIES

BIOMORPHIC
BATTERIES

©stock.adobe.com/au/phonlamaiphoto
COULD PROVIDE MORE ENERGY
FOR ROBOTS

Similar to how biological fat reserves store energy in

animals, a new rechargeable zinc battery integrates
into the structure of a robot to provide much more
energy.

T
hat’s according to a new study led by the University To demonstrate their batteries, the researchers experimented
of Michigan (U-M) and published in the journal Science with regular-sized and miniaturised toy robots in the shape of a
Robotics. This approach to increasing capacity will be worm and a scorpion. The team replaced their original batteries with
particularly important as robots shrink to the microscale zinc-air cells. They wired the cells into the motors and wrapped
and below — scales at which current standalone batteries are too them around the outsides of the robots.
big and inefficient. “Batteries that can do double duty — to store charge and protect
“Robot designs are restricted by the need for batteries that the robot’s ‘organs’ — replicate the multifunctionality of fat tissues
often occupy 20% or more of the available space inside a robot, serving to store energy in living creatures,” said Ahmet Emre, a
or account for a similar proportion of the robot’s weight,” said U-M doctoral student in Prof Kotov’s lab.
Professor Nicholas Kotov, who led the new research. The downside of zinc batteries is that they maintain high ca-
Applications for mobile robots are exploding, from delivery drones pacity for about 100 cycles, rather than the 500 or more that we
and takeaway bots to robotic nurses and warehouse robots. On expect from the lithium-ion batteries in our smartphones. This is
the micro side, researchers are exploring swarm robots that can because the zinc metal forms spikes that eventually pierce the
self-assemble into larger devices. Multifunctional structural bat- membrane between the electrodes. The strong aramid nanofibre
teries can potentially free up space and reduce weight, but until network between the electrodes is the key to the relatively long
now they could only supplement the main battery. cycle life for a zinc battery, while the inexpensive and recyclable
“No other structural battery reported is comparable, in terms of materials make the batteries easy to replace.
energy density, to today’s state-of-the-art advanced lithium batter- The combination of energy density and inexpensive materials
ies,” Prof Kotov said. “We improved our prior version of structural means the new battery may already double the range of delivery
zinc batteries on 10 different measures, some of which are 100 robots. “This is not the limit, however,” said Mingqiang Wang, re-
times better, to make it happen.” cently a visiting researcher to Prof Kotov’s lab. “We estimate that
The researchers’ battery works by passing hydroxide ions robots could have 72 times more power capacity if their exteriors
between a zinc electrode and the air side through an electrolyte were replaced with zinc batteries, compared to having a single
membrane. That membrane is partly a network of aramid nanofi- lithium-ion battery.”
bres — the carbon-based fibres found in Kevlar vests — and a new Beyond the advantages of the battery’s chemistry, Prof Kotov said
water-based polymer gel. The gel helps shuttle the hydroxide ions the design could enable a shift from a single battery to distributed
between the electrodes. energy storage, using a graph theory approach developed at U-M.
Made with cheap, abundant and largely non-toxic materials, the “We don’t have a single sac of fat, which would be bulky and
battery is designed to be more environmentally friendly than those require a lot of costly energy transfer,” Prof Kotov said. “Distributed
currently in use. The gel and aramid nanofibres will not catch energy storage, which is the biological way, is the way to go for
fire if the battery is damaged, unlike the flammable electrolyte in highly efficient biomorphic devices.”
lithium-ion batteries. The aramid nanofibres could also be upcycled The university has applied for patent protection and is now
from retired body armour. seeking commercial partners to bring the technology to market.

16 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 CLEANING SYSTEM
Austin American Technology’s (AAT) Mega ION cleaning system is designed for solvent-based applica-
tions requiring product cleanliness verification (IPC ROSE testing). It is used for the final clean prior
to conformal coating, encapsulation or other sealing operations used to protect electronic modules.
The device is compatible with multiple solvents including but not limited to DI water,
water–alcohol mixtures, pure alcohol, evaporative hydrocarbons (like cyclohexane)
and commercial solvent blends not requiring a water rinse. ROSE testing allows the
system to quantify ionic contamination of the circuit board before or after cleaning.
This enables the operator to clean and test the circuit boards within one system.
AAT’s regeneration system increases the product’s bath life by removing flux,
finger soils and other manufacturing soils from the wash solution without heat
or condensing coils. This is said to provide a large increase in bath life and to
reduce solvent waste. The integrated solvent regeneration typically maintains the
solvent purity level at a higher standard than the solvent as received from the
vendor, the company claims.
The product operates in a closed-loop environment with wash bath life main-
tained through the use of an integrated ionic exchange filter system. This is said to
provide a fast payback based on solvent and solvent disposal savings, combined
with low maintenance downtime and high production uptime.
Onboard Solutions
www.onboardsolutions.com.au

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 17

 USB 1553 AND ARINC
APPLIANCE
Alta Data Technologies has released an in-
novative USB MIL-STD-1553 and ARINC-429
appliance: the USB-MA4. The product connects
notebooks, desktops and servers with 1553
and ARINC networks via USB 3.0 SuperSpeed. TOUCH CONTROLLER FAMILY
This is useful as current USB 2.0 interfaces Microchip Technology announced the extension of its maXTouch portfolio with the
can have serious throughput issues. MXT288UD touch controller family, containing what are claimed to be the industry’s
About the size of a deck of cards, the smallest automotive-grade packaged touchscreen controllers. The MXT288UD-AM
product provides 1–2 dual redundant 1553 and MXT144UD-AM devices offer low power mode, weatherproof operation and glove
channels and/or eight ARINC-429 channels. touch detection in multifunction displays, touch pads and smart surfaces for vehicles,
In addition to 1553/ARINC full RX/TX message motorcycles, e-bikes and car-sharing services.
controls, it can generate or capture (o-scope) Secondary touch surfaces can be placed in both the interior of cars and exterior
raw bus signals for protocol and electrical of a motor vehicle, such as handlebars, doors, electronic mirrors, control knobs, the
troubleshooting. steering wheel, between seats or in an armrest. With the MXT288UD family’s 7 x 7 mm
Along with flexible, layered SDK, AltaAPI and automotive-grade VQFN56 package, tier one suppliers should expect to reduce board
AltaView Windows analyser, users can quickly space by 75% and minimise the overall bill of materials (BoM) for these compact ap-
integrate the USB-MA4 for their avionics ap- plications — all while exceeding the requirements for good touch performance. The
plication. For most applications, the user can family’s low-power wait-for-touch mode consumes less than 50 µA, remaining responsive
port existing Alta applications to the product for the user, even if the display switches off to save power or to avoid disturbing the
with little or no code changes. driver at night. The system will wake by a touch event anywhere on the touch surface.
Metromatics Pty Ltd The MXT288UD-AM and MXT144UD-AM devices enable detection and tracking of
www.metromatics.com.au multifinger-thick gloves through a wide variety of overlay materials and thicknesses,
like leather, wood or across uneven surfaces — even in the presence of moisture. In
car-sharing applications, this touch functionality helps users access a car from the
outside by tracking touch coordinates on an exterior display in any environment, like
rain, snow or extreme heat. Motorcycles and other motorbike vehicles also benefit
from such weatherproof designs. As a turnkey solution, the MXT288UD family provides
firmware developed according to Automotive SPICE processes and is AEC-Q100 quali-
fied — making it easy for today’s automotive manufacturers to integrate into existing
systems at a low risk with fast time to market.
Microchip Technology Australia
www.microchip.com

GNSS RECEIVER MODULE

Septentrio’s mosaic-X5 is a high-end GNSS receiver module, suitable for users who need secure
positioning in a compact and low-power form factor. It has been designed to bring high-performance
positioning to volume applications.
The product features complete multi-frequency, multi-constellation technology and tracks every existing
and future signal from all GNSS constellations. Such signal diversity, coupled with anti-jamming and anti-
spoofing technology, allows the device to deliver centimetre-level positioning with maximum availability
even in challenging industrial environments. This makes it a useful positioning solution for applications
such as robotics, automation, telematics and more.
Digi-Key Electronics
www.digikey.com

18 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 Proximity sensors encourage
social distancing

F
lightSense proximity and ranging sensors from semiconductor company STMicroelectronics are helping
prevent disease transmission in innovative products developed in response to the global pandemic
situation.
Time-of-flight (ToF) sensors transmit photons and then calculate distance to the target based on the time it
takes for the reflected photons to be received back by the sensor. Moreover, ranging accuracy is unaffected by
surface characteristics of the target, such as clothing colour or
skin reflectivity, making FlightSense ToF sensors particularly
useful for helping people to maintain social distancing.
Amsterdam-based start-up Aura Aware is now using ST’s
FlightSense technology in a smart distance-awareness portable
device suitable for use at retail counters and check-in desks.
The easy-to-set-up device displays a green OK signal that
changes to red if a person crosses a safe minimum-distance
threshold.
Aura Aware devices integrate ST’s VL53L1X compact ToF
sensor, which has an operating range of up to 4 m and very
low power consumption. Signal processing built into the sensor simplifies design and provides sophisticated
features such as crosstalk compensation that maintains measurement accuracy even if the sensor window
becomes obscured by foreign material.
“This innovative device from Aura Aware shows a highly creative use of our FlightSense technology,” said
David Maucotel, Business Line Director, Imaging, STMicroelectronics.
The sensors can also help users avoid contact with surfaces, including self-service touchscreens, smart
faucets and push-button door openers, located in high-traffic areas. The speed and precision of ToF sensing
enable FlightSense sensors to manage basic on/off control as well as to detect and interpret gestures like
tapping and swiping for smart touchless human–machine interaction.
Another advantage of ST’s ToF sensors is their linear response when measuring short distances, which
allows them to be used inside dispensing machines to detect the level of hand-sanitising liquid or the number
of personal protective items such as face masks.
“ST’s ToF sensors can help protect our health in many ways, ensuring both social distancing and touchless
interaction with all kinds of products that we use every day,” Maucotel concluded.

STMicroelectronics Pty Ltd

www.st.com

PLASTIC SCREWS, NUTS, BOLTS AND WASHERS

Hi-Q Components is a supplier of plastic hardware and electronic components to the elec-
tronic, engineering and general industries. The majority of the company’s plastic hardware is
made of nylon 6/6, which is tough, durable and corrosion resistant in normal temperatures.
For engineering and assembly, Hi-Q has a large range of nylon machine screws, nuts,
bolts and washers. These are available mostly in metric with some imperial sizes available.
Threaded rod in 1 m lengths is available in M3–M20 sizes. Nylon washers in many sizes
are available as flat, self-retaining and insulating. Machine screws are available in many
lengths and a range of head styles.
Hi-Q Electronics Ltd
www.hiq.co.nz

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 19

 MICRO-ATX MOTHERBOARD
The AIMB-506 is an expandable, industrial-
grade Micro-ATX motherboard. It provides
high computing power and multiple expansion
slots via an Intel H310 chipset that supports the
latest 9th Gen Intel Core/Pentium/Celeron socket-type
processors.
Featuring multiple high-speed I/O including 20 x USB
ports, 3 x SATA III, PCIe (x16 and x1), 2 x PCI and an M.2
SWITCHES (B-Key), the AIMB-506 allows users to consolidate legacy and
SCHURTER has extended its MSM modern peripheral devices on a single motherboard. The product has
Metal Line series of switches with a 16-bit digital programmable I/O, 14 x COM ports (2 x support RS-232/422/485) and a
24 mm mounting diameter. The sleek 6 W dual-channel audio amplifier. It also features dual Gigabit Ethernet ports that deliver
range of switches provides a multitude up to 1000 Mbps of bandwidth for network-intensive applications. These high-speed
of options for switching voltages from connectivity capabilities allow the device to support a variety of peripherals and network
30 VDC to 250 VAC and switching connections in self-service applications.
currents from 0.1 to 10 A. The AIMB-506 integrates Intel HD graphics with DX11.1, OpenCL 2.1 and OpenGL 5.0
The rugged switches feature an to deliver enhanced graphics performance. Dual independent displays are supported in
IP67 seal protection rating and an clone or extended mode with VGA, DisplayPort 1.2, DVI-D, eDP or LVDS in high 4K2K
impact resistance rating IK07, making resolution for DisplayPort 1.2 and eDP ports. This combination of I/O connectivity and
them suitable for use in applications excellent graphics performance makes the product suitable for applications in virtual teller
exposed to harsh environmental machines (VTM), automated teller machines (ATM) and other interactive kiosks.
conditions or in applications requir- The motherboard is bundled with a WISE-DeviceOn software package, which offers
ing protection against vandalism. The smart software for IoT applications and facilitates remote management and security. It is
mechanical action and the high-grade suitable for interactive kiosks, cash dispensers and sensor/card readers.
materials offer good tactile feedback.
Advantech Australia Pty Ltd
The Metal Line switches are now
www.advantech.net.au
available in standard 16, 19, 22,
24, 27 and 30 mm diameters over
a range of three different technolo-
gies: mechanical, capacitive and
piezo. They can also be customised
LIF CONNECTOR
to almost any specific requirement,
Small and flexible flat-ribbon
meaning switches are available for a
cables are widely used in LCD
wide range of applications — includ-
screens, board-to-board con-
ing indoor and outdoor equipment,
nections for medical equipment,
industrial, vending and ticketing, POS
test and measurement devices,
terminals, public transport, pro audio,
industrial applications, entertain-
food service and processing, and
ment electronics and more. In
laboratory and medical equipment.
many of these applications, it is
SCHURTER (S) PTE LTD not important to have a vibration-
www.schurter.sg free interlock for the plug-in
connector. For such applications
Würth Elektronik offers its easy-
to-assemble LIF (low insertion
force) connector, the WR-FPC.
Suitable for SMT pick-and-place assembly systems, connectors in the 1 mm grid format
are available in a variety of versions, from 4 to 30 pins, in horizontal and vertical plug-in
directions. Besides serving as sockets for flat flexible cables, they are also intended for
use as connectors for flexible printed circuit boards (hence the designation FPC).
The rated current is 1 A and the operating voltage 125 V. To ensure a high degree of
elasticity, low wear and tear and low resistance (30 mΩ), Würth Elektronik has selected
phosphor bronze as the material for the contacts. The connectors have an undercoat of
nickel to prevent the so-called tin whisker phenomenon.
Wurth Electronics Australia Pty
www.we-online.com

20 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 MODBUS/TCP TO RTU/ASCII GATEWAY
ICP DAS’s tGW-700 is a Modbus TCP to RTU/ASCII gateway that enables a Modbus/
TCP host to communicate with serial Modbus RTU/ASCII devices through an Ethernet
network and eliminates the cable length limitation of legacy serial communication devices.
The module can be used to create a pair-connection application (as well as serial-
bridge or serial-tunnel application) and can route data over TCP/IP between two serial
Modbus RTU/ASCII devices. This is useful when connecting mainframe computers, serv-
ers or other serial devices that use Modbus RTU/ASCII protocols and do not themselves
have Ethernet capability.
The product features a powerful 32-bit MCU to enable efficient handling of network traffic, and also has a built-in web
server that provides an intuitive web management interface that allows users to modify the configuration of the module —
including the DHCP/Static IP, the gateway/mask settings and the serial port settings.
The module offers true IEEE 802.3af-compliant (classification, Class 1) Power over Ethernet (PoE) functionality using a
standard category 5 Ethernet cable to receive power from a PoE switch such as the NS-205PSE. If there is no PoE switch
onsite, the module will also accept power input from a DC adapter.
The device is designed for ultralow power consumption and should therefore reduce the costs associated with increasing
fuel and electricity prices, especially when many modules are installed.
ICP Electronics Australia Pty Ltd
www.icp-australia.com.au

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 21

INDUSTRY 4.0:

EDGE their users. With this in mind, edge computing is capable of minimising

COMPUTING
bandwidth usage and increasing response times by enabling data to be
stored and managed close to where it’s required, making it possible
to use edge servers within a much wider selection of applications.

POWER IS
Typical edge devices that many may be familiar with include
sensors for controlling lighting, heating and other elements. These
applications illustrate the clear benefits to having such sensors as
close as possible to the computing power being provided, not least

KEY
the substantial cost savings that can be achieved by cutting down on
the amount of data that has to be transferred across long distances
and/or stored in the cloud.
Indeed, there are several potential pitfalls for users who are looking
to export data from sensors directly onto the cloud. They can include
Up to now, cloud computing has been one of the network latency, poor system integration, high data management
biggest driving forces behind the growth in digital costs and vulnerability in terms of IT security. For these reasons,
then, it is being acknowledged that local is best and that taking on
industrial transformation — particularly expansion
edge computing can have hugely beneficial impacts on the adoption
of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) — as well of otherwise costly Industry 4.0 systems.
as increasingly high levels of automation in a wide
and diverse range of industry sectors. Reducing risk and increasing agility
In short, edge computing can reduce risks when connecting devices and

H
sharing data, increase flexibility and agility within organisations,
owever, today it is clear that using the reduce the amount of irrelevant data that is processed and
cloud for data management and storage ensure extremely low and predictable latency levels. Finally,
no longer represents the whole picture. in a manufacturing environment, where edge computing can
Edge computing used in conjunction with integrate with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system
cloud computing — that is, processing data locally and deliver data processing in real time, a company can speed
then sending it to the cloud — is becoming an in- up its automation process significantly by keeping things local.
creasingly indispensable element of the burgeoning A key cornerstone of this new approach — and therefore
Industry 4.0 concept. an influential factor in the widespread adoption of automation
As the number of smart devices increases due to — is having the ability to process data locally via robust, reli-
greater IIoT usage, there has been a growing demand
for these devices to have the data that they collect Figure 1: The Advantech ADAM-4520-EE robust converter is
processed by units that are ‘on the edge’ — ie, close to capable of connecting easily to devices.

22 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 EDGE COMPUTING

able, customisable and easy-to-use

solutions that can be used in hitherto
challenging industrial environments.
These solutions include, for example,
various types of industrial controllers
and communication systems that can
Figure 2: The HARTING help to make the installation and
2095000000300 industrial application of Industry 4.0 networks
computer with Ethernet port much more feasible to set up and
and 32 GB flash memory more straightforward to operate.
is suitable for use in hostile It is widely understood that Indus-
environments. try 4.0 requires the use of various Figure 3: The industrial gigabit ANTAIRA LNP-0500G-24 PoE switch
tools that not only facilitate automa- has a metal housing and five access ports.
tion but also help to process and share data widely and efficiently.
In turn, this enables manufacturing processes to be improved and
refined and end products made to precise customer specifications.
Robust and easy to connect
To make such a concept work in the real world, special inter-
To use advanced communications technology in an IIoT environment,
faces and devices are required. These include communication cards
it is important to use robust converters and in/out modules that are
compatible with various bus types, industrial modules, connection
capable of connecting easily to devices. For example, the ADAM-
leads and modern interfaces in the form of efficient and lightweight
4520-EE isolated RS-232 to RS-422/RS-485 converter from Advantech
panel computers. Indeed, converters and industrial modules are now
(Figure 1), supplied in a durable ABS enclosure, is one such module
essential elements in the move towards Industry 4.0.
that measures 70 x 122 x 30 mm and has power consumption of
One of the solutions available to make this possible is based around
1.2 W @ 24 VDC.
a range of edge-based industrial controllers from Brainboxes. These
Also worthy of consideration when using industrial computers
units are capable of two-way transmission, where components com-
in hostile environments is the need to have efficient flash memo-
municate with a department of engineers who are able to interpret
ries and a choice of operating systems. For example, the HARTING
the data. This kind of transmission requires communication cards
2095000000300 (Figure 2) industrial computer with Ethernet port
compatible with various types of buses. One example is Brainboxes’
and 32 GB flash memory has an IP67 rating which provides protec-
PCI Express (PCIe) bus supported by the IX-100 card. Compatible
tion against dirt and humidity. Measuring 132 x 86 x 35 mm, this
with Windows, Linux and other operating systems, which makes it
unit has 1 GB RAM memory capacity and uses Power over Ethernet
easier to integrate with existing set-ups, the IX-100 also features
or 12 VDC/24 VDC. The modular hardware and software design al-
overvoltage protection and measures just 120 x 76 x 18 mm. Finally,
lows users, development engineers and system integrators to create
the plug-and-play card provides one industry-standard 9-pin RS-232
integrated industry projects quickly and ef?ciently.
serial COM port in a single PCIe slot.
Because Industry 4.0 requires all devices to be connected to the
same network, being able to power them all from a single source is
vital. Power over Ethernet technology makes this possible, using the
same network cable that transfers data across devices in the network.
This set-up can help to provide substantial reductions in the cost of
electrical installations, as shown with the industrial gigabit ANTAIRA
LNP-0500G-24 PoE switch (Figure 3) which has a metal housing,
five access ports and a built-in voltage booster. Manufactured by
ANTAIRA Technologies, a USA-based maker of industrial communica-
tion solutions, the product is suitable for applications that demand a
high-power PoE power source in harsh environments. These include
security surveillance, traffic monitoring systems, oil/gas and mining
applications, facilities management for power/utility, water/wastewater
treatment plants and automated production lines in smart factories.

Conclusion
It’s clear that embracing solely cloud computing technology when
bringing IIoT into an environment of automation where data is shared
locally is no longer sufficient if costs are to be kept to a minimum
and companies are to become as productive and efficient as possible.
A combination of cloud computing and edge computing is now the
recognised optimum solution and there are many robust and easy-
©stock.adobe.com/au/AndSus

to-use devices and products on the market to turn this into reality.
Whatever the industry sector, and no matter how demanding the
environment, edge computing is now an essential factor when making
the move towards Industry 4.0.
Transfer Multisort Elektronik
www.tme.eu

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 23

 LIQUID ATOMISING SPRAY MINI-RACK RANGE
NOZZLES METCASE has added 5U as a standard height to its
EXAIR’s 1/4 NPT FullStream liquid atomis- TECHNOMET 19″ range of mini-racks for tabletop
ing spray nozzles provide a full cone spray instrumentation. They are now available in all heights
pattern for pressurised liquids. They are from 3U to 6U.
applied to solve cooling, cleaning, washing, The mini-racks are designed for mounting standard
rinsing and dust suppression applications 19″ subracks, chassis and front panels. Applications
for industry. include test and measurement equipment, network-
Their tangential flow design is vaneless, ing and communications devices, sound and studio
which creates wide open internal features systems, laboratory instruments, industrial computers
to resist clogging while producing a uniform and control systems.
distribution in a round pattern with medium to large droplets. Their
right-angle design is compact and operates up to 100 psig liquid pres-
sure. The stainless steel construction of the liquid atomising nozzles
adds to their durability and corrosion resistance.
The cone nozzles work well with liquids containing particulate. The
liquid is supplied into the body of the nozzle, creating a swirling ac-
tion within a vortex chamber. This vortex produces the spray pattern
when the machined nozzle breaks the liquid surface tension as it
exits the orifice.
The nozzles are CE compliant and available in a variety of flow rates.
Compressed Air Australia Pty Ltd
www.caasafety.com.au

HYPERDRIVE10
AUSTRALIAN DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED
The elegant enclosures consist of two diecast alu-
minium front and rear bezels, the case body with internal
chassis and a removable rear panel. Four snap-on
cover trims create a flush-fitting cohesive design with
no visible fixing screws.
The front and rear bezels include standard 19″ panel
mounts with caged nut apertures for fixing the equip-
ment. The four standard case sizes (3U, 4U, 5U and
6U) are all 400 mm deep. Custom heights and depths
can be supplied on request.
The rear and base panels are ventilated to aid cooling.
Inside there are two subrack/chassis support rails. All
case panels are fitted with M4 threaded pillars for earth
connections. ABS side handles are recessed for easy
At last, a high-powered and programmable portability. Moulded ABS non-slip feet are also included.
stepper motor controller/driver
TECHNOMET 19″ is available in two standard col-
• Capable of up to 10 A peak and 64 V for high torque ours: anthracite (RAL 7016) and light grey (RAL 7035).
applications
• Comprehensive Static and Dynamic configuration from a Custom colours are available on request. Accessories
complete set of Modbus registers include (unvented and vented) 19″ front panels and
• Complete motion control including power, acceleration, M6 caged nuts and fixing screws.
and movement profile settings
• Four isolated and configurable inputs and two switchable METCASE can supply the enclosures fully customised.
outputs Services include: custom front panels; CNC punching,
• Control via isolated duplex RS485 and USB interfaces
folding, milling, drilling and tapping; fixings and inserts;
using standard Modbus commands
• A comprehensive function and programming manual painting and finishing; and digital printing of legends
and logos.
www.kremford.com.au ROLEC OKW Australia New Zealand P/L
kremford pty ltd [email protected]
www.metcase.com.au
+61 03 9017 0473

24 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 PFC CONTROLLER
STMicroelectronics is extending its range of digital power-supply controllers
with the STNRGPF02 for two-channel interleaved boost-PFC topologies.
Typical applications include industrial motors, air conditioners, domestic
and commercial appliances, cellular base-stations, telecom infrastructure,
data centre equipment and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).
The controller is said to bring the advantages of digital power to applications from 600 W to 6 kW, including greater flexibility and faster
design cycles compared with typical analog approaches. At the same time, system integration is claimed to be greater than other digital
solutions that require a separate DSP or microcontroller.
The product operates in continuous-conduction mode (CCM) at fixed frequency with average current-mode control. An optimised blend
of analog and digital control combines a hardware analog Proportional-Integral (PI) compensator in the inner current loop and a digital PI
controller in the outer voltage loop, ensuring fast response. Cascaded control for the voltage and current loops regulates the output voltage
by acting on the total average inductor current.
Designed for mechanical inrush-current control using an external relay or triac, the controller supports programmable phase shedding, load
feed forward and burst mode to maximise energy efficiency. Built-in protection features include programmable fast-acting thermal and over-
current protection (OCP), over-voltage protection (OVP) and soft-start management. PFC Fault and PFC OK status indicators are also provided.
The device is easily configured using eDesignSuite by inputting the converter specifications and running the configurator. The tool gener-
ates a full schematic, bill of materials (BOM) and binary object code as firmware ready to download via the IC’s serial communication port,
which reduces the typical power-supply design cycle. The serial port also allows monitoring of the PFC parameters.
STMicroelectronics Pty Ltd
www.st.com

RISING TO THE
CHALLENGE
COVID has the world on edge but many
developers are meeting the challenge of
managing and researching the virus.

FAULHABER Microdrive solutions are

prominent in a medical & laboratory
applications such as:

Ventilation Systems
Respirators (PAPR)
Laboratory Automation
Point of Care analysis
Infrared thermometry

If you develop in these areas we may

be able to help. Call Erntec to discuss
your application on +61 3 9756 4000
or email [email protected]

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 25

 LEDs

NEW DESIGN ENABLES

BRIGHTER LEDs The fin LED pixel design includes

the glowing zinc oxide fin (pur-
ple), isolating dielectric material
(green) and metal contact (yellow
atop green). The microscopic fins,
which the research team arranged
into comb-like arrays, show an
increase in brightness of 100 to
1000 times over conventional
submicron-sized LED designs.

Image credit: B. Nikoobakht, N. Hanacek/NIST.

A new design for light-emitting diodes (LEDs), developed by US
scientists led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST), may hold the key to overcoming a longstanding limitation in the
light sources’ efficiency.

T
he concept, demonstrated with microscopic LEDs in the current,” said NIST’s Babak Nikoobakht, who conceived the new
lab, achieves a dramatic increase in brightness as well design. “At first we just wanted to measure how much the new
as the ability to create laser light — all characteristics design could take. We started increasing the current and figured
that could make it valuable in a range of large-scale and we’d drive it until it burned out, but it just kept getting brighter.”
miniaturised applications. It has been described in the journal The novel design shone brilliantly in wavelengths straddling
Science Advances. the border between violet and ultraviolet, generating about 100 to
LEDs have existed for decades, but even modern LEDs have 1000 times as much power as typical tiny LEDs do. Nikoobakht
a limitation that frustrates their designers. Up to a point, feeding characterises the result as a significant fundamental discovery.
an LED more electricity makes it shine more brightly — but soon “A typical LED of less than a square micrometre in area shines
the brightness drops off, making the LED highly inefficient. Called with about 22 nW of power, but this one can produce up to 20
an ‘efficiency droop’ by the industry, the issue stands in the way µW,” he said. “It suggests the design can overcome efficiency droop
of LEDs being used in a number of promising applications, from in LEDs for making brighter light sources.”
communications technology to killing viruses. The team made another surprising discovery as they increased
The NIST team, which included scientists from the University the current. While the LED shone in a range of wavelengths at
of Maryland, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the IBM Thomas first, its comparatively broad emission eventually narrowed to two
J. Watson Research Center, did not initially set out to solve the wavelengths of intense violet colour. The explanation grew clear:
problem of the efficiency droop. Their main goal was to create a the tiny LED had become a tiny laser.
microscopic LED for use in very small applications, such as lab- “Converting an LED into a laser takes a large effort,” Nikoobakht
on-a-chip technology. said. “It usually requires coupling an LED to a resonance cavity
The team experimented with a whole new design for the part that lets the light bounce around to make a laser. It appears that
of the LED that shines, using familiar materials but changing their the fin design can do the whole job on its own, without needing
shape. Unlike the flat, planar design used in conventional LEDs, to add another cavity.”
the researchers built a light source out of zinc oxide strands they A tiny laser would be critical for chip-scale applications not
refer to as fins (each fin is only about 5 µm in length, stretching only for chemical sensing, but also in next-generation handheld
about a tenth of the way across an average human hair’s breadth). communications products, high-definition displays and disinfection.
Their fin array looks like a tiny comb that can extend to areas as “It’s got a lot of potential for being an important building block,”
large as 1 cm or more. Nikoobakht said. “While this isn’t the smallest laser people have
“We saw an opportunity in fins, as I thought their elongated made, it’s a very bright one. The absence of efficiency droop could
shape and large side facets might be able to receive more electrical make it useful.”

26 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 VIRTUAL CONFIGURATION TOOL FOR EMERGENCY
STOP SWITCHES
EAO’s Digital Product Selector (DPS) is an interactive and intuitive virtual
configuration tool, enabling engineers and designers to easily configure
products online to their specific needs. It is now available for customers
looking to obtain emergency stop switches from Digi-Key Electronics.
The tool offers an engaging user experience for users to select emergency
stop switches and configure them to their needs based on 3D photoreal-
istic selections, as well as parametric input. Users can view 360° images,
mounting depths, dimensional representations, illumination previews and
panel-mounted views. Users can also download files such as data sheets
designed for specific configuration, CAD drawings, installation videos and
certifications.
The tool has been designed to take the guesswork out of configuring emergency stop switches. From switch
function to IP ratings and unlocking features, it allows users to quickly and intuitively select their switch and acces-
sories. It gives users access to over 130 parts, which can be configured in more than 2000 different combinations.
Once a customer has selected a configured emergency stop switch to meet their specific needs, they may add
it to their cart and purchase it through Digi-Key’s website.
The tool supports a variety of industries, including machinery and industrial automation, food and beverage,
packaging systems, process automation, lifting and moving, specialty vehicles, transportation, medical equipment,
industrial X-ray machines, compressors, printing equipment, EV charging stations and more.
Digi-Key Electronics
www.digikey.com

LPKF
ProtoLaser ST
Desktop Laser System for
Structuring of PCBs

The LPKF ProtoLaser ST

desktop laser system enables
efficient prototyping of complex
digital and analog circuits,
RF and microwave circuit
boards. The system achieves
exact geometries on almost
any material and is ideal for
structuring single or double
sided circuit boards.

Call us today: +61 2 9687 1880

Embedded Logic Solutions Pty Ltd ABN 44 109 776 098
[email protected]

www.emlogic.com.au

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 27

 mmWAVE SENSORS FOR INDUSTRIAL RADAR SYSTEMS
The IWR6x mmWave sensors, from Texas Instruments (TI), allow engineers to integrate
mmWave technology into a broad range of factory automation, radar, robotics and build-
ing automation designs.
The integrated single-chip frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar sen-
sors are built on TI’s 45 nm RFCMOS process. They offer ultrahigh-resolution sensing
and can detect objects, humans and subtle motions, including breathing and typing.
The 60–64 GHz sensors offer up to 4 GHz of ultrawide bandwidth, claimed to detect
objects up to 16 times more accurately than 24 GHz narrowband solutions. The system
incorporates a C674x DSP for advanced signal processing.
The sensors feature application-specific algorithms, scalable software and several
reference designs, allowing developers to quickly begin creating high-
performance sensor solutions. They are optimised for use in industrial
settings, supporting key applications such as motion detection,
robotics, people counting, vital sign monitoring and safety guard-
ing. The sensors are also suitable for low-power, self-monitored

TINY DEVICE SERVER industrial radar systems.

ICP DAS’s tDS-732i tiny device server is Mouser Electronics

a serial-to-Ethernet device server that is au.mouser.com
designed to add Ethernet and internet
connectivity to any RS-232 device, and
to eliminate the cable length limitation of
legacy serial communication. It can be
easily used for remote controlling of se-
rial devices through an Ethernet network.
SINGLE-PHASE EMC BLOCK FILTERS
By using the VxComm driver/utility, the
SCHURTER completes its portfolio of single-phase
built-in COM port can be virtualised to
EMC filters with its FMBB EP series of ultracompact
a standard PC COM port in Windows.
filters with high-performing attenuation. The double-
Most serial devices do not have network
stage filter family is claimed to be more powerful than
ports; tDS-732i allows those devices to
typical filters, meeting the space constraints and per-
connect to the network. Therefore, users
formance requirements of today’s electronic devices.
can transparently access or monitor serial
The filters are said to feature high-quality compo-
devices over the internet/Ethernet without
nents, including right-sized film capacitors, chokes
software modification.
with permeable cores and a steel housing that is
The product offers true IEEE 802.3af-
completely closed and spot-welded at the bottom. The series provides high common-
compliant (classification, Class 1) Power
mode attenuation at low frequency, as well as common-mode and differential-mode
over Ethernet (PoE) functionality using a
attenuation over a wide frequency range, thus resulting in good broadband attenuation.
standard category 5 Ethernet cable to
The filters are particularly suitable for use in applications confronted with stubborn
receive power from a PoE switch such as
electromagnetic interference, such as any equipment with fast semiconductor process-
the NS-205PSE. The series also accepts
ing speeds at high switching frequencies, which are typically integrated into larger scale
power input from a DC adapter. Addition-
operations where exposure to other noise-generating devices exists. These operations
ally, it features 3000 VDC isolation and
include datacom, medical, industrial, and test and measurement, for example.
±4 kV ESD protection that diverts the
The filters are designed for rated currents ranging from 1 to 36 A at an ambient tem-
potentially damaging charge away from
perature of 40°C up to 250 V. Standard versions can be used over a temperature range
sensitive circuits to protect the modules
from -40 to 100°C, with manufacturer-recommended deratings at higher temperatures.
and equipment from the sudden and
Variations in leakage currents are available for different applications (the standard version
momentary electric current.
is 0.9 to 3.8 mA; for medical technology it is ≤5 or ≤80 µA).
ICP Electronics Australia Pty Ltd The filter is easily installed to a chassis using the screw flange on both ends. Wires
www.icp-australia.com.au can be quick-connected or threaded to 6.3 x 0.8 terminals. The series is ENEC and
cURus approved.
SCHURTER (S) PTE LTD
www.schurter.sg

28 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 REGENERATIVE POWER SUPPLIES
Keysight Technologies is expanding its RP7900 Series with two
bidirectional, regenerative DC power supplies providing integrated
safety features that protect people and devices under test (DUT).
The series is part of Keysight’s HEV/EV Power Converter Test
Solutions, which enable customers to deploy high-voltage, high-
power solutions that meet the fast-paced, high-growth demands
of the hybrid-electric/electric vehicle (HEV/EV) market. The regen-
erative design of the latest models enables the energy normally
consumed to be returned to the grid cleanly, saving costs associated with energy consumption and cooling.
The power supplies — 20 kW and up to 2000 V per instrument — feature a two-quadrant, bidirectional sourcing and sinking capability that
allows for seamless, uninterrupted transitions between sourcing and sinking current, without changing the power supply’s output characteristics
or introducing any disruptive behaviour. An autoranging output characteristic should meanwhile improve flexibility over rectangular, or traditional,
output characteristic power supplies due to an expanded power curve, which delivers more voltage and current combinations in one power supply.
Keysight Technologies Australia Pty Ltd
www.keysight.com

PROGRAMMABLE STEPPER MOTOR CONTROLLER/DRIVER

Capable of up to 10 A peak and up to 64 V, Kremford’s Hyperdrive10 High Power Stepper Motor Controller
can drive medium through to the very largest stepper motors.
Statically and dynamically configurable with a complete set of Modbus registers for all motor parameters,
the product provides precision control for every aspect of the motor’s motion profile. Among others, these
include step-defined movement profiles, timed and step defined runs, acceleration and deceleration rates,
micro-stepping, individual power settings for the four motion states, and the ability to switch to full-step at
a given speed for maximum high-speed torque.
Motion control includes four isolated and configurable control inputs and two switchable outputs. An iso-
lated RS485 interface and USB access provide for both static and dynamic control. Programming is standard
Modbus, allowing convenient HMI or PLC control.
Configurations include a number of built-in modes, allowing a simple standalone step/direction mode through to connecting up to seven controllers
operating on the same RS485 bus and acting together in a master/slave configuration for acceleration and speed control where multiple motors on
the same machine must remain synchronised at all times through complex speed profiles.
Most motor and operational parameters can be set and/or changed via Modbus commands. Most set-up type parameters are saved to memory
and thus will survive power cycling. The controller responds directly to Modbus packets over duplex RS485 and to simple encapsulated Modbus
packets over USB.
Kremford (Vic) Pty Ltd
www.kremford.com.au

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 29

 SPONSORED CONTENT

THE EMERGENCE OF THE VIRTUAL

SUPPLY CHAIN IN A COVID-19 WORLD

What happens when supply chains are “The only way to take this new technology to engineers, and to
help the manufacturers get new customers, is to roll those parts
required to adapt, and what will electronics
out through our model.”
distribution look like post COVID-19?

M
ark Burr-Lonnon, Senior Vice President of Global Service & Where and how do distributors think their products
EMEA and APAC Business at Mouser Electronics, shared will be bought and sold in future?
his thoughts in a panel discussion as part of All About The importance of inventory has always been a big thing in
Circuits’ 2020 Industry Tech Days Virtual Conference. distribution, but it’s been quite bizarre that a few distributors have
started to stock less inventory as we’ve gone through time. If you
What is the role of distributors, manufacturers think about it, the amount of inventory that we’re now putting in
and semiconductor companies in an engineer’s place and shipping around the world is really helping drive a lot
design process? of that engineering buying. You know, the longest it takes to get
I think what’s key, from our standpoint, is bringing the latest to Europe now is 2–3 days. And a lot of the local distributors are
technology to an engineer. Engineers have to build lots of new just not stocking the inventory. We’re able to stock it on a global
products, and the essence of our industry is all about how we basis — so if you’re a local distributor in Spain, for instance, you’re
help new designs and how we move things forward. All of us have going to be stocking a really narrow list of parts for that Spanish
a role to play, but everyone does play a different role — even if market, whereas we’re stocking it for every market in the world,
you take it back to how a stocking policy works. We put a lot of which means everybody has availability of every manufacturer
stock in place for a design engineer to make sure there really is that we have. We’ve got over 850 manufacturers, so if someone’s
a wide range of parts, from a wide range of manufacturers, with trying to build a bill of materials, you can get almost everything in
the latest technology. That really helps the engineers with new one place at one time, and in most places in the world you can
designs to take things forward, rather than being focused only get it anywhere from the next day to three days. It’s very efficient,
on the supply chain. and we’ve got some great logistics partners who help us do that.
The supply chain distributor stocks very differently — they’re
stocking a much more limited range of parts for things which go Since everybody’s been shut down, have you seen
in volume. So when a manufacturer brings out something brand any differences in order values per purchase?
new, those people are unlikely to stock it, because there’s no We certainly saw in the April/May/June timeframe a huge increase
demand for it. But as an NPI distributor, we jump on that and say, in medical customers coming to us who probably hadn’t come to

30 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 to totally change our model. I feel sorry for some other guys out
there — I was talking to one distributor who said he had 2000
field people. We have zero, so we’re not having to worry about
what we do with thousands of salespeople. We can continue to
lay more inventory, we can continue to bring in more NPIs, we
can continue to add things to the website to make it easier for
the design engineer to find technology on there. Because the
engineering community is pretty smart — they can make good
designs out of information that’s provided on websites.

How do you want engineers to be using your company?

I think the way the world has changed for the engineer, they have a
lot less time. What they want to do is remain anonymous, because
if they buy from a manufacturer direct, or they buy an engineering
quantity from a volume distributor, suddenly they’ve got people
crawling over their front door trying to come in and talk — not
during COVID-19 of course, but in normal times. If those engineers
buy from us, it’s anonymous. They can just get on, they do their
next design, and the whole process is a lot easier. So that’s a
real value that’s been added, and it sounds like a crazy value to
add, but time is a big thing. It’s not all about components — it’s
really about content. Because engineers don’t always start with
the parts that they want. They start with, “I need to make this.
Which parts do I need?” And then go off and look at websites
and start to pull it all together.
stock.adobe.com/au/Sikov

What effect has COVID-19 had on global supply

chains, and what is your forecast for the remainder
of the year?
It has had an impact for sure, and it’s affected different parts of
the world at different times as we’ve gone through the year, but
I think our industry has come out of it better than most. I think
us before. But overall, we’ve not seen too much difference. We’ve we’re pretty robust, and there are lots of people still making parts
seen more engineers continuing to build, whether they’re at home even when countries are relatively closed down. The production
or not, and if you look at most factories, they are working. It’s like people are on the frontline working, and the warehouse people
our distribution centre — our distribution centre employees are are in the warehouse picking parts. So I think we’ve got through
working onsite, but some of our office staff are not in the office. it pretty well, to be honest.
Lots of production lines are working, but lots of the buyers are Just to give a couple of numbers, we get 370,000 people a day
at home. So from an engineering standpoint, we’re seeing more who are coming to visit our website, and that’s 1.8 million page
parts being shipped out now than we saw last year. views. So there’s a lot of people out there looking at information,
and other distributors will have similar numbers. It’s that type of
Is there a science you can use to predict the effects ilk, of engineers and purchasing people sitting at home, looking
of what’s going on, or is it more about being nimble for data, looking for parts, going onto websites, and I think as
and responsive? we go through the rest of the year it’s going to get slightly better,
A lot of it comes down to inventory. If you have inventory, lots of
and next year I think will be a good year for
these problems go away. If you can’t supply the parts, it doesn’t
the industry unless COVID-19 stays a lot longer.
matter what’s happening — that’s a problem. So the big thing for
us is to make sure we get the simple things right. Now we don’t To view the full panel discussion, visit https://
have the logistics side in our hands, it’s all third-party providers, www.allaboutcircuits.com/tech-days/summer-2020/
but even through the pandemic they’ve done a great job for us, mouser-electronics-and-digi-key-electronics/
even getting into places like India, which was on a total lockdown. webinars/keynote-panel-emergence-of-the-virtual-
We never knew how much product used to go on commercial Mark Burr-Lonnon
supply-chain-covid-19-world/.
aircraft, but it’s still getting there, and we’ve had very few people
saying shipments are late. It’s just a system that works, with a lot
of inventory moving around every day.

What will distribution look like post-pandemic? Is it

predominantly going to be e-commerce?
We’d started to see a lot more online shopping before COVID-19, Mouser Electronics
and I think that’s going to continue. COVID-19 didn’t require us au.mouser.com

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 31

UPS
The Easy UPS 3L is the latest addition to Schneider Electric’s Easy UPS three-phase
uninterruptible power supply range, extending the medium range to 500 and 600 kVA
(400 V) for external batteries. Available in all regions that support 400 V except China
and Japan, the device is designed to simplify and streamline configuration and service,
delivering high availability and predictability to medium and large commercial buildings,
data centres and light industrial UPS applications.
The product offers resiliency against harsh environments, with conformal coated
printed circuit boards, a replaceable dust filter, an operating temperature of up to 40°C
and strong overload protection. With its compact footprint, highly available parallel and
redundant design, and robust electrical specifications, it protects critical equipment in
a wide range of environments from damage due to power outages, surges and spikes.
The UPS includes a wide battery voltage window and accommodates a variety of
battery configurations including battery banks. It also comes with a full range of options
and accessories, making it easy to integrate into different environments. It is up to 96%
efficient to bring predictability to utility costs.
With a flexible, fault-tolerant design and an optimised footprint, the UPS is easy to
configure, easy to use and easy to service. Users benefit from Schneider’s global service set-up, with local networks of service
specialists that provide a complete range of services throughout the entire Easy UPS 3L life cycle. The start-up service is in-
cluded to ensure the device is properly and safely configured for best performance.
Schneider Electric
www.schneider-electric.com

3D SENSING EMITTER MODULE

Who the #?!&*% is… Osram’s Bidos PLPVDC 940_P_L01 intelligent emitter module for
3D sensing allows smartphones to take high-quality images and
videos with staggered depth of field. In portrait shots the person’s
face remains in focus, while the background becomes blurred.
Besides optimising image content, the module can also be used
for 3D object recognition or augmented reality apps.
The module features a black package, a 3 W infrared VCSEL

• Operating since 1980. with a wavelength of 940 nm, a matching optical system, an
integrated intelligent microcontroller for driving the VCSEL and a
• Contract manufacturer, photodiode. Together, the individual components have a footprint
UL compliant, with of 3.6 x 5.46 mm. The efficiency of Osram’s VCSEL technology
engineering capability. ensures low power consumption, and therefore facilitates not only

• Your products may energy management but also the integration of the component
into the end device. High optical power enables the acquisition of
change but your
contract manufacturer depth information by time-of-flight (ToF) technology at a distance
doesn’t have to. of up to 7 m.
In addition to optimising image content, users can also use the
depth information for other functions in the smartphone, including
3D object recognition and augmented reality applications like games

How to find a reliable contractor! and interior design. Special safety mechanisms
have also been integrated in the module,
Team up with us for the long haul.
so that if the photodiode registers a
• We create a quality plan for every product change in the incidence of light — for
we make for you. example, if the optics are damaged
• Contact us for a free quote. after a fall — the current supply to
the VCSEL is interrupted.

1300 367 353 www.elfelectronics.com.au Osram Australia Pty Ltd

www.osram.com.au

32 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 RUGGED EMBEDDED COMPUTER
Acromag’s ARCX-4000 embedded computer is a
customisable-off-the-shelf (COTS), SWaP-optimised
deployable solution. The small form factor mission
computer is designed for rugged and MIL-AERO ap-
plications. It uses the Acromag COM Express Type 6
product platform.
Typical applications include military/aerospace deploy-
able systems such as vetronics, C4ISR and payload
management, as well as command and control for
drones and robotics. It can be used as a portable data acquisition system in an aircraft by adding a 1553 interface board to
a dual unit, or add a FPGA and high-speed graphics card for high-speed video transfer. For multi-sensor monitoring on mobile
applications, simply add a CAN bus interface.
Intel’s fourth generation of multicore processors provides capabilities for floating-point-intensive computations, media, graphics
and security. Power efficiency reduces heat and allows small, light designs with portability. Programmable power limits allow the
user to ‘dial down’ the maximum power consumption of the CPU in systems where heat and/or power is a concern.
The product is designed and tested to meet IP67 ratings for sealed protection from dust and limited immersion. Thick circuit
boards and thermal management allow the computer to operate under hostile conditions. The computer can withstand extended
temperatures and has been shock and vibration tested to MIL-STD-810 specifications.
Metromatics Pty Ltd
www.metromatics.com.au

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 33

 Perseverance rover
heading to Mars

O
n 30 July 2020, an Atlas V rocket launched NASA’s new Perseverance rover on its way to
Mars, where it will be searching for signs of previous life on the planet. Its most important
job is to take multiple soil samples, seal them in containers and deposit them on the surface
of Mars so that a future mission can return them to Earth.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech © maxon Group.

maxon motor’s precision brushed and brushless

motors will be onboard for various mission-critical
tasks, with several such motors employed to handle the
samples inside the rover. For example, the company’s DC
motors are installed in the robotic arm, which moves the
samples from station to station. DC motors will also be
used for sealing and depositing the sample containers.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is carrying out the mission, and asked maxon to produce
10 DC motor drive systems for the rover. As with almost all previous Mars missions, these DC
motors are modified for the highly specialised purpose and based on standard products from maxon’s
catalogue. For the first time NASA is using brushless DC motors, including nine EC 32 flat motors
and one EC 20 flat motor in combination with a GP 22 UP planetary gearbox.
Working closely with JPL specialists, maxon engineers developed the drives over several years
and tested them thoroughly to achieve high standards of quality. This is because space missions
place high demands on DC motor systems — including vibrations during the rocket launch, vacuum
during the journey, impacts on landing and the harsh conditions on the surface of Mars, where
temperatures fluctuate between -125 and +20°C and dust
penetrates everywhere.
“We’ve learned a lot from this exciting project,” said Robin
Phillips, Head of maxon’s Space Lab. “We now have very
broad expertise in space applications and have established
quality assurance processes that meet the expectations of
the industry. Customers from other industries such as the
Images credit: maxon.

medical sector, where requirements are often similar, can

also benefit from this know-how.”
The Perseverance rover is expected to land on Mars on
18 February 2021 — but it won’t be alone. A solar-powered
drone helicopter called Ingenuity will be attached to the
underside of the rover. Weighing 1.8 kg, it will perform several
short flights — the first ever on the Red Planet — and take
aerial images. The main aim of this experiment is to test the
concept for further drones of this kind.
maxon has six brushed DCX motors with a diameter of 10 mm controlling the tilt of the helicopter’s
rotor blades and the direction of flight. The DC motors are very light, dynamic and energy efficient.
These properties are crucial, because flying on Mars is not easy. The atmosphere is extremely thin,
roughly comparable to the conditions on Earth at an altitude of 30 km.
The drone helicopter has flown in a simulated test environment in the JPL laboratory, but whether
it will lift off on Mars remains to be seen.
“We hope that everything goes well and that we’ll soon see our drives in action on Mars,” said
maxon CEO Eugen Elmiger. “We’re all keeping our fingers crossed.”

maxon motor Australia Pty Ltd

www.maxonmotor.com.au

34 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 HIGH-PERFORMANCE GATEWAYS
HMS Networks has announced its second-generation Anybus Communica-
tor — a high-performing gateway for connecting devices and machines to
industrial networks. The gateway family is suitable for serial to fieldbus and
industrial Ethernet connectivity, with millions of devices and machines today
relying on the gateways for network connectivity in a wide variety of
industrial application areas. Anybus Communicator for EtherNet/
IP is now available and versions covering Modbus
SCHOTTKY DIODES TCP, PROFINET and PROFIBUS are coming soon.
STMicroelectronics has launched 26 new Schottky diodes in The second-generation devices are modern,
low-profile SMA and SMB Flat packages, covering voltage high-performing gateways that are powered by
ratings from 25 to 200 V and current ratings from 1 to 5 A. the Anybus NP40 industrial network processor
The 1 mm-high devices are said to have 50% lower used in all HMS’s embedded solutions. Depend-
profile than diodes in standard SMA and SMB packages, ing on use case, data cycle times are up to 10
enabling designers to increase power density and save times faster than with the first generation. Users
space. SMA and SMB footprint compatibility allows easy can also benefit from increased data exchange
drop-in replacement. In addition, the Schottky diodes are support as up to 1448 B can be transferred from
said to have higher current ratings than standard alterna- the connected PLC to the gateway, as well as
tives of the same footprint, allowing migration of existing from the gateway to the PLC.
circuits that contain SMC diodes to ST’s smaller SMB Flat An Ethernet configuration port and web interface
devices, and similarly from SMB to SMA Flat. enable the user to monitor and diagnose network
The Schottky diodes offer designers choices from the 30 traffic. The user can immediately see the status of
V/1 A STPS130AFN and STPS1L30AFN in SMA Flat to the the industrial network connection and serial connec-
200 V/4 A STPS4S200UFN and 100 V/5 A STPS5H100UFN tion, as well as individual serial node status. Com-
in SMB Flat. With their inherently low forward voltage, munication logs are provided for further user analysis.
the devices deliver high energy efficiency for industrial The gateways are packaged in an attractive slim
and consumer applications such as power supplies housing for straightforward DIN-rail mounting. They
and auxiliary supplies, chargers, digital signage, game carry all relevant industrial certifications, such as CE
consoles, set-top boxes, e-bikes, computer peripherals, and UL markings, and a temperature range of -25 to +70°C is supported to
servers, telecom cards and 5G repeaters. All units have ensure that the devices stay operational in demanding industrial conditions.
specified avalanche characteristics and feature a notched Furthermore, in order to meet current and future security challenges, all prod-
lead suitable for wave soldering and reflow. ucts are equipped with a security chip.
STMicroelectronics Pty Ltd Global M2M
www.st.com www.globalm2m.com.au

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 35

REAL-TIME SPECTRUM ANALYSER MODULES
Anritsu introduces IQ capture and IQ streaming options for its The Laird Connectivity BL653
Field Master Pro MS2090A that are designed to make the real-time Series modules deliver Blue-
spectrum analyser (RTSA) the first handheld analyser to capture tooth 5.1 connectivity, long range,
110 MHz of IQ data. When combining the latest features with wide multi-wireless capabilities and an
bandwidth, long memory and fast transfer speeds, the MS2090A extended temperature range up
can conduct comprehensive spectrum analysis in a variety of to 105°C.
general-purpose applications, including military intelligence and Powered by the compact Nordic
government regulations. nRF52833 system-on-chip (SoC),
With 110 MHz bandwidth and a 200 MSps sample rate, the the modules capitalise on the SoC’s
product is said to capture and stream twice as much data as 64 MHz Arm Cortex-M4 with FPU, high output power of up
any other handheld analyser. Additionally, having IQ capture and to +8 dBm and -95 dBm sensitivity in 1 Mbps. Featuring a
streaming in RTSA mode allows for the capture and/or stream- comprehensive range of configurable interfaces, they provide
ing of data without pausing the sweep, so users can monitor support for NFC and 802.15.4 communication (Thread and
the spectrum visually while the capture is being conducted. The Zigbee) for a range of Internet of Things (IoT) applications
result is more information is acquired on spectrum surrounding in industrial settings and other harsh environments.
bands of interest. The modules offer Bluetooth 5.1 features such as direction
Of particular benefit for intelligence and government applica- finding with angle of arrival (AoA) and angle of departure
tions, the MS2090A RTSA can stream data to Bird Technology’s (AoD), as well as long-range (Coded PHY) and 2M PHY sup-
IQC5000B dual-channel RF record and playback system. The port for data rates of 2 Mbps, 1 Mbps and 125 Kbps. The
turnkey solution enables 110 MHz of bandwidth to be streamed small 15 x 10 x 2.2 mm modules also support flexibility in
at 16-bit format and up to application design, enabling developers to choose between
15 TB of data to be stored. Laird Connectivity’s smartBASIC, simple AT command set,
Powerful post-processing Nordic SDK or Zephyr RTOS. The module family includes
analysis, including evaluat- integrated PCB trace antenna options for overall design
ing data in various domains, simplicity or Trace Pad variants for connecting a range of
replaying data as spectrum pre-certified internal and external antenna options.
with full-time resolution and The series includes modular FCC, IC, CE, RCM, MIC and
smart algorithms to search Bluetooth SIG approvals, which extend to an OEM’s design
for signals, can be performed. Data can also be streamed to a with no new testing for the fastest route to production.
USB 3.0 drive or PC over Ethernet. Design engineers can take advantage of the fully featured
For 5G applications, the 110 MHz of capture bandwidth allows BL653 development kit, available with either an internal an-
mobile operators to gather data on a full 5G NR signal in a single tenna or a range of pre-certified external FlexPIFA antennas,
sweep. It can also post process the data to locate any anomalies which provides the necessary tools to begin Bluetooth Low
that will adversely affect network performance. Energy development.
Anritsu Pty Ltd Mouser Electronics
www.anritsu.com au.mouser.com

We Stock 1000’s of Plastic Parts for Industry Available from Hi-Q Electronics Limited

• Nylon Fasteners [email protected]

• Screws & Nuts
NZ 0800 800 293
• Washers & Spacers
• Rivets & Clips www.hiq.co.nz
• PCB Hardware
• Caps & Plugs
• Knobs & Handles
• Hole Pugs & Bushes
• LED Mounts & Light Pipes
• Cable Ties & Mounts

36 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

©stock.adobe.com/au/iuriimotov

TEST AND MEASUREMENT

WHAT IS
ACCELERATED
AGEING TESTING
AND WHY MIGHT I WISH TO CONSIDER IT?

A
Accelerated ageing testing uses a combination of ccelerated age testing can be separated into highly
accelerated life testing (HALT) and highly accelerated
accelerated stresses to expose product flaws in
stress screening (HASS). Both techniques use stresses
the design and manufacturing of a product. This far beyond the normal operating condition of a product
serves to improve product reliability and reduce field with the goal to identify problems and eliminate them and thus
produce a more reliable product. Each category of testing artificially
failures and warranty expenses. Accelerated ageing
increases stress on the product or component to identify the impact
tests are conducted in environmental chambers, with that time, temperature, humidity, corrosion and vibration will have
elevated temperature accelerating effective time on the product or component.
often in combination with all shakers for creating HALT testing occurs first: it is used at the time of product develop-
ment or when new suppliers, components or manufacturing processes
all-axis vibration. are introduced. Typically, HALT is not a qualification test; the goal of
HALT is to quickly promote failures and then determine their root
causes. Once the causes of failure are identified, the failed components
are repaired or replaced and the stress limits of the testing expanded.
The product development team is searching for the weak link in the
product design, the goal being to find the weak link in the product,

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 37

TEST AND MEASUREMENT

eliminate it and then move on to the next weak link. HALT testing
has, on many occasions, provided substantial (5–1000 times) MTBF
gains and enabled the development of far more reliable products.
A typical HALT testing program would progress through the
following steps:
• Cold thermal step stress
• Hot thermal step stress
• Rapid thermal shock stress
• Vibration step stress
• Combined thermal and vibration stress
Once product design has been completed, HASS testing can fur-
ther be used to aggressively create stress on the product in order
to detect product defects in manufacturing production screens. The
accelerated stresses of the HASS program shorten the time to failure
of defective units and therefore shorten the corrective action time and
the number of units built with similar flaws.
The types of stresses used for both HALT and HASS are very
similar, although the test procedures can vary. Both testing categories
use rapid temperature cycling, often combined with all-axis vibration
testing and electrical loading. Other tests performed may include ac-
celerated corrosion testing, UV testing and humidity testing.
There are a number of mathematical models which can be used
to predict the impact of lifetime under varying stress conditions, the
most popular use the Arrhenius mathematical model. This mathemati-
cal model helps predict the amount of time required for tests to be
performed at elevated temperatures in order to compress the amount
of testing time necessary to produce a failure in a product or com-
ponent. Testing at multiple temperatures can provide a quantifiable
acceleration factor. The Arrhenius equation’s use is extensive in ac-
celerated ageing tests and looks at the reaction rate of components.
Accelerated ageing can be used with a wide variety of products,
from printed circuit boards to power supplies, medical devices,
automotive parts, consumer electronics and a wide variety of other
devices. The following are the main steps in the HALT/HASS process:
Precipitation creates a defect which was previously undetectable,
for instance a poor solder joint. The stresses used may be vibration
combined with thermal cycling and perhaps electrical overstress.
Precipitation is usually achieved in HALT testing.
Detection involves actually determining that a fault exists. This often
can be a challenge and various techniques are used to detect a Corrective action requires changes to the design or manufacturing
detectable fault. processes so that the failure will not occur again. If a manufac-
Failure analysis determines why the failure occurred. In the case of turer performs HALT testing and discovers weaknesses and then
the solder joint, for example, why did it fail? dismisses them as due to overstress conditions, they need to be
sure that the faults would not have eventually occurred in the field
at lower stress levels.
Verification of corrective action needs to be performed to determine
that the fix to resolve the failure actually works. The fix could be
Accredited testing and global product approvals since 1992 ineffective or there could be other problems causing the anomaly that
are not yet fixed or the fix could produce other faults that weren’t
present in the initial testing.
Bayswater
Record keeping is the final step in the process, so that techniques
learnt to resolve the fault are not forgotten and can be used in future
product design.
Simultech distributes the Weiss Technik range of accelerated ageing
test chambers, which enable the control of temperature and humidity
and can be incorporated into ageing tests for performing failure-rate
data and reliability analysis. The company provides sales, service,
installation, commissioning, training, rental and basic on-site testing
for customers across Australia and New Zealand.
Simultech Australia
www.simultech.com.au

38 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

DIN RAIL ENCLOSURES
Hammond Electronics has announced its 1597DIN family of UL94-V0 flame-retardant plastic enclosures for mounting to standard
IEC/EN 60715 35 mm DIN rails for applications such as industrial control equipment, automation, equipment management
and monitoring, HVAC controllers and distributed IoT equipment.
The family consists initially of four sizes in 2-, 4-, 6- and 9-module widths. All sizes have two mounting positions for the
terminal blocks, maximising I/O availability and giving headroom for future expansion if required.
There are two horizontal PCB mounting slots in the body and two stand-offs in the base for component or PCB mounting.
Plain, vented, knockout and slotted terminal covers are supplied separately
and can be mixed and matched in the bodies as required. Primarily designed
to accept PCBs is a slimline 22.5 mm wide, 118 mm deep and 90 mm high
polycarbonate control box with ventilated sides and a shaped front panel.
All units feature simple no-tool snap together assembly and correspond-
ingly easy disassembly for access to the internal components or PCB when
required. The bodies are ventilated on the top and bottom faces and feature
a recess in the front panel for mounting identification labels or other graphics.
The bases are moulded in dark grey PPO (polyphenylene oxide) with a
polystyrene DIN rail mounting clip and the main enclosure body is RAL 7035
light grey polycarbonate.
Hammond Electronics Pty Ltd
www.hammondmfg.com

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 39

PHOTONICS

OPTICAL DATA TRANSMISSION

RECORD BROKEN

Image credit: City University of Hong Kong.

The chip is only 5 x 9 mm
in size — even smaller than
a Hong Kong 20 cent coin.

An international research team claims to have broken the spectral efficiency world record for optical data
transmission with a single integrated photonic chip, with a transmission speed capable of downloading
1000 high-definition movies in less than a second.

A
t the core of the technological breakthrough is a novel “But using our integrated chip, only one laser source is required,”
chip developed by Dr Chu Sai-tak, an expert in integrated Dr Chu said. “When the laser passes through the chip that consists
optical circuits and components from City University of of a micro-ring resonator, followed with some adjustment, soliton
Hong Kong (CityU). He collaborated on the project with crystals will be generated after adjustment. As a result, 80 different
researchers from Hong Kong, China, Canada and Australia, with wavelengths will be generated. And the pulses of soliton crystals
the results published in the journal Nature Communications. are very stable, suitable for long-distance optical data transmission.”

An integrated photonic chip Fast and stable signal transmission

Dr Chu explained that the key component inside the chip is a micro- The research team conducted the data transmission trials not
ring resonator, which can generate an optical frequency response just in a laboratory, but also in a field trial over a 75 km sing-
called a ‘micro-comb’. A single micro-comb could replace dozens of lemode fibre network connecting Melbourne’s RMIT and Monash
parallel laser sources with different wavelengths. In other words, Universities. Experiment results were said to achieve a new world
with the micro-ring resonator in it, an integrated photonic chip can record of spectral efficiency (the rate at which information can
already provide enough signal carriers for ultrahigh-speed optical be transmitted per second over a given bandwidth), which was
data transmission. 3.7 times higher than existing records held by similar technolo-
What makes this chip special is that it can generate a special gies with a single chip source. Spectral efficiency only dropped
class of micro-comb called a ‘soliton crystal’. Dr Chu explained a little after 75 km of signal transmission, indicating that signal
that a ‘soliton’ is a solitary wave that behaves like a particle and transmission was stable.
can be transmitted in optical fibres while maintaining its shape, The team’s technology achieved an outstanding speed of
amplitude and speed for a long time even after it interacts with 44.2 Tbps (equivalent to 5525 GBps), about a 50% increase com-
another soliton. Soliton signals generated by the micro-ring reso- pared to the existing record. Internet speed as fast as 44.2 Tbps
nators are highly stable, which is crucial for long-distance and means downloading 1000 high-definition movies in less than a
high-speed optical signal transmission. “The word ‘crystal’ in the second is possible.
name refers to the crystal-like shape of the optical frequency mode “The C-band fibre we used for the field trial is commonly
generated,” he added. used in the market,” Dr Chu noted. “If optical fibres of wider
Fabricated chips were screened and tested in CityU’s labo- bandwidths were used, we believe the data transmission speed
ratory to ensure that soliton crystals could be generated. Only would be even faster, probably two to three times faster.”
tested chips would be sent to the collaborators for installation in The technology can also be applied to multicore fibres, which
optical devices as a laser source for the high-speed optical data consist of many optical fibres to provide multiple transmission
transmission experiment. Current technology means that each laser pathways and could enhance the speed of data transmission even
source could only emit a single transmission signal of a specific further. In addition to optical-fibre telecommunications, micro-comb
wavelength; therefore, 80 parallel laser sources are required to technology could also be applied to fields such as spectroscopy,
generate 80 laser beams with different wavelengths. metrology, sensors and measurement in quantum mechanics.

40 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

 3D PROFILE SENSORS
Matrox Imaging announces the Matrox AltiZ series of integrated high-fidelity 3D profile sen-
sors, featuring a dual-camera single-laser design. The fully integrated 3D profile sensors have
been optimally designed to lessen scanning gaps. Simultaneous viewing of the laser line by
the product’s two opposed optical sensors should therefore reduce optical occlusions — frequently
encountered at critical surface junctures — caused by the laser line being obstructed from the view of a
single image sensor because of a surface’s orientation.
Unlike common 3D profile sensors — equipped with a single laser and single optical sensor — the Matrox AltiZ
features a dual optical-sensor design and data-fusion capability, said to offer higher 3D reproduction fidelity through the
ability to combat occlusion and outlier data. The product delivers high levels of control over spurious data, providing robust
reproductions of a 3D object or scene — whether mounted on the end of a robot arm or fixed to a gantry overlooking a
conveyor. Data is represented as individual profiles, a depth map or a point cloud.
The integrated image sensors can work in either a synchronised or alternate fashion. In synchronised mode, the 3D profile
sensor achieves maximum reproduction quality and robustness. Configured in alternate mode, the scanning rate is almost
twice that of the synchronised configuration while still providing key defence against occlusion.
The profile sensors output 3D data over a standard GigE Vision interface with standard GenICam extensions; this means
users are not locked into a specific proprietary interface, ensuring interoperability moving forward with commercial and
custom acquisition, processing and analysis software. The device interoperates seamlessly machine vision software and is
suitable for inspection tasks, delivering two powerful cameras within a single compact enclosure. An IP67 rating ensures its
performance in tight spaces and harsh industrial environments.
Dindima Group Pty Ltd
www.dindima.com

WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 41

AI SYSTEM
FOR PRECISE RECOGNITION OF
HAND GESTURES
Westwick-Farrow Media
A.B.N. 22 152 305 336

www.wfmedia.com.au
Scientists from Nanyang Technological
University, Singapore (NTU) and the
Head Office
University of Technology Sydney Unit 7, 6-8 Byfield Street, North Ryde
(UTS) have developed an artificial Locked Bag 2226, North Ryde BC NSW 1670
Ph: +61 2 9168 2500
intelligence system that recognises Editor
hand gestures by combining skin-like Lauren Davis
[email protected]
electronics with computer vision. Publishing Director/MD Geoff Hird
Art Director/Production Manager

T
Julie Wright
he recognition of human hand gestures by AI systems has been a valuable development over Art/Production
the last decade and has been adopted in high-precision surgical robots, health monitoring Veronica King, Colleen Sam
equipment and gaming systems. AI gesture recognition systems that were initially visual-only Circulation Dianna Alberry, Sue Lavery
[email protected]
have been improved upon by integrating inputs from wearable sensors that re-create the
skin’s sensing (or somatosensory) ability — an approach known as ‘data fusion’. Copy Control Mitchie Mullins
[email protected]
However, gesture recognition precision is still hampered by the low quality of data arriving from
wearable sensors, typically due to their bulkiness and poor contact with the user, and the effects Advertising Sales
of visually blocked objects and poor lighting. Further challenges arise from the integration of visual Group Sales Manager
and sensory data as they represent mismatched datasets that must be processed separately and then Nicola Fender-Fox – 0414 703 780
[email protected]
merged at the end, which is inefficient and leads to slower response times.
To tackle these challenges, the NTU–UTS team created a data fusion system that uses skin-like Account Manager
Sandra Romanin – 0414 558 464
stretchable strain sensors, made from single-walled carbon nanotubes, and an AI approach that re- [email protected]
sembles the way that the skin senses and vision are handled together in the brain. Their work has
Asia
been described in the journal Nature Electronics. Tim Thompson - 0421 623 958
The scientists developed their bioinspired AI system by combining three neural network approaches [email protected]
in one system: a convolutional neural network, which is a machine learning method for early visual
processing; a multilayer neural network for early somatosensory information processing; and a sparse
neural network to fuse the visual and somatosensory information together. The result is a system
that is claimed to recognise human gestures more accurately and efficiently than existing methods.
“Our data fusion architecture has its own unique bioinspired features which includes a manmade
system resembling the somatosensory-visual fusion hierarchy in the brain,” said NTU’s Professor
Chen Xiaodong, lead author of the study. “We believe such features make our architecture unique
Contact the editor
to existing approaches.
“Compared to rigid wearable sensors that do not form an intimate enough contact with the user
for accurate data collection, our innovation uses stretchable strain sensors that comfortably attach
onto the human skin. This allows for high-quality signal acquisition, which is vital to high-precision If you have any queries regarding our privacy policy
please email [email protected]
recognition tasks.”
As a proof of concept, the team tested their bioinspired AI system using a robot controlled through Subscriptions: For unregistered readers,
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to six recognition errors made by a visual-based recognition system.
High accuracy was also maintained when the new AI system was tested under poor conditions
including noise and unfavourable lighting. The AI system worked effectively in the dark, achieving a Printed and bound by Dynamite Printing
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“The secret behind the high accuracy in our architecture lies in the fact that the visual and soma-
All material published in this magazine is published in
tosensory information can interact and complement each other at an early stage before carrying out good faith and every care is taken to accurately relay
information provided to us. Readers are advised by the
complex interpretation,” said NTU’s Dr Wang Ming, first author of the study. “As a result, the system publishers to ensure that all necessary safety devices and
can rationally collect coherent information with less redundant data and less perceptual ambiguity, precautions are installed and safe working procedures
adopted before the use of any equipment found or
resulting in better accuracy.” purchased through the information we provide. Further, all
performance criteria was provided by the representative
The research team is now looking to build a VR and AR system for use in areas where high- company concerned and any dispute should be referred
to them. Information indicating that products are made
precision recognition and control are desired, such as entertainment technologies and rehabilitation in Australia or New Zealand is supplied by the source
in the home. company. Westwick-Farrow Pty Ltd does not quantify
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42 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU

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