There are various sensors on the market that can "see", "hear", "feel”, and "smell” "things", intuitively "understanding" their environment and further simplifying human life. This article will show you smart sensor solutions that can be applied to home, city, automobile, traffic, and other environments.
The MEMS microphone allows machines to "hear" clear audio
Thanks to industry-leading technology, Infineon has introduced a range of XENSIV™ sensors for automotive, industrial, and consumer applications, including high-performance micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) microphones that meet the most advanced automotive quality standard AEC-Q103-003, RASIC™ 77-GHz chips for radar-based driver assistance systems, and photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) CO2 sensors for high-capacity smart home and building automation applications.
Infineon's new XENSIV™ IM73A135 MEMS microphone supports a first-class signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 73 dB and a high acoustic overload point of 135 dB SPL, enabling crystal clear audio pickup. This high dynamic range microphone has a small size of 4×3 x 1.2 mm3 and is based on Infineon’s new sealed double membrane (SDM) MEMS technology, which can achieve better handling in the assembly process. The IM73A135 enables designers to achieve a high audio performance level previously only achieved by electret condenser microphone (ECM), while gaining the inherent advantages of MEMS technology.
Based on a miniaturized symmetrical microphone design, Infineon's SDM MEMS technology uses a working principle that is similar to that of microphones used in high-end recording studios to achieve highly linear output signals. Typical applications of Infineon XENSIV™ MEMS microphones include high-quality audio acquisition for cameras, camcorders, and conference systems, voice user interfaces for smart speakers, home automation and Internet of Things devices, active noise reduction for headphones, and audio pattern detection for predictive maintenance, security, or safety applications.
Radar sensors give machines the ability to "see”
In motion detection applications, radar has many advantages over passive infrared (PIR) technology, including higher accuracy and more precise measurement of detected objects, paving the way for new features in speed detection and motion sensing. These advanced features enable a variety of “things” such as robots, cars, smart home devices, and even lights to “see” their surrounding environment and make dynamic responses.
Infineon offers a wide portfolio of XENSIV™ mmWave radar sensors to support a wide range of industrial, home, and consumer applications, including the smallest 24 GHz MMIC in the largest and most integrated 24 GHz radar transceiver family currently available on the market. In addition, Infineon also introduces a full range of automotive radar 24/77/79 GHz front-end Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) (RASIC™), which can support all applications from safety-critical applications (such as automatic emergency braking) to driver assistance.
Infineon's XENSIV™ sensor family also includes Doppler radar and Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar systems. The product portfolio includes the smallest 24 GHz MMIC on the market and the most integrated and largest 24 GHz radar transceiver series at present.
These 24 GHz and 60 GHz radar sensors cover a wide range of applications, many of which are based on motion detection triggering systems, such as lighting solutions, automatic doors, camera and security systems, or smart home devices. Radar technology has a smaller system size, higher accuracy, and more accurate measurement of detected objects, and can also determine the direction, speed, and distance of moving objects, and even determine the position of moving objects according to antenna configuration.
High-precision sensors that can "smell" carbon dioxide
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people's awareness of indoor air quality has been further improved. Specifically, carbon dioxide (CO2) can have a negative impact on health and productivity, leading to drowsiness and headaches. smart indoor air quality sensors can smell the rising CO2 level and remind users or trigger a system response. Considering the correlation between CO2 and aerosol concentration, CO2 sensors are helpful in reducing the spread of the epidemic. In addition, CO2 sensors can facilitate demand-controlled ventilation, resulting in improved energy efficiency and significant savings in energy costs.
Infineon's PAS CO2 sensor has an integrated photoacoustic transducer on a PCB, including an acoustic detector, an infrared source and optical filter, a microcontroller for signal processing, and a MOSFET chip to drive the infrared source. Compared with non-dispersive InfraRed (NDIR) CO2 sensors, excellent sensitivity of acoustic detectors combined with an integrated PCB design can reduce the space requirement by more than 75%.
Infineon’s PAS CO2 sensor is an extremely small form factor, high-quality, high-precision, and cost-effective CO2 sensor. Infineon’s leading position in MEMS technology is the basis of this unique and accurate CO2 detection method. Reliable CO2 measurement enables smart monitoring of indoor air quality, promoting the improvement of health, productivity, and overall well-being. These features make PAS CO2 sensors ideal for building automation applications and integration into consumer IoT devices such as air purifiers, thermostats, baby monitoring devices, wake-up alarms, and smart speakers.
Ultrasonic sensors that "feel" their surroundings
A proximity sensor is a non-contact method, which can be used to provide simple “there/not there” logic or accurately measure the exact distance to an object. There are many different options for proximity sensors, covering various sensing technologies on the market, including ultrasonic, photoelectric, laser rangefinder, and inductive sensors, which are very suitable for a moderate range of detection from few inches to tens of feet. When considering the cost of ownership and deployment challenges, ultrasonic sensors are usually the best overall solution, because they are low in cost, capable of detecting presence and distance, and easy to use.
CUI Devices is an industry-renowned supplier of ultrasonic sensors with a family of ultrasonic sensors rated from 0.2 to 18 meters, offering a range of transmitter, receiver, and transceiver options with analog output. The ultrasonic transducer model is mounted in a compact aluminum or plastic enclosure with through-hole mounting and is rated at 80 to 180 Vdc to provide accurate measurements in a variety of detection, distance, and proximity applications.
CUI Devices' ultrasonic receivers can be used to convert ultrasonic waves into electrical signals, with beam angles of 75 degrees or 80 degrees, rated distances of up to 18 meters and rated frequencies of 39 kHz. CUI Devices' ultrasonic transmitters are used to convert electrical signals into ultrasonic waves, with rated distances of up to 18 meters, rated frequencies of 23 to 40 kHz, and beam angles of 75 or 80 degrees. CUI Devices' ultrasonic transceiver integrates the transmitting and receiving functions into a single package, providing users with simplified solutions for distance measurement, object detection, and proximity sensing.
KNX technology for building a bridge between smart buildings and electric vehicles
KNX is a world-leading building automation technical standard, which is flexible, personalized, safe, and reliable. It also has integrated future-proof characteristic solutions which are time-saving and easy-to-install. It is an international standard to realize the dream of automation. KNX can also seamlessly integrate electric vehicle charging stations into smart building energy management. In this way, KNX has built a groundbreaking bridge between electric vehicles and building automation.
KNX technology is based on ETS tools for optimal and secure interaction of all devices, installations and charging stations in smart homes and buildings, as well as for smooth configuration and commissioning. ETS stands for Engineering Tool Software. ETS is a completely new generation of smart automation software. It’s a manufacturer independent configuration software tool to design and configure intelligent home and building control installations with the KNX system. ETS is a software, which runs on Windows© platform based computers.
By intelligently integrating charging stations into the KNX energy management system of a smart home or building, users can use their own power generation sources, such as photovoltaic systems, to charge their electric vehicles via KNX. The same system can connect up to five different charging points from different manufacturers, and use clean energy efficiently for electric vehicles, which can ensure the stability of local networks and power grids.
In addition, KNX technology can be used to realize automation, and only one system is needed to ensure that all components communicate through a common language, no matter whether you want to control lighting, shutters, security systems, energy management, heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems, signaling and monitoring systems, interfaces for service and building control systems, remote controls, or audio and video controls. All these features can work through a uniform system, making home and building control easier.
Miniature KNX transceiver with voltage regulator
For KNX applications, STMicroelectronics introduces the STKNX, a miniature KNX transceiver with a voltage regulator. This is a transceiver device for KNX TP communication in a small package with few external components to enable a very compact KNX node design and a simple interface with the microcontroller, allowing easy replacement of discrete physical layer components.
The STKNX device features two integrated regulators for external applications, including a selectable 3.3 V/5 V-20 mA linear regulator and an adjustable 1 V to 12 V-150 mA high efficiency DC/DC step down switching converter. The integrated KNX bus power extractor supports up to 30 mA of bus current, which can power the power requirements of external devices and STKNX transceivers themselves. At the same time, the bus current slew rate is limited according to KNX specifications. STKNX ensures safe coupling with the bus and provides bus monitoring warnings when the bus is powered down.
STMicroelectronics has also introduced EVALKITSTKNX, a miniature STKNX transceiver evaluation and development kit, which integrates the circuit board of STMicroelectronics's miniature STKNX transceiver, and also includes all the components needed to evaluate STKNX circuit performance and develop KNX devices on twisted pair medium according to the TP1-256 standard. By using Arduino and Morpho extension connectors, the kit allows users to connect existing STM32 expansion boards or develop custom boards to implement a complete prototype of KNX devices.
STMicroelectronics has also introduced the ST-LINK/V2-1 onboard debugger/programmer, which provides users with all the functions required to debug and program the software environment. There is no need for a separate probe, just through USB connection. An HE10 20-pin connector is also provided to use any alternative debugging environment through the Serial Wire Debugging (SWD) and JTAG interfaces.
Conclusion
Through various sensors, machines can have the ability to sense environmental conditions and make corresponding responses, thus providing more convenience for people's lives. All kinds of sensors introduced in this article can help the system to fully grasp the state of the surrounding environment and easily control related devices combined with an intelligent control system to achieve the ideal life of full automation.