We are in the midst of a wonderful and frightening time, a time full of disruptive technologies, business models, and markets. Myriad advances in materials, topologies, and designs promise to bring some really innovative, cool products to the market. One area of disruption is the Internet of Things (IoT).
The potential for all powered devices more sophisticated than a toaster (actually toasters are already available IoT-enabled) to communicate to a network will empower many things (pun intended). Beyond the basic functions of on and off, the ability to monitor and operate a device from anywhere as if you were standing next to it is an ability spreading through society like wildfire, and that is only one (and not even necessarily the most important one) of the benefits of the IoT.
From wearable technology to advanced Augmented Reality (AR) infrastructure, the IoT will foment gadgets that we haven’t even thought of yet. Designers are working feverishly to employ these new advances, from wide-bandgap semiconductors to wireless charging topologies to energy harvesting and more, to gain advantage in the marketplace and address existing and new markets.
One of the development bottlenecks is energy use. Every portable device must deal with the issue of power management, as battery lifetime is a primary customer demand. Unfortunately, too many customers (and designers) focus their attention is on the size and energy density of the battery, a valid but myopic view of the situation. Even disregarding the safety issues of cramming more energy in a package that is used in a human environment that cannot survive a catastrophic event well, bigger and/or denser batteries are not the optimal solution.
There’s an old joke that goes “everything I learned I got from ——–.” In this case, taking a quote from high-end audio, there are two basic ways to make the music louder. One way is to double the power of your amplifier to get a 3-decibel (dB) increase in volume, or you can reduce the sound floor in the room easily by 3 (or more) dB, providing the same effect. If you can shrink the size and weight of the product, you don’t necessarily need a bigger battery, or you can cram more functionality into a device in the same space.
The Critical Role of Sensors
Sensors are critical to the operation of advanced devices, as no intelligent system can make decisions in a vacuum. Sensors are needed for user input, for environmental information, and for a variety of tasks from lid to light detection. Sensors are also a great way to both shrink your device design and reduce its power consumption.
The latest generation of sensors can provide a high level of device integration, bringing important functions like signal conditioning and power management on-chip. This integration not only reduces system size and overall power consumption, it also allows the designer to pay more attention on the whole design than the individual pieces. These modular solutions are also easier to integrate into the system software, as they are created to comply with major industry interfaces.
One example is environmental monitoring. A device like the BME280 integrated environmental sensor by Bosch-Sensortec (www.bosch-sensortec.com) is developed specifically for mobile applications where size and low power consumption are key design constraints (see Figure 1). The unit combines sensors for pressure, humidity and temperature in an 8-pin metal-lid 2.5 x 2.5 x 0.93 mm³ LGA package consuming 3.6 μA @1 Hz, with high accuracy over a wide temperature range.
Environmental monitoring in the IoT doesn’t have to involve only portable devices, either. In addition, just because a device is tethered doesn’t mean energy efficiency isn’t important. The fact is smart buildings are going to be chock-full of IoT tech to save energy at a large scale. One such infrastructure solution is the Digital Light Agent (DLA) lighting control from Digital Lumens (www.digitallumens.com), designed for a direct connection to 0-10V dimming drivers, and plug-compatible with all standard industrial sensor interfaces. The DLA-V transforms any high-bay or linear LED fixture from any manufacturer into a completely network-controlled (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) smart lighting node.
Some sensors can be used in any IoT environment. Melexis’ Time-of-Flight chipset (www.melexis.com) enables simple, modular 3D vision solutions using the MLX75023 1/3-inch optical format ToF sensor and the MLX75123 companion IC. With this high level of integration, designers no longer have to be concerned with power- and space-hungry external FPGAs and ADCs, thus reducing size, cost, and time-to-market. Typical applications for the chipset include gesture recognition, driver monitoring and occupant detection in automotive applications.
Reducing the main processor’s workload is another benefit of an integrated solution. For example, ams’ TCS3430 (www.ams.com) is presented as the first XYZ tristimulus True Color sensor IC that can fit into consumer devices such as notebooks, smartphones, and tablets (see Figure 2). Providing digital measurements matching the CIE 1931 “Standard Observer” XYZ scale, the miniature TCS3430 may be used for things like as display management, automatic white color balancing or color management.
From your wrist to your city, the IoT is changing how we do things at every level. Properly integrating the latest devices and functionalities into your design will go far to ensuring your success in this disruptive environment.
