standard News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 24, 2026June 23, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Aliro is a vendor-agnostic standard for digital access control working over NFC, Bluetooth LE, or UWB

Managed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, Aliro is a smart lock/access control standard that works over NFC, Bluetooth LE, or UWB and is designed to be vendor-agnostic. While Matter is designed for Smart Home applications, Aliro specifically targets access control, and both aim to address market fragmentation. It was brought to my attention when we wrote about the Nordic nRF54L15 Tag, but we had already mentioned it for chips from other vendors such as STMicro (ST64UWB) and Qualcomm (FastConnect 8800), as well as earlier wireless MCUs from Nordic Semi such as the nRF54LM20A and nRF54LM20B. It appears to be adopted across the industry, so let’s have a closer look. Aliro 1.0 was first released in February 2026 with the following highlights: Leverages existing smartphones and wearables Framework utilizes asymmetric cryptography to ensure secure and trusted interactions between user devices and readers Integration with digital wallets from Apple, Google, Samsung, etc… […]

June 19, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Matter 1.6 specification adds NFC-based commissioning, thermostat suggestions, various core enhancements

Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has recently released the Matter 1.6 specification with new features such as NFC-based commissioning, Thermostat Suggestions for smarter climate control, and a range of core enhancements designed to improve device communication, safety devices visibility, and ecosystem security. The last time we wrote about a Matter release was for Matter 1.4.2, which added Wi-Fi-only provisioning and improved security, and we somehow missed the Matter 1.5 release that introduced cameras, closures (window shades, drapes, awnings, gates, garage doors…), and enhanced energy management capabilities. Let’s have a closer look at the new Matter 1.6 release. Matter 1.6 highlights: NFC-based commissioning – Commissioning can be challenging for devices like ceiling fixtures and in-wall switches, since they may need to be configured before they are installed. Matter 1.6 addresses this issue by allowing a Matter device to be commissioned through bi-directional NFC communication before the device is fully powered on. That’s […]

November 19, 2025November 19, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Zigbee 4.0 introduces ”Suzi” Sub-GHz connectivity and security enhancements

The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has just announced the release of Zigbee 4.0, integrating security and interoperability improvements, as well as the Suzi Zigbee’s Sub-GHz feature operating in the 800 MHz (Europe) or 900 MHz (North America) band for longer range and lower interference compared to the traditional 2.4 GHz band. Highlights of Zigbee 4.0 release: Simplified certification processes Enhanced information exchange for smart home solutions. Formalized Parent Selection, Unique Link Key Monitoring, and Trust Center Connectivity improve network resilience Standardized network-level retries, more reliable data polling for sleepy end devices, and expanded use of APS acknowledgements increase overall network performance and reduce message loss. Sleepy-to-sleepy communication using Coordinated Sample Listening (CSL) allows direct, low-power exchanges between devices, optimizing energy and further extending battery life Security updates aligned with evolving international security standards Dynamic Link Key, Device Interview, and Smart Energy Authentication Level Control for stronger device authentication, selective communication […]

November 5, 2025November 5, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Bluetooth 6.2 gets more responsive, improves security, USB communication, and testing capabilities

Bluetooth 6.2 specification has just been released with a range of new features to enhance responsiveness with shorter connection intervals, strengthen security against amplitude-based RF attacks, and improve communication with a new “Bulk Serialization Mode” that’s especially useful for USB Bluetooth LE audio applications. The new Bluetooth Core 6.2 specification also introduces various BLE Test Mode enhancements. If you feel like Bluetooth specifications are released more often than in the past, that’s normal because the Bluetooth SIG switched to a bi-annual release schedule. For instance, the Bluetooth 6.1 specification was just published last May, or about 6 months ago… Bluetooth 6.2 highlights: Bluetooth Shorter Connection Intervals (SCI) reduce the minimum Bluetooth LE connection interval from 7.5 ms to just 375 µs for faster responsiveness. The change will especially impact high-performance HID devices, real-time human-machine interfaces (HMIs), and latency-sensitive sensors. AR/VR and gaming applications will particularly benefit from the lower latency. […]

October 18, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

MIPI SoundWire I3S (SWI3S) targets high-bandwidth, low-latency audio applications

The MIPI Alliance has recently released the SoundWire I3S (MIPI SWI3S v1.0) specification for high-bandwidth, low-latency audio applications which unify control and data over a single, power-efficient interface. SWI3S builds upon the two-pin, multi-drop architecture of MIPI SoundWire released in 2014, and offers higher bandwidth, low power consumption, much better noise immunity, and support for scalable multi-device topologies to meet the increasing requirements of embedded audio systems. MIPI SWI3S v1.0 supports data rates up to 76 Mbps against 24 Mbps for the earlier SLIMbus and SoundWire audio interfaces, and improves noise immunity by operating in “forwarded clock” or “differential low voltage signaling”. It also implements a range of new features such as Hubs, multiple PHY support, control CRC, power-saving techniques, and more. MIPI SoundWire I3S key features: Transports audio data, control commands, interrupt signals, and synchronization information over a unified two-pin link Forwarded bit clock single-ended (FBCSE) and differential low-voltage […]

July 8, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Ubuntu 25.10 release to mandate RVA23 profile, obsoleting most RISC-V hardware

RISC-V is an open architecture standard that provides flexibility, and chip designers can add or remove instructions as they please to match their application requirements. That’s all great until complex software designed to run on multiple platforms is involved. That’s why for Linux and Android support, the RVA (RISC-V Application) profiles were created, so that every RISC-V SoC designed for those systems meets some minimal requirements and shared instructions, to which you would also add more if needed, as long as they don’t break the standard. The RISC-V association ratified the latest RVA23 profile for 64-bit RISC-V in October 2024, which notably mandates support for the vector and hypervisor extensions. OMGUbuntu also reports that Canonical has decided to raise the required RISC-V ISA profile family to RVA23, or more exactly RVA23U64, from RVA20 for the upcoming Ubuntu 25.10 release. In other words, going forward, Ubuntu will only be supported on […]

June 12, 2025June 12, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

PCIe 7.0 specification released with up to 512GB/s bi-directional data rate

The PCIe 7.0 specification has been released, offering a data rate of up to 128GT/s, or a bi-directional transfer rate of 512GB/s in x16 configuration. This doubles the speed of PCIe 6.0 specification released in 2022, reaching up to 64GT/s data rate, or 256GB/s bi-directional transfer rates. PCI-SIG says the PCIe 7.0 specification targets data-intensive applications such as AI/ML, 800 Gbps Ethernet, cloud, and Quantum computing. Work on PCIe 8.0 has started, likely aiming for 256GT/s and a 2028 release date. Like PCIe 6.0, PCIe 7.0 utilizes PAM4 (Pulse Amplitude Modulation with 4 levels) signaling and Flit-based encoding. It also provides improved power efficiency and maintains backwards compatibility with previous generations of PCIe technology. New specifications are released regularly, and since the introduction of PCI in 1992 with a 013GB/s data rate, the PCI/PCIe bandwidth has roughly doubled every three years, as illustrated in the chart below. Although it typically […]

May 9, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

MIPI C-PHY v3.0 released with 18-Wirestate mode encoding increasing the per-lane performance by up to 35 percent

The MIPI Alliance has recently released the MIPI C-PHY v3.0 specification, defining the physical layer for connecting cameras and displays. The main change in MIPI C-PHY Version 3.0 is the addition of an 18-Wirestate mode encoding option – instead of the 6-Wirestate mode encoding used in previous versions – that increases the maximum performance of a C-PHY lane by approximately 30 to 35 percent. The MIPI Alliance claims this enhancement delivers up to 75 Gbps over a short channel for ultra-high-resolution image sensors. The table below shows the key features and differences between versions of the MIPI C-PHY specification. Interestingly, the symbol rate decreased for MIPI C-PHY v3.0 compared to v2.1 (7.0 Gsps vs 8.0 Gsps for short channel), but the data rate increased from 18.3 to 24.9 Gbps, a 36% increase, due to the more efficient encoding option 32b9s that transports 32 bits over nine symbols (3.56 bits per symbol) while maintaining […]