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December 17, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Cmsemicon ANT32RV56xx is a RISC-V microcontroller for wireless charging

We’ve seen RISC-V architecture used in general-purpose microcontrollers, AIoT processors, as well as WiFi and Bluetooth IoT SoC’s such as ESP32-C3 and BL602. Allwinner is also prepping a RISC-V application processor, and we’ve covered plenty of other developments in our RISC-V 2020 highlights post. But we’ve now been made aware of another application-specific RISC-V microcontroller from a Chinese fabless vendor I had never heard of. Meet Cmsemicon ANT32RV56xx RISC-V microcontroller for wireless charging applications. Cmsemicon ANT32RV56xx “tentative” key features and specifications: MCU Core – RISC-V RV32EC core @ 48MHz 32-bit hardware divider (HWDIV) Memory – Up to 32KB ILM-SRAM, up to 8KB DLM-SRAM Storage – 64KB program FLASH (APROM+BOOT), 1KB FLASH data area Peripherals Up to 46 I/Os 6x Enhanced PWM (EPWM) 1x I2C, 1x SPI/SSP, 2x UART Up to 20x 12-bit ADC up to 100Ksps Up to 20x 12-bit ADC up to 1.2 Msps Capture/compare/pulse width modulation for up […]

July 22, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

GuRu Launches Desk-Range Wireless Power Transfer Evaluation Kit

Several companies are developing wireless power at-a-distance solutions with various ranges, from desk power/charging to factory sensor power, including Energous and TransferFi. CNX Software has been contacted by another company working in the field with Guru Inc launching the GuRu mini evaluation kit capable of wireless power transmitting several watts within a desk using a 24 GHz chip. There are very few details about the internals of the transmitter and receiver, but the company told CNX Software GuRu developed its own 24GHz chip built in a standard CMOS process. The chip is said to use “Smart RF Lensing power transfer, enabled via highly focused, intelligently-controlled millimeter waves” in order to increase both power transfer and range by up to 10 times, as well as deliver smaller and cheaper devices. The (G3100-005-EVK) wireless power transfer evaluation kit is comprised of the following components/accessories: A generator unit (GU) suitable for desktop environment […]

May 7, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

NFC Wireless Charging Coming Soon to IoT Devices and Wearables

NFC is better known for contactless payment and transferring contacts, but one interesting feature is the ability to provide power as we’ve recently seen with batteryless NFC powered E-paper displays. The current NFC implementations can only provide a limited amount of power, but the NFC Forum has recently approved the Wireless Charging Specification that enables wireless charging of small, battery-powered consumer and IoT devices with a smartphone or other NFC charging device at a power transfer rate of up to one watt. One watt is not as much as other similar technologies, but NFC wireless charging (NFC WLC) should be quite more cost-effective since device-specific wireless chargers are not needed. Just take a phone or charger with NFC WLC and all compliant devices could be charged that way. The specification is free to download for NFC Forum members but must be purchased by others. There’s still short abstract available: Wireless […]

April 21, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

TransferFi Wireless Power Network Lights Up Sensors up to 55 Meters Away

Wireless charging has been around for a while, and it usually placing a phone or other device on a charging pad. But back in 2018, Energous started to promote its near-field, mid-field, and far-field wireless charging solutions, with far-field meaning within a room. But so far, they only have released near-field devkits and products. Singapore based TransferFi Pte has come up with its own wireless charging solution. TranferFi wireless power network (TFi WPN) aims to power sensors up to 55 meters away and specifically targets building and factory automation in order to help companies save on installation and cabling costs. The solution works with a gateway powering up and receiving data from sensors wirelessly with a range of up to 55 meters. The TFi Gateway Max Turin-1 covers up to 32 TFi Sense devices via multichannel beamforming supporting up to 16 channels and can be connected to Modbus, BACnet & […]

January 8, 2020January 9, 2020 by Ayo Ayibiowu - 6 Comments

ONiO.zero offers a RISC-V Microcontroller that runs without battery

Energy harvesting has been an exciting area people have tried to venture into mostly because of the possible applications that can arise from it. Newly invented energy-harvesting technologies accompanying low-power computing systems have pushed the boundaries of where embedded systems can be deployed. The demand for an increase in connected applications which require an underlying embedded system, and as we know, all electronic devices require a power source of some sort. This power source, batteries in most cases, comes with an accompanying buck regulator of some sort that will tend to increase the BOM. Aside from the BOM rise from the usage of batteries, there is also the shelf life and environmental aspects. The Norwegian specialist ONiO has introduced the ONiO.zero to address those issues. Having no battery means fewer components and a smaller design, which can easily be integrated into a wide range of solutions – be it fabrics, […]

December 20, 2019December 19, 2019 by Ayo Ayibiowu - 2 Comments

Energous Launches WattUp Smart Glasses Developer Kit for Customer Product Designs

Near-field wireless charging technology has the potential to disrupt the consumer electronics industry, but its adoption has been limited. Energous wireless charging technology WattUp has promised to change that narrative by making it possible to charge devices mid-field (on the desk) or far off (in the room. Aside from the distance challenge in wireless charging, one other major issue is the fact that there are few deployments with them. Only a few devices have wireless charging incorporated. Energous is hoping to change that as well with the launch of the WattUp Smart Glasses Developer Kit, which is tailored for custom product design in the wearable industry. Energous is continuing its trend of launching a developer kit after having released the WattUp Hearables Developer Kit with Near-Field Wireless Charging and support for the SKIIN Smart Underwears. According to the Energous, the goal of the smart glasses developer kit is: Designed to […]

September 24, 2019October 7, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Energous Launches WattUp Hearables Developer Kit with Near-Field Wireless Charging

We previously wrote about Energous WattUp near, mid, and far-field wireless charging while covering SKIIN smart underwears that could be recharged using WattUp near-field wireless technology, but the technology inside can also support future on the desk (mid-field) or in the room (far-field) charging. The company has now introduced the WattUp hearables developer kit that sadly still does not seem to support mid- and far-field charging yet but provides everything to manufacturers to get started with wireless charging for Bluetooth earbuds, smart headphones, and similar gadgets. The kit offers all hardware and software resource to get started with developing wirelessly charged audio devices: Transmitter reference design with power supply, based on Dialog Semi DA14680 Bluetooth LE chip, DA4100 wireless power transmitter, as well as EN3921 and EN3913M front end ICs. Receiver reference design with DA2223 RF to DC receiver and DA14585 Bluetooth LE SoC Mobile app Reference design user guide […]

May 18, 2018May 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

R-TV BOX S10+ is an Android 8.1 TV Box with a Built-in Qi Wireless Charger

A couple of years ago we wrote about ECS Live Station, an Intel Bay Trail mini PC with an integrated wireless charger that can be used to charge any compatible smartphone. But as I was checking out new arrivals feed, I found out there was now a TV box that does the same thing. Apart from the wireless charger placed on top of the device, R-TV BOX S10+ is pretty much a standard 4K TV box based on RK3328 processor: SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR10 and HLG support, 3.5mm AV port (composite) Video Codec – 4K VP9, H.265 and H.264. 1080p VC-1, MPEG-1/2/4, VP6/8 Audio – Via HDMI, AV port (stereo […]