ON Semiconductor Showcases Innovations in Vision IoT, Battery-free Sensing, More

ON Semiconductor will be demonstrating its rapid progress and innovations for the Internet of Things (IoT) at the IoT World 2018. Covering the key technology areas of connectivity, sensing and system development, ON Semiconductor’s presence will underline the advancements the company continues to make, and its long-term commitment to driving innovation and adoption in a sector that is gathering rapid and exciting momentum.

Visitors will have the opportunity to experience the latest imaging sensors designed for vision IoT camera systems. These include the AR0144, an industry leading one megapixel global shutter CMOS image sensor with a 3µm pixel designed to capture moving objects without blurring in varied lighting conditions. This is especially useful in applications such as industrial bar code scanning, machine vision, robotics navigation and drone collision avoidance.

Also on show will be the AR0430, a four megapixel CMOS image sensor featuring the latest 2.0µm pixel and a unique pixel architecture that delivers an incredibly high linear full well and wide dynamic range. Beyond industry-leading image capturing capabilities, the AR0430 has been designed for power efficiency with modes down to 8mW. This combination of performance and efficiency makes the sensor ideal for security devices, smart home door bells, wearables and other battery powered devices.

Sensing is a vital aspect of IoT designs, and two demonstrations will feature ON Semiconductor’s SPS wireless and battery-free sensors that enable the monitoring of various parameters such as temperature, pressure, moisture or proximity at the network edge where running wires or replacing batteries may be impractical. When interrogated by an RF reader, the SPS ‘harvests’ energy from the measuring signal, and then delivers a rapid and highly accurate reading from the sensor. SPS is a ‘fit-and-forget’ solution that offers the potential to revolutionize IoT sensing designs.

Asset tracking and asset health monitoring is another application area with major economic advantages for markets involving the movement of goods and materials. ON Semiconductor will be presenting and demonstrating its concept combining RFID SPS and a Low Power Wireless Area Network (LPWAN) technology such as Sigfox. SPS temperature sensor tags are read and the data is transmitted by Sigfox LPWAN backhaul to the cloud where the data is added to a private blockchain.

To support the development of IoT applications using SPS, ON Semiconductor offers its SPSDEVK1 – a complete sensing turnkey solution that removes the need to source IoT solutions from multiple vendors. This can save both development time and cost by enabling the rapid configuration and modification of multi-sensor IoT applications. Included in the kit is ON Semiconductor’s TagReader software, an application specifically developed for reading SPS that enables the full functionality of the tags, giving a comprehensive system solution.

Continuing the theme of development kits to support the implementation of IoT solutions, recently announced hardware and software enhancements for the company’s award winning IoT Development Kit (IDK) will be displayed. The IDK is a modular node-to-cloud rapid prototyping kit and features ON Semiconductor’s ultra-low power connectivity, sensing and actuator products.
The IDK includes the RSL10 multi-protocol, Bluetooth 5 certified SoC. The ultra-low power RSL10 will be exhibited running off harvested energy from a switch. The miniature size of RSL10 coupled with a best-in class power profile allows for truly differentiated, energy harvesting or long battery life devices.

“The number of IoT nodes expected to go into a huge and diverse array of end applications over the coming few years extends to the tens of billions. Realizing this promise requires breakthrough developments in capabilities such as machine vision, battery and wire free sensing, and harvested energy powered connectivity,” said Wiren Perera who leads IoT Strategy at ON Semiconductor. “We are utilizing our deep knowhow in power, sensing and connectivity, and then the ability to combine them and support their design into efficient, reliable, integrated solutions to support what is arguably the most exciting and dynamic sector in the electronics industry at the moment.”