MORE ABOUT IoT

13.7 nW/Mbit is claimed by Renesas as a record low stand-by power for embedded SRAM. Speed has been retained at 1.8 ns for an active read-out. The firm said it used its in-house 65-nm silicon-on-thin buried oxide (SOTB) process for the prototype, and used substrate biasing to adjust the leakage/speed compromise. The technology is claimed overcome challenges with conventional CMOS, such as the increased leakage with low-threshold transistors and high variability in gate threshold voltage.

In the last installment, we implemented a small actuator project where we are able to switch a remote LED using MQTT. Now and then the link is interrupted, here we show how we can automatically re-establish the link. All the Arduino functions are available from the last installment...

Microchip is reaching out to Apple users with their Wi-Fi Software Development Kit (SDK). The SDK supports the Apple HomeKit platform which is known for the ease with which Apple MFi licensees can create fast, cryptography-enabled low-power designs. The new Wi-Fi SDK combines hardware cryptography suites within the CEC1702 system chip and associated protocols. In terms of hardware, the system consists mainly of an ARM Cortex-M4-based micro interfaced to the well-established WINC1510 low-power 802.11 b/g/n certified Wi-Fi module.

Pycom is a young company producing small modules supporting multiple network topologies. Partly funded through a few Kickstarter campaigns they are now up and running. The goal of their products is to enable easy access to the Internet of Things (IoT). To achieve this goal they have crammed as much wireless network technology as possible into a few small modules and made them programmable with MicroPython.

Hajime is the name of a malware — a worm — that is currently infecting thousands of devices connected to the public Internet. The worm mainly targets digital video recorders (DVRs), webcams and routers. According to researchers at Kaspersky Lab, more than 300,000 devices have already been infected world-wide. The worm is unique in several ways, one of them being that nobody seems to know what its purpose is.

Connecting devices to the Internet, that is what IoT is all about. To do so you need some sort of interface and that is where the GoNotify project comes in. This project brings you a low-power and secure platform comprising of an ATmega328PB microcontroller and an ESP8266 Wi-Fi module enabling easy connection to online cloud-based data collection services like AllThingsTalk. MQTT client or secure HTTPS with REST, in sleep mode the interface only consumes 10 uA while a universal connector permits the connection of sensors and actuators just like you need them.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the most popular topics among our readers, especially when it comes to intelligent home automation. The first step in developing your own IoT system is to set up a rapid prototyping environment, and to this end embedded systems providers offer a wide range of astonishingly low-cost development kits, containing everything you could possibly wish for to start you on your way. Even a beginner can get a first prototype up and running within minutes.

WIZnet, one of ARM mbed Silicon Partners, will hold an IoT Design Contest, titled “Curation is Creation” at cybermakerspace.com. IoT solutions for the contest must be designed on the ARM mbed-enabled WIZwiki-W7500 Platform.

Technical progress of the last few decades has been quite remarkable. The trend for more embedded electronics is probably one of the main driving forces. When we then add mobile radio capabilities into the mix, we move into the IoE era and the possibilities become endless...

Now available in the Elektor Store is the May & June Edition of Elektor Magazine. Packed with the usual array of articles, projects and reviews it’s definitely not one to miss. As always, you can get a printed copy sent straight to your door with no shipping costs at all.