DESIGN SITTSPLU TA A IITA SS Ihe best and worst UK cities for 4G\coverage Design Automotive Counterfeiting Reader Offer Why design matters for Sensor technology set to ‘Advice on how to fight Win a PSoC 4 M-Series kit crowdfunding and beyond make waves the fakes from CypressDESIGN MARKETS & TRENDS '* Design guidance from SOLIDWORKS. engineers and technical managers. ‘* Hundreds of whitepapers, videos and feature articles with tips and tricks on taking your product to the next level. KICKSTARTER: WHY PRODUCT DESIGN MATTERS. Heather Corcoran who leads outreach for Kickstarter in Europe gave an informative talk on the importance of product design. Full details of this presentation can be seen on page 22. SEYMOURPOWELL: MAKING THINGS BETTER Matthew Cockerell, Creative and Board Director at Seymourpowell gave a talk about not only the importance of user experience within the design process of oT products, but also the ethical responsibilities of designers to change the way products are made. Four tips to make things better in loT product design: Feed your head: Think about the user and identify the problems; understand other transferable research; design for the process; know your maker to understand constraints and opportunities, and to ensure build quality Designing the experience: Story telling is valuable to the user experience. Fast reality: Work backwards and prototype the ‘feeling that your product wil create forthe user Changing the way products are made: Understand where the materials you need come from and whether they are sourced ‘from conflict zones. SPECIAL PROJECTS ‘Adrian Westway, Co-Founder and Director of ‘Technologies of Special Projects, a design and invention studio, shared his insights in product design. Special Projects’ inspiring mission statement is, ‘To enhance the unquentifiable aspects of ife: empathy, well-being, delight, with meaningful design and invention’. ‘These driving factors were clear in Westway's talk as he described a project they had undertaken to design a consumer friendly phone for the elderly. Unsurprisingly, as the event's theme became ever-more cemented, he placed the importance of product design in the research, particularly in consumer research. The proof of this approach was in the product pudding, and in the solution Special Projects presented to their client, ‘Samsung, as shown in the video below.ae Er aSpecifier COMMENT 6. Delays, more delays and marketing Reports that may have missed the front page NEWS 8, International Robotics Showcase Registration now open MARKETS & TRENDS 10. User experience and design in lol products Electronic Specifier reports from the latest Hardware Pioneers event COMMUNICATIONS 12, Addressing vulnerability of non-IP wireless protocols How do you provide end-to-end lot security? EVENT REVIEW 16. Can Indonesia become a high-tech hub? Steve Rogerson reports from the Inatronics show DESIGN 22. Why design matters for crowdfunding Kickstarter's Heather Corcoran talks to Electronic Specifier ey COUNTERFEITING 40. Fighting the fakes The tole of algorithmic security Eto: Joe Bush sd Seles: Head Ofce: Jpebusn@elecvoncssccttercom Ben Price ErecroncSpecter Lid bon prs@elecronicepectioraem — Comice Pace, Woodkala Ferm Edtoral Assistant Gravelly Weys, Lacing Daley Stapiey-Sunten Publishing Orecter Kent. MEI8 BDA ply burien® Steve Fegriet Tet-01622 671944 ‘lectronicspecrtarcom Sieve egnerSelsctoniepectiarcem yn alectonlespacitercomDESIGN EDITOR'S COMMENT Political parties are not immune from cyber hacks Cyber security experts have warned that a cyber attack on a UK political party is only a matter of time. tthe time of writing the finger- establish manufacturing in the Far East. However, pointing, mud-slinging and back- rising labour costs in the country over the last few years have meant that it isnot the overwhelming peered ‘hall joteeneseleiection number one choice that it once was. A number of ESSE eS: other options are beginning to emerge in the region However, this year, more so than ever before, the main political protagonists have more than just the opposition parties to worry about. Security experts have issued a stark warning that itis only a matter of time before UK political parties are a target for eyber hackers. In addition, the fragmented, ad-hoc structure of Political election campaigns, combined with greater local power in the UK system, increases vulnerability in comparison to well-secured governments. Indeed, many MPs have admitted that it is only recently that ‘information security’ has started being used as a term, and, currently jonesia tops that list. Slightly closer to home, Electronic Specifier attended the latest in a series of events from Hardware Pioneers in London, a community of thousands of pioneers building IoT products. Startup founders, executives, engineers and developers meet every month in the capital to listen to expert presentations and exchange ideas. An overview of the whole event can be found on page 10. We also talk more closely with one of the event's presenters Heather Corcoran from Kickstarter on the key role of product design in the Read more on page 9. crowdfunding process. 9e00@e Our roving reporter Steve Rogerson has been on his travels again. This month he reports from the Inatronies show in Indonesia. China has traditionally been the first port of call for companies looking to READER OFFER - CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR WIN the PSoC 4 M-Series Pioneer Kit From Cypress ‘The PS0C 4 M-Series Pioneer Kit is a low cost development platform enabling the design and debug of embedded systems based on the PSG 4200M ARM Cortex-MO MCU. Some features include 65 GPIOs and RTC, CAN, and DMA controller peripherals. This kit includes the industry's best CapSense, with support for swipe and circular gestures. In addition, Cypress supports flexible prototyping through this solution by featuring a set of on-board sensors, including an Ambient Light Sensor, 3-Axis Accelerometer and Temperature Sensor as well as headers that are compatible with multiple hobbyist ecosystems including Raspberry Pi and Arduino Uno. uk.farnell.com/es-psocamPIC® & AVR® MCUs Together Your Possibilities are Unlimited You have a desire to make technology smarter, more efficient and accessible to everyone, Microchip has a passion for developing products and tools that make it easier for you ta solve your design problems and adapt to future needs. Microchips portfolio of more than 1,200 8-bit PIC® and AVR® microcontrollers is not only the industry: large it incorporates the latest technologies to enhance system performance while reducing power consumption and development time. With 45 years of combined expetience developing commercially available and cost-effective MCUs, Microchip is the supplier of ch due to its strong legacy and history in innovation, Key Features > Autonomous peripherals > Low-power performance > Industry-leading robustness » Easy development “DIREeT AS\ Microcuip www.microchip.com/8bitEUUNDER THE RADAR DESIGN Delays, more delays and marketing... teve Rogerson looks at some of the news that may have missed the front page. ‘My travels in the past month took me to Jakarta for the Inatronics electronies show. I ‘was quite excited about this as I had been hearing a lot about the advancements in Indonesia's electronics industry and it would be good to see it first hand. However, my confidence in their technological capability was dented as early as passport control, when the computer system went Steve Rogerson _down, Iwas actually at the desk when this occurred. After about 20 minutes, I asked the official oe behind the desk if this happened often. He shrugged: “It goes down, they repair it, it comes back roving reporter, up, it goes down again.” bxinging you al the latest news ‘must admit I was a little unimpressed with this, thinking, this does not happen at UK airports. ‘rom arounc the Well, the total delay was about 30 minutes, which is not bad compared with British Airways, industry which cancelled all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick for what was — at the time of writing — sigh rade being described as a ‘power supply issue’. shows can be tiring, but surely Passengers at Gatwick though should the best pace at least have been able to find their for ecasc AO way around as I hear the airport has fate aw installed 2,000 beacons to create of the seminar Augmented Reality (AR) wayfinding. roombetween So T want to fly from Gatwick to try this soins, os out. It may become my first check when etreroses looking to book my next flight despite ‘seemed to think. me living all the way up in Nottingham. Witching them suddenly wakeup Anyway, back to the Jakarta passport ‘when the seminar wghen the ser’ control delay. This prepared me for Githehghights _ the general lack of concern about time ofthe event in the city. Everyone seemed to take a rather chilled attitude to delays. The opening ceremony of the show, for example, was 40 min- utes late starting, with obvious knock-on effects. Atthe show, my eye was caught by Zhongshan Pengjie Lighting’s stand. It had a lighting range called IPad because of its shape. “Do Apple know about this,” I asked a woman called Cherry. She laughed, and smiled, and shook her head. OK, I won't tell them if you won't. ‘Meanwhile, my award for the worst written press release of the month goes to Swedish company H&D Wireless. Distributed by PR Newswire, who should know better, the opening sentence was a staggering 69 words long and had so many clauses that, even after reading it three times, I still don't know what its about. However, clever marketing move of the month goes to Texas Instru- ‘ments at the London press launch of its mm-wave sensors. Note the ‘mm’ in mm-wave, and yes weal got a small bag of M&Ms. Lovely. 6 electronicspecitier.comPeetNEWS DESIGN EVENTS (On 13th-14th June, international specialists will gather at the Unmanned Cargo Aircraft conference (UCA, including aircraft, ships and ground vehicles as well their logistics) and discuss the latest developments, challenges and prospects of the unmanned world. UCA are about to bring massive disruptions to the transport sector, EDUCATION In order to take research findings out of the lab and put them into the hands of those who can best exploit them, Cardiff University has launched the Institute for Compound Semiconductors (CS). The aim is to bridge the exploitation gap, or ‘valley of death’. The ICS aims to position South East Wales as the European leader in compound semiconductors, providing facilities that help researchers and industry work together to meet consumer demand. SECURITY With holiday season looming large, many people are making pians for international travel. If you are one of them itis important that you have done all you can to take responsibilty for cyber security when traveling, Darren Guccioni, Co-Founder and GEO of Keeper Security, has offered some cyber security travel ti. 8 clectronicspecitier.com The best and worst UK ci When planning your next move, perhaps you should take into consideration the results of consumer group Which? and analyst OpenSignal’s recent report. After measuring data from mobile phones across 20 UK cities, the best and worst locations for 4G ies for 4G coverage have been revealed. Analysis of over 500 million data readings, taken from over 30,000 users of the OpenSignal app, found that Middlesbrough is the best place to get connected, with an average 4G availability of 82.7%, while Bournemouth is the worst with only 67.5%. London was ranked 16th of the 20 cities studied. This report comes a few months after a government infrastructure watchdog found that the UK's 4G mobile coverage is much less than that of Japan and the US. Globally, the UK was ranked only 54th. Registration now open for International Robotics Showcase The registration for the pinnacle event of UK Robotics Week 2017, the International Robotics Showcase, is now open. Jointly organised by the EPSRC UK-RAS Network and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the International Roboties Showcase will take place at [ET Savoy Place in London from 9.00-6.30 on goth June. ‘The full-day programme includes exclusive talks by world renowned experts in science and technology, panel discussions, exhibitions, robot demonstrations and an award ceremony for competition winners demonstrating cutting edge roboties innovation.DESIGN NEWS SUSTAINABLE SMART CITY PLATFORM On 25th May the Environmental Industries Commission formally launched a cross-sector free-to-access smart cities platform. This platform brings together all those using smart technologies or big data to create cleaner, greener and more sustainable city environments. Matthew Farrow, EIC Executive Director, stated: “This initiative meets areal need: bringing together a disparate market; matching cities facing, environmental challenges with new, innovative solutions; and providing an evidence base to unlock investment.” POLITICAL HACK ONLY A matter of time say security experts As the UK’s general election fast approaches, a leading security expert has warned that a British political party will be at risk of a cyber attack. Whether it be an email hack or phishing, it seems that the question is not if it will happen, but when. Speaking to The Guardian, James Norton, a former official at the US Department of Homeland Security and head of the security consultancy Play-Action Strategies, said: “It wouldn't surprise me if there's already been some emails stolen... it would surprise me if it ROBOTICS With recent growth in autonomous flying drones, Mirko Bernacchi, Mouser Electronics, explained that getting underwater drones to market will be far harder than UAVs. Underwater drones face substantial challenges, because many navigation and communication technologies that we take for granted are ineffective in water. AUTOMOTIVE Each year, new cars are being equipped with electronic systems that improve vehicle performance, add comfort and convenience, and war, detect and take corrective measures to keep drivers safe and alert. Consumer demand and government mandates for many of these new systems, along with rising prices for many IC components within them, are expected to raise the automotive IC market 22% this year to a new record high of $285. MEDICAL Researchers have developed a device to map the brain during surgery and distinguish between healthy and diseased tissues. The device provides higher resolution neural readings than existing tools Used in the clinic and could enable doctors to perform safer, more precise brain surgeries. The device is an improved version of a clinical tool called an electrode gria. lectronicspecifier.com 9DESIGN MARKETS & TRENDS User experience and design in loT products Electronic Specifier Editor Daisy Stapley-Bunten attended one of Hardware Pioneers’ events to learn about user experience and design in loT products. ardware Pioneers is a group of H professional building products and companies within connected technology that come together to create a community for support, with more than 6,000 members. With guest speakers, Q&As, demos and community announcements, Hardware Pioneers events are worthwhile for any software engineer who wants to learn more about the industry, make contacts or even progress their own product. SOLIDWORKS FOR ENTREPRENEURS Greg Smith, Director of Startup Advocacy ‘and Community Applications highlighted how SOLIDWORKS help startups to go from idea, to product, to business in mechanical design software. They offer an 10 etectronicspecifier.com Entrepreneurship Program which offers the following resources: * SOLIDWORKS design tools such as SOLIDWORKS Premium, SOLIDWORKS Electrical Professional and SOLIDWORKS Composer. + Over ten hours of free oniine learning with MySolidWorks.com. © Akick-off call with the SOLIDWORKS for Entrepreneurs team and Customer Marketing Program Manager. © Co-marketing opportunities such as speaking opportunities at SOLIDWORKS events, and promotion in SOLIDWORKS campaigns and social communities.COMMUNICATIONS DESIGN Addressing vulnerability of non-IP wireless protocols Guillaume Crinon, Innovation Technical Marketing Manager and John Jones, Director of Innovation, Avnet Silica, look at how best to provide end-to-end loT security. ight: Figure 1. Schematic showing the different networks being utilised and their respective security attributes change in how many facets of modern day society work. Through it, all manner of different devices (such as sensors, smart meters, robots etc.) will be connected to industrial network infrastructure, often in huge numbers. However, worries about security are stil putting a question mark over how quickly everything is actually going to proliferate. | nternet of Things (loT) represents a dramatic Estimates on the number of connected loT nodes vary, but one thing is certain - in the relatively near future, the figure is going be measured in several tens of billions. Analyst LAN Local wired or wireless Paes firm IHS, for example, predicts that there will be 30.7 billion loT nodes in operation by 2020 and, furthermore, this tally will have more than doubled by 2025. In the vast majority of cases, loT nodes will connect to existing network infrastructure via low power wireless technologies (such as 12. electronicspecifier.com Pere ee Bluetooth, 802.11x, ZigBee, Z-Wave, etc). Herein lies the problem that enterprises now face - such arrangements leave ample opportunity for security breaches, either in the form of industrial espionage or possibly even malicious attacks. oT has been around as a concept for well over a decade (the phrase first being coined in the late 1990s, with some suggesting that the initial idea goes back even further than that). It is really only in the last few years that it has started to become valued as a viable technology though - with a number of WAN . Cellular, DSL, fiber, etc See ee ies i different application dynamics having driven demand, as well as the emergence of all the necessary supporting electronics and communication standards. Put very simply, IoT is going to rely on the transfer of data across an array of differentDESIGN COMMUNICATIONS networks, passing from the WLAN to the WAN, then on to IP core, or possibly to the cloud (depending on the nature of the application). For each of these networks there are specific protocol stacks and accompanying security mechanisms in place (as illustrated in Figure 1) - with IPsec relating to IP, 802.11x/ZigBee/Bluetooth attended to by WPA, etc. It must be recognised, however, that this in no way constitutes true end-to-end security, At the moment itis stil a piecemeal arrangement with some parts being much better equipped than others to deal with security threats. CONNECTIVITY BRINGS ADDED RISKS Now it must be admitted that the continued progression of our connected society is going to have certain, almost unavoidable, security risks associated with it. For example, the emergence in recent years of the ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) culture - with company employees connecting their personal laptops, tablets and smartphones to the enterprise network - had serious security implications for IT managers. With the advent of IoT, this is going to be taken a lot further. The more assets that any enterprise has connected to their network, the greater their exposure to potential security threats will be. Comparatively speaking, BYOD only represents a modest risk, as, the number of devices involved is likely to be relatively small and itis within a controlled environment, whereas, the quantity of connected IoT nodes could potentially be vast. IP version 4 (IP v4) is already starting to be supplanted by IPV6. This enables an exponential increase in the number of available addresses, supports higher speeds and has the benefit of network layer security. Nevertheless, it will take a considerable length time before this is prevalent throughout all aspects of our communication infrastructure. Though in some western countries the penetration of IPv6 can be somewhere between 20 and 40%, elsewhere in the World it is much lower than this (and in some places pico Toes cs te ela PERFORMANCE 8-CHANNEL OSCILLOSCOPE 20 MHz bandwidth The PicoScope 4824 is a low-cost, portable solution for multiinput applications. With 8 high-resolution analog channels you can easily analyze audio, ultrasound, vibration, power and timing of complex. systems. The PicoScope 4824 has the power and functionality to deliver accurate results. It also features deep memory to analyze multiple serial buses such as UART, °C, SPI, CAN, CAN FD and LIN plus control and driver signals Also features: + High-performance arbitrary waveform generator ‘Advanced digital triggers Serial bus decoding SuperSpeed USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface Windows, Mac and Linux software NAR ieee os For more information please visit ‘www picotech.com/PS507 ‘lectronicspecifier.com 13COMMUNICATIONS DESIGN Below: Figure: 2. Functional block diagram of Avnet Slica’s ‘microcontroller stack for loT implementation Cortex MO + secure element Veet) totally non-existent). Statistics from Google suggest that currently not much higher than ten percent of global internet traffic can be attributed to IPV6. Now, despite the fact that this is expected to ramp up considerably in the next few years, even then it still will not be in a position to cover the network in its entirety. IPv6 over low power wireless personal area networks (GLOWPAN) is the route via which the IPv6 communication protocol will disseminate into the loT sphere, but this is still in a relatively nascent phase. AS a result the likelinood is that IP-based security is not going to be resent in the low power wireless protocols et mee Eee) that loT connectivity will be dependent upon until the 2024/25 timeframe at the earliest. The modules that make up loT nodes have a completely different set of characteristics from any other items of hardware connected to an enterprise network (servers, routers, eto), They need to have a compact form factor and low unit cost, as well as exhibiting extremely energy efficient operation (as in many circumstances they will be battery operated and will thus have to adhere to a minimal power budget) ‘This consequently affects the way in which 14 electronicspecifier.com Gateway converts sensor light certificates into X509 certificates to bridge between sensor and server their security capabilities are realised. Their bill of materials and size both put restrictions on the memory and processing resources that can be accessed, and this in turn means that there is not sufficient space for storing the sophisticated cryptographic algorithms that need to be applied. With, as already discussed, the incorporation of IP capabilities into lower power wireless protocols still several years away, it is not possible for standard Transport Layer Security (TLS), which relies on IP, to be utilised by loT nodes. Its clear, therefore, that security cannot just be confined to a solely IP-centric approach oy TLS IP security Server sees X509 certificates and TLS transactions down to the sensor over the gateway ~ it has to go beyond this. Now it is not really 0 daunting a problem for enterprises to cover everything from the server down to the gateway. They have basically been doing this for a very long time. However, there is. ‘a major challenge for their engineers when it comes to extending this further, so that the LAN aspect is fully addressed - the ‘last mile’ in the network. They need to find a way to securely connect loT nodes to IP-based networks using non-IP wireless protocols (such as Bluetooth, eto). As well as this, another concem is Provisioning - whereby the programmingDESIGN COMMUNICATIONS of unique identifiers into the loT node's memory is carried out in-situ, just prior to connection with the remote server to which it has been allocated. This, can be a complicated, time consuming and above all, costly procedure. Furthermore, there is a fundamental flaw in terms of its security, as if is going to be fully, effective, the key that relates to each node should be regularly updated. The more often this happens, the better the protection offered will be. The practicaities of sending operatives out into the field to renew keys Means that this rarely (f ever) happens. Yet. without doubt, this compromises network security Given that full TLS would be too heavy a strain on low power wireless infrastructure, it has become clear to certain forward-thinking companies in the industry that the best way to overcome this issue is to develop a more streamlined alternative. By employing a rationalised version of TLS that is able to support its most critical functions, the necessary safeguarding of the network can be achieved, ‘but without a large data overhead needing to be factored in. To be deemed completely effective, this would have to be able to deal with mutual authentication between the server and the loT node, as well as session key distribution eto. SECURITY PARTNERSHIPS Avnet Silica has established itseff as a partner to customers who need to implement high level security within their networks, and with the roll-out of loT technology now beginning in earnest it is focussing its efforts on this particular area. Through its cooperation with embedded software specialist Ubiquios, the company has been able to develop a Proprietary streamlined microcontroller stack, with related secure element support coming from the team at Trusted Objects. This stack (as detailed in Figure 2) can handle stripped-down TLS derivatives that will be utilized at the network edge. Thanks to it, the specification and sourcing of high performance microcontrollers is no longer needed at gateways. Instead simple Cortex-MO-based units will more than suffice. The systems into which the stack is, embedded are thereby destined to be more cost effective and energy efficient, as well as being a lot simpler to implement. ‘Showcasing this technology is Avnet Silica’s newly introduced security reference design that is able to reach past what standard TLS can achieve. This is based on the company’s Visible Things platform, which comprises tested, proven, secure and highly integrated hardware and advanced embedded softwere. It relies on cryptography algorithms that have shorter keys (which are ECC-based rather than RSA-based) and therefore have less impact on processing resource and the loT nodes battery reserves. The upshot is that it can provide engineers with an X509 certificate compliant solution that respects the conventions of IP-based security, but in the context of low power wireless, connectivity. In addition, this ground breaking technology significantly simplifies device provisioning. This can have a number of benefits. Firstly, the training that field operatives need will be less, secondly, they will be able to deal with the provisioning of more devices in a day - making the process much quicker to complete and increasing productivity levels. Finally, as devices can be identified directly from the server, the local key can be renewed remotely (rather than needing to send an operative back ‘out to do this manually). This means that sending operatives out into the field no longer needs to even be contemplated. The key associated with each node can be renewed on @ regular basis, and a high degree of security thus maintained, without any costs being accrued. The creation of an architecture where non IP-based nodes can now safely be connected with IP-based networks means that enterprises will be able to have greater confidence in their loT deployments. It also signifies that the industry is being brought closer than ever to the long term objective of end- to-end security. Avnet Silica ‘lectronicspecifier.com 15EVENT REVIEW: INATRONICS DESIGN Can Indonesia become ‘ot so long ago China was the place [sere cota esa ron factory in the Far East. However, today higher labour costs in the country have forced companies to consider the alternatives, and rising fast in most people's list is Indonesia ‘And while Thailand and Vietnam are seen by some as more viable options, the local Indonesian market, with @ population of 260 million, would make it attractive for consumer goods even without strict government regulations that say, if you want to sell in Indonesia then 40% of the end product has to be made there. 16 electronicspecifier.com Steve Rogerson reports from the Inatronics electronics show in Jakarta, Indonesia. This has already led to mobile phone makers such as Apple and Samsung having factories in the country, but now the government wants to go further by developing the country into a research and develooment hub. “So far what we have got are mostly joint ventures with local companies, but keeping the big brand name, from Japan or South Korea,” said Baki Lee, Project Director at Gem Indonesia, the organiser of May's Inatronies show in Jakarta. "Our main competitor is Thailand, the biggest factory in southern Asia. But now many are moving to Indonesia because our labour costs are lower and we have a big population.”ence oun AC-DC Power Supplies #502000 Wats + Work's smallost designs + ITE & medical approvals + Efficiencies up 0 95% + Level V extemal * Custom & configurable options DC-DC Converters 0.25 to 600 Watts Single, dual & tiple outputs * Ulta compact designs SIP, DIP & SMD formats ‘= DIN rail & chassis mount versions, ‘= Medical & ralway approvals: XP Power DC-High Voltage DC +010 10K + Reguiated & proportional + Single & dual outputs * Utra compact designs + Custom & modified standards + 010 100% programmable POWERING THE WORLD'S CRITICAL SYSTEMSEVENT REVIEW: INATRONICS DESIGN | WATRIETICcs = ‘Above: Danie! Giovanni, Communications Manager at Jakerta Smart City ‘The 40% restriction applies to any company selling more than 10,000 units a year into the country. The local content is usually the likes of cables, mouldings and PCBs - Indonesia has a very strong cable industry. They also have to meet SNI (Standard National Indonesia) if they are selling more than 10,000. “New players coming into the market can test, the water if they are selling less than 10,000,” said Lee. “They don't need a factory here, but any more than that and they will” Sin) | And for consumer electronics, itis a worthwhile market to get into with annual mobile phone sales slightly higher in numbers than the 260 millon population. “Everyone wants to change their phone,” said Lee. “They want the latest one. We are a consumer country. Everyone wants to build their smartphone factory here. The biggest is Samsung. Apple is here too. We also have Polytron and LG.” BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE A lack of an export agreement between Taiwan and Indonesia has also seen a number of Talwanese companies building 18. electronicspecifier.com factories in the country. This has been boosted by tax incentives for those investing more than $200,000 in a factory. Two years ago, the government introduced tax holidays of up to ten years as the norm with the option of extending this to 25 years in some circumstances. They can also apply to have an import tax of zero for materials being used in the factory. “We need this because we are competing with Vietnam and Thailand to attract companies from China and Taiwan.” said Lee. “Also, some electronics companies in China are not allowed to export to Europe so they build their factories in Indonesia to get round that.” However, while the country is attracting manufacturing, Lee admits that it is not so strong when it comes to developing the technology. That could soon change. “The government has a long term plan that by 2030, Indonesia must have research centres for high end technology," said Lee. “They are cooperating with big companies such as Apple, which is going to build a research centre in Indonesia this year.” The government is also backing the establishment of specialist electronics departments in universities. ‘And the country knows that to move forward these days it must embrace the Internet of Things (loT), especially the big data aspects. ‘To meet this it has established the Asosiasi Big Data Indonesia (ABD). Itis also aware of the dangers. “The amount of data is still growing exponentially,” said Rudi Rusdiah, CEO of the ABDI. “But itis only the tip of the iceberg when you look at Facebook and Google. ‘The rest is all below that, such as in the darkEVENT REVIEW: INATRONICS web where you find the criminals and drug dealers. There are so many people producing data on the internet.” He also acknowledged that data does not have to be big to be important. “Small data is more structured and you can do analytics,” he said. “Big data is semi-structured but it must be an asset to a company. You need to get value out of the data and the analytics must be fast.” He said what was commonplace for businesses was to have the data but not knowing how to integrate it into what else they were doing. “They need to get good value out of the data,” said Rusdiah. “They need to learn how to monetise the data.” Because of this he said the ABDI was adopting a SMART strategy: S - Start with Strategy; M - Mine and Measure the data: ‘A~ Analyse the data; R - Report the Results; ed and T — Transform the business with decision making abilities. THINKING DIFFERENTLY “Big data represents a new way of thinking,” he said. “This is not just about technology.” Hotels, he said, were a good example of using data to match supply and demand for rooms. Taxi companies are also being Gigitised with the likes of Uber, which doesn’t have vehicles but does own data, “We are moving from hindsight to insight to foresight,” he said. In Indonesia, big deta is being used to help the agriculture industry. The country has around 80 milion farms and big data is being used to help increase crop yields. The country's tax office has also adopted big data. ‘And in the Kesehatan district of Indonesia the health service has started to use big data in areas such as x-rays.EVENT REVIEW: INATRONICS DESIGN “Here, protecting the data is important,” said Rusdiah. “That is why ransomware attacks are targeting hospitals.” He said Indonesia was also looking at how other countries were using big data, notably Boston in the US where the use has helped reduce crime by nearly half and in Singapore for controlling traffic, particularly buses. “In Jakarta, the registered population is six milion, similar to Singapore, and we are trying to get more people to use public transport to reduce traffic jams,” he said. ‘We are looking at analysing the traffic to help people know how long it will take them to get to their destination.” As part of that process, Jakarta Smart City was established in 2015 to look at all aspects at improving life in the city with the particular deadline of improving the infrastructure in time for next year’s Asian Right: Rudi Fusdieh, CEO Games, which are being held in Indonesia. Part of that is collecting data from all the Below: Baki _transactions across the city and using the Lee, Project analysis of that data for policy making. Director at Gem Indonesia, the ‘organiser of| May's inatronics show in Jakarta This is being done through the introduction of the Jakarta One Card, a payment card that can be used for various transactions. “This consists of a registered card and an anonymous card combined,” said Daniel Giovanni, Communications Manager at Jakarta ‘Smart City. “The current Indonesian president — Joko Widodo - was once the governor of Jakarta and he had ideas of how to use data and IT in the city. Since then, we have been collecting data on the compiaints people make and using that to help decide policies.” One aspect of this was the creation of a mobile phone app to let ctizens report problems. It sed to take an average of more than 170 hours to resolve reported problems such as illegal garbage dumping and so on. By December last year that had come down to nine hours. CONCLUSION While visitors to Jakarta may be unimpressed by the traffic jams and the poor state of roads and pavements, beneath the surface the country is looking to improve its infrastructure to become a more attractive venue for electronics companies to establish not just an office but factories and research and development facilities. With strong government incentives, the country has the potential to succeed in becoming a high-tech hub in south-east Asia.EVENT REVIEW: INATRONICS MOUSER ELECTRONICS. TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TPA3244 Ultra-HD Pad Down Class-D Amplifiers » Optoelectronics =» Power = Industry Focus on Energy Editorial deadline: 23rd June 2017 Advertising deadline: 30th June 2017 Managing Editor Advertising Sales Manager Be eos Gaeve pas slate Wsisanel aDESIGN DESIGN = J : Why. design mattersifor’ | crowdfunding and de eral Heather Corcoransleads outreach for Kickstarter in the UK and Europe, with a focus, on the design and.technology communities: Based in London, shé Works closely with innovators, creators and makers who use Kickstarter to bring new products to life. At May's Hardware Pioneers event in London she offered some tips for designers looking for crowdfunding. ¥ cultivating relationships with creators and organisations in the hardware space Corcoran and her team had a front row seat at the tectonic shift that has happened in the world of hardware product design, driven by the democratisation of tools to prototype and manufacture, and access to funding. In the eight years since Kickstarter’s inception, Corcoran has seen, specifically in the design and technology space, over $1bn 22. clectronicspecitier.com pledged, 8,000 successful projects and over five million backers. This makes Kickstarter the largest crowding platform in terms of a ‘community of people. “I'm really thrilled about design and it’s something | care deeply about at Kickstarter,” said Corcoran. “While I'm not a designer myself | can make a case for good design and some of the most successful products on Kickstarter have also won some of the most prestigious design awards in the world. So, successful design goes hand-in-hand with successful campaigns and that goes hand-in-hand with successful businesses long term.” Harnessing the key attributes from some of the most successful Kickstarter projects, Corcoran has compiled five top tips for any designer that is considering crowdfunding. DESIGN FOR A SPECIFIC PROBLEM Corcorun explained: “Product design is more than what a product looks like, the material choice and the design language. It’s about solving a problem for the user. But to do that well, you need to define a specific problem that is meaningful to. your design process." ‘The example given was the Lumos Helmet (left) which won the London Design Museum, Design of the Year 2016, and was brought to life on Kickstarter with the help of 6,000 backers pledging $800,000. The productDESIGN DESIGN isa bicycle helmet with an integrated light that illuminates when the cyclist slows down, and has indicators for right and left turns. The product was conceived in a hackathon by the two founders who were avid cyclists. Their ultimate problem was that cycling needs to be safer. Of course there are numerous ways in which cyclists are unsafe on the road and so this is a very broad issue. They needed to break the problem down. Their research and experience found that drivers tend to get confused over the unpredictability of cyclists on the road to the extent that they didn't know where they were heading next, which can cause accidents. “They really honed into that problem, so the Lumos team really designed for a specific problem,” Corcoran added. DESIGN FOR THE WHOLE PRODUCT EXPERIENCE A good example of this is the Kano Computer Kit (right), @ simple kit to make a computer and learn to code, which won the Cannes Golden Lion award in 2014. Corcoran continued: “They really took the time to merge product and packaging into one seamless experience. Their design strategy was to make their design intuitive and accessible for children with lots of custom colour coded parts. Their packaging design was well suited for neat storage as well as being able to fit through a letter box. The process was really about creating a brand experience across the whole product. Hardware companies (perhaps more so than software companies), need to be better at building total brand experiences.” DESIGN WITH A COMMUNITY ‘The creators of Artiphon Instrument 1 (see next page) got this right after raising $1m on Kickstarter. The project is a musical instrument mini-controller, ‘on that community of musicians for testimonials, to be their earliest backers and to be their most ardent supporters, which was very powerful.” ITERATE YOUR PRODUCT DESIGN “This can be very difficult for startups to swallow, but a good ‘example would be the Cubetto which is Kickstarter's largest ‘educational-based project that teaches children the fundamentals of programming logic,” Corcuran continued. “It won the Red Dot or keytar, for the modern age, with a user interface that allows for a variety of different user experiences ~ strumming, sliding, tapping etc. “The interface is very important to musicians,” added Corcoran, “So throughout the development process, Artiphon worked very closely with musicians to test the product and to see what they could do with it “The musicians didn’t just feed into the development of the product but, at the crowdfunding stage, the company could draw Design Award 2016 among others. It was launched originally in 2014 as a kind of build-your-own kit, but they built a community and a network and came back to Kickstarter with their next project two years later, which was the ‘one that broke all the records. ‘So maybe you don't need to take such a huge step in the first instance. Maybe you can get a project to market in stages and learn at each stage." KNOW HOW TO TELL YOUR PRODUCT STORY ‘lectronicspecifier.com 23DESIGN DESIGN This is something that all of these examples have in common. It's a real skill and one that Corcoran considers to be an important part of the design process. “Start with the basics rather than a long list of features,” she added. “Distil your product's features and prioritise them into the top one to three core features rather than ten plus. Don’t just include technical features and consider the user experience and the user benefit that you are enabling with that feature, You should also define the value proposition, and if you get these things right it means that you really know what your product is all about, and the other things that you're trying to communicate will fall into place.”INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN Sensor technology set to make waves At a recent event in London, Texas Instruments (T!) unveiled a new sensor portfolio aimed at automotive radar, industrial and infrastructure applications, bringing what the company claims is a new level of precision sensing to the industry. Electronic Specifier attended the launch event where Greg Delagi, Senior Vice President, Embedded Processing and Sameer Wasson, General Manager, Processors, at Texas Instruments discussed the new offering. Ltomakers are designing new vehicles with A: range of diverse technologies to keep up with ever-growing consumer demand for increased safety, comfort, convenience and energy efficiency. For example, with around 94% of global road accidents attributed to human error, several countries are now mandating that all vehicles must be equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) by 2020. As a consequence shipments of ADAS components are expected to increase from 218 millon units in 2016 to 1.2 billion units in 2025, To mest this demand and a range of applications spanning the automotive, factory and building automation and medical markets, T's new millimetre wave (mmWave) single-chip Metal-Oxide ‘Semiconductor (CMOS) portfolio includes five solutions across two families of 76-81GHz sensors with a complete end-to-end development platform. TI claim that the portfolio delivers up to three times more. accurate sensing than current mmWave solutions on the market Speaking at the launch event Delagi commented: “Texas Instruments invests very heavily in innovation and we are very excited about this announcement as we believe it will be a real pioneering technology. This new portfolio is a culmination of investments that began almost a decade ago and has evolved over time, so it’s very 26. lectronicspecifier.com exciting to finally introduce it to the market.” A CHANGING MARKET PLACE ‘The pace of change in the automotive industry means that, according to TI, there could be ten milion self-driving cars on the road by 2020. Regardless of whether that figure is accurate, the importance of the role that electronics is playing in the advancements of cars is undeniable, and we are on a journey towards cars becoming mote autonomous in nature. A key enabling technology for this to happen is of course, semiconductors. A typical AADAS incorporates various sensing technologies along with advanced processing and communication capabilities and, as such, automakers rely heavily on suppliers to provide these automotive electronics. The need for sensing in the automotive industry is growing rapidly as technology develops, and is aimed at applications such as range detection, object detection and arrival angle. Sensors may have to penetrate other materials such as glass or plastic, Whilst still being able to maintain sensing accuracyINDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE ut | > ¥- [0 f= al sors TI's mite portfolio of 76-81 GHz mmWave sensors scales from high performance front-end to single chip solutions that integrate a DSP and MCU _ without any disruption. The surrounding environment also has to be considered i.e. rain, fog, dust, light and darkness. Alllof these factors can impede the ability to sense so despite the growing demand, sensing technologies in automotive environments also face huge challenges to be robust enough to maintain performance to an optimum level This is where, as Delagi expiained, TI's AWR1x mmWave sensor portfolio comes in: “We believe that mmWave technology is the only sensing technology that is robust enough to meet these kinds of challenges. And, in terms of getting these products to market, we're well placed as we have one of the broadest product portfolios in the industry and we invest in bringing out highly differentiated products on an ongoing basis. “We invest around $1bn a year on R&D with the specific aim to extend those product portfolios. ‘Also, one of the things we have invested in is the infrastructure to be able to manufacture those products and to support a very broad customer 28 base. We serve markets like automotive and industrial and typically customers in those markets want to buy products that last ten to 15 years. So, the infrastructure we have in place enables us to do that. We are also in a unique position in terms of channels to market.” ‘The AWR1x portfolio includes three devices and supports different ADAS radar sensor configurations ranging from USRR, SRR to MRR, to LAR and imaging. Delagi added that mmWave is not anew technology and the automotive industry has been using it for some time. However, he highlighted that current mmWave sensor solutions are inadequate, stating: “In its current form a mmWave system includes a whole bunch of different chips and is large in its implementation, with a number of challenges around accuracy, size, power consumption, time to market and complex design. What we are doing is, introducing the world's smallest (10.4x10.4mm), most precise 76-81GHz mmWave sensor. So we've taken all those separate chips and collapsed it down into a single chip - that's really what's at the heart of theDESIGN INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE revolution we've brought to the industry.” DIFFERENTIATION So, how do TI differentiate its new offering from the rest of the market. Delagi continued: “Firstly we began with CMOS ~ a high volume technology that is used very broadly in the semiconductor industry. This was the basis of what we were going to integrate. There was however, tremendous complexity in terms of Gesign, in order to get these systems to perform in CMOS, but we have years of architecture, circuit design, analogue and mixed signal design experience behind us to get the performance of these chips to where we wanted them to be.” CMOS technology has allowed TI to take integration to the next level, integrating intelligent radar front ends with MCU and DSP capabilities into the AWR1x single-chip portfolio. Processing is co-located with the front end to reduce the size and form factor of the radar systems by 50%. This further enables the efficient mounting of muttiple radar systems. CMOS also holds the key to greater accuracy and Below: summarising the key features Device Frequency band Number of ocaivers ‘Numbar of wanemitors EF bandwidth Max sampling rate IF bandwith Processing Merory MP cs SH Inteaces enabled TI to offer a sensor ten times more accurate ‘than what is currently available, according to Delagi: “The technology can detect distance down to the width of @ human hair. Think about that for a moment in terms of accuracy. Contrast that with something like ultrasonics, which is similar to what is in today’s cars, which will beep when you are a metre away from an object for example. With the distance that can now be detected with our mmWave sensors, what could that mean for accuracy from an application standpoint?” Given the use of multiple discrete components, current radar systems are big and bulky when they really need to be smaller, lower power and cost effective. Sensors have to be miniaturised and optimised in order to adapt to future automated Griving market demands. CMOS technology, combined with power management techniques, has enabled the AWR1x sensors to be low power, which is critical to the automotive industry's development of energy efficient electric vehicles. The AWR1x portfolio. cf each sensor in the AWA! x portfolio ‘AWR1642 ‘Small, low-power, single-chip radar or 4G 4G 40 ss 10MSPS Mie 5 Mi -ARM® Cortx®-RAF 200 Mi ARM Cortex BAF 200 Nie (74x DSP 600 Me Radar hardware acclerator—FFT ST6KD 15NB ea cur ~ om vA electronicspecifier.com 29INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN consumes around 25% of the Power of current solutions, down to 180mW depending on the system and the sensing application Lower power also leads to a cost advantage because designers can now select more economical and lighter housings. Delagi continued: “When you compare this to existing systems it really is a breakthrough in terms of power,” he said. “Low power of course, means things can be made smaller, are less expensive, they don't need a big housing, you don't have to dissipate heat etc. It's very important that, as we are driving power we are also driving miniaturisation, and this leads to the next key feature which is its small footprint. We can drive sensors that are 25mm®. And shrinking this sort of technology down means it can start to bbe used in a very different way compared to how it’s being used today. AUTOMOTIVE FOCUS Traditionally, developers have encountered obstacles when creating Society of Automotive Engineers. (SAB) International Level 2 and above functionality in vehicles, with sensor size and power a particular hindrance. The AWR1x mmWave portiolio allows developers to meet these requirements through built- in quality standards, precision within a small form factor and a low power envelope. Designers have the ability to enhance ADAS and autonomous driving safety features — including ISO 26262, which enables Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL)-B - but also deliver new features such as automated parking assistance, pedestrian detection and occupancy and river monitoring. ‘Sammer Wasson picks up the story: “The automotive family goes through specific automotive level testing, and we have specific ISO 26262 software, which the automotive industry 30 electronicspecifier.com Abave: a demo af th mmWave technology needs. These devices are custom-built for the automotive market. “By looking deeper and speaking to customers, there isn’t one standard use case across the automotive market. Each customer wants to use the technology in a slightly different way. So what we've come up with is a family of devices to cover a number of use cases ranging from a high performance front end for a higher level of integrated elements, all the way to a single-chip solution with MCU, DSP and RF front end. “An important thing to mention is that all of the devices are linked with the common mmWave SDK software, and that is fundamental to our approach to our customers, because being able to reuse their RAD across a scalable portfolio of devices is vital and it's something we focus on.” ‘The range of automotive sensors includes radar sensors (mid- and long-range), which covers emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and automated highway driving; and proximity sensing covering occupant detection, body sensing, in-cabin gesture recognition and driver monitoring. These types of proximity sensor already exist in the market but tend to be limited to high end models. Wasson highlighted that this new portfolio will bring this typeDESIGN INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE coe eri) Cee oy 5m-20m ore) or eee q Perec er Caer eciy + Adaptive cruise control ‘+ Automated highway driving ‘= Pedestrian detoction + Bieyciist detection = BSD, RCA, LOA. ‘+ Proximity waming * Parking ‘Stop and go traffic Above: A map of AWR1x mmWave sensors into different ADAS, body and chassis, and in-cabin applications of sensor more into the mainstream as they have been made more robust. Other sensor types in the range include ultra-short and short range radar - covering blind spots, rear collision avoidance/warning, lane change assist, pedestrian/bicyclist detection, collision avoidance, cross traffic alert, 360 degree view and park assist. In adkition, the devices cover dynamic multi-modal operation, where the sensors switch from catering for high speed driving to siow speed manoeuvring and parking scenarios. MARKET POSITION Commenting on TI's position within the mmWave market Delagi concluded: “We've been working with customers on this technology for years, so we've got a pretty good idea of where we stand at this point. There will be others that will build similar technology, so to differentiate, we are providing a family of products, because no matter what sort of customer you talk to, they all have a slightly different topology in terms of what they want to do with a their application. “The applications targeted by the range of sensors are very dynamic and are changing all the time so the idea of a family of products with a common software development capability, is something that we are doing that is dramatically different to our competitors. “The accuracy of these sensors means that there are a never ending number of applications within ‘the car. In all honesty I have no idea which one is going to be the big one, but that's not what we're trying to do. We're trying to enable the technology and the innovation on behaif of our customers and they will be the ones who determine how broadly this technology goes. “We are working with automotive and industrial customers in a very hands-on way and as such, I've never seen quite the reaction to a technology quite like this Texas Instruments electronicspecifier.com 31INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN How will ISO 26262 impact automotive electronics? Automobiles today have more computing power than a fighter jet from the 1960s. There has been a huge influx of electronics integrated throughout a vehicle, including the engine, power train, chassis, body systems, comfort systems, active safety and Driver's Assistance Systems (ADAS). The value of all this technology is upwards of 30% of the automobile's total production cost. Eric Grange of C&K explains. problem is that, unlike a mechanical _ is the industry's attempt at establishing system, electronic systems’ reliability best practices for designing reliable and cannot be easily evaluated —and this safe automotive electronics systems. The fact has already led to nationwide recalls and standard requires that car makers perform other major problems. Many of these events an evaluation of the vehicle design to create were linked to faulty electronics in component an ‘Automotive Safety Integrity Level’ (ASIL) or sub-systems that did not have proper rating that describes the failure impact based Bolow: in-car Quality or resistance levels, an electronic on exposure, controllability and severity. Car rola ae design that dicin't integrate all possible companies use this evaluation to design a ‘and more failure modes, or even control units that vehicle's electronic system architecture. The ‘complex are unable to communicate between each architecture's requirements will be shared along the supply chain - and may have an impact on component selection. ISO 26262 facilitates in-depth discussion between major stakeholders in the production process, including equipment partners, component companies and car makers. ISO 26262’S IMPLICATIONS ON SWITCH SELECTION ‘Switches are not the most expensive component within automotive electronics, but are critical to the success of any project because of their role within electronic units. ISO 26262 doesn't provide straightforward other. Complexity is creating problems for ‘automotive engineers — which is why almost all automakers are building their vehicles guidance as to which switches must be used around the ISO 26262 standard. in specific situations which can be frustrating for some engineers. Rather, the standard ISO 26262 makes the complex electrical provides guidance on what the necessary systems that have created huge unseen reliability or se!f-controllability needs are costs much more safe and reliable. It based on the ASIL safety level. 32. electronicspecifier.comINDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE Below are the five most common areas engineers must keep in mind while designing automobiles: 4. There can be no misinterpretation of turn signals. This means that car makers should look into switches with a clear mechanical position or electrical signal. 2. Electrical systems must be able to selt- detect failures. This is why selecting double- throw switches — which enable mechanics to check and see if a line is open, broken or neither — or switches with differential impedance, is important in electrified handles or latch systems 3. Reliability is paramount under ISO 26262. ‘Automotive companies should incorporate redundancy over the switches to faciltate ‘monitoring on two parallel circuits, which typically requires double-pole switches. If you need high intensity within your system, a double switch solution with haptic on one side and without on the other side will work well. 4, Robust design is important in today's vehicles, so predictable ageing is part of the Left: Switches are not the most expensive ‘component within autornotve electronics, but are critical to the success: of any project because of their role within electronic units standard, Engineers need to understand the implications of each component choice within their electronic unit design. When evaluating switches, |00k for vendors that are able to Perform the necessary testing that guarantees ‘the performance of their products. 5. ISO 26262's emphasis on durability and reliability makes long-life and changeover Switches the most common solution for any switch decision that needs to be made. Tact, snap and pushbutton switches make sense in specific instances but, depending upon ‘the design, keeping things simple is often the best option for engineers. Think of ISO 26262 as the automotive industry's answer to manutacturing’s TS16949 standard. There was resistance at ‘the onset but the standard has since proven its worth in the ensuing years. Following ISO 26262 guidelines as well as the tins above and product designers will be in a prime Position to avoid costly recalls and ensure the quality of their vehicles. C&k electronicspecifier.com 33INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN How to improve TPMS design flow Automobile safety concerns are increasing worldwide and a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) has proven to be a very effective way of reducing single car accidents caused by insufficient tyre pressure. Here, Nicolas Henriet, Senior RF Engineer, Sensata Technologies, describes how the company used high frequency software to enhance the design process and optimise its TPMS performance. 1@ design team at Sensata optimisation with component development time. was able to perform swapping, and EM environmental planar electromagnetic disturbance analysis - all TPMS DESIGN (EM) simulation, Monte-Carlo within a single, integrated CHALLENGES. analysis combined with load- design environment, which Active TPMS technologies pull techniques, parametric saved considerable product must be installed and operate 34 electronicspecifier.comDESIGN INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE on, or within, the tyre. The latest active TPMS are wireless devices that can monitor several critical tyre conditions and provide timely updates to the car’s computer. Figure 1 (below) shows an overview of a wireless TPMS that communicates with the car's computer to provide ongoing critical tyre condition data. In this location on or within the tyre, a TPMS will be subjected to adverse weather conditions, corrosion, physical obstructions, and dirt/grime from road and car conditions. Therefore, TPMS must be extremely rugged, reliable and continue to operate for several years after installation, ‘As most TPMS must rely on non- replaceable battery power, very low standby current drain and low power sensing/transmission are required to extend the battery life. ‘The extremely wide temperature, pressure, and physical forces in which the TEMS must operate, tend to significantly impact circuit behaviour and performance. In order for TPMS to meet rigorous quaity standards, the design must perform within specification over -40°C to +125°C. PCB ANALYSIS. The size and weight constraints of a TPMS require a small Printed Circuit Board (PCB) area, however, cost structures limit the use of custom technologies. In addition, these systems are completely contained, along with onboard power, in a single sealed device embedded with the pressure valve in a tyre. Therefore, careful design of the sensing, control and RF electronics is often implemented using standard Surface Mount Technology (SMT) in highly compact Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Overview Display Module TPMS Transmitter Receiving Antenna lectronicspecifier.com 35INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN ‘Above: Figure 2. The PCB's physical model, such as POB traces, are imported as a sub circult to Microwave Office. This sub circuit can be Used in circuit simulation as well as in EM simulation layouts. However, the parasitios introduced by the close-knit PCB traces have an impact on RF behaviour and must be accounted for when determining component values for optimum overall performance, Hence, the PCB trace leads must be carefully modelled and accounted for prior to selecting optimal inductor, capacitor and resistor component values. To overcome these challenges and begin the optimisation process, the designer imported a DXF file of the PCB traces into NI AWR Design Environment, specifically Microwave Office circuit design software. The PCB traces were imported as a sub-circuit component (Figure 2 - above), which was then simulated in a virtual test bench that provided flexibility in probing voltages and currents using AXIEM 3D planar EM solver to extract the PCB behaviour. Once inside the tool, planar simulation was used to analyse current densities within the EM structure, which can be visualised through colour scaling (Figure 3 - below). Additionally, edge ports were created in the EM simulator to reveal voltages between different circuit sections and currents along specified PCB tracks, allowing the insertion of circuit level components, the values of which would later require optimisation. ‘The designer was able to ensure a proper meshing of the geometry using a built-in ‘snap-to-grid’ function (Figure 4 - opposite). This solved the predominantly high aspect ratio meshing issues with only negligible modification of the geometries of the PCB traces. ‘Along with the TPMS PCB. optimisation, the EM simulator was used to optimise the design of the TPMS antenna. The antenna size, weight and efficiency were an extremely delicate balance in this design. Using shape modifiers and optimisation routines in the simulator, the designer was able Bolow: Figure 3. The AXIEM 30 planar EM simulator enabled elactromagnatic simulation of the imported sub-circuit as an EM structure that can show visual current densities