STMicroElectronics VL53L0X ToF (Time-of-flight) range sensor is a tiny chip that can accurately and quickly measure distance up to 2 meters using laser light. I had the chance to test the sensor via TinyLIDAR board connected Arduino and Raspberry Pi, and found it was a great little sensor. TinyLIDAR includes an STM32 MCU, but you can also find standalone board for as low as about $4 shipped on Aliexpress. However, if 2 meters is too short a range for your project, the good news is that STMicro has now launched VL53L1X ToF “FlightSense” sensor with a range of up to 4 meters. VL53L1X is pin-to-pin compatible with VL53L0X, so existing PCBs could be re-used with the new sensor. STMicro VL53L1X main specifications: Emitter: 940 nm invisible laser (Class1) SPAD (single photon avalanche diode) receiving array with integrated lens Low-power microcontroller running advanced digital firmware Distance Ranging up to 4 meters […]
STMicro STM32WB Dual Core Cortex M4/M0+ MCU Comes with Bluetooth 5 & 802.15.4 Radios
STMicro has announced yet another family part of their STM32 portfolio with STM32WB micro-controller family featuring an Arm Cortex M4 application core, a Cortex M0+ core to offload the main core of networking tasks, as well as Bluetooth 5 and 802.15.4 radios. The MCU’s 802.15.5 radio can run other wireless protocols concurrently, including OpenThread, ZigBee, or proprietary protocols used to connect devices to the Internet of Things (IoT). STM32WB MCUs share the following key specifications: Application Core – Arm Cortex-M4 CPU @ up to 64 MHz with FPU, adaptive real-time accelerator (ART Accelerator), MPU, 80 DMIPS and DSP instructions Memory – Up to 256 KB RAM, including 64 KB with hardware parity check, 20×32-bit Backup Register Storage Up to 1 MB Flash with sector protection (PCROP) against R/W operations for Bluetooth Low Energy and 802.15.4 SW stack Quad SPI memory interface with XIP Radio 2.4 GHz RF transceiver supporting Bluetooth […]
STMicro Introduces Two STM32 Discovery Kits with 2G/3G or 4G LTE-IoT Cat M1/NB1 Connectivity
Embedded World 2018 trade fair will take place on on take place on February 27 – March 1 in Nuremberg, Germany, and we’re starting to see some company announce new products and solutions for the embedded market. STMicro has just announced their showcase their very first cellular development kits at the event, based on a display-less variant on their 32L496GDISCOVERY Discovery board with cellular add-on boards: P-L496G-CELL01 Discovery kit with with a 2G/3G modem P-L496G-CELL02 Discovery kit with with an LTE-IoT Cat M1 (eMTC) / NB1 (NB-IoT) / 2G model Now the company has not started designed their own cellular modem, but instead relying on QUECTEL modems. Both kits share most of the same specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32L496AGI6 Arm Cortex M4F MCU@ 80 MHz with 1 MB Flash, 320 KB RAM in a UFBGA169 package On-board memory – 8 Mbit PSRAM On-board + external storage – 32 KB I2 […]
STMicro BlueNRG-MESH SDK for Bluetooth Mesh to Include Code for Firmware, Android and iOS Apps
Earlier this summer, the Bluetooth SIG announced Bluetooth Mesh, which supports many-to-many (m:m) device communications for up 32,767 unicast addresses per mesh network (in theory), and is compatible with Bluetooth 4.0 or greater hardware. Several companies immediately unveiled Bluetooth Mesh SDK at the time including Qualcomm, Nordic Semi, and Silicon Labs. ST Micro has now unveiled their own BlueNRG-MESH SDK which the company claims is “the market’s only three-part SDK that provides two app developer packages for Android and iOS, and the embedded-development software for building smart objects such as light fittings and sensors”. Sadly, details about the SDK are near inexistent now, except – as one would expect – BlueNRG-MESH SDK will work with ST BlueNRG Bluetooth low energy wireless network processor based on an ARM Cortex M0 core, and corresponding development kits. [Update: STSW-BNRG-Mesh page has many more details about the SDK including the architecture diagram below. ] […]
STMicro Introduces 20 Cents STM8S001J3 8-Bit MCU in 8-Pin Package
STMicro has launched a new 8-bit micro-controller that sells for $0.20 per unit in 10k quantities, a price not too far from the one of cheapest MCU, especially considering it comes with flash. STM8S001J3 is also the first STM8 MCU offered in 8-pin package (SO8N), and should compete with some of the Microchip Attiny or PIC12F series micro-controllers. STM8S001J3 specifications: Core – 16 MHz advanced STM8 core with Harvard architecture and 3-stage pipeline,extended instruction set System Memory – 1 Kbyte RAM Storage 8 Kbytes Flash memory; data retention 20 years at 55 °C after 100 cycles 128-byte true data EEPROM; endurance up to 100 k write/erase cycles Clock, reset and supply management 2.95 V to 5.5 V operating voltage Flexible clock control, 3 master clock sources: external clock input; internal, user-trimmable 16 MHz RC; internal low-power 128 kHz RC Clock security system with clock monitor Power management – Low-power modes […]
STMicro Unveils STM32L4 Discovery Kit for IoT with WiFi, BLE, NFC, Sub-GHz RF, and Plenty of Sensors
STMicro has recently introduced B-L475E-IOT01A Discovery kit powered by STM32L4 Cortex-M4 and targeting IoT nodes with a choice of connectivity options including WiFi, Bluetooth LE, NFC, and sub-GHZ RF at 868 or 915 MHz, as well as a long list of various environmental sensors. B-L475E-IOT01A Discovery kit key features and specifications: MCU – STM32L4 Series MCU based on ARM Cortex -M4 core with 1 MB Flash memory, 128 KB SRAM Storage – 64 Mbit (8MB) Quad-SPI Flash memory (Macronix) Connectivity Bluetooth 4.1 LE module (SPBTLE-RF) Sub-GHz (868 or 915 MHz) low-power-programmable RF module (SPSGRF-868 or SPSGRF-915) Wi-Fi module based on Inventek ISM43362-M3G-L44 (802.11 b/g/n compliant) Dynamic NFC tag based on M24SR with its printed NFC antenna Sensors 2x digital omni-directional microphones (MP34DT01) Capacitive digital sensor for relative humidity and temperature (HTS221) 3-axis magnetometer (LIS3MDL) 3D accelerometer and 3D gyroscope (LSM6DSL) 260-1260 hPa absolute digital output barometer (LPS22HB) Time-of-Flight and gesture-detection […]
STMicro Introduces STM32 LoRaWAN Discovery Board & I-NUCLEO-LWAN2 STM32 LoRa Expansion Board
STMicroelectronics and Mouser have launched two new products with LoRa connectivity: STM32 LoRaWAN Discovery Board with an STM32L072 ARM Cortex M0+ MCU and Semtech SX1276 transceiver, and I-NUCLEO-LRWAN1 STM32 LoRa expansion board for STM32 Nucleo boards with an STM32L052 MCU and Semtech SX1272 radio transceiver. STM32 LoRaWAN Discovery Board B-L072Z-LRWAN1 STM32L0 Discovery kit LoRa specifications: LoRa Module – Murata CMWX1ZZABZ-091 with MCU – STM32L072CZ ARM Cortex -M0+ MCU @ 32 MHz with 192 KB Flash memory, 20 KB RAM, 20 KB EEPROM SX1276 transceiver supporting LoRa, FSK, GFSK, MSK, GMSK and OOK modulations Antennas – SMA and U.FL RF interface connectors, 50 Ohm SMA RF antenna Debugging – On-board ST-LINK/V2-1 supporting USB re-enumeration capability Expansion – Arduino Uno V3 connectors Misc – 7x LEDs, 2x push-buttons (user and reset) Power supply – Via USB bus or external VIN/3.3 V supply voltage or batteries; 3xAAA-type-battery holder for standalone operation (on the […]
STMicro SensorTile is a Tiny STM32 Module with Bluetooth 4.1 LE and Four Sensor Chips
STMicroelectronics SensorTile is a 13.5 x 13.5mm sensor board based on STM32L4 ARM Cortex-M4 microcontroller, a MEMS accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, pressure sensor, a MEMS microphone, as well as a 2.4Ghz radio chip for Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy connectivity for wearables, smart home, and IoT projects. SensorTile hardware specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32L476 ARM Cortex-M4 microcontroller@ up to 80 MHz with 128 KB RAM, 1MB flash Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.1 Smart/LE via BlueNRG-MS network processor with integrated 2.4GHz radio compliant with Sensors LSM6DSM 3D accelerometer + 3D gyroscope LSM303AGR 3D Magnetometer + 3D accelerometer LPS22HB pressure sensor/barometer MP34DT04 digital MEMS microphone I/Os – 2x 9 half holes with access to UART, SPI, SAI (Serial Audio Interface), I2C, DFSDM, USB, OTG, ADC, and GPIOs signals Debugging – SWD interface (multiplexed with GPIOs) Power Supply Range – 2V to 5.5 V Dimensions – 13.5 x 13.5 mm Software development can be done through […]