NEPCON Japan 2018: A Report from Ground Zero

ROHM: The Industry’s First Noise-Tolerant Opamps

ROHM specializes in the design of integrated circuits, passive components, power components and power supplies. It showcases applications such as wireless charging modules, ADAS modules, IGBT modules, automotive ICs and SiC power components at the exhibition. In response to the development of electric vehicles, the specification of automotive power supplies will be upgraded to 48 V. In this case, it requires larger circuit boards and more ICs to switch the voltage down when using traditional structures for the design.

Unprecedented noise immunity contributes to improved reliability and simpler designs in automotive sensor applications

ROHM has recently announced the availability of automotive-grade ground sense opamps that deliver breakthrough EMI tolerance (noise immunity) for automotive systems using sensors along with core systems for EVs and HEVs.

Developed using 3 proprietary analog technologies (layout, processes, circuit design), the BA8290xYxx-C series features superior noise immunity that suppresses output voltage fluctuation in all frequency bands to less than ±1%, compared to ±3.5% to ±10% with conventional products. As a result, installing in the subsequent stage of devices that output micro-signals such as sensors will make it possible to amplify signals without being affected by noise, eliminating the need for noise countermeasures such as filters. This helps to reduce design load while contributing to greater reliability.

The latest automotive systems achieve greater fuel economy and safety by adopting ECUs and sensors that manage and optimize conditions such as temperature, acceleration and current. At the same time the move towards greater digitization and application density in automotive systems has increased the amount of noise generated in the environment, presenting significant problems for sensors and other small-signal devices. What’s more, during automotive development it is extremely difficult to evaluate individual sources of noise, making it necessary to perform noise evaluation after installation. So unless careful attention is paid to noise design, major modifications (entailing increased costs and development time) may be required if the application fails testing.

In response, ROHM has developed the world’s first opamps that eliminate the effects of noise in automotive sensor applications by utilizing a vertically integrated production system that leverages analog design technology and proprietary bipolar processes.

Applications:

• EV / HEV inverters
• ECUs
• Automatic transmission
• Electric power steering
• Automotive lamps
• Car A/C
• EV chargers
• Car navigation
• Combination switches

Qualcomm: The future of urban mobility

Qualcomm Halo wireless electric vehicle charging (WEVC) is an exciting new technology that allows electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) to charge conveniently; drivers simply park and charge without the need for plug-in cables or adaptors.

Technical benefits

Quick: Offers quick charging with high power WEVC, supporting wireless power transfers at 3.7 kW, 7.4 kW, 11 kW and 22 kW.

Efficient: Offers wireless power transfer efficiency of 90%+.

Convenient: Offers drivers the potential to charge at wireless charging stations at home, at work, in public and eventually even while driving, with dynamic charging – charging on-the-move.

Vayyar Imaging: The market leader in 3D radio wave imaging sensors

Gives its customers the ability to look into objects, sense material composition and monitor different targets.

Vayyar Imaging, the 3D imaging sensor company whose technology makes it possible to see through objects. Vayyar’s 3D imaging sensors transform elder care, autonomous vehicles, medical, agriculture, and retail by bringing innovative and exciting solutions to these markets. It is amazing to see how the ability to look into objects can help humanity in so many ways. Vayyar work in collaboration with industry-leading companies to create applications that address some of their toughest challenges. The target of this round is to allow to grow even faster than before. Vayyar’s sensors create a 3D image of everything happening around you in real time, without the use of a camera. These sensors can see through solid objects, map large areas and can be used in privacy-sensitive locations where optics cannot. Providing a look beyond human vision, Vayyar’s sensors have expanded across industry sectors, including smart home, automotive, retail, robotics, medical, construction, agriculture and more.

Vayyar helps people improve their health, safety, and quality of life. Because of the high demand for Vayyar’s technology by a wide range of industries, the company and its investors predict the need for the company to rapidly scale non-linear growth opportunities.

Vayyar now works with top-tier Fortune 500 companies in each of the company’s major verticals: smart home, automotive, robotics, retail, and testing equipment.

Examples of Vayyar’s Sensor Applications:

• Automotive: Get a 360 view of the inside and outside of a car, and detect a person’s posture, and location.
• In-Home: Use in smart homes or elderly care to identify people falling in the shower, in their bed room or around the house, or alert about any breathing/heart rate observed issues during sleep (all without capturing any optic data, so everyone’s privacy is protected).
• Robotics: For manufacturing lines, 3Dimaging provides robots with spatial awareness when working in environments with humans which increases efficiency and upholds safety.
• Retail: Help retailers understand purchase intent by indicating when customers approach a shelf, how long they are looking at products, which they reach for and other are as of interest.
• Liquid/Material Analysis: Quantify composition of different liquids (i.e., fat/protein/lactose level of milk, alcohol level of drink, etc.)
• Agriculture: Monitor ground moisture and manage irrigation to help the agriculture sector avoid over-watering and conserve water in times of droughts.
• Construction: Detect studs, pipes, wires and even animals that may be lurking behind.

Everlight: Displays automotive lighting, LED digital displays

Everlight exhibited products for general lighting, automotive lighting, LED digital displays, infrared and UV applications. The automotive line-up showcased covered applications of both interior and exterior lighting. In particular, the ALFS series (Headlamp 1-5 chip) with multiple chips in tiny intervals bring optics close to a single-point light source. This not only enhances the optical requirements of a headlight design, also the ON-OFF cut line will be clearer. The ceramic packed EL Micro Multi, Top view RGB and Multi Color series for WW&CW, RGB and RGBY ambient lighting respectively, can independently control brightness, operation, and light mixing.

The company showcased multiple IR LEDs, phototransistors, and photodiodes with different sizes and radiant intensity that can be used in various applications, including e-book readers, oximeters, and vacuum cleaners.