Showcasing IoT development ecosystem

ST’s IoT development ecosystem, centred around STM32 ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers (MCU), enables the development of building blocks for smart electronic devices that integrate computing, sensing, connectivity, power management, and signal processing capabilities with appropriate levels of security. The development ecosystem consists of STM32 Nucleo development boards, X-Nucleo expansion boards equipped with sensors, communication ICs, NFC tags, and motor drivers, as well as the STM32Cube software development tool that contains multiple code libraries.

At Embedded Technology 2015, ST will demonstrate smart building solutions created with the IoT development ecosystem, aimed at improving energy efficiency, security and amenity in buildings. The demonstration includes biometric/ID authentication using NFC tags and face authentication modules; detecting altitude with barometric sensors; wireless charging using a power management IC; automatic lighting control using proximity sensors; detecting temperature/humidity with environmental sensors; voice control of an air conditioning system using a combination of MEMS microphones and a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) network processor. These technologies can also enable other features that help make buildings smart, such as safer room access management systems, augmented reality (AR) services based on indoor navigation, wireless power supply to electronic devices, automatic control of electronic devices for lighting and air conditioning, and detection of indoor/outdoor environmental information.

ST will set up a special corner in its booth where visitors can experience the company’s IoT development ecosystem. Seventeen varieties of STM32 Nucleo boards equipped with various STM32 MCUs, and six types of X-Nucleo expansion boards equipped with BLE network processors, motor drivers for brushless DC motor and stepper motor applications, NFC tags, motion/environmental sensors, and proximity sensors will be available. In the corner, visitors can try out sample programme execution through the IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for each application.

At its booth ST will also present the STM32F4 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 MCU and its BLE network processor. Demos will show continuous voice communication that benefits from environmental noise suppression by beam forming and uses MEMS microphones to control howling - that painful feedback induced noise. This technology enables integration of voice control in remotes and wearable devices. ST will also demonstrate how a smartphone can operate an STM32 equipped communication module.

Also on show will be TeraProbe’s TeraFaces solution which is built around the STM32F7 MCU based on the ARM Cortex-M7 core operating up to 216MHz. The STM32F7 boasts high performance and houses various peripheral features such as an LCD controller and a camera interface in a small sized package. Human-face authentication technology can improve the safety and performance of residence/office access management systems, as well as make our lives more convenient by eliminating the need for carrying keys.

Also in security, ST will demonstrate the generation and verification of encryption/decryption and digital signature using the company’s Secure MCUs, which are compliant with the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0, the security specification defined by the Trusted Computing Group (TCG). ST’s Secure MCUs can be used for future residence access systems based on fingerprint and iris authentication - securing these IoT systems against cyber attacks while enhancing convenience in people's everyday lives.

In power management, ST will exhibit its latest ultra-thin battery that uses a thin solid lithium film formed on a glass substrate by a semiconductor manufacturing process. The battery is as thin as 220μm and can produce a current of 0.7mA. As a solid state battery, it cannot catch fire or explode making it a well suited power source for ultra-small devices, such as wearable devices and sensor nodes.

Other solutions presented at ST's booth include various demos and boards with environmental sensors, proximity sensors, power management ICs for digital SMPS (switched-mode power supply), battery charging ICs, motor control ICs, and NFC tags.