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- Category: Technology
Fujitsu Limited and the Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines (CBMM) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have achieved a significant milestone in a joint initiative to improve the accuracy of artificial intelligence (AI) models. The results of the research between Fujitsu and CBMM are published in a paper that discusses neuroscience-inspired computational principles that enable AI models to recognize out-of-distribution (OOD) data that deviates from the original training data
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- Category: Thermal control
As our world becomes more automated, sensing is gaining importance, and while we can detect more parameters than ever before, the ability to accurately determine temperature levels remains a core function of electronic design. Temperature information is valuable in almost every aspect of our lives, from our home environment and the oven we cook in to even our own body temperature.
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- Category: Design
The demand for silicon carbide (SiC) technology, which maximizes the efficiency of today's power systems while reducing their size, weight, and cost, continues to grow. But SiC solutions are not direct replacements for silicon, and not all are created equal. To realize the promise of SiC technology, developers must carefully evaluate product and supplier options based on quality, availability, and support, and understand how to optimize the integration of these disruptive SiC power components into their end systems.
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- Category: Industry 4.0
As the demand for smarter, safer, and more efficient manufacturing continues to rise, advanced automation is answering the call, transforming the factory of tomorrow and generating a high level of product consistency and reliability. This demand has spurred a cultural shift among manufacturers, leading to the accelerated adoption of new technologies, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated this change.
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- Category: Other Equipment
Recent events such as the pandemic, shipping disruptions in the Suez Canal, and chip shortages in sectors like automotive have focused companies' attention on strengthening supply chain security. Furthermore, there is ongoing concern about the environmental impact of international shipping and the benefits of local manufacturing.
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- Category: Test and Measurement Equipment
The new HIOKI PW8001 power analyzer sets a new industry standard with its unmatched accuracy, providing the ultimate solution for high-frequency and high-power measurements. This enables maximum efficiency measurements, from state-of-the-art SiC and GaN-based applications to complex multi-motor powertrain power analysis.
Perfect for SiC and GaN applications
The use of SiC and GaN semiconductors for all types of power converters is increasing rapidly. But why is the use of SiC or GaN semiconductors so interesting? SiC and GaN semiconductors allow for further improvements in power converter efficiency while simultaneously enabling a reduction in converter size and weight. An additional benefit of the size reduction is that it creates more flexibility in PCB design, even in confined spaces. However, as always, there is also a drawback. SiC and GaN semiconductors operate at higher switching frequencies than conventional silicon-based semiconductors and generate more noise, requiring a power analyzer with greater bandwidth and better resistance to external noise. The Hioki PW8001, in combination with Hioki current sensors, is the perfect choice for this challenge. Industry-leading power accuracy for DC and frequencies of 50 kHz or higher, combined with the unprecedented common-mode voltage reduction ratio (CMRR) for the PW8001 and Hioki current sensors, ensures extremely accurate and unaffected measurements, even in extremely noisy environments.
When developing a highly efficient wireless charger or inverter motor drive for EVs or drones, the accuracy of your measurement system is critical. It must be able to measure even the smallest improvements in efficiency. This means your power analyzer must measure both DC and high frequencies like 50 kHz or even higher with the greatest possible accuracy. The PW8001 is perfect for this type of work.
In combination with the high-precision U7005 input module, which has a sampling rate of 15MS/s and an 18-bit A/D conversion, the PW8001 offers power accuracy of 0.05% for DC, 0.03% at 50/60 Hz and a market-leading 0.2% at 50 kHz.
Power Analyzer for 1500 V DC CAT II
The trend toward more powerful solar farms has led to an increase in operating voltage. Today, 1500 V DC has become the standard. Furthermore, solar farms are being combined with local storage solutions for grid balancing or to provide 24-hour power. Another area where higher voltage is becoming more common is the electrification of heavy trucks and buses. While standard electric vehicles use 400 V DC or 800 V DC systems, the transportation sector is moving to 1200 V DC to increase system power and reduce charging time.
To provide a power measurement solution for these new technological trends, Hioki has developed the U7001 high-voltage input module. With the U7001, Hioki is the first on the market with a 1500 V DC CAT II benchtop power analyzer. This rating allows the PW8001 to be used for the development and production testing of solar power conditioners, drive trains, and fast-charging solutions for heavy-duty electric vehicles with system voltages exceeding 1000 V DC.
Analysis of the 4-motor drive system
Today, drones are used in a wide range of applications, such as aerial video recording, surveillance, inspections in hazardous environments, and package delivery. AED drones, equipped with a defibrillator, can even save lives because they can arrive at emergency scenes in crowded places like festivals or city centers before an ambulance. Other companies are even developing larger and more powerful drones, such as taxi drones.
For all these drones, the efficiency and reliability of the powertrain are extremely important, because every increase in efficiency will lead to an increase in range. The PW8001 with the 4-motor evaluation option is the perfect development tool for drones and other 4-motor drive systems such as high-performance electric vehicles, in-wheel electric buses, and industrial robots. It allows you to analyze the performance of all four motor drives simultaneously, making powertrain balancing much faster and easier, and resulting in more efficient and reliable designs.
Automatic phase shift correction
During the design of booster helicopters for (H)EV or active power factor correction systems for the grid, measuring the power loss of reactors and transformers is crucial. The inductive nature of these components makes accurate measurement difficult, especially at high frequencies. One reason for this is that voltage and current must be measured simultaneously to accurately measure active power. However, current sensors always exhibit a time delay. Therefore, to accurately measure the loss of a reactor or transformer, the time delay of current sensors must be eliminated across the entire frequency range.
For this reason, Hioki implemented a phase shift correction function as standard years ago, which has now been enhanced to an easy "plug-and-play" function that requires no manual input, such as Automatic Phase Shift Correction (APSC). This new and unique function is available for the first time with the new PW8001 power analyzer. The APSC function guarantees unparalleled performance for high-frequency reactor and transformer loss measurements.
For the APSC function to work correctly, two things are required:
- the current sensor with a known constant time delay
- the power analyzer that is capable of compensating for time delay
As the only power analyzer manufacturer that also designs and produces current sensors, Hioki is uniquely positioned to optimize current sensors for the APSC.
The Hioki CT68 and CT69 series current sensors have been designed to achieve a constant time delay across the entire frequency range, as shown in Figure 1.
Due to this unique feature, the PW8001 can compensate for the current sensor's time delay, regardless of the frequency being measured. Other current sensors on the market tend to be designed with a focus on low phase shift at high frequencies. As a result, these current sensors will not have a constant time delay across the entire frequency range. This is illustrated in Figure 2, which shows the time delay of a comparable sensor available on the market.
Fig2: Time delay comparison
Since the time delay of the comparable sensor varies between 100ns and 20ns, this makes it clear that this design renders this sensor unsuitable for phase shift correction, as the power analyzer cannot compensate for the time delay at all the frequencies it is measuring.
The positioning of the conductor in the current sensor can also influence the accuracy of the measurement. This is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4.
Figure 3: Phase delay and core position of the HIOKI CT68 cable
In Figure 3, all the curves are exactly one on top of the other, showing that there is no influence on the phase delay due to the driver's position.
The same tests were performed with a comparable current sensor and the result is shown in Figure 4.
The results are very different. In this case, the conductor's position influences the phase delay at frequencies above 100 kHz, and will affect the overall accuracy of power measurement at high frequencies, as with the use of SiC and GaN semiconductors.
Maximum flexibility
The increasing complexity of energy applications, such as integrated renewable energy solutions with local storage, grid connection, and electric vehicle charging, requires an increase in energy channels to be able to analyze the dynamic energy behavior of a system.
The PW8001, with its modular 8-channel power inputs in a single instrument, the free choice of the U7001 and U7005 high-voltage input modules, and the excessive current sensor range from 20A to 2000A, gives you the possibility of composing your "tailor-made" power measurement solution.
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- Category: Thermal control
As technology advances exponentially, thermal management is becoming an increasingly important issue in componentless PCB production and assembly. Whether in high-brightness LED applications, high-power transmitters, or high-voltage power supplies, the demands for improved heat exchange and cooling are also increasing.
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- Category: Integrated Circuits
Allegro MicroSystems, Inc. today announced its new A33230 sine/cosine Hall effect 3D position sensor IC. The A33230 is the smallest sine/cosine 3D sensor currently available on the market, offering system designers a cost-effective solution for industrial and automotive applications with a fast time to market.
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- Category: Current Affairs
Just a few months ago, the Spanish conglomerate Flexitron Group, focused on the Internet of Things sector, acquired a majority stake in Webdyn SAS to expand its presence in the energy transition market. Today, it announces the merger of the Webdyn and MTX device product portfolios, as well as their corporate identity.
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- Category: Sensors
Mouser Electronics introduces the Laird Connectivity BT610 Sentrius™ I/O sensor. This new Bluetooth® 5.0 sensor platform transforms wired sensors into battery-powered, IP67 wireless nodes that provide secure and reliable messaging in applications such as cold chain monitoring, climate control, AC detection in single-phase and three-phase induction motors, and tank level monitoring.
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- Category: Robotics
Yamaha Motor Europe Robotics, FA section, announced today that its robotics operations have added new bar-type models to the entry-level Robonity* series of industrial robots and that narrower, reduced-height models will be added to the existing line of sliding-type robots. These additions to the Robonity series will expand it to 29 models, offering customers an even wider range of products to choose from.
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- Category: Power Supplies
Sigfox has announced its collaboration with Brazilian company HT Micron and Nowi to explore and integrate the benefits of energy harvesting into Sigfox devices.
This collaboration marks Sigfox's first step toward commercializing energy harvesting modules integrated into its IoT devices and fostering greater sustainability in its solutions. Key use cases will include smart metering, industrial sensing, asset tracking, and air quality monitoring.
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