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Digi-Key Electronics announces global partnership with Truphone
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igi-Key Electronics has partnered with Truphone to bring cellular IoT connectivity services to manufacturers worldwide. The partnership will
provide customers with connected cellular devices and a fully managed service.
Digi-Key will use Truphone’s state of the art SIM technology, allowing users to connect IoT devices to network providers from the moment they switch their device on. The technology requires no complicated activation process, it is
simply connectivity from the touch of a button. The partnership will provide manufacturers of all sizes with industry-leading IoT connectivity services starting with device and application management. The Truphone network supports 2G, 3G, 4G and CAT-M1/ LTE-M worldwide – with a single SIM card – and gives every customer access to its IoT Connectivity Management platform. Truphone’s simple prepaid SMS and data plans (which provide coverage in multiple
countries across a three-year period) simplify the connectivity process, so manufacturers can focus on what they do best—building their application. “Both Truphone and Digi-Key share a common goal of bringing IoT into the mainstream,” said Ralph Steffens, CEO at Truphone. “For us, the catalyst to spark the IoT starts with connectivity. The more we can streamline the process of connecting IoT devices, the easier it will be
to reach its full potential. We’re thrilled to be partnering with a business at the forefront of innovation, like Digi-Key, to make this happen.”
“We are excited to partner with a leader in cellular connectivity like Truphone,” said Robbie Paul, director of IoT business development for Digi-Key. “The connectivity services industry is going through radical changes with the advent of 5G and the proliferation of IoT devices.
Quantum technology to ensure resilient maritime navigation
he UK Quantum Technology Hub Sensors and Timing, led by the University of Birmingham, has awarded funding for research to improve the precision of maritime navigation. The project, funded by £600,000 from the Hub’s Partnership Resource Fund (PRF), is being led by Professor Tom Pike at Imperial College London and Dr Simon Calcutt at the University of Oxford. It aims to develop the missing component to transform an existing gravity gradiometer developed by Hub scientists into a hybrid instrument that will extend the Hub’s map-matching navigation technology to applications in maritime environments. This will allow navigation that will not only rely on satellite signals, but will measure the localised gravity fi eld produced by underground conditions which can be matched to gravity maps to establish a vessel’s precise location.
Receiving stable and accurate location data whilst at sea is vital, and this has not yet to date been achieved due to satellite vulnerabilities. This crucial need has been underlined in the Maritime 2050 report, compiled by the UK Government’s Department of Transport in 2019, which states: “A key problem which must be addressed in navigation safety terms is the overwhelming reliance on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) with its inherent vulnerabilities to man-made interference and space weather. There are numerous examples of accidents and incidents associated with navigation error.” The team will exploit gravity gradiometer technology developed by Quantum Technology Hub academics, to ensure its effectiveness on a moving platform. Hub academics are already working closely with industry partners, such as Network Rail and
the Lighthouse Authority, to implement map matching navigation, and this project aims to add electronics that are able to compensate for the dynamics of the deployment platform to offer higher frequency capabilities required for resilient maritime navigation. The sensor instrument is based on the MEMS seismometers previously developed by Professor Pike for the NASA InSight mission, which is currently operating on the surface of Mars, and has a world-leading 0.3 ng/ rtHz performance. These seismometers are helping to study the interior of the planet by listening to ‘marsquakes’.
Creating an instrument which can detect a gravity signal from a mobile deployment is an incredible challenge. Gravity sensors require extreme sensitivity to be able to detect signals, and a typical maritime, or airborne deployment experiences acceleration of 0.1g or more. The
instrument aims to uniquely detect signals at the nano-g level.
Professor Tom Pike said: “This grant will help us transfer the technology we developed for Mars back to Earth, or more specifi cally onto our oceans. We know we have the robustness to survive a trip to another planet. Now we want to show we have the sensitivity to detect gravitational changes while rocking on a ship. It’s more of a challenge than detecting marsquakes!”
High spec bidirectional power supply from MDL simplifi es EV powertrain testing
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he new Chroma 62000D series of bidirectional DC power supplies from MDL Technologies is ideal for high current testing of electric vehicle powertrain components. The series provide two-quadrant operation with both programmable DC output and regenerative DC loading within a single unit. High power components that can be tested include bidirectional on-board chargers (BOBC), bidirectional DC converters and DC-AC motor drivers, as well as power conversion simulation tests of batteries in both directions.
www.cieonline.co.uk
Compliant with LV123 and LV148 standards for EV component testing, the 62000D has a very fast cross-quadrant bandwidth that produces a rapid transient response time as short as 1.5ms or less. A wide range of voltage and current combinations are available in constant power mode, and constant current and constant voltage modes are also available.
Across the range, maximum power is from 6kW to 18kW, with an industry leading power density of 18kW within a 3U rack height. Output current ratings are up to +/-540A, with voltage ratings up to 1800VDC. When greater power is required, master/slave capability enables up to ten of the units to operate in parallel to deliver up to 180kW.
Icons on the intuitive touch screen make it easy to carry out voltage/current settings and measurements, as well as program auto sequence control settings, preview output waveforms etc. A hundred programmable
user settings are available in the units’ list mode. Control interface options include USB, LAN, CANbus and GPIB as well as analogue APG.
“As well as offering market leading performance, the compact but powerful 62000D is available at an affordable price,” said MDL managing director Mark Lucock. In addition to the EV and HEV sector, the units could have applications in renewable energy systems such as home energy storage, as well as being invaluable in the development of motors, drives, inverters, batteries, fuel cells etc.
Components in Electronics June 2020 7
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