ST showcased its technology at the Electronica 2024 trade fair and conference in Munich from November 15 to 18, 2024. The main objective was to help customers be successful by providing them with the solutions they need to address the challenges of transforming industries and creating safer, smarter, and greener ways of living. At the booth, 23 demos attracted more than 8000 visitors, who could discover ST’s latest advancements across three areas: smart mobility, factory automation and industrial IoT, and power & energy management. Supporting these areas, we showed a number of transversal technologies.
Smart Mobility: addressing the challenges of modern EVs
Electrification and digitalization are redefining car architectures and key subsystems with the development of software-defined vehicles and new electrical and electronic systems.​ ST develops car electrification solutions to help vehicle makers build longer range and more affordable electric vehicles, as well as advanced digitalization systems to ensure new levels of performance, safety and sustainability. Our solutions enable powerful, secure domain and zonal processing architectures combined with smart, safe power distribution. We showcased solutions for battery management systems, secure car access, as well as some of the key components that are inside electronic cars, like onboard chargers, traction inverters and in-cabin monitoring.
Audi Q6 e-tron
One of the most eye-catching exhibits was the Audi Q6 e-tron, which displayed what is usually a completely unseen part of modern cars, namely the electrical and electronic infrastructure. The exhibit features the actual harness of an Audi Q6 e-tron, highlighting the quiet revolution taking place in vehicles. The Q6 e-tron onboard network exhibit comprises over 1,500 cables totaling over 3.5 kilometers meters and weighing 59 kilograms (it also includes 435 connectors and about 100 ECUs). The exhibit exemplifies the expertise it takes to ensure that all ECUs and connectors serve to optimize the platform rather than weighing it down. It is a new way of thinking that demands highly specialized know-how and extensive knowledge of the overall product.
Next-Gen Battery Management Chipset with EIS-Based Diagnostics
The demo showcases one of the most sought-after diagnostic capabilities of a battery management system (BMS) called electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and is based on the ST chipset family L9965. The EIS technology enables precise thermal runaway prediction, inner cell temperature monitoring, and real-time state-of-health assessments, ensuring battery safety and longevity. Additionally, the chipset supports a circular battery economy by enabling trusted battery aging tracking and second-life applications, significantly contributing to the sustainability of the battery supply chain. The BMS demo is complemented an ST on-board charger (OBC) reference design and a battery module featuring the ST chipset L9965A. Key features include high accuracy, rapid response to system faults (<1ms), and seamless integration with various components such as cell and pack monitors.
Secure car access system
This system integrates a secure element, NFC reader, and ultra-wideband (UWB) technology to provide a highly secure and user-friendly car access solution. The demo is compliant with CCC R2 & R3 standards, ensuring robust security for car access and start functionalities. Among the components there are the STSAFE-V500 secure element, ST25R3920B NFC reader, and a host MCU such as SPC58 or Stellar.
This demo supports seamless integration with mobile devices, allowing credentials to be stored on a phone or watch for hands-free access. It also offers secure over-the-air software updates and remote provisioning services. It supports additional use cases like in-car payments and Qi charging, making it a versatile solution for modern automotive applications.
Traction inverter, the heartbeat of an electric vehicle powertrain
The traction inverter is the powerhouse of an electric vehicle, and a key differentiating factor. We partnered with McLaren applied to develop the McLaren Applied Silicon Carbide IPG5 Inverter. Thanks to the ST silicon carbide technology, the IPG5 inverter can deliver unparalleled performance and efficiency. The IPG5 features ST’s 3rd generation silicon carbide MOSFETs and the ACEPACK DRIVE power module, enabling class leading power density and providing a foundation to develop a power train experience tailored to the customer.
This platform helps achieve best-in-class power and weight density, lower on-resistance, and reduced cooling requirements. The SiC technology enables higher operating frequencies and temperatures, making it ideal for automotive applications such as traction inverters, on-board chargers, and DC-DC converters.
In-cabin monitoring – all apps in single device
How to enhance in-car safety and comfort? A single sensor can integrate driver and occupancy monitoring with human vision capabilities. Our VB1940/VD1940 device is a 5.1 MP image sensor with both rolling and global shutter modes. In rolling shutter mode, the VB1940, VD1940 produce a single HDR color frame output through the MIPI CSI 2 interface. This innovative sensor combines RGB and NIR operations, delivering fast image generation in full HDR color. It supports both global and rolling shutter functions, providing versatile options for different applications. Advanced multi-context management allows efficient handling of multiple video streams, while functional safety (FuSa) and cybersecurity features ensure robust protection and reliability.
Factory automation and industrial IoT
Industrial applications are becoming more intelligent, connected, and secure while optimizing energy usage and efficiency. At Electronica we showcased how our partners and customers deploy their ingenuity through our semiconductor solutions. ST provides the performance that meets customer automation needs, the support that interconnects multiple industrial and IoT networks, and the technology that injects learning and intelligence into their systems.
We showcased a small factory line similar to what we have in our own Fabs. We used it to illustrate use cases that can improve our customers’ operational efficiencies, reducing downtime or costs. Our use cases include asset tracking, AI-based visual inspection, and condition monitoring, all of which feature our products: microcontrollers, microprocessors, wireless communication devices, analog devices, and image sensors.
Power efficiency
With the rising demand for electrical energy, power efficiency is more important than ever. Power system designers need to deliver ever more challenging levels of power conversion efficiency, density, and cost profiles to meet business and sustainability goals.
A section of our booth was dedicated to ST solutions that enable powering (AI) Data Servers. We showed customer products, namely ORV3 power supplies from LITEON and from DELTA, as well as four demo boards illustrating the four main steps of power conversion for a data server supply. Starting from the AC to 800 V DC conversion and moving to the 800 V to 54 V DC/DC conversion. It eventually shows the conversion from 54 V to 12 V and from 12 V to the several low-voltage rails (around 1 V or below) needed to power the processors and components of the data center unit. Additionally, we displayed the necessary control electronics to ensure proper cooling of data centers.
NB-IoT and RS485
The STEVAL-NBIOTV1 platform features a compact and cost-effective NB-IoT module (ST87M01) designed for low-power applications. This module integrates an eSIM, GNSS, secure element, and ADC, ensuring advanced security and efficient data logging. The platform includes a 3-axis accelerometer, humidity sensor, pressure sensor, and a Li-ion battery charger.
The RS485 transceiver, ST4E1240, supports a data rate of 40 Mbps and is Profibus compatible, allowing up to 100 nodes on the bus. With high robustness and low current consumption, this demo is ideal for applications in factory automation, video surveillance, and smart energy metering.
Machine vision and AI
Our machine vision and AI solutions feature products like the STM32 MCUs, ST Edge AI Suite, and global shutter sensors. Collaborations with Linxens and Datalogic highlight the practical applications of these technologies. Linxens designed solutions to detect the invisible: programmed with ST’s NanoEdge AI Studio, their sensors provide early warnings of hazardous gases, anticipate electrical failures in data centers and power cabinets, and detect early risks of battery fires in electric vehicles. In this way, they ensure the early risk detection, enhancing safety and reliability. By incorporating ST’s CMOS global shutter sensors like the VL53L8CX dToF sensor into their barcode scanning engines, Datalogic enhances process quality in sectors such as transportation, logistics, and healthcare. The STM32 MCUs enable real-time image processing, while the ST Edge AI Suite simplifies AI deployment.
MEMS
Solutions to accelerate edge AI adoption
Where should your application be heading? It should embed AI in its core and maximize edge processing for greater data security and application potential, enabling a easy navigation across multiple IoT communications frameworks. Edge AI is transforming applications across many markets, but developers often need more experience and tools to integrate it quickly and effectively into their design. We provide a comprehensive product portfolio for embedded processing, power and analog solutions, as well as sensors.
Visitors could explore the tools included in our ST Edge AI Suite. We had a smart sensing demo augmented by ST motion sensors with letter recognition from wand movements. It featured an ultra-tiny NN running on the embedded Intelligent Sensor Processing Unit (ISPU) hosted in a motion sensor (IMU), LSM6DSO16IS ,mounted on STEVAL-MKBOXPRO (SensorTile.box PRO) with STEVAL-MKI229.
From gesture to asse tracking demo, the LSM6DSV16X IMU sensor embeds a machine learning core that facilitates easy programming for managing and monitoring physical assets. It can identify packages condition classification to detect stationary (upright or not), moving and shaking states in a super low-power solution. This capability is enabled through the new cloud-based service, ST AIoT Craft.
Biosensors for predictive healthcare of the human body
ST has recently launched an innovative category of MEMS sensors: biosensors. They embed a vertical analog front-end (vAFE) and a motion MEMS, expanding the range of applications by detecting different kinds of biopotential signals of human body. At Electronica 2024, we showcased our innovative biosensors through an engaging demo:
- on the left side, the box PRO, equipped with ECG electrodes for finger touch measurement, displayed real-time heart rate data.
- on the right side, MEMS Studio connected via USB to Professional MEMS tool, provided live evaluation of the biosensor and ST passive panel with a smart patch developed by DuPont.
This technology expands applications beyond predictive healthcare, offering advanced monitoring for fitness and wellness.
Notably, the ST1VAFE3BX was awarded Best in Show in the MEMS and Sensors category by Embedded Computing Design, highlighting its innovation and impact on the industry. To learn more about this groundbreaking technology, check out our dedicated blog article or watch our video presentation from the event.
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