Industries such as semiconductors and panel manufacturing, which the world depends on, implement cleanrooms to prevent contaminants such as microorganisms, suspended particles, volatile chemical gases, or dust that can decrease yield rates and result in considerable losses in the production process.It's undeniable that the high degree of cleanliness expected by the above industries cannot be solely achieved through isolated spaces such as cleanrooms, but must also rely on personnel's compliance to good cleaning practices. This means that personnel must wear protective clothing/hats/shoes before entering cleanrooms and raise both arms when walking through air shower tunnels, so that clean air may remove dust particles attached to these items. While these rules are in place, sometimes colleagues may fail to properly raise both arms, walk quickly through the air shower tunnel, fail to rotate properly, or spend insufficient time in the air shower tunnel, affecting the product's yield rate.In order to eliminate these circumstances, more and more businesses are requiring in house development teams to work on AI surveillance models to identify whether personnel's behaviors in air shower tunnels are compliant with existing rules; in the event of a violation, a linked warning mechanism can instantly request personnel to undergo comprehensive cleaning procedures. Due to the complex development of these models, the completion of many projects has been put on hiatus. Luckily, the NEON AI Smart Camera developed by ADLINK has provided timely assistance and helped revive numerous projects towards successful landings.AI Engineers Don't Understand Imaging? Potential Delays to Program DevelopmentChia-Wei Yang, Director at ADLINK's Edge Vision Business Center stated that the majority of factory AI engineers have backgrounds in automation and have only changed their fields in recent years; while they have undoubtedly honed their ability in AI over many years, they do not understand imaging in the sense that they don't know how to select lenses, light sources, or understand camera settings. As such, their efforts in developing image capture programs will naturally encounter a challenging learning threshold.However, the difficulties don't stop here. Challenges await at each stage, including environment restrictions (such as the inability to drill holes in cleanrooms, minimizing cabling, space restrictions, and the need for fanless designs to prevent dust accumulation), ensuring system reliability, and real-time DIO.Tsai-Pan Lin, Solution Engineer Director at ADLINK's Edge Vision Business Center, pointed out that this would not be an easy task due to the development processes that these AI engineers are accustomed to. Since it is impossible for them to develop programs directly in cleanroom environments, they need to record videos and use them as the basis for writing testing programs, which require integrating posture judgment logic to identify whether personnel's actions should be deemed as "Pass" or "NG." Once testing is confirmed to be error free, they have to go through the time consuming process of coming up with methods to integrate edge devices and cameras, and then deploy them into designated spaces.Taking Advantage of the EVA SDK to Land Projects within Two WeeksAfter implementing the NEON AI Smart Camera, AI teams will only need to develop one inference program to utilize the clear function block guide provided by EVA SDK (the NEON AI Camera's built-in edge vision analytics software development kit). This allows developers to give a tangible form to their logic, swiftly introduce it into programs, and rapidly toggle image sources from video to camera. In other words, one program can meet testing and subsequent real-life scenario flattening requirements. Generally speaking, users can utilize visualization tools in the built-in EVA IDE of EVA SDK to convert complex development processes into intuitive flow charts, and then place function blocks in order and achieve project landing within two weeks.As for environment restrictions, the NEON AI Smart Camera provides massive assistance primarily because it is an All-in-One system with an integrated camera and computer that only requires one network and a power cable to meet businesses' expectations by "reducing cabling to a minimum." Furthermore, NEON features ease of installation and supports the VESA standard installation interface, so that users can obtain various mechanisms available in the market to complete setup operations, thereby eliminating the necessity to drill holes. More importantly, NEON utilizes a fanless design, which eliminates concerns regarding dust accumulation.In the past, AI engineers utilized development boards and webcams readily available to users for in house developed programs, which often suffered from unknown factors that resulted in poor inference reliability and images being bypassed. Also, additional efforts were required to develop I/O control programs to immediately trigger warning mechanisms such as three-color indicators and voice warnings. After implementing NEON, pre-operations such as image capture, verification, and adding algorithms can be completed and quickly setup within two weeks to provide stable image capture without bypass as well as stable inference time. The addition of EVA SDK's built-in I/O control plug-in also allow AI engineers to build I/O control logic through low-code development methods.The clear benefits provided by NEON with EVA SDK can offer massive value to businesses. Based on responses from various customers, AI surveillance has increased personnel compliance; they no longer disregard cleaning regulations and undergo proper cleaning in air shower tunnels, decreasing dust by a massive 80% and significantly eliminating factors that affect yield rates.Chia-Wei Yang stated that ADLINK is pleased with the positive customer feedback and expects to develop additional tools "that will lower learning curves," so that customers can accelerate their implementation of vision AI applications; these little tools will appear on the inference side and eventually for the training side. Additionally, ADLINK will continue to organize in-depth AI academy courses to cultivate even more talented individuals capable of developing advanced vision AI solutions.For more information, please visit: https://www.adlinktech.com/en/EVA_SDK_ADLINK_Edge_AI_Vision_Analytics.NEON AI Smart Camera developed by ADLINK has provided timely assistance and helped revive numerous projects towards successful landings.

NeoGene Tech, a Guangzhou-based technology platform provider for mobile device thermal management, has unveiled a breakthrough solution for ultra-high-packaging-density power battery module, which has a very simple cell and vapor chamber integration structure to simultaneously solve the thermal management issues in both excessively high- and low-temperature battery operation scenarios.It is known that power batteries are extremely sensitive to either excessively high or low temperatures. Battery cells charge and discharge in both high- and low-temperature scenarios will significantly result in short supply of energy, reduction of lifespan and fast degradation. High power density, as well as high packaging density along with better thermal management as well, is always the goal for power battery module development.Once the battery cells are assembled together in very high density, the heat dissipation will become a very tough issue. On the other hand, operating the power battery module in a low-temperature environment is also necessary to warm up the cells to a better operation temperature in advance. Considering heat dissipation and heating functions together, the total size of the battery module is becoming big and the structure is also becoming more complex."NeoGene Tech's approach is to integrate multiple high energy density pouch cells and large-area, double-side wick structured, heat-pipe-array, ultra-thin vapor chamber with self-heating function together in high-density assembly to conduct both heat dissipation and self-heating in different scenarios of operating temperature," said Jeffrey Chen, CEO of NeoGene Tech."The ultra-thin vapor chamber was designed based on NeoGene Tech's MagicWick-Inside Technology Platform, and the porous wick structures inside the vapor chamber were made by the print wick structuring (PWS) approach. The thickness of the ultra-thin vapor chamber devices is only 0.6mm like multiple flattened micro heat pipes that are parallel assembled together as an array and the temperature difference (Delta T) between evaporator and condenser can be controlled at around 1 degree C. The vapor chamber is seamlessly assembled and integrated with lithium-ion pouch cells and the heat generated in the evaporator area and being dissipated and exchanged by two heat sinks coupled on the two sides of the condenser area of the vapor chamber. On the surface of the vapor chamber, a heating circuit formed by thick film printing and sintering technology that enables cells to warm up in low-temperature scenario," said Chen."We are targeting the high-end market first with our technology. Once the applications need an ultra-compact and ultra-high power density and superior thermal management, we will take advantage in such an area. Collaborating with world-class high-energy density lithium-ion cell manufacturers as well as BMS solution providers will be creating a win-win-win situation. Achieving another record-breaking in power density and the charge-discharge cycle will be foreseen in near future," said Chen.Photo: NeoGene Tech

Touch key product applications are becoming increasingly innovative, with a trend of increasing intelligence in terminal products, HOLTEK Semiconductor has launched its new 5V wide-voltage range Arm Cortex-M0+ Touch microcontroller HT32F542xx series. This new device touch key range includes the part numbers, HT32F54231, HT32F54241, HT32F54243 and HT32F54253. These new devices have a frequency of up to 60MHz and can provide up to 28 touch keys. In addition to the stable and reliable capacitive touch engine core hardware, this new series of MCUs also have standard communication interfaces which includes USART, UART, SPI and I2C, suitable for applications in a wide range of smart household appliances and IoT terminal equipment as well.The sensing technology is mainly sub-divided into the following types, resistive type, inductive type, capacitive type, infrared type, surface acoustic wave type, etc. Presently, the majority of touch keys use a capacitive type sensing methodology. The main challenge lies in achieving stability and compliance with EMC specifications. Due to variations in different IC companies touch key design technology and differences in provided engineering service levels, developers may not be able to establish correct test procedures during their early development stage. It is only after the product design has been completed and already in use by customers over a period of time, that performance problems will arise leading to many after-sales customer complaints. This is especially prevalent with AC power supply problems, environmental humidity, moisture, etc., all of which can create false touch detect situations.Sources of touch key instability and implementing good test techniques:Common sources of interferenceCommon interference sources include voltage fluctuations, temperature/humidity changes, electromagnetic interference (RF antennas, walkie-talkies, etc.), power supply interference (motor startups, fluorescent lamp startups), etc.Applying good test techniquesThe following test methods can be used to create practical environments for the testing of general electronic equipment.1. Functional test: Here the touch keys are functionally tested while the operating voltage is adjusted from high to low and then from low to high in a repeated test. 2. Wet environment test: Use water vapor to cover the touch panel to be tested with condensation, or place the touch panel close to the air outlet of an air conditioner. Higher humidity levels will result in higher capacitance values. 3. Temperature test: Use an oven or hot air to heat up the touch panel for the heating test and put the touch panel into a refrigerator or freezer for the cooling test. 4. Power supply interference test: Test for EFT burst immunity using the standard IEC61000-4-4, GB/T 17626.4. Test the RF field disturbance immunity using the standard IEC61000-4-6, GB/T 17626.6.5. Space radiation test: Test the radio frequency electromagnetic field radiation immunity using the standard IEC 61000-4-3, GB/T 17626.3 with a test field strength between 3 - 10V/m.6. ESD test: Use the standard IEC61000-4-2, GB/T 17626.6.HOLTEK Semiconductor initiated its development of touch key devices in 2006. With a desire to offer excellence in professional customer technical service, HOLTEK established its subsidiary company, Best Solution Technology Inc., in 2008 to solely focus on touch key solutions. To the present date, they have assisted related customers with the volume production of some 200 million units every year. HOLTEK fully intends to continue to support its customers by providing excellence in professional technical services and complete solutions to assist customers with rapid product development and design through to final mass production and sales of finished products.HOLTEK new released 32-bit Arm Cortex-M0+ touch key MCUs.

Chenbro, a pioneer in the design and manufacturing of rackmount systems, announced that its innovative RM25324 2U 24 Bay high-density storage server chassis has won the iF Design Award 2022 in recognition of its unique structure and innovative design. The exclusive dual-load design is optimized for convenience and safety.The iF Design Award is one of the world's most prestigious design awards. Originating Germany in 1953, the iF seal reflects excellence in 5 areas: idea, form, function, differentiation, and impact. The winning product, RM25324, won over the 132-member jury, made up of independent experts worldwide. The competition was intense: almost 11,000 entries were submitted from 57 countries in hopes of receiving the seal of quality. Considering server products are not recipients of distinguished awards, garnering such an accolade has unveiled the strength of Chenbro's server chassis design and its focus on application needs."Being recognized by the iF Design Award has clearly showed the strength of Chenbro's off-the-shelf (OTS) products, to focus on user experience and product innovation," stated Corona Chen, President of Chenbro. Chenbro is committed to cultivating a full range of design and R&D talents and conduct in-depth interviews with system integrators and end customers in different vertical industries to understand a user's perception of the server chassis. To meet users' needs, Chenbro extends the innovation of OTS products to the application needs of end-users.Chenbro RM25324, 2U 24-bay high-density dual-load storage server chassis, with exclusive slide rails, only requires extending half of the fuselage from the cabinet; its dual-load and tool-less maintenance are tailored to quick deployment and efficient upkeep. The user-centered design focuses on the needs of information personnel to maintain, replace, and install hard disks in real-time. In addition, the reliability and safety of the dual-load function of the chassis are specifically designed for the exclusive bilateral thermal airflow, achieving the best results among similar products. Numerous tests have verified the rackmount's weight bearing capacity to ensure server stability without impeding the remainder of the cabinet. RM25324 was designed to meet the demands of users in the data center environment and provide an unprecedented engineering operational experience.As a high-density storage server chassis, RM25324 can install up to 24 hard drives with a 3.5-inch SATA/SAS interface at a 2U height, supporting horizontal database expansion up to 400TB raw capacity per server. The optional kit on the back of the chassis can support two 2.5-inch SATA hard drives to provide consistent response time for cold and hot data layering mechanisms. RM25324 redefines cold and hot data storage durability. It is the best solution for big data storage, capable of fulfilling various application demands such as data storage, security monitoring, NVR/DVR, database, file server, and more.Eric Hui, Executive Vice President of Chenbro, further pointed out, "Server enclosures require constant design innovation. We establish flexible module components through modular design, fulfill compatibility verification, and realize agile and reliable product development." Chenbro provides customers with high-quality products and services, balancing sustainable design and high quality. Chenbro's commitment to "Whatever's Inside, Chenbro Outside," reflects that regardless of the industry changes in demand affecting the server configuration, Chenbro can continue to innovate according to user needs to provide various server chassis products.The exclusive dual-load design is optimized for convenience and safety.

iCatch Technology (iCatch) has focused on image signal processing (ISP) technology and Camera SOC for over two decades and aggressively invested in research and development in more machine learning (ML) related technology and application.Now iCatch has collaborated with Prophesee on Event-based Metavision sensing projects that integrated iCatch's V57 AI vision processor with the new Sony Semiconductor Solutions ("SSS") stacked Event-based Vision Sensor IMX636, realized in collaboration between SSS and Prophesee.iCatch built the OpenMVCam development platform for all algorithm partners and ODM customers to design a variety of AI products, systems and applications on many market segments like surveillance, smart healthcare, in-cabin monitor system, smart home, industrial automation, smart city and so on.iCatch also provides a high customized service and an excellent image quality system to become the eyes of all of machine vision equipment and smart devices in the future.SSS's Event-based Vision Sensor can be the input source for iCatch AI vision processor, based on iCatch built-in NPU acceleration engine and proprietary CV processing hardware engine. It can integrate Prophesee Metavision Intelligence SDK and other 3rd party's machine vision algorithms to support end customers' AI vision applications such as DMS and OMS in automotive in-cabin, patient/elder fall detection in home healthcare and hospitals, intruder detection in home surveillance, anomaly detection in industrial automation, gesture control in smart home appliance, eye tracking in AR/VR and so on.Prophesee as the inventor of most advanced neuromorphic vision system in the world, has developed the groundbreaking Event-based Vision method for computer vision applications. Inspired by the human retina, Event-based vision sensor features pixels, each powered by their own embedded intelligent processing, allowing them to activate independently when they detect a relative change in the illumination intensity (i.e motion).This new approach significantly reduces power consumption and the amount of processed data while offering ultra high-speed acquisition, strong low-light and HDR performance.iCatch AI vision processor with built-in hardware event decoder can natively support SSS's Event-based Vision Sensor IMX636 without external FPGA or interface chip as event decoder for better system cost. It features built-in NPU acceleration engine and CV processing engine to provide the acceleration and optimization required in machine vision algorithms. In addition to iCatch key advantage in low power design and high flexibility in the optimization in human vision and machine vision applications, with event based vision sensors and 3rd party partner's machine vision algorithm, iCatch AI vision processor can fulfill all machine vision applications in a variety of use cases and edge computing ecosystem.Detail of iCatch https://www.icatchtek.comDetail of Prophesee https://www.prophesee.ai/ Detail of Sony Semiconductor Solutions https://www.sony-semicon.co.jp/e/iCatch V57 + IMX636 realized in collaboration between SSS and PROPHESEE, can be used in home care and gesture detection applicationPhoto: iCatch/ Sony/ Prophesee

MiniLED is an up and comer in the displays category, particularly for tablets, TVs and gaming monitors. This relatively new technology, used for backlighting LCD displays, offers deeper blacks, improved contrast ratios and brighter panels, compared to traditional LED-backlit LCD technology. But there is a challenge that looms as miniLED moves into mass production: miniLED backlight units require a substrate – either PCB or glass – covered with white solder mask. Why does the manufacturing process with white solder mask present a challenge? To better understand, let's look at the benefits of miniLED, why white is the preferred solder mask, and the resulting manufacturing challenges.According to an Omdia report, "OLED and LCD Supply Demand & Equipment Tracker – 2Q21 Analysis," shipments of LCD panels with miniLED backlights are expected to grow from 9.7 million units in 2021 to 37.9 million units in 2025. More specifically, TVs and tablets are the leading miniLED applications, with significant growth predicted for TVs through 2025. The use of miniLED for notebook PCs is also gaining traction and predicted to increase in volume during the same period. MiniLED is becoming a popular choice for OEM designers because it provides better contrast, richer colors and improved image quality, and can be a cost-effective alternative to OLED.OLED vs. miniLEDOLED is a popular technology, with self-luminous displays and panels that do not require a backlight unit due to their light-emitting characteristics. OLED can provide better color contrast than miniLED, but it is often quite expensive and there are some disadvantages in lifespan and performance in outdoor environments. MiniLED, on the other hand, has excellent brightness, reduced energy consumption, high refresh rate and a wide color gamut with less design complexity. As a result, many of the largest TV, tablet and notebook manufacturers are eager to adopt miniLED technology since it offers quality and other improvements over standard LED technology and is more cost effective than OLED.To provide all these benefits, the solder mask exposure process for miniLED-based devices requires high accuracy and yield. Manufacturers must be able to achieve superior accuracy to meet the demanding specifications of miniLED-based products, as required by the designers. Direct imaging (DI) for the solder mask exposure process is an ideal solution for this because it enables high accuracy, while overcoming challenges such as panel topography, distortion and fine features, all of which can influence product quality and yield.MiniLED backlight unit on a large-size TVAdvantages & Challenges of White Solder Mask for miniLEDDesigners of miniLED BLU (backlight units) devices typically require that the substrates manufactured by their supply chain will be covered with white solder mask, which has a very high reflectivity rate (>90% in many cases). This enables the high contrast and brighter colors that deliver a sharper image on TVs, tablets and notebooks/PCs. All these substrates, whether PCB or glass, are produced with openings to receive the miniLED chips in the next stage of assembly, either package on board (POB), chip on board (COB) or chip on glass (COG). Highly accurate and uniform opening dimensions are critical to the quality of the miniLED end-product.There are three factors in the white solder mask DI exposure process that can create challenges for manufacturers: the first is accuracy, the second is quality and yield, and the third is capacity which also translates to cost.MiniLEDs range from 50 to 300 microns in size, and they must be positioned very accurately, with an extremely small standard deviation. For example, the uniformity of the solder resist openings (SROs) on the substrate cannot deviate more than ±5 microns for some applications. High-end devices typically require higher accuracy. Achieving such strict registration accuracy is even harder when the panel targets are covered with thick white solder mask, and a special illumination or sophisticated algorithm is required to acquire the target position with high accuracy.Quality is the second challenge, relating to uniformity of the solder resist openings and to strict undercut requirements. The white solder mask used for miniLED production scatters most of the illumination wavelength, so the exposure UV light is not absorbed as it would be with other solder mask colors, resulting in an inferior solder mask polymerization process. An undercut is formed when the bottom part of the solder mask layer is not fully polymerized during the exposure process. This may lead to the possibility of a peel off. Severe undercut (see image below) is often problematic for miniLED manufacturers. Minimal undercut (see image below), which creates robust dams, is a requirement for high quality and high yield. The creation of robust dams with minimal undercuts requires the use of an optimized wide range of illumination wavelengths in the exposure process, to expose the reflective, thick white solder mask.To address cost, manufacturers of PCB or glass substrates for miniLED devices need to maximize production capacity and optimize their cost per print. This can most easily be achieved by using a high throughput solution that also addresses the unique challenges of white solder mask exposure mentioned above.Left: White solder mask dam with minimal undercut. Right: White solder mask dam with severe undercutWhat's next?As demand for miniLED-based consumer electronics increases, new and innovative advanced solder mask exposure methods are needed to meet high accuracy, quality and capacity requirements. Direct imaging solutions that overcome the challenges of white solder mask exposure are necessary for manufacturers to produce high-quality substrates at mass-production levels to meet rising demand for tablets, TVs, gaming monitors and more in the coming years.Visit us at Touch Taiwan to learn more about KLA's white solder mask direct imaging (DI) solution and how it can boost production of your MiniLED backlight unit. The article is composed by Michal Itzik, Product Marketing Manager, KLAFrom 27-29 April, you can find us at Touch Taiwan, Nangang World Exhibition Center, Hall 4F, Booth #M834.

In 2020, 5G infrastructure went live commercially around the world, thanks to 5G wireless technology, which is meant to deliver high-speed Internet, massive bandwidth, and wide connectivity. AIoT was viewed by many industries as the last piece of the 5G puzzle. In order to successfully deploy 5G networks, performance enhancements with high speed and reliability are essential. With AEWIN new released SCB-6913 industrial platform which has the feature sets of stability, expandability, and the ability to be combine with our customization services, we are ready to assist system operators in developing the next generation of high-performance 5G network communications platforms.Since the 4G era, networking has been a key function for many different types of equipment, yet the limitations of 4G bandwidth and Internet speeds have relegated the 4G communication standard to be used mainly in the design of consumer equipment. The era of smart technologies has rapidly increased the networking requirements of non-consumable equipment, 5G was designed to cater to industrial and commercial applications. Today, the commercialized 5G makes it possible to serve applications such as VR/AR entertainment, smart healthcare, smart factories, and autonomous vehicles. Aside from smart applications, enterprise communications and network infrastructure have also been migrating from its traditional MPLS and xDSL to 5G networks. The demand of the SD-WAN equipment supporting 5G has grown to address this trend.SCB-6913 is the solution to response to the market demand that designed specifically to operate reliably in the harsh environment and/or harsh conditions. SCB-6913 utilizes a fanless design and sealed case that is highly dust-resistant, water resistant, and malfunction-resistant, which ensures availability. Though some might believe that fanless designs result in poor cooling, AEWIN's advanced cooling design ensures that there is no negative impact to equipment performance. In terms of communication design, the SCB-6913 has 3 built-in M.2 interface sockets allowing connections to two 5G modules and one Wi-Fi module. The 5G modules increase Internet bandwidth and support up to 4 SIM cards, allowing systems to simultaneously support different operators.From an application perspective, the SCB-6913 is suitable for use in systems with strict requirements regarding stability and network reliability, especially in harsh, dusty environments such as factories or in-vehicle systems. The fanless design allows systems to operate with higher stability, reduces the time and cost of repairs, and creates a superior office environment by eliminating noisy fans. Also, the large number of 5G interfaces in the SCB-6913 enhances backup mechanisms and can be applied in logistics vehicles, trains, high-speed rail, and other systems that require cross-regional operation to ensure there is no impact to communication quality. The Wi-Fi module allows local IoT devices to transfer data via 5G to backend control centers to instantly handle various unexpected situations.In addition to advanced networking functionality, AEWIN also provides comprehensive design services that assist clients with applying the SCB-6913 optimally in the rapid development of high-performance next generation network platforms. AEWIN has stated that current device operators lack of sufficient information when selecting models during the pre-development phase, which causes them to take on risks in the development process. If the performance of a product does not meet expectations, the result is either delaying and readjusting development schedules or shipping products with poor performance. Off the shelf (OTS) products offered by AEWIN allow device operators to conduct tests when selecting models and obtain accurate data before moving onto the development phase to ensure products are launched on schedule with the expected quality. Device operators can also utilize AEWIN's OTS design and customization services to increase product features. Current OEM/ODM server suppliers offer design services, but orders must achieve a minimum threshold; in contrast, AEWIN provides customization services even at low product volumes. Special designs can be applied to firmware, hardware, and organizations to better meet market demands.Enterprises are increasingly reliant on the Internet and therefore the quality of network equipment has a major impact on competitiveness. The SCB-6913's features such as fanless design and numerous network interfaces allows operators to build stable, reliable network communications platforms, thereby helping them gain a foothold in the 5G era and capitalize on massive smart business opportunities.

Taiwan's industrial computer industry has attracted worldwide attention. Within numerous vertical integration applications, smart transportation has always been the main application with profitability expectations. Sintrones, a manufacturer of in-vehicle computing systems, has accumulated more than ten years of experience in complete development since its establishment in 2009. It has successfully broken new ground in important markets like Europe and the United States.Its advantages lie in mastering the capabilities of complete system design and manufacturing. After many years of cooperation with end-user customers in Europe and the United States, it has engaged in interaction and obtained inspiration from its numerous esteemed customers' first-hand product technologies and constantly challenged its design capabilities. It has continued to develop various key products that can be used in vehicles in harsh scenarios. Based on the company's revenue, the European market accounts for more than 40%, and the US market accounts for 30%. The Company has refined its capabilities in operations and profitability in major global markets.In an interview, Chairman and General Manager Mr. Kevin Hsu said that to adapt to the new era in transportation heralded in by electric vehicles (EV), there are a large number of new types of intelligent applications that continue to drive the development of in-vehicle computing technology; the traditional "On-board Unit" (OBU) has been expanded to a more diversified "Road-side Unit" (RSU) product segment, and significant new business opportunities are set to be introduced gradually over the next several years. Sintrones has been able to glimpse a future city framework built of new intelligent transportation systems, including "charging stations, smart poles, smart signage systems, and roadside intelligent video analytics," each application requiring the investment of resources to build customized corresponding special functions.A deeply considered design that incorporates wide temperature, wide voltage, and software initialization has won customers and the market praiseIn terms of technical advantages, to be as inclusive as possible, Sintrones has been able to take full advantage of the design range of comprehensive voltage power supplies, from 12 - 24V and to 48V—and there are even systems, such as cutting-edge rail transit systems, with unique specifications for DC 110V. Sintrones has created a complete product line to fit various industrial application standards, and it has also obtained several major quality certifications.Mr. Hsu further explained that the high-current, high-voltage design required in fan-less heat dissipation technology is quite difficult. At present, Sintrones possesses several key patents in heat dissipation design and continues to maintain its leading edge in the field. In addition, the in-vehicle computing system has a very comprehensive response plan for vehicle emergencies. In the example of a vehicle that picks up students to and from school, a backup battery will be activated immediately upon a sudden power failure after an accident. The computer system will use the 5G or 4G network to transmit a distress signal and location data simultaneously to medical units, the students' parents, and school teachers. These are all examples of Sintrones' custom-designed in-vehicle systems for specific applications.Sintrones' in-vehicle computer provides a complete solution for increasingly diverse intelligent transportation applications, including monitoring commercial driving behaviors and automatic driving assistance capabilities in vehicles such as police cars, fire engines, school buses, trains, ships, etc. It has a high degree of flexibility, supports a wide range of peripheral devices and network connections, and is adaptable to various vehicle management systems, such as those used in the user scenarios of fleet management, vehicle maintenance systems, and self-driving computers. Sintrones has specially built a variety of software initialization functions in advance to help customers quickly set up the software to complete a combination of various functions. For such efforts, the Company has won a fair share of praise from customers. This is different from other competitors who need to go through time-consuming design changes before they can gain support. For Sintrones, product timeliness and thoughtful design are the keys to achieving crucial competitive advantages.Advanced GPU card configuration enhances the application of high-function artificial intelligence in in-vehicle systems.Since high-performance artificial intelligence applications rely on the computing power of high-end GPU cards, vehicle-mounted computers that integrate GPU computing power form the core issues of fierce competition within the industry; thanks to its flexible designs such as fan-less heat dissipation and unique wide temperature, Sintrones is currently one of the very few in the industry that can provide in-vehicle computers supporting 200W high-end GPU cards. It has successfully entered the application field of high-end self-driving vehicle systems. The test of an uncrewed self-driving bus in cooperation with a renowned French self-driving vehicle company is continuing certification for system operation. In addition, more and more public transportation requires actual measurement of fail recovery and emergency backup, and simultaneous potential business opportunities will contribute to the stable profitability of Sintrones's operations.It is also worth mentioning that INTEL, AMD, and Nvidia were the main processor designs in the past. Due to the needs of automotive systems, Sintrones's product line has increased support for NXP processors, which will further expand the future product layout. In addition, for the practical application of 4G/5G, Sintrones has achieved considerable gains due to its participation in constructing the European Expressway Electronic Toll Collection (ETC). However, due to costs and the timetable for the gradual popularization of telecom operators, the current demand for 5G applications is still slightly lower than that of 4G LTE.Allying with AU Optronics to strengthen strategic partnership and layout future automotive systemsSintrones mainly focuses on the application field of commercial vehicles. Due to the differences in technical specifications, market size, and cost structure for the intensely competitive passenger car market, Mr. Hsu has adopted a slow and steady strategy. He has actively formed a close strategic partnership with AU Optronics. Due to the variety of intelligent functions in vehicles, interior panels have skyrocketed, such as infotainment systems, brilliant rear mirrors, bright instrument panels, heads-up displays, and many electronic control units (ECUs). This suggests that large display panel manufacturers have an increasingly dominant position. For Sintrones, there are considerable potential business opportunities, but such options require a complete layout and preparation.The two parties have cooperated to create an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) project. The parties have also launched various cooperative development projects for the Smart Cockpit system used in vehicles. For projects just on the cusp of initialization, there is the first-time promotion of charging station applications. The trend of electric cars has affected earth-shaking changes in the automotive market. The current new development is towards the role played by RSU, especially for the active improvement of safety in self-driving systems. The diversified integration of intelligent poles and intelligent traffic signs also brings new business opportunities for RSUs of in-vehicle computers.At present, applications of EV charging stations, which have increased in demand, have sprung up one after the other. For example, various integrated applications have included electronic payment, digital signage, and ATM banking systems. Since there are onboard computers behind the scenes of different guide and self-service systems (Kiosks), Sintrones and system integrators have already started developing solutions and designing integrated kits. In response to the varied business opportunities in the electric vehicle market in the next ten years, Sintrones has performed product development and preparation.Despite undergoing shortages of materials and the haze of market changes in 2021, Mr. Hsu remains optimistic about the growth potential of Sintrones in 2022. The current priority is to lock the development pace of the North American market and meet the opportunities offered by electric vehicles and charging stations in the United States. In these couple of years, Sintrones will rapidly increase its revenue share in the US market and actively prepare for the future of the automotive market.In response to the varied business opportunities in the electric vehicle market in the next ten years, Sintrones has performed product development and preparation. Currently, there is the first-time promotion of charging station applications and the integration of intelligent poles and smart traffic, which also brings new business opportunities for RSUs of in-vehicle computers.The unmanned self-driving bus system in cooperation between Sintrones and a renowned French self-driving vehicle company represents a successful entry into the application field of high-end self-driving vehicle systems. It will contribute to the stable profitability of Sintrones's operations.

The Indian electric vehicle market has shown tremendous growth in the past few years, a trend which is expected to witness exponential growth in the future. The driving factors for the growth of the EV market are the government incentives and subsidies for EV infrastructure developments. Also, increasing awareness regarding the environmental impact due to emissions from automotive vehicles and increasing fuel prices strengthens market growth. Electric vehicles are considered environmental friendly alternatives for transportation and are very likely to replace conventional vehicles in the future.According to a latest report, EV sales in India continue to grow impressively with sales in December 2021 reaching around 51K units, with a month-on-month increase of 21% and a year-on-year increase of a massive 240%. In 2022, sales are expected to reach a figure of 500K units.The EV market can be placed into several segments such as vehicle type, vehicle class, top speed, region, etc. The vehicle type segment gives a clear distinction of electric vehicles available for consumers. It includes passenger cars, two-wheel vehicles and commercial vehicles. In terms of volume, the two-wheel segment followed by passenger cars are expected to dominate the market. However, a few factors may hamper the growth of the EV market such as a lack of EV chargers, charging infrastructure, high manufacturing cost, km range per charge, service, etc.HT45F5Q-xx SERIES ASSP MCUHOLTEK is contributing to the growth of the EV market by addressing the EV charger problem with the latest HT45F5Q-xx series of ASSP microcontrollers (MCUs). HOLTEK is providing a smart EV charger solution to efficiently charge batteries to ensure their long life. These ASSP MCUs have the part numbers: HT45F5Q-1, HT45F5Q-2, HT45F5Q-2A and HT45F5Q-3.Hardware:The hardware section in the HOLTEK's EV charger solution includes MCUs, reference designs (schematics, Gerber files, etc.) and calibration tools.When compared with traditional MCU solutions, HOLTEK's ASSP MCUs include an integrated battery charger module which has two sets of OPAs and DACs for voltage and current control. It also includes an OPA to amplify the charging current signal from a current sensing resistor. Other MCU features include an EEPROM, CRC checking and various serial interfaces.Currently, HOLTEK is offering three EV charger reference designs suitable for the Indian market which can help users with their rapid product development. The specifications are 48V/2A (150W), 24V/4A (150W) both with flyback topology and 48V/12A (650W) with dual-switch forward converter topology. A general block diagram of an EV charger reference design is shown below.The EV battery charger block diagram of HT45F5Q-xx MCUPhoto: HOLTEKThis suggested smart charging system can support both lithium-ion and lead-acid battery types and includes features such as programmable charging voltage and current, over-temperature, reverse polarity and short circuit protection, LED charging status indicators, etc.Calibration tool design details are also available for reference allowing users to develop their own EV charger calibration hardware.SOFTWARE AND FIRMWARE:HOLTEK has also released a battary charger development workshop for firmware development. This software tool provides a GUI for users to generate firmware in a user-friendly manner. Users can set the charging voltage, current, and other parameters to generate firmware using a standard charging process. Later, the workshop-generated firmware can be modified to include user-defined code.The HT45F5Q-xx series charger volume production calibration platform is also available to help with the calibration process. A charging voltage and current accuracy of up to ±1% after calibration can be achieved here.The use of these software tools can greatly shorten the development period and improve the production efficiency.BENEFITS OF USING HOLTEK ASSP MCUs FOR EV CHARGER APPLICATION:The integrated battery charger module in the HT45F5Q-xx MCUs eliminates the need for external components such as DACs and OPAs which reduces the design complexity, resulting in smaller PCB areas and lower BOM costs.HOLTEK also provides complete technical resources such as block diagrams, application circuits, PCB files, source code, etc., to help users to develop their EV charger products.The availability of technical resources and workshops significantly simplifies the overall development process and helps with rapid product development which reduces the product time-to-market. To learn more about HOLTEK EV charger solutions, please contact your HOLTEK sales representative or email krishna@holtek.com.tw.

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