Authored by Jason E. Mulvihill, BluVision, Inc. | Director of Marketing

This year, at 2015 CES, Bluvision is pleased to showcase with TI at the TI Village (N115-N118) in LVCC North Hall.  This showcase features the launch of Bluvision’s iBEEK™ Beacon as well as the revolutionary BluFi™ Bluetooth^® to Wi-Fi^® gateway.

Bluvision created an interactive experience to showcase iBEEK and BluFi to provide real-time information to visitors at the TI Village.  Through a FREE App, visitors to the TI Village will be able to access real-time information on products being displayed from healthcare to wearables to the Internet of Things and more along with the ability to win prizes.

This interactive experience will showcase how Bluvision has been working with companies globally to enable new platforms incorporating TI’s SimpleLink™ Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Smart wireless MCUs and BLE-Stack to power the IoT applications incorporating BluFi Bluetooth-to-Wi-Fi sensors.

 “We are excited to work closely with TI and to unveil the future of The Internet of Things at CES,” said Jimmy Buchheim, CEO of Bluvision.

For more information, visit www.bluvision.com.

This entry was posted in Support Center and tagged Beacons, Enterprise Solutions, iBeacons, Indoor Navigation, TI, Bluvision

As I walk the floor of the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas each year, I tend to see a lot of the same thing. Of course, there’s the sea of electronics. Then there is every company’s iteration and graphical treatment of the word innovation. In some ways, it seems the word’s overuse is causing it to become all too common. 

To me, innovation is not just the next generation of any device – it’s the advancements that elicit emotional reactions of pure shock when you see them in action. I call them the “Whoa” moments – those rare occasions when technology does something unexpected and takes your breath away.

I had a few of those “Whoa” moments this weekend as I strolled through the TI Village making some finishing touches as we prepare for the show to start. I can honestly say to those who come by our village this year, expect the unexpected.

Our customers have been expecting the unexpected from us for a long time. They tell us exactly what they want our products to deliver, but often, they may not know the full extent of what our engineers and our products can offer. I love showing customers the capabilities of our products — whether it’s in conference rooms around the world or TI offices or even the small meeting rooms in our TI Village. This is where our customers gain an understanding of what we offer, and then they can dream up the craziest, most ambitious ideas knowing TI can partner with them to make those dreams a reality. 

This year, expect the unexpected in automotive technologies that enable enhanced driving experiences with unprecedented digital cockpit integration. Expect the unexpected in the Internet of Things, such as a battery-free sensor network that can connect up to 30 devices in your home.

Expect the unexpected in medical advancements and wearable electronics, and in immersive computing platforms that break down the barriers between the digital and physical world. And expect the unexpected in a Haptic Bluetooth® Kit with the ability to provide updates to users through non-visual means.

I love seeing our demos in action at CES, but my favorite part of the show is what happens behind the scenes. It’s our engineers in meeting rooms imagining what’s next. Invention is happening in real-time in the TI Village, and what is envisioned in our meeting rooms this year could very well be on the CES show floor next year.

For those joining us as CES, check out the TI Village at #N115-N118. For those who won’t be there, I encourage you to be a part of our “Whoa” moments by following this blog, as well as TI Live @, Behind the Wheel, ConnecTIng Wirelessly and Fully Charged. We’ll have daily updates on our YouTube page. You can stay constantly connected to all things CES on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.

Expect the unexpected with us.

As we all begin preparing for our trek to Vegas for CES 2015, I would like my young friends (born in the 70’s of course) to reflect on their impressions of the first episode of Lucas’s trilogy seen sitting in a movie theatre in 1977. On my side, I perfectly remember thinking one day I will be Luke Skywalker.

The eyes of young boys were literally amazed by this epic space opera and particularly by technologies used by our heroes to fight the Galactic Empire. You have to remember it was an era where we used rotary phones, 747 jumbo jets become commercial carriers and GPS was in its infancy. So you can imagine how impactful it was for us as teenagers to see our favorite characters using wireless communications; electronic gadgets with revolutionary HMI such as natural voice recognition, gesture control or touch screen; droids speaking and enhancing human intelligence and autonomous vehicles traveling the galaxy safely while playing chess with a Wookiee. Now you’re with me … 

But instead of becoming Luke Skywalker a lot of us realized that we would have a bigger impact by inventing or engineering these technologies and early concepts to real products we all use today. While I look back, smartphones and wireless connectivity are in our everyday lives; the Internet of Things (IoT) is getting more and more popular such as activity trackers to monitor personal metrics; our kids are more used to touch screen rather than mouse or keyboard and cannot think of on-line gaming without gesture control. In fact I just upgraded my WiFi plan via voice recognition through my Telco provider.  But the journey is not over yet. Our generation has still to deliver an autonomous vehicle, green, safe and fun to control – I think the word “drive” will be obsolete for those vehicle. 

The automotive industry has taken several steps to achieve this exciting goal including integration of advanced and connected In-Vehicle-Infotainment (IVI) systems in more models as well as a number of technologies categorized under Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that create a safer and unique driving experience. Texas Instruments has invested for more than a decade in infotainment and ADAS: “Jacinto” and TDAx automotive processors as well as the many analog companion chips are supporting these trends. 

A unique approach of TI is our capability to leverage best of both world for non-safety critical features, and provide a seamless integration of informational ADAS functions (Informational ADAS as software upgrade to today’s infotainment systems) into existing infotainment systems so the vehicle better informs and warns the driver. We announced (Press Release) that capability at SAE Convergence in Detroit in October 2014 with “Jacinto 6 Ex” processor (DRA756) which contains powerful CPU, graphics multimedia and radio cores with differentiated vision co-processors, called embedded vision engines (EVE), and  additional DSPs that perform the complex ADAS processing.

For the TI’s automotive team, the CES 2015 show is even more exiting than previous years, as we’ve taken our concept of informational ADAS to the next step. With joint efforts and hard work from both TI and QNX teams, we’ve together implemented a real informational ADAS system running QNX CAR2.x on a “Jacinto 6 Ex” processor.

I could describe this system to you in detail via my blog, but just like the Star Wars movies, it’s best to experience our “Jacinto 6 Ex” and QNX CAR2.x based system in person. Contact your TI or QNX representative today and schedule a meeting to visit our private suite at CES at the TI Village (N115-N119) or the QNX booth (2231) to immerse yourself in a combined IVI, cluster, megapixel surround view and HUD display based on DLP® technology with augmented reality running on a single “Jacinto 6 Ex” SoC demonstration. 

One day I’ll experience Skywalker’s life as I will no doubt have the opportunity to control an intelligent and autonomous vehicle via my biometrics, voice and gesture while riding with my family to the movie theater playing chess with my grand kids, not yet a Wookiee.

We’re now just hours away from the 2015 CES show in Las Vegas. There’s a sense of excitement in the air as we put the finishing touches on the TI Village. Here’s a little sneak peek of the preparations underway today.

(Please visit the site to view this video)

We are showcasing the next generation of automotive, the Internet of Things (IoT), smart homes and wearable technologies through more than 100 product demonstrations. Through real-time videos, TI’s social media pages and daily blogs, you won’t miss a single TI-inspired innovation at the show.

We’ll be sharing highlights from the show each day on this TI Live @ blog, and our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram pages, so make sure you’re following us.

Also on Twitter, we will be giving you real-time updates from two events during CES.

Since autonomous vehicles are generating a lot of pre-buzz at CES, we’ll be live-tweeting from a speaking panel on this topic. Fernando Mujica, director of TI’s autonomous vehicles lab, Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt and Dr. Dirk Hoheisel from Bosch will present their take on the “Obstacles on the Road to Self-Driving Cars” on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT. These experts will discuss regulations, legislation and privacy issues that need to be addressed before driverless cars become a reality.

We’ll also be live-tweeting from an IDC analyst event on Tuesday (11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT) that will cover hot topics from CES, including wearables, the Internet of Things (IoT) and how low-power silicon enables consumer electronics. These are common design questions facing consumer electronics developers.

We’ll be posting photo galleries of our product demos each day – so stay tuned to our Facebook page for those updates!

Guest blog post by Ofer Klein, CEO & Founder of WeFind LTD

Can you imagine a vending machine that knows when your child is approaching and drops his\her favorite drink – all without any physical payment or touch?

Well, this sure sounds like science fiction, but with WeFind's wearable solution, integrated with TI's latest SimpleLink™ wireless connectivity technology, this scenario is now a reality.

When a youngster wearing the WeFind wearable device nears a connected beverage vending machine it will automatically dispense their favorite thirst-quencher with an automatic mobile payment. For the first time ever, these capabilities are going to be demoed at CES 2015. By using WeFind's Wi-Fi® based wristband for children (containing TI’s SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3100 solution), alongside a mobile application, we are creating a two-way wireless  communication channel with a soda vending machine, that allows  personalized, hassle free drink serving by proximity and wristband gestures only!

The mobile application allows the user to configure personal preferences - like your kid's preferred drink, avatar and payment details. The wristband, which is associated with the mobile app, allows an "always-connected, always-available" location and communication channel with the environment, as well as easy gesture control where interaction is needed. 

With TI's SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3100wireless network processor integrated inside, WeFind's wristband creates a personalized channel with the environment enabling:

• Easy utilization of existing Wi-Fi networks
• A personalized, location based experience
• Hands-free, wireless gesture control right from your wrist

TI’s SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3100 low power Wi-Fi solution provides wireless connectivity while using very little of the wristband’s battery life. Additionally, utilizing the built-in SSL capabilities of the TI’s SimpleLink solution, all communication between the wristband and the cloud are completely secured.

For those attending the 2015 CES in Las Vegas this week, come see a live demo of how WeFind is utilizing TI’s SimpleLink platform in the TI Village (#N115-N118).

In addition to the application discussed here, WeFind’s Wi-Fi enabled wristband has a wide variety of use cases for the whole family. From tracking the location of your children and sending messages via Wi-Fi at an amusement park, to home automation and communication applications for senior citizens, WeFind keeps families connected even when they’re apart.  For additional information on WeFind’s connected family experience, contact info@wefind-tech.com or ofer@wefind-tech.com.

So, next time you walk by a vending machine with your kid – ask them for a cold drink for yourself too!

It’s the beginning of the year, and that means another Consumer Electronics Show is upon us! You may or may not know it, but TI will be in attendance this year, set up just off the main show floor in the North Hall, ready to show the latest and greatest innovations. Typically, you hear big news announcements from OEMs announcing cutting-edge audio and visual devices and, in recent years, from wearable manufacturers, who are increasing their presence in a big way. Regardless of what electronics you are into, though, TI is usually in it.

When it comes to consumer electronics, we got your back…the back of your TV, that is. This year, we will showcase demos for our HDMI 2.0 retimer. HDMI 2.0 will enable almost double the speed of HDMI 1.0, reaching up to 6 Gbps! Our new retimer will keep that data on track, making sure you can get higher quality content without any hiccups or lag. Along the same pluggable line, we will also have demos for what’s sure to be a hot topic this year: USB Type C. This universal plug will fend off the minor offences of Murphy’s Law by removing the opportunity to insert the “wrong side” for the USB plug first. You will see these universal plugs being added this or next year in tablets and PCs first, but soon it will proliferate in the broader consumer world and hopefully even into automotive spaces.

Speaking of automotive, infotainment is getting a big upgrade this year with easier integration of your phone to your main console. The backbone of this communication system is driven by USB host and on-the-go, which has resurged in recent years. It enables your smartphone to become the controller instead of just another accessory “on the bus.” You probably heard about some of the OEM level software solutions for these applications but if you happen to get into the TI booth you can actually see our seamless solution in action. It’s finally an elegant way to allow your phone be your own personal entertainment director for the duration of your journey, be it to get some more milk from the store or see your grandparents across the country.  

Amid all the excitement that comes from the latest and greatest announcements, take a moment reach out to your TI rep and make an appointment to stop by to see the innovation that’s going on under the hood at TI’s booth at N115-N118. If you aren't in Vegas this year you can always check out our latest solutions at ti.com/USB. Either in person or on the web, it’s your opportunity to get a peek at the building blocks for next the CES gadget du jour.

Written By: Martin Moss and Xiang Fang

The heavy use of cars in high populated areas has cities looking into alternative transportation such as trains, buses or e-bikes.  To keep up with environmental regulations and concerns, the automotive industry continues to evolve in using technology to help make cars more efficient. This has been further advanced by government policy and installing regulations and standards for emissions. More popular in Europe, the trend is becoming a global standard as more manufacturing are adopting the technology.

Cold Crank Simulator: 

There are many integrated circuits for the automotive environment. To show the performance of these devices, we have designed a "Cranking Test Pulse" simulator which is currently showcased at CES. This generates a test pulse to show the battery voltage collapse during the cranking of the engine. As the car battery voltage can dip down below 5.0V, this can lead to problems with the system’s circuits. TI offers solutions to specifically handle these conditions. In order to address this problem, in most cases, a boost is needed such as the LM3481. This device is placed before the converter circuit to ensure the voltage droop does not cause unacceptable behavior during this very short cranking period, for example in navigation,  infotainment systems or the instrument cluster. Vehicle occupants expect these systems to continue operating during cold cranking. In developing such a solution, the voltage drop must be tested to ensure the solution reacts fast enough during the cranking operation.

Each automotive manufacturer has unique cranking profiles to simulate such a condition in their vehicles. Figure 1 represents an outline of our cranking simulator and some of the test pulses.

Figure 1

Typical cold crank profile

The standard power supply in a conventional vehicle is typically a lead-acid-type battery which is constructed from six 2.1V galvanic cells in series providing a nominal 12V (actually 12.6V). In normal operation, the vehicle’s battery voltage typically varies between 9 and 16V. 

Texas Instruments Cranking Simulator

 Cranking Reference Design

The reference design is a conducted EMI-optimized multi-output power supply for automotive driver information units. Its power supply has a pre-boost stage for cold crank and start-stop operation, and two buck regulators. Demonstrating compliance to an EMC standard shows that the devices first do not generate a high amount of noise in the system but principally it shows the designer will have fewer issues with system integration. This is getting tougher now as more electronics are integrated into the modern automobile.

The pre-boost stage features the LM3481 boost controller, and will start to operate and regulate a 9.5V output when the input voltage drops below 9.5V. In normal or higher input voltage conditions, the LM3481 is in standby mode without switching bypassing the input to the following buck stage. The design has two buck regulators to generate three output voltages: the first stage buck generates a 5V, 2A output using the LM26003 and the second stage generates two outputs of 2.8V, 2A and 1.8V, 2A using the LM26420 with 15W max output power. The LM26003 is a Wide Vin non-synchronous buck regulator, and the LM26420 is a 5V input dual 2A, high frequency synchronous buck regulator. All three ICs are qualified in AEC-Q100 Grade 1. They also demonstrate a highly compact, robust, reliable and low noise solution to overcome dips on the battery voltages.

The board layout is optimized for improved conducted EMI performance. The power inductor in the pre-boost stage is utilized as an input EMI filter, and thus no additional filter components are required. The board is tested under the automotive EMC standard, CISPR 25, and its conducted emissions are in compliance with the CISPR 25 Class 5 requirements.

The design’s input voltage range is 4.5V to 38V, making it suitable for 12V battery systems. When the input voltage goes as low as 4.5V, the output power should be limited to 10W in total, which is a current limit of the LM3481 boost controller. There’s a PFET in the input power path to control the turn on/off of the power supply via pin jumper. If the function is not desired, the PFET can be bypassed and the minimum input voltage will be further extended to 3.5V.

PMP9477.1 Cold Crank Reference Design using LM3481, LM26003 and LM26420

Lower Conducted Emissions Assist System Integration

The tested board has the common mode choke and the filter inductor bypassed. The conducted emissions are tested under the CISPR 25 standards. The frequency band examined spans from 150 kHz to 108 MHz covering the AM, FM radio bands, VHF band, and TV band specified in the CISPR 25.

The test results are shown in Figure 2. The limit lines in red are the Class 5 limits for conducted disturbances specified in the standard. The figures below show the conducted EMI noise from 150 kHz to 30 MHz using peak detector and the limit lines are the Class 5 average limits. The peak measurement result is well below the average limits. The Figures also show the noise scan result from 30 MHz to 108 MHz using peak and average detector, with the Class 5 peak and average limits respectively. Therefore, the power supply board is in compliance with the CISPR 25 Class 5.

Figure 2 - Conducted EMI noise from 150 kHz to 30 MHz

 Figure 3 - Conducted EMI Noise for 30 MHz to 108 MHz

The TI Village was off to a busy start on the first day of CES. We met with hundreds of customers, developers, media and analysts today to discuss and design the next generation of consumer electronics.

(Please visit the site to view this video)

One of the first major news stories coming out of CES this year was the self-driving car that drove from Los Angeles to Las Vegas last week. Today’s big automotive news was about TI’s involvement in the new Ford SYNC® 3 system. Our innovative automotive infotainment platform with TI’s processor, connectivity and analog solutions enable Ford to redefine the user experience in Ford's SYNC 3.

Since automotive is such a popular topic this year, we’re excited to have a TIer participating in a great presentation about autonomous vehicles tomorrow. If you’re not attending CES this year, don’t worry – we’ll be live-tweeting throughout the event that begins at 11:30 am PT / 2:30 pm ET. Fernando Mujica, the director of our autonomous vehicles lab will be discussing the regulations, legislation and privacy issues that must be addressed before driverless cars become a reality.

While automotive technology is stealing some of the headlines, wearables and the IoT are other key trends this year. IDC Research hosted an analyst panel this morning that outlined the current state of these markets, and rolled out their forecasts for each market. If you missed our live-tweeting from the event, you missed some exciting predictions! Did you know “smart shirts” are expected to be the next big trend? How can you argue – it’s the wearable we’re already wearing! Check out our Twitter feed for more highlights from today’s analyst event.

So that does it for Day 1 here at CES. We will have updates every day this week so be sure to check-in tomorrow for more from us. Want to learn more about TI at CES 2015 - here are a few blogs with more information: 

• Start/Stop and Cold Crank Applications (Power House)
• Experience Bluvision using TI Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Smart at CES 2015 (ConnecTIng Wirelessly)
• One day I’ll be Luke Skywalker (Behind the Wheel)
• A Great Start to 2015: The TDA3x Named Product of the Year by Electronic Products Magazine (Behind the Wheel)
• Wearable tech keeps kids happy and hydrated through smart vending machine integration (ConnecTIng Wirelessly)
• Expecting the unexpected at 2015 International CES (Think.Innovate)
• Experience Your TI at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)! (TI Live @)
• TI enables the unexpected at 2015 International CES (TI Live @)

Two days down, two more exciting days to go here at the TI Village.

You’ve probably heard of “cord-cutting.” It has been one of the trends we’ve seen here at CES for many years. Just because the practice has been in place for many years, it doesn’t mean we can’t make something good even better.

(Please visit the site to view this video)

Take for example our battery-free sensor network. The system (based on a TI Design) can have up to 30 connections in a home and is powered by ambient energy (like heat, light or wind), which means it doesn’t need any batteries. Just imagine what this technology could do in your next consumer electronic devices: could the wind blowing through your hair charge your phone as you take a daily run around the neighborhood?

Another reason consumers are cutting cords is because of wireless charging. From smartphones to wearable gear, we are still tethered to electrical outlets anytime we need to charge, but maybe not for much longer. We had several media and customers stop by the TI Village today so they could recharge their batteries (literally and figuratively) while learning about our products. These Qi-compliant wireless chargers let attendees (and TIers) recharge their phones during a busy day at the show. TI technology is supporting a new wave of portability so you won’t have to be concerned about battery life ever again.

One of the other popular areas in the TI Village today was our tactile feedback experience area. Attendees had a chance to get their hands on the next-gen steering wheel, which can help alert a driver if the vehicle senses something in your blind spot or behind you.

We have so much more to show you this week, so stay tuned. Be sure to check-in again tomorrow where we will have a recap of all the amazing demos from our TI DLP® Products team. Don't miss a minute of CES 2015, make sure you read about the different technologies on display from Texas Instruments.  

• Batteries not included (and not needed): Tiny ICs enable battery-free IoT (Fully Charged)
• TI Live @ CES 2015 - Day 1: Driving the future of automotive (TI Live @)
• Start/Stop and Cold Crank Applications (Power House)
• Experience Bluvision using TI Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Smart at CES 2015 (ConnecTIng Wirelessly)
• One day I’ll be Luke Skywalker (Behind the Wheel)
• A Great Start to 2015: The TDA3x Named Product of the Year by Electronic Products Magazine (Behind the Wheel)
• Wearable tech keeps kids happy and hydrated through smart vending machine integration (ConnecTIng Wirelessly)
• Expecting the unexpected at 2015 International CES (Think.Innovate)
• Experience Your TI at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)! (TI Live @)
• TI enables the unexpected at 2015 International CES (TI Live @)

 Motors are found almost everywhere in our daily life. If you take a look inside a common home appliance, like a refrigerator, you’ll find some fancy applications of stepper and BLDC motors, the damper and the BLDC fan. These play very important roles to keep the refrigerator working efficiently.Damper

The damper is a small flap that controls the flow of air from the freezer to the refrigerator. It is usually found in the top of the fridge or on the back panel near the top. The damper is controlled by a thermostat, triggering it to open and close depending on the temperature of the air in the refrigerator. Inside the damper there is a permanent magnet (PM) stepper motor and the gear box. Let’s tear down (That is my favorite part of being an engineer!) a damper for a close look at the inside.

As you see, the small PM stepper drives the gear box and makes the flap open or close. This stepper motor is driven by 12 volts and usually doesn’t need current regulation. So how can you tell whether a stepper is voltage driven or current driven? Just measure the DC resistance of the motor phase. If the resistance is about 30ohm to several hundreds of ohms, it should be voltage driven. If the resistance is below 20 ohm, mostly below 10 ohm, it is most likely a current-driven motor. Generally, voltage-driven motors are usually seen on small power PM steppers and unipolar steppers that have very small driven current so that the resistance loss of I² x R does not get too big. The current-driven type can be found in most mid- or high-power hybrid steppers.

Ok, let’s get back to the topic of the damper. The one I opened has a PM voltage-driven stepper inside with about a 400 ohm phase resistor. Let’s find a perfect driver for it. The DRV8848 is the very one. The 4V to 18V driving voltage range, dual H-Bridge integration, PWM control interface, up to 2A operation, and full protection, makes it perfect to do the damper-driving job. If you want to know more about the driving logic details, check out the reference design for a complete solution with all hardware and software open.

Refrigerator Fan

As you can see in the picture below, the refrigerator fan modules keep the cold air cycling and distribution inside the refrigerator uniform without frosting, greatly enhancing the performance of the refrigerator.

This fan module includes a single- or three-phase brushless motor. Now, we see more fans with three-phase BLDC because of its ability to provide compact size with more quiet and efficient long term operation. Both Hall-sensored or sensorless control can be found in this application. Thanks to TI’s three-phase sensorless sinusoidal motor driver, the DRV10983, we can achieve cutting-edge 180° sensorless BLDC control without any struggling on the control algorithm.

We included the DRV10983 as the fan driver for high efficiency and supper quiet operation in the reference design. Since most refrigerator manufacturers are now using PWM supply to power up the fan module and change the speed, we applied a closed-loop speed control utilizing FG feedback and PWM power regulation with minimum hardware change to the existing solutions. With closed-loop speed control, we can keep the desired speed value regardless of the motor parameter variations, power supply changes, mechanical wearing or life time. Learn how the speed control benefits the operation in this video.

Thanks of your reading. For more information, we can check the following links.

DRV8848 folder

DRV10983 folder

Refrigerator damper and fan motor control solutions

A video shown the above reference design

There must be some truth to the old saying “third time’s a charm;” we just wrapped up a great Day 3 in the TI Village at CES 2015.

Vegas is a city of bright lights and vivid colors, similar to the exciting DLP® technology on display in the TI Village. Did you know our DLP products are based on DLP Cinema® technology? The same proven technology used to project movies on more than eight out of ten percent of digital screens around the world?

(Please visit the site to view this video)

The flexibility of DLP technology allows us to produce a variety of display and advanced light control solutions to enable numerous applications for the consumer and automotive markets that are so popular here at CES.

For example, our newest TI DLP Pico™ display technology enables brighter, sharper and more efficient displays from small form factor applications. The Sprout by HP incorporates DLP Pico display technology to create an immersive computing platform that combines the power of an advanced, all-in-one desktop computer with a natural user interface to break down the barriers between the digital and physical worlds.  

Next, our 3-D printer reference design demo uses the DLP Structured Light Software Development Kit to create high accuracy and high speed 3-D printed objects. Combined with the DLP LightCrafter™ 4500 evaluation module and ultra-low power MSP430™ microcontroller, we can precisely expose object layers and synchronize layer exposure.

Finally, we’re demonstrating our automotive head-up display demo, which integrates our technology to display information on the windshield of your car.  DLP technology enables a wide field of view of up to 12 degrees, more than double the capability of existing head-up displays in the market today.

Aside from the sore feet and hoarse voices, we’re getting ready for the fourth and final day of CES. If you haven’t had a chance to see us, Friday is your last chance. If you’re not here at the show, don’t miss a chance to watch all our blogs and video highlights from CES 2015! 

• TI Live @ CES 2015 – Day 2: Cutting cords and charging up (TI Live @)
• LaunchPad @ CES 2015 // Internet-connected water level monitoring system using TDC1000 (Launch Your Design)
• Batteries not included (and not needed): Tiny ICs enable battery-free IoT (Fully Charged)
• TI Live @ CES 2015 - Day 1: Driving the future of automotive (TI Live @)
• Start/Stop and Cold Crank Applications (Power House)
• Experience Bluvision using TI Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Smart at CES 2015 (ConnecTIng Wirelessly)
• One day I’ll be Luke Skywalker (Behind the Wheel)
• A Great Start to 2015: The TDA3x Named Product of the Year by Electronic Products Magazine (Behind the Wheel)
• Wearable tech keeps kids happy and hydrated through smart vending machine integration (ConnecTIng Wirelessly)
• Expecting the unexpected at 2015 International CES (Think.Innovate)
• Experience Your TI at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)! (TI Live @)
• TI enables the unexpected at 2015 International CES (TI Live @)

In my last blog, I introduce semi-bridgeless PFC with standard PFC controller as a candidate of low cost, high efficiency PFC. This blog focus on key design considerations of semi-bridgeless PFC with an analog transition mode PFC controller.

A standard transition mode PFC controller relies on the sensing results of current-sensing and zero-current detection (ZCD) circuits as the on/off trigger of the driving signal. A current-sensing circuit is used to detect the peak value of the inductor current to turn off the switch. A ZCD circuit detects the zero-current point of the inductor current to turn on the switch. As shown in Figure 1, semi-bridgeless PFC has two switching legs, S₁ and S₂, instead of one leg in a standard PFC. The most important task becomes, how to feed two current-sensing signals from switching legs to one current-sensing pin as well as two ZCD signals to one ZCD pin of the standard PFC controller.

Figure 1. Power stages of  a semi-bridgeless PFC circuit.

 Current-sensing design

Semi-bridgeless transition mode PFC is beneficial when the power level is high. A current transformer current-sensing circuit, shown in Figure 2, is recommended here. Instead of using current sense resistors in series with S₁ and S₂, using a current transformer can greatly reduce the power dissipation on the sensing circuit. In addition, diodes in the current-sensing circuit with current transformers make sure peak-current from the desired switching leg is detected.

Figure 2. Current sensing circuit for semi-bridgeless transition mode PFC circuit.

Zero current detection design

In a standard transition mode boost PFC circuit, zero-current detection is usually done by detecting the voltage signal from an auxiliary winding of the PFC inductor (Figure 3). Internal comparator detects the voltage polarity changes on the auxiliary winding as a turn on signal for S₁. However, this circuit is impractical in a semi-bridgeless PFC case. One option is to apply the ZCD circuit for transition mode boost PFC to both inductors in the semi-bridgeless PFC with blocking diodes in series with ZCD current limiting resistors. However, blocking diodes extend the V_ZCD falling duration and make the ZCD pin sensitive to noise, which causes incorrect trigger and protection. Instead of using the inductor auxiliary winding, series connected RC provides a simple detection option. When both S₁ and S₂ are turned off, there is still one switch (generally MOSFET) conducting current through its body diode. Hence, a voltage difference is created between two switch legs. The capacitors in the ZCD circuit are charged and result in V_ZCD> V_REF. The voltage difference becomes zero when the inductor current reaches zero, which makes V_ZCD< V_REF  and triggers the turn on event.

Figure 3. Zero current detection circuits for transition mode boost and semi-bridgeless PFCs.

The current sensing mentioned above and ZCD circuits have been applied to PMP9640– 310W PSU using transition mode bridgeless PFC and LLC-SRC. Semi-bridgeless TM PFC performance in PMP9640 is compared in Figure 4 with a standard TM PFC design in PMP9531. Close to 1% efficiency improvement can be found on semi-bridgeless PFC over boost PFC in light- to mid-load range.

 Figure 4. PFC efficiency of transition mode boost PFC in PMP9531 and semi-bridgeless TM PFC in TI’s PMP9640 reference design.

Additional Resources

• Analog Applications Journal Paper
• TI Design: PMP9640

The final day of CES 2015 is here. Just because the show will be wrapping up soon, we saved some of our most fascinating demos for today.

If you’ve been following CES 2015 for the past four days and haven’t heard the term Internet of Things or IoT, you’ve probably been at the wrong show!

(Please visit the site to view this video)

One of our main product demonstrations in the TI Village this year included all of our wireless connectivity technologies like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Smart, ZigBee and 6LoWPAN and became one IoT demo where all of these sensors talked to each other, a gateway and the cloud seamlessly. We spread these sensors across the TI Village, and they actively sent feedback to the cloud through our partnership with IBM’s IoT Foundation cloud service.

Another cool demo was our Sub-1 GHz doll house. We have this doll house equipped with a security system, so if you open the front door or break in through a window, the alarm goes off, sending the signal to our access point and then onto this app we’ve created on your tablet using Bluetooth Smart. One of the funnier moment this week was when a visitor opened the doll house door and set off the alarm while there were several important meetings happening nearby; the attendee didn’t know how to shut off the alarm and they apparently had a very panicked look on their face until someone shut off the loud siren after 30 seconds. I have to admit, that attendee was me!

In that moment of embarrassment, I really wanted to be alone somewhere with peace and quiet. If I could, I would’ve chosen to use the Motionize paddle for kayaking on a secluded lake. It is the first training sensor and app giving a kayaker complete, real-time training and activity tracking. There is a sensor in the paddle, a waterproof case and cradle for the user’s smartphone and an app to keep track of data. It uses our Bluetooth Smart technology to communicate between the paddle and the smartphone.

Well, it is hard to believe that CES has drawn to a close, but the event lives on here on YouTube and our TI blogs.

We have many more videos for you to see all of the individual product demonstrations and so much from CES, so be sure to check it all out:

• TI Live @ CES 2015 – Day 3: DLP technology on display
• TI Live @ CES 2015 – Day 2: Cutting cords and charging up (TI Live @)
• LaunchPad @ CES 2015 // Internet-connected water level monitoring system using TDC1000 (Launch Your Design)
• Batteries not included (and not needed): Tiny ICs enable battery-free IoT (Fully Charged)
• TI Live @ CES 2015 - Day 1: Driving the future of automotive (TI Live @)
• Start/Stop and Cold Crank Applications (Power House)
• Experience Bluvision using TI Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Smart at CES 2015 (ConnecTIng Wirelessly)
• One day I’ll be Luke Skywalker (Behind the Wheel)
• A Great Start to 2015: The TDA3x Named Product of the Year by Electronic Products Magazine (Behind the Wheel)
• Wearable tech keeps kids happy and hydrated through smart vending machine integration (ConnecTIng Wirelessly)
• Expecting the unexpected at 2015 International CES (Think.Innovate)
• Experience Your TI at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)! (TI Live @)
• TI enables the unexpected at 2015 International CES (TI Live @)