Infineon and Intel/eluminocity create a comprehensive, secure and interconnected urban lighting system

As more and more people move into cities, public authorities are looking for ways to make cities, their infrastructure and energy systems smarter, safer and more energy efficient. In addition, as vehicles become more interconnected, municipal authorities now have more opportunities to interact with drivers, and intelligent traffic management brings convenience and efficiency. However, as more systems connect to the cloud, creating an “Internet of Things,” this creates more opportunities for malicious access to sensitive data.

This article will focus on some of the basic technologies that Infineon will help build the smart city of the future, and introduce our innovative lighting solutions with eluminocity and Intel – it will be one of the most intelligent aspects of a secure connected city.

Rapidly evolving urbanization and technology availability have increased consumer expectations for future convenience. So far, people are focusing on mobile terminals and products, but it is clear that enhanced infrastructure can play an important role in defining and developing the world we live in.

Higher expectations pose challenges. Public authorities must develop immigration plans that take into account major economic and social issues, such as citizens' privacy and security issues. Designers face increasingly complex challenges, some of which conflict with each other. On the one hand, they are rapidly adopting new technologies, adding more features to previous applications (such as simple street lights), and on the other hand, in the face of rising energy costs, they are working hard to minimize energy consumption.

In this wonderful new world, streetlights are no longer just lighting devices, but quickly evolve into a powerful interconnected portal that becomes a key component of smart city infrastructure. However, to ensure basic functionality and networking capabilities, lighting designers are now using cellular networking, multiple active and passive sensing technologies, and security solutions.

24 GHz radar technology

Radar is an object detection method that uses radio waves to determine the range, angle, or velocity of an object passing through an electromagnetic wave. A typical radar system consists of several components, including a transmitter that generates electromagnetic or electromagnetic waves in the radio or microwave frequency range, a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna, and a receiver that processes the received signal.

Pulse radar measures the distance of a static or moving object by sending a strong, short-wave that can be reflected to the surface of the object. The length of time between the transmitted pulse and the received pulse is proportional to the distance of the object from the radar system.

The continuous wave method continuously emits electromagnetic waves that can be modulated in different ways. The FMCW radar (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) can detect stationary and moving objects by transmitting a "beep" sound mixed with the received signal. The low frequency output represents distance and speed. FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) detects the distance of a moving object. In this technique, two frequencies are transmitted in succession, and the phase-shifted Doppler signal represents the distance.

Figure 1: CW radar can detect the position of stationary and moving objects

As object detection becomes more important for many intelligent systems and devices, 24 GHz radar technology is used in a variety of applications, including multi-rotor UAVs/UAVs, smart door openers, home and factory automation, speedometers, robotics, And many other IoT-based applications.

Intelligent street light

Recently, Infineon has teamed up with eluminocity and Intel to launch a project to support the future of connected global smart cities. By combining their know-how and expertise, the three companies have collaborated to develop an advanced high-efficiency LED streetlight application with precise sensing and secure data transfer capabilities. A joint development of a smart streetlight solution based on eluminocity designed as a streetlight concept - it is used as a smart application center. Infineon technology is at the heart of the solution's advanced electronic systems, including 24 GHz radar, high-efficiency semiconductors, XMC® microcontrollers, and Infineon's highly advanced OPTIGATM family of security solutions.

Intel technology is based on modem networking, which is based on LTE Cat. 1 / LTE Cat. M1 / Cat. The NM1 / LTE-NB / 5G-IoT module supports low power, large coverage cellular network technology. Combined with Infineon's OPTIGATM technology, standardized cellular network technology provides an open system that can be flexibly expanded, completely independent of existing infrastructure, and highly secure. Street lighting management agencies (usually public authorities) only need to ensure that street lights are connected to existing infrastructure.

On the one hand, with Infineon's power management and switching devices, the streetlight itself is very efficient; on the other hand, the ability of the 24 GHz radar system to detect the presence of objects allows the streetlight to increase illumination only when needed, thus becoming a Brighter street lights are more efficient lighting solutions.

Figure 2: Smart lighting is just one of the features of these smart city smart systems

However, these eluminocity smart street lights are more than just efficient lighting solutions. Proximity detection allows them to detect nearby empty parking spaces, combined with Intel-based networking capabilities, which immediately tells nearby drivers where there is an available parking space - an element of truly intelligent traffic management. By monitoring local traffic conditions, the system provides valuable data to city planning agencies and surrounding store owners. Controlled by traffic signal traffic signs, or by providing real-time data to in-vehicle satellite navigation systems, this data can be used to guide drivers through congested sections.

Modern smart street lights can also be equipped with electric vehicle charging stations, which do not take up extra space, which is the main prerequisite for the successful implementation of electric traffic.

Smart Lighting: Technical Overview

OPTIGATM Security Solution: Although smart street lights have very advanced features that form the backbone of a smart city, networking that brings these benefits can also create potential security holes. In response to this threat and ensuring the security of the network on which smart cities depend, smart street lights use the safe and reliable Infineon OPTIGATM solution. These standardized security controllers provide a wide range of security features for embedded platforms. All OPTIGATM products are based on Infineon's advanced hardware security technology, which greatly enhances the confidence of designers and users. Embedded security features include system and data integrity, authentication, secure communications, secure data storage, and security updates. All of this is critical to protecting the integrity of future smart cities.

At the heart of the OPTIGATM family of products is a state-of-the-art 16-bit safety controller that can be easily integrated into a variety of IoT systems. For maximum flexibility for designers, the series supports Microsoft Windows, Linux and derivative operating systems and supports integrated proprietary systems. The OPTIGATM family also includes TPM devices, the industry's first device to support TCG's latest TPM 2.0 standard, creating the conditions for easy implementation of the latest security protocols.

Intelligent proximity sensing: The proximity detection of intelligent street lights is based on the market's smallest 24 GHz industrial radar chip solution, the BGT24LTR11. This versatile device is capable of measuring multiple parameters, including Doppler-based object velocity/speed, and electromagnetic wave-based distance measurement. The additional receive channel also supports angle/direction measurement based on phase detection at the antenna.

The monitoring accuracy of the 24 GHz radar is very high – 50 meters for pedestrians and 150 meters for vehicles. This technology is more sensitive than passive infrared (PIR) technology and will eventually replace passive infrared technology in many applications, and it can even detect, for example, respiratory motions accurate to millimeters. The 24 GHz radar can also operate in a variety of weather conditions, including extreme temperature changes, high humidity and dusty environments, and is suitable for the harshest outdoor environments in a globally connected smart city application.

Figure 3: BGT24LTR11N16 Block Diagram and Package Size

For designers who are not yet fully familiar with 24 GHz technology, Infineon offers a range of demonstration kits, such as the Sense2GoL demo board. The demonstration board supplied with the BGT24LTR11 is equipped with an XMC1302ARM® CortexTM M032 industrial microcontroller and a dedicated patch antenna for receiving and transmitting channels on a PCB measuring only 25 mm. The demo board is connected to a Segger debugger interrupt board for secondary programming and evaluation.

The comprehensive kit also includes firmware for motion detection, a software GUI for radar signal observation, and a user manual and complete PCB schematic and Gerber files for quick start-up. Infineon plans to release reference designs and software configurations in the near future to increase design support for 24 GHz radar systems.

Additional sensing: Almost any sensor can be integrated into these smart street lights. Air pressure sensors can monitor air quality, and audio sensors can identify noise pollution levels. Specific examples can include audio-based vehicle accidents or gunshot detection. Although very simple, the lighting sensor plays a very important role in making the street lamp more intelligent. By detecting the ambient light, the street light can be turned on when the weather is bad; it can transmit the measured value of the luminous flux to the controller to ensure that the service life of the pipe light is not always used. Achieve ideal luminous flux; it can provide wearer data remotely to technicians to better plan maintenance and alert you before a failure occurs.

Lighting Controller: The XDPL8220 includes a digital core that creates the conditions for implementing different system designs based on the same device. Advanced control algorithms create conditions for constant current, constant voltage, and defined (partial) power control schemes within the same circuit. In addition, different parameter sets can be used for different target applications.

The device caters to the expectations of modern power systems with an input voltage of 90-305 VAC, an efficiency of over 90%, and a total harmonic distortion of less than 15%, in accordance with IEC 61000-3-2 Class C. Active PFC and harmonic controllers that operate over a wide range of output currents, ensuring that the device's power factor is greater than 0.9 under various operating conditions and ensuring minimal degradation caused by reactive power and harmonics Additional power loss.

Conclusion

Infineon, eluminocity and Intel work together to transform simple streetlights into an intelligent and secure device that will be at the heart of smart city infrastructure. The three parties are working together to develop end-to-end solutions, including streetlights developed by eluminocity and Intel's communications solutions. Infineon offers a wide range of solutions including 24 GHz radar sensors, power semiconductors, microcontrollers and security chips, all of which make streetlights Has a wide range of features.

The open platform enables other relevant organizations to leverage a wide range of sensor networks, and enables innovative organizations and people to develop novel applications based on these systems to support and strengthen future global connected cities.