Tiny, ultra-low power devices.

In an era where technology races towards miniaturization with increased integration and minimum power consumption, the demand for more compact, energy-efficient devices with no compromise on performance has never been higher. With the Bluetooth low energy technology becoming ubiquitous, consumer-grade products are no longer sufficient to meet the very demanding standards of medical or automotive customers.

Responding to these market needs, EM Microelectronic raises the bar again by introducing its new em|bleu Bluetooth 5.4 chip. "A proud product of Swiss engineering," em|bleu is the smallest and lowest power product of its kind in the market, with premium quality and service.

The em|bleu IC integrates a sleek design with power efficiency in the wireless technology arena. Engineered for peak performance in the most demanding use cases with the smallest footprint, this chip is the ideal solution for seamlessly embedding Bluetooth functionality into even the most size- and power-constrained devices.

“em|bleu marks a significant leap forward for devices where size and battery life are absolute musts,” says Dr. Michel Willemin, CEO of EM Microelectronic. “This product renews our commitment to serve our very demanding customers with maximum product performance in the smallest possible footprint and minimum energy needs.”

Healthcare applications.
In the fast growing and very demanding healthcare sector, where consistency and accuracy are essential, em|bleu is meticulously designed to fulfill these requirements. It enables reliable connectivity for a range of health monitoring devices, from blood pressure monitors to glucose tracking systems. em|bleu stands out as an ideal solution for healthcare applications transitioning towards an interconnected, patient-focused model of care.

Other industries.
em|bleu also offers effective solutions across multiple other sectors, bringing a blend of energy-efficient features that meet diverse communication needs. In fitness trackers, em|bleu enables more compact designs with reliable, long-lasting performance. For smart home devices, em|bleu facilitates consistent and smooth connectivity, adding to the convenience and functionality of home automation. In the field of IoT, its robust RF performance and energy efficiency make it a suitable choice for a variety of devices, from sensors to smart city components. Across these diverse applications, em|bleu is recognized for its balanced approach to size, efficiency, and reliable operation, making it a valuable addition to a wide range of connected devices.

By incorporating the latest Bluetooth 5.4 standards, em|bleu further improves the connection reliability, while adding new functionalities that unlock new use cases and increase the value to the end customer.

A strategic company of The Swatch Group, EM’s watchmaking DNA is centered around outstanding engineering and quality, delivered with superior level of service. With its almost five decades of stability, EM offers its customers unmatched supply chain stability and long-term support commitment.

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@EMElectronic #TechwireIntl  #Bluetooth #Health #Automation

Bluetooth Smart sensor beacon!

EM Microelectronic, the semiconductor company of the Swatch Group, has publicly launched EMBC02, introducing to the world the power of sensor beacons. The unique combination of sensors with EM’s low-cost, low-power and fully certified beacon technology will be an enabler of many real-world Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

Motion-aware Bluetooth beacon
Photo courtesy EM Microelectronic, Marin SA

EMBC02 SeriesEMBC02 beacons integrate a 3-axis accelerometer in the same easy-to-use, tiny form factor as EMBC01, enabling a wide range of motion-based beacon applications. By attaching EMBC02 to objects or people, both, proximity and motion, can be monitored by a smartphone or tablet application. EMBC02 can be programmed to transmit proximity and identification data, like standard beacons, but it can also provide motion data (movements, vibrations, acceleration) as well as specific motion-based alarms based on accelerometer data, originating from shock, free-fall or taps. The accelerometer allows to maximize battery life by “beaconing” data only when required, e.g. while in motion, or when an alarm condition occurs.

As a leading ultra-low power semiconductor company, EM Microelectronic is focused on developing extremely power efficient solutions. The EMBC01 Bluetooth Smart proximity beacon can operate for more than 12 months on a single CR2032 coin cell. EMBC02 offers even longer battery life with optimized usage scenarios where the beacon sleeps (or transmits infrequently) until the accelerometer detects movement. “Beaconing only when EMBC02 is in motion allows for drastic energy savings” says Michel Willemin, CEO of EM Microelectronic Marin. He adds “This approach paves the way toward a truly useable and meaningful sensor-based IoT platform where real world data is connected to the cloud and where battery lifetime is expressed in years, rather than months”.

The EMBC02 is completely programmable and capable of supporting multiple proximity standards (e.g. iBeacon, AltBeacon or any other proprietary protocol) in a single beacon. It is FCC/CE/IC certified, includes a multi-function button for input and two LEDs for user feedback. The beacon module comes in a sleek, weatherproof (IP-64) housing.

With such “motion” and “context aware” features, EMBC02 is the ideal beacon for a wide category of IoT applications. It will enable a wide range of mobile applications: elderly person fall detection and alarms, child monitoring with detection of activity (or absence of activity) within defined proximity range, or similarly pet and animal activity monitoring, theft prevention where objects (valuable items in stores, bicycles, luggage) may beacon warning messages when an unexpected movement occurs, inventory and equipment tracking when being moved around a facility, and many more. In addition, EMBC02 is easy to deploy right out of the box!

Integrated temperature Sensor in passive RFID

With a typical measurement accuracy of up to 0.5°C, the EM4325V11 is ideal for wireless real-time or data-logged monitoring of perishables.

EM Microelectronic has announced the EM4325V11, a versatile and multipurpose, battery-assisted passive (BAP) RFID chip with a calibrated temperature sensor. This chip enables accurate remote temperature monitoring using industry standard EPC™ Gen2 wireless protocol. Temperature data logging can easily be implemented with a companion microcontroller connected to the EM4325V11 via a standard SPI interface.

The integrated temperature sensor monitors ambient temperature from -40°C to +60°C with 9-bit measurement accuracy of up to 0.5% over the full temperature range. In pure passive mode, the temperature sensor can be used for field-powered snapshot readings. But the chip can also be programmed to perform self-monitoring with user-programmable alarm conditions (upper and lower temperature thresholds). Self-monitoring operation is supported with an on-board real-time clock (RTC) to control sampling intervals and provide a timestamp for alarm conditions. The sensor may be configured to provide Simple Sensor Data reporting according to the data formats defined in ISO/IEC 18000-6 and ISO/IEC 24753.

Operating in the UHF frequency range, the EM4325V11 is compliant with the following standards:
• ISO/IEC 18000-6 Type C and Type D (TOTAL)
• EPC™ Class 1 Gen2
• AIAG™ B-11
• ATA 2000

The EM4325V11 expands the viability of UHF RFID for new applications by offering longer read range, increased communication robustness and more configuration options and interface capabilities for auxiliary functions. EM Microelectronic designed all the EM4325 ICs with an advanced feature set which leads to performance and functionality well beyond that of ordinary Gen2 chips.

EM4325’s BAP RFID technology combines the lower complexity, simpler communication protocols and lower cost of passive RFID with significantly higher read range and increased communication robustness available with active RFID. The EM4325V11 operates in both BAP and purely passive modes. It integrates smart power management for longer battery life when used in BAP applications. The EM4325V11 also allows programmable duty cycle and automatic switching between battery-powered and field-powered operation when the tag is too far away from the reader. A unique ultra-low power (ULP) mode can be activated or disabled via a simple reader command. The ULP mode extends tag battery life when the tags are stored for long periods.

The EM4325V11 further contains 4 kbits of high speed, non-volatile memory (EEPROM). It supports either ISO or EPC™ data structures compliant with EPCglobal®’s Tag Data Standard, Version 1.6. To ensure full traceability, the chip is delivered with a factory programmed and serialized Unique Identifier (UID).

The EM4325V11 has a programmable external interface for auxiliary functions and a 4 bit I/O port. These interfaces open the door to advanced applications where it can be operated either as an RFID tag or as an RFID interface or modem for embedded applications. The auxiliary function may be configured as input for tamper detection or as an output to notify external devices of RF events. The 4 bit I/O port can be programmed to support 4 discrete signals or as a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) configurable as an SPI master or slave device.

Thanks to its rich feature set, the EM4325V11 can thus be used in a variety of use cases: Standard Supply Chain Management: EPC™ Gen 2 was developed to establish a standard for RFID tags used in supply chain applications (e.g., tracking inventory). The EM4325V11 is fully compliant with this standard. It also integrates additional security features such as its factory programmed and permanently locked unique ID to prevent tag cloning and a 32bit password protected access command. It can be operated in purely passive mode or in BAP mode when longer reading distances are required. Cold Chain Temperature Monitoring: In BAP mode, the internal temperature sensor of the EM4325V11 can be configured for self-monitoring operations with defined alarm levels, thus allowing the detection of disruptions in the cold chain. Fast and easy reads can be performed at each transfer of custody to guarantee the quality and security of the received goods (e.g. food, medical products), thus increasing profitability and delivered freshness  Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI): BAP technology avoids the pitfalls of both passive and active RFID in AVI applications; it is significantly less expensive than active RFID but offers excellent read performance at high speeds and at long range, even in wet conditions. In BAP mode, the EM4325V11 offers -31dBm read sensitivity at chip level, which corresponds to open-field read ranges in excess of 50 meters. Product configuration and control: The EM4325V11 can be implemented as an embedded RFID interface or modem in a more complex system; with 4kbit of memory, it can be used as a Gen2-compliant communication channel for configuration operations. Specific parameters (e.g. pairing information for wireless devices) could be programmed into products which are already packaged, but which are not yet powered. Once the product is unpacked and switched on, it could read these parameters via the SPI interface on the embedded tag. Furthermore, the availability of an RFID tag which is not just attached to an item, but which is truly integrated into and interfaced with a wide variety of consumer electronic devices enables many new opportunities for the “Internet of Things”. Tamper Detection: The EM4325V11 can be configured to support a seal tamper sensor that detects breakage or removal of a seal strap. It is an ideal building block for a variety of electronic seal (e-seal) applications (e.g. container security or access control of sporting or cultural events by non-transferable RFID wrist bands). RFID for Challenging RF Environments: In BAP mode, the EM4325V11 provides increased read reliability for bulk reads at longer distances or in challenging real-life environments with higher liquid or metal density and/or noisy RF communication environments.

• For more information on EM’s RFID and NFC solutions, refer to their Vendor Information on RFID Connect .