Panasonic Automotive Industrial Systems has introduced the Grid-EYE infrared (IR) array sensor evaluation kit, which combines its "nanopower" PAN1740 Bluetooth smart module with a microcontroller on a PCB. By combining its new infrared sensor technology with Bluetooth technology and software to enable infrared detection of people and objects on a single board, Panasonic enables customers to quickly develop prototypes and quickly build their own wireless sensor Internet of Things (IoT) applications .
Alexander Hoch, head of the circuit components team at Panasonic Equipment Solutions Business Unit, said: "With the introduction of the Grid-EYE evaluation kit, we have manufactured the most advanced Grid-EYE sensor and innovative IR personnel detection software (including basic API and image processing) ) For the first time to end customers. We have developed PC software and smartphone applications that can be provided to customers to test our sensors through various applications in various ways. This gives designers the advantages of Grid-EYE and Bluetooth The combination of technologies has paved the way, and because of the speed and simplicity provided by our new evaluation kit, we hope that our customer base will develop some very innovative wireless IoT applications. "
Grid-EYE is an infrared array sensor and is The first 64-pixel infrared camera in a compact SMD package. Grid-EYE is based on Panasonic's MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) technology, combining MEMS sensor chips, digital ASIC (I2C interface) and silicon lenses. It has 64 thermopile elements in an 8 x 8 grid format and detects absolute surface temperature without contact.
Unlike traditional sensors, Grid-EYE uses a patented 60-degree silicon lens etched from a silicon wafer. The silicon lens (less than 0.3mm in height) is the smallest lens on the market. Combining these modern and advanced technologies, Panasonic can reduce the sensor package size to only 11.6mm x 8mm x 4.3mm, which is 70% smaller than competitors' products.
Compared with pyroelectric sensors, it can detect not only moving people and objects, but also the position and presence of stationary people and objects, the direction of movement, and accurate surface temperature from -20C to + 100C. With such a wide temperature measurement range, Panasonic can reach a NETD (Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference) of +/- 0.5C at room temperature.
Grid-EYE sensors with these features open the door for a variety of new applications, including energy saving in the lighting industry, household appliances (such as air conditioners, microwave ovens), security systems (such as elevators, automatic doors), elevators, service kiosks) and medical Industries (such as patient fall detection and patient positioning). Further examples include hot spot detection, human detection inside the vehicle to achieve consumer comfort, and non-contact temperature measurement in industrial applications. Grid-EYE can also detect people and effectively distinguish them from other heat sources such as displays or heaters. In addition, because Grid-EYE is an infrared sensor, the detection of the human body is hardly affected by the ambient light conditions.
The integrated Bluetooth module in the evaluation kit PAN1740 (P / N ENW89846A1KF) is a single-mode Bluetooth Smart System-on-Chip module optimized for low power consumption (only 4.9mA for transmission or reception) and small size (only 9mm x 9.5). Mm x 1.8 mm). SMD components benefit from a fully shielded housing, a chip antenna and an integrated crystal oscillator. The company said that compared to other BLE devices currently on the market, power consumption as low as 4.9mA allows the use of coin cells and reduces battery demand by up to 50%.
