Premier Farnell, the Development Distributor, is now shipping a range of Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors designed to meet the changing needs of design engineers and address demand for 3D information and extended range created by new use cases. Today’s ToF devices support applications such as gesture sensing, distance measurement, robotics, industrial automation and process control, enabling practical solutions such as monitoring the position of an object in production as it is transported through a plant on a conveyor belt.

Devices from leading suppliers, available for next day delivery from Premier Farnell, increase distance capabilities irrespective of colour and surface of the item tracked, maximise use potential within both indoor and outdoor environments and satisfy high-speed, small size and low power demands, driven by Industrial IoT application needs.

Time of Flight sensing products available from Premier Farnell include:

• New to Premier Farnell, the ISL29501 ToF IC from Renesas is designed for detecting objects at distances up to 2m providing a cost effective and efficient solution for distance measurement. The ISL29501 is an innovative time of flight signal processing IC that provides a complete object detection and distance measurement solution when combined with an external emitter (LED or laser) and photodiode. Its one-of-a-kind functionality, including ultra-small size, low power consumption and superior performance, makes it ideal for use with connected devices in Internet of Things (IoT) applications, as well as for consumer mobile devices, home automation and the emerging commercial drone market.

• The VL53L1X ToF Nucleo pack from ST Microelectronics is a complete evaluation kit allowing anyone to learn, evaluate and develop their application using the VL53L1X ToF, the latest product based on ST's patented FlightSense™ technology. The VL53L1X is the fastest miniature ToF sensor on the market with accuracy ranging up to 4m and fast-ranging frequency up to 50 Hz. This ground-breaking technology allows absolute long-distance to be measured independently of target reflectance as instead of estimating the distance by measuring the amount of light reflected back from an object the VL53L1X precisely measures the time the light takes to travel to the nearest object and reflect back to the sensor.

• The newly launched AFBR-S50MV85G evaluation kit, from Broadcom, comprises an NXP FRDM-KL46Z evaluation board and the AFBR-S50MV85G adapter board delivering out-of-the-box connectivity between the sensor and a microcontroller board without the need for soldering. Suitable for indoor and outdoor use and optimised for distances of up to 10m, this sensor has been developed with a special focus on industrial sensing and gesture sensing applications that require high speed, small size and very low power consumption, such as human machine interfaces, robotics, and augmented reality.

Lee Turner, Global Head of Semiconductors and SBC at Premier Farnell said: “Premier Farnell's strong supplier relationships with ST and Broadcom, and now including new addition Renesas, give access to the latest technologies in Time-of-Flight sensing options. For design engineers seeking the right devices for their application, our technical support team are available 24/5 to help identify the most suitable device for their application, no matter how complex the design or requirement of the application.”

View the full range of Time of Flight devices by visiting Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.

Farnell, the Development Distributor, announces a partnership agreement with ST to offer even greater support for startups in France. This includes special offers on specific ST products available to startups exclusively from the Farnell site. Together, Farnell and ST will be working hand-in-hand for specific events and exhibitions in order to better serve the young businesses attending and seeking bespoke support. The first of these events is the IoT Meetup in Annecy on 27^th June.

Farnell’s partnership with ST includes supporting the launch of the Open Innovation Challenge – a competition for startups to pitch their innovative and sustainable project or business plan, with the winners receiving a prize worth more than €50,000. The competition challenges startups to use the STM32 platform innovatively, technically and originally, with the challenge’s jury evaluating designs based on their features, embedded products, sustainability and potential market. Applications are open until 31^st May 2019, with the winning project being announced in June. The chosen project will win a free working space at selected ST sites in France for 2 years, preferential commercial arrangements on components for first orders, certification for the ST Partner Programme and much more.

Farnell understands the challenges facing startups, particularly accessing the right technical expertise. Start SomeWhere is Farnell’s own startup support scheme, which helps young businesses by offering preferential terms and conditions. In France, Farnell is currently working with more than 80 startups, supporting their everyday activities and trying to enable them to bring their products to market. Morgane Roche, Marketing Manager for South Europe and Benelux at Farnell, said “I heard young businesses who say ‘How could you help me more as a distributor?’ The Farnell support scheme enables them to achieve their goals and get the most out of our network, services and internal skills. As well as our Start SomeWhere scheme, we also offer an exclusive customisation programme, Design & Manufacturing services, and marketing support to help them grow their business.”

Some of the startups currently working with Farnell include:

• Senssight – Senssight is an industrial expert of thermal infrared vision systems. Their technology is being used to solve industrial problems in the transportation, security and industrial maintenance sectors as well as playing a key role in the development of smart city technology.

• Animalinks – Animalinks created CoHo (Connected Horses). CoHo is a smart solution for monitoring the environment of horses in stables. This technology connects the stables and monitors, manages and improves the horses’ environment in real-time and provides feedback to the owners.

• Uniswarm – Uniswarm designs generic robotics boards, ideal for robotics prototypes. There is an entire range of boards to suit all robotics needs including motion control, sensors, power management and general usage. The boards all come with open source firmware and are designed for use in industry due to their reliability and robustness.

For more information, please visit the Open Innovation Challenge website.

element14.com, the community for engineers, has announced the winners of its “Sixth Sense” Design Challenge. As one of five challenges the element14 Community runs each year, element14 encouraged its members to create a small, remotely-operated or autonomous vehicle, leveraging the powerful processing capabilities of STMicroelectronics and TE Connectivity products to improve remote vehicle sensing and data collection.

The element14 Community team of judges selected a Grand Prize and Runner Up winner for the design challenge:

• Grand Prize – Douglas Wong, Canada – Douglas created GraffitiBot, a fully autonomous ground vehicle capable of printing graphics on the surface it traverses and producing a liquid canvas drawing. Although the GraffitiBot itself might be small, the scope of the project was anything but, incorporating mechanical, electronics, software and hydraulic design.

• Runner Up – Rod B, UK – Rod created a robot to help those working in construction by hauling heavy materials such as sand or gravel. To achieve this, Rod made his own PCB to host the TE Magnet sensor so that it would be board-mountable, showing an inventive way of using the required technology. This was Rod’s first ever element14 design challenge.

Through detailed blog posts, the challengers made all of their build steps and code open source, so other element14 Community members can learn from these designs and replicate projects on their own.

“As the Development Distributor, we are committed to being a champion for makers and are proud to help drive innovation for our 600,000-plus member community,” said Dianne Kibbey, Global Head of Community and Social Media for the element14 Community. “As always, we were very impressed by the creativity and innovative spirit our community demonstrated with this challenge and are looking forward to offering more opportunities for our members to push the boundaries of electronic design.”

The element14 Community is part of Premier Farnell, the development distributor, which helps design engineers, maintenance and test engineers, makers, parents, and teachers develop the future generation of coders and products that apply technology to change our world for the better.

To learn more about element14 design challenges and the community’s commitment to drive innovation and champion makers, visit: https://www.element14.com/community/community/design-challenges

element14.com, the world’s largest electronic design community, has launched a new Design Challenge for designers and engineers called ‘IoT on Wheels’. Sponsored by STMicroelectronics, element14 is looking for 10 community members to demonstrate the power of IoT-connected transport solutions by creating a prototype that shows how current technologies can make today’s vehicles safer, smarter and more efficient.

When we think about The Internet of Things many of us think about smart homes and wearables but IoT is also playing a major role in making transportation more efficient and helping us get from place to place more quickly, by making connected cars a reality. By 2020, it is estimated that over 381 million connected cars will be on the road, up from 36 million in 2016 (BI Intelligence). Many will already be familiar with the benefits that a connected vehicle can bring – from improving your travel experience by providing access to music streaming whilst driving, to reducing car insurance bills by monitoring driver behaviour and allowing insurers to assess risk and pricing of premiums more accurately.

This new Design Challenge from element14 is looking for inspirational prototypes that might change the way we travel, improve our commute or make us safer when we are on the road – and the challenge extends to all forms of transport – whether that is four wheels or even one! Experienced hardware modder, Ben Heck will be participating in the challenge on The Ben Heck show – providing inspiration for the challengers and others wishing to participate.

Dianne Kibbey, Global Head of Community and Social Media, element14 said: 

“The element14 community is launching a new and exciting design challenge, sponsored by ST Microelectronics. We are looking to our community members to come up with something special that could really change the way we travel. With Britons spending more than a year of their lives in traffic jams and 248 days searching for a parking places *– we want our challengers to consider how we can make our vehicles safer, smarter or more efficient, incorporating the ST Microelectornics STM32 Nucleo.”

element14 will accept applications for the ‘IoT on Wheels’ challenge from now until 14th August 2017. Ten official challengers will be announced on 28^th August who will receive a complimentary kit containing the STM32 Nucleo MCU development board along with a sensor expansion board, Bluetooth LE expansion board, WiFi expansion board, all from ST Microelectronics. Each of the 10 challengers will provide weekly updates on their progress through blog posts, photos and videos via the element14 Community.

Challengers will have until 13^th November 2017 to submit their projects. Entries will be judged on originality, innovation and technical merit by a panel of judges including experts from ST Microelectronics, Loughborough University’s Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electronic, and Manufacturing Engineering and element14 top member judge, Rachael Peterson.

The winners will be announced in December 2017.

The grand prize winner will receive a bundle of products worth over $1700 including a Segway MiniPRO, Oculus Rift and Touch VR Headset and Duratool Crimp Kit. The Second Prize Bundle is worth over $1000 containing a Pioneer GPS Cycle Computer Bundle, GoPro Hero 5 Black Action Camera and Soldering Iron, hot knife & Heat Tool Kit. The Third Prize Bundle worth over $800 containing a Traxxas Slash Radio Controlled Car pro, QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones and a Tenma Programmable Bench Power Supply. All Challengers who submit a completed project will receive a Duratool Electronic Tool Kit, Duratool Heat Gun and a Tenma Handheld Digital Multimeter.

To learn more about the ‘IoT on Wheels’ Design challenge and to submit an entry, visit http://www.element14.com/iotonwheels

Notes to editors

* Research by British Parking Association, 2017