1) The concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) emerged in the late 1990s, but at that time it focused more on "object identification". Therefore, RFID technology developed rapidly and continued to expand in various applications.
2) Since 2008, sensor technology has developed rapidly, realizing the "sensing of things." Sensor technology is considered one of the three pillars of modern information technology. In recent years, with the development of micro-nano technology, digital compensation technology, networking technology, and multifunctional composite technology, new principles, new materials, and new processes in domestic sensor technology have emerged continuously, and new structures and functions are constantly appearing. Currently, the main directions of sensor technology development are: miniaturization and chip technology, sensor array and multi-sensor parameter integration technology, and digitalization and intelligentization technology.
3) By 2018, fifth-generation communication technology began commercial use, greatly solving the problem of "connecting things" and facilitating the realization of "Internet of Everything." Low-speed NB-IoT narrowband IoT technology, medium-speed 4G Cat.1, and high-speed 5G all solve connectivity issues, enabling the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT). In particular, the commercialization of NB-IoT communication technology in 2018 significantly raised the industry's understanding of the IoT. As a new type of mobile communication network, 5G not only solves communication between people, providing users with more immersive experiences such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and ultra-high-definition (3D) video, but also solves communication problems between people and things, and between things themselves, meeting the needs of IoT applications such as mobile healthcare, connected vehicles, smart homes, industrial control, and environmental monitoring.
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With my country's explicit proposal of dual-carbon goals, new elements have been added to the energy structure. For example, energy sources such as solar and wind power are mainly distributed in the western and northern regions. Although their impact on my country's overall energy structure is not significant, their connotation has changed. The introduction of new energy sources will bring some instability to the entire power grid. Wind and solar power generation, for instance, fluctuate seasonally, even daily. To maintain grid stability, mechanisms such as energy storage will be introduced. Furthermore, the power system needs to operate continuously, 24 hours a day, which places high demands on semiconductor chips. Firstly, semiconductor devices must have very high reliability, be able to operate continuously, and be able to operate across a full temperature range.
As a leader in analog devices, ADI has streamlined all its chips and provided a complete signal chain according to the needs of power equipment. For all energy signals, which are primarily AC voltage and current signals, the entire signal chain shows that all AC signals are first amplified by an amplifier, then converted into digital signals by a precise ADC, then filtered, transformed, and processed by a processor before finally being transmitted to the network.
Typical power intelligent device signal chain
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Over the years, the challenges facing the Internet of Things (IoT) have evolved from electronics and wireless communications to its biggest challenge today—digital transformation. However, digital transformation is conditional, requiring factors such as wireless network coverage and power supply, and is especially difficult in harsh outdoor environments.
There are three main challenges in deploying the Internet of Things (IoT) from indoors to the wilderness: complex multi-scenario deployment, convenient management, and large-scale deployment.
To address these challenges, Seeed has developed several devices to facilitate the deployment of IoT in remote areas. For example, the gateway shown below can be configured with Bluetooth and supports existing 3G and 4G networks, providing a guarantee for the transmission and coverage of IoT devices in all outdoor environments. In addition, it can be used with an app to allow customers to easily add IoT devices and monitor data, as well as update antenna and product locations, perform remote OTA (Over-The-Air) updates, and diagnose device operation.
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Our demands for electronic products are constantly increasing, and the power requirements for these products are also rising accordingly. To meet these demands, power supply technology is continuously advancing.
Currently, the advancements in power supply technology can be broadly categorized into three main areas: devices, topologies, and control.
Regarding devices, using GaN devices can reduce switching losses, increase switching frequency, and reduce the size of magnetic components, thereby increasing power density. The introduction of GaN devices has also led to a shift in the technology of passive components such as inductors and capacitors towards higher frequencies.
Regarding topology, after introducing GaN for high-frequency operation, the converter topology has evolved to include multi-valley quasi-resonant flyback, ACF active clamp, and asymmetric resonant half-bridge AHB, etc.
Control is closely related to topology. Taking AHB as an example, its core control strategy is to ensure that a negative current on the primary transformer guarantees ZVS for HG before shutting down LG. Therefore, the control ensures that this condition is met under various operating conditions. Because the identification and calculation of multiple operating conditions are complex, a digital kernel is introduced to perform multi-parameter settings and multi-mode operation to adapt to the control requirements of AHB. It can be said that control methods will shift to digital control to achieve efficient topology operation, thus adapting to future power supply technology developments with more flexible operating modes and control methods.
