onsemi announced an ultra-low power automotive-grade wireless microcontroller with Bluetooth® Low Energy connectivity. The NCV-RSL15 is ideal for vehicle manufacturers who are increasingly favoring wireless connectivity to reduce the cost and weight of excess cabling as the number of sensors and in-vehicle communication grows. The new microcontroller also addresses heightened security concerns resulting from more sensors and with that more possible attack vectors.
While the lists of sensors and general functionality in Tire Monitoring Systems (TMS) and other sensing applications continue to grow, the power consumption budget has not increased. At the same time, some applications now have a requirement for a 10-year battery lifetime. The NCV-RSL15 is certified by the EEMBC as the industry’s lowest power secure, wireless microcontroller, featuring the proprietary smart sense power mode, it is designed to use as little power as possible. Being able to conserve more battery directly equates to increased product longevity.
“Excelling at applications such as vehicle access and Tire Monitoring Systems, the miniature size of NCV-RSL15 makes it perfectly suited for portable remote access devices and other space-constrained in-tire and in-vehicle locations,” said Michel De Mey, vice president of the Industrial Solutions Division, onsemi. “By combining ultra-low power consumption with a tiny footprint, and the latest technology in embedded security into one device, we enable our customers to meet their complex sensing-related design challenges for wireless-enabled automotive applications.”
As the number of access points increases, so does the number of potential attack vectors that must be secured to protect against unauthorized wireless access to the vehicle’s central body computer or central processing unit. The NCV-RSL15 offers the latest in embedded security with Arm® CryptoCell™ featuring hardware-based root-of-trust secure boot, many user-accessible hardware-accelerated cryptographic algorithms, and Firmware-over-the-Air (FOTA) capabilities to enable future firmware updates and deployment of security patches. With its rich library of sample code, the comprehensive and easy-to-use software development kit provides a springboard for application development. Along with 24/7 development community support, onsemi makes it easy to design in.