The AEK-MOT-2DC70S1 is a very compact solution for multi DC motor driving applications, embedding all the driver and signal decoding functions on the same board. Together with current sensing capability, the AEK-MOT-2DC70S1 features three independent encoder inputs. The DC motor drivers have separate half-bridge driving which allows up to three separate motors with only two devices, using an appropriate driving sequence. The motor driver is ideal for two-wheel applications and allows engineers to build highly compact motor control solutions. The two high-side drivers facilitate additional driving for system actuators (unidirectional DC motor, LED, pump, etc.).

The AEK-MOT-MR200G1 is designed as a mini zone controller for the side mirror application. The AEK-MOT-MR200G1 hosts an SPC582B60E1 chorus 1M microcontroller and an L99DZ200G automotive-grade multioutput driver. Thanks to the integrated L99DZ200G, the board allows controlling different functions related to a vehicle side mirror: folding, unfolding, X-Y mirror inclination, electrochromic dimming, and heating. The L99DZ200G integrates the current monitor (high-side only) for X-Y, folding/unfolding, and LED outputs, in order to detect the mechanical end stop switches. Through dedicated connectors, the AEK-MOT-MR200G1 supports external encoders, which detect the effective position of the side mirror and send the acquired data to the SPC582B60E1. This information can be used to implement safety features or, for example, to create and store a specific profile for each vehicle user. The board also allows driving two strings of LEDs (to be used, for example, for turn signals or puddle lights). In the AutoDevKit software package, we have included two AEK-MOT-MR200G1 evaluation demos that you can use for your own project development. The first demo is preloaded on the AEK-MOT-MR200G1 and, once running, it performs an activation sequence of the board outputs (motors, heater, electro-chrome voltage (ECV)). It shows how to drive up to three 12 V DC motors (one up to 7.5 A and the other two up to 500 mA), turn on/off two LED strings (at 12 V, one up to 1.5 A and the other up to 700 mA), activate the heater and the electro-chrome functions. In addition, the downloaded firmware enables board control through CAN messages received from a host ECU, after flashing the second demo on an AEK-MCU-C4MLIT1. At the end of the first demo sequence, the board waits for 8 seconds to receive CAN messages. In case of no message reception, it restarts the automatic sequence from the beginning. To transmit control CAN messages, connect the AEK-MCU-C4MLIT1 to the AEK-MOT-MR200G1 and press user button 1 (SW_1) or user button 3 (SW_3). To program the onboard SPC582B60E1 microcontroller, connect the SPC5-UDESTK to the JTAG connector, and connect the board to a PC via USB and run the PLS UDE to flash the code.

The AEK-POW-BMS63EN is a battery management system (BMS) evaluation board that can handle from 1 to 31 Li-ion battery nodes. Each battery node manages from 4 to 14 battery cells, for a voltage range between 48 V and 800 V. The board is based on the L9963E, which is designed for operation in both hybrid (HE) and full electric (BE) vehicles using lithium battery packs, but its use can be extended to other Transportation and Industrial applications. The main activity of the L9963E is monitoring cells and battery node status through stack voltage measurement, cell voltage measurement, temperature measurement, and coulomb counting. Measurement and diagnostic tasks can be executed either on demand or periodically, with a programmable cycle interval. Measurement data are available for an external microcontroller to perform charge balancing and to compute the state of charge (SOC) and the state of health (SOH). The main functions of a standard BMS are monitoring and protecting the battery pack. The monitoring function is related to the measurement of the battery current, voltage, and temperature. The protection function brings the system to a safety state in case of under or overvoltage and overheating. The AEK-POW-BMS63EN provides an elaborate monitoring network to sense the voltage, current, and temperature of each cell. This sensing allows elaborating the SOC of each battery cell and, consequently, the state of charge of all battery packs. The SOC allows assessing the remaining battery capacity, which equates to the remaining driving range. For maintenance reasons, it is important to monitor the SOC estimation over time. According to our algorithm for the SOC calculation, the more the SOC differs from its nominal value (that is, its value when the batteries are new), the more a cell of the battery pack risks over-discharge. Thus, the SOC evolution over time allows asserting the state of health (SOH) of a cell or a battery pack to spot early indications that a cell is at risk of over-discharge or overcharging. The SOC of a battery cell is required to maintain its safe operation and duration during charge, discharge, and storage. However, SOC cannot be measured directly and is estimated from other measurements and known parameters (such as characterization curves or look-up tables). This information on the battery cells is necessary to determine how the voltage varies according to the current, the temperature, etc., on the basis of the battery chemical composition and production lot used. The AEK-POW-BMS63EN can work in two different daisy chain topologies: centralized and dual access ring. In a centralized daisy chain configuration, a series of BMS is connected to an MCU board through a single transceiver connected to the AEK-POW-BMS63EN isolated ISOLport. The BMS are connected to each other through the isolated ISOH port. The MCU communicates with the AEK-COM-ISOSPI1 hosted L9963T transceiver through the SPI protocol. The transceiver converts these signals into ISO SPI signals to communicate with the BMS. The AEK-COM-ISOSPI1 allows converting SPI signals in isolated SPI signals, thereby reducing the number of necessary wires from 4 to 2 and implementing differential communication for higher noise immunity. A dual access ring configuration is also possible by adding another transceiver that makes the communication bidirectional. The secondary ring is used as a backup in case the primary ring fails. Data moves in opposite directions around the rings, and each ring remains independent of the other unless the primary ring fails. The two rings are connected to continue the flow of data traffic. In AutoDevKit ecosystem software package, we created two example demos (one for centralized and one for dual access ring configuration) to elaborate SOC and SOH, using Li-ion batteries. Battery packs may have different SOCs, and balancing is necessary to bring them all to the same charge level. After detecting the lowest charge in the battery pack, all the other battery nodes are discharged to reach its level. The demos explain how to activate the internal MOSFETs of the L9963E, which short-circuit the cell on an external dissipation resistor to discharge it. Passive cell balancing can be performed either via the L9963E internal MOSFETs or via external MOSFETs/resistors. The controller can either manually control the balancing drivers or start a balancing task with a fixed duration. In the second case called silent mode, the balancing may be programmed to continue even when the IC enters a low power mode, to avoid unnecessary current absorption from the battery pack. The balancing function is necessary to lengthen the battery capacity and its duration. Different MCUs can be used. In our demos we used the AEK-MCU-C4MLIT1, while other ASIL-B and ASIL-D microcontrollers of the SPC58 Chorus family are supported.

The AEK-POW-L5964V1 expansion board is designed for power car or truck body applications requiring different voltages, such as USB-PD or infotainment. It has two independent converters that can deliver a fixed or variable output voltage via MCU control. The output current can be up to 3 A per channel. The board includes monitoring circuitries for input and output voltages, and LEDs to indicate operating status. EMI is minimized through appropriate filtering techniques. The converters are based on the L5964 step-down switching regulators (in buck topology) with overcurrent and overtemperature protection. The L5964 integrates the control, power switches and monitoring circuitries of both converters alongside features such as watchdog, wake-up and reset. The AEK-POW-L5964V1 expansion board is part of the AutoDevKit initiative. It can be plugged on top of additional boards via a 4x20 male/female connector, which is compatible with the 4x37 MCU male connector on SPC58EC-DISP or AEK-MCU-C4MLIT1 evaluation boards. A demo application and an AutoDevKit component plugin are also provided for the SPC5-STUDIO tool environment.

The AEK-POW-LDOV02J is an evaluation board based on the L99VR02J. It can be used in several electronic applications such as microcontroller supplies, automotive display drivers, sensors, and infotainment processors. Thanks to its operating temperature range (Tj=-40°C to 175°C), the device is suitable for electronic applications with high temperature environments and for applications that require stable power supplies.

The AEK-POW-SPSB081 is a power management IC evaluation board with enhanced power management functionalities, such as various standby modes to minimize power consumption with programmable local and remote wake-up capability. The board is based on the SPSB081 power management system IC, which embeds one low-drop voltage regulator (V1) to supply the system microcontroller and another voltage regulator (V2) to be used as a voltage tracker of V1 or to supply external peripheral loads such as sensors. V1 has a fixed rail of 5 V and features an overvoltage detection and protection solution, while V2 can work in two different ways: as a voltage tracker of V1, or as an independent voltage regulator programmable via SPI with 5 or 3.3 V. Four high-side drivers allow supplying and driving LEDs and sensors. These high-side drivers are driven via SPI and can be configured in four different modes: OFF, ON, TIMED (with programmable time), and PWM (configurable via device registers). Moreover, you can set the high-side driver output to be driven by the DIR pin. This functionality allows the user to generate custom PWM signals for the high-side outputs. All outputs are short-circuit protected and detect open-load. The communication protocol used to configure SPSB0815 registers is the SPI, implemented with four wires (MISO, MOSI, CSN, and CLK). The AEK-POW-SPSB081 also exploits the LIN and CAN transceivers embedded in the IC, allowing the use of the board as a bridge between the microcontroller and the CAN or LIN communication lines. An external microcontroller (for example, when using an AEK-MCU-C1MLIT1) has to refresh periodically a watchdog TRIG bit in the SPSB081 register via SPI, to maintain the device in active mode. In case of watchdog failure, the device enters the V1_standby (for energy saving). To wake it up, send a pulse to the WU1_IN pin or just press the S1 button. By placing a jumper on JP1, the device enters the debug mode where the watchdog is inactive. Three demos are available in the AutoDevKit ecosystem, each of them based on a different SPC58 microcontroller evaluation board plus an AEK-POW-SPSB081. The demos show how to use the outputs, configuring them in four different modes: OUT 1 for ON, OUT 2 for TIMED, OUT 3 for PWM and OUT 4 for DIR. V2 is configured as a linear regulator and changes settings alternatively every 2.5 seconds between 3.3 and 5 V. CAN connector and CAN_rx/CAN_tx pins are then connected to the microcontroller board. The CAN test signals transmitted from the microcontroller every five seconds can be effectively decoded through CAN_H/CAN_L pins.

The AEK-SNS-2TOFM1 includes two Time-of-Flight distance-ranging sensors placed at a distance of 23 cm one from the other. The on-board SPC582B60E1 microcontroller reads the sensor data and detects a predefined hand/foot gesture. This solution is designed for power liftgate applications, to open/close the trunk with a predefined foot movement. The AEK-SNS-2TOFM1 evaluation board firmware is preloaded. It is enabled for an external CAN bus driving. The AutoDevKit software library (STSW-AUTODEVKIT) includes a CAN bus-driving example based on the SPC58EC Chorus 4M.

The AEKD-AICAR1 is a versatile system based on a long-short term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network (RNN), which can provide a car state classification: car parked, car driving on normal road conditions, car driving on a bumpy road, car skidding or swerving. The innovative idea in the AEKD-AICAR1 is to define an ECU detection node with an embedded artificial intelligence processing. The AEKD-AICAR1 houses an SPC58EC chorus 4Mbytes microcontroller, which can acquire discrete acceleration variations on a three-axis reference system. The AEKD-AICAR1 system represents a reference for the automotive AI on the edge processing. It is possible to replace easily the sensor with another one that belongs to the ST MEMS family. It is also possible to modify the neural network and/or retrain the neural network. The new neural network is converted into a library executable by the MCU using SPC5-STUDIO-AI.

The AEKD-AFL001 represents the complete logic and driving hardware for an adaptive front lighting system for prototyping, testing, and development purposes. It consists of several AutoDevKit boards designed for motor vehicle application development featuring ST automotive-grade components. The set includes two stepper motor control boards, a four-channel LED driver board, a control board with MCU, a connector board with a FAN switch board and another connector board for wiring configuration. The adaptive front lighting system firmware runs on the control board automotive-grade SPC5 chorus MCU and allows independent control of all the function boards and their respective loads. The package also includes sample applications to help users familiarize themselves with the code quickly. The firmware is available in the STSW-AUTODEVKIT studio. Just import the related project named 'SPC58ECXX_RLA adaptive front lighting (AFL)'. You can also order our fully compatible demo motor vehicle front lighting assembly (AEKD-AFLLIGHT1) with LED lights, stepper motors, and a fan to provide a complete adaptive front lighting tool for application and solution development purposes.

The AEKD-STEREOAVAS is an AutoDevKit acoustic vehicle alerting system (AVAS) demo. It consists of an AEK-AUD-C1D9031 compact AVAS board, an AEK-MCU-C4MLIT1 domain zone controller, and two AEK-LCD-DT028V1 display expansion boards, plus two loudspeakers and a switching button. The AEK-AUD-C1D9031 communicates with the AEK-MCU-C4MLIT1 via CAN protocol, exchanging commands like start/stop to simulate alerting sounds used in e-vehicles. The sound is reproduced by the AEK-AUD-C1D9031 ECU through a pair of integrated class D audio amps connected to the loudspeakers. Two AEK-LCD-DT028V1 boards with resistive touch allow the user to interact with the demo. The first screen shows a graphic simulation of the electric motor rpms, while the second allows starting/stopping the demo and regulating the sound volume and the engine rpms. An important system safety feature reproposed in our demo consists in the open-load detection in play or mute state. Toggling the "disconnect speaker" switch, the FDA903D embedded in the AEK-AUD-C1D9031 detects the open load in play or in mute and the blue LED lights up. This open-load detection depends on the sound amplitude. If the blue LED does not light up, turn the volume up through the dedicated touch screen button. Switching on the hardware mute button on the AEK-AUD-C1D9031 board, an orange LED (D7) turns on to indicate that the system is in the hardware mute state.