Cortus brings fast crypto to home IoT designs

Microprocessor core developer Cortus has teamed up with Oberon Microsystems in Switzerland to to implement fast encryption technology to secure the Internet of Things in the home.

The highly efficient cryptographic code, a key component of its OberonHAP product, has been ported to a 50MHz Cortus APS3RP 32-bit IP core. The combination of the tiny software memory footprint and minimalist processor core is well suited to secure ASICs in battery-powered home automation devices.

Oberon Microsystems has developed, analysed and optimised the cryptographic code of OberonHAP since 2013 (see below). They have developed – and formally proved - novel algorithm combinations, and have carefully written critical parts in assembly language for high performance. The resulting software is typically three times as fast as a good implementation in C. OberonHAP thus makes secure home automation feasible even on low-power, low-cost 32-bit microcontroller cores for ASICs.

“Home automation is a key application area for Cortus”, says Michael Chapman, CEO and President of Cortus, “So we are delighted to see the first steps completed in making Oberon’s code available for Cortus licensees. With growing connectivity of home devices, security is essential." 

OberonHAP implements a range of cryptographic algorithms for pairing, authentication and encryption such as:

• Secure Remote Password (SRP)
• Ed25519
• Curve25519
• HKDF-SHA-512
• ChaCha20-Poly1305

For an integrated circuit with the processor core running at 50 MHz, the cryptographic processing of the SRP algorithm – which is required once in the lifetime of a home automation device – takes less than five seconds. Cryptographic processing during opening of a session between a device and a smartphone takes less than 100 milliseconds. RAM requirements were brought down to a record-low 2.5 KB.

“The combination of Oberon’s optimised cryptographic code and the APS3RP results in very good performance even on low-cost, low power devices”, said Cuno Pfister, managing director of Oberon microsystems AG, “We look forward to further cooperation with Cortus in the area of security for home appliances.”

The APS3RP is an enhanced performance version of the widely-deployed APS3R and provides a single cycle parallel multiplier. It has a Harvard architecture and a 3-stage pipeline. The Cortus family of APS processors offers a wide choice of computational performance and system complexity for embedded SoCs. All cores interface to Cortus’ peripherals including Ethernet 10/100 MAC, USB 2.0 Device and USB 2.0 OTG. They also share the simple vectored interrupt structure which ensures rapid, real time interrupt response, with low software overhead.

The APS toolchain and IDE (for C and C++) is available to licensees free of charge, and can be customised and branded for final customer use. Ports of various RTOSs are available such as FreeRTOS, Micrium μC/OSII, Micrium μC/OSIII and Blunk TargetOS. To date over 900 million devices have been manufactured containing Cortus processor cores.

By Nick Flaherty www.flaherty.co.uk

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LED lighting gets wireless links

Wireless lighting control system will involve each lighting fixture being wireless enabled

The move to LED technology will require a redesign of a lighting fixture, says Stephen Page, VP of Engineerig at Cyan Technology in Cambridge. At this redesign stage, for a very small incremental cost it is also possible to add wireless control to a lighting fixture, making home automation much more feaible.

Production ready wireless modules, design-in guides, and reference design lighting interface boards make this a straight forward process. Each light will then become a node on an ISM band mesh network. This is used because it is robust (self-healing) and easy to deploy (self-forming).


More on this at LED lighting gets wireless links, says Cyan - 17/05/2010 - Electronics Weekly

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DSP Group and Lantiq Complete Interoperability Testing for Home Gateways and Digital Cordless Handsets

Successful implementation of new CAT-iq 2.0 standard  drives converged communications 


By Nick Flaherty www.flaherty.co.uk

The DSP Group and German chip maker Lantiq have successfully completed interoperability testing based on the latest CAT-iq 2.0 (Cordless Advanced Technology: Internet and Quality) specification.
Recently adopted as an industry standard, CAT-iq 2.0 is a key technology to enable advanced communications and infotainment applications driven by IP-based gateways in the digital home. The standard meets the requirement for widespread availability of fully interoperable home gateways, access points and cordless handsets to deliver the best user experience possible.
“Industry cooperation is essential for the success of the CAT-iq standard,” said Brian Robertson, President of DSP Group. "We are pleased to collaborate with competing companies to ensure that third-party interoperability is not just a possibility but is actually achieved. The future of converged communications is about giving consumers more choices and flexibility and we are fully committed to continuous innovation to make this vision a reality."
The joint testing included interoperability between cordless handsets and residential gateways and demonstrated an excellent user experience of diverse telephony functions including phonebook management, synchronized call lists and multi-line support. DSP Group and Lantiq’s silicon and software solutions are deployed in many IP telephony and gateway products, including xDSL, cable, xPON and office PBX, providing multi-line and multi-handset control, natural wideband voice and advanced data services.
“Interoperability is a significant milestone in bringing the CAT-iq 2.0 specification to market and is the key to the standard’s success,” said Ulrich Huewels, SVP and GM of Business Unit CPE of Lantiq. “Lantiq has an extensive background in interop testing with competitors through its carrier engagements in voice and DSL, and with CAT-iq, we continue to pursue this path to ensure the future success of industry’s new standard. Lantiq reinforces its commitment through its investment in the technology by embedding CAT-iq in all of its residential xDSL and Ethernet-based gateway devices.

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Silicon Labs drives SmartGrid with Low Power Wireless Microcontrollers

Single-Chip for Smart Meter Solutions with RF Connectivity

Silicon Laboratories has launched the industry’s lowest power single-chip wireless microcontrollers (MCUs) for battery-operated home automation systems, smart meters, in-home utility monitors and security systems.
The demand for smart energy technology continues to grow each year as government initiatives mandate upgrades to the grid, as well as adding intelligence to meters that measure water, gas and heat. The market for smart home products, such as lighting and HVAC controls, in-home utility monitors and home security systems, is also on the rise, driven in part by the desire to conserve energy and by the expansion of home automation services and standards-based wireless technologies.
Today’s smart home/smart grid applications merge wired/wireless connectivity and embedded control with power-efficient design to maximize battery life. The ultra-low-power Si10xx wireless MCU family is aimed at these battery-operated systems with RF links, as well as for many other embedded wireless applications that require ultra-low power consumption.
The Si10xx wireless MCUs combine a 25 MHz 8051 core, EZRadioPRO sub-GHz RF transceiver, up to 64 kB of flash and up to 12-bit ADC – all in a compact 5 mm x 7 mm package. The Si10xx family is the industry’s most power-efficient single-chip wireless MCU solution, providing the lowest current in common modes of operation. The wireless MCUs offer the lowest active-mode current consumption (160 microamps per MHz). In sleep mode, they consume only 615 nanoamps with an active 32.768 kHz real-time clock (RTC) and down to 315 nanoamps with an active RTC and a low frequency oscillator (LFO). In deep-sleep mode, they can operate on as little as 25 nA with full RAM retention.
The Si10xx family’s ultra-low-power architecture and fast wake-up time (2 microseconds) greatly extends battery life in both lithium and alkaline battery applications. The Si10xx architecture also features a dc-dc boost converter designed to supply large loads with extremely high efficiency. The dc-dc converter supplies power needed for periods of RF transmission and reception with efficiencies of up to 90 percent. As a result, developers can design embedded wireless systems capable of 25 percent longer battery life over alternative solutions with no degradation in MCU or radio performance; in some system configurations, an Si10xx device can extend battery life by as much as 50 percent.
The Si10xx wireless MCUs offer leading RF performance with the highest output power and sensitivity and lowest power wake-up transition. The Si10xx family’s integrated power amplifier (PA) and low-noise amplifier enable an RF link budget of greater than 140 dB without requiring active external elements. This results in extended range, higher bandwidth and lower overall power consumption.
“The Si10xx family is a battery’s best friend, offering best-in-class energy efficiency that makes it easier to design battery-powered products for the smart home and smart meter markets,” said Mark Thompson, vice president and general manager of Silicon Labs’ Embedded Mixed Signal products. “By incorporating the EZRadioPRO transceiver, the Si10xx wireless MCUs deliver exceptional RF performance with high output power and superior sensitivity.”
Development Support
To streamline the development of smart home and smart meter products based on Si10xx wireless MCUs, Silicon Labs offers hardware and software tools for MCU and system design, RF design and optimization, and network software design. These tools include the following:

• Si1000-DK and Si1010-DK development kits
• SDBC-DK3 development platform for EZRadioPRO wireless products
• Wireless development suite (WDS), a comprehensive toolset that makes it easy to develop robust, low-cost wireless applications with little or no specific RF design experience
• EZMACPRO media access control module (“network in a box”)
• Fully compliant wireless M-Bus stack (EN: 13757-4), a metering networking standard common in Europe

Pricing and Availability
Pricing for the Si10xx MCUs starts at $3.51 (USD) in 10K quantities. The Si1000DK development kit is available now for $99 (USD). The WIRELESSMBUSEK evaluation kit is priced at $99 (USD). For additional product information and to purchase samples and development tools, please visit www.silabs.com/pr/wirelessmcu.

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