The Single-Chip Micro Mote (SCµM) is an integrated wireless sensor node that pushes the boundaries of system-on-chip integration. A single mote is intended to be fully self-contained and functional when supplied only with a power source, and the on-chip crystal-free radio is designed to comply with BLE and IEEE 802.15.4 wireless personal area network standards. In previous work, SCµM-3C was demonstrated to join an 802.15.4 mesh network running OpenWSN, transmit BLE beacon packets to a cell phone, and perform RF temperature compensation via both initial calibration and calibration-free online algorithms. As a sensor, SCµM-3C was used to provide ~1 cm accurate 3D localization estimates and measured temperatures from 0 to 100C with <2 C of precision. Progress is underway to interface SCµM-3C's ADC with various printed soil sensors, including potentiometric, resistive, and amperometric sensors for nitrate, ammonium, temperature, and oxygen monitoring. The next generation, SCµM-V, was recently taped out in the Intel 16 FinFET process. It features a 32-bit RISC-V core capable of up to 200 MHz, 256 kB of on-chip SRAM, a crystal-free BLE & IEEE 802.15.4 radio, an EEG front-end with a µV-precision delta-sigma ADC, a 90 GHz FMCW radar transmitter, and power management with on-chip references, low-dropout regulators, and a DC-DC switched capacitor converter.
Project currently funded by: Industry Sponsor