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Choosing the right Arm Cortex-M processor for your biomedical smart product: a practical guide

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Advances in telemedicine healthcare products over the past decades have been truly miraculous with ingenious little devices invented by start-ups as well as by larger corporations, .e.g Apple’s smart watch and the Fitbit. These advancements have been facilitated by the availability of low-cost microcontrollers offering algorithmic functionality, allowing developers to implement wearables with excellent battery life and edge based real-time data analysis.

Over 90% of the microcontrollers used in the smart product market are powered by so called Arm Cortex-M processors that offer a combination of high algorithmic performance, low-power and security. The Arm Cortex-M4 is a very popular choice with hundreds of silicon vendors (including ST, TI, NXP, ADI, Nordic, Microchip, Renesas), as it offers DSP (digital signal processing) functionality traditionally found in more expensive devices and is low-power. Arm and its rich eco system of partners provide developers with easy-to-use tooling and tried and tested software libraries, such as the CMSIS-DSP and CMSIS-NN frameworks for algorithm development and machine learning.

The choice is vast, and can be very confusing. Therefore, here are some practical hints and tips for both managers and developers to help you decide which Arm Cortex-M processor is best for your biomedical product.

Which Arm Cortex-M processor do I choose for my biomedical application?

The Arm Cortex-M0+ processor is an ultra-low power 32-bit processor designed for very low-cost IoT applications, such as simple wearable devices. The low price point is comparable with equivalent 8-bit devices, but with 32-bit performance. Microcontrollers built around the M0+ processor provides developers with excellent battery life (months to years), a rich peripheral set and a basic amount of connectivity and computational performance. The latter means that only simple algorithms can be implemented, such as algorithms for filtering accelerometer data before transmission.

The Cortex-M3 is a step up from the M0+, offering better computational performance but with less power efficiency. The extra processing power, rich hardware peripheral set for connecting other sensors and connectivity options makes the M3 a very good choice for developers looking to develop slightly more advanced wearable products, such as the Fitbit device that is based on ST’s low-power STM32L series of microcontrollers.

High performance wearables and beyond

The Arm Cortex-M4 processor and its more powerful bigger brother the Cortex-M7 are highly-efficient embedded processors designed for IoT applications that require decent real-time signal processing performance and memory. Depending on the flavour of the processor, the M4F/M7F processors implement DSP hardware accelerated instructions, as well hardware floating point support. This lends itself to the efficient implementation of much more computationally intensive biomedical DSP and ML algorithms needed for more advanced telemedicine products. The hardware floating point support unit expedites RAD (rapid application development), as algorithms and functions developed in Matlab or Python can be ported to C for implementation without the need for a lengthy data arithmetic quantisation analysis. Microcontrollers based on the M4F or M7F, usually offer many of the hardware peripheral and connectivity advantages of the M3, providing developers with a very powerful, low power development platform for their telemedicine application.

The Arm Cortex-M33 is a step up from the M4 focusing on algorithms and hardware security via Arm’s TrustZone technology and memory-protection units. The Cortex-M33 processor attempts to achieve an optimal blend between real-time algorithmic performance, energy efficiency and system security.

State-of-the art AI microcontrollers

Released in 2020, the Arm Cortex-M55 processor and its bigger brother the Cortex-M85 are targeted for AI applications on microcontrollers. These processors feature Arm’s Helium vector processing technology, bringing energy-efficient digital signal processing (DSP) and machine learning (ML) capabilities to the Cortex-M family.

Although the IP for these processors is available for licencing, only a few IC vendors have developed a microcontroller, e.g. Samsung’s Exynos W920 SoC that has been specifically designed for the wearables market. The SoC packs two Arm Cortex-A55 processors, and the Arm Mali-G68 GPU using state-of-the art 5nm semiconductor technology. The chipset also features a dedicated low-power Cortex-M55 display processor for handling AoD (Always-on Display) tasks – although a little over the top for simple wearable devices, the Exynos processor family certainly seems like an excellent choice for building next generation AI capable low-power wearable products.

So, which one do I choose?

The compromise for biomedical product developers when choosing an M4, M7 or M33 based microcontroller over an M3 device usually comes down to a trade-off between algorithmic performance, security requirements and battery life. If good battery life and simple algorithms are key, then M3 devices are a good choice. However, if more computationally intensive analysis algorithms are required, then the M4 or M7 should be used. The M7 out performs its M4 little brother by offering approximately twice the computational performance and some devices even offer hardware double precision floating point support which make them attractive for high accuracy algorithms needed for medical analysis.

If data security is paramount, for example protecting and securing transferring patient data to a cloud service, then the M33 is a good choice. These devices also offer a high level of protection against tampering and running of authorised code via TrustZone’s trusted execution environment.

Some IC vendors now offer hybrid micro-controllers that implement multi-processors on chip, such as ST’s ST32Wx family that combine the M0+ and M4 in order to get the advantages of each processor and maximise battery life. 

Finally, advances in semiconductor technology means that a modern M4F processor produced with 40nm process technology may match or even surpass the energy efficiency of an M3 produced with 90nm technology from several years ago. As such, higher performance processors that were until several years too costly and energy inefficient for low-cost wearables products are rapidly becoming a viable solution to this exciting marketplace.

Author

  • Dr. Sanjeev Sarpal

    Sanjeev is an AIoT visionary and expert in signals and systems with a track record of successfully developing over 25 commercial products. He advises top international blue chip companies on their AIoT solutions and strategies for I4.0, telemedicine, smart healthcare, smart grids and smart buildings.

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What do you want to achieve with AIOT?: To Optimize

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“Improve your existing resources”

In a previous blog, we talked about how IoT can help in taking control. There is another step further: to optimize your processes with AIOT.

Benefits

  • Better use of existing resources
  • Take the right decisions at the right time
  • Optimal circumstances

Better use of existing resources

Control means you have a clear overview how assets are being used. Such as:

  • How long does each step in a process take?
  • What are the whereabouts of my assets (trucks, cranes, forklifts, containers…)?
  • What is the state of maintenance?

The next step is of course, to optimize your business.

First of all, many blogs write about total-new situations. In fact, most AIOT is needed in companies which are already established. With their inventory, processes, customers and all the responsibilities which come with them. Large investments have been made to reach the business today. And so, their processes may not be optimal, at least they work. So how to benefit from AIOT, without throwing away all these investments? And: how to be sure processes are at least working as they do know? Smart sensors help to bring the whole process at today’s level, without throwing away resources which are working fine. Besides, companies can choose to implement AIOT piecemeal.

This is especially the case when it’s about highly essential functions such as infrastructure, sluices and installations. Here, the asset is not just an asset, but a part of a total infrastructure. Downtime of such an asset has large implications for society as a whole.

Many processes are still monitored piecemeal. A further optimization is to connect systems with each other. Get 1 overview in 1 dashboard. Learn how your processes are doing, and where are the optimizations are required.

Take the right decisions at the right time

To measure is to know, to know is to be able to improve.

One most mentioned benefits of AIOT is preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance means that something is repaired or replace, before it is breaks. Or at least, to maintain while the damage is still small. In normal situations there would be downtime, now repairs can be made scheduled. And if downtime is needed for repairs, then it can be scheduled at times the least inconvenient.

It’s already been said: to be able to schedule repairs. Take the right decisions at the right time. Besides, in the old situation, a foreman has to do his round, where he gives each machine the same attention. With AIOT, the quality of the assets can be guarded with sensors. So, at his round, a foreman can give most attention to the machines which mostly need it.

The same applies to a sector as biomedical: ‘to prevent is better then to cure’. So, help your clients and/or yourself to stay healthy. An example is fall detection. And does the elderly take his medicine?

Help your patients with therapy, to make use of knowledge from all previous patients: is therapy going on track? Also: give the patients who need it the right amount of attention. Instead of seeing all your patients with a standard scheduled time-frame, and as a consequence, give none of them enough time really.  If therapy is lagging, you probably want to give those patient attentions. Is therapy going faster then expected: what are the reasons? How can this knowledge be used to improve therapy in the future? Besides, if people can do therapy and appointments at home, they don’t have to spend their precious time; where the actual time needed for treatment is shorter then the time spent on travelling and waiting.

Optimal circumstances

Sensors can guard that product are made or kept in optimal circumstances. E.g., if cutting parts of a machine are still sharp enough, and in their right precision. Or guard the temperature of cooling or keep an eye on the indoor air quality. This may also make guarantees possible, and thus creating added value to your products or service.

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The roll-out to 5G: enabler for Industry 4.0

Since the end of July 2020, KPN has renewed its mobile network which enables 5G. KPN is rapidly expanding coverage throughout the Netherlands. Business customers and entrepreneurs can already make use of special 5G services. To see tomorrow’s digital highway in action, since 5G is one of the enablers for smart industry

3.5 GHz frequency auction

Starting in 2022, KPN will auction G5 frequencies. Meanwhile, together with customers and technology partners, telecom and ICT service provider KPN has launched 5G field labs to discover the value of 5G applications. Thanks in part to 5G technology, these types of applications will become a reality.

During the new 5G auction, frequencies in the 3.5 GHz band will be distributed. These will enable connections at much higher speeds. At the auction in the first quarter of 2022, at least three parties must obtain licenses for the frequencies. No single party may acquire more than 40 percent of the available frequencies, says the proposal for the course of the auction.

A total of 300 megahertz of bandwidth is to be distributed. This consists of three blocks of 60 megahertz and twelve blocks of 10 megahertz. The auction will be held in three phases. Prior to and during the auction the Ministry of Economic Affairs will not provide information about the total number of participants. At the end, the winning parties will be announced and the State Secretary will make the entire bidding process public.

Tomorrow’s digital highway

Thanks to the capacity and reliability of our network, new applications such as innovations in security, healthcare, mobility, logistics and the manufacturing industry become possible.  Unlike 4G, 5G is expected to become an ecosystem from which many business sectors, industries and areas can benefit. Innovations from which the whole of society benefits. In addition to higher speed, 5G focuses explicitly on flexibility in the network to support very short response times and higher reliability. This will enable a wide range of new applications for customers and industries.

5G is expected to provide a huge boost in business for augmented and virtual reality, robotics, drones, intelligent assets, wearables, AI-based video analytics and Internet of Things (IoT), among others.

In addition to 5G, Internet of Things also requires edge computing. This involves placing a small cloud with computing power, storage and network capacity at the edge of the network, as it were, close to applications, devices and users. Because data no longer has to travel all the way up and down to the cloud or a data center, time-critical applications such as self-driving cars and augmented reality become possible.

5G: enabler for Industry 4.0

5G is also a key enabler for Industry 4.0. This involves using Internet of Things, cloud computing and data integration, among other things, to make the production process fully computer-controlled and remote. The human thought process is thereby partially or completely taken over. Due to its high speed and reliability and short latency, 5G is essential within Industry 4.0 for, for example, controlling production lines, facilitating self-driving vehicles and connecting large numbers of IoT devices.

Field Labs

KPN Eindhoven 5G Fieldlab

The national rollout of 5G has only just started, but KPN has been testing 5G for useful applications in its Field Labs for some time. 

The 5G field lab for the manufacturing industry shows everyone which 5G indoor use cases are possible in a factory environment. Besides speed, 5G also enables larger reliability and very low network latency. A large number of wireless sensors also plays an important role in the further rollout of the IoT. Thus, the 5G Field Labs shows that 5G can be used for very different applications simultaneously.

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The Benefits of AIOT: “Lower Costs or More Efficiency”

AIoT has many benefits. Those benefits can be summarized as: saving, controlling, optimizing and innovation. How does AIOT reduce costs and provide more efficiency?

How AIoT can help to save:

  • Preventive maintenance
  • Efficient use of time, equipment and money
  • Lesser costs of energy
  • Don´t throw away infrastructure which is working fine

Preventive maintenance

Purchasing new machinery involves high costs. The assets of public infrastructure exist of expensive equipment. So, there are high costs of replacing equipment which is failing. To reduce these costs, Preventive maintenance comes in. With Preventive maintenance, you can repair or replace parts from which you know that they will not be working properly in a short time. Or on the moment they are not working properly anymore.  With this maintenance program, you can act because an (expected) little failure has caused damage.

And, in many cases such as public infrastructure, a not working device isn’t just a not working device!  A failure of a sluice or railroad switch causes disruption for the infrastructure as a whole: Ships and trains can’t deliver their goods anymore on time. Customers are standing literary in the cold due to not working train infrastructure. With preventive maintenance you can spare them (or yourself) high costs and much annoyance.

Efficient use of time, equipment and money

Use your time, equipment or money? As efficient as possible. In a time of growing economies, employees are scarce and hard to find. So you want to make use of your employee’s time as efficient and effective as possible. This means that employees have to to be able give attention to things… really needed. IoT makes this possible. Some examples:

  • For offices: cleaners have to clean only the places of the office which have actually used instead of cleaning the whole building. Non-used offices can even be shut down.
  • Logistics: more efficienct planning of cranes, further transport
  • Already mentioned: the benefit of preventive maintenance

Lesser costs of energy

Another savings IoT makes possible is saving of energy.

And of course, this benefits the user but also the planet as a whole! And that makes your customers and employees even more satisfied. Which makes that they will stay customer or employer longer… Besides, if you rent offices, they will be longer and easier hired.

Don’t throw infrastructure which is working fine

In most buildings and logistics, the infrastructure has been built years ago with huge efforts and costs. The infrastructure is mission critical, so owners often still accept that their infrastructure isn’t the most efficient, as long as it works. Now sensors come in: they bring an extra layer upon the already existing devices, be it such different devices as hvac in office buildings or cranes in ports.

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How to design FIR Filters in ASN Filter Designer

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What are Finite Impulse Respsonse (FIR) Filters? And how to design FIR Filters in ASN Filter Designer and which filters does ASN Filter Designer support?

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Get the best results out of your IoT infrastructure: design, maintenance and innovation

ASN Smart algorithms and technology offer the IoT approach and results you need.

Since 2006, ASN has successfully helped many international organisations. With data analysis, algorithms, security and successful implementations for their embedded IoT applications.

  • 62 Tried & tested IP blocks that are used worldwide
  • Combability with Arm Cortex-M technology, used in over 80% of IoT devices
  • Biomedical ECG, EMG, Lab-on-chip and vital life signs algorithmic solutions
  • High precision gas and flow rate measurement solutions
  • Human/object radar based motion tracking
  • Sensor signal processing

62 application IP Blocks

Our tried and tested application IP blocks are tried and tested worldwide for variety of IIoT/IoT applications, including:

  • Biomedical (EMG, ECG, vital life signs, lab-on-chip)
  • Smart Grids
  • Machine and motor maintenance
  • Oil and gas
  • ADAS (automotive driver assistance)
  • Smart street lighting
  • Noise cancellation
  • Industrial sensors

Compatibility with Arm Cortex-M technology

The ASN Filter Designer has an automatic code generator for Arm Cortex-M cores. This means that we support virtually every Arm based demo-board: ST, Cypress, NXP, Analog Devices, TI, Microchip/Atmel. And over 200+ other manufacturers. Our compatibility with Arm’s industry standard CMSIS-DSP software framework removes the frustration of implementing complicated digital filters in your IoT application. As a result, you get code that is optimal for Cortex-M devices and that works 100% of the time.

From algorithmic concept to NPD

Our NPD (product development process) provides a systematic and efficient way of productising a developed IoT algorithmic concept. This allows you to get your IoT application to market based on first time right principles.

Biomedical ECG, EMG, Lab-on-chip and vital life signs

One of our specialised sectors is the one of biomedical. For this sector, our ASN Filter Designer is very suitable for data filtering of ECG and EMG. After data filtering, you can export your cleaned data to Matlab. Or immediately export it to an Arm microcontroller for deployment. In parallel to the ASN Filter Designer, we have developed algorithms for a Lab-on-chip and Vital Life Signs measurement.

High precision gas and flow rate measurement solutions

One of our other specalisms are high precision gas and flow rate measurement solutions. Our comprehensive collection of application IP blocks has allowed many international companies to obtain outstanding measurement performance for their IoT applications!

And we can do much more for you… just ask us!

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How drones fuel ‘smart air’: air control and congestion

While the developments in the use of drones are going very fast, most of its use is still in an experimenting phase. Besides, the technique is working on an individual basis. From start-ups to big companies like Google, Amazon and UPS. Companies are experimenting by delivering pizzas on the beach. In the future, when drones have become widely adapted, a new form of air control must be developed. In crowded areas in particular. When drones might take up from anyplace and land anywhere anytime, air control is far more difficult than control of normal airplanes. And of course, delivery drones are supposed to work without human interference, even beyond sight from the owner of these drones.

Communication

Drones need to communicate with each other, and with other participants of air traffic. Furthermore, questions about prevention from flying over fires and forbidden areas must be solved. For instance airports, strategic points as driveways and military zones. Taking in consideration they might fly of its course due to wind.

Congestion

When pizza delivery will be just as common as delivery by scooter nowadays, a form of air congestion is going to take place as well. Companies are already proposing to use different ‘airlines’ for speedy delivery and slower registering traffic. But then, there must come a solution how to handle the event when delivery drones are in each other environment without colliding. Or to prevent that the whole traffic gets stuck because every device is waiting on other drones.

The ‘congestion’ takes also place in the use of frequencies. Drones use the same frequencies as a lot of other uses. For instance, airlines and military.

Standardization and legislation

That means standardization and legislation is needed. Standardization, to make certain that drones from different users/companies can communicate with each other. And to make decisions to fly safely and as efficiently as possible. Like other kinds of traffic, legislation is needed to set some rules how all devices can participate in drone traffic and traffic in general. And, when industry won’t be able to solve the already issues mentioned on trust and acceptability, legislation might also come in to set restrictions in the use of drones.

Final Thoughts

The application possibilities of drones are very promising for delivery and registration uses. It is still in its experimental phase. But with developments going fast, soon it will reach the maturity phase. For this, there are two-fold kind of challenges.

One of these are challenges on privacy, safety and security. These challenges have to be solved before their use will get widespread trust and acceptance. Besides, there are technical and communication issues: where multiple drones are being used – especially in cities- challenges how drones can and have to behave in traffic has to be solved.

In both challenges, sensors play a pivotal role in solving the technical questions. Find out more about Drones and DC motor Control

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Are you a logistics provider or art supporter? How Track and Trace helps you to defeat graffiti

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For public infrastructure, removing graffiti costs millions of euro each year. Besides the direct costs, there are the costs of not using the equipment and environmental costs. And naturally, the trains, buses, metro, etc. are your visit card to customers.

The thrill of success

Sometimes, graffiti can look beautiful. But mostly, it looks -and is- vandalism.

Non-removal is an invitation to even more graffiti. Tests in New York have turned out that the immediate removal of graffiti, at least the same day, discourages further graffiti. Besides, the subway of New York is guarded closely, so it has become difficult for vandals to create their painting.

To create something beautiful is mostly not the aim of the sprayers. Most painters do it for the ‘thrill’. The first thrill is to finish their work before they are noticed. The other is to see their work travelling the next day, knowing it will travel the whole country. There are solo-sprayers. But mostly, sprayers work in groups. Actions are being planned, to out-smarten the (railway) police.

Nowadays, public transport companies have guidelines when graffiti is noticed: an employer (e.g. the train manager notices the painting, signs a cleaning company and this company cleans the graffiti the same day with a mobile team.

But as the saying goes: prevention is better than curing! How can you diminish the change of graffiti paintings? Track & Trace solutions help.

Know if someone enters your shunting yard unwanted

The shunting yard is a known spot for graffiti painters. At night, or just on the day itself because it’s easy to enter the premises.

Most marshal yards are guarded by security. However, because they are quiet places, it is rather easy to enter the site and hide from security. Besides, most graffiti painters operate in groups. So, they are practiced to paint a wagon in no-time.

The Dutch regional TV broadcast OogTV: “Meanwhile I know, also from stories that I hear from colleagues from the country, that such artists are unstoppable. We can make the gates so high, and the locks so wide, but if these people want to, they will succeed.”

How Tracy can help: perimeter and object guard

Track and trace can help preventing graffiti in 2 ways:

  • Perimeter detection
  • Object guard

Know if someone enters the marshal yard or any other perimeter. Act immediately on ‘strange’ behavior, such as: unidentified persons on the premises. Or persons at times when you expect nobody will be there. Another option is to guard the object itself, such as a train wagon itself with a sensor. An alert is being send when persons approach the object.

So, you can prevent graffiti to take place or at least, to prevent the painter from finishing his ‘artwork’.

Find out how we can help you: https://www.advsolned.com/tracy-home/

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How ASN Filter Designer eases DSP for engineers

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DSP for engineers: the ASN Filter Designer is the ideal tool to analyze and filter the sensor data quickly. Create an algorithm within hours instead of days. When you are working with sensor data, you probably recognize these challenges:

  • My sensor data signals are too weak to even make an analysis. So, strengthening of the signals is needed
  • Where I would expect a flat line, the data looks like a mess because of interference and other containments. I need to clean the data first before analysis
Sensor data: wanted components, desired signals (DC components), and unwanted components (50HZ sine powerline interference, white noise). Filter sensor data DSP

Until now, you’ve probably spent days or even weeks working on your signal analysis and filtering? The development trajectory is generally slow and very painful.

In fact, just think about the number of hours that you could have saved if you had design tool that managed all of the algorithmic details for you. ASN Filter Designer is an industry standard solution used by thousands of professional developers worldwide working on IoT projects.

Our close collaboration with Arm and ST ensures that all designed filters are 100% compatible with all Arm Cortex-M processors, such as ST’s popular STM32 family.

Challenges for engineers

  • 90% of IoT smart sensors are based on Arm Cortex-M processor technology
  • Sensor signal processing is difficult
  • Sensors have trouble with all kinds of interference and undesirable components
  • How do I design a filter that meets my requirements?
  • How can I verify my designed filter on test data?
  • Clean sensor data is required for better product performance
  • Time consuming process to implement a filter on an embedded processor
  • Time is money!

Designers hit a ‘brick wall’ with traditional tooling. Standard tooling requires an iterative, trial and error approach or expert knowledge. Using this approach, a considerable amount of valuable engineering time is wasted. ASN Filter Designer helps you with an interactive method of design, whereby the tool automatically enters the technical specifications based on the graphical user requirements.

Fast DSP algorithm development

  • Fully validated filter design: suitable for deployment in DSP, micro-controller, FPGA, ASIC or PC application.
  • Automatic detailed design documentation: expediting peer review and lowing project risks by helping the designer create a paper trail.
  • Simple handover: project file, documentation and test results provide a painless route for handover to colleagues or other teams.
  • Easily accommodate other scenarios in the future: Design may be simply modified in the future to accommodate other requirements and scenarios, such as 60Hz powerline interference cancellation, instead of the European 50Hz.

ASN Filter Designer: the fast and intuitive filter designer

The ASN Filter Designer is the ideal tool to analyze and filter the sensor data quickly. When needed, you can easily deploy your data for further analyze for tools such as Matlab and Python. As such it’s ideal for engineers who need and powerful signal analyser and need to create a data filter for their IoT application. Certainly, when you have to create data filtering once in a while. Compared to other tools, you can create an algorithm within hours instead of days.

Easily deploy your algorithms to Matlab, Python, C++ and Arm

A big timesaver of the ASN Filter Designer is that you can easily deploy your algorithms to Matlab, Python, C++ or directly on an Arm microcontroller with the automatic code generators.

Instant pain relief

Just think about the number of hours that you could have saved if you had design tool that managed all of the algorithmic details for you.

ASN Filter Designer is an industry standard solution used by thousands of professional developers worldwide working on IoT projects. Our close collaboration with Arm and ST ensures that the all filters are 100% compatible with all Arm Cortex-M processors.

How much pain relief can 125 Euro buy you?

Because a lot of engineers need our ASN Filter Designer for a short time, a 125 Euro license for just 3 months is possible!

Just ask yourself: is 125 Euro a fair price to pay for instant pain relief and results? We think so. Besides, we have a license for 1 year and even a perpetual license. Download the demo to see for yourself or contact us for more information.

 

 

Download demo now

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