Electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, recognized by design engineers as having the industry’s broadest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment, and STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, have announced Team McGill as the winners of the iNEMO Design Contest.

Each project in the competition contained an iNEMO Inertial Measurement Unit and was judged on the number of degrees of freedom (DoF) used from the 10 degrees of freedom available in total, the quality of its hardware and firmware/software, the design’s novelty, its use of daughter boards, and the final project’s ease of use and appeal of its user interface.

ST’s iNEMO is a unique evaluation and development tool that offers 9-axis MEMS sensing of linear, angular, and magnetic motion, along with pressure and temperature sensing, managed by the STM32 32-bit microcontroller. iNEMO is in stock and available for purchase on Digi-Key’s US and Canadian websites.

Team McGill, a group of students from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, utilized the iNEMO evaluation board and 9 embedded degrees of freedom for their winning quad-copter design. The team met all of the competition requirements and their quad-copter design demonstrated the usefulness and enhancements that sensor technologies offer to electronic design.

Team McGill will receive a $5,000 cash prize and an all-expense-paid trip, including airfare and accommodations for three nights, to Europe to visit the ST iNEMO Development Labs in Catania, Sicily, Italy.

Coincidentally, a design team from Stanford University also designed a very competitive quad-copter that challenged Team McGill. For their second-place efforts, Team Stanford received a $2,500 cash prize.

» Contact Details for Digi-Key Corporation

Mouser Electronics, Inc., known for its rapid introduction of the newest products, today announced it is stocking new product from STMicroelectronics.

The STMicroelectronics LIS331HH MEMS 3-axis nano accelerometer is an ultra low-power high performance device with digital IC / SPI serial interface standard output. The STMicroelectronics LIS331HH MEMS digital output motion sensor nano accelerometer features ultra low-power operational modes that allow advanced power saving and smart sleep to wake-up functions. The LIS331HH features dynamically user selectable full scales of ±6g / 12g± / 24g± and is capable of measuring accelerations with output data rates from 0.5 Hz to 1 kHz.

The self-test capability allows the user to check the functioning of the sensor in the final application. The STMicroelectronics LIS331HH 3-axis MEMS accelerometer is ideal for a variety of applications, including pedometers, gaming and virtual reality input devices, motion-activated functions, impact recognition and logging, and more.

» Contact details for Mouser Electronics, Inc.

Electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, recognized by design engineers as having the industry’s broadest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment, today announced STMicroelectronics presented Digi-Key with an award for “Outstanding Sales and Growth Achievement for 2009 and 2010.”

Gardner Gray, Digi-Key account manager at STMicroelectronics, and Ashley McGaha, vice president of STMicroelectronics’ geographic and distribution business unit, presented the award to Digi-Key during a ceremony held Aug. 24, 2010 at the STMicroelectronics office in Lexington, Massachusetts. Dave Doherty, Digi-Key’s vice president of semiconductor product, and Mark Larson, Digi-Key’s president and COO, accepted the award on Digi-Key’s behalf.

“We are proud to receive this recognition from STMicro. Digi-Key’s model is based on making innovative products available to the widest engineering customer base with the content designers need to utilize those products,” Doherty said. “We take pride in our efforts to grow our business and our suppliers’ businesses and will continue to strive for success through our partnership with STMicro.”

» Contact Details for Digi-Key Corporation

Farnell is the first European high service distributor to stock the new STMicroelectronic STM32VL discovery Evaluation Board. The STM32 Discovery Kit is a new hardware development platform from STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a world leader in microcontrollers, which is supported by either free or very-low-cost downloadable development tools from major third-party vendors like Atollic, IAR and Keil.

As an ultra-low-cost and convenient starter platform, the STM32VLDiscovery Kit is particularly suited to the STM32 Value Line microcontrollers. The USB-powered board is straightforward to set up and use by plugging into a PC. It is populated with a 24MHz, 64-pin STM32F100RBT6B Value Line device featuring a 128Kbyte Flash plus multiple timers, analog peripherals, and industry-standard serial interfaces. The included ST-LINK in-circuit debugger allows work to start without further costs. Extension connectors provided on the board enable easy connection to other boards or devices for deeper testing of the microcontroller peripherals. In addition, 15 ready-to-run applications are available at www.st.com/stm32-discovery to help developers evaluate microcontroller features.

Through its industry-leading websites featuring tools such as Live Chat, and easily accessible data sheets, Farnell is able to support its electronics design engineering customers with information and ideas to help them select the most appropriate components and devices for their new designs. The company’s element14 online engineering community provides a unique additional resource with compiler links, datasheets and product guides. Further information about the Discovery Kit range can be found at the STMicroelectronics community on element14.

Farnell’s Director of Supplier & Product Management, Mike Buffham said: “Being the first distributor to stock ST Micro’s discovery board underlines how Farnell is a technology leader and the preferred high service multi-channel distributor in the electronics sector. By working with us, design engineers across the globe can be confident that they are getting access to the very latest technology from industry-leading suppliers for their new designs.”

» Contact details for Farnell

Mouser Electronics, Inc., known for its rapid introduction of the newest products, today announced it is stocking new product from STMicroelectronics. STMicroelectronics STM6600 Smart Push-Button On / Off Controllers with Smart Reset™ and power-on lockout protect against the hazards faced by battery-operated devices, such as smart phones, digital cameras, and media players. STM6600 On / Off Controllers enable and disable power for the application depending on push-button states, signals from the processor, and battery voltage. If the battery is excessively discharged or a fault is detected in the power supply, the IC blocks power-up.

These STMicroelectronics ICs also implement smart-reset capabilities to enable users safely recover gadgets that have frozen or crashed during normal operation. STM6600 Smart Push-Button On / Off Controllers connect directly to the power and reset buttons and have circuitry to prevent external interference such as electrostatic discharges. These STMicroelectronics devices feature a very low current consumption of 6 μA in normal operation and only 1 μA during standby, resulting in virtually no battery drain when the application is turned off.

» Contact details for Mouser Electronics, Inc.

Projects to be built around ST’s iNEMO™ multi-sensor inertial measurement unit

Electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, and STMicroelectronics, a leading supplier of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for consumer and portable applications, today announced an exciting design contest for engineering students based on ST’s iNEMO™ multi-sensor inertial measurement unit (IMU).

The aim of the contest is to show engineering students how easy sensors are to work with and help them learn how sensors can enhance their projects, improving both usefulness and usability. Designs can address applications such as man/machine interfaces, robotics, navigation, gaming and sports, remote monitoring (of industrial equipment or medical patients), and more.

ST’s iNEMO is a unique evaluation and development tool that offers 3-axis sensing of linear, angular, and magnetic motion, as well as temperature and barometer/altimeter readings along with a 32-bit microcontroller and dedicated software – all on a single, small development board. iNEMO is in stock and available for purchase on Digi-Key’s US and Canadian websites.

Each project must contain an iNEMO IMU and will be judged on the number of degrees of freedom (DoF) used, the quality of its hardware and firmware/software, the design’s novelty, its use of daughter boards, and the project’s ease of use and appeal of its user interface.

The grand-prize winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize along with an all-expense-paid trip, including airfare and accommodations for three nights, to Europe to visit the ST Development Labs in Catania, Sicily, Italy. Cash prizes of $2,500 and $1,000 will also be awarded to entrants selected as the second- and third-place winners.

Contest entrants must be currently-enrolled students, at least 18 years of age, who are residents of North American locations that do not prohibit, tax, or restrict such contests. Qualified entrants must register to participate by October 30, 2010 and will need to purchase an iNEMO development kit, containing an iNEMO eval board, a complete, professional software development toolset and appropriate cables and software for $369 (value $4500). Completed submissions will be accepted until April 30, 2011 with winners notified by early July, 2011. Full contest rules along with instructions on how to acquire the necessary hardware are available at http://www.digikey.com/iNEMO.

» Contact Details for Digi-Key Corporation

Over 2,750 STMicroelectronics products now available from RS direct-from-stock

RS Components today announced the introduction of over 750 additional semiconductor lines from STMicroelectronics, one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies, and number one in industrial applications. The enhanced product portfolio offers electronic design engineers a wide selection of the latest semiconductor technology available for rapid delivery from RS.

The extensive new product range incorporates 10 technology areas ranging from Linear Regulators, Controllers, RTC ICs and over 50 lines of new SuperMESH High Voltage power MOSFETs (up to 1000V with integrated Zener diode). The range also incorporates STripFet low Voltage MOSFET technology featuring low RDS(on) in DC-DC conversion.

The STMicroelectronics range is supplied in flexible quantities to enable customers to order the quantity they need. All products are available direct-from-stock for next-day-delivery, in industry-standard packaging, ready for direct insertion into automated production runs.

Commenting on the launch for STMicroelectronics, Michel Laloy, Region VP, Industrial & Multimarkets Business Unit, stated: “STMicroelectronics is excited by the commitment made by RS to increase the range of our components. RS has shown by its extensive customer reach and high quality service that they will enhance and extend the access of ST’s offering to our customers, where ease, speed and confidence in delivery during the design phase of a project is so important.”

For RS, Paul Webster, Head of Product Management, Electronics said: “STMicroelectronics is one of the premier brands that electronics design engineers and buyers look to when developing their latest applications. We are delighted to be increasing our STMicroelectronics portfolio to provide our customers with a comprehensive range at competitive prices and with a market-leading service.”

» Contact details for RS Components