Renesas Unveils New Firmware for Air-Quality Sensors

What you’ll learn

Insight into air-quality sensors
Air-quality standards

Updated firmware for Renesas’ line of ZMOD digital air-quality sensors will allow engineers to configure the sensors to support the latest green air-quality standards for commercial and public buildings. Thus, according to the company, they’re the first sensors capable of adhering to multiple global standards. As autonomous HVAC systems that can monitor air quality become the norm, the sensors are able to work together to monitor and detect harmful gases inside those buildings.

ZMOD sensors provide support for commercial and public standards as well as environmental standards via its digital gas sensors, which are featured with the ZMOD4410 indoor air-quality sensor and the ZMOD4510 outdoor air-quality sensor. They can be configured via cloud-based connections, enabling users to implement support for building standards in countries around the globe. Moreover, support for the ZMOD sensors can be utilized in a wide range of platforms, including HVAC systems, smoke detectors, thermostats, and smart appliances. The devices also have IoT applications in wearables, smart cities, smart HVAC systems, and weather stations.

1. The firmware-configurable ZMOD4410 gas sensor uses embedded AI for accuracy and part-to-part consistency.

The ZMOD4410 gas sensor is one of those packages that can be configured for the latest green standards, offering integrated configurable firmware architecture with multiple sensing solutions for compatible hardware (Fig. 1). Renesas supports the ZMOD line via firmware libraries to handle any given application, which can be utilized by a host microcontroller. The JESD47-qualified ZMOD4410 is designed to detect total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) and estimate CO₂ percentages in the surrounding environment.

Integrated on the sensor is a 12-LGA assembly equipped with a gas-sensing element and a CMOS signal conditioning IC. The sensor output, based on embedded AI, is trained via machine-learning algorithms for detection accuracy and part-to-part consistency. The AI detects trace gases in indoor environments, providing concentration estimates and health or cognitive impacts defined by industry standards.

The firmware libraries allow for the sensor to alter its behavior to support different rooms, such as kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms, if needed. There’s also a low-power configuration for battery-powered applications.

2. Renesas’ ZMOD4510 gas sensor, designed for outdoor applications, is calibrated to detect ozone and nitrogen-oxide gases at unhealthy levels.

The ZMOD4510 is Renesas’ solution for monitoring outdoor environments (Fig. 2). It’s designed to detect ozone and nitrogen-oxide gases responsible for unhealthy air quality. The sensor provides insight into air quality, allowing users to manage their health and daily activities and efficiently manage smart air systems in buildings and homes. It comes in a 12-pin LGA assembly outfitted with a gas sense element and a CMOS signal conditioning IC.

The sensing element takes advantage of a silicon-based MEMS structure and a metal-oxide chemresistor to detect gases. The signal conditioner controls the sensor temperature and measures the metal-oxide resistance.

The ZMOD4510 also uses AI for gas detection and measurement—specifically machine learning for sensor output to determine the Air Quality Index (AQI) created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As with the ZMOD4410, the 4510 can also be used in low-power mode, depending on the application.

Renesas has combined the sensors with other devices in its portfolio, including microcontrollers, power devices, and wireless platforms for increased performance in a number of applications. Both sensors are available as standalone chips or in an evaluation kit, complete with a microcontroller board with an I²C-to-USB communication interface.