Greentech Lead America: Maxim Integrated Products has
unveiled Zeus, a complete smart-meter system-on-a-chip (SoC) that offers highly
accurate metrology, multiple layers of security, and plenty of processing
horsepower for today’s advanced communication protocols.
“Zeus is finally the answer for
a complete smart meter SoC,” said Kris Ardis, business director
for smart grid products at Maxim Integrated. “By combining metrology,
security and communication, we provide a platform for any embedded smart grid
equipment that needs to measure, to communicate, and to do it securely. The capabilities
in Zeus will give utilities and meter manufacturers a flexible platform that
can support tomorrow’s requirements today.”
As smart meters become more connected, the need for
security is paramount to protect against energy theft and cyber attacks on the
grid. Zeus provides meter manufacturers with a platform for development in
multiple end markets, supporting a wide range of security and communication
requirements.
A built-in cryptographic module secures communication; a
secure bootloader prevents unauthorized firmware modification; and tamper
detection assures providers that any attempts to physically attack the meter
will be detected, recorded, and reported.
The solution provides superior metering accuracy with
multiple ADC channels, each run at 10ksps, offering 0.1 percent accuracy over a
5,000:1 dynamic range. The future-proof solution uses a 120MHz ARM Cortex M3
application processor and a 40MHz, 32-bit MAXQ30 microcontroller with DSP
support for the metering function. Multicore architecture supports WELMEC
separation of legally relevant and irrelevant functions to ease validation.
The Zeus platform includes the MAX71616, MAX71617,
MAX71636, and MAX71637.