Save cost and energy with state of the art Motor control algorithms running on STM32
Channel: STMicroelectronics
Date: 2024-04-09

Find out more information: http://st.com/stm32zest

Transcript : 
Would you like to optimize your Motor based product to save energy consumption and enhance robustness?  While at the same time saving on BOM cost? Well look no further! Let me tell you about our unique algorithm capable of attaining sensor-like performances, BUT without any sensors. 
Now, sensorless field oriented control (FOC) offers benefits both in cost and quality while removing sensors and wiring. Two FOC algorithms are available right now : the Luenberger State Observer introduced in 2008 and now our newly developed one!  Which combines what we call the High Sensitivity Observer (HSO) and the STM32 ZeST.  They provide improvements at low speeds and even at Zero Speed while still deploying full Torque.  In fact, this is a very innovative way to start the Motor at full torque which is a significant challenge … and all of this without any sensors!
So - let’s have a look at the 2 demos that we have here. Both are showing the control of a motor in different conditions.
Here is a typical driller, and our STM32 Motor control solution is driving a low voltage low power Motor : you can see that if that sensorless drill gets stalled in the wall, it can easily restart with full torque thanks to our algorithm.
The second demo enables the comparison of several motor control algorithms under braking conditions. The braking is performed by another BLDC motor and the UI enables you to apply a resistive torque to the motor under test … You can choose the algorithms you want to benchmark to make comparisons on current consumption, start-up time, and recovery after mechanical stall. 
In our demo  the HSO and ZeST algorithms are running on an STM32G4 and need around 70’Kbytes to run as well as a minimum of 2 independent ADC and a Floating Point Unit that is native to the Cortex-M4. Which means costwise, this is great for your next motor control application.
Now I’d like to give you more insight on what we’ve developed!
SO - !  When controlling a synchronous motor in FOC, sensors may typically be used to determine the position of the rotor to improve efficiency. However, dedicated software or “observer” algorithms can estimate the position through computation. Which then enables us to go sensor-less.
Now - although these observers work well at high speed, they do struggle at low and zero speed.  This is why we decided to develop the High Sensitivity Observer, and the STM32 Zest.  To bring the first sensorless solution which allows control at zero speed WHILE still maintaining torque, perfect for a flying start !
The High Sensitivity Observer improves sensorless control by reaching ever lower speeds, and even switching direction. You can also add the STM32 ZeST on top of the HSO, which is the first solution capable of providing Full Torque at Zero speed for any kind of synchronous motor. Both the STM32 ZeST and HSO are pure SW algorithms, which means that no additional active components are required, and they run on a simple MCU such as the STM32G4! 
Meaning you are reducing BOM cost and increasing the robustness of the PCB !   For more info; check out our STM32 ZeST page. (https://www.st.com/content/st_com/en/ecosystems/stm32-motor-control-ecosystem/stm32-zest-solution.html)