The embedded Analog Front End (AFE) as a new device

The ubiquitous use of sensors in our embedded smart devices – from cell phones to industrial equipment and even medical devices – has increased the need for more intelligent sensor technologies that are more versatile, lower overall costs, and require fewer resources to develop and maintain.

However, Many of today's embedded systems incorporate multiple analog sensors that make devices more intelligent, and provide users with an array of information resulting in improved efficiency or added convenience. The Analog Front End (AFE), allowing the connection of the sensor to the digital world of the MCU, is often an assumed "burden" in designing sensor interface circuits. However, the latest concept in a configurable AFE, integrated into a single package, is helping systems designers overcome sensor integration challenges associated with tuning and sensor drift, thereby reducing time to market. The following embedded discussion examines how the versatility of such a technology allows the designer to tune and debug AFE characteristics on the fly, automate trimming and adjust for sensor drift, and add scalability to support multiple sensor types with a single platform.

refer to: http://embedded-computing.com/articles/latest-afe-simplifies-interfacing-hundreds-sensors/#at_pco=cfd-1.0