Cosemi has introduced new USB 3.1 Gen 2 active optical cables, which support full speed USB connections at distances of up to 100 meters. The cables are designed primarily for industrial applications.

Cosemi’s USB 3.1 Gen 2 active optical cables feature a USB Type-A connector on one side as well as a USB Type-B connector with a screw locking mechanism on another side. The cables can enable data transfers at up to 10 Gbps speed, but they cannot power devices (which is what hybrid active optical cables are needed for), which somewhat limits applications they can address.

USB 3.1 Gen 2 active optical cables like the ones offered by Cosemi are primarily used to connect industrial equipment, such as machine vision systems, to computers located off the factory floor without using expensive signal booster solutions. Considering the fact that more and more industrial equipment is becoming 'intelligent' and requires full time data connections, such long USB cables will be needed. Depending on exact environments, Cosemi will offer its optical cables in standard flex or super high-flex versions.

Cosemi said that it would begin sampling of its USB 3.1 Gen 2 active optical cables in Q1 2020. Commercial shipments will begin later, whereas pricing will depend on the length as well as flexibility.

Related Reading:

Source: Cosemi

Comments Locked

19 Comments

View All Comments

  • Memo.Ray - Friday, December 6, 2019 - link

    Sweet! Now I can use my usb keyboard and mouse from the other side of the building! I don't have to be so close to the monitor and hurt my eyes!
  • ballsystemlord - Friday, December 6, 2019 - link

    Or you could just ssh in...
  • ballsystemlord - Saturday, December 7, 2019 - link

    from a terminal.
  • wr3zzz - Friday, December 6, 2019 - link

    What kind of USB usage scenario/device needs 100m cable?
  • nevcairiel - Friday, December 6, 2019 - link

    The article has various usage examples. Primarily industrial use, connecting machines on the floor to computers elsewhere.
  • edwpang - Friday, December 6, 2019 - link

    But long network cable should be cheaper, right?
  • saratoga4 - Friday, December 6, 2019 - link

    For a lot of industrial sensing applications your hardware chooses the interface for you, and usb3 is relatively common. Ethernet too, but usually only 1 gbit which is getting too slow for a lot of applications.
  • RobinRosengren - Saturday, December 7, 2019 - link

    Is the wide micro Type-B connector common though? Cause that what the picture looks like. Seems like a weird choice. Full-size type B seems much more common.
  • BlueCheese2 - Sunday, December 8, 2019 - link

    The micro-b connector with screw locks on it looks like it matches the dimensions of the USB3 Vision standard. This standard is used for industrial machine vision cameras. The full size B connectors are unsuitable for a number of reasons, including overall size and needing through-hole soldering on PCBs. Type-C with locking connectors is also now specified for this standard, but didn’t exist not too long ago and will take a while to replace it.

    Source: I helped write the above-mentioned standard.
  • abufrejoval - Friday, December 6, 2019 - link

    In $/m these may seem more affordable...

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now