mcu News - Page 51 of 57 - CNX Software

June 18, 2013June 18, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Atmel SAM D20 MCU Family Features ARM Cortex M0+ Core

Atmel has just announced its SAM D20 family of embedded Flash micro-controllers based on ARM Cortex-M0+ processor core, designed for low power applications such as home automation, consumer, smart metering and industrial applications. The key features of Atmel SAM D20 MCUs are as follows: Cortex M0+ @ 48MHz, 2.14 Coremark/MHz Single-cycle IO access, supporting a pin toggling frequency up to 24 MHz Eight-channel event system Peripherals: Four to six serial communication modules (SERCOM) configurable as UART/USART, SPI or I2C Up to eight 16-bit Timer/Counters Peripheral touch controller (PTC) that supports up to 256 channels and supports buttons, sliders, wheels, and proximity Real Time Clock (RTC) and calendar with leap year correction 12-bit 350ksps ADC and 10-bit DAC Power Consumption: <150µA/MHz <2µA RAM retention and RTC Options between internal and external oscillators and on-the-fly clock switching The family supports features 14 new devices available in 32-, 48- and 64-pin package options […]

June 13, 2013June 13, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Texas Instruments Introduces SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3000 BoosterPack

Texas Instrument launched SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3000 in Q1 2012 in order to bring WiFi connectivity to any device including 8-bit or 16-bit MCU, as CC3300 internally handled all networking tasks, and exchange data with the MCU via an SPI interface. This Wi-Fi processor allows to use Wi-Fi for data transmission for the Internet of Things, and offers much better battery than other system relying on software to handle network traffic. Today, the company has just announced SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3000 BoosterPack, a low cost evaluation platform that works with both MSP430 and Tiva C Series LaunchPad evaluation kits, and sells for $35. SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3000 BoosterPack features and benefits as seen in the press release: SmartConfig technology: One-step Wi-Fi configuration using smartphones, tablets or PCs Easy network setup for display-less (headless) devices Simultaneous multiple device provisioning iOS, Android and Java sample applications available Royalty-free software Flexible memory size – Small memory foot print […]

May 15, 2013May 15, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Microchip Unveils 2 Arduino Compatible Boards, and a Prototype-Friendly PIC32 MCU

Microchip Technology has announced several new tools, expanding its Arduino compatible chipKIT platform ecosystem, based on Microchip’s 32-bit PIC32 microcontrollers (MCUs) available in low pin count SOIC or SPDIP packages. Digilent’s chipKIT DP32 board features basic I/O and interface components, including a prototyping aera, user buttons, and a potentiometer. The board (part # TDGL019) costs $23.9, and should be available on May 17 at microchipDIRECT. The chipKIT Fubarino Mini board, from a partnership between FUBAR Labs and Schmalz Haus, provides another option for Arduino-compatible development with 32-bit PIC32 MCUs, using a smaller form factor. The board is supposed to be available today for $19.95 on microchipDIRECT, but I could not find it yet. If you don’t want/need a development board, the company also provides PIC32MX250F128B MCU in PDIP package (28-pin) preprogrammed with chipKIT USB Bootloader. This MCU, clocked up to 40Mhz, includes 128 KB Flash and 32 KB RAM, as well […]

May 13, 2013May 13, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Energy Micro Launches EFM32 Wonder Gecko Cortex M4 MCUs and Starter Kit

After having announced EFM32 Wonder Gecko MCU family in February, Energy Micro has just officially launched their new family of high performance, low power MCUs. These micro-controllers come with an ARM Cortex-M4 CPU with floating-point unit (FPU) and DSP instruction set that helps reduce the processing time of your application in active mode. All MCUs come with 32KB SRAM, and between 64 to 256KB flash. Energy Micro expects their new chips to be used in applications such as gas metering, energy metering, water metering, smart metering, alarm and security systems, health and fitness applications, and industrial and home automation. One key advantage of this new MCU family is the implementation of TSMC’s eLL (Extreme Low Leakage) technology that dramatically reduces power consumption at high temperatures. There top of range MCUs (EFM32WG995FXXX) feature the following specifications: ARM Cortex-M4 CPU platform @ up to 48 MHz with DSP instruction support and floating-point […]

May 8, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Micromint Bambino 200 and 200E Dual ARM Cortex M SBC Support .NET Gadgeteer and mbed Applications

Micromint, a US based supplier of single-board computers and industrial embedded controllers, has just announced Micromint Bambino 200 and 200E single board computers powered by NXP LPC4330 dual core Cortex M4/M0 MCU @ 204Mhz. Those 2 boards support .NET Gadgeteer and mbed frameworks. Key Features of Micromint Bambino 200: NXP LPC4330 Dual core ARM Cortex-M4/M0 @ 204 MHz with 264 KB SRAM. Storage – 4MB SPI flash USB – High-speed USB 2.0 device port used both as a power source and for data communications or debugging Misc – 2 buttons, 2 LEDs 5 Gadgeteer sockets Dimensions- 101.6 x 58.4 mm Bambino 200E is based on the same platform but adds: Storage – 8 MB SPI Flash (vs 4MB) 10 Gadgeteer sockets 10/100 Mbps Ethernet microSD socket Xbee socket Power jack – 7 – 15 VDC The company also explains that a JTAG for low level debugging, a coin cell battery […]

April 16, 2013March 11, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Texas Instruments Announces Tiva Cortex M4 MCUs and $12.99 LaunchPad Evaluation Kit

Texas Instruments has just announced the Tiva ARM MCU platform, and specifically the Tiva C Series TM4C123x ARM Cortex-M4 MCUs, which are the first Cortex-M MCUs to be built on 65 nanometer flash process technology. The Tiva C Series TM4C123x MCUs, formerly known as Stellaris LM4F MCUs, are available now and target home, building and industrial automation. Key features and benefits of Tiva C Series MCUs: MCU Core – ARM Cortex-M4 floating-point core, operating at up to 80 MHz. Mixed-signal applications with high-performance analog integration – 2×12-bit ADC and 3 comparators.12-bit ADC accuracy is achievable at the full 1 MSPS rating without any hardware averaging. On-chip connectivity options – USB (host, device and On-The-Go), UARTs, I2C, SSI/SPI, CAN, etc.. Non-volatile storage of user interface or configuration parameters to reduce system cost – Thanks to integrated EEPROM. Low power – Standby currents as low as 1.6 uA. Large choice of MCU […]

April 12, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Keil RTX RTOS is Now Available for Energy Micro EFM32 MCUs

Energy Micro has recently announced the availability of the Keil RTX real-time operating system (RTOS) as part of its Simplicity Studio tool suite. The Keil RTX has been optimized for ARM Cortex-M processors to provide flexible scheduling and high-speed operation, and has been improved to enable an ultra-low power, deep-sleep mode between tasks. Energy Micro has implemented a tickless mode in Keil RTX. This mode allows the EFM32 Cortex M3 MCUs to wake up only when needed, either at a scheduled time or on an interrupt event. This results in much lower power consumption in sleep mode compared to other SysTick implementations. The video below shows the difference between SYSTICK mode where the system consumes about 2.7mA in active mode, and 830 uA in sleep mode to the new tickless mode where the MCU still consume the same amount of energy in Active mode, but only 1uA in sleep mode, […]

March 20, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

$19 RFDuino is a Coin-sized Bluetooth Arduino-compatible Board

RFDuino is a tiny board, about the size of a coin, powered by Nordic nRF51822 Cortex M0 SoC including bluetooth 4.0 LE support, and software compatible with Arduino UNO and DUE board, so you can just use Arduino sketches with the board. Bluetooth allows it to communicate with your smartphone (iPhone for now, but Android support is coming) to control motors & relays, monitor sensors, turn LEDs on/off, and more. Key features of RFDuino board: MCU – Nordic nRF51822 Cortex M0 @ 16 MHz Memory – 16 KB on-chip SRAM Storage – 256 KB on-chip Flash Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy built in MCU GPIO – 7 pin software configurable as digital IO, analog ADC, SPI, I2C, UART and PWM. The company currently offers several stackable shields for RFDuino including battery shields (1x AAA, 2x AAA, and CR2032 coin battery), a servo shield, a USB shield, a prototype shield […]