nxp News - Page 3 of 13 - CNX Software

May 30, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

NXP i.MX 91 single-core Cortex-A55 SoC to power Linux-based cost-optimized edge devices

NXP has just unveiled the NXP i.MX 91 single-core Cortex-A55 processor following the introduction of the i.MX 93 in 2021, and designed for cost-optimized edge devices running Linux. The NXP i.MX 93 processor comes with up to two Cortex-A55 cores, a Cortex-M33 real-time core, and an Ethos U65 microNPU, but targeting entry-level Linux systems, the NXP i.MX 91 processor does without the real-time core and the AI acceleration, while still integrating NXP EdgeLock Secure Enclave, and the company highlights support for multiple wireless connectivity options through companion chips such as the IW612 that supports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, 802.15.4, and the new Matter protocol. NXP i.MX 91 specifications: CPU – Arm Cortex-A55 running at up to 1.4GHz with 256KB L2 cache System Memory – Up to 2.4GT/s x16 LPDDR4 with Inline ECC Storage 3x SD 3.0, SDIO 3.0, eMMC 5.1 1x Octal SPI including support for SPI NOR and SPI […]

May 25, 2023May 25, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Snagboot is an open-source cross-vendor recovery tool for embedded targets

Bootlin has just released the Snagboot open-source recovery tool for embedded platforms designed to work with multiple vendors, and currently STMicro STM32MP1, Microchip SAMA5, NXP i.MX6/7/8, Texas Instruments AM335x and AM62x, and Allwinner “sunxi” processors are supported. Silicon vendors usually provide firmware flashing tools, some closed-source binaries, that only work with their hardware. So if you work on STM32MP1 you’d use STM32CubeProgrammer, while SAM-BA is the tool for Microchip processors, NXP i.MX SoC relies on UUU, and if you’ve ever worked on Allwinner processors you’re probably family with sunxi-fel. Bootlin aims to replace all those with the Snagboot recovery tool. The Python tool is comprised of two parts: snagrecover using vendor-specific ROM code mechanisms to initialize external RAM and run the bootloader (typically U-Boot) without modifying any non-volatile memories. snagflash communicates with the bootloader over USB to flash system images to non-volatile memories, using either DFU, USB Mass Storage, or […]

May 19, 2023May 19, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

NXP S32K344 evaluation board for mobile robots offers one 100BaseT1, six CAN-FD interfaces

MR-CANHUBK344 is an evaluation board based on NXP S32K344 Arm Cortex-M7 automotive general-purpose microcontroller designed for mobile robotics applications such as autonomous mobile robots (AMR) and automated guided vehicles (AGV) with a 100baseT1 Ethernet interface and six CAN-FD ports. The six CAN bus connectors come in three pairs of CAN-FD, CAN-SIC (signal improvement), and CAN-SCP (secure) interfaces using NXP chips. The board can notably be used for tunneling CAN over Ethernet using IEEE1722, plus the board is equipped with an SE050 Secure element with NFC for authentication, and various general-purpose peripheral interfaces via DroneCode standard JST-GH connectors. MR-CANHUBK344 evaluation board specifications: MCU – NXP S32K344 lockstep Cortex-M7 microcontroller @ up to 160 MHz with 4MB flash, 512KB SRAM, 6x CAN bus interfaces, up to 218 I/Os, AEC-Q100 compliant Ethernet – ASIL-B compliant 100BASE-T1 Ethernet PHY (TJA1103) 6x CAN-FD interfaces with 2x CAN Bus with flexible data rate through TJA144x automotive […]

January 5, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

NXP i.MX 95 processor features Cortex-A55, Cortex-M33, and Cortex-M7 cores, eIQ Neutron NPU

NXP i.MX 95 is an upcoming Arm processor family for automotive, industrial, and IoT applications with up to six Cortex-A55 application cores, a Cortex-M33 safety core, a Cortex-M7 real-time core, and NXP eIQ Neutron Neural Network Accelerator (NPU). We’re just only starting to see NXP i.MX 93 modules from companies like iWave Systems and Forlinx, but NXP is already working on its second i.MX 9 processor family with the i.MX 95 application processor family equipped with a higher number of Cortex-A55 cores, an Arm Mali 3D GPU, NXP SafeAssure functional safety, 10GbE, support for TSN, and the company’s eIQ Neutron Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to enable machine learning applications. NXP i.MX 95 specifications: CPU Up to 6x Arm Cortex-A55 cores with 32KB I-cache, 32KB D-cache, 64KB L2 cache, 512KB L3 cache with ECC 1x Arm Corex-M7 real-time core with 32KB I-cache, 32KB D-cache, 512KB TCM with ECC 1x Arm Cortex-M33 […]

June 14, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

NXP unveils MCX general-purpose Arm MCU family with 30x faster machine learning performance

NXP has announced a new MCX general-purpose Arm Cortex-M MCU family designed for advanced industrial and IoT edge computing and integrating an NXP neural processing unit (NPU) capable of delivering over 30 times higher performance than running the AI inference tasks on an Arm Cortex-M33 core alone. The new MCX portfolio builds upon the earlier NXP LPC and Kinetis microcontroller families, but does not replace these, and aims to improve machine learning performance and security for a variety of applications including machine learning, wireless, voice, motor control, analog, and more. The new MCX family will be available in four series: MCX N Advanced series Designed for secure, intelligent applications 150 MHz to 250 MHz Neural processing unit (NPU) and DSP for real-time inference EdgeLock Secure Subsystem MCX A Essential series Optimized to provide critical functionality for applications such as motor control 48 MHz to 96 MHz Built-in timers, low pin […]

May 4, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

NXP i.MX RT1180 Cortex-M7/M33 crossover MCU integrates GbE TSN for industrial IoT communication

NXP i.MX RT1180 is the latest member of the company’s i.MX RT Series crossover MCUss with application processor-like performance. The 800 MHz dual-core Arm Cortex-M7/M33 microcontroller is specifically designed for industrial IoT communication with a Gigabit Ethernet port supporting time-sensitive networking (TSN). NXP also highlights that it is the first crossover MCU to include an EdgeLock secure enclave that “eases the complexity of implementing robust, system-wide security intelligence for industrial IoT applications”, and the new processor aims to bridge the gap between existing industrial systems and Industry 4.0 system. NXP i.MX RT1180 key features and specifications: CPUs – Arm Cortex-M7 @ 800 MHz + Arm Cortex-M33 @ 240 MHz (Optional: single-core Arm Cortex-M33) On-chip Memory – Up to 1.5 MB SRAM (ECC protected) with 512 KB of TCM for Cortex-M7 and 256 KB of TCM for Cortex-M33 Memory & Storage I/F – 2x FlexSPI for HyperRAM or HyperFlash 8/16/32-bit SDRAM/LPSDRAM […]

January 6, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

NXP IW612 Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, 802.15.4 tri-radio solution supports Matter

Matter, previously known as Project Chip, is a unified interface for Smart Home devices to improve interoperability between devices from different manufacturers and associated services like Google Assitant or Amazon Alexa. Matter can work over Thread, WiFi, Ethernet, BLE, etc… so it’s not limited by the physical layer. So far, we mostly heard about development related to Matter, and Espressif has published a series of posts about Matter to be for instance used by their upcoming ESP32-H2 wireless MCU, but I had not seen many other solutions, not commercial products. This is going to change in 2022, as Belkin announced it’s working on “redesigned smart plugs and lighting solutions” with support for Matter over Thread” that start selling this summer. Separately, NXP also announced the IW612 tri-radio solution with Matter support and dual-band WiFI 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and 802.15.4 radios. NXP IW612 IW612 key features and specifications: Dedicated, independent CPUs […]

November 10, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

NXP i.MX 93 processor combines Cortex-A55 cores with Ethos U65 microNPU

NXP has unveiled the i.MX 93 processor family comprised of i.MX 935x, 933x, 932x, and 931x parts at this time with up to two Cortex-A55 cores, one Arm Cortex-M33 real-time core, as well as an Ethos U65 microNPU for machine learning (ML). We wrote about i.MX 9 family back in March with NXP telling us it would include an Arm Ethos U-65 microNPU and EdgeLock secure enclave, be manufactured with a 16/12nm FinFET class process, and includes the “Energy Flex” architecture to optimize power consumption by turning on/off specific blocks in the processor. The NXP i.MX 93 is the first family leveraging those new features, and we know have some more details. NXP i.MX 93 processor specifications: CPU 1x or 2x Arm Cortex-A55 @ 1.7 GHz with 32KB I-cache, 32KB D-cache, 64KB L2 cache, 256KB L3 cache with ECC 1x Arm Cortex-M33 @ 250 MHz low power microcontroller with 256KB […]