Micros
Optimising the efficiency of electric motors
Low Power Consumption is the Key Many electric motors consume more current than necessary just because they do not operate within their optimum efficiency range. Field-oriented control (FOC) is ideally suited to solve this problem by enabling precise control based on torque and speed.
DSPs target power constrained applications
Analog Devices’ latest ADSP-BF70x Blackfin digital signal processor family delivers 800 MMACS of processing power at less than 100 mW – double the performance or half the power of competing devices, claims the company. The eight-member Blackfin processor family includes up to 1MBit of internal SRAM, eliminating external memory in many applications, while a second configuration features an optional DDR memory interface.
Low-voltage MCUs bridge mobile-platform subsystems
STMicroelectronics has unveiled a pair of low-voltage microcontrollers to help overcome the challenges designers face when adding a companion chip to a low-voltage host processor. These focused low-voltage microcontrollers connect to the same digital power domain as the host, such as a 1.8V power supply, while allowing on-chip peripherals to operate from higher voltages such as 3.3V, giving freedom from the usual performance trade-offs that come ...
RX100 MCU software wins VDE approval
Renesas Electronics Europe has received VDE certification for its IEC60335-compliant self-test software for the RX100 family of microcontrollers. This software, which is available for download free of charge from Renesas’ website, is fully compliant with IEC60730-1 regulations and has now been certified by VDE (the German Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies).
MCUs for developers’ functional safety applications
Expanding the company's portfolio of SafeTI design components, Texas Instruments has announced the 32-bit dual-core lockstep Hercules RM57Lx and TMS570LCx microcontrollers for developers’ functional safety applications. System and software developers will enjoy an insightful, efficient and powerful debug experience for code profiling and greater execution visibility, enabled by integrated real-time instruction and data trace support.
Power analogue controllers feature integrated MCU
Expanding the company's digitally enhanced power analogue controller portfolio, Microchip Technology has announced the MCP19114 and MCP19115. These devices introduce a step-up PWM-controller and low-side MOSFET driver architecture, with a mid-voltage LDO and fully-functional microcontroller all integrated into a small, high-density power package.
Stack usage analysis enhances MCU development tools
IAR Systems has a new version of its development toolchain IAR Embedded Workbench for RX. Version 2.60 contains stack usage analysis functionality and several other new features that make the toolchain for Renesas RX microcontrollers even more powerful. Calculating the stack space is notoriously hard for all but the smallest embedded systems. Worst case maximum stack depth is very useful information in most embedded projects, as it greatly simpl...
Wireless MCU simplifies automotive connectivity
Delivering low power, low cost and simplified automotive connectivity to emerging smartphone-controlled and wire-replacement applications, Texas Instruments introduce the SimpleLink Bluetooth low energy CC2541-Q1. The CC2541-Q1 leverages the success of TI’s broad-market Bluetooth Smart solution (SimpleLink CC2541) and automotive connectivity offerings for combo WiFi, Bluetooth and GNSS (WiLink 8Q) and dual-mode Bluetooth (BL6450Q).
ARM Cortex-A57 Performance Analysis Kit previewed at forum
Prototype solution supplier Carbon Design Systems previewed its newly released ARM Cortex-A57 Carbon Performance Analysis Kit (CPAK) at the recent Freescale Technology Forum.The release includes multiple CPAKs featuring the ARM Cortex-A53 and Cortex-A57 processor cores. CPAKs enable debug and analysis of 64-bit executables and come complete with pre-built software code to configure and exercise the systems.
Rochester Electronics re-introduces the Intel 80960
The 80960MC 32-bit microprocessor was originally manufactured by Intel as an enhanced version of the i960 series and enjoyed great commercial success in a host of embedded applications.