Silicon Labs simplifies IoT development with Simplicity Studio 5

Silicon Labs engineered the latest release of this all-in-one software suite to simplify the development of wireless System-on-Chips (SoCs) and modules, microcontrollers, and other embedded products for IoT devices. Simplicity Studio 5 also provides IoT device developers with the same access, security configuration, and code portability across IoT SoCs and modules, significantly reducing device development time.

“IoT developers face a wide-range of technical challenges, including optimising for performance, power, size, multiprotocol coexistence, and security,” said Matt Johnson, Senior Vice President of IoT at Silicon Labs. “They also face business pressures including timelines, certifications, and code reuse. Simplicity Studio 5 is a free, state-of-the-art development platform that addresses these pain points and makes the creation of smart home, commercial, consumer, and industrial applications faster and easier than ever.

“It is a unification point for all of Silicon Labs’ wireless technologies, and helps developers easily create sophisticated, flexible, multiprotocol products with OpenThread and Bluetooth Dynamic Multiprotocol technologies without having to know every implementation detail.”

Leveraging feedback from customers, employees, and developers, Silicon Labs reengineered the Simplicity Studio platform to address IoT developer pain points and help users of all experience levels get started with fast resource accessibility and the ability to quickly develop, prototype, and deploy connected devices.

Simplicity Studio 5 features a modern user interface, optimised workflows, improved performance, and debug and analysis capability to help developers get wireless solutions to market faster.

Simplicity Studio 5 is also designed to intelligently recognise all evaluation and development kits released by Silicon Labs and then make appropriate SDKs, tools, and development resources readily available to the user.

Simplicity Studio 5 highlights

• Scalable: one tool and one environment featuring multiple protocols; support for additional protocols will be continuously added. This includes support for OpenThread, making it simpler to develop IPv6 based mesh applications and paving the way for future development of Project Connected Home over IP-based devices running on Silicon Labs’ EFR32 Wireless Gecko.
• Responsive User Interface (UI): completely new web-like user interface.
• Modern Platform: based on latest versions of the C/C++ development tooling and the open source Eclipse platform, enabling use of Eclipse Marketplace plug-ins.
• Core Improvements: improved performance and industry-standard code editors, compilers, and debuggers.
• Network Analyser: simplifies development of mesh network solutions by collating results across the network.
• Project Configuration: new project tools enabled through software component-based SDKs add enhanced levels of software component discoverability, configurability, and dependency management that surpasses competitor tools.
• Power Profiler: analyses full power consumption in a device to optimise design and extend battery life.
• Advanced Security: enables Secure Vault features to help future-proof IoT devices against escalating threats and regulatory requirements.
• Automatic Board Detection: automatically locates device-specific technical documentation and software examples once board is connected.
• Value-add Tools: code-correlated energy profiling, wireless network analysis, and improved debugging to speed time to market of advanced applications.

Silicon Labs officially launched Simplicity Studio 5 during its Works With virtual smart home developer conference, the industry’s first gathering of the people, platforms, and protocols driving the growing smart home industry forward.