Micros
32-bit MCUs shipments forecast to grow at a rate of 10%
According to findings from the 2015 edition of Semicast’s study of 32-bit MCUs, revenues are forecast to grow at a rate of more than 10% a year from 2014 to 2020. Measured in units, Semicast Research forecasts the market to grow even faster, at more than 20% a year over the same period, with annual shipments heading towards 18bn in 2020.
Low-power MCUs simplify sensorless BLDC motor control
Renesas Electronics has announced the RL78/G1F Group of multi-function MCUs, adding 20 members to its low-power RL78 family. Featuring enhanced peripheral functions and compatibility across the RL78/G1x Series of MCUs, the devices simplify sensorless BLDC motor control and deliver precision operation at faster rotational speeds with high accuracy for energy-efficient home appliances and electric power tools.
5V Cortex M0+ MCUs feature a peripheral touch controller
The world’s first full 5V ARM Cortex-M0+-based MCU family with integrated Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC) has been introduced by Atmel. The SAM C family innovatively combines 5V, DMA performance and a PTC with outstanding moisture tolerance. The devices also integrate advanced analogue capability and offer EMI and ESD protection, making them suitable for the rapidly expanding smart appliance and industrial markets.
Lose power, not data
Overcoming a design hurdle that has burdened engineers for decades, Texas Instruments (TI) has announced a revolutionary Compute Through Power Loss (CTPL) technology to enable context save and restore across its MSP430 FRAM MCU family, including the MSP430FR6972 MCU.
The industry’s most energy-friendly USB-enabled MCUs
USB-enabled MCUs, described as the industry’s most energy-friendly, have been introduced by Silicon Labs. The Happy Gecko MCUs, which expand the company’s EFM32 32-bit MCU portfolio, enable longer battery life and energy harvesting applications. Based on the ARM Cortex-M0+ core and low-energy peripherals, the devices simplify USB connectivity for a wide range of IoT applications including smart metering, home and building automation, ...
Resequencing tool reduces usage of on-chip RAM & ROM by 40%
SOMNIUM Technologies, a Freescale Proven Partner, has announced the general availability of version 2.0 of its unique Device-aware Resequencing Tools (DRT) software development environment for Freescale Kinetis MCUs. DRT 2.0 brings further improvements to DRT's patented resequencing optimisations, a significant revision in the Eclipse IDE, and full compatibility with the latest version of Freescale's Kinetis Design Studio (KDS) IDE.
Extending Wearability
Technologies for the next stage of wearable device development. By Laurence Bryant, VP of Strategic Marketing, ARM.
Microcontrollers simplify IoT development
SimpleLink ultra-low power MCUs from Texas Instruments are in stock at Mouser Electronics. These wireless MCUs target Bluetooth Smart, ZigBee, and other 2.4GHz RF applications. The SimpleLink Wireless MCU platform is very low power with low active RF and run current requirements and provide excellent battery life when used with small coin-cell batteries or in energy harvesting applications.
Partnership targets growing Chinese smart home market
NXP has announced a partnership with Xiaomi, which will see NXP provide its JN516x ZigBee low-power wireless solution to power the connectivity of the Xiaomi Smart Home Suite. The suite consists of a motion sensor, door and window sensors, a wireless switching device for controlling appliances and a multifunctional gateway that wirelessly links all the components together using ZigBee WiFi interconnectivity.
IoT system design with integrated wireless MCUs
The last few years have seen an explosion in IoT devices and connected products such as wireless sensors, smart meters, home automation systems and wearables. The lowered cost of components such as sensors and processors along with increasing wireless connectivity has resulted in many products being made 'smart' and able to communicate with each other without human intervention.