STMicro STM32 Category - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

FalCAN Probe is an open-source, STM32-based USB to CAN/RS-485/RS-422 adapter

FalCAN Probe v0

Most USB-to-bus adapters, including tools like CANTact Pro or MeatPi’s Ollie V1 and V2, typically support either CAN or RS-485/RS-422 as fixed-function serial devices. In contrast, the FalCAN Probe by Anders B. Nielsen is a multi-protocol USB adapter based on the STM32F042 microcontroller. The FalCAN Probe is a compact open-source USB Type-C board that connects a computer to CAN, RS-485, and full-duplex RS-422 networks. Instead of using a fixed USB bridge, it exposes the MCU’s native USB interface along with SWD and GPIOs, and can also be used as a small Arm Cortex-M0 development platform. FalCAN Probe specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32F042C6Tx Arm Cortex-M0 microcontroller @ 48 MHz with 32KB flash, 6KB SRAM Host Interface – USB 2.0 Full Speed via USB Type-C port Interfaces (non-isolated) CAN bus via Texas Instruments SN65HVD230 transceiver; enumerates as a GS_USB CAN device when jumper JP4 is open RS485 and full-duplex RS422 via dual […]

Study compares Rust and C languages for embedded firmware development

Rust vs Embedded C

There’s a lot of hype around the Rust programming language, and I’m seeing it being adopted by various projects, not least the Linux kernel. However, so far it was unclear to me whether it was suitable for embedded firmware development since the hardware resources are limited on microcontrollers. A low memory and storage footprint is required, and optimal performance may also be important, for example, to lower the power consumption of battery-powered devices. A research paper by STMicroelectronics, Inria, and the Freie Universität Berlin, entitled “Lessons from an Industrial Microcontroller Use Case with Ariel OS” published on ArXiv hosted by Cornell University, attempts to answer this question using embedded C and Rust, and the conclusion is that Rust is a viable option: As Rust gains traction for developing safer systems software, a reality check for the microcontroller hardware segment becomes necessary. How ready is the Rust ecosystem for this segment? Can […]

Prunt Board 3 3D printer control board offers smoother and quieter operation (Crowdfunding)

Prunt Board 3

Prunt Board 3 is a 3D printer control board with six TMC2240 stepper drivers, two 15A heater outputs, four fan outputs, four thermistor inputs, and four endstop inputs that is designed to offer smoother and quieter operation. The hardware is said to offer better ESD protection than boards such as the Duet 3 Mini 5+ or BTT SKR 3 EZ and supports hardware-accelerated step generation, but the magic happens with the Prunt firmware and associated server, which enable a 31-phase velocity profile for smoother operation and higher-quality prints compared to boards running Klipper or Marlin firmware. Let’s have a look at the hardware first. Prunt Board 3 specifications: 6x TMC2240 stepper drivers, all capable of running at 3A with minimal airflow 2x 15A heater outputs with short circuit protection (1.3 µs response time) Fan outputs 4x fan outputs supporting 2, 3, and 4-pin fans, all up to 2A with short […]

$15 STM32U575 development board features FPC display connector, microSD card slot, two 48-pin GPIO headers

STM32U575VGT6 development board

A few days ago, we looked at the WeAct Studio STM32U585CIU6 development board, which features an ultra-low-power STM32U5 Cortex-M33 MCU and was added to MicroPython v1.28. If you’re looking for another STM32U5-based option, especially for compact UI projects, Maker Go now offers an STM32U575 board with a display connector, a microSD card slot, and many more GPIOs While the STM32U585 on the WeAct board features cryptographic accelerators, the STM32U575VGT6 MCU on the Maker Go board is closely related and still offers the same high-performance Cortex-M33 core running at 160 MHz, along with ultra-low-power capabilities. This new board also adds 8MB of external flash and is designed to accept 1.47-inch or 2.0-inch LCDs directly via a ribbon cable. STM32U575VGT6 board specifications: Microcontroller – ST STM32U575VGT6 Core – Arm Cortex-M33 Armv8-M core clocked at up to 160 MHz with FPU, Arm TrustZone Memory – 786 KB SRAM Flash – 1024 KB (1 […]

WeAct STM32U585CIU6 Core Mini – An $8 STM32U5 board supported by MicroPython v1.28

WeAct Studio STM32U585CIU6 Core Mini board

While checking out MicroPython v1.28 changelog, I noticed a board from WeAct Studio based on ST’s STM32U5 Cortex-M33 microcontroller: the WeAct STM32U585CIU6 Mini Core board (WEACTSTUDIO_MINI_STM32U585 in MicroPython code). I found it interesting/newsworthy, as while I had written about the initial STM32U5 MCU release in 2021, and followed up with beefier STM32U5 SKUs with NeoChrom 2.5D GPU and up to 4MB flash in 2023, we had yet to cover a third-party board based on an STM32U5 MCU, excluding the Arduino UNO Q SBC running Linux on a Qualcomm QRB2210 MPU and using an STM32U585 for real-time and I/O control. The WeAct STM32U585CIU6 Core Mini changes that as a low-cost, standalone STM32U5 MCU board. WeAct STM32U585CIU6 Core Mini specifications: Microcontroller – ST STM32U585CIU6 Core – Arm Cortex-M33 Armv8-M core clocked at up to 160 MHz with FPU, Arm TrustZone Memory – 768 KB RAM Flash – 2048 KB flash GPU – […]

wolfIP – An open-source, lightweight TCP/IP stack with no dynamic memory allocations for embedded systems

wolfip TCP/IP library no memory allocations

Better known for its open-source wolfSSL SSL/TLS library, wolfSSL (the company) has now released the wolfIP open-source, lightweight TCP/IP stack with no dynamic memory allocations (e.g., no malloc calls) designed for resource-constrained embedded systems.

The company highlights that wolfIP “supports both endpoint-only mode and full multi-interface support with optional IP forwarding. By default, it operates as a network endpoint, but can be configured to forward traffic between multiple network interfaces”.

Ohm Lab Neuro N6 – Modular STM32N6 AI Vision devkit supports rolling shutter, global shutter, or thermal camera (Crowdfunding)

Ohm Labs Neuro N6

Ohm Lab Neuro N6 is a compact, modular, Arduino-compatible Edge AI/AI Vision development board powered by an STMicro STM32N6 Arm Cortex-M55 microcontroller with a 600 GOPS Neural-ART accelerator. The Adafruit Feather-sized board features 64MB PSRAM, 32MB flash, a built-in microphone, a 6-axis IMU and magnetometer, a USB-C port for power and programming, and takes power from USB-C (5V) or a LiPo battery. The bottom side of the board features 40-pin and 30-pin high-density connectors for expansion boards, adding a camera (rolling shutter, global shutter, or thermal), a microSD card slot, Ethernet, WiFi, a TFT display, and more. Neuro N6 specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32N6 MCU Core – 32-bit Arm Cortex-M55 CPU @ up to 800MHz with Arm Helium and Arm MVE GPU – Neo-Chrom 2.5D GPU, Chrom-ART Accelerator (DMA2D) NPU – ST Neural-ART accelerator @ 1 GHz, 600 GOPS BPU – Hardware-accelerated H.264 and JPEG encoders Memory – 4.2MB SRAM […]

AERIS-10 open-source hardware radar can track multiple objects up to 20km away

AERIS-10 open-source hardware radar

AERIS-10 is an open-source hardware, “low-cost” (more on that later) 10.5 GHz phased array radar system featuring Pulse Linear Frequency Modulated (LFM) modulation and based on an AMD Artix-7 FPGA. Two versions are available: the AERIS-10N (Nexus), providing up to 3km range with an 8×16 patch antenna array, and the AERIS-10X (Extended), offering up to 20km range thanks to a 32×16 dielectric-filled slotted waveguide array. ARIES-10 key components and features: Main board FPGA – AMD Artix-7 XC7A100T for: PLFM Chirps generation via the DAC Raw ADC data read Automatic Gain Control (AGC) I/Q Baseband Down-Conversion Decimation Filtering Forward FFT Pulse Compression Doppler, MTI, and CFAR processing USB Interface MCU – ST STM32F746xx microcontroller for Power management FPGA communication Setup and interface with the components on the main, frequency synthesizer, and power amplifier boards, plus: GPS module for GUI map centering GY-85 IMU for pitch/roll correction of target coordinates BMP180 Barometer […]