ARM Unveils Cortex-M Prototyping System Based on Altera Cyclone V FPGA

Before micro-controllers or processors are manufactured, simulation is performed in (usually) expensive boards based on FPGA chips from Altera or Xilinx, and once designers have found the system to work as expected, they can move to the next phase and work on the actual silicon. ARM has just released V2M-MPS2 Cortex-M Prototyping System for MCU / SoC / ASIC designers working on Cortex-M processors. Key features: Altera Cyclone V FPGA with ~150K LE 4x 2MB ZBTRAM (32-bit each, with two of them forming a 64-bit memory). ZBT = Zero Bus Latency 16MB PSRAM (16-bit) Touch screen LCD module Range of hardware interfaces – UART, VGA (4 bit per color), SPI, audio (I2S), Ethernet, LEDs, buttons I/O expansion ports (GPIO) FPGA images for Cortex-M processors Example project for Cortex-M0 DesignStart (processor IP has to be licensed separately) USB connection for downloading FPGA images and program image to micro SD card on board […]

Micro Python Brings Python to MCU Boards and Robots (Crowdfunding)

Micro Python is an implementation of the Python programming language, written from scratch and optimized to run on micro-controllers such as the ones based on ARM Cortex-M cores. Damien George, the developer, also designed the Micro Python board powered by STMicro STM32F405 Cortex M4 MCU for the purpose of running Micro Python. Even though in this project, the star of the show is not the board itself, as Micro Python will run on other platform once it’s open source, let’s have a look at the hardware specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32F405RG @ 168MHz with 1MB flash, 192KB RAM, and an FPU. External storage – Micro SD slot 30 general purpose I/O pins – 5 USARTs, 2SPIs, 2 I2C busses, 14 ADC pins, 2 DAC pins, 2CANs, and 4 servo ports with power. Built-in USB interface Misc – 4 LEDs, a user switch, a reset switch, a real-time clock, and a 3-axis […]

Free Online Courses & Workshops For ARM Cortex-M Microcontrollers

STMicroelectronics and Digikey are co-sponsoring an EE Times University online training course entitled “Fundamentals of Microcontrollers (MCUs): Hands-On Workshop”. The first two 45-minutes sessions will be theoretical and provide and overview of micro-controllers, and explain methods to select an MCU for a given project. The first 1,000 persons based in the US or Canada, who attended the first 2 sessions, will receive a free STM32F4 Discovery Board (ARM Cortex M4). The three next sessions, conveniently taking place about a week later, hopefully after you’ve received your board, will be an actual workshop with STM32F429 Discovery Board. Here’s the detailed schedule for the training: December 2, 2013, 12PM (Eastern Time) –  Session 1 – Introduction to Microcontrollers Common microcontroller architectures Pipelining Peripherals: Timers, Communication, Analog December 3, 2013, 12PM (Eastern Time) – Session 2 – Selecting the Right Microcontroller 10 Steps to Selecting a microcontroller What to look for in a […]

MCU Energy Efficiency Benchmark – Freescale KL02, Microchip PIC24, TI MSP430, and STMicro STM32L

Freescale has recently uploaded a video comparison the energy efficiency of several micro-controllers: Freescale Kinetis KL02, Texas Instruments MSP430, STMicro STM32L, and  Microchip PIC24. Since it’s a Freescale video, we already know the winner, but the test they performed it still interesting, and it shows drastic performance differences between architectures. The used the following exact MCU for testing: Freescale MKL02Z32CAF4R – Cortex M0+ @ 48 MHz STMicro STM32L151RBT6 – Cortex M3 @ 32 MHz Microchip PIC24FJ128GA308 – 16-bit MCU @ 32 MHz Texas Instruments MSP430F5529 – 16-bit MCU @ 25 MHz Freescale did not really select tough competition such as NXP LPC800 Cortex M0+, but instead a Cortex M3 MCU, and older 16-bit MCUs. I don’t know if Microchip has a new generation of ultra low power 16-bit MCUs , but Texas Instruments, for example, launched MSP430 Wolverine MCUs at the end of last year. So this comparison may not be […]

Enter Wearable Tech Innovation World Cup 2013 for Cash Prizes and Free Development Kits

The Wearable Technologies Innovation World Cup is a yearly competition open worldwide, with prizes worth a total of $200,000, “designed to inspire and stimulate excellent next generation solutions with the potential to become real marketable products for Wearable Technologies on the subjects Sports & Fitness, Healthcare & Wellness, Security & Prevention, Gaming & Lifestyle”. This year, the contest is open between June 1, 2013 and  November 30, 2013, and the good news is that even if you don’t win a cash prize, you can still purchase relevant devkit at a discount, or even get them for free. There are 3 companies involved who participate in the program from which you can get development kits: ST Microelectronics: STEVAL-IDB001V1(100% discount for the first 100 registrants) – STEVAL-IDB001V1 is a demonstration board based on STBLC01 low power Bluetooth low energy (BLE) controller and powered by STM32L MCU. Regular price: $159. STEVAL-MKI119V1 (No discount) – […]

Emcraft Systems STM32F4 SoM and Starter Kit Run uCLinux From On-Chip Flash

Emcraft has recently announced a new system-on-module based on STMicro STM32F437 Cortex M4 micro-controller, as well as a starter kit based on the module that can run uCLinux directly from STM32F437’s 2MB on-chip flash, allowing a faster boot time, and AFAIK, this is the only Linux-ready STM32 platform available on the market. Here are the specifications of Emcraft Systems SOM-STM32F4: MCU – STMicro STM32F437 Cortex M4 @ 168 MHz with 256KB RAM and 2MB flash External Memory – 16MB PSRAM External Storage – 16MB NOR Flash Ethernet PHY (Optional) Connectors – 2x SoM Connectors with access to I/Os: USB, Ethernet, I2C, SPI, UART, LCD I/F, ADC, DAC, GPIO… Dimensions – 30 mm x 46 mm To speed-up development and for evaluation, the company also provides a starter kit composed of the STM32F4 SoM, and a baseboard (SOM-BSB-EXT) with the following main features: USB interface using USB-UART bridge connected to UART […]

Aithon Motor Control Board Runs Chibios/RT RTOS

The Aithon board is a board powered by an STM32 Cortex M4 MCU destined at controlling motors and robotics applications. The board runs Chibios/RT, an open source RTOS, and a set of libraries are also provided to make programming the 2-channel motor driver, and other peripherals/sensors easier. Here are the specifications of the board: MCU – STMicroelectronics STM32F407 ARM Cortex-M4 @ 168 MHz, FPU, 512KB flash and 192KB RAM, up to 17 timers, an RTC, and 12-bit ADC I/O (All digital I/Os are 5V tolerant): 15 GPIO 8 ADC inputs and 8 PWM servo outputs Up to 3 USART (one shared with 1 I2C port + XBee) Up to 4 I2C (split between two independent buses) 1 SPI header 1 SWD header 1 12-bit DAC output (shared with SPI SCLK) USB – mini-USB (device) and standard USB (host) ports Expansion Headers: XBee socket Bluetooth header for optional Roving Networks RN42 […]

Coocox Embedded Pi is an STM32-Based MCU Board That Connects to Arduino Shields and Raspberry Pi

Embedded Pi is a platform capable of interfacing the Raspberry Pi with 3.3V and/or 5V Arduino shields, based on an 32-bit ARM Cortex M3 STMicro STM32 MCU. It can also be used in standalone mode as an Arduino compatible ARM MCU evaluation board. Embedded Pi Hardware Specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32F103RBT6 Cortex M3 @ 72MHz with 20KB SRAM and 128KB flash. Raspberry Pi Connector with I2C, SPI, UART, PWM and GPIOs Arduino Interfaces – 1x SPI, 1x I2C, 4x PWM, 1x UART, 6x Analog Input Extended Interfaces – 1x SPI, 1x I2C, 1x UART with flow control, 2 pairs PWM, 6x Analog Input, and 1x CAN 3 Power Sources – Micro USB port, external DC adapter, and 5V from the Raspberry Pi Depending on the jumper placement on the Embedded Pi, you can select each of the three modes of operation: STM32/Standalone Mode – The Embedded Pi works as an […]