Thinking Inside The Box

Friday, November 17, 2006

National Instruments releaseso the new NI cRIO-9012 high-performance, real-time controller in collaboration with Freescale Semiconductor and Wind River. The controller is based on Freescale’s MPC5200 processor built on Power Architecture™ technology and Wind River VxWorks real-time operating system (RTOS) to deliver fast performance while maintaining the ruggedness, reliability and low cost of the NI CompactRIO platform.

The companies are working together to help engineers simplify embedded system development through graphical system design, which combines open software and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) programmable hardware in a single, unifying platform to rapidly design, prototype and deploy embedded systems. The collaboration on the cRIO-9012 controller illustrates the three companies’ ongoing strategic relationship dedicated to improving the development of embedded devices.

In addition to increased performance, the cRIO-9012 controller incorporates proven technologies from all three companies to deliver more memory and nonvolatile disc space as well as more digital signal processing and faster streaming for logging and networking than its precursor, the cRIO-9002 controller. Freescale’s 400MHz MPC5200 processor, containing an integrated floating-point unit, is well suited for networking, media, industrial control and automotive applications. The MPC5200, which is programmed with the National Instruments LabVIEW Real-Time Module, gives the cRIO-9012 controller up to 4X processing performance and nearly 2X lower power consumption.

Running on the MPC5200, the Wind River VxWorks RTOS delivers dependable performance and a fault-tolerant file system that provides reliable data logging, making it possible for engineers to operate the controller for long periods of time in remote applications using a battery or solar power. The NI LabVIEW Real-Time Module provides shared variable technology for simplified network communication between distributed systems as well as the new LabVIEW Project, which streamlines code control and application deployment to multiple CompactRIO systems. With the technologies in the new cRIO-9012 real-time controller, the CompactRIO embedded system is ideal for applications such as machine control and monitoring, in-vehicle logging and embedded system prototyping and for a variety of industries such as automotive, military, industrial equipment and energy and environmental.

“Engineers require a development platform that helps them create embedded system solutions more quickly, with higher quality and with lower costs,” said Steve Rosebaugh, senior product manager for Freescale’s Infotainment, Multimedia and Telematics operation. “Our collaboration with National Instruments is bringing the benefits of Power Architecture technology and Freescale’s MPC5200 processors to the CompactRIO graphical system design platform, which gives engineers a more streamlined approach to embedded system development.”

Using a standard architecture and COTS components, graphical system design helps engineers streamline the development process and quickly prototype and deploy new designs without the need to build custom embedded systems for every project. The openness of the graphical system design approach also gives engineers the opportunity to incorporate and take advantage of state-of-the-art technology from multiple vendors. With the CompactRIO graphical system design platform, for example, engineers benefit from the processing speed of the MPC5200 processor and the dependability of the Wind River VxWorks operating system in the controller as well as the customization of a Xilinx chipset in the reconfigurable chassis. Engineers also can take advantage of the reliability and ease of use of the graphical programming tools in LabVIEW to target the VxWorks operating system and Xilinx FPGA. The combination of these technologies in a single platform makes graphical system design an ideal methodology for embedded system design.

“Device software has been exponentially increasing in complexity, which makes it much more challenging for engineers to be productive,” said Warren Kurisu, director of product management at Wind River. “We see graphical system design as a valuable methodology for moving customized device software from design to deployment quickly. The combination of state-of-the-art VxWorks RTOS technology, easy-to-use LabVIEW rapid development programming tools and the CompactRIO platform provides device software engineers with a powerful and flexible foundation for their design, so they can focus on the complete system and delivering the features their customers care about most.”

[+/-]

Intel's 65nm NOR Flash

Intel Corporation rolls out the industry’s first volume shipments of 65-nanometer (nm) NOR flash Multi-Level Cell (MLC) products, including the industry’s first 65nm 1Gigabit (Gb) monolithic part for cell phones. These new products are based on Intel’s StrataFlash® Cellular Memory (M18) architecture and are drop-in compatible with Intel’s high-volume, 90nm-based flash chips, ensuring an easy migration path for cellular Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

Targeted for multimedia phones with mega-pixel cameras, video and high-speed data capabilities, the single chip, 1Gb MLC NOR aligns nicely with next-generation phones coming to market.

“The density of our 1Gb product provides nearly double the storage for multimedia files and enables ever-slimmer form factor phones, both key elements for our customers,” said Darin Billerbeck, vice president and general manager, Intel Flash Products Group. Intel also has a 65nm roadmap to support 512Mb, 256Mb and 128Mb densities of the M18 product family in 2007.

The new 65nm NOR MLC parts from Intel offer fast read speeds of up to 133 MHz, improved write speeds of up to 1.0MB/sec for faster response times and storage capabilities for 4 mega-pixel cameras and MPEG-4 video. The write speed improvement on the 65nm version is twice as fast as Intel’s previous product. Battery life is also extended through low power consumption, 1.8-volt operation and a deep power-down mode.

“The Intel StrataFlash Cellular Memory (M18) architecture provided Sony Ericsson with a simple migration path from 90nm to 65nm products, which resulted in faster time-to-market for our next generation of phones,” said Peter Carlsson, vice president and head of sourcing, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communication.

Intel also continues to work closely with a variety of cellular companies to ensure quick adoption of this new family of products. The M18 is validated on the top 10 chipsets in the market and offers third-party software support for added OEM flexibility.

“The 1Gb family of the M18 device will enable Infineon to utilize NOR flash memory for high-end mobile handsets, while allowing us the benefit of retaining the same interface as the 90nm version of the device,” said Clemons Jargon, vice president and head of the feature phones business unit for Infineon Technologies.

This new product family is based on an ongoing cellular memory architecture collaboration between Intel and STMicroelectronics. This collaboration assures cell phone makers of a common architecture with standard memory interfaces and configurations, as well as offers multi-source supply of fast-performing, high-density, low-power chips.

[+/-]

Microchip Unveils Three Products for IEEE 802.15.4 Wireless Networking

Microchip Technology Inc., has three new offerings for IEEE 802.15.4 wireless networking. Microchip’s first RF transceiver, the MRF24J40, is a 2.4GHz IEEE 802.15.4 transceiver targeted for the ZigBee™ protocol—and proprietary wireless protocols—in RF applications requiring low power and excellent RF performance. The ZENA™ wireless network analyzer tool further enables development of ZigBee protocol systems using Microchip’s semiconductors. Finally, the MiWi™ protocol is a free, small-footprint protocol developed by Microchip for customers who do not need ZigBee protocol interoperability but want to use IEEE 802.15.4 transceivers in low-cost peer-to-peer, star and mesh networks. In fact, the MiWi protocol provides the lowest-cost fully functional network protocol for IEEE 802.15.4 transceivers.

According to In-Stat, the market for IEEE 802.15.4 wireless Personal Area Networking, via the ZigBee specification network layer and other proprietary protocols, could grow 200% by 2009—with annual shipments surpassing 150 million units in 2009. Microchip is currently addressing the needs of this market with the only zero-cost-license and royalty-free ZigBee protocol stack, which is one of the smallest in the industry and provides a source-code format that allows designers to customize their product, utilizing Microchip’s broad portfolio of compatible PIC® microcontrollers.

ith the MRF24J40 transceiver, Microchip now offers a complete ZigBee protocol platform through the addition of a highly integrated RF transceiver that requires very few external components. Microchip’s radio also offers low power consumption and performance that exceeds all IEEE 802.15.4 specifications, with full Media Access Controller (MAC) support and an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) hardware encryption engine.

“Microchip’s MRF24J40 IEEE 802.15.4 transceiver can be combined with roughly 200 8-bit and 16-bit PIC microcontrollers, and dsPIC® DSCs, to provide the most cost-optimized wireless networking solutions,” said Ganesh Moorthy, Microchip’s executive vice president. “In combination with our free ZigBee protocol stack, Microchip now offers a complete solution for one of the fastest growing technology market segments.”

ue to the fact that the ZigBee protocol has grown too large and complex for many applications, a large percentage of the market for IEEE 802.15.4 wireless Personal Area Networking is likely to use alternative, proprietary protocols, such as the MiWi protocol. Additionally, ZigBee protocol certification is costly and cumbersome for small- and medium-size companies. Microchip’s MiWi protocol provides a simpler, lower-cost solution for customers who do not need interoperability but still want to use robust IEEE 802.15.4 radios. No certification is required for MiWi protocol systems, and the protocol stack is provided under a free license, when the combination of Microchip’s microcontrollers and MRF24J40 transceiver is used.

“The MiWi protocol addresses the market need for a protocol that is simpler and lower cost to implement than the ZigBee protocol. Microchip recognized this need and developed the MiWi protocol for smaller networks that can be implemented on lower-cost PIC microcontrollers,” Moorthy added.

Regardless of which protocol a design engineer selects, Microchip’s complete solution enables them to rapidly evaluate and begin developing a vast array of wirelessly networked IEEE 802.15.4 applications, including: building/home automation (security, lighting, HVAC, access); industrial (monitors, sensors, automation, control, lighting); personal healthcare (diagnostic tools, monitors); and consumer electronics (RF wireless remotes for TV/VCR/DVD/CD, toys, personal-computer peripherals).