Embedded Hotspot

The eight-core Parallax Propeller microcontroller finally has a C compiler courtesy of ImageCraft. The ANSI C compiler supports a large memory model that exceeds the on-chip 2-kbyte limit of the eight cogs (cores). The package includes an IDE, C compiler, assembler, a range of runtime libraries, and debugging support. Applications are typically five to 10 times faster than the interpretive SPIN language tools available from Parallax. Pricing starts at...

Renesas’ SuperH 32-bit micros now have up to 1 Mbyte of SRAMRAMRAM on-chip. The 144-MHz SH7262 and SH7264 are optimized for digital audio and media players with graphical displays, including 16-bit WQVGA displays that can be driven directly. The chip includes PWMPWMPWM support suitable for motor control, SD memory card interface USB 2.0 Hi-Speed host/device interfaces, and an audio signal processor and CD-ROMROMROM decoder. An external 16-bit bus provides access to...

The NEC Electronics V850ES/Jx3-L microcontroller’s flash memory consumes only 0.9 mW/Dhrystone MIPS. It also only uses 1.5 µA in standby mode. The 32-bit, 100-pin processor has 16 kbytes of RAMRAMRAM and 256 kbytes of flash. Peripherals include a 12-channel, 10-bit ADC, dual 8-bit DACACs, three serial ports, three I2C ports, and five clock serial interfaces. Pricing starts at $6. Development tools and C compilers are available from NEC, IAR, and Green Hills Software....

Digital signal processors (DSPs) earn their living by doing certain analog jobs better than analog circuitry. In some cases, where analog circuits can’t even be considered for a task due to cost or complexity reasons, DSPs are still a viable choice and in many cases perform those tasks effortlessly. That’s because DSPs are very good and very fast at arithmetic operations such as addition and multiplication. Clever mathematicians and engineers exploit this...

Did you know that at 5515 kg/m3, Earth is the densest planet in our solar system? Most of that density is made up in the Earth’s core, which became so dense during the early stages of the Earth’s 4.5 billion-year life in a process called planetary differentiation. During this process, and while the Earth was still a ball of molten elements, denser substances such as iron sank toward the center, and the dense core as we know it today was formed. Not to be...

TText, blog, or twitter hands-free while driving. Access your car’s iPod media player to change tracks and adjust the volume without lifting a finger. Even host a three-way telephone call via a Bluetooth device without your hands leaving the steering wheel. No longer content with standard features for low-end and mid-range cars, drivers expect satellite navigation, multizone climate control, satellite radio, and even beverage refrigeration as standard items. ...

Few embedded designs are isolated these days. Still, most users and quite a few developers only think of names and passwords when it comes to security. Yet there’s much more, and it really needs to be incorporated throughout the design process. It also means you need to grok security. I thought I did until I had to complete a more complex installation of multiple Security Enhanced Linux (SELinux) systems running as virtual machines (VMs) on a Xen server. I ...

Design at the logic level for board-level products is rare. If it can’t be done with a microcontroller or two, then what’s a designer to do? FPGAs have been the answer for years, but FPGA tools required a steep learning curve. Likewise, FPGAs had a price premium and high power requirements, and external support requirements often proved challenging. All of that has changed, though. Inexpensive FPGAs are now the norm. High-performance products remain...

As DVD popularity grew in the 1990s, the Content Scramble System (CSS), a digital rights management scheme, was implemented within the DVD format for protecting DVD media content from piracy. The CSS system was designed to prevent the copying of material via encryption. DVD content, including extra features and menus, may be encrypted with CSS at the manufacturing plant when the disks are created. DVD players then decrypt the...

With the trend toward greater global competition, companies are increasingly setting up manufacturing facilities in countries with historically weak legal protections for intellectual property (IP). Thus, there’s a growing demand among system designers for enhanced physical-layer security to protect sensitive information stored in silicon. Even the most sophisticated lock in the world offers no protection if its key is easy to find. This principle applies equally...

Intel and other companies are forecasting a single chip with 1000 cores. Programming these chips will be a challenge, but there is another arena with similar challenges. Cores are proliferating in the wireless sensor and control arena, with 802.15.4 being the underlying protocol of choice. Wireless chip vendors like Ember, Freescale, and Texas Instruments are churning out an array of options that often incorporate a compact 8-, 15-, or 32-bit core to handle...

Embedded designers put microprocessors in everyday products like cars, phones, cameras, TVs, music players, and printers, as well as the communications infrastructure, which the general public doesn’t get to see. They know how important it is for their products to work—and work preferably better than their competitors’ products. But the systems-on-a-chip (SoC) behind them continue to grow in complexity, making that simple goal harder to achieve, ...

Programming wireless devices can be a chore, but the use of scripting languages like Python can turn rapid frustration into rapid development. I tested this theory with the Synapse Wireless EK2500 development kit, which I combined with iRobot’s Create here in the lab (see “Commanding The iRobot Create” at www.electronicdesign.com, ED Online ID ...

Digi International’s ConnectPort X4 NEMA provides a rugged link between a cellular and ZigBee network. The gateway features Python programming support in addition to serial, Ethernet, and USB interfaces. The unit is designed to be a gateway to other Digi Drop-in Networking products (see “ZigBee Kits 5” at www.electronicdesign.com, ED Online ...

ITOX’s G5G100-L10C Mini-ITX motherboard sports heatsinks to keep its 1-GHz Celeron M Ultra Low Voltage 373 processor cool. The chip has a 512-kbyte cache and a 400-MHz front-side bus. The system uses less than 17 W. The board utilizes the Mobile Intel 910GMLE Express chip set with the Intel ICH6M I/O controller hub and the GMA 900 graphics adapter. Also, there is a 1-Gbit Ethernet port, eight serial ports, two SATA ports, an Ultra- DMA/100...

Jennic’s JN5139 brings 32-bit computing to ZigBee Pro. It’s built around a 32-bit, 16 MIPS RISC core, 96 kbytes of RAM, and 192 kbytes of ROM. Developers can use the JenNet stack, 6LoWAPAN IP, or ZigBee Pro protocol stack. Peripherals include 21 GPIO, I2C, SPI, two serial ports, a four-channel, 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and dual 11-bit digital-toanalog converters (DACs). A 48-byte one-time programmable (OTP) eFuse stores the MAC ...

Stealth Computer’s SV-2400 wraps a steel enclosure around a widescreen, 24-in. LCD. The system features an optional USB-based, capacitive touchscreen interface designed for rugged environments. The NEMA 4/IP56 LCD can withstand water, dust, and dirt. It features a 5-ms response time, 1920-by-1200 resolution, a 16:10 aspect ratio with 250 nits of brightness, a 160° viewing angle, and a 1000:1 contrast ratio. It accepts DVI and...

6WINDGate EDS and SDS software from 6WIND addresses telecom applications such as wireless infrastructure. The EDS version enables Fast Path implementation as a Linux kernel module between the Linux networking stack and the interface drivers. The SDS version takes advantage of the Multi-Core Executive Environment (MCEE). Also, the EDS version targets quad-core x86 processor platforms and runs on platforms such as Cavium’s MIPS64- based multicore...

Packet processing needs processing power. Thatâ??s what GE Fanuc delivers with its WANic 5434 Packet Processor (see the figure). The PCI Express-based board can handle wire speeds up to 4 Gbits/s. It also can handle packet layers 2 through 7, making complex security processing applications. The WANic 5434 is based on Caviumâ??s 500-MHz CN5434-NSP Octeon chip,...

The University of Southern California is the home of Tenet, a tiered wireless sensor network project. The architectures combine PC-class network masters with a horde of wireless micro motes that are typically 802.15.4 nodes. Generally, these are very low-power devices. Version 2.0 is available for download from the Tenet project’s Web site. The master tier runs on Linux or Windows (courtesy of Cygwin). The applications that run on...