Thank you for recommending "".
Your recommendation has been successfully processed.
Back To The Future With The 68K
The venerable Motorola 68000 architecture takes a leap ahead with a unique real-time microcontroller architecture from Innovasic Semiconductor.
Date Posted: October 12, 2006 12:00 AM
DEVELOPMENT TOOLS
Innovasic Semiconductor delivers CodeSourcery's C/C++ GNU toolchain with its development kit. The open-source system includes the graphical Eclipse integrated development environment (IDE).
The debugger is customized to take advantage of the JTAG-based SPIDER (Software Profiling and Integrated Debug EnviRonment) hardware. SPIDER memory or ship it out via a UIC Ethernet port.
SPIDER has conditional hardware breakpoints that can be chained together. It can be used to provide statistical software profiling to identify critical pieces of code that should run in REM. Debug features are context aware, so it's possible to break on code run by a specific context.
One of the major debug features of the fido1100 is the ability to single-step one context while the others continue running. This is very handy in a realtime environment where stopping the entire system can cause major problems. The approach can be used to single-step interrupts as well.
A version of Linux that will be available takes advantage of the context support provided by the fido1100. It also exposes the REM and UIC support as well, allowing the sophisticated applications to be built on Linux instead of building from basic drivers.
Pricing for the fido1100 line will be in the $10 to $15 range. It's available in 208-pin plastic quad flat (PQF) and fine-pitch ball-grid array (FBGA) packages. A development kit also is available.
An interesting side note is Innovasic Semiconductor's normal obsolescence work. The company knows how to preserve its customers' work by delivering long-term solutions for discontinued products, so the fido1100 should be around for quite a while.
Innovasic Semiconductor
www.innovasic.com
|
fido1100 Specifications
Core: CPU32 code compatible with five contexts
Clock: 66 MHz
Features: zero-overhead Endian conversion, automatic sleep mode when contexts are inactive, non-aligned memory access, memory protection unit
Peripherals: four programmable Universal IO Controllers (UICs); 10-bit, eight-channel ADC; five counter/timers; watchdog and context timers; two DMA
UIC interfaces: 10/100 Ethernet, CAN, UART, SPI, I2C, GPIO
Debug: Software Profiling and Integrated Debug EnviRonment (SPIDER), JTAG Interface: 3.3 V with 5-V tolerant I/Os
Packaging: 208-pin PQFP and FBGA
Pricing: $10 to $15 |
microcontrollers