IoT

Among the features in the UNI-DS v8 universal development board, MikroElektronika (Mikroe) has included a SiBrain socket to support a choice of microcontrollers and peripherals and over 1,200 add-on boards. 

The board is designed for rapid prototyping and the SiBrain socket enables designers to try different microcontrollers in a prototype system without having to invest in other expensive hardware or learn new tools. SiBrain is the open standard for sockets and add-on boards and currently supports more than 3,300 different microcontrollers from a range of families including STM32, Kinetis, TIVA, CEC, MSP, PIC, dsPIC, PIC32, and AVR. Over 100 SiBrain add-on boards are currently available in Mikroe’s online store.

The UNI-DS v8 board has five mikroBUS sockets into which can be placed any of the company’s Click boards.  These add-on boards save developers time by eliminating the need for the testing and troubleshooting during the prototyping phase. They cover functions including mixed-signal, wireless connectivity, storage, interface, displays, human machine interface, adapter, clock and timing, motor control, power management, and audio and voice. 

The UNI-DS v8 integrates CodeGrip, believed to be the first programmer and debugger over Wi-Fi. Designers can place a UNI-DS v8 development board almost anywhere while still retaining full debugging and programming access, even in difficult-to-access sites such as agricultural settings, high-rise buildings and hazardous environments. CodeGrip supports more than 3,300 microcontrollers from different vendors. Free updates are provided as new microcontrollers and vendors are added.

Nebojsa Matic, CEO at Mikroe commented: “The ability to remotely program and debug over Wi-Fi (USB connection is also possible) plus the integration with Necto Studio, the  . . .  vendor-independent integrated development environment (IDE), means that prototyping has never been easier, no matter where you are or what level of resource you have.”

In 2011, MikroElektronika (Mikroe) invented the mikroBUS development socket standard and the compact Click Boards that use the standard to dramatically cut development time. Now the company offers 1,000 Click and the mikroBUS standard is included by leading microcontroller companies such as Microchip, Renesas and Toshiba on their development boards. SiBrain is Mikroe’s latest standard, for microcontroller development add-on boards and sockets. MikroElektronika also claims to make the world’s widest range of compilers and provides development environments, development boards, smart displays and programmers and debuggers.

http://www.mikroe.com

A compact computer measuring just 62 x 162 x 118mm developed by MPL is based on the 10nm Intel Atom x6000 (Elkhart Lake) processor. 

The CEC20 is a low power, highly integrated, flexible and rugged computer, said Swiss manufacturer, MPL, with long term availability of at least 10 years. It is claimed to have the lowest power consumption in the industry and operates across the extended temperature (-40 to +85 degrees C). The fanless PC has passive cooling and is designed for internal expansion with standard connectors for easy connection or lockable headers, depending on chassis choice. 

The CEC20 family can be used for any x86 application, including industry, railways, maritime and defence. 

The CEC2x comes with onboard NVMe mass storage and includes an onboard m.2 Key-B slot for multiple expansion options. The board is equipped with a high density expansion connector with PCIe, USB and I2C interfaces, allowing expansion using the company’s standard I/O board or semi-custom designed I/O board according to requirements. The CEC2x supports standard SO-DIMM DDR4 and has the possibility to support IBECC (In Band ECC).

In addition to a DDR4 RAM up to 32Gbyte to support IBECC, the CE20 is equipped with 1.0 and 2.5Gbit Ethernet ports. Power consumption is just 4.5 to 12W. It can withstand reverse polarity voltage, over-voltage, surge and burst voltages, as well as electromagnetic discharges targeting the MIL-STD-461E, IEC60945 and EN50155 standards.

MPL has also developed a specific expansion board to accompany the release. The CEC2x expansion board (FIME) offers two PCIe, two HSIC, two UART, SATA, SDIO, LPC and I2C ports. This maximises customisation, said MPL, for any I/O boards and extending the system with additional interfaces, such as general purpose I/Os, additional serial ports, Gigabit Fiber, CAN, miniPCIe slots and a PCI/104-Express port.

The CEC20 family is available with a DIN-Rail or flange mount compact aluminium housing, a MIL housing with 38999 connectors according to customer requirements, and as a 19-inch rack, or an open frame. An OEM version is also available. 

http://www.mpl.ch