Low-cost Freescale processors come with uClinux, Nano-X

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Feb. 14, 2006

Freescale is supplying uClinux-based BSPs (board support packages) with two currently sampling ColdFire embedded processor families. The low-end, 32-bit MCF532x and MCF537x processors are based on ColdFire V3 cores clocked up to 240MHz, are priced in the low teens, and target HMI (human-machine interface) and other industrial and control applications.

Embedded GUIs (graphical user interfaces) are increasingly based on 32-bit processors, Freescale says, and the "vast majority" of such systems use Linux, "because of its high performance, zero licensing fees, free code distribution across a large community of users, and compatibility with multiple user interfaces and file systems."

The MCF532x and MCF537x are based on Coldfire V3 cores said to deliver up to 211 Dhrystone 2.1 MIPS (millions of instructions per second), when clocked at their maximum frequency of 240MHz. Both devices integrate USB host and USB On-The-Go (OTG) controllers, and the MCF532X additionally integrates a bus-mastering 18-bit color LCD controller that supports SVGA (800 x 600) screens.

Additional features of the MCF532x and MCF537x chips include:

Enhanced multiply accumulate (EMAC) module and hardware divide
10/100 Mbps ethernet controller
Enhanced controller area network (CAN) 2.0B controller
Algorithm-specific cryptography accelerators
Support for standard and low-power single data rate (SDR) and double data rate (DDR) technology
Audio interface
Standard ColdFire peripheral set (UARTs, SPIs, and I2C)
Low-power operating modes and clock management capability

In addition to a uClinux kernel, the new Freescale-supplied BSPs for the MCF532x and MCF537x chips includes a uClinux tool chain; LCD, serial, and Ethernet drivers; a TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/internet protoco) stack; USB host/OTG drivers; and LCD frame-buffer drivers.

Additionally, the BSPs include Nano-X, an open source tool aimed at bringing the features of modern graphical windowing environments to smaller devices and platforms. Nano-X supports display, mouse, touchscreen, and keyboard devices, comes with a set of graphical components for building application-specific GUIs, and can be configured with a footprint between 50KB and 250KB, Freescale says.

Availability

The MCF532x and MCF537x processors are currently sampling, with availability projected for Q2, 2006. They are priced at $10 for the MCF532x and $11 for the MCF537x, in 10K quantities.

Additionally, Freescale offers evaluation and design kits that include processor module cards that can be designed directly into embedded systems and resold. Evaluation boards also include a complementary "Special Edition" CodeWarrior Development Studio IDE (integrated development environment).

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