A year ago, we released our first SimpleLink™ MCU software development kits (SDKs) with 100% application code portability across the industry’s broadest technology portfolio of wired and wireless MCUs.
With each quarterly release, we are committed to protecting your code investment while adding new capabilities to speed development and enable more opportunities for differentiation. Our first quarterly release…
Given how the word “smart” is bandied about when discussing IoT technology, you may wonder exactly what it means – if it has any meaning at all. If you asked me to define a smart thermostat, here’s what I’d say:
TI’s SimpleLink™ platform of connected MCUs continues to add capabilities to help customers optimize their development experience, recently adding Open On-Chip Debugger (OpenOCD) support for many SimpleLink devices and kits.
With built-in support for TI’s XDS110 JTAG debugging probe, the SimpleLink OpenOCD package natively supports most SimpleLink LaunchPad™ development…
Why does your microcontroller (MCU) deserve a nap? Much like humans, MCUs generally consume less energy while sleeping. Designing low-power connected applications is key to extending battery and product life and proliferating the widespread adoption of networked sensors in homes, buildings and cities. The more that your MCU is sleeping, the longer the battery life of your…
If I were to ask you when the Internet of Things (IoT) was born, you’d probably say sometime in the last decade. It’s important to remember, though, that connected devices have been with us for over a half a century. Back in 1981, Hayes Communications introduced a solution to reuse existing cable modem data lines by enabling software that could control a modem’s activity. This solution, later known as ATtention (AT) commands…
Everywhere you look, you can find references to “smart” things – smartphones, smart TVs, smart homes and even smart cities. The intelligence of the devices that surround us continues to increase, and perhaps that intelligence is most important in the utility systems that sustain our cities. The world’s electricity grids in particular are undergoing a revolution in the control systems that connect generating plants to…
It’s hard to imagine a world before smartphones. What used to be a futuristic plot on the Jetson’s is now the reality we live in. As we strive to connect more of our lives, homes and buildings, the design complexities can rapidly escalate. Learning wireless protocols and acquiring radio-frequency (RF) design experience can be an overwhelming venture. Add network security and power budgets into the mix, and you’ll quickly…
Welcome to embedded world in Nuremberg, Germany. If you happen to be at the show, stop by and visit TI in Hall 3A, Booth No. 129 to see some really cool MSP430™ microcontroller (MCU) demos. If not, let me give you a glimpse of some of the sensing and measurement applications we’re highlighting.…
Imagine waking up, and using a voice command to turn on your lights and start your coffeemaker. As you leave for work, you use your smartphone to lock the door and arm your security system. While you’re away, you can remotely monitor intrusions, answer your doorbell and unlock your front door, all from a cloud dashboard. At work, a smart thermostat collects…
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the phrase “capacitive touch”? I’d be willing to bet that the first thing that popped into your head was a touch screen. You may have thought about your smartphone, that tablet computer you wish you had, or a fancy infotainment system in a new car. You’d be right on all accounts, but what you would be missing…
Since its introduction many years ago, millimeter wave (mmWave) radar has come a long way, with designers now interested in its use for applications such as traffic monitoring, semi-autonomous vehicles and factory automation. The three key measurements that make mmWave radar valuable in applications like these are range, velocity and angle.
In this second installment of a four-part series, I’ll dive deeper into range measurements…
Electrical grid systems are always trying to mitigate the risk of overcurrent events that can disrupt the flow of power from a power-generation source to millions of homes and businesses. To measure currents and voltages accurately, energy providers use equipment to monitor different parts of the power grid.
One of the most critical pieces of grid equipment is the protection relay. A relay can monitor several current…
No, I’m not talking about Dance Dance Revolution. Double data rate (DDR) is a very popular external memory interface, but the external random access memory (RAM) can take up valuable board space. TI has found a way to host the entire stack for the EtherCAT slave controller in internal memory on the Sitara™ AMIC110 processor, thus eliminating the need for an external memory. So when…
A Google search for the term “analog to digital converter selection” produces thousands of hits, proof that this task continues to challenge a number of us involved in designing that elusive, perfect sensing solution. After all, there are a vast number of analog-to-digital converter (ADC) solutions out there, from simple 10-bit ADCs integrated in 8-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) to ADCs that can resolve at GHz rates.…
Our world is becoming much smarter. Across our cities, homes and many aspects of our everyday lives, the increased intelligence going into everyday devices – ranging from thermostats and security systems to cars and even macro systems like our cities’ water or traffic management – is helping create a smarter, more connected world that delivers goods and services in ways that are more efficient than ever.…
The open-source Mongoose operating system (OS) from Cesanta enables embedded developers to move quickly from an idea to a prototype and smoothly transition to production. It helps accelerate cloud-powered Internet of Things (IoT) prototype development of connected devices and connects securely to Google Cloud IoT Core.
Out of the box, the Mongoose OS starter kit includes:
Have you ever found yourself asking, “Where did the time go?” If you’re like me, you probably ask yourself this daily.
Keeping track of time is very difficult; luckily, timer modules on an MSP430™ microcontroller (MCU) are created solely to do this very task. From kitchen timers to home security systems, timers are at the heart of many things…
Millimeter-wave (mmWave) radar sensing systems provide rich data sets of range, velocity and angle data, but have typically been difficult to understand and challenging to implement. The team I work on is actively developing different tools to help you do three things: discover more about mmWave, evaluate examples and demos that show the capabilities of mmWave technology, and design your own solutions faster.
In this…
The holidays – that wonderful and hectic season at home with friends and loved ones – are upon us. Although we all may celebrate the season a little differently, we are all looking forward to enjoying great food during these cozy winter months.
The last thing we need to deal with is an oven or cooktop that gives us more work to do. Rather than dealing with imprecise…
Home and office security systems use door and window sensors to notify control panels if an entry point opens or closes. These sensors can be part of a complete security system or act as stand-alone sensors for specific entry points such as medicine or liquor cabinets.
Recently, there has been a shift from wired to wireless solutions given the latter’s easier installation…
Does your system need more nonvolatile memory? Maybe you’re looking for a low-power keypad or an external watchdog timer? This wide range of applications may seem unrelated, but they can all be realized using cost-effective MSP430™ ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) microcontrollers (MCUs).
Traditionally, designers implement functions such as electrically…
Utilities around the world waste more than 30% of the water they pump and need a superior, affordable technology that can both find leaks and precisely measure water flow. Traditional mechanical paddlewheel-type water meters deteriorate and degrade over time. They also lack the modern electronics required for improved performance and connectivity for regular monitoring.
Ultrasonic sensing technology is gaining significant…
Today, at Re:Invent in Las Vegas, Amazon Web Services (AWS) introduced a new cloud-native Internet of Things (IoT) operating system for microcontrollers (MCUs) called Amazon FreeRTOS.
Amazon FreeRTOS is built around the FreeRTOS kernel, a popular open-source operating system for MCUs that makes low-powered edge nodes easier to program, enable, connect and monitor…
Are the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in your design shining too brightly? Do you want to control the amount of voltage fed to a load, or vary the rotation speed or distance of a motor? Ever require an analog output from a digital device? You can accomplish all of these tasks through the use of pulse-width modulation (PWM) outputs. PWMs develop a duty cycle from a timer’s period…
Analyst firm IHS Markit predicts that by 2025, the Internet of Things (IoT) will comprise as many as 75 billion connected things. To reach this large number, manufacturers will need to merge their legacy systems (with decades-old infrastructures comprising mostly wired protocols) with always-evolving wireless connectivity standards and technologies.
Whether in a factory or building, there is potentially a massive benefit…
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