Freescale Semiconductor announced that it is expanding
its popular Tower System modular development platform to include a series of
high-performance solutions based on Power Architecture technology.
A new Tower System module based on Power Architecture
technology features the MPC8309 PowerQUICC communications processor, which is
ideal for industrial, factory automation and entry-level networking
applications.
This new solution joins the existing MPC5125 module for
industrial, networking, automotive, and human-machine interface (HMI) markets.
Future modules in the Tower System series based on Power Architecture
technology are planned to include Freescale’s QorIQ microprocessors (MPUs) and
Freescale’s PX series of microcontrollers (MCUs).
Freescale‘s
Tower System modules based on Power Architecture technology offer the richest
feature sets found in the Tower System form factor. The Tower System provides a
common development platform for Power Architecture devices that range in
performance from 60 to 2550 Dhrystone million instructions per second (DMIPS).
Tower System solutions share the MQX real-time operating
system (RTOS) and CodeWarrior integrated development environment (IDE), helping
designers optimize their software investment by allowing reuse across a broad
spectrum of Power Architecture MPUs and MCUs.
The newest Tower System modules based on Power
Architecture technology package Freescale’s embedded control and networking
expertise in an affordable, rapid-prototyping platform for industrial applications,”
said Dhiraj Handa, director and general manager of Freescale’s Customer
Specific Products (CSP) business unit.
The MPC8309 processor module is an easy-to-use
prototyping solution for applications such as robotic systems, industrial
networking and factory automation,” Handa added
The MPC8309 processor module (TWR-MPC8309), measuring
only 64 mm x 110 mm, supports comprehensive connectivity, such as dual 10/100
Ethernet ports with IEEE 1588 support, dual USB 2.0 connectors, twin RS-485
headers for PROFIBUS support, audio ports for headphone and microphone jacks, a
mini-PCI connector and an SD card slot.
The TWR-MPC8309 main processor module can be used with
the MPC830x-TLCD daughter card as a standalone or single board computer (SBC)
for applications such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), gateways and
operator interface terminals. The modules also support the development of
robotics, test/measurement and many other factory automation applications.
At the heart of Freescale’s newest Tower System offering
is the highly versatile PowerQUICC MPC8309 communications processor. Its e300
Power Architecture core offers double precision floating point, 16 Kbytes of
instruction and data cache, and up to 835 DMIPS (at 417 MHz) of performance,
while consuming less than 1.6 watts of power.
Freescale Semiconductor recently announced the
first “base station-on-chip” product built on its QorIQ Qonverge
multimode platform.
The new QorIQ Qonverge PSC9132 system-on-chip (SoC) for
picocell and PSC9130/31 SoCs for femtocell base stations share a single,
scalable architecture that simultaneously supports multiple air interfaces,
providing operators and OEMs “future-proof”, integrated heterogeneous
solutions that help minimize power consumption, cost and design time.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
