HARDWARE TOOLS - Energy Micro launches starter kit for energy friendly MCUs

Oslo, Norway - A low cost starter kit for Energy Micro's EFM32 Gecko microcontroller family is now available. Priced at $69, the kit provides all the basic functionality a system developer needs to build energy efficient applications based on the 32-bit ARMCortex-M3-based EFM32 Gecko microcontrollers. The company claims the EFM32 Gecko MCUs consume less than a quarter of the energy of other 8-, 16- and 32-bit MCUs.

The starter kit board features Energy Micro's EFM32G890F128 microcontroller, a 160-segment LCD display driven by the microcontroller's energy efficient on-chip LCD controller, and a touch slider to demonstrate the microcontroller's capacitive sensor interface capability.

Other I/O facilities include four LEDs, two push buttons and a dedicated MCU reset button. All unused I/O is terminated at the board edge for users to access via a standard PCB header. An expansion port is also included for more complex application development.

To enable users to further optimize application energy efficiency, Energy Micro's Advanced Energy Monitoring system (AEM) enables current consumption data to be accurately viewed in real time, allowing adverse energy drains to be identified and remedied at an early stage. To simplify application debugging and programming the on-board J-Link emulator is accessible via both USB and standard 20-pin connectors.

The starter kit is supported by Energy Micro's energyAware software library, built around ARM's standard CMSIS abstraction layer. Third party support includes IAR's Embedded Workbench, Keil's MDK-ARM, and CrossWorks from Rowley Associates.

The EFM32 Gecko starter kit is available from www.energymicro.com and is priced at $69 USD.'For more information visit www.energymicro.com/products/tools.