Intel’s Thunderbolt Technology In Action [VIDEO]

Texas Instruments Announces New C2000 Concerto Dual-Core Microcontroller (MCU) Series

Texas Instruments Incorporated announced its new C2000™ Concerto dual-core microcontroller (MCU) series. The new Concerto 32-bit microcontrollers combine TI’s class-leading-performance C28x core and control peripherals with an ARM Cortex-M3 core and connectivity peripherals to deliver a clearly partitioned architecture that supports real-time control and advanced connectivity in a single, cost-efficient device. To make them easy to use, Concerto MCUs are supported by an intuitive software infrastructure as well as application and connectivity libraries within controlSUITE™ software. The series includes multiple safety and security features and is code compatible across the C2000 platform to enable scalability and code reuse in green applications such as intelligent motor control, renewable energy, smart grid, digital power and electric vehicles.

Greener applications require the performance of a real-time control MCU to execute complex algorithms needed for precise, efficient power conversion, which is the essence of efficient motor control, renewable energy and smart grid technologies. But to take that efficiency to new levels that can dramatically save energy, these applications must also be connected for remote data sharing, diagnostics, monitoring and control. Concerto MCUs enable developers to do both real-time control and connectivity within one microcontroller, eliminating the traditional need to choose between optimal performance and advanced connectivity.

Concerto F28M35x microcontroller series features and benefits:

• Real-time control subsystem based on TI’s C28x core with floating point and the Viterbi Complex Math Unit delivers 13X performance over existing MCUs as well as industry-leading control peripherals required to design the most reliable, efficient green applications
• Robust host communication subsystem based on Cortex-M3 and connectivity peripherals such as Ethernet, USB On-The-Go, dual CAN, and multiple serial communication ports
• Performance can be tailored to different applications with options for 150/75 MHz, 100/100 MHz or 60/60 MHz on the C28x and Cortex-M3 cores, respectively
• Safety and security features, including up to 1 MB of flash and 132 KB RAM with error correction, parity on CAN and interrupt registers, redundancy for functions, and lock protection
• Free turnkey application and connectivity software libraries, including Ethernet and USB (Digital power, motor control and renewable energy libraries will be available in 3Q11)
• Speeds design with simple development environment that supports programming each subsystem independently
• Roadmap for tailored devices to meet specific smart grid applications, such as smart electric meters and concentrators

The new Concerto F28M35x Experimenter Kit includes a F28M35x controlCARD and docking station to enable developers to easily begin evaluation and development. The modular controlCARD is hardware compatible with TI’s C2000 application-specific development kits, and software to further support development on the kits will be available later this year. Free, on-demand training for Concerto MCUs is immediately available online, and is a great way for developers to begin further exploring the optimized architecture, tailored features and easy-to-use software infrastructure of the devices.

Available in a 144 QFP package, Concerto MCUs now start at $6.99 at 1K and samples can be immediately ordered at www.ti.com/concerto-es-lp-pr. The Concerto F28M35x Experimenter Kit is priced at $139. The Concerto F28M35x controlCARD is also available individually for $99. Both are immediately available to order at www.ti.com/concerto-es-lp. There is an estimated 4 week lead time for samples and kits.

Texas Instruments Introduces 2.4 GHz CC8530 PurePath Wireless Audio

Texas Instruments introduced the second device in the family of PurePath™ Wireless audio products for consumer, portable and high-end audio applications. The 2.4 GHz CC8530 radio frequency (RF) system-on-chip transmits uncompressed wireless audio over a robust RF link, and supports digital streaming for up to four audio channels. TI also introduced the CC85XXDK-HEADSET development kit and reference design as part of the PurePath Wireless audio family. As the market’s most cost-effective offering for high-quality headsets and headphones, the design has a total electronic bill-of-material cost of less than USD $5 in high-volume production, and achieves a 22-hour life on a 465 mAh battery – a 100 percent increase as compared to currently available headsets.

“PurePath Wireless audio represents TI’s industry leading expertise in digital audio and wireless connectivity markets,” said Erling Simensen, product marketing manager, wireless audio, TI. “We’ve done all back-end work with the new wireless headset reference design, so engineers can build a prototype in less than one day. With the ability to stream two stereo streams from one audio source to several receivers, the CC8530 will enable exciting new use cases for wireless headsets and multichannel home audio applications, such as surround sound speaker systems with no need to pull wires across the house, and headphones that easily switch between two audio streams coming from one stereo system.”

“TI’s PurePath Wireless technology enables us to design cutting-edge wireless audio products,” said Robert Wills, president, InterSource OEM Inc. / Claridy Amps, a design house specializing in audio products. “Thanks to PurePath Wireless technology, our high-quality designs offer unwired multipoint audio streaming, and our audio systems can expand to up to four speakers and cover two stereo-audio listening zones. Products such as Sound of Lights wireless speakers are sparking tremendous interest with great customer feedback, and we look forward to continued work with the TI team.”

Key features and benefits of CC8530 solution

• Multichannel audio streaming capability:
  • Four speakers receiving independent audio streams from wireless base station
  • Up to four headphones receiving either stereo A or stereo B audio from the same base station
• Complete solution: RF protocol, microcontroller, audio codec setup support, application designs
• No required software development: Free Configurator PC software tool for easy configuration
• High quality-of-service for digital wireless audio transmission:
  • Excellent coexistence with Bluetooth® technology, WLAN and other 2.4-GHz devices
  • Distributed audio clock for synchronized wireless speakers
  • Low latency for better synchronization between audio and video
  • No unwanted noise (clicks or pops)
  • High mean time between dropout (MTBD) as compared to existing solutions
  • Eliminates the sound distortion typically found in competing proprietary systems
  • Support for 16-bit, 44.1-KHz or 48-KHz audio without any compression
• Compatible with various TI audio codecs: TLV320AIC3204, TLV320AIC3254, TLV320AIC3256, TLV320AIC3101, class D amplifiers TAS5708, TAS5710, TAS5713, TAS5727, CC2590 range extender and BQ25015 power management device

Key features and benefits of CC85XXDK-HEADSET development kit:

• 22 hours on 465mAh battery: 100% longer battery life compared to today’s standard headsets
• Consists of all-TI components
• Cost-effective design for high-quality wireless headsets and headphones
• Enables easy testing of complete headphone and headset functionality
• Fully programmable with PurePath Wireless Configurator PC tool.
• Includes TI’s BQ25015 power management device, the low-power TLV320AIC3204 audio codec and CC2590 range extender

The multi-channel CC8530 is available today from TI and through authorized TI distributors. The solution is packaged in a ROHS-compliant, 6 mm x 6 mm QFN-40. Pricing starts at $3.95 in 1,000-unit quantities. Future devices in the family will include the CC8521 (two channels with USB) and CC8531 (four channels with USB).

The new CC85XXDK-HEADSET development kit is available today for USD $149 on TI’s e-store, and comes with a free reference design for wireless headsets.

The CC85XXDK development kit, introduced last year for the CC85XX product family, provides all hardware and software necessary to evaluate the CC8530. This kit is available on TI’s e-store for USD $299.

Samsung's 30nm DDR3 DRAM boosts speeds, cuts power consumption

Samsung has been taunting us with the promise of 30nm DRAM for quite sometime, and when the tiny chips went into mass production last year it was the world's servers that got first dibs. The average consumer stuck with that aging 40nm stuff -- blech. This summer though, you'll finally be able to snatch up some of Sammy's latest tech in the form of two and four GB DDR3 1600 sticks for both laptops and desktops. The company claims that its new RAM modules are up to two-thirds more energy efficient than more common 60nm chips and 20 percent faster that its own 40nm ones. Both solo and dual packs will be hitting retailers soon starting at "less than $30." Check out the PR after the break.

Analog Devices Releases the ADIS16407 iSensor IMU

ADIS16407 iSensor IMU Functional Block Diagram(Photo from Analog Devices Website)

Analog Devices released the ADIS16407 iSensor® IMU (inertial measurement unit) which integrates a tri-axis gyroscope, tri-axis accelerometer, tri-axis magnetometer and a pressure sensor into a single package. Each sensor in the ADIS16407 combines ADI’s industry-leading iMEMS® technology and signal conditioning expertise to optimize the IMU’s 10- DoF (degrees-of-freedom) dynamic performance. Every IMU is factory calibrated for sensitivity, bias, alignment, and temperature. As a result, each sensor has its own dynamic compensation formulas, maximizing accuracy of sensor measurements.

“Emergency first responders, unmanned vehicles, and precision autonomous instruments often require the merging of multiple sensors to accurately track location in office buildings, warehouses, tunnels, caves, mines, ‘urban canyons’ and other GPS-denied environments,” said Bob Scannell, iSensor business development manager, MEMS/Sensors Technology Group, Analog Devices. “All existing 10-DoF IMUs for these applications are significantly larger, with less factory calibration, and do not adequately address the price-performance requirements. The ADIS16407 combines all of these sensors in a single package, fully integrated and calibrated at the factory, at a low system price.”
ADIS16407 Inertial Measurement Unit Key Features

• High performance triaxial, digital iMEMS gyroscope with digital range scaling: ±75°/sec, ±150°/sec, ±300°/sec settings
• High performance triaxial, digital ±18 g iMEMS accelerometer
• Triaxial ±2.5 gauss digital magnetometer
• Digital pressure sensor rated at 10 mbar to 1200 mbar
• All sensors aligned and calibrated at the factory

Sample Availability: Now
Full Production : Now
Price per 1 k Units : $444.00
Package(MSPS): 23 mm × 23 mm × 23 mm module