New Industry Products

32-Bit MCUs Target the Next Wave of IoT Applications

June 08, 2014 by Jeff Shepard

Atmel Corporation today announced the company has launched Atmel® | SMART™, the new brand of ARM®-based microcontrollers and has expanded its SMART portfolio with new SmartConnect SAM W23 modules, enabling Wi-Fi connectivity and the best of high performance and low power technology for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Atmel® | SMART™ ARM-based microcontrollers deliver the platform for intelligent, connected devices in the era of IoT, wireless and energy efficiency. These solutions include embedded processing and connectivity-as well as software and tools, designed to make development faster and more cost-effective to bring the best-in-class products to market. Atmel® | SMART™ MCUs combine 32-bit ARM cores with low-power technology and intelligent peripherals.

"Through the convergence of Atmel's ultra-low power MCUs and Wi-Fi solutions, Atmel continues to benefit through the vast range of products developed such as SmartConnect," said Reza Kazerounian, senior vice president and general manager, microcontroller business unit at Atmel. "Encompassing our unique combination of high performance, power efficiency and design flexibility, Atmel® | SMART™ is a true testament to Atmel's commitment to innovation and is poised to deliver breakthrough technologies and key ingredients powering The Internet of Things."

As part of the Atmel® | SMART™ product offering, the SAM W23 module offers the ideal solution for designers seeking to integrate Wi-Fi connectivity even with limited experience with IEEE802.11, RTOS, IP Stack or RF. These modules are based on Atmel's industry leading ultra-low-power Wi-Fi SoC (System on Chip) combined with Atmel's ARM® Cortex®M0+ based microcontroller technology. This turnkey system provides an integrated software solution with application and security protocols such as TLS, integrated network services (TCP/IP stack) and a standard Real Time Operating System (RTOS) which are all available through a simple serial host interface (SPI, UART) within Atmel Studio 6's integrated development platform (IDP).

"With the increasing demand for extended battery life and greater connectivity, the SAM W23 eliminates the complexities associated with using traditional Wi-Fi solutions with an ease of use ideal for a vast range of industrial and consumer markets," said Kaivan Karimi, vice president and general manager of the wireless microcontroller business unit at Atmel. "Whether you are a OEM, a developer or a maker, the SAM W23 paired with our broad portfolio of MCUs enables you to accelerate your development of IoT products, providing increased seamless connectivity with a whole new world of device use cases."

To help accelerate a designer's development, the SAM W23, mounted on an XPRO wing, and compatible with any existing Atmel Xplained PRO evaluation board, is available now. The SmartConnect library is a turnkey Software Framework available in Atmel Studio that removes the need to understand the Wi-Fi stack, allowing designers to focus on adding functions.

The SAM W23 is available both as a fully certified module, as well as a reference design kit for OEMS to build modules based on the SAM W23 chipset. Developers can use the SAM W23 platform as a standalone system or as an add-on solution to enable Wi-Fi connectivity in an existing design.