Demonstrator board empowers embedded software evaluation

SEGGER’s embOS real-time operating system is at the heart of the evaluation. Furthermore, evaluation versions of the file system emFile, graphics library emWin, emUSB Host & Device, and TCP/IP stack embOS/IP (including web server demo) enable full use of the available emPower peripherals.

“We have seen increasing demand from customers for hardware which permits them to explore our software’s full potential”, says Alex Gruener, Chief Technology Officer, SEGGER. “With emPower, we now have a powerful platform to demonstrate the broad range of our products.”

emPower also features a J-Link OB, an on-board version of SEGGER’s market-leading debug probe J-Link, which includes drag & drop programming and COM-Port support. There are three expansion interfaces to easily connect additional modules. Each connector provides I2C, SPI, UART, GPIO/timer, analog input and power. A display adapter connector enables the connection of small TFT displays.

The emPower board is based on a Freescale Kinetis K66 MCU with 256KB SRAM and 2MB flash memory. This MCU is built on the ARM Cortex-M4F core and is optimised for applications requiring large memory densities and low-power processing efficiency.

“We are pleased to be a part of this new development platform with our Kinetis K66 MCU and see the integration of SEGGER tools as a great step forward in seamless prototyping,” says Michael Norman, Microcontroller Software and Tools Technical Marketing Manager, Freescale.

Non-volatile storage capability of the board is provided by means of a 1Gbit SLC NAND Flash from Macronix, a leading integrated device manufacturer in the non-volatile memory (NVM) market. The NAND flash has a built-in ECC controller in order to be ECC-free to the MCU.

“We are delighted to be part of such a high-grade project. With SEGGER and us both putting an emphasis on top-quality products, I think we are a perfect match,” says Nicolas Dennilauler, European Marketing Manager at Macronix.