Freescale Kinetis Microcontrollers Now Included In mbed Tool For Rapid Prototyping

The FRDM-KL25Z Freescale Freedom development platform is a low-cost hardware tool used to evaluate and develop with Kinetis L series MCUs, the industry’s first microcontrollers built on the ARM Cortex-M0+ core. FRDM-KL25Z is ideal for rapid prototyping of MCU-based applications and has proven to be an effective solution for developers, with more than 10,000 users adopting the platform within one month of its release.

With the addition of FRDM-KL25Z to the mbed hardware lineup, FRDM-KL25Z customers can now utilize mbed.org at no charge. Users will have full access to the mbed online environment, which includes a software development kit, powerful online tools, an active community of developers and a large selection of reusable code. The mbed online compiler provides a quick and easy way to get started and experiment with the FRDM-KL25Z without having to download, install and license any tools. The mbed.org user forums provide an interactive community of professional developers working with a common mbed SDK and tools, sharing best practices and helping designers be more productive.

“The mbed online tool has been widely adopted by developers as the rapid prototyping environment of choice for ARM Powered microcontrollers,” said Geoff Lees, senior vice president and general manager of Freescale’s Microcontroller business. “The easy-to-use and broadly available Freescale Freedom KL25Z hardware is now available for mbed enabled rapid prototyping with award-winning Kinetis L series MCUs – just one more way Freescale is making it easier for designers at all levels to develop with Kinetis MCUs while meeting their increasingly stringent time-to-market requirements.”

“We are pleased to add Freescale as an mbed partner and hardware provider,” said John Cornish, executive vice president and general manager, System Design Division, ARM. “Since its launch, mbed has enabled thousands of engineers to kick-start a huge range of development projects – from smart sensors to motor controllers. The introduction of the FRDM-KL25Z hardware to the online mbed tool enables developers to prototype with Kinetis L series MCUs in minutes, backed by the support and resources shared across the extensive mbed community.”

The FRDM-KL25Z Freescale Freedom development platform can be used to evaluate Kinetis L series KL1 and KL2 devices. It features the KL25Z128VLK, a KL2 family device boasting a max operating frequency of 48 MHz, 128 KB of flash, a full-speed USB controller and a variety of analog and digital peripherals. The FRDM-KL25Z hardware is form-factor compatible with the Arduino R3 pin layout, providing hundreds of expansion board options. The onboard interfaces include an RGB LED, a 3-axis digital accelerometer and a capacitive touch slider.

Availability

The mbed enabled FRDM-KL25Z Freescale Freedom development platform is available for purchase from Freescale distribution partners for a suggested resale price of $12.95 (USD).