With its new STM32 Open Development Environment, STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, has created an even more efficient development path for innovative products by combining the popular STM32 microcontroller family with other leading-edge ST components that provide key functions needed for Internet of Things and other applications.
The new STM32 Open Development Environment is designed to be flexible, easy to use and affordable. Customers start by choosing the target STM32 Nucleo development board, and selecting from the growing range of plug-in, stackable STM32 Nucleo expansion boards to add sense, control, connectivity, power, audio or other functions as needed. This creates a hardware platform for fast prototyping using components that can quickly be transformed into final designs.
The free STM32Cube tools and software can work within popular development environments, including IAR EWARM, Keil MDK-ARM, GCC-based IDEs, or online mbed(TM)1, and they enable configuration of the STM32 Nucleo development board, as well as the downloading of additional software, to create and run the targeted functionality on the selected expansion boards.
"ST has a vast range of state-of-the-art components that provide vital functionality for embedded systems, and our new STM32 Open Development Environment now modularizes access to these components to support innovation and rapid prototyping," said Paul Grimme, Executive Vice President, Mass Market and Online Marketing Programs, STMicroelectronics. "Customers also benefit from the broad choice of more than 500 STM32 microcontrollers supported by STM32 Nucleo developer boards, as well as user-friendly, open-source software licenses, and can work within their preferred IDE for complete confidence and familiarity."
The STM32 family spans the ultra-low-power STM32 L0 series to the very high performance STM32 F7 series. To date, ST has released nine STM32 Nucleo development boards supporting STM32 F0, F1, F3, and F4 microcontrollers, including ultra-low-power STM32 L0 and L1 devices. The boards have ST Morpho and Arduino(TM)-compatible headers on-board to provide even greater expansion opportunities.
Currently available expansion boards from ST deliver motion and environmental sensing, Bluetooth® Smart, motor control, and Near-Field Communications (NFC) functions. Battery management, Wi-Fi, sub-GHz radio, light/proximity-sensing, and audio expansion boards are planned for late-2014 introduction. STM32Cube expansion software is provided free of charge for every STM32 Nucleo expansion board, and is compatible with the STM32Cube software framework. Developers can also take advantage of third-party expansion boards that are compatible with the STM32 Nucleo development boards.
The STM32Cube platform comprises the STM32CubeMX graphical configurator and initialization C-code generator, and a set of rich embedded-software components including a Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) and middleware applicable to the target microcontroller. This provides access to all the generic software components needed for application development in a convenient package that saves assessing interdependencies between software from different sources.
The STM32CubeMX tools and embedded software libraries can be downloaded from www.st.com/stm32cube. STM32 Nucleo development and expansion boards are in production now, priced from $10.32. For further information please visit www.st.com/STM32ODE.
1 A collaborative industry project, ARM mbed(TM) delivers free tools and fundamental open-source hardware and software building blocks for the rapid development of innovative ARM-based devices.
Source: http://www.st.com