Microcontroller development kits offer a fast-track route for engineers to evaluate and prototype new embedded system designs. With today's time-to-market pressures, it is crucial for engineering teams to speed up the architectural selection and initial design phases to keep projects on schedule. By using development kits, the relevant software libraries and code examples, engineers can rapidly assess device capabilities and demonstrate initial product features and functions.
New development kit product highlights available from Mouser include the following:
The WBZ451 curiosity board from Microchip Technology provides an effective prototyping platform for Microchip's WBZ451PE combined Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Zigbee 2.4 GHz RF module. The board is powered from either a USB or Li-Po battery source and features a user LED, a user-configurable switch, and an RGB LED connected to a PWM output.
This well-equipped board integrates several other Microchip ICs, including the MCP73871 Li-ion/Li-Po battery charger, an MCP9700A low-power temperature sensor and an SST26VF064B 64-Mbit external QSPi flash memory. The onboard programmer utilises a Microchip SAME70 microcontroller, and additional sensors or peripheral ICs may be accommodated using the board's mikroBUS socket.
For prototyping LoRa LPWAN designs, the XCVR SX126x development board and reference design from Connected Development offers a cost-effective, proven, and pre-tested development platform for evaluating the Semtech SX126x sub-Ghz 915 MHz transceiver.
Accommodating a wide variety of IoT use cases, from smart meters to agricultural sensors, LoRa offers an exceptional link budget of 170 dB and programmable data rates from 62.5 kbps up to 300 kbps.
The transceiver offers receive sensitivity down to -148 dBm and a switchable TX power of +15 dBm or +22 dBm. To ease prototyping, the XCVR SX126x is packaged in an Arduino Uno shield form factor. Software support includes using Nordic Semiconductor devices (Zephyr and MBED) and the BG21 series of BLE SoCs from Silicon Labs.
Security has become a vital aspect of any IoT application, and the OPTIGA Trust M IoT security development kit from Infineon Technologies provides embedded developers with the capability to evaluate and prototype end-to-end security for IoT-based use cases.
Comprising the Infineon OPTIGA Trust M security IC, an Infineon PSoC 62 Arm Cortex-M4/M0+ microcontroller and an Infineon ARICOC CYW43012 low-power Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 wireless transceiver, the board is supplied with two ready-to-use IoT security examples.
Other use cases such as IP protection, crypto offloading, and secured firmware updates can also be prototyped. Application examples include smart door locks, smart lighting, and industrial automation.
With the MCSPTE1AK344 motor control development kit from NXP Semiconductors, available to order from Mouser, automotive engineers can design a range of brushless direct current (BLDC) and 3-phase permanent magnet synchronous (PMSM) motor control applications. Based on the 32-bit Arm Cortex-M7 S32K3 microcontroller series and a functional safety FS26 system basis IC, designs compliant with ISO 26262 ASIL D can be developed, such as active suspension, electric power train, eTurbo, and HVAC pumps. The kit includes a low voltage 3-phase permanent magnet motor, current and position sensors.
