New BB5 family provides more development
choices for simple applications.
AUSTIN,
Texas, Nov. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Silicon Labs
(NASDAQ: SLAB), a leader in secure, intelligent wireless technology
for a more connected world, today announced the expansion of their
microcontroller unit (MCU) development platform with a new family
of 8-bit MCUs optimized for price and performance.
These new MCUs join the PG2x family of 32-bit MCUs in sharing a
single development platform, Silicon Labs Simplicity Studio, which
is inclusive of all tools that are required like compilers,
integrated development environments, and configurators.
"In today's world, with an ever-expanding list of IoT devices,
MCUs play a critical role in embedded computing," said Dhiraj Sogani, Senior Director of Wireless
Product Marketing for Silicon Labs. "The new BB5 family of MCUs
expands our portfolio to now offer the broadest range of MCU
options on the market today."
Cost-Optimized BB5 8-bit MCUs Reduce Complexity in Embedded
Devices
As the applications for embedded computing continue
to expand, developers need to be able to select the right hardware
for the job. While 32-bit MCUs are ideal for more complex and
compute-intensive tasks like machine learning inference or word
recognition, there are much simpler tasks that don't require the
added power, and cost, of a 32-bit MCU. What has been challenging
for developers, however, is that most 8-bit and 32-bit MCUs use
different development tools, making it difficult to develop for
both, so developers will often absorb the extra development costs
despite not needing the greater compute.
That's why Silicon Labs designed its 8-bit and 32-bit MCU
offerings to both leverage Silicon Labs Simplicity Studio. This
development platform, also shared by Silicon Labs wireless enabled
SoCs, drastically simplifies and accelerates the ability of device
manufacturers to bring a broad range of devices to market. This
eliminates the need for developers to learn two sets of tools and
enables them to cost-optimize their devices by selecting the part
that best fits the application's need.
Simplicity Studio is also the development platform for Silicon
Labs' portfolio of wireless SoCs, allowing developers to develop
once and deploy in multiple product variations regardless of
whether some are connected and some are not. For example, many
consumer products like electric toothbrushes now come in connected
and non-connected versions. The connected versions are ideal for
consumers who wish to track their brushing habits, while the
non-connected versions are for those who simply want to brush. For
developers, this means they can develop once and deploy twice – or
more – for connected and non-connected products.
Silicon Labs' BB5 family includes the most performant 8-bit
MCUs on the market
The new BB5 family includes the most
powerful 8-bit MCUs on the market, as the 50 MHz core frequency in
the BB5 family generates 36% more compute power than any other
general 8-bit MCU. Ideal for battery-powered applications like
power tools, handheld kitchen tools like immersion blenders, and
even children's toys, the BB5 family supports a wide range of
voltage options, from 1.7 to 5.5 volts, allowing them to last for
years in the field on a coin-cell battery. They also come in a
variety of packing sizes, from 2 mm x 2 mm for the BB50 MCU, while
the BB51 and BB52 MCUs are 3 mm x 3 mm offering additional GPIOs
and increased analog functionality. For certain applications, the
8-bit BB52 even offers greater price-performance than competitive
32-bit MCUs.
Learn more about Silicon Labs MCU Offerings and
Platform
The new BB5 family is now generally available from
Silicon Labs and distribution partners. If you are interested in
getting started on a new MCU project with Silicon Labs, please
visit:
- The updated Silicon Labs MCU product page
- The new BB5 8-bit MCU family page
- Register for the special MCU Tech Talk
- Read our blog for how Silicon Labs 8-bit and 32-bit MCUs work
together
- Learn more about the pervasiveness of 8-bit MCUs
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SOURCE Silicon Labs