STMicroelectronics has introduced new mannequin vary within the STM32 microcontroller household, the STM32U5 — providing acceleration for vector graphics and “huge” static RAM (SRAM) to retailer them with out the necessity for exterior reminiscence chips.
The STM32U5 chips, STMicro explains, are constructed with graphics firmly in thoughts, standing out from different STM32 fashions by way of the inclusion of a beneficiant 3MB of SRAM and 4MB of flash storage on-chip and an STMicro NeoChromVG graphics accelerator alongside an Arm Cortex-M33 core. “These are the primary STM32 MCUs with hardware-accelerated vector operations,” the corporate explains, “helpful for rendering SVGs [Scalable Vector Graphics] and vector fonts.”
That alone would make them well-suited for human-machine interface (HMI) initiatives, however the brand new components include one other trick up their sleeve: a {hardware} JPEG decoder with help for movement JPEG (MJPEG). Utilizing this, the corporate explains, it is potential to show animated logos, zoomable maps, and even play again video with out bogging down the microcontroller — and with out having to make the transfer to a higher-power and extra expensive microprocessor.
Whereas the components are solely now develop into usually accessible, chosen STMicro companions have already begun constructing round them — together with Riverdi. “By combining premium graphics capabilities with single-chip economies, the most recent STM32 MCUs have enabled us to market a 5-inch show module with a horny worth, presenting an expert all-in-one show answer for product producers to construct great-looking customized consumer interfaces for their very own designs,” Riverdi’s Kamil Kozłowski claims.
The brand new components sit on the high of the corporate’s graphics-capable vary, providing extra reminiscence and new {hardware} accelerators. (📷: STMicro)
To show the components’ capabilities, STMicro has introduced a “Discovery Package” which doubles as a reference design: the STM32U5G9J-DK2 Discovery Package, constructed round a four-layer PCB and that includes a 5″ 800×480 coloration TFT 24-bit RGB-connected capacitive touchscreen show. The design additionally consists of an built-in STLINK-V3EC in-circuit debugger, for ease of software program improvement.
In keeping with STMicro’s testing, the STM32U5 chips can run at as much as 160MHz at 16µA per megahertz, and have a 200nA standby mode for maximizing battery life. At full tilt, the components ship benchmark outcomes of 240 Dhrystone MIPS and 464 within the ULPMark-CoreProfile.
Extra data on the STM32U5 household is on the market on the STMicro web site, with components showing in-channel now beginning at $8.58 in 10,000-unit tray portions; the STM32U5G9J-DK2 Discovery Package, in the meantime, is priced at $89.
