Introducing the next-generation of 8-bit megaAVR MCUs

Since its initial launch in 2002, megaAVR microcontrollers (MCUs) have become the go-to choice of Makers everywhere. Ranging from the uber-popular ATmega328 to ATmega32U4, the chips can be found at the heart of millions of gadgets and gizmos, including an entire lineup of Arduino boards, 3D printers like RepRap and MakerBot, and innovative DIY platforms such as littleBits, Bare Conductive and MaKey MaKey. Heck, they’ve even captured the hearts of celebrity creator Sir Mix-A-Lot!

Designed for engineers of all levels from the professional developers to the Maker community, the 8-bit megaAVR MCUs are ideal for applications in a variety of markets — automotive, industrial, consumer and white goods.

Today, we are excited to announce the next generation of this incredibly-popular family, with the debut of new 8-bit megaAVR MCUs. Spanning from 4KB to 16KB Flash memory, the new devices provide next-generation enhancements including additional analog functionality and features for the latest low-power consumer, industrial, white goods and Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

This expansion of megaAVR family will deliver all the benefits of previous generations including a simple, easy-to-use interface for a seamless upgrade and binary compatibility with existing 8-bit megaAVR MCUs.

“With over 20 years of MCU experience, we are proud to launch our third generation of 8-bit megaAVR MCUs to the market today—a family that has been highly recognized by a variety of communities from the professional designers using our Atmel Studio ecosystem to the hobbyist and Maker in the AVR Freaks and Arduino communities,” explained Oyvind Strom, Atmel Senior Marketing Director. “As the leader in the 8-bit MCU market, Atmel continues to add easy-to-use, innovative products to our broad portfolio of MCUs.”

Key features of megaAVR MCUs include:

• Simple, easy-to-use
• Low power
• Wide selection of development tools including free Atmel Studio IDE
• Extensive set of peripherals, including ADC, Analog Comparator, SPI, I2C and USART
• Single-cycle instructions running 1MIPS per MHz
• Designed for high-level languages with minimal code space
• Real-time performance with single cycle I/O access

Among a number of other new attributes:

• Unique ID for every device enabling a more secure device for IoT applications and wireless networks
• Improved accuracy of internal oscillators for UART serial communications
• Enhanced accuracy of internal voltage reference for better analog-to-digital conversion results

Makers seeking to accelerate their design are encouraged to check out our ultra-low cost Xplained Mini development platform, which is currently available for only $8.88 USD (see what we did there?) in the Atmel Store and fully compatible with 8-bit megaAVR MCUs. The new boards can easily be connected to any Arduino board making it ideal for a variety of projects and prototypes using an Arduino board.

The megaAVR 8-bit MCUs are fully supported by Atmel’s development eco-system including Atmel Studio 6.2, the integrated development environment (IDE) for developing and debugging Atmel | SMART Cortex-M and Atmel AVR MCU-based applications. Atmel Studio 6.2 gives designers a seamless and easy-to-use environment to write, build, simulate, program and debug their applications to write, build, simulate, program and debug your applications written in C/C++ or assembly code using the integrated GCC compiler and AVR assembler. With Atmel’s broad portfolio of AVR products and easy-to-use development software, designers can quickly bring their 8-bit MCU to market. Additionally, designers have access to the company’s embedded software including the Atmel Software Framework and application notes, and the Atmel Gallery app store.

Currently on display at Electronica 2014, the Atmel mega168PB, mega88PB and mega48PB are now available in 32-pin QFN and QFP packages with additional devices slated for later this year. All devices are sampling now. Production quantities for the mega168PB devices are available now while the mega88PB and ATmega48PB devices will be available in February 2015.

Want to explore the AVR microcontrollers a bit further? Head on over to the official page. Those wishing to learn more about the backstory and inspiration of the Maker Movement’s favorite 8-bit MCU can do so from the co-inventor himself here.

Atmel expands QTouch Safety Platform for home appliance user interfaces

Just in time for Electronica 2014, we’re excited to announce our new QTouch Safety Platform for capacitive touch-enabled user interfaces in the home appliance market. Not only does the new platform add mandatory safety, it also supports Atmel | SMART ARM Cortex-M0+ based MCUs for safety critical home electronics applications.

The most recent QTouch capacitive touch platform is based on the Atmel | SMART SAM D20 integrating an on-chip peripheral touch controller (PTC) to deliver excellent EMC robustness, short response times and combines self- and mutual capacitance sensors for up to 256 channels. Today, the QTouch platform is already widely adopted by some of the world’s leading manufacturers.

When it comes to next-gen home appliances, designers are not only facing stringent certification requirements for safety and EMC robustness, but are seeking a platform that supports all the applicable safety standards required to pass end product qualification with minimal design time. Fortunately, Atmel’s QTouch Safety Platform is pre-qualified for the VDE/UL 60730 Class B and UL 1998 certifications, reducing a designer’s overall development time by as much as 12 months.

What this means is that household appliance designers can now harness their energy on more innovative, easy-to-use interfaces that support capacitive touch buttons, sliders and wheels on an Atmel | SMART ARM Cortex M0+-based MCU, rather than focusing on safety certification features. The SAM D20 ARM-based Cortex M0+-based MCU is the first device to support the QTouch safety library, with support for future home appliance devices to be added as they become available.

In the meantime, designers can go ahead and download the QTouch Safety Library Firmware, FMEA library and QTouch Composer Development Software on an Atmel ARM Cortex M0+-based MCU. The QTouch Safety Library ensures excellent noise tolerance through dynamic hardware and firmware noise filtering through the IEC 61000-4-6 10V conducted immunity with minimal design effort. Additionally, QTouch Safety Platform provides FMEA support and moisture tolerance.

“With the increased regulations in Europe and the US for safer home appliance products, designers are looking for pre-qualified solutions that accelerate this part of the development cycle,” said Geir Kjosavik, Atmel Director of QTouch Product Marketing. “Atmel’s latest QTouch Safety Platform gives designers the pre-qualified features for their home appliances while enabling them to differentiate their products with capacitive touch interfaces in the form of buttons, wheels or sliders. We are excited to help bring more safety critical home appliances to market and are continuing to broaden our portfolio of devices to support the home appliance market.”

To help accelerate a designer’s development, the QTouch Safety Platform offers easy-to-use software and hardware tools, each of which are available free of charge in the Atmel Gallery. Wait, there’s more good news! The SAM D20 — offered in 16KB to 256KB of Flash in 32-, 48- and 64-pin packages — is now shipping in volume.

Furthermore, the SAM D20 QTouch robustness demo — which provides an evaluation and demo highlighting the superior performance Atmel’s QTouch Safety Platform — is available in the Atmel Store for USD $149. The kit comes pre-loaded with a pre-qualified 60730 Class B software that can be easily re-programmed and debugged using the embedded debugger, not to mention passes all standard home appliance EMC tests.

In addition to the SAM D20 QTouch robustness demo, the QTouch Safety Platform can be explored using the Xplained Pro evaluation platform. The SAM D20 Xplained Pro evaluation board is available for USD $39, while the QT1 Xplained Pro adding QTouch support is available for USD $25. Both of these kits are also available in the Atmel Store.

Heading to Munich for Electronica 2014? Stop by Atmel booth — located in Hall A5, #542 — to discover how we’re bringing more intelligent, connected devices together. In the Atmel SMART HOME ZONE, you will have the chance to experience a live demonstration of the QTouch Safety Library with SAM D20, displaying the superior capacitive touch performance of the peripheral touch controller while achieving best-in-class noise immunity and moisture tolerance required in home appliances.

Introducing Atmel’s new LIN family for in-vehicle networking

LIN (Local Interconnect Network) is a serial network protocol used for communication between various automobile components to enable comfort, power-train, infotainment sensor, and actuator applications. The LIN Consortium was founded by five automakers (BMW, Volkswagen Audi Group, Volvo Cars, DaimlerChrysler) in the late 1990s, with the first fully-implemented version of the new LIN specification (1.3) published in November 2002. Version 2.0 was later introduced in September 2003, offering expanded capabilities and support for additional diagnostics features.

Fast forward 11 years later, Atmel is excited to announce its next-generation family of LIN transceivers, system basis chips (SBC) and voltage regulators for a wide-range of vehicle applications. The new family is the industry’s first to comply with the new original equipment manufacturer (OEM) hardware recommendations and provide scalable functionality to improve the overall system cost.

“As the leading provider of automotive LIN ICs, Atmel is committed to bringing more innovative LIN products to the market,” said Claus Mochel, Atmel Marketing Director for Automotive High Voltage Products.

All the new devices in this new family feature an LDO with outstanding minimum supply voltage of 2.3V combined with linear mode current of 130uA to support data storage even during an unexpected shut down. This new family is compliant with the latest standards including LIN 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.2A and SAEJ2602-2. Some members of the family also include application specific functions such as relay drivers, watchdog, high-side switches and wake up inputs to enable system designers to build innovative in-vehicle network applications in next-generation automobiles.

The devices are available in DFN packages with heat-slug and wet-able flanks to support optical solder inspection. These next-generation devices also provide a family package footprint so that designers can upgrade their designs with various devices within the LIN SBC family.

“Our expanded LIN portfolio includes pin-outs that are the first to support the new OEM hardware recommendations enabling system designers to develop differentiated LIN systems in next-generation vehicles. Atmel’s LIN family footprint makes it easier to migrate upwards and devices in the family offer application-specific functionality for various LIN-connected applications such as window lifters, sun-roofs, trunk opener or seat controls,” Mochel added.

Key features of the ATA6632/33/34 include:

• +3.3V/5V/85mA LDO suitable for usage with low-cost multi layer ceramic capacitors
• 2.3V lowest operating voltage
• Very low current consumption in linear mode
• Sleep current; Normal mode current
• DFN 8 (3x3mm) and DFN16 (3*5.5mm), wet-able flanks included, allowing automatic optical inspection of the solder joint

In order to accelerate the design development, an evaluation kit is also available to support the new LIN devices. The ATAB663xxxA development kit allows designers to quickly start designing with Atmel’s LIN family. The kit is easy-to-use with a pre-defined set-up. All pins are easily accessible for quick testing. The kits allow designers to select master or slave operation with a mounting option for LIN pull-up resistor and series diode.

Those interested will be happy to learn that samples for all family members are now available. You can find more detailed information — including datasheets and request forms — here.

Heading to Munich next week for Electronica 2014? Cruise on over to the Atmel booth — located in Hall A5, #542 — to discover how we’re bringing the IoT to the connected car though simple, touch-enabled human machine interfaces. There, you will find a number of automotive demos, including a door handle powered by Atmel’s fourth generation LIN device that features a curved touch-enabled glass display, providing excellent multi-touch performance for future automotive applications, and utilizing Atmel’s XSense and the maXTouch 2952T.

 

Atmel launches new CAN transceiver family

We are excited to announce the launch of a new family of control area network (CAN) transceivers to meet the growing demands of the automotive and industrial markets. Supporting the new CAN FD (flexible data rate) standard with data rates up to 5Mbits/s, our new ATA6560 and ATA6561 provide an interface between a CAN protocol controller and the physical two-wire CAN bus.

Compliant with ISO11898-2, ISO11898-5 and SAEJ2284, the new CAN transceiver family offers high electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and electrostatic discharge (ESD) performance. Both the ATA6560 and ATA6561 devices deliver ideal passive behavior to the CAN bus when the supply voltage is off, while the ATA6561 offers a direct interface to MCUs with 3V to 5V supply voltages.

Various operating modes together with the dedicated fail-safe features make the ATA6560/ATA6561 an excellent choice for all types of high-speed CAN networks, especially in CAN nodes requiring a low-power mode with wake-up capability via the CAN bus. Atmel’s new low-power CAN transceivers are developed on an advanced process technology that allows further integration of analog and complex digital functionality. The devices are available in SO8 and DFN8 packages with wet-able flanks for automated optical solder inspection.

“Our new family of CAN transceivers enables our OEMs to bring improved connectivity with higher speed in their automobile with overall lower power,” explained Claus Mochel, Atmel Marketing Director for Automotive High Voltage Products. “We are continuing to expand our automotive product portfolio to give our customers the right mix of products to help shorten their design cycle and bring next-generation designs faster to market.”

Among the many key features of Atmel’s ATA6560/61 are:

• Data rate up to 5Mbits/s
• Fully ISO 11898-2,-5, SAE J2284 compliant
• Low EME and high EMI
• Remote wake-up capability via CAN bus
• Transmit data (TXD) dominant time-out function
• Undervoltage detection on VCC and VIO pins
• CANH/CANL short-circuit and over temperature protected
• ATA6560: Silent Mode (Receive only)
• ATA6561: Compatible to 3.3V and 5V control signals

Both the ATA6560 and ATA6561 CAN transceivers are now available in mass production in SO8 and DFN8 packaging with wet-able flanks for automated optical solder inspection. Interested? Pricing starts at $0.48 USD each in 10,000-piece quantities. You can find more detailed information — including datasheets — here.

Heading to Munich next week for Electronica 2014? Stop by Atmel booth — located in Hall A5, #542 — to discover how we’re bringing the Internet of Things to the connected car though simple, touch-enabled human machine interfaces. There, you will find both the ATA6560 and ATA6561 CAN transceivers among a number of other demos including passive entry and start, a next-generation center console and futuristic door handle.

Atmel launches G3-PLC-compliant power-line carrier solutions

During European Utility Week 2014, Atmel will be debuting a pair of new power-line communication solutions compliant with the G3-PLC specification.

The new Atmel G3-PLC products include the SAM4CP16C system-on-chip (SoC) and ATPL250A modem that are pin-compatible with PRIME-compliant members of the Atmel | SMART portfolio of energy metering solutions already in production. The SoC option is similar to the rest of the SAM4Cx products built around a dual-core 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 architecture with advanced security, metrology and wireless and power-line communications (PLC) options. This unique and highly flexible platform addresses OEM’s requirements for flexible system partitioning, lower bill of materials (BOM) and improved time-to-market.

“Utilities worldwide require OEMs to meet very high reliability standards at aggressive cost points for smart meters which embed advanced feature sets in connectivity, security and flexibility,” explained Colin Barnden Semicast Research Principal Analyst. “Additionally, smart meters to be deployed in several countries are required to be certified for compliance with the latest specifications including G3-PLC, PRIME and IEEE 802.15.4g. Atmel’s smart metering solutions now meet the required criteria for emerging standards based smart metering deployments from a reliability, performance, interoperability and cost perspective.”

These new products address the European (CENELEC), American (FCC) and Japanese (ARIB) profiles defined by the G3-PLC Alliance. Atmel is an active participant in the G3-PLC Alliance certification program and expects full CENELEC certification in November followed by FCC and ARIB band certifications in the coming months.

A distinguishing feature of the ATPL250A and SAM4CP16C is an integrated Class-D line driver, which provides outstanding signal injection efficiency and improved thermal characteristics compared to competing technologies. This will help eliminate reliability issues encountered in the field as a result of thermal overheating. Additionally, common architecture, software environment and tools ensure that our customers’ R&D investments can be shared and re-utilized over multiple projects which address various connectivity standards.

Key features of the SoC include:

• Application 
  • ARM Cortex-M4 running at up to 120 MHz,
  • Memory protection unit (MPU)
  • DSP Instruction
  • Thumb-2 instruction set
  • Instruction and data cache controller with 2 Kbytes cache memory
• Co-processor
  • ARM Cortex-M4F running at up to 120 MHz
  • IEEE 754 compliant, single precision floating-point unit (FPU)
  • DSP Instruction
  • Thumb-2 instruction set
  • Instruction and data cache controller with 2 Kbytes cache memory
• Symmetrical/Asynchronous dual core architecture
  • Interrupt-based interprocessor communication
  • Asynchronous clocking
  • One interrupt controller (NVIC) for each core
  • Each peripheral IRQ routed to each NVIC input
• Cryptography
  • High-performance AES 128 to 256 with various modes (GCM, CBC, ECB, CFB, CBC-MAC, CTR)
  • TRNG (up to 38 Mbit/s stream, with tested Diehard and FIPS)
  • Classical public key crypto accelerator and associated ROM library for RSA, ECC, DSA, ECDSA
  • Integrity Check Module (ICM) based on Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA1, SHA224, SHA256), DMA assisted
• Safety
  •  4 physical anti-tamper detection I/O with time stamping and immediate clear of general backup registers
  • Security bit for device protection from JTAG accesses
• G3 PLC embedded modem
  • Power-line carrier modem for 50 Hz and 60 Hz mains
  • Implements G3-PLC CENELEC, FCC and ARIB profiles
  • G3-PLC coherent and differential modulation schemes available
  • Automatic Gain Control and continuous amplitude tracking in signal reception
  • Class D switching power amplifier control
• Shared system controller
  • Power supply
  • Embedded core and LCD voltage regulator for single supply operation
  • Power-on-reset (POR), brownout detector (BOD) and watchdog for safe operation
  • Low-power sleep and backup modes

While notable components of the ATPL250A include:

• G3-PLC modem
  • Implements G3 CENELEC-A, FCC and ARIB profiles (ITU-T G.9903, June ´14)
  • Power-line carrier modem for 50 Hz and 60 Hz mains
  • G3-PLC coherent and differential modulation schemes available
• Automatic gain control and continuous amplitude tracking in signal reception
• 1 SPI peripheral (slave) to external MCU
• Zero cross detection
• Embedded PLC analog front end (AFE), requires only external discrete high efficient Class D line driver for signal injection
• Pin to pin compatible to ATPL30A, Atmel modem for PRIME PLC

The first batch of samples and evaluation kits will be available this month, mass production is slated for January 2015. In the meantime, those wishing to learn more about Atmel’s PLC solutions can head here.

Atmel launches new family of wireless transceivers for smart energy applications

With European Utility Week 2014 in full swing, Atmel has unveiled a new family of wireless transceivers including the AT86RF215, AT86RF215M, and AT86RF215IQ. Expanding upon the Atmel | SMART metering portfolio, the new solutions address the industry’s low-cost, multi-protocol connectivity requirements for smart metering, smart lighting, home energy gateways and other industrial and automation equipment.

The first sampling device, AT86RF215, is the industry’s first dual-band sub-1GHz / 2.4GHz transceiver compliant to IEEE 802.15.4g-2012 and ETSI TS 102 887-1. Additionally, AT86RF215M is asingle band sub-1GHz transceiver, while the AT86RF215IQ is a dual-band I/Q radio. All three deliver an output power of up to 14dBm. With receiver sensitivities down to -123dBm, an outstanding link budget of 137dB can be achieved.

The AT86RF215 offers superior flexibility by supporting a variety of data rates with three modulation schemes: multi-rate and multi-regional frequency shift keying (MR-FSK), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MR-OFDM), as well as offset quadrature phase-shift keying (MR-O-QPSK). This entails the physical layer used for ZigBee PRO and ZigBee IP. Simultaneous operation at sub-1GHz and 2.4GHz enables new capabilities and the right cost structure in smart metering, smart lighting, home energy gateways and other industrial and automation equipment.

Some of the family’s key features include:

• Fully integrated radio transceiver covering 389.5-510 MHz, 779-1020 MHz, and 2400-2483.5 MHz
  • European bands at 863-870 MHz, 870-876 MHz, and 915-921 MHz
  • Chinese bands at 470-510 MHz and 779-787 MHz
  • North American band at 902-928 MHz
  • Korean band at 917-923.5 MHz
  • Japanese band at 920-928 MHz
  • Worldwide ISM band at 2400-2483.5 MHz
• Supported PHYs (IEEE 802.15.4g-2012, IEEE 802.15.4- 2011, and proprietary modes)
  • MR-FSK: 50…400 kbit/s with optional forward error correction and interleaving
  • MR-OFDM: 50…2400 kbit/s
  • MR-O-QPSK: 6.25…1000 kbit/s, 100…2000 kchip/s
  • O-QPSK: 250…1000 kbit/s, 1000 and 2000 kchip/s
• Simultaneous operation at sub-1 GHz and 2.4 GHz
• Bi-directional differential RF signal ports, one for sub-1 GHz and one for 2.4 GHz
• SPI interface to access registers and frame buffers
  • LVDS interface to access 13-bit I/Q data
  • IEEE 802.15.4 MAC support • Frame filter
  • FCS handling
  • Automatic acknowledgement
  • CCA with automatic transmit
• Industry-leading link budget
  • Programmable TX output power up to +14 dBm
  • Receiver sensitivity down to -123 dBm
• Low power supply voltage from 1.8V to 3.6V
• Low current consumption
  • 30 nA in SLEEP mode
  • 28 mA in RX mode
  • 65 mA in TX mode @ 14 dBm output power
• Industrial temperature range from -40°C to +85°C
• 48-pin low-profile lead-free plastic QFN package

“We are excited to see the widespread adoption of standards-based connectivity solutions for the utility industry worldwide,” said Kourosh Boutorabi, Atmel Senior Director of Smart Energy Products. “Expanding our portfolio of smart metering solutions to include new wireless transceivers reinforces our commitment to serve this growing market. We are continuing to deliver new platform solutions for the smart energy market, including powerline carrier connectivity and industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of metering system-on-chip solutions.”

While initial samples and evaluation kits for the AT86RF215 are available now to lead customers, mass sampling is planned for Q1 2015 and volume production for Q3 2015.

Electronica 2014 may be the ‘smartest’ show yet!

As we prepare to head off to Munich, Germany for perhaps one of the ’smartest’ shows of the year, Electronica 2014 attendees are in for a treat! Over the next couple of days, we will be unveiling a number of new solutions to further enable smart, connected and secure devices for the ever-growing Internet of Things (IoT) — ranging from consumer and industrial to automotive and Maker applications.

During the week of November 11-14, head over to Messe München where you will find a plethora of IoT solutions in the Atmel booth — located in Hall A5, Booth 542 — including:

Low-power embedded processing

• Industry’s lowest power ARM Cortex-M0+ MCU for the Internet of Things
• A new QTouch safety platform for home appliance user interfaces
• Next-generation 8-bit AVR MCUs accelerating development of low-power applications

Secure connectivity

• Industry’s first FCC-certified Wi-Fi and MCU integrated module
• Atmel’s new CAN transceiver family
• A next-generation LIN system basis chip portfolio for in-vehicle networking

Easy-to-use software and tool

• IAR Systems supports Atmel’s complete microcontroller portfolio, expanding Atmel’s IoT software and tools ecosystem
• An ultra-low cost Xplained mini development platform available for only $8.88 USD that is compatible with any Atmel 8-bit megaAVR MCUs
• Xplained Ultra evaluation kit for fast prototyping and evaluation of Atmel | SMART SAMA5D4 Cortex-A5 based MPUs
• A security module compatible with all Xplained boards that supports SHA256, AES128 and ECC256 hardware authentication for IoT nodes

Our broad portfolio of next-gen tech powering the Internet of Things will be showcased at Electronica in various pods, such as the smart home, industrial, automotive, and of course, Maker areas.

Atmel’s SMART HOME ZONE brings more intelligent, connected devices together.

• Showcasing hardware security with wireless connectivity to a variety of edge nodes applications, the well-received Atmel WINC1500 will demonstrate a video camera, temperature sensor and LED control highlighting ease-of-use connectivity to mobile handsets and cloud architecture. Strong key protection is provided by the ATEC108 Elliptic Curve security chip.
• For the intelligent home, this demonstration highlights Atmel’s popular AVR architecture using a mega168PB, AT86RF212, XMEGA128A1U and MXT143. The demo showcases an AVR with a wireless connection running on a battery with a graphical display.
• The QTouch safety robustness demonstration showcases Atmel’s SAM D20 with the company’s new QTouch safety library, displaying the superior capacitive touch performance of the peripheral touch controller while achieving best-in-class noise immunity and moisture tolerance required in home appliances. Attendees can enter to win one of the QTouch safety evaluation kits by viewing the demonstration.
• Demonstrating security for the connected world, this three-light switch demo communicates via ZigBee to a remote panel with 3 LEDs. The switches and LEDs include an Atmel ATSHA204 device with stored crypto keys. When the switch is flipped, only the LEDs with the corresponding key will light—demonstrating symmetric authentication.
• Showcasing the latest lighting solutions, the Philips Hue LED colormix bulb, the Philips Lux dimmable bulb and the Philips Tap switch highlights how users can create their own personal wireless lighting environment with the tap of a switch or through an app on the users’ mobile device.

Atmel’s INDUSTRIAL ZONE enables smart, machine-to-machine connections.

• Demonstrating a smart fridge, this home automation demonstration powered by Atmel | SMART SAMA5D4 includes a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen that includes a 720p video playback showcasing the processors performance and data processing in a secure environment.
• Powered by Atmel’s maXTouch mXT1666T2 and maXStylus, this rugged Inari10 tablet demonstrates support of a glove, moisture rejection and support for maXStylus.
• Through a Sigfox base station, this demo utilizes Atmel’s ATA8520 and ATA8510 to demonstrate the company’s IoT connectivity solution.
• Highlighting Atmel’s support of capacitive touch buttons, sliders and wheels using the company’s QTouch technologies, Atmel will showcase two QTouch demos. The first is powered by the Atmel | SMART SAM D21 MCU on an Xplained Pro board demonstrating mutual capacitance and the intelligent peripheral touch controller—all enabled by Atmel QTouch. The second demo, powered by the Atmel | SMART SAM D11 MCU, is supported by the QTouch Library enabling capacitive touch button sliders and wheels on smaller, lower cost Atmel MCUs using the Peripheral Touch Controller.

Atmel’s AUTOMOTIVE ZONE brings IoT to the connected car with simple, touch-enabled human-machine interface.

• Showcasing a smart, connected car, Atmel will be highlighting the well-received AvantCar demo, a next-generation automotive center console concept with curved touchscreens highlighting Atmel’s XSense, maXTouch, QTouch, and 8-bit AVR MCU technologies.
• Highlighting car access, this demo will enable passive entry and passive start for automobiles through capacitive touch and proximity detection technology controlled by a tablet PC using Atmel’s maXTouch technologies. This demo is powered by Atmel’s automotive devices including the ATA5791, ATA5831, ATA5702, ATA5790N, ATA5833 and Atmel | SMART SAM D21.
• Several other automotive demos are also featured in this zone, including a door handle powered by Atmel’s fourth generation LIN device that includes a curved touch-enabled glass display, providing excellent multi-touch performance for future automotive applications, and utilizing Atmel’s XSense and the maXTouch 2952T.

Atmel’s MAKER ZONE showcases IoT inventions, enabling unlimited possibilities.

• Being at the core of the Maker Movement, Atmel will be showcasing a number of Maker demonstrations including a remote-controlled Maker Robot powered by the Atmel | SMART SAM D21. “Mr. Abot” will be controlled through an Andriod app and the communications will be driven through Atmel’s recently announced new WINC1500 Wi-Fi solution.
• Atmel will also be showcasing a Skittles sorting machine for the candy lover. This Atmel | SMART powered sorter uses the SAM D21 device and will sort the Skittles into individual containers by color using an RGB light sensor.

Wait, there’s more!

In the wake of recent incidents, it is becoming increasingly clear that embedded system insecurity affects everyone and every company. On a personal level, these vulnerabilities can lead to a breach in unprivileged financial and medical data. For a company, the impact can be quite profound. Products can be cloned, software copied, systems tampered with and spied on, and many other things that can lead to revenue loss, increased liability, and diminished brand equity.

Atmel’s resident security expert Kerry Maletsky will be address these growing concerns in his session, “IoT Security Should Be Hard, By Definition.” Join Maletsky on Thursday, November 13 at 2:00pm CET in Hall A6 / A6.353 at the Embedded Forum as he explores the basics of hardened security in every designer’s IoT device.

Video: Atmel talks Makers, Arduino and IoT at ESC Brazil

This past August, Atmel had the opportunity to be an exhibiting sponsor at the Embedded System Conference in São Paulo, Brazil. Aside from showcasing our latest IoT solutions, Atmel | SMART product line and AVR microcontrollers, we were fortunate to also have time to interact with the vibrant Latin American embedded community.

Sander Arts, Atmel VP of Corporate Marketing, shared detailed insight into DIY culture, as well as the integral role Atmel plays in fueling the emerging embedded community. Additionally, Arts addressed the growth of the worldwide Maker Movement, showcasing a variety of startups (e.g. Pebble and MakerBot) who each got their start using versatile a range of Atmel 8- and 32-bit MCUs.

“There are over 217, in this particular moment, based and built around an Arduino (and AVR),” Arts revealed. “Specifically, there are over 160 AVR based projects on Kickstarter, of which 103 successful, collecting $7 million in funding.”

Arts went on to explore the newest addition to the Arduino family, the Arduino Zero — a simple, elegant and powerful 32-bit extension of the platform originally established by the popular ATmega328 based Uno.

Arts added that there are now over 1,000 Makerspaces and communities around the world, including a number of nearby Brazilian hackerspaces.

Shortly thereafter, the Atmel VP of Marketing had the chance to sit down with Garoa Hacker Clube’s Luciano Ramalho to further discuss the Maker Movement throughout the region, the company’s role in the DIY movement, embedded solutions and development environments, and of course, the budding popularity of Arduino.

During his Makers Club interview, Arts hinted at a couple of “additional developments around the Internet of Things for Makers,” which we now know was the Arduino Wi-Fi Shield 101 — a shield which enables rapid prototyping of IoT applications using the highly-popular open-source platform.

Throughout the week, there was a tremendous amount of real buzz and excitement amongst the embedded engineers, developers and hobbyists in attendance. Caminhos de Sucesso Editor Jose Antonio Purcino caught up with Atmel Senior Product Marketing Andreas Eieland and EE Times’ Max Maxfield to explore the latest hot trends and topics in embedded design, IoT and wireless.

“The Internet of Things is nothing new, as we have been connecting MCUs to sensors and analyzing the data for a long time,” Andreas Eieland, Atmel Senior Product Marketing Manager, told EE Times. “But what is new is the technology options available for engineers to develop connected systems without the high degree of complexity of the past.”

Next, the Atmel team will be heading to Electronica 2014. Here’s a quick look at the tech you can expect to see next month in Munich.

Video: Chris Anderson talks drones, Makers and the next Industrial Revolution

Earlier this month, 3D Robotics CEO Chris Anderson took center stage at ARM TechCon 2014 to share his journey from mere Maker to mass market, highlighting unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), robotics, and of course, the “Next Industrial Revolution.”

During his 40-minute keynote presentation, the former WIRED editor-in-chief shared his original “flying robot” (or, a Lego autopilot), as well as reasons for establishing a social network catered to those looking to experiment with autonomous aircraft.

“I didn’t know what the big thing was. And so, I created a website specifically to ask dumb questions in public,” Anderson explained. “Great things happens when you ask dumb questions in public. First, people answer your dumb questions, and second, it liberates people to ask their own dumb questions.”

Shortly thereafter, the DIY drone community — many of which powered by AVR MCUs — began to experience tremendous growth. For those who still need convincing that DIY drones are set to soar, Anderson revealed that DIY drone community is 60,000+ strong with over 2 million page views per month, 10,000 blog posts, and 150,000 comments per year.

“I was stunned first time I used the web. The same thing happened when I made my first drone.”

According to Anderson, 2007 was a pivotal year in taking making mainstream. This was the time when “everyone was walking up…” as hints of it were seen in WiFi controllers, Lego Mindstorms, Atmel based Arduino and RepRap printers, and other elements of the modern-day Maker Movement.

Anderson shared his thoughts at that time, “There’s something going on here. I’m not sure what it is but I got to be a part of it.”

“It later turned out what that something was was basically a convergence…. a democratization of technologies like MEMS sensors, ARM processors, etc. Suddenly things that were expensive got cheap, things that were hard got easy, things that were closed became open.”

This led to the boom of Internet of Things, wearable tech and other markets connecting once-ordinary objects to the web.

Chris even reminisced the days of 2009 with the debut of Blimpduino, a “company” he launched with his children on the weekend. Despite not actually being an operating business, BlimpDuino was a very low-cost open-source autonomous blimp consisting of an Arduino-based blimp controller board with on-board infrared and ultrasonic sensors.

From there, Anderson took the audience through his progression from prototype to mass production — with the formation of 3D Robotics and his latest ventures.

Intrigued? You can tune-in to his entire session below!

 

Ada Lovelace Day: Celebrating the world’s first computer programmer

A poet, a programmer, a pioneer. On October 14th, the STEM community comes together to celebrate the success and achievements of the world’s first computer programmer. Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace — more commonly known as “Ada Lovelace” — was born in London on December 10, 1815. From an early age, she conveyed an astonishing aptitude for mathematics and embodied a true Maker spirit, which together, led Ada to discover a multitude of computer concepts.

Unlike those before her, the Countess was a champion for Charles Babbage’s calculating machine, the Analytical Engine. Ada is commemorated for having the foresight that an instrument of this nature held such significant and scientific uses.

Mathematician Mother

Ada had an unusual upbringing for an aristocratic girl in the mid-1800s. Her mother had insisted that she be instructed by tutors on mathematics and science — such challenging subjects were not all that common for women at the time.

A Young Maker

Ada not only showed an astonishing aptitude for math and science from a young age, but possessed an innovation streak as well. In fact, she designed her very own flying machine before the age of 13. This inventive spark was noted by her tutors, who predicted that she would become “an original mathematical investigator, perhaps of first-rate eminence.”

A Teen Analytical Machine

At age 17, Ada was introduced to Charles Babbage at a dinner hosted by friend Mary Somerville. Upon learning of Babbage’s prototype for his Difference Engine, her interest was thoroughly piqued. In 1841, Babbage published his findings in Turin, Italy (the home of the Arduino and its recently-announced open apartment!). During a nine-month period of 1842-43, Ada translated the Italian article and sent Babbage the translated report on his newest proposed machine with her own notes — which came out to be three times the length of the original piece.

A Big Idea 

Long before the days of the ZX Spectrum, Apple I and Atari 2600… there was the 19th century. While computers may have existed as a concept in the mid-1800s, it had yet to come to fruition and materialize into something tangible. One of the first revolutionary ideas for “the computer” was the Analytical Engine, a proposal for a clockwork counting machine conceived by Babbage himself. Ada is credited with a vision on extending the capabilities of these sort of machines to go well beyond mere calculation; in order to facilitate this, she developed an algorithm for Babbage’s engine that would calculate a sequence of rational numbers.

In Ada’s own words, “The purpose which that engine has been specially intended and adapted to fulfil, is the computation of nautical and astronomical tables… The Analytical Engine, on the contrary, can either add, subtract, multiply or divide with equal facility; and performs each of these four operations in a direct manner, without the aid of any of the other three.”

The Analytical Machine was also able to automatically use results of previous calculations in future calculations. This and a number of other components made this machine surprisingly similar in architecture to how modern day computers work.

Ahead of Her Time

Like many inventors, Ada was not recognized as a true visionary during her lifetime, as it would take many years until her ideas would influence the world. Her notes were reintroduced to the world by B.Y. Bowden, who republished them in Faster Than Thought: A Symposium on Digital Computing Machines in 1953. Since then, Ada has received many posthumous honors for her incredible work.

In 1980, the U.S. Department of Defense named the computer language “Ada” after Lovelace herself. (Fun fact: The military standard for the language, “MIL-STD-1815″ was given the number of the year of her birth.) Then, there is The Ada Initiative — a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women in the tech industry to increase their involvement in the free culture and open source movement.

Today, we continue to see Ada’s influence on the ever-growing Maker Movement. Did you know Limor Fried of Adafruit Industries’ moniker ladyada was created to pay homage to Lady Ada Lovelace?

The Future

Ada Lovelace Day is all about shining the spotlight on the Maker’s achievement and inspiring more women into careers in the technology sector, as well as pursuit of STEM-related degrees.

From IBM President Ginni Rometty and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer to Oracle CEO Safra Catz and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, her influence continues to spawn a whole new generation of female tech leaders. Not to mention, a number leading lays are helping steward the DIY community, including Ayah Bdhei and Limor Fried — both of whom were recently named by Glamour Magazine to the “35 Women Under 35 Who Are Changing the Tech Industry” list.

Much like a modern-day Maker, Ada saw technology through the lens of humanities and culture, once writing, “We may say most aptly, that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”