Actions
Engagement
  • Author Author: rscasny
  • Date Created: Date Created
  • Last Updated Last Updated:
  • Views 2782 views
  • Likes 2 likes
  • Comments 19 comments
Related
Recommended

Poll: Are You Interested in Roadtesting the Microchip AVR128DA48 Curiosity Nano Evaluation Kit

Hi all! I just heard from Microchip that it is interested in roadtesting its AVR128DA48 Curiosity Nano Evaluation Kit.

 

With full program and debug capabilities, the AVR128DA48 Curiosity Nano Evaluation Kit offers complete support for your next design. Use either Atmel Studio 7 or MPLAB X IDEs as a magnifying glass to look into your MCU and step through the debug. Free, easy-to-use graphical programming tools, Atmel START and MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC), allow you to intuitively program the target MCU. The kit includes the AVR128DA48 Curiosity Nano evaluation board and Two 100mil, 1x28 pin header strips.

DM164151 CURIOSITY NANO DEV BOARD, 8-BIT AVR MCU

 

The board features the AVR128DA48.

 

The AVR DA family of microcontrollers feature the well-known AVRRegistered CPU, now running at up to 24 MHz across the full supply voltage range of 1.8V to 5.5V. The family includes 32 KB, 64 KB and 128 KB Flash variants in 28- to 64-pin package options. The AVR DA family is designed to bring capacitive touch sensing and real-time control functions to applications including industrial control, home appliance products, automotive and Internet of Things (IoT).

 

The family uses the latest Core Independent Peripherals with low power features and 5V operation for increased noise immunity.  The Event System, Configurable Custom Logic (CCL), along with intelligent analog peripherals, like 12-bit differential ADC, Zero-Cross Detect (ZCD), DAC and the latest generation Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC) with driven shield technology make the AVR DA  family perfect for low-latency control applications and capacitive touch user interfaces. The high memory density of the AVR DA family is well suited for communications stack intensive applications, both wired and wireless.

 

The AVR128DA48 microcontroller is part of the AVR DA family featuring the AVR processor with hardware multiplier - running at up to 24 MHz and with 128 KB Flash, 16 KB SRAM and 512 bytes of EEPROM in 48-pin packages. The AVR128DA48 will be available in TQFP and VQFN package options.

AVR128DA48

 

The AVR128DA48 product supports as many as 32 self-capacitance and 256 mutual capacitance touch channels, which makes the AVR DA the perfect choice for human interface applications where multiple capacitive touch keys, sliders, wheels or 2D surface are required.

 

This product is recommended for safety critical applications targeting both industrial and automotive products (IEC 61508 and ISO 26262). Necessary documentation such as FMEDA report and Safety Manual can be provided on request. Certified development tools are also available for this product. Please contact your local Microchip sales office or your distributor for more information.

 

Additional Features

  • 12-bit Differential Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC)
  • 10-bit Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) with Output Buffer
  • Zero-Cross Detector (ZCD)
  • Analog Comparator
  • Timer/Counter Type A/B/D with PWM Outputs
  • Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC/Scan)
  • Configurable Custom Logic (CCL)
  • Event System (EVSYS)
  • Watch Dog Timer (WDT) with Window Mode
  • Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC)
  • 1D Touch with MCU (Buttons, Sliders, Wheels, Proximity)
  • 2D Touch Pads with MCU

 

 

Poll Question: Would you like to roadtest this kit?

  • in reply to parasquid

      wrote:

     

    ... I'm excited to see the inner workings of industrial / medical equipment controllers and their test setups.

    I've written a demo for safety features a few years ago. Not about building an application that can be certified, but to check the hardware error detection mechanisms.

  • in reply to hugohu

    Now I've read more... this seems like quite a cool device, but I'm not very tempted at a capacitative keyboard or something, so I'll probably not apply for this. Interested in seeing what people will make with this, though.

  • in reply to Jan Cumps

    > These documents are needed if you want to build a certified design yourself using the controller. You'll need to provide certification for the whole toolchain.

    > If the manufacturer has this, you can purchase that and use it to make your own certification path shorter.

    > These documents usually don't contain functionality that's hidden, but process facts and figures that aren't made public (an example is faults per period).

    > They may also contain software libraries and tools that have gone through certification already.

     

    Thanks! I only suspected to be the case; I'm happy to have them confirmed image

     

    > I hope that they are reviewed for what they are designed, not for their lack of appeal to the maker community.

     

    I'm with you here. If someone were to road test this, I'll be looking forward to their review. I'm excited to see the inner workings of industrial / medical equipment controllers and their test setups.

  • in reply to parasquid

      wrote:

     

    ....

     

    Looking at the datasheets and speaking as a hobbyist, I'm not sure what other advantage the chip has for non-critical systems as the only advantage I can see from reading the docs would be the availability of certifications.

    ...

    That's the faith of industrial and medical controllers. They offer much-needed functionalities that aren't needed for hobby designs.

    I hope that they are reviewed for what they are designed, not for their lack of appeal to the maker community.

     

      wrote:

     

    ... as the only advantage I can see from reading the docs would be the availability of certifications.

     

    I'm guessing that roadtesting this would somehow involve getting a hold of those certifications and trying to probe their limits.

    These documents are needed if you want to build a certified design yourself using the controller. You'll need to provide certification for the whole toolchain.

    If the manufacturer has this, you can purchase that and use it to make your own certification path shorter.

    These documents usually don't contain functionality that's hidden, but process facts and figures that aren't made public (an example is faults per period).

    They may also contain software libraries and tools that have gone through certification already.

  • in reply to dougw

    I was actually thinking of the same thing, but rather than a plain keyboard, something like the stream deck. https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/stream-deck No need for actuators or mechanical switches, just some capacitive film on glass or acryllic.

     

    I'm guessing the industrial application of this chip would be for environments where the user interface is sealed (like in medical surgery rooms, microchip "clean" rooms, etc.).

     

    Looking at the datasheets and speaking as a hobbyist, I'm not sure what other advantage the chip has for non-critical systems as the only advantage I can see from reading the docs would be the availability of certifications.

     

    I'm guessing that roadtesting this would somehow involve getting a hold of those certifications and trying to probe their limits.

  • Safety critical applications! Good to see a controller that targets functional safety.

  • This is the first time I have seen the feature "Zero-Cross Detector (ZCD)" listed.

     

    Is this something unique or do other microcontrollers also have this feature.

  • Somewhere in my queue of projects to do is a capacitive QWERTY keyboard.

    This Microchip device looks like it might be able to handle a keyboard application nicely, but recent PCB price increases have pushed this project further onto the back burner.

  • Seems interesting. Surprising this board is for roadtest, I thought this was released sometime in 2018. Do I want to roadtest it? Yes. Will I get accepted? Probably not. Will I have time, maybe.

     

    I think it will actually be quite nice, I'd think at least 40 people apply.

     

    It doesn't work with Arduino IDE which is not the best but still, seems nice.