Date: 17/09/2010

ARM Cortex-M3 32-bit processor based MCU evaluation kit from ST

STMicroelectronics has introduced the STM32 Discovery Kit, a hardware development platform supported by downloadable development tools from major third-party vendors Atollic, IAR and Keil.

The STM32 Discovery Kit is suitable for STM32 Value Line microcontrollers. The USB-powered board can be plugged into a PC. It is populated with a 24MHz, 64-pin STM32F100RBT6B Value Line device featuring a 128Kbyte Flash plus multiple timers, analog peripherals, and industry-standard serial interfaces. The ST-LINK in-circuit debugger allows work to start without further costs. The extension connector provided on the board enable connection to other boards or devices for deeper testing of the microcontroller peripherals. The 15 ready-to-run applications help developers evaluate microcontroller features.

"This Discovery Kit is the perfect tool both for getting started with, and fully evaluating, the capabilities of ST's STM32 microcontrollers," said Semir Haddad, Marketing Manager for STMicroelectronics' 32-bit Microcontrollers. "The kit is a fully integrated development environment including board, debugger, programmer and compiler. Developers will be able to benefit from the kit's extensive capabilities as a low-risk and low-investment prototyping platform."

The STM32 Discovery Kit features the ARM Cortex-M3 32-bit processor. Currently there are about 135 STM32 variants, offering price/performance choices from the cost-conscious Value Line to the 72MHz Performance Line featuring up to 1-Mbyte Flash memory. Other STM32 lines include the USB Access Line and Connectivity Line, which features communication peripherals and the ultra-low-power STM32L series. This kit is priced at US$9.90.

ST is displaying several of its microcontroller products at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) in Boston, MA, September 21-22, 2010. ST said it is giving away 100s of its STM32Value Line and STM8L Discovery kits at the event.