“This upswing and push for new capabilities creates a budgetary dilemma for many embedded engineers. ”
“Changes are coming in established driver interface protocols” Embedded Computing Design (Sept 24, 2015), written by Dr. Jerry Krasner, Ph. D., Vice President of Embedded Market Forecasters raises many points of the challenges and opportunities in the field of driver protocols, I2C, SPI and USB, a significant component of embedded devices.
In addition to the increase of speed from kHz to GHz, there is the growing embedded devices market as well as the advancement of commercial and industrial applications. A recent survey, 2015 EMF Survey of Embedded Developers, shows the summary of where embedded protocols are applied in the following markets: Industry, IoT (Internet of Things) and Non-IoT. Note the high percentage of I2C, SPI and USB in all three categories.
Table 1: Products used in embedded designs as a driver interface 2015 EMF Survey of Embedded Developers, Sept 24, 2015To meet the demands, technical advancements need to move as fast as the market. How do embedded design engineers develop, prototype, test, QA and then manufacture their technical contributions to this growing market? Which tools do you select that can best support the growing need within your resources of cost, and the time and effort to most effectively use such tools?
“Some smaller toolmakers, like Total Phase, have finally have solved the dilemma. “Total Phase provides a range of cost-effective tools for embedded devices.
Table 2: Total Phase Promira Serial Platform, Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter and Cheetah SPI Host AdapterLow-cost or high-performance – is it one or the other? For the I2C and SPI developers, the Promira Serial Platform is a very flexible and cost-effective tool for embedded devices - it may be the best choice for your engineering lab.
“The difference is that the new platform architecture lets end-users purchase high-performance applications only when they need them.”As you can see in Table 2 above, the Promira platform I2C and SPI Active Level Applications give you the opportunity to upgrade to more advanced features as you need them. You don’t have to stress your budget at once on oversized equipment that may soon become obsolete. As Total Phase is committed to meet the technical aspect of market requirements, be confident and assured that you can meet the upcoming demands – cost-effective, high performance, within budget.
In addition to the options you see listed in Table 2, the Promira platform includes:
- Integrated signal level shifting from 0.9V to 5.0V
- High speed USB connectivity to the host computer
- Ethernet connectivity
- Ability to provide up to 200mA to target devices
“Their latest generation of tools is no longer task specific (e.g., program SPI at up to 8 MHz, sniff SPI at up to 24 MHz, etc.), but consists of complex FPGA-based platforms with customization capabilities beyond their predecessors. The result is the access to relevant technology in cost-effective tools that was previously unattainable in earlier generations. “
Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:
If you have other questions about our Promira platforms, host adapters or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.