This article will continue detailing a minimal configuration design that uses an i.MX RT685 crossover MCU.    In the first article of this hardware design series, I introduced the power supply architecture of the RT600 series and illustrated some of the package/PCB layout features of the VFBGA176 package.       I also introduced some of the specs I am working towards for the “Super-Monkey” module and will power some of my future real-time audio processing projects.

As a real-world example, I this article is part one of several articles that will step through a basic RT600 hardware design and bring-up.   I find this to be a very useful exercise as high-end MCU’s can be overwhelming, especially to those coming from a traditional MCU background.   The goal here is to develop a simple “minimal configuration” example and build it for a demonstration.   

The Local Interconnect Network (LIN) was developed as a complementally bus standard to the Controller Area Network (CAN bus) to address the need for a cost-efficient network for lower performance devices within the vehicle.  While the CAN network was already in place within vehicles, its high bandwidth and advanced error detection capabilities were overkill (and thus, cost-prohibitive) for lower performance applications such as seat and window controllers.

In Part 1 of our introduction to the RT600 crossover MCU,  we examined the RT600 CPU/DSP core complex and its unique system memory architecture.   In part 2, we will put a spotlight on some other unique peripheral features that make the RT600 standout as a high-performance audio crossover MCU.

This article is the first part of a two part series focusing in on one of the newer members of the i.MX RT crossover family: the RT600.     The RT600 crossover MCUs are focused on real-time number crunching applications such as audio, sensor fusion and machine learning.     

CAN FD is an extension to the Classic CAN protocol that was developed to meet the needs of modern vehicles wherever-increasing numbers of embedded electronics are transmitting ever-increasing amounts of control and diagnostic data.  Because the original CAN specification has a maximum bandwidth limitation of 1 Mbps, data-dense activities like ECU flashing and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) ADAS applications were being impeded, forcing automotive manufacturers to add multiple CAN networks into newer vehicles.

We are pleased to announce that MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning Tool v3 is now available.

Where to find 3d printed case designs for MCU-Link.

This demo introduces the secondary boot of i.MX8QXP. 

This feature is very useful for such as OTA, rolling back. 

One aspect of the baseline family of parts in the LPC55 series is having options that deliver a good balance of simplicity and flexibility.     The simplicity/flexibility balance is important in many industrial applications.    Combining standard industrial communication peripherals such as RS-485 capable UARTs and CAN-FD  with a solid CPU foundation means that designers can implement a wide range of products in the industrial space.

Some customer cases need hardware partition and the GPIO need to be allocated by bank.

It causes resource tensive. And some time, one GPIO bank assigned to the M4 side 32 bits of one bank are more than enough. And some customer cases need to use 1 or 2 bit to as board identification for the A core side. Because of the hardware partition, A core could not directly access the M4 partition resource.

The example is to change the i.MX8QXP MEK debug uart(lpuart0) to the base board(lpuart2).

The lpuart2 is J37 on base board.

uart2-linux-uart2_L5.4.70_2.3.0.diff, uart2-u-boot-method1_L5.4.70_2.3.0.diff and uart2-u-boot-method2_L5.4.70_2.3.0.diff are the patches. 

The NPU capability lies in the “sweet spot” for performance to enable real time response for common AI/ML problems. Combined with the video and vision co-processing capabilities, the i.MX 8M Plus will be the standard bearer for Edge ML/AI implementations

Switch i.MX8MM debug port is not simple like i.MX6. Just change the bootargs.The changes include atf(Key changes), u-boot, Linux and systemd.

Please find attached a document detailing various features related to using the IMXRT1170-EVK(B) evaluation board with MCUXpresso IDE v11.x.x and SDK v2.x.x, including details of multicore debugging and how to enable SWO trace on this MCU.

New updates to the MCUXpresso suite of software and tools are now available. These updates include support for NXP’s general purpose, crossover and Bluetooth^®-enabled Arm^® Cortex^®-M-based MCUs.

Communication between these subsystems is critical to ensure the reliability and safety demanded in the automotive market.  The Controller Area Network (CAN bus) is a message-based communication network standard that allows ECUs to communicate within a vehicle without the use of dedicated analog signal wires. 

We are pleased to announce that Config Tools for i.MX Application Processors v9 are now available.

MCUXpresso Config Tools v9 release announcement.

We are pleased to announce that MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning Tool v2.1 is now available.

MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning Tool is a graphical user interface (GUI) tool covering the secure boot
process, aimed primarily at microcontroller customers. It provides unified GUI front-end over existing
command-line tools - FlashLoader, elftosb, blhost, cst.

I proclaim that the digital “on-demand” manufacturing revolution is here! It was 1999 when I first experienced quick turn, “online” PCB fabrication. Since then, PCB fabrication services have become plentiful, inexpensive, and accessible to engineers of all levels. Online automation of full turnkey assembly is the next logical step, and I see it the future of PCB assemblies. I often say it is a great time to be alive if you are in the business of embedded systems. It has never been easier to tap into global manufacturing resources to accelerate product development.

I recently ran into a scenario where we needed to quickly adapt one of our products to a new customer application. It was a situation where we needed to be agile in our response. In this scenario, I needed to plumb a particular commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) temperature sensor into our existing cellular gateway (which only had specific digital-only ports for another application). The prototype would end up being put in a “smart” cable assembly that would adapt a new sensor into our existing system to demonstrate the concept. A small “translator” PCB with some “brains” would have to be designed to link up the sensor to our existing hardware/software platform.

I was quite impressed with how quickly I could get LVGL up and running on the Mini-Monkey.     If you are looking at implementing embedded graphics on the LPC55S69 or another NXP part, LVGL should be on your short list for evaluation.    

Ázure RTOS ThreadX and other middleware components have now been released for i.MX RT1050/1060/1064 families. This highly optimized, safety-certified software can now be use for free in your projects.

MCUXpresso Config Tools v8.1 release announcement.

Dive into different aspects to optimize your software design with the NXP MBDT: a comprehensive collection of tools that plug into the MATLAB® and Simulink® model-based design environment to support fast prototyping, verification, and validation on NXP microcontroller

There is often confusion that "Edge Processing" and "Cloud" solutions are distinct offerings.   In my opinion, they should be combined to enable truly remarkable offerings.

We are pleased to announce that MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning Tool v2 is now available.

MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning Tool is a graphical user interface (GUI) tool covering the secure boot
process, aimed primarily at microcontroller customers. It provides unified GUI front-end over existing
command-line tools - FlashLoader, elftosb, blhost, cst.

Interested in a basic overview of the MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning Tool and seeing a live demonstration of the tool?

A new training module for the MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning Tool is posted at the https://nxp.com/training site.