[Editor's Note] ST MCUs are becoming widespread across industries and products. In particular, the number of STM32 products currently exceeds 3,000, with 600 products released last year alone. STMicroelectronics, which emphasizes the ecosystem and developer community, recently held the STM32 Summit on Tour Korea (hereinafter referred to as the STM32 Summit) to hold partner and developer sessions and present the latest STM32 solutions. With the trend of on-device AI, implementation of next-generation technologies, and securing functional safety and cybersecurity reliability becoming hot topics, we looked at the main agendas of the STM32 Summit.

We met with STMicroelectronics' Vice President and Deputy Manager Lee Jun-ho to discuss their impressions of participating in the STM32 Summit on Tour Korea and the main contents.
■ Introduction to the STM32 Summit On Tour Korea event

This event was held as an offline version of the STM32 Summit event held online in March of this year, providing a detailed introduction to ST's latest technologies and solutions that were not covered online through various demos.

■ What was the main content?

Beginning with the introduction of two new products, STM32MP25 and STM32WBA55, sessions were presented that provided a detailed look at the solutions ST offers for the diverse needs of the latest market, such as graphics, AI, security, and safety.

Among them, ST's AI solution is composed of a developer-friendly environment that supports all STM32 products, and it is even more interesting because it can greatly expand its usage when combined with the NPU (Neural Processing Unit) built into the new product, STM32MP25.

Another thing to note is ST's solution for secure and seamless wireless connectivity. The STM32WBA55 product, which succeeds the STM32WBA52 product launched last year, has been released with more protocols and more efficient power performance.

The product has the advantages of security, low power performance, and a user-friendly development ecosystem required in the factory automation, smart home, and medical markets.
■ What are the features of the latest STM32?

The STM32MP25, the latest addition to the STM32 microprocessor product portfolio, is ST’s next-generation microprocessor that enables secure and advanced edge AI solutions for Industry 4.0. In addition to the NPU, it supports a variety of multimedia features and provides advanced connectivity including PCI Express, USB 3.0, and an Ethernet switch.

The STM32WBA5 MCU series provides developers with performance, efficiency, and flexibility. The series features large memory to support both applications and wireless functions, with up to 1MB of Flash memory and 128KB of RAM.

It supports multi-protocol Bluetooth® Low Energy 5.4, IEEE 802.15.4, Zigbee®, Thread and Matter. And the high output power of +10dBm can increase the communication range and ensure stable wireless connection. It provides powerful processing performance of the Cortex-M33 core, secure execution area utilizing TrustZone technology, and secure boot and update functions, enabling a quick response to recently emphasized cybersecurity regulations.

■ How did you feel about attending this event?

I was worried because it was the first offline seminar since the COVID-19 outbreak, but many customers and affiliates attended, so we were able to successfully complete the event. It was also a very meaningful time because I was able to directly hear about market conditions, trends, and what customers want from ST while communicating with them on-site.

In the future, we would like to create more opportunities to introduce ST’s innovative products and solutions offline.