July 11, 2013, Seoul – Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE: FSL) is launching Vybrid controller solutions for the ARM® DS-5 (Development Studio 5™) development environment, which simplify the development of complex existing applications requiring human-to-machine interfaces (HMI) and connectivity, as well as deterministic real-time control and response capabilities. Freescale’s Vybrid controller solutions are built on an asymmetric multiprocessing architecture platform that builds upon Freescale’s tradition of leading microcontroller (MCU) development and multicore design.
The ARM DS-5 toolchain is provided within the Freescale Tower System and offers the ability to flexibly generate, debug, and optimize code for two ARM cores on Vybrid devices.
"Michael Norman, Strategy Technology Marketing Manager for Software and Tools at Freescale, stated, 'The customized version of the Freescale Tower System ARM DS-5 toolchain enables the cost-effective development and optimization of systems built on Vybrid controller solutions. By packaging the Tower System's modular development platform with the ARM DS-5 toolchain, the cost of market entry is significantly lowered, and Freescale customers can complement Freescale's support by leveraging the support of the extensive ARM community.'"

Vybrid devices are suitable for applications such as simple HMI for home appliances and industrial equipment, security control for infrastructure and manufacturing equipment, energy saving for motor drives and power inverters, high-reliability wired and wireless connectivity, and control of systems operated by mobile batteries, such as robots and industrial vehicles.

Vybrid Controller Solution: Rich Real-time Applications
Vybrid F-series VF3xx, VF5xx, and VF6xx devices are currently available for purchase. The Vybrid VF3xx family is a single-core (ARM Cortex®-A5) solution featuring 1.5MB on-chip SRAM, dual XiP quad SPI memory interfaces, an XGA display controller, dual High-Speed USB with PHY, dual Ethernet, and an L2 switch. The Vybrid VF5xx family enhances performance and adds DDR2/3 memory interfaces. The Vybrid VF6xx family adds an ARM Cortex-M4 processor and an analog video ADC.

Vybrid devices also protect sensitive or critical infrastructure applications, such as smart grids or industrial control, by combining a powerful combination of on-chip encryption, secure boot, tamper protection, and anti-clone capabilities.

Vybrid VF6xx devices combine ARM Cortex-A5 and Cortex-M4 processors, eliminating the need for external MCUs (microcontrollers) or Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). System developers can build complex control systems using user-friendly application HMIs on this architecture. This integration reduces development activity, the number of components, circuit board area, and power consumption, enabling savings of up to $5 USD per system.

"The new Freescale Vybrid controller is suitable for embedded systems requiring both real-time prediction and diverse OS capabilities. ARM's DS-5 toolchain enables engineers to more efficiently develop and optimize software for the Vybrid controller's two cores using best-in-class code generation, debug, and analysis tools within a single development environment. The DS-5 simplifies the development of next-generation intelligent embedded devices by providing excellent Linux support and MQX RTOS awareness," said Guilherme Marshall, Product Manager for DS-5 at ARM System Design.

Several Freescale partners have simultaneously integrated the ARM DS-5 into solutions for Vybrid controllers. Timesys provides a single solution that enables customers to easily develop BSPs using gcc and Linux applications using the ARM DS-5. The Timesys Eclipse IDE plugin has been ported to the ARM DS-5 toolchain for easier configuration and more convenient cross-development on ARM Cortex-M4 and Cortex-A5 cores. Embedded board solution partner PHYTEC has integrated the ARM® CMSIS-DAP debug unit into low-cost kits supporting Vybrid-based System-on-Module (SOM). In addition to this integration, PHYTEC's Linux and MQX BSP support provides a robust environment for using the ARM DS-5 toolchain.

To view a step-by-step demo of how the ARM DS-5 operates in a Vybrid controller solution environment, please visit the following site.
http://blogs.arm.com/software-enablement/878-debugging-multicore-devices-via-usb-with-arm-ds-5/

Tweet this: @Freescale makes designing easy! Vybrid solutions now have their own custom version of @ARMEmbedded DS5.

Key Features and Benefits of ARM DS-5 for Freescale Tower Systems
• A flexible integrated development environment capable of debugging two cores simultaneously
• End-to-end development support ranging from SoC configuration to system-wide debugging and power optimization
• Industry-standard ARM compiler for ARM Cortex-A5 and Cortex-M4 processors optimized for the optimal balance of code size and performance
• An intuitive DS-5 debugger that combines the convenience and productivity of integrated embedded development tools, including MQX RTOS awareness, and provides the performance and flexibility of open-source tools for Linux OS.
• ARM Streamline™ Performance Analyzer, providing performance and power optimization across Linux and Android® systems through event timelines and profiling reports
• Developed and managed by ARM processor technology experts

Solutions for all design requirements
Freescale provides various development support for Vybrid controller solutions. The Freescale Tower System offers a scalable, modular development platform for evaluation and prototyping. The TWR-VF65GS10 module is a development tool for Vybrid devices that operates as a standalone debug tool or as part of an assembled Tower System development platform. Freescale also enhances support for developers using Vybrid controller solutions by offering three additional Tower System kits (TWR-VF65GS10-KIT, TWR-VF65GS10-PRO, and TWR-VF65GS10-DS5) based on the TWR-VF65GS10 MCU module. ARM and Freescale also collaborated to develop customized solutions for Vybrid controller solution tower system modules, namely the ARM DS-5 Starter Kit for Vybrid Controller Tower Systems and the ARM DS-5 Vybrid Controller Edition.

• ARM DS-5 Starter Kit for Vybrid Controller Tower Systems
o TWR-VF65GS10 (MSRP: $199.00 USD)
 TWR-VF65GS10 Module, USB Cable, Quick Start Guide
 ARM Development Studio 5 (DS-5) Starter Kit for Vybrid Controller Tower System Module (256KB code size limit)
o TWR-VF65GS10-KIT (MSRP: $269.00 USD)
 TWR-VF65GS10 Module, USB Cable, Quick Start Guide
 ARM Development Studio 5 (DS-5) Starter Kit for Vybrid Controller Tower System Module (256KB code size limit)
 TWR-ELEV Elevator Module
 TWR-SER Serial Module
o TWR-VF65GS10-PRO (MSRP: $399.00 USD)
 TWR-VF65GS10 Module, USB Cable, Quick Start Guide
 ARM Development Studio 5 (DS-5) Starter Kit for Vybrid Controller Tower System Module (256KB code size limit)
 TWR-ELEV Elevator Module
 TWR-SER2 improved serial module
 TWR-LCD-RGB Graphic LCD Module
• ARM DS-5 Vybrid Controller Edition
o TWR-VF65GS10-DS5 (MSRP: $1,500.00 USD)
 Identical to TWR-VF65GS10-PRO except that a 1-year ARM DS-5 Vybrid Controller Edition license is included (hardware platform independent, 1MB code size limit)

Supply situation
Vybrid controller solutions are currently available for purchase through Freescale and its distribution partners. For more information, please visit www.freescale.com/vybrid .

The Tower System development platform for Vybrid controller solutions featuring the ARM DS-5 is currently available for purchase. For more information, please visit www.freescale.com/TWR-VF65GS10 and www.freescale.com/TWR-VF65GS10-DS5 .