April 3, 2014, Seoul — NXP Semiconductor (NASDAQ: NXPI) has introduced the latest version (Version 2) of its LPCXpresso development board, which fully supports the ARM® mbed™ platform. This gives embedded engineers a wider range of choices and allows them to work more flexibly when developing advanced applications for LPC and mbed microcontroller platforms.

NXP, a key partner in the ARM-led mbed project, was deeply involved in the launch of the mbed platform. NXP was the first in the industry to introduce an official mbed solution based on the NXP LPC 1768 MCU, and since then, the mbed platform has become widely commercialized with an expanded feature set. Currently, it provides free software libraries, hardware designs, and online tools necessary for professionally and rapidly prototyping ARM microcontroller-based products. First introduced in 2010, NXP’s innovative LPCXpresso development platform features a fully featured Eclipse-based IDE and flexible target boards. It also adds exceptional value by providing embedded engineers with solutions ranging from evaluation to production required for developing MCU applications for NXP LPC microcontrollers.

The mbed support of the LPCXpresso v2 board is important in that it perfectly matches the two platforms, allowing not only LPC developers but also non-LPC developers to benefit.

Now, LPC and mbed developers can utilize both the hardware schemas and open-source software provided by the communities at mbed.org and LPCWare.com. You can easily export projects from mbed to the LPCXpresso environment and effectively leverage both communities to obtain necessary support, code, and other resources. Additionally, mbed developers have a wider range of choices for MCU and prototyping capabilities. For example, the LPCXpresso v2 board features various functions not available on other mbed-supported boards, including an Arduino UNO shield connector that enables flexible expansion with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth®.

John Rayfield, Director of Architecture and Ecosystem at NXP, explained, “Over the past few years, LPCXpresso and mbed have provided embedded developers with easy-to-use tools, application code available for free download, and access to a vast developer community. With the release of the new LPCXpresso v2 board, which supports both the LPCXpresso v7.1 IDE and mbed, these two developer groups can now easily move between their communities while utilizing an affordable development platform.”

Simon Ford, Head of ARM IoT Platform, stated, “NXP has been a key partner and collaborator with the ARM mbed platform since its launch phase. The latest version of the LPCXpress v2 board released this time will benefit all mbed developers by providing a bridge connecting the development platform and the community.”

The LPCXpresso platform, used with the next-generation LPCXpresso v2 target board, also includes the v7.1 LPCXpresso IDE, providing a fast way to evaluate and develop advanced applications for NXP LPC microcontrollers. The latest LPCXpresso toolchain, v7.1, offers several enhanced features, including compiler optimization, IDE speed and feature sets, and access to ARM's latest lib-nano C library for generating smaller, more efficient code. It also supports the popular Segger debug probe and other related utilities. NXP has shipped over 110,000 LPCXpresso boards worldwide to date.