IAR Korea, in collaboration with STMicroelectronics, has unveiled an integrated development environment strategy for the next-generation MCU, the STM32C5 series. The two companies presented a development framework that covers everything from project creation to debugging and maintenance, centered on the integration between STM32CubeMX2, IAR Embedded Workbench, and the IAR platform.

According to information released on the 14th, this collaboration was conducted in conjunction with the recent launch of ST’s STM32C5 series and the new development environment STM32CubeMX2. The STM32C5 is an Arm Cortex-M33-based MCU product family targeting industrial sensors, smart devices, and robot actuators. Along with the unveiling of the STM32C5 in March of this year, ST introduced the STM32CubeMX2 environment, which is an extension of the existing STM32CubeMX.

STM32CubeMX2 is characterized by a reorganization of code generation and development environment configuration into a more modernized structure, going beyond the level of a simple configuration tool. The background for this is that while traditional MCU development was centered on individual IDEs, it has recently been shifting toward a software lifecycle management model that includes automated builds, long-term maintenance, and security response.

With this integration, developers can now directly create IAR projects in STM32CubeMX2. Additionally, they can utilize IAR's compiler optimization technology, debugging environment, and CI/CD-based automation capabilities. Support for functional safety certification and long-term warranty services are also included.

In industrial and automotive embedded systems, the importance of verifying development tools is growing as functional safety requirements, such as IEC 61508 and ISO 26262, become stricter. Consequently, analysis suggests that not only MCU performance but also the stability of the development toolchain and maintenance systems are emerging as key factors for product competitiveness.

IAR explained that the embedded development environment is shifting from a code-writing-centric approach to a focus on managing the entire development lifecycle. ST also stated that the STM32CubeMX2 was designed to ensure development flexibility and scalability, and announced plans to expand cooperation with external development solution providers.