New Stellaris LM3S9B96 Microcontroller Saves Developers Tens of Thousands of Dollars in License Fees

AUSTIN, Texas, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Luminary Micro, creators of the award-winning Stellaris(R) family of ARM(R) Cortex(TM)-M3-based microcontrollers (MCUs),and WITTENSTEIN High Integrity Systems, providers of robust embedded kernels for use in industrial, medical, and aerospace applications, today announced a new Stellaris microcontroller featuring the SafeRTOS real-time kernel integrated into on-chip ROM. The LM3S9B96 microcontroller extends the industry-leading capabilities of the fourth generation of Stellaris microcontrollers with an IEC61508 compliant RTOS kernel at no additional cost to developers.

SafeRTOS and StellarisWare(TM) in ROM Saves Development Time and Cost

SafeRTOS was developed in compliance with IEC61508 SIL3 and independently certified by the TUV, an internationally recognized authority on safety standards and certification. It can be used as a general purpose, pre-emptive real-time operating system; however, it excels in applications with high integrity, safety-critical requirements, such as medical and industrial applications. A Design Assurance Pack (available separately from WITTENSTEIN High Integrity Systems) provides the evidence, test, and documentation required to gain certification for IEC61508 (SIL3), the international standard for functional safety of electronic safety-related systems, and FDA510(k), the FDA approval for medical devices. Applications which may not require certification but which are commercially critical will also benefit from the high level of integrity and reliability of SafeRTOS. Application integrity is also improved with SafeRTOS in ROM, as ROM is inherently static and thus cannot be modified unintentionally or maliciously.

The license for the SafeRTOS kernel is included with the purchase of the LM3S9B96 microcontroller, saving developers tens of thousands of dollars compared to separately licensing a commercial product.

Also included in ROM is the StellarisWare Peripheral Driver Library, a royalty-free set of functions for controlling the peripherals found on the Stellaris family of ARM Cortex-M3 microcontrollers. The Peripheral Driver Library performs both peripheral initialization and peripheral control functions with a choice of polled or interrupt-driven peripheral support. In combination with SafeRTOS in ROM, it is easier than ever to use the library to quickly develop efficient and functional applications in an environment where the entire flash memory is available for use for the application. For complete flexibility in functionality, the ROM-based Peripheral Driver Library also supports flash-based overrides of standard Peripheral Driver Library functions.

"Having a microcontroller with the high level of integration of the Stellaris microcontrollers is only one piece of the puzzle. Today's developers know the challenges in delivering high-quality embedded software within the constraints of ever-decreasing product cycles," says Jean Anne Booth, Chief Marketing Officer of Luminary Micro. "With the integration of the SafeRTOS kernel into the LM3S9B96 microcontroller ROM, the benefits of a tested and validated high-reliability RTOS kernel are as easy to access as the on-chip peripherals."

"Developers will benefit significantly from this unique collaboration, which brings complex embedded software and silicon together in an easy to use, but extremely powerful solution," said David Brook, Head of Sales & Marketing at WITTENSTEIN High Integrity Systems.

LM3S9B96 Offers Extensive Hardware Integration

The Stellaris LM3S9B96 microcontroller incorporates the ARM Cortex-M3 R2P0 low-power core operating at 80MHz, and the industry-leading capabilities of the recently announced fourth generation Stellaris microcontrollers, including a fully integrated 10/100 Ethernet MAC plus PHY with hardware assisted IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) capability, USB 2.0 Full Speed On-the-Go, and integrated Bosch CAN networking technology, the gold standard in short-haul industrial networks. Also included are a versatile External Peripheral Interface (with modes to support SDRAM, SRAM/Flash, Host-Bus, and machine-to-machine (M2M) interfaces), an Integrated Interchip Sound (I2S) Interface, simultaneous dual ADC capability, a second watchdog timer with independent clock for safety critical applications (supported by the recently-announced IEC 60730 library addition to the StellarisWare(TM) Library), and a 16 MHz 1% Precision Oscillator. Together with 256KB of on-chip flash memory and 96KB of on-chip SRAM, enhanced power management, and expanded I/O and control capabilities, the new LM3S9B96 Stellaris microcontroller is optimized for industrial applications requiring reliable control and connectivity, including remote monitoring, electronic point-of-sale machines, test and measurement equipment, network appliances and switches, factory automation, HVAC and building control, gaming equipment, motion control, medical instrumentation, and fire and security.

Availability

The LM3S9B96 and other members of the newest generation of Stellaris microcontrollers are currently sampling to lead customers, with general sampling beginning in the second quarter of 2009. Learn more at http://www.luminarymicro.com/products/whats_new.html.

About Luminary Micro and Stellaris

Luminary Micro, Inc. designs, markets and sells ARM Cortex-M3-based microcontrollers (MCUs). Austin, Texas-based Luminary Micro is the lead partner for the Cortex-M3 processor, delivering the world's first silicon implementation of the Cortex-M3 processor. Stellaris mixed-signal microcontrollers contain specialized capabilities for applications in energy, security, and connectivity markets. With the world's largest selection of ARM-based microcontrollers, Luminary Micro's Stellaris family allows for standardization that eliminates future architectural upgrades or software tools changes.

Stellaris and the Luminary Micro logo are registered trademarks, and StellarisWare is a trademark of Luminary Micro, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders.

Luminary Micro Company Contact:

Jean Anne Booth / CMO / +1.512.917.3088 mobile / +1.512.279.8801 office / Email Contact

About WITTENSTEIN High Integrity Systems

WITTENSTEIN High Integrity Systems is a subsidiary of the German industrial technology group, WITTENSTEIN AG. The Group employs over 1500 people worldwide and has a strong track record of technology innovation.

WITTENSTEIN High Integrity Systems is based in the UK and develops OpenRTOS and SafeRTOS, a robust embedded kernel for use in industrial, medical and aerospace applications, which require certification. Additional information about WITTENSTEIN High Integrity Systems is accessible at http://www.safertos.com.

For press inquiries, please contact:

Rob Ashwell, account director, Publitek Marketing Communications

Tel. +44 (0) 1225 470000, Skype: robpublitek, email: Email Contact

For further product and sales information, please contact :

David Brook, sales and marketing director, WITTENSTEIN High Integrity Systems

Tel. +44 (0) 1275 395 600, email: Email Contact

Web site: http://www.luminarymicro.com/