Easy-to-use rapid-prototyping kit for TI’s new MSP432 microcontrollers

An easy-to-use rapid-prototyping kit for TI’s new MSP432P401R microcontrollers featuring 256KBytes of Flash and 64K of SRAM - the MSP-EXP432P401R LaunchPad Evaluation Kit is now stocked by Mouser. The new TI MSP432 microcontroller family is based on a low power ARM Cortex-M4F and draws as little as 800nA in low power mode, with a run current of 95µA/MHz. The MSP432P401R 32-bit microcontroller supports speeds up to 48MHz and has integrated peripherals for communication, ADC, timers, and AES encryption. The MSP432 MCU’s ARM Cortex-M4F core is a powerful 32-bit CPU with a floating point unit and memory protection management. The microcontroller includes two 16-bit timers, four 32-bit timers, and a 24-channel 14-bit analog to digital converter (ADC) that converts at 1MSPS. The microcontroller also boasts four high-drive I/O pins that can support up to 20mA. The microcontroller can draw as little as 90µA at a clock speed of 128kHz. Capacitive touch capability is supported as well as digital glitch filtering on some I/O pins. The onboard DSP instructions and floating point unit enable a wide variety of low power high performance processing, including signal conditioning and sensor fusion. The MSP-EXP432P401R LaunchPad Kit has a simple user interface through two on-board buttons and two multicolour LEDs. Additional features include an onboard XDS110-ET open source debugger with TI’s EnergyTrace+ Technology that enables developers to analyze power consumption in real time. To allow for rapid prototyping, the kit also features a 20-pin LaunchPad standard that leverages the BoosterPack ecosystem. TI’s BoosterPacks enable technologies such as wireless connectivity, graphical displays, and environmental sensing. The MSP432 MCU Platform supports individual program control over each of its eight RAM banks, allowing each bank to be turned on or off. This saves power by deactivating unused banks of memory. The MSP-EXP432P401R LaunchPad Development Kit includes the MSP-EXP432P401R evaluation board, a micro USB cable and a quick-start guide. The evaluation kit, combined with the MSP432P401R microcontroller, gives designers the freedom to develop for a variety of low-power applications, ranging from smart meters, portable medical devices, the Internet of Things (IoT), industrial and remote sensors, home automation and energy harvesting, says the company.