Processors enhanced with 3D acceleration for rich graphical user interfaces

The Texas Instruments AM437x high-performance processors are based on the ARM Cortex-A9 core. They are enhanced with 3D graphics acceleration for rich graphical user interfaces, as well as a coprocessor for deterministic, real-time processing including industrial communication protocols, such as EtherCAT, PROFIBUS, EnDat, and others. The devices support high-level operating systems (HLOS). Linux is available free of charge from TI. Other HLOSs are available from TI’s Design Network and ecosystem partners. These devices offer an upgrade to systems based on lower performance ARM cores and provide updated peripherals, including memory options such as QSPI-NOR and LPDDR2. The processor subsystem is based on the ARM Cortex-A9 core, and the PowerVR SGX graphics accelerator subsystem provides 3D graphics acceleration to support display and advanced user interfaces. High-performance interconnects provide high-bandwidth data transfers for multiple initiators to the internal and external memory controllers and to on-chip peripherals. The device also offers a comprehensive clock-management scheme. One on-chip analog to digital converter (ADC0) can couple with the display subsystem to provide an integrated touch-screen solution. The other ADC (ADC1) can combine with the pulse width module to create a closed-loop motor control solution. The RTC provides a clock reference on a separate power domain. The clock reference enables a battery-backed clock reference. The camera interface offers configuration for a single- or dual-camera parallel port. Cryptographic acceleration is available in every device. Secure boot is available only on AM437xHS devices for anticloning and illegal software update protection.