MCUs extend battery life for IoT connected devices

Silicon Labs has expanded its popular EFM32 Tiny Gecko MCU family to meet the demands of developers creating the next generation of secure, battery-powered connected devices for the IoT. The company’s new EFM32TG11 Tiny Gecko MCUs offer a cost-effective, ultra-low-power solution for connected devices needing long battery life and no compromises in options or security. The MCUs are perfect for smart meters, personal medical devices and home automation products with multiple sensors, local displays and touch controls. The new MCUs can be used in IoT designs as standalone microcontrollers or with network coprocessors, giving developers exceptional design flexibility. The MCUs are optimised for battery-powered applications allowing cloud connectivity through wireless access points, gateways and concentrators. When paired with the company's SoC, transceiver or module in many light-weight wireless applications, an MCU can manage both the application code and wireless connectivity. When employed with sophisticated protocols such as 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, the wireless system can be simplified by partitioning the Tiny Gecko 11 to solely control the MCU application. The MCUs include adequate peripherals, sensor interfaces, communication links and on-chip security to maintain both wireless use cases, as well as standalone MCU applications.