====== MCU selection guide ======

A brief overview of MCU manufacturers and their products.

===== Atmel =====

  * 8-bit tinyAVR, megaAVR
  * 16-bit XMEGA
  * 32-bit AVR UC3, ARM
  * Most common among hobbyists
  * Programming tools are easily available
  * Well supported in Linux - [[http://www.nongnu.org/avr-libc/|AVR libc]], [[http://arduino.cc/|Arduino]]
  * Dev boards: 
    * [[http://arduino.cc/|Arduino]]
      * Arduino Duemilanove: USD30; The most common board ever! Features ATMega 168/328 (1k RAM, 512 EEPROM, 16k program flash) with 6x 10-bit A/D, 6x PWM, and bunch of other digital GPIO pins. User-friendly IDE. We have a couple of these, and some basic expertise ([[user:pasky]]).
      * Arduino Mega: USD40; Very similar, but bigger memory and many more pins. [[user:axtheb]].
      * Arduino Uno: ?; New iteration of Duemilanove, no experience yet **FIXME**
    * [[http://www.atmel.com/tools/AVRBUTTERFLY.aspx|AVR Butterfly]]
    * [[project:elbow:start]]: Custom ARM board, [[user:b00lean]].
  * Other resources: [[http://www.avrfreaks.net/|AVR Freaks]]


===== BeagleBoard =====
  * ARM Cortex
  * Expensive and with many features.
  * Already more like a stripped-down netbook w/o display.
  * **FIXME**


===== Freescale =====

  * 8-bit S08
  * 16-bit S12
  * 32-bit Qorivva (Power arch), Kinetis (ARM), ColdFire
  * Widely used in industrial applications
  * Mostly expensive dev boards, although there are some exceptions
    * [[http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-46626/l/element14-exclusive-freescale-kinetis-l-based-kl25z-freedom-development-board|Freedom KL25Z - Cheap Kinetis L-based board, pin compatible with Arduino]]


===== LeafLabs Maple =====
  * ARM Cortex, many pins...
  * USD50
  * **FIXME** no experience yet


===== Microchip =====

**FIXME**
  * Dev boards:
    * ASIX PVK40 - Microchip PIC16Fxxx (84, 877, 887) - PIC16F887 - contains almost everything except ethernet and USB. [[user:blackhead]] [[http://blackhead.cz/hackerspace/equipment.html/]]


===== NXP Semiconductors =====

  * 32-bit ARM Cortex-M{0,3,4}, ARM7 , ARM9
  * Good support in Linux
  * Dev boards: 
    * [[http://ics.nxp.com/lpcxpresso/|LPC Xpresso]]
    * [[http://mbed.org|mbed]] - overpriced prototyping board based on NXP LPC1768 ARM Cortex M3 with an onboard ethernet controller and online IDE


===== Parallax =====

  * Propeller architecture is suitable for tasks, where parallel processing is desirable (e.g. video generation)
  * Dev boards: [[http://www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/PropellerDevelopmentBoards/tabid/514/CategoryID/73/List/0/SortField/0/catpageindex/2/Level/a/ProductID/509/Default.aspx| Propeller Proto Board USB]], [[http://www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/PropellerDevelopmentBoards/tabid/514/CategoryID/73/List/0/SortField/0/catpageindex/1/Level/a/ProductID/748/Default.aspx|P8X32A QuickStart]]
  * Well supported in Linux - [[http://hackaday.com/2012/06/20/parallax-shows-love-for-open-source-gcc-propeller/]]


===== STMicroelectronics =====

  * Cheap dev boards: [[http://www.st.com/internet/evalboard/product/253215.jsp?WT.ac=fp_may12_stm32f0discovery|STM32 Discovery]]
  * **FIXME**


===== Texas Instruments =====

  * 16-bit MSP430
  * 32-bit Stellaris (ARM Cortex-M), Sitara (ARM Cortex-A), Hercules (ARM Cortex, safety critical applications)
  * Mediocre Linux support
  * Dev boards: 
    * [[http://e2e.ti.com/group/msp430launchpad/w/default.aspx|TI Launchpad]] ($4.30 including shipping)
      * low-power,low-consumption,low-cost uP
      * flash emulator on daughterboard [[http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/MSP430_LaunchPad_%28MSP-EXP430G2%29]]
      * Wiring library (Arduino code) support at [[https://github.com/energia/Energia]] ([[user:pasky]])
      * Linux support exists, but [[http://log.or.cz/?p=265|fragile serial communication]]
    * [[http://www.ti.com/tool/ek-evalbot|Evalbot]]