Motorola 32bit MCU combines CAN and Ethernet

By Colin Holland, ESP
iApplianceWeb
(11/27/02, 01:51:30 AM EDT)

Austin, Texas -- Looking to make major headway in the industrial iappliance market, Motorola has introduced the 32-bit ColdFire MCF5282 MCU, with on-chip Ethernet and CAN networking interfaces, plus 512KB of Flash memory.

With integrated 10/100Mbps Ethernet media access controller (MAC) and network-ready applications software, the MCF5282 could be used in traditional MCU applications including food service equipment, security systems, vending machines, exercise equipment and industrial controllers. It might also be used for the emerging home automation market.

Software is included for networking functions such as web-based user interfaces, network time synchronization, and router/gateway functionality for legacy serial protocols.

By combining 32bit MCU processing with Ethernet capabilities, the MCF5282 MCU can operate as a web server on any Ethernet network running TCP/IP.

When running as an embedded web server, the MCU can serve up simple text and graphic pages to any client machine running a web browser: PCs, UNIX workstations, PDAs, cell phones, and even other embedded processors running a web browser in specialized client access equipment. The device can also act as a gateway or router for networks running over CAN or RS-485 interfaces. By connecting these networks to Ethernet networks, the devices they control can be monitored and controlled from a PC host residing anywhere on the Internet.

In home networks, the MCF5282 MCU can act as a web server for X-10 or other power line networks, providing a friendly user interface for scheduling lighting, heating/cooling, lawn watering and security system tasks.

The MCF5282 samples in February of 2003. It will be available in production volumes in the second quarter of 2003 at $17.86 per unit in quantities of 10,000.

Go to www.motorola.com/semiconductors for more information on this product.

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