Micrium Software and Tools
October 24, 2012, Renesas DevCon, Anaheim, CA—We talked with Jean Labrosse from Micrium about their software, RTOS, and tool sets for MCUs. The company is a leader in these software products for the smaller scale processing devices. Their primary markets include medical products like blood glucose meters, industrial controls, consumer, and avionics.
The RTOS and other tools allow modular development to enable the user to mix and match code blocks from multiple sources. This approach allows the software development to start first and the code can be cross-compiled for almost any target processor. The agnostic position towards CPUs allows the designers to define their requirements first and then find a processor that fits the needs.
The software has been used in some high-profile projects including the Mars Curiosity Rover. Other embedded designs that need software modules that can be easily integrated, upgraded, and reused are good laces to consider their tools. A short learning curve that is worked through only once permits new users to get their code produced in a short time. This short time to final code allows easier integration into the final system, and permits fast updates and revisions.
They are using a SSL stack for security that they got from Mocana. Other tools include a NAND flash driver and an embedded micro-probe interfacing to Windows, that can check various operations on the functions in the embedded target. This probe is also useful for operating the system through the JTAG port when the system doesn’t have a direct user interface or display.
In addition to the software, the company offers free training on the tools and software development systems. Their business model is to sell a base tool set per processor type or product for $7500. This tool set is free for educational institutions and peaceful research. They also offer family licenses and a per seat model.
They have also published 5 books. These books are structured as 2/3 generic technical descriptions of functions and processes, and 1/3 specific to a MCU. These books are available as free PDFs and include source files for the code blocks. Their website www.micrium.com also has a set of coding styles, in addition to the books, to help newer users set up a development environment.
One issue for the industry are the methods available for training. The concept of game-based, interactive materials appealed to Labrosse, and he noted that difficult technical materials need to consider other presentation modes to make the learning process easier. The technologies are becoming so complex and convoluted that single subject training will miss a lot of externalities. When development schedules collide with training needs, the forced pace of training exacerbates the barriers to learning.
