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MIPS offers IP for 32-bit MCUs

Blends μP cores with analogue peripherals from Chipidea acquisition

MIPS Technologies has announced that it will add IP (intellectual property) to its libraries that will enable licensees to build products for what it terms the performance-driven 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) market. MIPS has been successful in selling its cores in to applications in areas such as digital consumer, personal entertainment, and communications, most often implemented in ASIC/SoC designs or in high-end dedicated processors in sectors such as networking. It has not had the same acceptance as the ARM architecture in general-purpose microcontrollers, and especially not in the provision of 32-bit devices intended to meet the needs of embedded designers migrating applications upwards from 8- and 16-bit chips. MIPS is combining its processor core library with peripherals it will create using the analogue IP it gained access to when it bought Portuguese IP company Chipidea at the end of August 2007. That deal, according to the company, gives MIPS, “the largest offering of both processor and peripheral IP from a single supplier—providing a total system solution for 32-bit MCU applications.”
MIPS says its cores will, “enable the fabless model for MCUs by offering a complete solution of digital I/O and cores, analogue I/O, debug and development tools and superior ecosystem support for RTOS [and] enable seamless migration from 8- and 16-bit to 32-bit MCUs.” The company has indicated it will use cores such as the low-power MIPS32 M4K, through to the 24K family, in the offering.