Atmel and the Institute of Embedded Systems (InES), Zurich University of Applied Sciences, offer an Ultra Wideband (UWB) transceiver that InES has implemented by personalising Atmel’s AT91CAP9S Customizable Microcontroller.

The CAPÔ implements the logic of the UWB Media Access Controller (MAC) in its metal programmable block, driven by software running on the embedded ARM926EJ-SÔ processor.

Hans-Joachim Gelke, InES Microelectronics Project Leader, commented, “The porting of an UWB MAC onto Atmel’s CAP is an excellent example of the collaboration between our Institute and industrial partners in order to bring advanced applications of embedded systems to the marketplace. We are working with a lead partner in order to industrialise this system, and are now able to offer the IP to others who wish to use the CAP as a platform for an UWB application.”

Michel Le Lan, Atmel’s ASIC marketing director, added, “The CAP UWB implementation shows how our customizable microcontroller can be rapidly adapted to complex tasks like Ultra Wideband media access control. UWB is an emerging technology that is ideal for many applications, in particular in the medical field, where its resistance to interference and ability to penetrate obstacles, together with its high bandwidth, make it the medium of choice for the next generation of wireless medical imaging and similar equipment.”

The IP that personalises the CAP metal programmable block for the UWB Media Access Controller, together with the software drivers for the ARM926EJ-S processor, are available from InES. The UWB MAC logic does not occupy the entire CAP MP Block, leaving ample space for complementary application-specific logic, for example to implement a graphical user interface.

More information:

Atmel's AT91CAP product information