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As the connectivity and embedded
intelligence of smart devices
becomes commonplace across many
industrial, commercial and domestic
applications, the Internet of Things is
starting to become engrained in our
everyday lives. From the ubiquitous
smartphone and fitness wearables to
smart speakers, virtual assistants and
home/building automation devices/
systems, smart energy networks to
industry 4.0-enabled machines and
factories, even the development of
autonomous vehicles — all of these
are being enabled by the IoT, and
soon it will be hard to imagine life
before the IoT era. Gartner have
predicted that there will be 20 billion
IoT-connected devices by 2020 —
and that IoT product and service
suppliers will generate revenues of
$300 billion.
This explosion of billions of
wirelessly
connected
devices
power consumption while adding
robust security. Enter Microchip,
manufacturer of microcontroller,
memory and semiconductor devices,
with its new SAM L10 and L11 MCU
families. These 32-bit MCUs attempt
to solve these twin challenges
by integrating a wide variety of
peripherals into the industry’s
lowest power MCU in its class, as
well as incorporating a broad array
of hardware and software security
features, protecting against the dual
risks of exposing intellectual property
(IP) and sensitive information.
This allows designers to develop
secured applications without the
battery constraints of less power-
efficient MCUs. The new MCU
families are based on the Arm
Cortex-M23 core and run at 32 MHz,
with memory configuration of up to
64 KB Flash and 16 KB SRAM. They
boast ultra-low power consumption,
Security is changing in the IoT era
Rich Hoefle, Marketing Director, 32-Bit Microcontroller Business Unit, Microchip Technology Inc.
demands technology infrastructure
that can handle massive increases
in computing power, storage and
bandwidth, delivered by low cost,
compact and ultra-low power
hardware. But as these IoT devices
collect more and more data, how
we treat and protect that data also
becomes more important — and a
quick review of 2018 lists of the top
IoT trends according to Forbes, IBM
and IDG ComputerWorld reveals that
security is a common thread. Nicole
Eagan, CEO of cybersecurity firm,
Darktrace, told 2018’s Wall Street
Journal CEO Council Conference how
a casino’s high-roller database was
hacked via a smart thermometer in
an aquarium in the lobby.
With the rapidly accelerating growth
of IoT endpoints and increased
concerns around security breaches,
design engineers are looking
for solutions that help reduce
38 l New-Tech Magazine Europe