Boost performance by as much as 100x on MSP430™ MCUs with the same power budget

New math libraries provide developers with drastic performance improvements, while maintaining ultra-low power consumption

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Texas Instruments

Mar 26, 2014, 09:45 ET

DALLAS, March 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Leveraging intelligent peripherals and optimized software to ease the burden of complex math instructions, Texas Instruments (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) today announced an expanded ecosystem of free and easy-to-use math libraries for its ultra-low power MSP430™ microcontrollers (MCUs). Both MSPMATHLIB and IQmathLib software libraries are ideal for applications where performance and power are critical, such as orientation tracking. It is now possible to use an inverse tangent function to measure pitch and roll angles in a fraction of the time with an MSP430 MCU, an accelerometer and IQmathLib. Other ideal applications for these optimized math software libraries include wireless sensor nodes, smart metering, heart rate monitors, and any product with capacitive touch or graphics capabilities.

MSPMATHLIB is an accelerated library of floating point, scalar math functions that complete math-intensive operations in a fraction of the time – providing developers with up to 26 times the performance. The advanced math library helps 16-bit MCUs execute code faster, which improves battery life in any math-intensive application. Developers can easily configure MSPMATHLIB software to improve performance on all MSP430F5xx, MSP430F6xx and MSP430FR5xx MCU series.

IQmathLib is now available for MSP430 MCU developers to help optimize 16- and 32-bit fixed point math. This math library provides the same benefits as MSPMATHLIB, but can achieve up to 100 times the performance, while only limiting the flexibility of the data range. IQmathLib provides all the back-end functions necessary to increase performance without sacrificing power consumption. IQmathLib is available for all MSP430 MCU series.

Reference design kick starts development:
A TI Design is available to showcase the performance and power capabilities of IQmathLib and allow developers to jumpstart system design on a variety of sensor fusion and asset monitoring applications. The reference design is an orientation tracker that processes several sensor inputs to monitor for tilts, drops or theft. IQmathLib enables the MSP430 MCU to execute sample code quicker so the orientation tracker can go back to a low-power mode. This IQmathLib design includes several components from TI's MCU LaunchPad development ecosystem, such as the MSP430 Value Line LaunchPad, CircuitCo's Educational BoosterPack, and the new Fuel Tank BoosterPack from Element14 and TI.

Pricing and availability:
Both MSPMATHLIB and IQmathLib are available at no cost via TI's Code Composer Studio™ (CCS) integrated development environment (IDE). MSPMATHLIB is additionally available for IAR's Embedded Workbench. Both libraries can be downloaded standalone.

Getting started with TI's ultra-low power MSP430 MCU solutions:

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Innovation is at the core of TI MCUs
Beginning with the foundation of leading process technology and adding unique system architecture, intellectual property and real-world system expertise, TI continues its 20+ years of MCU innovation with ultra-low power MSP430 MCUs, real-time control C2000™ MCUs, Tiva™ ARM® MCUs and Hercules™ safety MCUs. Designers can accelerate time to market with TI's ecosystem of tools, software, wireless connectivity solutions, extensive Design Network offerings and technical support.

About Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is a global semiconductor design and manufacturing company that develops analog ICs and embedded processors. By employing the world's brightest minds, TI creates innovations that shape the future of technology. TI is helping more than 100,000 customers transform the future, today. Learn more at www.ti.com.

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MSP430, Code Composer Studio, C2000, Tiva, Hercules and TI E2E are trademarks of Texas Instruments Incorporated. All registered trademarks and other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

SOURCE Texas Instruments