Silicon Labs introduces the industry's first integrated development environment that supports both MCU and wireless application design

     Silicon Labs, a leading provider of microcontrollers, wireless connectivity, analog and sensor solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT), has announced the launch of a new generation of SimplicityStudio, the industry's first integrated MCU/ wireless development environment that supports both MCU and RF design for a wide range of IoT applications. The latest software release continues the best features of the original SimplicityStudio platform and adds support for Silicon Labs' new 8-bit EFM8 MCU family, EZR32 sub-GHz wireless MCUS, And the EM35xx Ember ZigBee Wireless SoC, the most widely adopted 2.4GHz connectivity solution in the 802.15.4 mesh networking market.

     SimplicityStudio greatly simplifies the design process for MCU and wireless developers to develop IoT applications by providing one-click access to all the resources a product needs from concept to final form in a unified software development environment. SimplicityStudio includes an Eclipse-based integrated development environment (IDE), graphical configuration tools, energy analysis and optimization tools, network analysis tools, demo code, software samples, documentation, technical support, and community forums. All of these integrated features enable IoT developers to do embedded development easily and efficiently.

     SimplicityStudio provides built-in intelligence to automatically detect connected 8/32-bit MCUS or wireless ics, graphically configure chip functions, and display supported configuration selections to help developers get a working project design in minutes. SimplicityStudio is a contextually-aware development environment that provides developers with project-related product information. Integrated real-time power consumption and network packet analysis tools also help developers create reliable networks and energy-efficient wireless nodes while optimizing power consumption for optimal battery life and capacity choices.

     Designing both MCU and wireless in the same development environment avoids environment switching during embedded design, helping customers save time and effort. Embedded developers can use the integrated SimplicityStudioIDE for rapid application development for target applications based on EZR32 wireless MCUS, EmberZigBee wireless SoCs and 8/32-bit MCUS. The IDE supports enhanced usability, such as a fully integrated wireless embedded software architecture, intelligent code completion, and compatibility with other value-added plug-ins from the Eclipse ecosystem.

     SiliconLabs also offers a free Keil PK51 build tool for MCU development based on 8-bit 8051 cores (which can save customers $2,500). The GNUCompiler Collection(GCC) build tool is available for the EFM32 Gecko MCU design, while the EZR32 design uses the IAR EWARM compiler with Silicon Labs' wireless protocol stack. Developers with specific IDE preferences can launch Keil µVision or IAR Embedded Workbench in Simplicity Studio by configuring Preferred IDE.

     DanielCooley, vice president and general manager of MCU and Wireless products at SiliconLabs, said, "Embedded development in the IoT era is becoming increasingly complex and difficult, especially when it comes to developing ultra-low-power, wirelessly enabled connected devices. Disjointed toolchains also increase training and management costs for embedded developers, especially IoT projects that require devices such as MCUS, wireless, and sensors. Our latest version of SimplicityStudio greatly simplifies the entire design process by offering IoT developers the ability to collaborate on MCU and wireless devices in the same environment."