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        .NET Micro Framework to get Blackfin port

        Staff | Date: Jun 6, 2007 | Comments: 1


        Microsoft and Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) are collaborating to port the .NET Micro Framework to ADI's Blackfin processors, the companies announced on June 5. The software/hardware combination is expected to see use in resource-constrained portable devices and embedded systems requiring multimedia or other specialty applications, the companies said.



        The .NET Micro Framework (.NET MF) is a new, low-end member of Microsoft's embedded software product line that aims to bring the "efficiency and reliability of a managed code environment" to mobile or embedded devices with tight constraints on cost, memory, processing resources, and/or power consumption. Typical applications are expected to include industrial sensors, equipment instrumentation, home automation systems, and healthcare monitors, as well as Windows "sideshow" devices.

        The .NET MF's integration with Visual Studio is said to enhance software development efficiency by providing PC emulation capabilities and on-device debugging within the Visual Studio IDE. User interface development is supported with Windows Presentation Foundation, and the .NET MF SDK (software development kit) includes an extensible emulator that lets developers simulate targeted hardware capabilities.

        ADI says its Blackfin processors integrate the functionality of both a 16-bit DSP (digital signal processor) and a 32-bit RISC-like microprocessor within a single "unified architecture that handles control-oriented tasks as well as real-time processing of multimedia data flows." The processors offer power consumption as low as 0.16 mW/MHz (at 250 MHz) and performance up to 600 MHz, ADI says.

        As a result of these capabilities, the Blackfin processors can satisfy both signal processing and control processing requirements, "in many cases deleting the requirement for separate heterogeneous processors," the company claims. The processors also include integrated peripheral options such as high-speed USB On-The-Go (OTG) and "Lockbox Secure Technology," said to enable developers to "implement security measures to protect code as well as content."

        Availability

        ADI plans to complement Microsoft's .NET MF SDK with additional tools that target Blackfin-based development. The companies did not specify a target date for completion of the .NET MF Blackfin port.


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