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“You really need to develop a whole product solution—hardware, software, UI, interfaces, and process redesign—with a consideration for what problem you are really trying to solve.” —Aldo Zini
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What obstacles remain for robots to work alongside humans in industrial settings, and how far have we come in eliminating those challenges? Dr. Roland Menassa answers these and other questions in his presentation at the RoboBusiness summit November 2-3 in Boston.
John Reid, director of Product Technology and Innovation at Moline Technology Innovation Center, a part of John Deere’s Global Technology Innovation Network, discusses how his company’s technologies will help feed the world’s billions.
Mark Ingebretsen
abreast of the latest news, research, and business
analysis in key areas of the fast-changing
robotics industry
RoweBots Research Inc., a Waterloo supplier of software tools and embedded system consulting, today announced the launch of UnisonTM Version 4 for the 32 bit PIC32® micro-controller (MCU) family from Microchip Technology [NASDAQ: MCHP], a leading supplier of micro-controllers and analog semiconductors.
UnisonTM is equivalent to a tiny tiny embedded LinuxTM RTOS which is exceptionally small and which offers complete indemnification. Unison provides a tiny tiny open source POSIX RTOS which increases System on Chip (SoC) embedded development productivity and reliability. OEM users can develop faster and better applications in less time to meet stretch market goals using these off the shelf products and the PIC32 SoC products.
Unison is ideally suited for SoC development by engineers who revel in simplicity. It supports the entire PIC32 MCU and is intended for use in OEM environments where time to market and multiple products using the same software platform is a requirement. Users benefit from tried and proven components, an integrated Microchip IDE, open source technologies, architectural flexibility, exceptional quality and integral signal processing features and libraries; and of course, FREE development.
The Unison offering for PIC32 completes the line of offerings for all Microchips processors from Microchip’s PIC24 16 bit MCUs through the dsPIC 30/33 DSCs to the PIC32 MCUs. Unison and DSPnano offer identical features and seamless support with including:
- Integrated SoC DSP RTOS with full POSIX capabilities and a tiny foot print to minimize training time and processor size,
- DSP libraries with 150 functions for off the shelf tried and proven processing,
- Complete I/O minimizing development and integration,
- Free development,
- Seamless integration with Microchip’s MPLAB® IDE for C instruction level simulation, compiling and debugging, and
- Seamless migration between products without code changes.
Unison offers flexibility which allows developers to quickly change processor memory sizes or optional peripherals to that most suitable to the current application. This flexibility is exactly what is required for lean product development and minimal OEM cost.
Lost time to market, customers disappointed with product quality and missed product price points are the three biggest problems OEM developers must overcome. Unison and the PIC32 MCU directly solve these problems (http://rowebots.com/Embedded_Processor_support/microchip_pic32) using open source technology (http://rowebots.com/Embedded_System_Software/Open_Source_RTOS).
“PIC32 MCUs and Unison together gives program, project, engineering and product marketing managers and developers the tools they need to quickly adapt their products to new market demands without sacrificing quality or time to market.” stated Kim Rowe, a founder of RoweBots, “And organizations can include it quickly and easily at low cost, getting immediate return on investment.”
Unison V4 is hosted on Windows XP and Vista, for x86 platforms. Support, training and consulting for the entire PIC32, dsPIC and the PIC24 is available.
Unison V4 will begin shipping immediately. It offers FREE development. Open source royalty free licenses start at $2995 US. All purchases can be made from http://www.rowebots.com .
About Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. For more information, visit the Microchip website at http://www.microchip.com.
About RoweBots
RoweBots is developing the next generation of modular system on chip digital signal processing software for embedded OEM applications in the areas of consumer goods, clean technology, portable products, communications, robotics, military, aerospace electronics. The company is based in Waterloo, Canada. For more information visit the RoweBots webstie http://www.rowebots.com.
dsPIC, PIC and MPLAB are registered trademarks of Microhip Technology Inc. in the United States and other countries. Unison is a registered trademark of RoweBots Research Inc. All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Microchip Press Contact
Eric Lawson
PR Manager
E:
W: http://www.microchip.com
RoweBots Press Contact
Kim Rowe
Founder
RoweBots
E:
W: http://www.rowebots.com
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