Tools – Promira Serial Platform

I hold a strong belief that in order to develop more robust embedded systems, faster and within the budget and time limitations placed on many development teams today requires a cutting edge and adaptable tool set. One of the tools that I have found to be one of my most trusted and often used tools is my TotalPhase Aardvark. There are so many times that I rely on my Aardvark during development to

  • Communicate with an embedded system using I2C
  • Communicate with an embedded system using SPI
  • Learn how an I2C sensor works before integrating it into a system
  • Learn how a SPI sensor works before integrating it into a system
  • Set up system test scripts using I2C and SPI

The Aardvark has been a trusted tool of mine for most of my career but TotalPhase now has a has a newer serial platform named Promira that may take its place.

promiraface_2_1

The most interesting feature of Promira is that the hardware is designed so that Promira firmware can be updated to run different applications for different purposes. For example, the device can be configured to I2C, SPI or even eSPI. Each application is broken up into different levels allowing a developer to choose the speed and application sophistication needed for their application. Promira can handle SPI master data rates as fast as 40 MHz! The configurability of the platform also means that the tool can be continuously upgraded as the industry changes.

A few interesting highlights about Promira can be found below:

  • Applications are licensed separately
  • The platform is configurable
  • Spi data rates up to 40 MHz
  • I2C data rates up to 3.4 MHz
  • Price ranges from $450 to $4668 based on the applications licensed
  • Hardware level shifting to handle 0.9 – 5.0 V interfaces
  • Can source 200 mA
  • USB and ethernet interface

 

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