Microchip Technology Inc. today announced a new GUI development toolkit for its 32-bit microprocessor portfolio for Linux to help display designers for the industrial, medical, consumer, and automotive sectors reduce development costs and time to market.

Microchip's new Ensemble Graphics Toolkit is a free and open-source C++ GUI package for the company's SAMA5 and SAM9 series microprocessors based on Arm® Cortex®-A5 and ARM926EJ-S™, including system-in-package (SiP) and system-on-module (SoM) products. This toolkit is optimized for Microchip's 32-bit microprocessors running the Linux operating system. Thanks to its underlying hardware acceleration, including graphics drivers and video decoders where available, the toolkit provides a high-level user experience on low- to mid-range graphics displays with resolutions up to XGA (1024 × 768 pixels).

The optimized code requires less memory and reduces the bill of materials cost. Its efficient performance compared to other graphics solutions based on high-performance cores and 3D graphics acceleration enables the creation of powerful GUIs for Microchip's energy-efficient microprocessors. Furthermore, the Ensemble Graphics Toolkit and Linux can be optimized for fast cold boots, with boot times of less than three seconds required for applications such as automotive instrument clusters.

“While other tools require higher-performance, more power-hungry, and more expensive microprocessors, this free development package simplifies and optimizes processing capabilities,” said Rod Drake, vice president of Microchip’s MPU32 business unit. “Developers can achieve modern graphical user interfaces with an excellent user experience, lower bill of materials costs, reduced power consumption, and longer solution lifespan—all with a premium look and feel.”.

Microchip's Ensemble Graphics Toolkit is available royalty-free to all graphical interface developers. This toolkit complements the MPLAB Harmony Graphics Suite embedded software development environment, which is also free and based on Microchip's bare-metal or real-time operating system (RTOS) platforms.

This toolkit is fully integrated into Linux4SAM, Microchip's long-term support offering for Linux. In addition to its compatibility with Microchip's microprocessor families, Linux4SAM provides drivers for many of its components, such as the maXTouch® family of touchscreen controllers, memory devices, power management and analog devices, as well as components and modules for wireless networking. Linux4SAM is regularly updated and provides support for all Microchip microprocessors throughout the product's lifecycle.

Development Tools:
The Microchip Ensemble Graphics Toolkit is a complete software and tools environment. Training and support are available here. 

Pricing:
Microchip's Ensemble Graphics Toolkit is available completely free of charge to all users and is fully supported by Microchip. This toolkit is based on the Apache 2.0 open-source license.