Energy-efficient processing

Sensors embedded within cars could run for decades without failing, using a low-power 32-bit processor unveiled by ARM on 23 February.

The company has already sold the licence for the Cortex-M0 processor to two companies: Triad Semiconductor and NXP Semiconductors. Dominic Pajak, product manager at ARM, said that his company designed Cortex-M0 to be a more energy-efficient alternative to 8-bit- or 16-bit-based processors.

The device consumes only 85µW of power when using ARM’s patented cell library, yet it is able to perform computations four times faster than an 8-bit processor. It is expected that this will support the drive to meet low-power microcontroller connectivity demands such as USB, ZigBee and Bluetooth, without having an impact on energy efficiency or code size.

Pajak added that the processor is also extremely small and fits all necessary memory into the same space taken by a 16-bit microcontroller.

ARM hopes that its processor will open the door to an array of low-power microcontroller applications in areas such as medical devices, gaming accessories, e-metering and wireless personal area networks. The Cortex-M0 is also believed to have potential use in devices such as intelligent sensors and actuators, where data must be captured in analogue and transmitted digitally to another device.