British chip maker ARM released its Cortex M7 which can power a range of networked applications from next generation vehicles to connected devices and smart homes and factories marking foray into the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) market.
The processor is claimed to deliver double the compute and digital signal processing (DSP) capability of existing ARM-based MCUs without significantly increasing the cost of developing the final device.
ARM CPU group general manager Noel Hurley said: "The addition of the Cortex-M7 processor to the Cortex-M series allows ARM and its partners to offer the most scalable and software-compatible solutions possible for the connected world."
Cortex-M7 can be integrated in smart control systems deployed in several applications including motor control, industrial automation, advanced audio, image processing, a range of connected vehicle applications and other IoT uses.
Suited for implementation using the ARM Artisan 7-track SC7 Ultra High Density Standard Cell Library and Power Management Kit (PMK), the processor comes with a 64-bit interconnect with two levels of cache for efficient memory operations.
Gartner projects that by 2020 there will be 26bn connected devices, an almost 30-fold rise from the number of devices in 2009.