Freescale intros KwikStik development tool for Kinetis MCUs

AUSTIN, USA: Freescale Semiconductor announced the KwikStik development tool, a cost-effective, all-in-one development tool used for evaluating, developing and debugging with Freescale’s Kinetis line of microcontrollers (MCUs) built on the ARM Cortex-M4 core. Complementing the larger Freescale Tower System development platform, the KwikStik development tool provides an additional toolset option in a small-form-factor design for developers using Kinetis MCUs.

The KwikStik development tool combines a J-Link debug probe, low-power touch sensing, a segment LCD user interface and a suite of development and run-time software. It is designed to be used several ways – as a standalone, battery-operated tool for development using the on-board Kinetis K40 MCU; as an additional tool with the Tower System or as a J-Link debugger.

By combining the KwikStik development tool with the Tower System, developers have access to multiple system expansion options using Freescale and third-party peripheral modules that offer sensing and wireless and industrial connectivity (including Wi-Fi). The integrated SEGGER J-Link debug interface eliminates the need for a separate debug probe, providing a significant cost savings.

“We created KwikStik to give developers a small, economical tool option for rapid development with our Kinetis MCUs,” said Jeff Bock, director of product marketing for Freescale’s Industrial and Multi-Market MCU business. “It gives developers easy access to the industry-proven SEGGER J-link on the board and an expansive collection of Tower System development cards.”

“Freescale's decision to include the SEGGER J-link technology offers their customers the optimal debug solution,” said Shane Titus, SEGGER managing director for U.S. Operations. “We believe the KwikStik is one of the best embedded development kits in the market.”

The KwikStik development tool offers a range of low-power, mixed-signal, human machine interface and connectivity and communications peripherals. The Kinetis K40 MCU at the core of the KwikStik features 256 KB of on-chip flash memory and an equivalent amount of FlexMemory, allowing ample space for application code. The bundled Processor Expert tool supporting Kinetis MCUs helps designers write application code for even complex software requirements.

Using Freescale’s Processor Expert auto-code generator, developers can quickly build their own custom peripheral driver library, optimized and validated to their needs. This feature, embedded within the Eclipse-based CodeWarrior 10.1 integrated development environment (IDE), simplifies a developer’s software architecture and can reduce development time.