Microchip has introduced two new PIC 32 Curiosity development boards with low cost and rich features

     Microchip Technology, the world's leading provider of integrated microcontroller, mixed-signal, emulator and flash patented solutions, has announced two new low-cost rapid prototyping boards for 32-bit applications: the PIC32MX and PIC32MZ Curiosity boards. They all have integrated programmer debuggers and are fully integrated with Microchip's MPLAB X integrated development environment (IDE).

     Designed for 32-bit applications, the new development board features a wide range of peripherals as well as user interface and extension options, including two mikroBUS™ Click interface plugs that support more than 180 MikroElectronika Click™ boards. Both development boards are affordable, feature-rich, and designed to be connected and used directly out of the box. The user does not need to write any code to run the sample project.

     The PIC32MZ EF development board features a 200 MHz PIC32 microcontroller (MCU) with integrated Wi-Fi® modules for designing Internet of Things (IoT) and connectivity applications. The PIC32MX470 development board contains a 120 MHz MCU designed for audio, Bluetooth ® and other related general-purpose applications. In addition, both development boards have USB connectors for developing USB host or device applications.

     The board works seamlessly with Microchip's MPLAB X IDE and MPLAB® Harmony, an acclaimed software development framework. Designed for PIC32 MCUS, MPLAB Harmony is a flexible, modular, abstract, and fully integrated firmware development platform. With it, users can access a variety of peripheral libraries, RTOS features, middleware, drivers, and system services. In addition, it contains more than 200 pre-test application project codes to help users quickly get started with application development.

     "The well-designed PIC32 Curiosity development board has the right feature set, affordable price, and expansion options to strike a good balance between ease of use and rapid implementation of application development," said Rich Hoefle, Director of marketing for Microchip's MCU32 division. "Users don't need to download MPLAB Harmony or write a line of code to download and run sample projects in minutes. Then, with MPLAB Harmony and extension options, users can use the same development board and ecosystem to prototype upcoming applications. It is this rich selection that makes the two new development boards so powerful."