Technological Arts Inc.

Overview

A comprehensive range of products based on the Freescale S12 16-bit microcontroller family

Starting from the low end, we offer a group of three product types, all based on the 9S12C, a low-cost variant with modest quantities of memory and input/output pins:  NanoCore12, Esduino, and Adapt9S12C.  Each of these product families is implemented in a different hardware form-factor to appeal to different user preferences. 

NanoCore12 consists of a familiy of DIP modules and accessories, and is suitable for those needing a physically small, low-cost platform, that can be plugged directly into a solderless breadboard or a DIP socket.  This is the product that Freescale featured during its launch of the 9S12C variant in 2004.

Esduino is similar to NanoCore12, utilizing the 9S12C, except that it is laid out in a form-factor emulating the popular Arduino board, so that users can take advantage of the many hardware products that have been created for that platform--  especially application boards, known as "shields".  This makes it relatively easy and cost-effective to implement almost any application you can think of.

EsduinoXtreme is a next generation board implementing the more capable 9S12GA240 and integrated USB interface in an Arduino-shield-compatible format. Users can take advantage of the many available shields and the power of Freescale's CodeWarrior IDE (or other tools) to implement even the most demanding applications.

neCore12 is an application-specific DIP module utilizing the 9S12NE64, specificially designed for embedded networking use, as it has an on-chip Ethernet interface.

Adapt9S12C is a low-cost 9S12C-based product rendered in the legacy "Adapt11" hardware form-factor that launched Technological Arts as a company back in 1995.  With its standard 50-pin I/O header pinout offered in a multitude of connector configurations, it is a versatile module that can be plugged directly into a solderless breadboard, or mated with other application cards and prototyping cards in a wide range of topologies.

A higher level of embedded power

The higher-end Adapt9S12 family encompasses the broadest range of 9S12 variants (D, E, NE, XD, XE, and XS), implemented in a standardized module form-factor, with an ample number of I/O lines, brought out via two standard 50-pin header footprints.  The large selection of connector styles offered for these headers, together with the wide range of application and prototyping cards available, comprise a powerful system for development, training, and product deployment.  The fact that all Adapt9S12 microcontroller modules are available as OEM products, with extended product longevity, makes them especially suitable for embedding into OEM products.  Keep this in mind when tempted by low-cost development boards that may be here today and gone tomorrow.  Those boards are usually created by chip manufacturers to promote their latest microcontroller introduction, and sold below cost until they are all gone--  never to be manufactured again!

Adapt 9S12 and Adapt9S12X Product Selector Guides:

• Adapt9S12
• Adapt9S12X

Resources

9S12 starter course, including videos, created by Prof. Jonathan Valvano, University of Texas at Austin