M5Stack Launches the STMicro STM32MP135-Powered CoreMP135 Module for the Industrial IoT
Despite having Espressif as a majority stakeholder, M5Stack's latest Core module picks an STMIcro chip.
Internet of Things (IoT) and hobbyist electronics specialist M5Stack has launched a new model in its Core range of development boards, the CoreMP135 — named for the STMicrelectronics STM32MP135DAE7 chip at its heart.
"CoreMP135 is an integrated Linux industrial control host based on the STM32MP135DAE7 chip," M5Stack explains of its latest Core design. "It features a single-core Arm Cortex-A7 processor with a frequency of up to 1GHz and is equipped with 4Gb DDR3L SDRAM for running memory. It is applicable in advanced industrial automation, smart home and multimedia entertainment devices, industrial IoT edge gateways, and as a central hub for robot motion control."
As M5Stack writes, the new Core module uses the STMicro STM32MP135DAE7 system-on-chip with its single-core Arm Cortex-A7 CPU running at up to 1GHz and 4Gb of DDR3L RAM — the lower-case-b there denoting gigabits rather than gigabytes, meaning there's 512MB of RAM on board. To this, the company has added a rich selection of peripherals: an Analog Devices MAX3485 RS485 transceiver, a Genesys Logic GL852G USB 2.0 hub controller, an Analog LT8618SXB video interface, Realtek RTL8211F dual gigabit Ethernet, and a BM8563 real-time clock.
The CoreMP135 isn't just for hiding away as an embedded device, though: it includes an on-board Ilitek ILI9342C-based 2.0" IPS LCD panel with a 240×320 resolution and a FocalTech FT6336U capacitive touch layer on top. There's also an NS4168 monaural D-class amplifier linked to a 1W speaker — fed audio at a range of frequencies over an I2S interface. For expansion, there's a pair of Grove I2C and UART interfaces, a PWR485 interface combining RS485 and 9-24V power, and two CAN FD interfaces.
The launch comes a week after Espressif announced that it had acquired an unspecified "majority stake" in M5Stack, which it says "aligns Espressif's and M5Stack's common vision to democratize AIoT [Artificial Intelligence of Things] technology." The CoreMP135, however, is built using a chip from Espressif rival STMicro — something that may become less common as Espressif uses its controlling stake to steer the company's direction in future product developments.
The CoreMP135 is now available to order on the M5Stack store for $75, including an integrated DIN rail mounting system and a microSD card of unspecified size pre-loaded with a copy of the Debian 12 Linux distribution.