Parallax selects Vinculum embedded USB host controller for datalogger application

27th September, Glasgow, Scotland. Future Technology Devices International Limited (FTDI) announces that Parallax Inc has selected FTDI’s VNC1L, Vinculum IC for use in a new datalogger design. The Memory Stick Datalogger, now available from Parallax, uses the VNC1L to provide ease of connectivity to USB flash drives. The datalogger module can be used with a variety of Parallax’s educational and development systems such as BASIC Stamp, SX or Propeller Microcontroller.
Ken Gracey, Vice President, Parallax Inc comments, “The Vinculum IC provided us with the quickest and most functional solution to our development challenge. Prior to Vinculum, there were no standard solutions that allowed a microcontroller and PC to easily share data stored on a USB flash drive. Previously, we had to use smaller EEPROM devices with customised serial routines. Each approach was unique and required lots of custom coding. Now, our customers can use microcontrollers to log their sensor data across a wide variety of field-based applications.”

The VNC1L Vinculum IC is an embedded USB host microcontroller and supports the popular USB classes of mass storage, printer and human interface descriptor (HID). HID class devices typically include keyboards and mice. The device provides USB host capability to microcontroller-based products that previously did not have the hardware resources available. When interfacing to flash drives, Vinculum manages the file allocation table (FAT) structure by using a straightforward command set. It features two USB 2.0 low and full speed, host and slave ports, universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART), serial peripheral interface (SPI) and parallel first in first out (FIFO) interfaces.

About FTDI

Future Technology Devices International (FTDI) specialise in the design and supply of silicon and software solutions for the Universal Serial Bus (USB). FTDI offer a simple route to USB migration by combining easy to implement IC devices with proven, ready to use, royalty-free USB firmware and driver software. The company’s single and multi-channel USB peripheral devices come with an easy to use UART or FIFO interface. These popular devices can be used in legacy USB to RS232/RS422 converter applications or to quickly interface an MCU, PLD, or FPGA to USB. A wide range of evaluation kits and modules are available to evaluate FTDI’s silicon prior to design-in.

Vinculum is FTDI’s brand name for a range of USB Host / Slave Controller ICs that provide easy implementation of USB host controller functionality within products, and utilise FTDI's tried and tested embedded firmware to significantly reduce development costs and time to market.

FTDI is a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Glasgow, UK, and has regional offices in Oregon, USA, and Taipei, Taiwan. More information is available at http://www.ftdichip.com