element14 first to enable wireless networking with STM32F4 Discovery Kit

BANGALORE, INDIA: element14 has announced the availability of the Discover Wi-Fi board that enables wireless connectivity for the STM32F4 microcontroller Discovery Kit from STMicroelectronics.

Using Murata's SN8200 Wi-Fi network controller module, Discover Wi-Fi's onboard Wi-Fi capability and network software stack make it ideal for a range of high-performance, low-power wireless solutions.

The Discover Wi-Fi board plugs into ST's STM32F4 Discovery Kit and supports a wide range of functions through its command-driven UART and SPI interfaces, as well as the 2.4GHz IEEE 802.11b/g/n radio standard. For a quick start to wireless networking projects, Discover Wi-Fi comes with source code, documentation and software demos.

Priced at $39.99 Discover Wi-Fi is available through Newark element14 in North America, element14 in APAC and Farnell element14 in Europe.

"ST Microelectronics is pleased to partner Premier Farnell to continue to invest in new development tools for our ARM Cortex-M STM32F4 products", said Jacky Perdrigeat, EMEA Region VP Marketing & Applications, MCU/Secure MCU & Memories Products, STMicroelectronics. "Our commitment to ‘General Purpose Microcontrollers' for the mass market is supported by an extensive product range, easy access to tools and a rich design ecosystem."

"Murata is proud to have its SN8200 module on the Discover Wi-Fi. This FCC/IC certified and CE compliant module is the first of an extensive product range that allows customers to integrate Wi-Fi on their applications in an easy way with fast time-to-market", said Rui Ramalho, senior Wireless Application Engineer, Murata Europe.

Powered from an external power supply via 5V DC jack or by a mini-USB plug, Discover Wi-Fi can easily communicate with a variety of other host modules. The board contains the software stack required to connect to a Wi-Fi network and to set up all the standard Wi-Fi parameters, such as encryption. This capability reduces the software overhead on the host MCU.

David Shen, CTO at Premier Farnell said: "ST's STM32F4 Discovery Kit has seen widespread adoption by developers because of its balanced mix of performance, low power, interoperability and cost. By introducing wireless networking, the Kit's flexibility and versatility is even greater."