Emulation system

Microchip Technology has announced the MPLAB Real Ice emulation system for developing applications employing Microchip's PIC microcontrollers and dsPIC digital signal controllers.

The emulation system supports standard and advanced debugging facilities, such as complex break points, application code trace and data logging, code execution stopwatch and real-time variable monitoring.

The emulation is fully integrated into the MPLAB integrated development environment for writing code, building projects, testing, verification and programming.

The system integrates hardware and software application design tools to aid development and enable rapid application deployment within a consistent, unified framework.

The emulation features: full-speed, real-time emulation; ruggedised probe interface: protection circuits are added to the probe drivers to guard against power surges from the target; legacy and high-speed connectivity. The system comes with a standard interface, providing backward compatibility for applications developed with MPLAB ICD 2 in-circuit debugger. Optionally, a high-speed driver/receiver plug-in pair offers high-speed, noise-tolerant communications to and from the host PC and target, enabling cable lengths up to 3 m; logic probe for external triggers that can be connected to the 14 pin header on the unit. The outputs can also trigger an external logic analyser or oscilloscope; trace execution and analysis: the system offers multiple ways to trace execution and log information about running applications: real-time watch, data capture, streaming parallel trace using a device I/O port or streaming serial trace via SPI/UART; portable, USB-powered, and CE and RoHS-compliant.