Atmel(R) announced today the availability of its brand-new automotive development kit ATAPMxx, representing a single development platform for Atmel's current and future automotive products. The new kit provides an efficient and easy way to develop, set-up, and test the capabilities and characteristics of Atmel's key automotive applications including car access (remote keyless entry, passive entry/go, immobilizer, and remote start), tire pressure monitoring systems, and in-vehicle networking including LIN and driver applications. ATAPMxx is ideal for the development and customization of a complete automotive solution without requiring advanced knowledge of RF or LF engineering. The kit can be operated in stand-alone mode or using a PC-based powerful GUI (Graphical User Interface).

ATAPMxx includes a complete set of hardware and software needed to develop, evaluate, optimize, and demonstrate complete automotive system solutions. Customers can easily develop their application and evaluate the best performance in a single environment. The kit's versatile architecture can accommodate nearly all application combinations. The development kit consists of a main board, application-specific extension boards, and daughter boards containing the RF or LF reference boards. This flexible and modular approach allows customers to upgrade the kit without additional costs in the event of new Atmel automotive devices as the same platform can be used for future Atmel automotive ICs.

At the system's core is the main board with a system microcontroller (Atmel's well-known AVR(R) AT90USB1287) and an LCD touch screen. If used in stand-alone mode, the main board controls the complete system via a two-wire-interface; if connected to a PC, the main board handles the communication with the PC via USB. Each connected application (i.e., extension board and daughter board) is controlled by its own AVR microcontroller, which manages communication with the main board.

As royalty-free source code, Gerber schematics, and layouts are included, this automotive kit provides a unique and convenient environment for users to develop, implement, test, and optimize system-level designs.