Vango chooses MIPS architecture

Currently, most power meters are based on 8-bit and 16-bit MCUs. While these MCUs meet current market needs, the future outlook calls for 32-bit MCUs to facilitate complex, uninterrupted and secure processing. 32-bit MCUs enable meters to scale for future needs, providing the hardware necessary to support tomorrow’s sophisticated software, which can be updated in the field without interruption. With its 8-bit MCU solutions, Vango is already an established supplier of solutions for China's power grid market. Its chips have been adopted by tier-one meter companies in China, and are leveraged by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), the world's largest utility. Vango is one of the largest providers of chips to SGCC's rural power grid market, and is making inroads into urban markets. In addition, Vango CEO Dr. Nick Tan was recently appointed as senior advisor to the Microelectronics Department of SGCC. In this role, Dr. Tan provides technical advice regarding IC design and qualification for the smart grid. "Uninterrupted power is a necessity today, and can be a matter of life-or-death. For this reason, nothing is more important than reliable power grid management," said Dr. Tan. "With the established and proven MIPS architecture, we can create reliable 32-bit solutions that are high-performance and low-power. Together with MIPS, we look forward to dramatically expanding our role in China's smart grid." "We are delighted to work with Vango, an innovative company that holds a leadership position in China’s power grid market," said Gideon Intrater, vice president of marketing, MIPS Technologies. "In our M14K cores, the industry-standard MIPS architecture has been specifically enhanced to address technical challenges specific to MCUs, providing advantages over the competition in terms of higher performance, lower power and more advanced features. With these cores, which are widely used in embedded designs, Vango can create scalable, cost-effective and trusted 32-bit MCU solutions."