Microsoft announced general availability of Windows 10 IoT Core board support for NXP processors at CEATEC in Japan on Monday to help developers build intelligent edge devices used in smart cities, buildings and infrastructure.
“NXP is a leader in highly secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications and bringing NXP i.MX and Windows 10 IoT Core together provides device builders with additional choices for building secure, commercial-grade connected devices,” said Ian LeGrow, partner director for Windows for IoT, in a blog. He delivered a keynote at the event.
The Board Support Packages (BSP) are for the NXP i.MX family of processors, including i.MX6, i.MX7, i.MX8M and i.MX8M Mini application processor families.
Windows 10 IoT Core is for small-footprint smart devices. It is already being used by Hourfleet, a ride-sharing platform that is designed for urban mobility in communities.
Microsoft also makes Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, an operating system intended for fixed-function smart devices. City Beacon has designed a Smart Hub for use on city streets to house various IoT devices for connecting citizens to services.
The work between Microsoft and NXP on Windows 10 IoT Core and NXP silicon began in 2018. Customers have been interested in updating legacy industrial controllers and building new cloud-connected building automation applications. Diagramics has built an application for client devices and to enable registration with Azure IoT Hub Device provisioning.
LeGrow also announced an application from Smart Tower using NXP, Azure and Windows 10 IoT that improves reliability and reduces downtime for infrastructure such as cell towers and electricity networks. The application involves a sensor module attached to a tower and a ground control unit that analyzes the health of the tower in real time. Azure enables historical analysis.
Microsoft also announced a new Windows Machine Learning container for delivering accelerated AI inferencing workloads. These workloads can use sensors or cameras connected with USB and other networks. In addition, Microsoft announced SQL Server IoT 2019 for server-class edge appliances.
RELATED: Qualcomm hosts its first smart cities confab for 550 attendees