Dutch electronics firm NXP has announced a family of MCUs to simplify secure connectivity for industrial and IoT edge applications.

The MCX A5 family delivers the industry’s first implementation of topology discovery enabled on a wired MCU with 10baseT1S Ethernet digital phy, secured by post-quantum cryptography (PQC). Developers can connect more industrial edge devices while preparing designs for evolving cyber-security requirements.

Integrated 10baseT1S Ethernet lets manufacturers extend IP-based connectivity deeper into industrial systems, connecting more sensors, actuators and controllers, while reducing system cost and complexity. Topology discovery automatically identifies and maps connected devices, improving network visibility and simplifying deployment. This enables the family to turn more devices into accessible sources of real-time data for analytics, automation and other industrial edge AI applications.

The family helps users connect more edge nodes to Ethernet without the cost and complexity traditionally associated with industrial networking. By extending secure connectivity to more endpoints, manufacturers can access richer operational data for predictive maintenance, intelligent energy management, industrial automation, edge AI and more.

“Industrial edge AI cannot realise its full potential without access to real-time data, requiring developers to have expertise in networking, security, software and long product lifecycles,” said Charles Dachs, executive vice president at NXP Semiconductors (www.nxp.com). “That’s why we’re investing across our portfolio in solutions like the MCX A5 family, helping customers securely connect more devices, simplify software development and unlock the trusted data needed for intelligent edge applications.”

The family is built on an Arm Cortex-M33 core, running up to 240MHz. Integrated 10baseT1S digital phy supports compact, low-cost multi-drop Ethernet networks for distributed industrial nodes, reducing components, cost and design complexity for industrial connectivity.

Devices combine PSA Certified Level 3 security with support for PQC, including a PQC-based hardware root of trust including secure boot, firmware updates, attestation and debug authentication. Selected devices also support the Rust programming language, enabling developers to adopt modern, memory-safe software development practices. The family also supports Zephyr RTOS, providing developers with flexibility to leverage commercial and open-source software environments that bring long-term product maintenance and security updates.

Together, these capabilities help developers build and maintain secure connected products while addressing evolving cyber-security requirements, including those introduced by the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).

The MCX A5 (NXP.com/MCXA5) family is sampling now.

• California-based Silex Technology has announced the EP-200N (www.silextechnology.com/connectivity-solutions-platform-and-som-ep-200n) system-on-module (SoM) powered by the NXP i.MX 95 SoC. Designed for industrial and medical OEMs developing intelligent edge devices, it delivers secure, reliable edge computing capabilities.