NXP EdgeVerse Techcast

Rethinking MCU Performance with the MCX N947
Hosts Kyle Dando and Bridgette Stone welcome Adrian Cano from Systems Engineering to challenge the assumption that a faster MCU always makes a better product. Adrian explains the MCX N947 as a balanced, high-efficiency MCU whose architecture—dual Cortex-M33 cores, DSP and acceleration resources, and integrated subsystems—delivers predictable, deterministic system performance by scheduling tasks efficiently, running workloads in parallel, and offloading repetitive processing from the CPU. He shares a customer evaluation where higher-clock, higher-memory competitors looked better on paper, but profiling real workloads showed the system wasn't CPU-speed bottlenecked; partitioning time-critical control and communications across cores reduced timing conflicts and software overhead. The discussion also highlights integrated IP like high-performance ADCs and USB, and recommends starting with MCX N947 Freedom boards, SDK examples, application notes, documentation, and debug/performance tools to model real workloads early.
Episode Resources:
www.nxp.com/MCXN
https://www.nxp.com/products/MCX-N94-N54-N53-N52-N24
MCX N947 Projects on Application Code Hub
00:00 Welcome and Big Question
01:01 Meet Adrian and MCX N947 Overview
02:50 Customer Challenge Beyond Specs
04:47 Profiling Reveals Real Bottlenecks
05:35 Acceleration and Deterministic Performance
07:25 Dual Core Task Partitioning
08:46 Balanced Architecture and Integrated IP
10:43 Faster Development and Real World Trust
12:19 How to Evaluate and Get Started
14:41 Key Takeaways and Wrap Up

Edge AI Voice Tech in Smart Glasses: Latency, Barge-In, Beamforming & NXP's Wearable Platform
This episode of the EdgeVerse Techcast explores how voice technology is adopting edge AI in smart glasses and why glasses are emerging as a natural, always-available interface for conversational assistants without relying on screens. Guest Laurent Pilati of NXP (AI software lead in the ACE organization) explains that real business value comes from integrated AI solutions spanning vision, voice, GenAI, physical AI, and agentic AI. The discussion covers what makes voice interactions feel human—low latency, barge-in, and backchanneling—and the engineering challenges behind them, including audio capture quality, wireless connectivity, inference time, and power constraints. Laurent describes real-world noisy-environment solutions such as fixed and adaptive beamforming, echo cancellation, and speech enhancement, and outlines NXP's software building blocks (Conversa and EAP), i.MX RT700 hardware, and Audio Lab validation, plus advice to start from user experience and leverage proven frameworks.
Episode Resources:
Laurent Pilati keynote at AWE
Essential Audio Processing Library
Conversa Voice Suite
i.MX-RT700 Product Details
00:00 Edge AI Intro
01:08 Meet Laurent Pilati
02:21 Why Smart Glasses
03:58 Natural Voice Interaction
05:55 Hearing in Noise
07:32 NXP Platform Stack
09:22 Developer Advice
11:15 Wrap Up and Resources

How DigiKey & NXP FRDM Boards Accelerate Embedded Prototyping (with Matt Mielke)
Co-hosts Kyle Dando and Bridgette Stone welcome Matt Mielke, an Applications Engineer at DigiKey to discuss how DigiKey supports embedded developers using NXP's FRDM evaluation board ecosystem from initial MCU evaluation through working prototypes. Matt explains DigiKey's role beyond distribution, including technical support escalation, published project content, and the DigiKey Tech Forum as a key resource for getting questions answered. He highlights why engineers choose DigiKey—large in-stock selection, fast shipping, and a website with detailed part resources—and describes common FRDM use cases across industries, with strong student adoption. The episode covers popular expansion options (Arduino, Click, Pmod), example demos using FRDM boards, typical firmware help requests, and new enablement topics like wireless sensing/localization, BLE channel sounding, UWB, and moving development to VS Code with Zephyr tools.
Episode Resources:
forum.digikey.com
NXP.com/FRDM
FRDM Training Hub
00:00 Welcome and Episode Focus
01:20 Meet DigiKey's Matt Mielke
02:15 Inside DigiKey and Apps Engineering
04:55 Why Engineers Choose DigiKey
06:04 Tech Forum Support Resource
07:47 Who Uses FRDM Boards
09:57 Expanding with Shields and Clicks
13:06 Common Firmware Help Requests
14:22 New Tech and VS Code Shift
15:56 Wrap Up and Next Steps

Reliable Drone Communications: Beyond Wi‑Fi with NXP's LA9310 Software-Defined Modem | EdgeVerse Techcast
EdgeVerse Techcast hosts Bridgette Stone and Kyle Dando discuss why professional drones need more reliable communication than typical Wi‑Fi or Bluetooth can provide, especially for fast-moving, long-range, interference-prone, and beyond-visual-line-of-sight operation. Wireless expert Wim Rouwet (NXP) explains how drone links differ between control and video, how use cases drive requirements, and why options range from Wi‑Fi for ground tasks to sub‑GHz control, UWB for precision landing, private 5G, and mesh networking for swarms. He covers safety considerations like FCC rules, fail-safes such as GPS "return to home," and gradual degradation of video quality. The episode highlights NXP's LA9310 software-defined modem, its DSP-based flexibility for custom waveforms and bands, available tools and open-source enablement, and how similar challenges extend to robotics.
Episode Resources:
LA9310 Programmable Baseband Processor | NXP Semiconductors
Drone Block Diagram (Interactive) 
Lime Microsystems | Home
 
00:00 Welcome and Topic Tease
01:53 Meet Wireless Expert Wim
03:31 Why Drone Links Are Hard
07:16 Hobby vs Pro Drone Needs
08:51 Safety and Fail Safe Design
11:37 Why Not Just Wi Fi
13:32 LA9310 Software Defined Modem
15:44 Ecosystem Partners and Open Source
17:04 Flexibility Bands and Swarms
18:34 Communication Stack PHY to MAC
21:57 Tools Enablement and AI Help
24:38 Beyond Drones Robotics Too
26:42 Key Takeaways and Wrap Up

EV Charging Goes Beyond Power: Plug-and-Charge, V2G, Security & NXP EasyEVSE Platforms | EdgeVerse Techcast
In this EdgeVerse Techcast episode, host Kyle Dando and co-host Bridgette Stone welcome Susanne "Susie" Zach, NXP's EV charging segment lead, to discuss how EV charging stations are becoming more intelligent, connected, and integrated with the energy ecosystem. Susie highlights key market trends including Plug-and-Charge authentication and growing interest in bi-directional charging and vehicle-to-grid capabilities, alongside rising requirements for cybersecurity, remote management, and interoperability. The conversation covers customer design challenges such as integrating power electronics, communications, cloud connectivity, metrology, compliance, and security while accelerating time to market. Susie explains NXP's system-level portfolio and EdgeLock security approach, and walks through three EasyEVSE development platforms—entry-level MCU, advanced MCU, and i.MX 93 Linux-based—plus where developers can get started.
Episode Resources:
www.nxp.com/evse
Deep Dive Video on EasyEVSE Development Platforms
App Code Hub: EVSE Example Projects
00:00 Welcome to EdgeVerse
00:31 EV Charging Curiosity
01:40 Market Trends Today
03:29 Design Challenges Ahead
05:15 NXP System Approach
07:06 EasyEVSE Platforms
09:56 Choosing the Right Fit
10:44 How to Get Started
12:21 Wrap Up and Links