FTDI has released a new USB host IC with Android compatibility, as well as two new application modules supporting its Vinculum-II 16-bit microcontroller with support for USB host and peripheral functionality.
The FT312D USB host provides a bridge between peripheral hardware/systems and an Android platform with a USB device port. It will enumerate USB and Android Open Accessory and provide a UART interface for peripheral integration (proper compatibility requires Android Open Accessory Mode, available in Android platforms 3.1 onwards).
The IC acts as a USB 2.0 Full Speed host, operates from a 3,3 V power supply and features an internal memory for storing configurable strings, allowing Android to automatically detect the device and application. Typical applications include connecting an Android device to a motor controller, an external microcontroller, external sensors, external storage or a printer.
To support FT312D implementations, the FTDI Chip Android Open Accessory HyperTerm Utility is available for download on Google Play.
The new application modules for Vinculum-II are the VDrive3 and VMusic3. VDrive3 supports quick and easy integration of a USB host port into a product via UART or SPI interfaces, providing a solution to enable products with the capability to read USB memory sticks. The VMusic3 module provides all the functionality of the VDrive3, but also includes VLSI Solution’s VS1053b compressed audio codec to provide audio playback.
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