A Consolidated Compute Platform for Modern Motor Systems

Motors power billions of devices across homes, industry, agriculture, and consumer products. For decades, motor architectures were optimized around one primary objective: control performance. Connectivity, analytics, and intelligence were layered on only when necessary.

That model is reaching its limits because today’s motor-driven products are expected to connect, adapt, update securely, and respond intelligently to changing conditions. They’re no longer isolated control nodes, but intelligent endpoints within broader digital systems. This evolution requires more than better control algorithms. It requires integrated wireless, compute, and machine learning (ML) at the core of the motion system.

Silicon Labs’ MG24-based connected motor solution represents this architectural shift.

Why Traditional Motor System Architectures No Longer Scale

Historically, connected motor systems were assembled from multiple components:

• A dedicated motor-control MCU
• A separate wireless SoC or module
• Optional security elements
• Additional processors for sensing or analytics

While functional, this fragmented model increases bill of materials (BOM) cost, PCB footprint, firmware complexity, and system latency. More importantly, it divides processing responsibility across devices, making feature expansion more difficult over time.

Adding wireless commissioning, over-the-air (OTA) updates, predictive diagnostics, or anomaly detection often requires redesigning system architecture rather than extending it. At the same time, product expectations have expanded. Modern motor-driven devices must be:

• Wirelessly connected for configuration and diagnostics
• Secure and field-updatable
• Capable of local analysis and intelligent response
• Compact and energy-efficient
• Cost-optimized for scale

Meeting all these requirements with a multi-chip approach is increasingly inefficient.

MG24: A Wireless Compute Platform for Connected Motion

MG24 Multiprotocol Wireless SoC is designed for mid-range, connected motor systems where integration, efficiency, and intelligence drive differentiation.

MG24 consolidates the following all within a single SoC:

• Real-time BLDC Field-Oriented Control (FOC)
• Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) connectivity
• Hardware-based security with Silicon Labs Secure Vault
• DSP capability and machine learning acceleration
• Event-driven hardware subsystems such as PRS and LESENSE

This integration enables a unified architecture where motion control, wireless communication, and intelligent processing operate together without competing for system resources.

Deterministic Motion Meets Wireless Responsiveness

Running real-time FOC alongside an active Bluetooth stack traditionally required separate processors to consistently meet tight control loop deadlines. The MG24 demonstrates that this separation is no longer necessary by maintaining precise motor control while sustaining wireless communication and application-level processing.

Designers can build connected motion systems without worrying that protocol activity will disrupt time-critical control loops. This balance is fundamental to next-generation wireless compute architectures for motion.

Intelligence at the Edge

As motion systems become connected, they must also become aware. With integrated DSP capability and the Matrix Vector Processor (MVP) hardware accelerator, MG24 enables local data processing for:

• Vibration analysis
• Anomaly detection
• Predictive maintenance
• Performance optimization

By processing data at the edge, systems can respond immediately to mechanical changes, reduce cloud bandwidth, and improve overall efficiency. Motor-driven products evolve from executing commands to making informed decisions.

Hardware-Level Event Handling for Efficiency and Stability

The Peripheral Reflex System (PRS) and LESENSE allow hardware-triggered responses to motor and sensor events without CPU intervention. This event-driven design reduces latency, improves stability, and optimizes power consumption. It also frees processing headroom for higher-level functionality, strengthening the overall system architecture.

Security as a System Foundation

Connected devices must be trusted over their lifetime. MG24 integrates Secure Vault™ with PSA Level 3 certification, ensuring secure boot, protected key storage, device identity, and encrypted OTA updates. This security foundation enables large-scale deployment of connected motor systems with confidence.

Demonstration: Wireless Compute Controlling Motion in Real Time

The architectural shift becomes clear in this demonstration.