Our design team is working with Cypress Semiconductor to create a wireless component for their PSoC Creator software package. A PSoC (programmable system-on-chip) is an integrated circuit that is capable of performing a wide range of analog, digital, and mixed signal functions. This project will demonstrate these functionalities in an effort to show the versatility of a PSoC.
The wireless network is established by using XBeePRO radios that implement the ZigBee protocol. The radios and protocol are designed to work efficiently with low power consumption. They also operate in the 900MHz range which is ideal for communications that can penetrate walls and other objects that may interfere with the radio signals.
In the beginning of the design flow the PSoC will be used for data acquisition. Data such as power consumption, temperatures, or motion from a sensor, is received by the PSoC and converted to digital signals. These digital signals are then packaged so that the XBee radios can receive and transmit the data. Once the data is received on the other end, the XBee radio will pass the information to another PSoC for processing. In the final stage the PSoC transmits the data to a computer via a USB interface.
This process will be packaged for PSoC Creator so that customers can implement this functionality by following a simple tutorial on the Cypress website.