MyIoT: Infineon Shield2Go Boards for IoT - Review

Table of contents

RoadTest: MyIoT: Infineon Shield2Go Boards for IoT

Author: anuag_ashim

Creation date:

Evaluation Type: Development Boards & Tools

Did you receive all parts the manufacturer stated would be included in the package?: True

What other parts do you consider comparable to this product?: Other development boards in the market.

What were the biggest problems encountered?: Too many documentation but well written.

Detailed Review:

 

Thank you to Element14 and Infineon for selecting me for this road test. This is my detailed road-test review of the MyIoT: Infineon Shield2Go Boards for IoT.

 

Unboxing Review

 

The unboxing was simple. Everything was delivered in a ESD packet. All the boards were delivered properly with the the pin-outs. I soldered all the pin connectors to the boards.

 

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                 The unboxing pictures

IoT Board Features & Theory

 

The Infineon MyIoT kit came with 2 development boards XMC1100 Boot Kit (KIT_XMC11_BOOT_001) and XMC 2Go development board(KIT_XMC_2GO_XMC1100_V1). Both the boards are based on ARM Cortex M0 based XMC1100 Microcontroller.

 

XMC1100 Boot Kit

 

The XMC1100 board is compatible with Arduino. Hence, different Arduino shield boards can be used with the XMC1100 Microcontroller board. It can be powered by micro-USB or with external power supply via DC jack (DC power jack not mounted)

 

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Block Diagram

Documentation can be read here. Linkimage

 

XMC 2Go Kit

 

The XMC 2Go is a mini development board also with ARM Cortex M0 based XMC1100 Microcontroller from Infineon. It has 32 MHz CPU clock, 64 MHz Timer clock. It can be powered from USB via Debug probe or 3.3V externally. It has 4x4mm VQFN24 package of the XMC1100 Microcontroller.

 

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Feature List

 

S2GO PRESSURE DPS310 Sensor

 

The mini-board sensor has one DPS310 barometric pressure sensor with ultra-high +/-0.005 hPa resolution (equating to +/-5 cm). It has a wide pressure operation range of 300hPa – 1200hPa. The sensor has a temperature accuracy of ±0.5°C.

 

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Documentation is here. Link

 

S2GO TLI4970 Current Sense Sensor

 

TLI4970 is a high-precision current sensor based on Infineon´s proven Hall technology. S2Go CurrentSense TLI4970 sensor board does not need external calibration or additional A/D converters, 0 pAmps or reference voltage. The TLI4970 sensor has AC&DC measurement range up to ±50A with fast over-current detection with configurable threshold. It has a 16 bit digital SPI output (13 bit current value) read-out.

 

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Documentation is here. Link

 

S2Go TLV493D-A1B6 3DSense Sensor

 

The 3D TLV493D-A1B6 sensor can be used for three-dimensional sensing. Its magnetic field detects x, y, and z-direction and the sensor can measure three-dimensional, linear and rotation motion. It consumes low power. The integrated temperature sensor is a plus.

 

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Documentation is here. Link

 

There are also other Infineon Shields for Arduino which can be bought. Some of them are New Dual H-Bridge Shield with IFX9202ED, RGB LED Lighting Shield with XMC1202,DC Motor Shield with TLE94112EL for Arduino, Stepper Motor Control Shield with IFX9201 & XMC1300 etc. This is my first experience with the Infineon Arduino Shields and with much documentation available it should be fast and easy.

 

 

The IOT Adaptor

 

In this IOT kit I also got an IOT adapter board. This external hardware IoT adapter should be used when interfacing the above S2Go sensors with Arduino and Raspberry PI.

 

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imageimageimageimage WARNING when using S2GO sensor boards with Arduino

 

  • The TLV493D-A1B6,DPS310 barometric pressure sensor, TLI4970 current sensor boards have a maximum rating of 3.5 V on each pin.
  • Third party boards with 5 V logic such as Arduino Uno, cannot be connected to the Shield2Go boards directly.
  • Even if the power is connected to the 3.3 V pin, the interface lines, e.g. SDA/SCL, will still be driven by 5 V.
  • Appropriate level shifting must be used for these Shield2Go boards.

 

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Wemos D1 mini board

The Wemos D1 mini board is a mini wifi board with 4MB flash and is based on ESP-8266EX. It has a micro USB connection and is compatible with Arduino, nodemcu and MicroPython. It is pretty small board and popular in the Arduino community.

 

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Documentation is here. Link

 

 

Software Installation

The Infineon XMC development Boards can be programmed via Arduino IDE or PlatformIO IDE. I have some experience with Arduino IDE so I am going to use it to test the sensor boards.

 

Using XMC dev-board in Arduino IDE

 

To program the XMC dev-board in Arduino IDE install the Segger J-Link Software package from here.

 

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Set the preferences in Arduino IDE as mentioned here in the GitHUB. And also install the infineon packages for the XMC micro-controller from GIT in the Arduino  IDE.

 

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It may need some time and then we are ready to go.

 

Using PlatformIO IDE

 

Another way is to use the open source cross platform code builder PlatformIO IDE. It can be installed from this webpage here. In this road test i will use the Arduino IDE as I am familiar with it. I do plan to investigate PlatformIO IDE if the time permits. The software download page.

 

In this blog I explained the theory and specifications of all the S2GO sensors and the XMC development boards. To understand the pin-outs and the function of each sensor in my mind is important to move ahead.

 

Functionality tests of the S2Go Sensors

 

Here I tested the functionality of the S2Go sensors with the XMC1100 micro-controller Bootkit board together with the IOT Adapter board and Wemos. The part 2 blog  Roadtest Review Blog Functionality tests S2Go Sensors

 

Wemos D1 mini Wifi module Tests

 

The tests and working of the wemos wifi module MyIoT: Infineon Shield2Go Boards for IoT with Wemos functionality

 

Conclusion

 

I would conclude that the MyIoT: Infineon Shield2Go Boards for IoT and the wemos module are easy to work with sensors. They can be used for fast prototype building. They are well supported with many examples on the infineon blog. They are also documented properly. The infineon support is fast and reliable. I had much fun working with these sensors. I would recommend them to IOT and sensor enthusiasts.

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