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  • Author Author: rscasny
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What Would Be Your Favorite Project Build with the Cypress PSoC 6 Pioneer Kit?

Hi RoadTesters!

 

I recently met with Cypress concerning their new PSoc 6 MCU product line. The company believes the PSoc 6 is a real winner for engineers developing IoT products. In conjunction with the PSoc 6, they've produced a BLE Pioneer Dev Kit, based on its new PSoC 6 dual-core MCU architecture,

 

Here's an Unboxing Video of the dev kit:

 

 

Here's a quick overview of the PSoc 6 MCU architecture:

What's unique about the PSoc 6 is that it bridges the gap between application processors and standard microcontrollers. It features:

  •     Dual-core ARMRegistered CortexRegistered-M4 and ARM CortexRegistered-M0+, running at 150-MHz and 100-MHz, ultra-low-power 40nm architecture
  •     Ultra-low-power design that consumes as little as 22-μA/MHz in active power mode1 and 4.5-μA in deep sleep modes
  •     Flexibility with wired and wireless connectivity options, software defined peripherals, and CapSenseRegistered
  •     Integrated, hardware-based Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) with secure data storage

 

Power

The PSoC 6 MCU architecture reduces energy consumption with:

  •     Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling enabling both performance- and power-critical processing
  •     Auxiliary core which can be used as an offload engine for power efficiency, allowing the main core to sleep
  •     Ultra-low-power system: 22-µA/MHz active (CortexRegistered-M4) and 15-µA/MHz active (CortexRegistered-M0+)

 

Dual-Core Architecture

The PSoC 6 has a flexible dual-core architecture to optimize system power consumption and performance. This architecture has two processors CM0+ and CM4 on the same die, with all the memory and peripherals available for use by both the cores. This adds a lot of value to the user who wants to set up a system where the processing load is shared by the two cores.

image

Security

The PSoC 6 provides secure, internal storage for firmware, applications and secure assets, including:

  •     Scalable secure memory for multiple, independent user-defined security policies,
  •     Cryptographic algorithms including elliptical-curve cryptography (ECC) and advanced encryption standard (AES) with integrated hardware coprocessors
  •     A specialized hardware block designed to offload compute-intensive tasks from the main processor

 

Are you Looking for a Device That's Built for the Internet of Things? Then Check out the PSoc 6!

Cypress believes that the PSoC 6 will serve as the catalyst for differentiated IoT devices because:

  •     Software-defined peripherals can be used to create custom analog front-ends (AFEs) or digital interfaces for innovative system components such as electronic-ink displays.
  •     Flexible wireless connectivity options, including fully integrated Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.0.
  •     CapSenseRegistered capacitive-sensing technology, enabling modern touch and gesture-based interfaces
  •     Support by Cypress's PSoC CreatorTm Integrated Design Environment (IDE) and the expansive ARM ecosystem.

 

Click here for some application examples.

 

If you are new to Cypress PSoC MCUs, click here for a glossary of key PSoC terms.

 

Before I offer a RoadTest on this product, I'm curious to learn what would be your favorite project builds with this kit? And why the PSoc 6 is a great fit for your idea. Thanks.

 

Please leave any comments below.

 

Sincerely,

 

Randall Scasny

RoadTest Program Manager

  • in reply to gpolder

    Couldn't you wire up the DAC and comparator as ADC?

  • in reply to dougw

    I disagree!

    You could build a SCAD or similar graphic description language interpreter or on the fly compiler onto a 3D printing mechanism - Just like a PostScript printer but in 3D!

    In addition you could build smarts into it for clever construction logic and not the dumb raster layer method.

  • As most of you know I think that the PSOC Rocks!

    I've used PSoC4 and 5LPs and can't wait until my order for the PSoC 6 arrives.

     

    The PSoC6 has dual CPUs and is designed for cryptosecurity.

    I wonder if it could be adapted as a bitcoin miner and make me a virtual trillionaire?

  • in reply to BigG

    I agree on FFT applications. I did software defined radio decoding (SDR) with a PSoC 5LP (Cypress PSoCRegistered 5LP Prototyping Kit - Review ).

    Tried that on a PSoC 4M (CY8CKIT-044 PSoCRegistered 4 M-Series Pioneer Kit - Review ) but unfortunately that one didn't have the ADC needed for SDR. When the PSoC 6 has an 14 bit or even beter a 16 bit resolution ADC, SDR would be a neat project.

  • in reply to Jan Cumps

    Hi Jan,

    You are correct, 3D printing isn't terribly compute-intensive. I was thinking about a high end machine that includes features like sending images of the print to your phone after every layer is deposited or on demand, or one that runs more extensive self-diagnostics with a comprehensive continuous display on the e-ink display.Or a system that can catch print problems and allows them to be fixed and resumed. How about a machine that allows jobs to be suspended so you can work on the piece, perhaps adding supports or auxiliary pieces, before resuming. Or a machine that can start on any layer. I haven't thought through all the potential features that might be in a high end machine, but when you start adding a lot of features it is nice to have extra horsepower.

  • in reply to dougw

    I agree that to fully test capability will involve some complexity. For me it's important to test the unique features of dual core. How exactly does this work and what can you get out of this package that a single or two separate controllers will struggle to deliver.

     

    Thus FFT applications (eg vibration analysis) springs to mind, where one core is managing sensor data collection and the other processor is crunching the data.

  • in reply to rscasny

    Randall Scasny wrote:

     

    Overall lots of great ideas:

    ...

    True. There's loads of inspiration for this one .

    Randall Scasny wrote:

     

    ...

    • a high end 3D printer

    ...

    Just a heads-up to who has this idea for a PSoC project (hey Douglas image ): the challenges for a 3d printer aren't that much CPU related. It's mechanics and physics.

    Good control over heat, position and movement are important - but still a ripple in the design of a high-end 3d printer.

  • Overall lots of great ideas:

     

    • upgrade controller for CNC kit
    • a high end 3D printer
    • a vehicle nanny that monitors, analyzes, diagnoses and reminds you of vehicle performance, health and maintenance schedules
    • an autonomous robot to mow lawns, clean beaches, plow driveways, clean pools, vacuum clean a house or groom a baseball pitch.
    • a controller for a self-balancing 2-wheeler personal transporter
    • a front end controller for a sonar system that can map a river bed or a lake bed or use a second one to autonomously control a boat to automatically map a lake bed (at night)
    • A DIY precious metal detector project
    • Agile Sprint Display
    • Personal Productivity manager
    • Email and Weather Display
    • Industrial Process Summary
    • Music synthesizer / DJ booth

  • You could use the various blocks to create a music synthesizer / DJ booth, this could be combined with samples from the memory and triggered by the cap sense switches.

    The TCPWM block can be configured as a quadrature decoder to perform scratch functionality and the slider used to cross fade between tracks.

     

    The USB-C connector would be ideal for DJ's to hook up their MacBooks but I'm not sure that leaves the rest of us with older hardware?

  • in reply to dougw

    •a front end controller for a sonar system that can map a river bed or a lake bed or use a second one to autonomously control a boat to automatically map a lake bed (at night)

     

    That's my favourite so far. Would you call it a boat? It's more like a floating drone. Perhaps you could make it a drone with floats - then it could fly from lake to lake. Make it solar powered too and you could have a go at mapping all the lakes in Canada (are there many of them?).