Cypress Semiconductor Corp. announced a unified software tool suite that streamlines product designs for the Internet of Things (IoT). The new ModusToolbox™ suite delivers the rich design resources of Cypress’ WICED® IoT connectivity libraries and the analog and digital peripherals libraries of its PSoC® microcontrollers (MCUs) within the familiar, widely-deployed open-source Eclipse Integrated Design Environments (IDEs). The software enables IoT developers to design in the connectivity, processing, sensing and security functionality they need, leveraging the superb performance of Cypress’ Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth® and combo solutions, as well as its low-power, flexible and secure PSoC MCUs. Developers can personalize their user experience in the software to meet the unique requirements of their specific development with plug-ins, libraries and solutions from Cypress partners, as well as from the open source community.
“The Internet of Things cuts across a diverse range of markets and applications—from smart factory automation equipment to connected toothbrushes—but these smart products all share common, basic building blocks: connectivity, processing, sensing and security,” said Sudhir Gopalswamy, senior vice president of the Microcontrollers and Connectivity Division at Cypress. “Cypress’ ModusToolbox provides a single, easy-to-use software suite that enables our customers to integrate these building blocks while leveraging the differentiating features of Cypress’ industry-leading IoT connectivity and MCU solutions. ModusToolbox gives developers the familiar design experience of Eclipse IDEs and the flexibility to choose partners from Cypress’ IoT ecosystem that fit the specific needs of their designs.”
Best-in-class IoT Connectivity, Processing, Sensing and Security in One Tool
Cypress’ WICED (Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices) is an integrated and interoperable wireless software development kit (SDK) supported in ModusToolbox. The SDK includes the industry’s most broadly deployed and rigorously tested Wi-Fi and Bluetooth protocol stacks, as well as simplified application programming interfaces (APIs) that free developers from needing to learn complex wireless technologies. In line with the IoT trend toward dual-mode connectivity, the WICED SDK supports Cypress’ Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo solutions and its Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices. Cypress’ wireless connectivity solutions integrate an advanced coexistence engine that enables optimal combined performance for dual-band 2.4- and 5-GHz Wi-Fi and dual-mode Bluetooth/BLE 5.0 applications simultaneously. ModusToolbox enhances the WICED design flow with the latest Eclipse IDE features and makes it easy for other environments to incorporate designs.
ModusToolbox supports Cypress’ PSoC 6 MCU, which is purpose-built for the IoT. PSoC 6 leverages ultra-low power 40-nanometer process technology, low-power design techniques, a dual-core Arm® Cortex®-M4 and Cortex-M0+ architecture and configurable analog and digital resources to provide the industry’s lowest power, most flexible MCU with integrated hardware-based security in a single device. Cypress’ Peripheral Driver Library (PDL) provides a simple, consistent design approach for developers to maximize the ultra-low power, dual-core PSoC 6 architecture to extend battery life and provide efficient processing capacity. The library includes easy-to-use proximity- and touch-sensing solutions based on Cypress’ industry-leading CapSense® capacitive-sensing technology. ModusToolbox also enables developers to protect sensitive data in their applications with the PSoC 6 MCU’s hardware-based security features such as its isolated execution environment, integrated secure element functionality and crypto accelerators.
Cypress’ new PSoC 6 Wi-Fi Pioneer Kit works with ModusToolbox’s unified design flow to improve design cycle times for IoT device applications. The kit features a PSoC 62 MCU and a module based on Cypress’ CYW4343W Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo chip. With the PSoC 6 MCU’s low-power, secure processing and the flexibility of its internal digital and analog resources, the kit allows IoT developers to easily implement robust wireless connectivity to support cloud ecosystem providers and enables longer battery life and small form factors. Cypress is demonstrating the ModusToolbox and the PSoC 6 Wi-Fi Pioneer Kit, along with its complete embedded systems solution portfolio, at the Embedded World trade show in hall 4A, stand 148 of the Nuremberg Exhibition Center from February 27 to March 1.
