PSoC Express 3.0 Visual Embedded System Design Tool - Cypress

Cypress introduced Version 3.0 of PSoC Express, a visual embedded system design tool for PSoC mixed-signal arrays. The visual embedded system design tool includes dozens of pre-coded modules that allow designers to drag-and-drop functions into their design. PSoC Express v3.0 delivers real-time monitoring and tuning of designs. This features help designers to improve the performance of designs with EZ-Color High-Brightness LED (HB-LED) control and CapSense touch sensing solutions.

Cypress Free Webminar: Code-Free Embedded System Design with PSoC Express
Cypress is going to host a free webminar, titled Code-Free Embedded System Design with PSoC Express, that will explore visual embedded system design with its PSoC Express 3.0 design tool. The 60-minutes online seminar will be presented in conjunction with CMP Media's Electronic Engineering Times on Wednesday, August 22 at 9:00 a.m. PDT. The webinar will demonstrate how quick and easy it is to complete a sample CapSense touch sensitive interface design with PSoC Express 3.0.

Designers can now monitor application data via an I2C to USB bridge connected to a target board. PSoC Express acquires and logs the data and enables users to select variables, set sample rates, and watch updated variable values in real time. Then, with the target board still running, the tuner allows users to adjust configurations and tune system performance.

In addition to the new monitoring and tuning functionality, PSoC Express 3.0 also boasts a new user interface with the look and feel of Microsoft's Visual Studio. It enables flexible window docking, drag and drop placement of drivers and easy window switching. The new version also includes new functional drivers, including support for high-brightness LEDs, a new wireless driver and an LCD driver.

Cypress PSoC Express

PSoC Express is the first easy-to-use development tool that allows system engineers to develop microcontroller-based designs without any Assembly language or C programming. By operating at a higher level of abstraction and not requiring firmware development, PSoC Express enables new designs to be created, simulated and programmed to the targeted PSoC mixed-signal array in hours or days instead of in weeks or months. With built-in support for portability, seamless multi-processing, design visualization and a rich content library, designs can be created faster and with higher reliability using PSoC Express.

With PSoC Express, designers work within their areas of application expertise, defining a custom solution by choosing input and output devices from a catalog, and then logically linking them to define system behavior. For example, a user can select temperature sensors, voltage inputs, fans, LEDs, and then define temperature regions for fan operation, voltage monitor thresholds and "sequence-on" logic. Within PSoC Express the designer is able to verify designs through simulation, then generate and download the device-programming file. The tool allows users to target the design to any of Cypress's PSoC devices with appropriate resources. It also creates customized project documentation including a datasheet with register map, interface schematics, and bill of materials. Without writing any microcontroller code, designers implement reliable, custom applications faster than they can write the requirements.

PSoC devices employ a highly configurable system-on-chip architecture for embedded control design, offering a flash-based equivalent of a field-programmable ASIC without lead-time or NRE penalties. PSoC devices integrate configurable analog and digital circuits, controlled by an on-chip microcontroller, providing both enhanced design revision capability and component count savings. They include up to 32 Kbytes of Flash memory, 2 Kbytes of SRAM, an 8×8 multiplier with 32-bit accumulator, power and sleep monitoring circuits, and hardware I2C communications.

The flexible PSoC resources allow designers to future-proof their products by enabling firmware-based changes during design, validation, production, and in the field. PSoC's flexible routing allows nearly any function to be mapped to nearly any output pin. The unique PSoC flexibility shortens design cycle time and allows for late-breaking feature enhancements. All PSoC devices are also dynamically reconfigurable, enabling designers to morph internal resources on-the-fly, utilizing fewer components to perform multiple tasks.

Easy to use development tools enable designers to select configurable library elements for analog functions such as amplifiers, ADCs, DACs, filters and comparators and digital functions such as timers, counters, PWMs, SPI and UARTs. The PSoC family's analog features include rail-to-rail inputs, programmable gain amplifiers and up to 14-bit ADCs with exceptionally low noise, input leakage and voltage offset.

A single PSoC device can integrate as many as 100 peripheral functions saving customers design time, board space and power consumption while improving system quality. Customers can save from 5 cents to as much as $10 in system costs.

Customers can see a flash demo and download this powerful software for free from Cypress’s website. They can also test the new features with Cypress's CapSense Touch Sensing Evaluation Kit (CY3203A-CapSense) and EZ-Color HB-LED Evaluation Kit (CY3261A-RGB).

More info: Cypress PSoC Express