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Solar-Powered Bluetooth Low Energy IoT Device Development Kit

November 21, 2019 by Paul Shepard

The S6SAE101A00SA1002 Solar Powered IoT Device Development Kit from Cypress Semiconductor provides an easy- to-use platform for the development of a solar-powered IoT device with BLE wireless connectivity. It includes the S6AE101A energy harvesting power management IC (PMIC).

Also included in the kit is Cypress' EZ-BLE™ PRoC™ Module (CYBLE-022001-00), a fully-integrated Bluetooth Low Energy module solution that offers high flexibility for a wide variety of IoT device uses. A USB port is provided by Cypress' USB-UART LP Bridge Controller device (CY7C65213).

The following are the applications that can benefit from the Solar Powered IoT Device Kit:

  • Battery-less WSN
  • IoT devices that monitor various sensors
  • BLE Beacons
  • Wearable devices
  • Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS)
  • Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS)
  • Factory Energy Management Systems (FEMS)
  • Wireless lighting controls
  • Wireless HVAC sensors
  • Security systems

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Block diagram of development kit (click on diagram to enlarge)

The Solar Powered IoT Device Kit provides everything needed to develop a light-powered sensor node that transmits sensor data using BLE:

  • Operates using light (>200 lux) energy harvested by the included solar cell
    • Supports the use of a vibration Energy Harvesting Device with an external diode bridge (not included)
    • Supports the use of a coin cell battery (optional, not supplied)
  • Supports BLE communication with a PC through the provided BLE-USB Bridge that is pre-programmed with custom firmware for this kit
  • Includes firmware that supports the following applications:
    • Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Beacon, transmitting data at 1.5 sec intervals with ambient light as low as 200 lux
    • Wireless Sensor Node (WSN), transmitting data at 6 sec intervals with ambient light as low as 200 lux
  • Includes an expandable terminal on the Motherboard that can support the following:
    • Reset button for EZ-BLE Module
    • JTAG header to debug EZ-BLE Module
    • Expandable sensor interface (I2C/UART/SPI/GPIO)
    • DIP switch for future expansion (Not mounted)
    • LEDs for USB power and status
  • Includes reference schematic, BOM list, and layout data for easy design

Kit Contents:

  • Energy Harvesting Motherboard, which uses the following Cypress devices:
    • S6AE101A ultra low power Energy Harvesting PMIC
    • CYBLE-022001-00 EZ-BLE PRoC Module
    • CY7C65213 USB-UART LP Bridge Controller
    • MB39C022G LDO
  • BLE-USB Bridge, which uses the following Cypress devices:
    • CY8C58LP PSoC 5LP
    • CYBL10162 PRoC BLE
  • Solar Module (Panasonic AM-1801)
  • USB Standard-A to Mini-B cable
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Two jumper wires, 220μF Capacitor and 10Ω Resistor (to support example projects)