Development kit for low power embedded WiFi networks
1 min read
Solid State Supplies has announced a development kit for the XBee family of flexible embedded WiFi modules.
The kit consists of two XBee WiFi modules and two carrier boards with serial and USB connectivity options.
With SPI and UART serial interfaces, XBee modules, manufactured by Digi, support 802.11 b/g/n and SPI data rates up to 3.5Mb/s. In deep sleep mode they consume less than 2uA whilst in low power mode the XBee WiFi can maintain a connection to the access point consuming only 1.5mA. The modules work with a variety of antennas including printed circuit board (embedded), U.FL, RPSMA and wired whip, and operate over the industrial temperature range of -40 to 85°C. Each has four 12bit a/d converter inputs and 10 digital I/O lines.
All XBee modules feature a single common footprint, enabling equipment manufacturers to support a variety of point to point, point to multipoint and meshing wireless (eg Zigbee) protocols. They're designed for use in energy management, process and factory automation, wireless sensor networks, intelligent asset management, and other machine to machine applications. Configuration options are available through simple AT or API commands and the modules can operate in infrastructure mode for connecting to any standard off the shelf WiFi access point or in ad hoc mode to connect directly to another WiFi device. They operate over 14 channels and offer both WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK security encryption.
Operating from a single 3.1 to 3.6Vdc supply, the modules have a maximum transmit current of 250mA and receive current of 150mA, at 3.3V in normal operation.
