Over the past year, we showed you how the LaunchPad ecosystem can be leveraged to create wireless lamps based on Sub-1 GHz, and Wi-Fi. This journey started with a simple capacitive-touch switch and then evolved to include a server to be used for turning a lamp on and off. Wait until you see what we have this time!
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Two new BoosterPacks are bringing the LaunchPad ecosystem to a new level:
- The Fuel Tank plug-in module for MCU LaunchPad evaluation kits adds mobility and lithium battery charging capability to any design. If you didn't catch it already, you can check out the webinar hosted by element14.
- Anaren’s new CC2541-based AIR module with Bluetooth® SMART technology lets you wirelessly control your product with a smart phone. Support includes a CC2541 BoosterPack compatible with TI’s LaunchPad evaluation kits and an app development portal from Emmoco.
With these new BoosterPacks, you can tweak the wireless lamp for control using the Em-Blinker app from Anaren's out-of-box experience. I chose to tweak an old plug to make this demo a little more versatility. This plug is switched on and off using a TRIAC as described by RobG at 43oh. Then you can use the MSP430 USB LaunchPad (MSP-EXP430F5529LP) with the help of the BoosterPacks described above for control.
To change the Em-Blinker app to act as a simple switch, all that is needed is a simplification of the Blinker-Prog.c file that is loaded with the Em-Builder IDE. You could enable more functionality by using the other features of the app as taught with the training material that comes pre-loaded in the IDE.
As the LaunchPad ecosystem expands, the possibilities are endless! If you are as excited as I am, you can order your MSP430 USB LaunchPad, Fuel Tank BoosterPack, and Anaren's BLE BoosterPack today!