ZigBee Simplified – the Advanced Evaluation Kit for the ConnectZED
Launched at Smart Grid Paris 2011[1], alongside a fully working smart grid solution from AND, the kit is now available for general release.
Comprising of a minimum* of three ConnectZED modules, two power baseboards, one programming baseboard & the TestZED PC software – the Advanced Evaluation Kit (CZED-RAK-100) provides the perfect platform for evaluating, developing & testing ZigBee.
Operating in the 2.4GHz RF band, the ConnectZED modules are supplied & preloaded with the Renesas ZigBee PRO stack & Smart Energy (SE) ZigBee application profile.
Each kit is supplied with one module pre-configured as a Coordinator, one as a specialist TestZED module & the remaining module(s) as a Router to enable a working ZigBee network to be formed straight out-of-the-box.
The specialist TestZED module is designed to interoperate with the bundled PC TestZED software & can function as either a ZigBee Coordinator or Router depending on how it is initialised via the TestZED application & of course down to your specific development needs.
However, the real hidden ‘gem’ in this kit is the TestZED PC software itself, which not only gives you greater visibility of network communications, but enables direct testing of the ZigBee Profile & your developed application, through the reading/writing to the individual attributes of the profile’s clusters – allowing scenarios to be quickly setup & tested.
Where lengthy commands would normally need to be manually entered, or test scripts prepared to read/write to attributes in the ZigBee profile or user application, TestZED does away with this, by offering the same fine level of control, but through a comprehensive, easy to use, Windows interface. Control from as small as entering a price value in the Price Cluster, right through to performing a firmware update using the OTA Cluster can all be achieved with only a few mouse clicks.
Two types of baseboard provide flexibility when using the kit. The basic Power board powers an attached module through its mini USB port & provides a communication interface between the module & the PC, while the Programming board offers this plus reprogramming of the firmware inside the module.
As is standard with all AND products, the ConnectZED Evaluation Kit comes fully backed up with direct technical email & telephone support, so when you really start to develop your ZigBee based design you can rest assured that there is not just technical support at a simple call/email away, but complete embedded expertise & design services available too.
So now not only is there a versatile ZigBee module option available in a range of configurations (SIL pins, direct solder onto board) & profiles (SE, HA & dual profiles SE+HA) to drop directly into your designs through ConnectZED, the addition of the Advanced Evaluation Kit provides a complete powerful ZigBee evaluation, development & testing platform - all from one box.
Want to learn more? See a demo? Get custom pricing? Please contact the team at [email protected]
* Three ConnectZED modules, two power baseboards, one programming baseboard & the TestZED software are provided as a minimum in the Advanced Evaluation Kit. However, the kit is completely configurable, so if you require more modules then let us know.