Cypress unveils iPhone accessories expansion kit

Cypress Semiconductor has introduced a development platform for Apple iPhone and iPod accessories, based on its PSoC 3 architecture.

Designers can use Cypress's CY8CKIT-023 PSoC Expansion Board Kit For iPhone and iPod Accessories - a plug-in board to Cypress's CY8CKIT-001 PSoC Platform Development Kit - to streamline design of mobile accessories using the PSoC programmable system-on-chip architecture.

The kit leverages the iPhone OS operating system of Apple's iPhone and iPod products and the corresponding iPhone SDK (Software Development Kit) to provide a two-way communication interface between apps from Apple's App Store and corresponding accessories.

The PSoC-based development platform enables highly integrated modular design of functions, such as capacitive touch-sensing and LCD segment drive for traditional iPhone and iPod accessories, such as audio docks and speakers, chargers and automotive products.

The platform also enables a range accessories to leverage the 480 x 320 touchscreen display and many other features of the iPhone and iPod touch for a range of markets and applications.

When used in conjunction with the PSoC Development Kit, the PSoC Expansion Board Kit For iPhone and iPod Accessories offers support for Cypress's recently announced PSoC 3 and PSoC 5 product families, as well as the PSoC 1 range.

The platform is powered by the PSoC Creator Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which introduces a schematic-based design methodology, along with fully tested, pre-packaged analogue and digital peripherals that are easily customisable through user-intuitive wizards and APIs.

The PSoC Expansion Board Kit For iPhone and iPod Accessories features a plug-in board that connects to the PSoC Development Kit, enabling PSoC to communicate with the iPhone and iPod.

The kit showcases the capabilities for developers to record to and play from an iPhone or iPod with a microphone input and speaker output on the plug-in board, while simultaneously highlighting PSoC's capabilities to power Capsense capacitive touch-sensing buttons and sliders for playback control, as well as drive an LCD to display metadata from multimedia.

The kit also comes with an iPhone app and a PSoC project example to demonstrate communication between iPhone apps and accessories.

Cypress plans to release a full assortment of other plug-in boards that each interface to a variety of electronic sensors and actuators, and perform various application functions such as audio processing, Controller Area Network (CAN), high-precision analogue sensors and QVGA graphics.

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