Programmable Wixel Module

Description

Wixel module built around the Texas Instruments CC2511F32 microcontroller. It integrates a 2.4 GHz transceiver and offers 15 general-purpose I/O lines (6 of which are analogue inputs), 32 KB of flash memory, 4 KB of RAM and a full-speed USB interface. A single Wixel can be used as a computer interface device, as a USB-to-serial adapter, or as the main controller of your system. Connecting the Wixel to a computer needs a USB (A) to Mini (B) cable or a USB (A) to Mini (B) adapter, while the wireless features need 2 Wixel modules.

The wireless features need 2 Wixel modules. The board has a bootloader that works with the free “Wixel Configuration Utility” software to load custom or pre-compiled programs and open-source apps, with no external programmer needed. No programming experience or software compiler is required to use these applications: you can simply download a different app to put the Wixel to work in your next project. To find out more about the apps available, click here…

The “Wireless Serial App” turns a single Wixel into a USB-to-serial adapter, and a pair of Wixels into a wireless USB / TTL serial link for communication between two microcontrollers (much like an XBee link) or between a PC and a microcontroller. Among many other things, you can use this versatile app to let two robots talk to each other, or to monitor or control a robot from a remote computer. A special version of the app is designed for the Wixel Shield for Arduino, making it easy to add wireless features, wireless programming included, to an Arduino or an Arduino clone. Using an RF bit rate of 350 kbps, the serial app can send or receive up to 10 KB of data per second and reach a range of about 15 metres indoors. Several serial links can run at the same time on different channels.

• Full-speed USB
• 2.4 GHz radio with 256 available channels that can be configured on the fly
• Programmable through the USB bootloader (no external programmer needed)
• Wixel SDK for developing your own applications in C using open source tools and libraries
• 3 indicator LEDs
• 15 general-purpose I/O lines, 6 of them analogue inputs, 2 USARTs (for serial or SPI) and a 7-channel timer
• 4 KB of RAM and 29 KB of program memory (flash)

• Wixel Windows Drivers and Software (release 121129) (12MB zip): This ZIP archive contains the installation files for the Wixel Configuration Utility, the Wixel command-line utility (WixelCmd), and the required USB drivers for Microsoft Windows.
• Wixel Development Bundle for Windows (version 120127) (10MB exe): This bundle contains all the software you need to get started developing your own Wixel apps in Windows: a copy of the Wixel SDK, the Small Device C Compiler (SDCC), the Pololu GNU Build Utilities, and the Notepad++ Text Editor.
• Wixel Linux Software (release 110623) for i386 (211k gz): This tar/gzip archive contains the binary executable files for the Wixel Configuration Utility and the Wixel command-line utility (wixelcmd) for Linux i386 (32-bit).
• Wixel Linux Software (release 110623) for amd64 (216k gz): This tar/gzip archive contains the binary executable files for the Wixel Configuration Utility and the Wixel command-line utility (wixelcmd) for Linux amd64 (64-bit).
• Wixel Pinout and Peripherals (145k pdf): Printable labeled pinout and peripheral diagram of the Pololu Wixel (actual size). This diagram makes a handy reference when working with the Wixel, and it is small enough to fit on a business card.
• Wixel Schematic Diagram (51k pdf): Printable schematic diagram of the Pololu Wixel.
• Wixel EAGLE Library (5k lbr): Customer-made EAGLE PCB library for the Wixel (by mmcp42).
• Pololu Wixel guia de usuario (1MB pdf): A Spanish version of the Pololu Wixel user’s guide, provided by customer Jaume B.
• Wixel SDK Documentation: The Wixel SDK contains source code (for libraries and applications) that will help you develop your own applications for the Wixel. This SDK is included in the Wixel Development Bundle.
• Pololu Wixel SDK Repository on GitHub: This is where we publish the latest Wixel SDK code and documentation, and it is the central location for sharing source code with the Wixel community.
• CC2511F32 datasheet and technical documents: Website for the CC2511F32, a microcontroller from Texas Instruments that features a 2.4 GHz radio transceiver, 32 KB of flash memory, and a full-speed USB interface. This is the microcontroller used on the Wixel.
• SDCC – Small Device C Compiler: This is a free compiler that is used to compile the code in the Wixel SDK. This compiler is included in the Wixel Development Bundle.
• Notepad++: Notepad++ is a free source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports syntax highlighting of C source files. This program is included in the Wixel Development Bundle.
• Instructable: Introducing the Wixel USB Wireless Module A customer-written Instructable that introduces the reader to the Wixel through a series of basic projects. By Michael Oz, May 2011.