Intermediate
30 min

Enhance user experiences based on ambient conditions with TSL2572 and PIC32MZ1024EFH064

Illuminating insights

Ambient 17 Click with PIC32MZ clicker

Published Sep 19, 2023

Click board™

Ambient 17 Click

Dev Board

PIC32MZ clicker

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC32MZ1024EFH064

Utilize ambient light intensity sensing to create energy-efficient lighting systems that adapt to the environment, reducing operational costs and environmental impact

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Ambient 17 Click is based on the TSL2572, a high-sensitivity light-to-digital converter that transforms light intensity into a digital output signal from ams AG. The TSL2572 provides ambient light sensing (ALS) that approximates the human eye response to light intensity under various lighting conditions and through various attenuation materials. Accurate ALS measurements result from dual-diode technology and the UV rejection filter incorporated in the package. In addition, the TSL2584TSV can detect a wide range of precise lux measurements up to 60klx, even when mounted behind dark glass.

It also has stable performance over a wide temperature range, suitable for measuring the present ambient light. Ambient 17 Click communicates with MCU using the standard I2C 2-Wire interface to read data and configure settings, supporting Standard Mode operation with a clock frequency of 100kHz and Fast Mode up to 400kHz. It also possesses an additional interrupt signal, routed on the INT pin of the mikroBUS™ socket labeled as INT, indicating when a specific interrupt event occurs, such as detecting a meaningful change in light intensity. An interrupt is generated when an ALS

conversion's value exceeds an upper or lower threshold. In addition, a programmable interrupt persistence feature allows the user to determine how many consecutive exceeded thresholds are necessary to trigger an interrupt. This Click board™ can be operated only with a 3.3V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. Also, it comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

Ambient 17 Click top side image
Ambient 17 Click bottom side image

Features overview

Development board

PIC32MZ Clicker is a compact starter development board that brings the flexibility of add-on Click boards™ to your favorite microcontroller, making it a perfect starter kit for implementing your ideas. It comes with an onboard 32-bit PIC32MZ microcontroller with FPU from Microchip, a USB connector, LED indicators, buttons, a mikroProg connector, and a header for interfacing with external electronics. Thanks to its compact design with clear and easy-recognizable silkscreen markings, it provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access anywhere and under

any circumstances. Each part of the PIC32MZ Clicker development kit contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. In addition to the possibility of choosing the PIC32MZ Clicker programming method, using USB HID mikroBootloader, or through an external mikroProg connector for PIC, dsPIC, or PIC32 programmer, the Clicker board also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development kit. The USB Micro-B connection can provide up to 500mA of current, which is more than enough to operate all onboard

and additional modules. All communication methods that mikroBUS™ itself supports are on this board, including the well-established mikroBUS™ socket, reset button, and several buttons and LED indicators. PIC32MZ Clicker is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem, allowing you to create a new application in minutes. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.

PIC32MZ clicker double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

PIC32

MCU Memory (KB)

1024

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

64

RAM (Bytes)

524288

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
NC
NC
RST
NC
NC
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
NC
NC
PWM
Interrupt
RB5
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
I2C Clock
RD10
SCL
I2C Data
RD9
SDA
NC
NC
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Schematic

Ambient 17 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

PIC32MZ clicker front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the PIC32MZ clicker as your development board.

PIC32MZ clicker front image hardware assembly
Thermo 26 Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Micro B Connector clicker - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
Necto image step 5 hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Flip&Click PIC32MZ MCU step hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Debug Image Necto Step hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output via Debug Mode

1. Once the code example is loaded, pressing the "DEBUG" button initiates the build process, programs it on the created setup, and enters Debug mode.

2. After the programming is completed, a header with buttons for various actions within the IDE becomes visible. Clicking the green "PLAY" button starts reading the results achieved with the Click board™. The achieved results are displayed in the Application Output tab.

DEBUG_Application_Output

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for Ambient 17 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • ambient17_get_int_pin - This function returns the INT pin logic state

  • ambient17_set_atime - This function sets the ATIME register for the selected ALS integration time

  • ambient17_measure_light_level - This function reads the raw ADC data from two channels and then measures the light level in lux based on those readings

Open Source

Code example

This example can be found in NECTO Studio. Feel free to download the code, or you can copy the code below.

/*!
 * @file main.c
 * @brief Ambient17 Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of Ambient 17 click board by measuring 
 * the ambient light level in Lux.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes the driver and performs the click default configuration.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * Waits for the data ready interrupt, then reads the ambient light level in Lux
 * and displays the results on the USB UART. By default, the data ready interrupt triggers 
 * upon every ADC cycle which will be performed every 200ms.
 *
 * @author Stefan Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "ambient17.h"

static ambient17_t ambient17;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    ambient17_cfg_t ambient17_cfg;  /**< Click config object. */

    /** 
     * Logger initialization.
     * Default baud rate: 115200
     * Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
     * @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX 
     * are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will 
     * need to define them manually for log to work. 
     * See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
     */
    LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
    log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
    log_info( &logger, " Application Init " );

    // Click initialization.
    ambient17_cfg_setup( &ambient17_cfg );
    AMBIENT17_MAP_MIKROBUS( ambient17_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( I2C_MASTER_ERROR == ambient17_init( &ambient17, &ambient17_cfg ) ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    if ( AMBIENT17_ERROR == ambient17_default_cfg ( &ambient17 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    if ( !ambient17_get_int_pin ( &ambient17 ) )
    {
        uint16_t lux;
        if ( AMBIENT17_OK == ambient17_measure_light_level ( &ambient17, &lux ) )
        {
            log_printf ( &logger, " Ambient light level [Lux]: %u\r\n\n", lux );
        }
    }
}

void main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );

    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }
}

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END

Additional Support

Resources

Love this project?

'Buy This Kit' button takes you directly to the shopping cart where you can easily add or remove products.