Intermediate
30 min

Take control of your lighting with VEML6035 and PIC18F57Q43

From industrial to commercial settings

Ambient 11 Click with Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Published Feb 13, 2024

Click board™

Ambient 11 Click

Dev. board

Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F57Q43

Simplify lighting management and reduce energy consumption with our responsive ambient light solution

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Ambient 11 Click is based on the VEML6035, which is a 16-bit low power, high sensitivity CMOS ambient light sensor operated via a simple I2C command from Vishay Semiconductor. This sensor has many features that make it a perfect solution for small designs such as the Ambient 11 Click board™. One of these features is certainly its high level of integration that allows a minimal number of external components. The sensor offers an active interruption feature that is triggered outside of the threshold window settings eliminating loading on the host. Besides that, VEML6035 has excellent temperature

compensation to maintain output stability under changing temperature and its refresh rate setting does not need an external RC low pass filter. There is a programmable shutdown mode which reduces current consumption to 0.5 μA. Operating voltage ranges from 1.7 V to 3.6 V. VEML6035 is a cost effective solution of ambient light sensor with I2C bus interface. The standard serial digital interface is easy to access “Ambient Light Signal” without complex calculation and programming by external controller. Beside the digital output also a flexible programmable interrupt pin is available. Given the options its elements can offer, the

Ambient 11 Click can be used as an ambient light sensor for mobile devices, industrial lighting operation, and as an optical switch for consumer, computing and industrial devices and displays. 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 11 Click top side image
Ambient 11 Click bottom side image

Features overview

Development board

PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano evaluation kit is a cutting-edge hardware platform designed to evaluate microcontrollers within the PIC18-Q43 family. Central to its design is the inclusion of the powerful PIC18F57Q43 microcontroller (MCU), offering advanced functionalities and robust performance. Key features of this evaluation kit include a yellow user LED and a responsive

mechanical user switch, providing seamless interaction and testing. The provision for a 32.768kHz crystal footprint ensures precision timing capabilities. With an onboard debugger boasting a green power and status LED, programming and debugging become intuitive and efficient. Further enhancing its utility is the Virtual serial port (CDC) and a debug GPIO channel (DGI

GPIO), offering extensive connectivity options. Powered via USB, this kit boasts an adjustable target voltage feature facilitated by the MIC5353 LDO regulator, ensuring stable operation with an output voltage ranging from 1.8V to 5.1V, with a maximum output current of 500mA, subject to ambient temperature and voltage constraints.

PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

128

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

48

RAM (Bytes)

8196

You complete me!

Accessories

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards is a versatile hardware extension platform created to streamline the integration between Curiosity Nano kits and extension boards, tailored explicitly for the mikroBUS™-standardized Click boards and Xplained Pro extension boards. This innovative base board (shield) offers seamless connectivity and expansion possibilities, simplifying experimentation and development. Key features include USB power compatibility from the Curiosity Nano kit, alongside an alternative external power input option for enhanced flexibility. The onboard Li-Ion/LiPo charger and management circuit ensure smooth operation for battery-powered applications, simplifying usage and management. Moreover, the base incorporates a fixed 3.3V PSU dedicated to target and mikroBUS™ power rails, alongside a fixed 5.0V boost converter catering to 5V power rails of mikroBUS™ sockets, providing stable power delivery for various connected devices.

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards accessories 1 image

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
PA6
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
I2C Clock
PB2
SCL
I2C Data
PB1
SDA
NC
NC
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

Ambient 11 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43 as your development board.

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards front image hardware assembly
Charger 27 Click front image hardware assembly
PIC18F47Q10 Curiosity Nano front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Board mapper by product8 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
PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity 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

1. Application Output - In Debug mode, the 'Application Output' window enables real-time data monitoring, offering direct insight into execution results. Ensure proper data display by configuring the environment correctly using the provided tutorial.

2. UART Terminal - Use the UART Terminal to monitor data transmission via a USB to UART converter, allowing direct communication between the Click board™ and your development system. Configure the baud rate and other serial settings according to your project's requirements to ensure proper functionality. For step-by-step setup instructions, refer to the provided tutorial.

3. Plot Output - The Plot feature offers a powerful way to visualize real-time sensor data, enabling trend analysis, debugging, and comparison of multiple data points. To set it up correctly, follow the provided tutorial, which includes a step-by-step example of using the Plot feature to display Click board™ readings. To use the Plot feature in your code, use the function: plot(*insert_graph_name*, variable_name);. This is a general format, and it is up to the user to replace 'insert_graph_name' with the actual graph name and 'variable_name' with the parameter to be displayed.

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for Ambient 11 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • ambient11_generic_write - This function writes data to the desired register

  • ambient11_generic_read - This function reads data from the desired register

  • ambient11_calc_illumination - Function is used to calculate ambiental illumination

  • ambient11_check_int - Function checks interrupt occurence

Open Source

Code example

The complete application code and a ready-to-use project are available through the NECTO Studio Package Manager for direct installation in the NECTO Studio. The application code can also be found on the MIKROE GitHub account.

/*!
 * \file 
 * \brief Ambient11 Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * < The devices resolution depends on settings applied.
 *  User should consult the datasheet and choose resolution value 
 *  that corresponds to the settings applied. >
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * < Initalizes I2C driver, applies low sensitiviti settings
 * ( GAIN = 0, DG = 0, SENS = 1 and IT = 100ms ) and 
 * makes an initial log.>
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * < This example shows the capabilities of the Ambient 11 Click
 *  by measuring ambiental illumination and displaying calculated value
 * via USART terminal in luxes.>
 * 
 * *note:* 
 * 
 * 
 * \author MikroE Team
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "ambient11.h"

// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES

static ambient11_t ambient11;
static log_t logger;
float lx_val;
float resolution = 0.1024;

// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    ambient11_cfg_t cfg;

    /** 
     * 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.

    ambient11_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    AMBIENT11_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    ambient11_init( &ambient11, &cfg );
    ambient11_default_cfg ( &ambient11 );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    lx_val = ambient11_calc_illumination( &ambient11, resolution );
    log_printf( &logger, "Illumination : %.2f lx \r\n", lx_val );
    log_printf( &logger, "-------------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
}

int main ( void ) 
{
    /* Do not remove this line or clock might not be set correctly. */
    #ifdef PREINIT_SUPPORTED
    preinit();
    #endif
    
    application_init( );
    
    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }

    return 0;
}


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

Additional Support

Resources

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