Overview:

Actel offers a demonstration platform that showcases IGLOO devices as controllers for various Human Machine Interface (HMI) functions. As a result, you can evaluate an IGLOO FPGA as a flexible HMI controller for your designs. The platform consists of an HMI daughter card for Actel's IGLOO Icicle Kit. The HMI daughter card is comprised of a standard cell phone keypad with 18 keys (3 rows and 6 columns), 10 white LEDs, and 4 RGB LEDs that serve as the backlight for the keypad and a speaker. The block diagram shows the Icicle board connected to the HMI daughter card. Actel provides a software program that runs on a PC to control different functions. The data is communicated between the PC and Icicle board through the USB cable with a USB-to-UART chip that allows a simple UART controller on the IGLOO device to communicate the data with the PC. Actel's IGLOO Icicle Kit, based on the industry leading 2 µW IGLOO FPGAs, is a low-cost, portable, low-power demonstration platform that can be powered by a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, USB cable, or external power supply. The Icicle evaluation board enables you to measure power consumption (dynamic, static, and Flash*Freeze modes) with the core operating from 1.2 V to 1.5 V.

Features and Benefits:

Small form factor plug-in daughter card for Icicle Kit (based on the ultra-low-power IGLOO FPGA with Flash*Freeze technology) Evaluation and development platform with flexibility of demonstrating different HMI functions

• Keypad control
• Brightness control for White LEDs
• Color mixing for RGB LEDs
• Tone generation

No external power supply needed All functions can be controlled using a GUI software on a PC Serial communication between the PC and the IGLOO FPGA through USB-to-UART interface Jumper settings to:

• Select input voltage to LED driver
• Select speaker voltage
• Select demonstration through software or hardware control
• Select external 5 V supply

Design Examples:

Keypad Control

This design senses the keypad (a standard cell phone keypad with 18 keys) by scanning the 6 rows and reading the 3 columns. This design can be targeted to any application requiring a keyboard interface in a matrix form. The row-column matrix combination can easily be changed to cater to the designer's requirements. The scan method can also be integrated into an interrupt-based control logic function when interfacing to a processor.

Implementing a Keypad Controller on an IGLOO FPGA App Note

Design Files (ZIP, 998 KB, 05/08)

Brightness Control for White LED’s - Backlight Control

This design controls the intensity/brightness of White LED's (WLED) by varying the duty cycle of the PWM logic. The 8-bit (256 steps) PWM drives the LEDs through a WLED driver chip.

Implementing a White LED (WLED) Controller on an IGLOO FPGA App Note

Design Files (ZIP, 1.0 MB, 05/08)

Color Mixing for RGB LED’s

This design controls the color mixing for the red-green-blue (RGB) LEDs using three PWM signals. This scheme can be used to generate keypad backlight or LCD backlight of any color or illuminate a particular area with required color using the RGB LEDs. The brightness and color of the RGB LEDs are controlled through three 8-bit PWMs. These PWMs signals are time-division multiplexed to reduce power consumption.

Implementing an LED (RGB) Controller on an IGLOO FPGA App Note

Design File (ZIP, 900 KB, 05/08)

Tone Generation

This design generates tones of desired frequency (period) and volume (duty cycle) using a 16-bit PWM signal. Tone duration and dampening can be controlled through additional counter logic.

Implementing a Tone Generator on an IGLOO FPGA App Note

Design Files (ZIP, 1.0 MB, 05/08)

Documentation:

HMI Control Solutions Brochure

527KB, PDF

Human Machine Interface (HMI) Control Daughter Card for Icicle Kit Product Brief

221 KB, PDF

Purchase:

To purchase the HMI daughter card or IGLOO Icicle Kit, please contact Avnet Engineering Services or order them online

OR Send mail to sales@ishnatek.com