Microchip Enables Embedded Wi-Fi in PIC Microcontroller Designs with ZeroG Wireless-Based Development Tools

Microchip and ZeroG Wireless signed a multi-year, non-exclusive deal, which begun with a joint engineering program to develop an optimised Wi-Fi solution for embedded designers and resulted in modules for Microchip’s 8-, 16- and 32-bit PIC microcontrollers (MCUs) and dsPIC Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs). The agreement ensures long-term compatibility and availability of this joint solution.

The ZeroG Wireless ‘Wi-Fi I/O’ is an easy-to-implement, low-power, low-system-cost Wi-Fi solution that provides Wi-Fi connectivity for nearly any electronic device. The ZeroG ZG2100M and ZG2101M Wi-Fi transceiver modules provide a complete Wi-Fi wireless connection with full FCC, ETSI, IC and Wi-Fi certification, which reduces the overall design risk, eliminates design and certification cost, and enables quick time-to-market for customers wanting to add Wi-Fi to their PIC microcontroller-based products.

The ZeroG IEEE 802.11 Development Kit for Explorer 16 (part number AC164136) costs $189.99 today. This kit demonstrates 802.11 Wi-Fi connectivity using the separately available Explorer 16 development board, which supports all of Microchip’s 16-bit PIC24 MCUs, 32-bit PIC32 MCUs and dsPIC DSCs.

The ZeroG Wi-Fi PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board (part number AC164136-2) costs $59.99 and consists of the ZeroG ZG2100M FCC and Wi-Fi certified module. This daughter board allows designers to quickly create a direct connection to the Internet by seamlessly connecting to standard wireless access points. In managing the connection, the ZeroG ZG2100M module controls the MAC and baseband layers, and is connected to the host MCU or DSC via an SPI port. The 8/16/32-bit PIC MCU or dsPIC DSC that resides on the Microchip development board controls the royalty-free Microchip TCP/IP networking stack and runs the system application.