Wireless connectivity reaches Raspberry Pi single board computer

The combo’s high-speed 802.11ac transmissions enable superior network performance, faster downloads and better range, as well as lower power consumption by quickly exploiting deep sleep modes.

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ board builds on the success of existing Raspberry Pi solutions using Cypress’ CYW43438 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo system-on-chip (SoC).

Wi-Fi networks powered by 802.11ac simultaneously deliver low-latency and high-speed with secure device authentication, making it the ideal wireless technology for connecting products directly to the cloud.

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ board with the highly-integrated Cypress CYW43455 combo SoC allows developers to quickly prototype industrial IoT systems and smart home products that leverage the benefits of 802.11ac.

“Achieving reliable wireless connectivity in crowded airwaves is a foremost concern for developers of industrial IoT and smart home systems, which lead us to select Cypress’ 802.11ac combo SoC for the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ board,” said Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi Trading. “Our new board democratises high-performance, interoperable and highly reliable 802.11ac Wi-Fi for use across a huge range of IoT products.”

“Raspberry Pi boards with Cypress connectivity have shipped millions of units to date, and the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ board brings the benefits of Cypress’ 802.11ac Wi-Fi to even more developers across a diverse range of markets,” said Brian Bedrosian, vice president of marketing for the IoT Business Unit at Cypress.

“Our 802.11ac combo SoC helps IoT products meet coexistence challenges in the crowded 2.4-GHz band, delivers cleaner air for audio, video and voice control data, and improves network performance for multi-user environments.”

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ board features a 64-bit, quad-core processor running at 1.4GHz, 1GB RAM, full size HDMI and 4 standard USB ports, Gigabit Ethernet over USB2, Power over Ethernet capability, CSI camera connector and a DSI display connector.

The platform’s resources, together with its 802.11ac wireless LAN and Bluetooth/BLE wireless connectivity, provide a compact solution for the intelligent edge of connected devices.

The Cypress CYW43455 SoC features a dual-band 2.4- and 5-GHz radio with 20-, 40- and 80-MHz channels with up to 433Mbps performance. This fast 802.11ac throughput allows devices to get on and off of the network more quickly, preventing network congestion and prolonging battery life by letting devices spend more time in deep sleep modes.

The SoC includes Linux open source Full Media Access Control (FMAC) driver support with enterprise and industrial features enabled, including security, roaming, voice and locationing.

Cypress’ CYW43455 SoC and other solutions support Bluetooth Mesh networks—low-cost, low-power mesh network of devices that can communicate with each other, and with smartphones, tablets and voice-controlled home assistants, via simple, secure and ubiquitous Bluetooth connectivity.

Bluetooth Mesh enables battery-powered devices within the network to communicate with each other to easily provide coverage throughout even the largest homes, allowing a user to conveniently control all of the devices from the palm of their hand.

The SoC is also supported in Cypress’ all-inclusive, turnkey Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED) software development kit (SDK), which streamlines the integration of wireless technologies for IoT developers.