KNX stack certified to operate with RL78 MCUs

11th December 2013

Renesas

Staff Reporter

0 0

The KNX stack from Tapko Technologies has now been certified by Renesas to operate with its entire line-up of RL78 microcontrollers. Mainly used at field level, the KNX stack is a communications protocol for home and building automation in various segments like lighting, heating and ventilation, security and domotic applications. The KNX has the ability to ensure full interoperability between different manufacturers by certifying the product prior to its introduction into the market.

In order to meet requirements for more intelligence, more communication, and higher energy efficiency, the market has seen an increase in the use of MCUs in building and home automation applications. The RL78 line-up of microcontrollers consists of a wide family of 16-bit microcontrollers with many package, memory and peripheral options available, all featuring true low power performance. The new version of Tapko’s KNX stack, the KAIstack 2.0, utilises low power modes to support ultra-low power KNX-based systems, such as battery-driven devices, and enable truely “green” KNX-based systems. This means that RL78 is not only the ideal platform for applications requiring compact packages and ultra-low power operation, such as battery-powered detectors or sensors, but also responds to other requirements. This makes the RL78 an ideal platform for applications requiring compact packages and ultra-low power operation, such as battery-powered detectors or sensors, but also responds to other requirements. These include thermostats and keypads needing larger packages and the performance to drive dot matrix or segment displays. With the certification of the RL78, all these products can run the KNX stack using the many KNX transceiver options available on the market, combining communication and the application.

The KNX can be wired (for example, with a twisted pair bus) or wireless using transmission in the sub-GHz band. Further to this, the hardware can be connected to any KNX bus via the standard connectors.The KAI Demo RL78 evaluation kit is available now, with Tapko also offering support on integrating the stack within the developer's application. Comliance with the IEC standards defining the KNX communication protocols is required by all manufacturers.