Create intelligent and efficient lighting products with TI's new Piccolo™ MCU digital AC LED Lighting and Communications Developer's Kit

HOUSTON, Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Enabling designers to cost-effectively incorporate intelligence and remote connectivity into LED lighting designs and get to market faster, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) today announced its new 32-bit TMS320C2000™ Piccolo™ microcontroller (MCU) AC LED Lighting and Communications Developer's Kit.  Leveraging the performance of low-cost Piccolo MCUs, the LED Lighting and Communications Developer's Kit is a complete mains-powered LED lighting solution with software that allows designers to create lighting products featuring full dimming, remote connectivity and efficient power stage design perfect for street, outdoor, commercial, industrial, and entertainment lighting applications.  A separate plug-in compatible, Piccolo MCU Power Line Communications (PLC) Add-on Kit further allows developers to experiment with development of PLC-based lighting designs.

Piccolo F2802x MCU AC LED Lighting and Communications Developer's Kit features and benefits:

• Complete solution speeds customer development and provides a differentiated platform for AC mains-powered, intelligent luminaries. 
• Provides simple, efficient and full-featured LED lighting power supply design enabling higher energy efficiencies, reduced manufacturing costs and product adaptability to varying design and implementation needs.
• Includes hardware and software support for remote connectivity, walking developers through implementation examples of leading lighting communications protocols such as DALI, DMX512 and PLC.
• Enables low-cost integrated intelligence via the benefits of digital design with Piccolo MCUs, such as independent and multi-string dimming up to 250W, fault management, light balancing, dimming profiles, data logging and more.
• With Piccolo MCU-based power supply and lighting control, customers need only one design to support multiple end product classes. Leave the power stages unchanged and simply adjust the number of LED strings to create a full product family. 
• Features C2000's modular controlCARD concept, allowing developers to experiment with various C2000 MCUs to fit price, performance and peripheral feature set requirements.
• Includes controlSUITE software, providing easy-to-use open source demonstration GUIs, software examples and documentation for full closed loop control of an AC/DC power supply, multi-string LED control and advanced communications.

Piccolo F2803x MCU PLC Add-on Kit features and benefits:

• Enables experimentation with PLC in lighting using PLC-Lite.
• Adds cost effective energy metering, remote diagnostics or remote control without the need for additional wiring or external communications modules.
• Features a plug-in PLC daughter board and drop-in replacement Piccolo F2803x MCU, enabling the hardware support and control performance necessary for PLC. 
• Communicates with the C2000 Power Line Modem Developer's Kit (sold separately) to easily demo PLC.
• Includes controlSUITE software and PLC software suite for easy-to-use and open source demonstration GUIs, software examples and documentation for PLC technology.

Pricing and availability

The new Piccolo AC LED Lighting and Communications Developer's Kit (TMDSIACLEDCOMKIT) is priced at $699 USD and is immediately available for order.  Also available for order is the Piccolo PLC Add-on Kit (TMDSPLCMODA-P3X) for $215 USD and can be ordered now.  controlSUITE software is free and can be accessed immediately.  PLC software and documentation is also available now.

Find out more about TI's lighting solutions by visiting the links below:

• AC LED Lighting and Communications Kit: www.ti.com/piccolo-led-pr-pf   
• PLC Add-on Kit:  www.ti.com/piccolo-led-pr-tf
• LED lighting video:  www.ti.com/piccolo-led-pr-v
• LED reference design cookbook:  www.ti.com/piccolo-led-pr-mc  
• Multi-String LED Driver block diagram:  www.ti.com/piccolo-led-pr-ee
• TI lighting solutions: www.ti.com/piccolo-led-pr-light-lp
• controlCARD:  www.ti.com/piccolo-led-pr-card-lp
• controlSUITE software: www.ti.com/piccolo-led-pr-tf3 
• TI's microcontroller portfolio: www.ti.com/piccolo-led-pr-mcu-lp
• C2000 lighting developer's white paper:  www.ti.com/piccolo-led-pr-mcu-mc2

TI's broad portfolio of microcontrollers (MCUs) and software

From general purpose, ultra-low power MSP430™ MCUs, to Stellaris® Cortex™-M MCUs to real-time control C2000™ MCUs, and Hercules™ safety MCUs, TI offers the broadest range of microcontroller solutions. Designers can accelerate time to market by tapping into TI's complete software and hardware tools, extensive third-party offerings and technical support.

About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments semiconductor innovations help 80,000 customers unlock the possibilities of the world as it could be – smarter, safer, greener, healthier and more fun.  Our commitment to building a better future is ingrained in everything we do – from the responsible manufacturing of our semiconductors, to caring for our employees, to giving back inside our communities.  This is just the beginning of our story.  Learn more at www.ti.com.

Trademarks

C2000, Piccolo, controlCARD and controlSUITE are trademarks of Texas Instruments Incorporated.  All registered trademarks and other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

SOURCE Texas Instruments Incorporated