PSoC 6 MCU with BLE Connectivity: Battery Level (FreeRTOS)

This code example demonstrates the implementation of a BLE Battery Service using PSoC® 6 MCU with Bluetooth® Low Energy Connectivity (PSoC 6 BLE). This code example implements a GATT Server with the Battery Service and Device Information Service BLE standards.

The battery level is simulated in the firmware and its value changes continuously from 0 to 100 percent. The design uses an LED on the Kit for indication (OFF, flashing, or ON for no device connected, advertising, or connected respectively).

The USB-BLE dongle provided with the CY8CKIT-062-BLE Pioneer kit or an iOS/Android mobile device can act as the BLE Central device.

This code example uses FreeRTOS™ Version 10.0.1. Visit the FreeRTOS™ website for documentation and API references.

Requirements

• ModusToolbox™ software v2.1
• Programming Language: C
• Associated Parts: All PSoC® 6 MCU parts with BLE connectivity

Supported Kits

• PSoC 6 BLE Pioneer Kit (CY8CKIT-062-BLE) - Default target
• PSoC 6 BLE Prototyping Kit (CY8CPROTO-063-BLE)

Hardware Setup

This example uses the board's default configuration. See the kit user guide to ensure that the board is configured correctly.

Note: The PSoC 6 BLE Pioneer Kit and the PSoC 6 WiFi-BT Pioneer Kit ship with KitProg2 installed. ModusToolbox software requires KitProg3. Before using this code example, make sure that the board is upgraded to KitProg3. The tool and instructions are available in the Firmware Loader GitHub repository. If you do not upgrade, you will see an error like "unable to find CMSIS-DAP device" or "KitProg firmware is out of date".

Software Setup

This code example consists of two parts: a Central and a Peripheral (PSoC 6 MCU). For the Central, download and install either the CySmart Host Emulation Tool PC application or the CySmart app for iOS or Android. You can test the behavior with any of the two options, but the CySmart app is simpler.

Scan the following QR codes from your mobile phone to download the CySmart app.

Install a terminal emulator if you don't have one. Instructions in this document use Tera Term.

Using the Code Example

In Eclipse IDE for ModusToolbox:

1. Click the New Application link in the Quick Panel (or, use File > New > ModusToolbox Application).

2. Pick a kit supported by the code example from the list shown in the Project Creator - Choose Board Support Package (BSP) dialog.

   When you select a supported kit, the example is reconfigured automatically to work with the kit. To work with a different supported kit later, use the Library Manager to choose the BSP for the supported kit. You can use the Library Manager to select or update the BSP and firmware libraries used in this application. To access the Library Manager, right-click the application name from the Project Workspace window in the IDE, and select ModusToolbox > Library Manager.

   You can also just start the application creation process again and select a different kit.

   If you want to use the application for a kit not listed here, you may need to update the source files. If the kit does not have the required resources, the application may not work.

3. In the Project Creator - Choose Board Support Package (BSP) dialog, choose the example.

4. Optionally, update the Application Name: and Location fields with the application name and local path where the application is created.

5. Click Create and complete the application creation process.

For more details, see the Eclipse IDE for ModusToolbox User Guide: {ModusToolbox install directory}/ide_{version}/docs/mt_ide_user_guide.pdf.

In Command-line Interface (CLI):

1. Download and unzip this repository onto your local machine, or clone the repository.

2. Open a CLI terminal and navigate to the application folder. On Linux and macOS, you can use any terminal application. On Windows, navigate to the modus-shell directory ({ModusToolbox install directory}/tools_<version>/modus-shell) and run Cygwin.bat.

3. Import the required libraries by executing the make getlibs command.

In Third-party IDEs:

1. Follow the instructions from the CLI section to download or clone the repository, and import the libraries using the make getlibs command.

2. Export the application to a supported IDE using the make <ide> command.

3. Follow the instructions displayed in the terminal to create or import the application as an IDE project.

For more details, see the "Exporting to IDEs" section of the ModusToolbox User Guide: {ModusToolbox install directory}/ide_{version}/docs/mtb_user_guide.pdf.

Operation

1. Connect the board to your PC using the provided USB cable through the USB connector.

2. Open a terminal program and select the KitProg3 COM port. Set the serial port parameters to 8N1 and 115200 baud.

3. Program the board.

   Using Eclipse IDE for ModusToolbox:

   1. Select the application project in the Project Explorer.

   2. In the Quick Panel, scroll down, and click <Application Name> Program (KitProg3).

   Using CLI:

   1. From the terminal, execute the make program command to build and program the application using the default toolchain to the default target. You can specify a target and toolchain manually:

      make program TARGET=<BSP> TOOLCHAIN=<toolchain>
      

      Example:

      make program TARGET=CY8CPROTO-063-BLE TOOLCHAIN=GCC_ARM
      

      Note: Before building the application, ensure that the deps folder contains the BSP file (TARGET_xxx.lib) corresponding to the TARGET. Execute the make getlibs command to fetch the BSP contents before building the application.

4. After programming, the application starts automatically.

   Test Using the CySmart Mobile App:

   1. Turn ON Bluetooth on your Android or iOS device.

   2. Press the reset switch or the user button on the Kit to start BLE advertisements. The user LED starts blinking to indicate that BLE advertisement has started.

   3. Pull down the CySmart app home screen to start scanning for BLE Peripherals. Your device will appear in the CySmart app home screen as shown in Figure 1. Select your device to establish a BLE connection. Once the connection is established, the user LED turns ON.

      Figure 1. CySmart App Device Discovery

      

   4. Select the Device Information profile to get the device manufacturer and vendor information, as Figure 2 shows.

      Figure 2. CySmart App Device Information Service

      

   5. Select Battery Service to see the battery level. Tap on Start Notify to get a notification on every change in the battery level as depicted in Figure 3. In an iOS device, you should pair the device before accessing the Battery Service.

      Figure 3. CySmart App Battery Service

      

   Test Using the CySmart Host Emulation Tool:

   1. Connect the BLE Dongle to your Windows PC. Wait for the driver installation to complete.

   2. Launch the CySmart Host Emulation Tool.

   3. Press the reset switch or the user button on the Kit to start BLE advertisements. On the CySmart Host Emulation Tool, click Start Scan. Your device name (configured as Battery Level) should appear in the Discovered devices list, as shown in Figure 4.

      Figure 4. CySmart Device Discovery

      

   4. Select your device and click Connect to establish a BLE connection between the CySmart Host Emulation Tool and your device, as shown in Figure 5.

      Figure 5. CySmart Device Connection

      

   5. Once connected, switch to the Battery Level tab and click Pair as shown in Figure 6.

      Figure 6. CySmart Device Pairing

      

   6. Click Discover All Attributes on your design from the CySmart Host Emulation Tool, as shown in Figure 7.

      Figure 7. CySmart Attribute Discovery

      

   7. Scroll down the Attributes window and locate the Battery Service and then click Enable All Notification. The console must show the battery level as shown in Figure 8.

      Figure 8. CySmart Enable All Notification

      

   8. Observe the change in battery level, as Figure 9 shows.

      Figure 9. Testing with CySmart Host Emulation Tool

      

   9. Use the UART debug port to view verbose messages:

      1. The code example ships with the debug port disabled. To enable it, set the DEBUG_ENABLE macro to true in uart_debug.h and rebuild the code.

      2. Open your terminal software and select the KitProg COM port, with a baud rate setting of 115200 bps. Set the other serial port parameters to 8N1.

      3. Program the board. Debug messages will appear in the terminal window as shown in Figure 10.

      Figure 10. Debug Messages on COM Port

      

Debugging

You can debug the example to step through the code. In the IDE, use the <Application Name> Debug (KitProg3) configuration in the Quick Panel. For more details, see the "Program and Debug" section in the Eclipse IDE for ModusToolbox User Guide: {ModusToolbox install directory}/ide_{version}/docs/mt_ide_user_guide.pdf.

Design and Implementation

In this code example, PSoC 6 BLE is configured in the GAP Peripheral role and a GATT Server with Battery Service and Device Information Service is implemented. In this code example, the security level is set to "Unauthenticated pairing with encryption". The device needs to be paired before accessing the Battery Service. If the device is not paired, it can only access the Device Information Service.

Resources and Settings

Table 1 lists the ModusToolbox resources used in this example, and how they are used in the design.

Table 1. Application Resources

Resource	Alias/Object	Purpose
UART (HAL)	cy_retarget_io_uart_obj	UART HAL object used by Retarget-IO for Debug UART port
GPIO (HAL)	CYBSP_USER_LED	User LED to show visual output
GPIO (HAL)	CYBSP_USER_BTN	User Button input to start BLE advertisements

The user LED is configured for indication and user button is configured as the advertise switch. The application uses a UART resource from the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) to print debug messages on a UART terminal emulator. The UART resource initialization and retargeting of standard IO to the UART port is done using the retarget-io library.

The code example uses the Cypress PSoC 6 Bluetooth Low Energy Middleware. See Bluetooth Low Energy Middleware Library documentation for details.

This application uses FreeRTOS. The following RTOS elements are used:

• task_ble: This task initializes the BLE host, registers BLE event callbacks, configures the user button, and processes the BLE events and commands from other tasks.
• task_battery: This task is used for simulating the battery level.
• task_status_led: This task is used for controlling the LED states.
• task_debug: This task is used for UART-based debug message printing in the terminal application. The code example ships with the debug message printing disabled. To enable it, set the DEBUG_ENABLE macro to true in uart_debug.h.
• Queues are used for inter-task communications.

Visit the FreeRTOS website for documentation and API references.

Related Resources

Application Notes
AN228571 – Getting Started with PSoC 6 MCU on ModusToolbox	Describes PSoC 6 MCU devices and how to build your first application with ModusToolbox
AN221774 – Getting Started with PSoC 6 MCU on PSoC Creator	Describes PSoC 6 MCU devices and how to build your first application with PSoC Creator
AN210781 – Getting Started with PSoC 6 MCU with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Connectivity on PSoC Creator	Describes PSoC 6 MCU with BLE Connectivity devices and how to build your first application with PSoC Creator
AN215656 – PSoC 6 MCU: Dual-CPU System Design	Describes the dual-CPU architecture in PSoC 6 MCU, and shows how to build a simple dual-CPU design
Code Examples
Using ModusToolbox	Using PSoC Creator
Device Documentation
PSoC 6 MCU Datasheets	PSoC 6 Technical Reference Manuals
Development Kits	Buy at www.cypress.com
CY8CKIT-062-BLE PSoC 6 BLE Pioneer Kit	CY8CKIT-062-WiFi-BT PSoC 6 WiFi-BT Pioneer Kit
CY8CPROTO-063-BLE PSoC 6 BLE Prototyping Kit	CY8CPROTO-062-4343W PSoC 6 Wi-Fi BT Prototyping Kit
CY8CKIT-062S2-43012 PSoC 62S2 Wi-Fi BT Pioneer Kit	CY8CPROTO-062S3-4343W PSoC 62S3 Wi-Fi BT Prototyping Kit
CYW9P62S1-43438EVB-01 PSoC 62S1 Wi-Fi BT Pioneer Kit	CYW9P62S1-43012EVB-01 PSoC 62S1 Wi-Fi BT Pioneer Kit
Libraries
PSoC 6 Peripheral Driver Library (PDL) and docs	psoc6pdl on GitHub
Cypress Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) Library and docs	psoc6hal on GitHub
RetargetIO - A utility library to retarget the standard input/output (STDIO) messages to a UART port	retarget-io on GitHub
freeRTOS library and docs	freeRTOS on GitHub
Middleware
CapSense library and docs	capsense on GitHub
Bluetooth Low Energy Middleware	bless on GitHub
Links to all PSoC 6 MCU Middleware	psoc6-middleware on GitHub
Tools
Eclipse IDE for ModusToolbox	The multi-platform, Eclipse-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that supports application configuration and development for PSoC 6 MCU and IoT designers.
PSoC Creator	The Cypress IDE for PSoC and FM0+ MCU development.

Other Resources

Cypress provides a wealth of data at www.cypress.com to help you select the right device, and quickly and effectively integrate it into your design.

For PSoC 6 MCU devices, see How to Design with PSoC 6 MCU - KBA223067 in the Cypress community.

Document History

Document Title: CE225909 - PSoC 6 MCU with BLE Connectivity: Battery Level (FreeRTOS)

Version	Description of Change
1.0.0	New code example
1.1.0	Updated to support ModusToolbox software v2.1 Minor formatting changes to the code
1.2.0	Updated to use FreeRTOS Version 10.0.1

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