Get the Code
To start working with the Zolertia platforms you only need three things:
- Get the source code
A toolchain to compile the source codeA tool to program the compiled code to the Zolertia platformsAnd other tools to make your life and work easier
In this section we are going to show you how to grab the freely available and Open Source Zolertia source code, a set of firmware libraries and drivers to create your Internet of Things applications, using the existent support of Operative Systems such as Contiki and RIOT OS.
Depending on your choice there are different ways to get the code, read below for specific information about each.
All Zolertia platforms are officially ported and maintained in Contiki, first with the Z1 mote almost 5 years now and now the newly added Zoul based platforms, such as the RE-Mote, continuing a long term tradition to contribute to the Open Source community. Zolertia has extensively worked in Contiki for some time now and is now an official contributor.
- Official site http://contiki-os.org/
- Contiki Github Repository https://github.com/contiki-os/contiki
- Zolertia fork https://github.com/Zolertia/contiki
The RE-Mote platform is first featured in the release 3.0, however we strongly recommend to use the latest available commit from the repository, as it may contain newer fixes and enhancements. Be sure to check Zolertia's fork as well, as normally experimental branches with new features such as sensors, actuators and specific examples are kept here prior being finally merged to Contiki official repository.
To get a working copy of any of the above repositories:
git clone --recursive https://github.com/contiki-os/contiki.git
This will fetch and download the Contiki repository and all submodules.
For further reading you can also check out the IoT in 5 days workbook, heavily based in Contiki with examples and how-to guides based on Zolertia's platforms.
Both the Zolertia Z1 mote and the RE-Mote platforms are officially ported to RIOT as its 5th release. RIOT is a young and vibrant OS with a very promising path, quickly growing in both members and features, we are thrilled to be part of this!
- Official site http://www.riot-os.org/
- RIOT Github Repository https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT
- Zolertia fork https://github.com/Zolertia/RIOT
We strongly recommend to use the latest available commit from the repository, as it may contain newer fixes and enhancements. Be sure to check Zolertia's fork as well, as normally experimental branches with new features such as sensors, actuators and specific examples are kept here prior being finally merged to RIOT official repository.
To get a working copy of any of the above repositories:
git clone --recursive https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT
git clone --recursive https://github.com/RIOT-OS/applications
Texas Instruments has made available a set of resources to get you started. Note that you must register in Texas Instruments site to get access to the software resources. The following information is taken from Texas Instruments site (all rights belong to them!).
This is an extensive collection of software libraries for the CC2538, It contains the following components:
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driverlib is the low level peripheral driver library to access all modules on the CC2538. In addition to defining all the hardware registers and bit masks, it contains functions for configuration and controlling of modules like the ADC, GPIO, I2C, SSI, UART, DMA, Timers, and the system controller. It has an extensive set of examples showing how to use the driverlib functions to operate the peripherals on the device.
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usblib is a Complete software framework to develop with the USB device controller on the CC2538. The library implements all the standard USB requests and provides hooks to support any USB device class implementation. The library comes with examples for a USB CDC-ACM (serial port) device and a simple HID device.
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bsp (board support package) containing drivers to access the external peripherals on the development boards for the CC2538. Is provided to simplify the process of developing demo and prototype software running on the hardware.
Detailed documentation and source code is available at http://www.ti.com/tool/cc2538-sw.
As the Zoul-based platforms have a CC2538 System on Chip with an on-board 2.4GHz IEEE 802.15.4/Zigbee compliant radio, the Texas Instruments Z-Stack can be used to enable Zigbee aplications featuring Zolertia platforms.
To browse and get the Z-Stack in any of its flavours go to the following link: http://www.ti.com/tool/z-stack.
These are the Z-Stack versions for you to choose:
- The Z-Stack Home, a Zigbee Home Automation (ZHA) compliant protocol stack
- The Z-Stack Lighting, compliant with the ZigBee Light Link (ZLL)
- The Z-Stack mesh stack, a ZigBee PRO 2012 compliant and certified protocol
- The Z-Stack Energy, compliant with ZigBee Smart Energy (ZSE) protocol stack
TIMAC is an IEEE 802.15.4 Medium Access Control software stack for TI IEEE 802.15.4 compliant transceivers, such as the CC2538 system on chip. It allows to:
- Create a wireless point-to-point or point-to-multipoint solution (e.g. multiple sensors reporting directly to a master)
- Use a standardized wireless protocol
- Have battery powered and/or mains powered nodes
- Have support for acknowledgement and retransmission
- Have low data rate requirements (Around 100 kbps effective data rate)
TI-MAC features:
- Support for IEEE 802.15.4-2006
- Star topology: point-to-point, one-to-many and data concentrator
- Synchronous (beacon) and asynchronous (non-beacon) modes
- Network security features