Let’s play with Freescale FRDM-K64F

Hello Again!

In my previous blog I talked about the new getting started process for Kinetis FRDM-K64F development board. Here I am with my next blog going one step further and introducing you to the target application that I have planned for this summer using the awesome FRDM K-64 development board from Freescale. I am planning to work on some really cool stuff that we can do from this board. And I came up with an idea for making an Adafruit NeoPixel NeoMatrix Signboard!!

Wait….does it sound boring to you? Nah… we are not planning some ordinary signboard. This Adafruit NeoPixel NeoMatrix signboard is really cool. It will display what you want to display and it will change the displayed text with just the movement of your hand. Sounds interesting now??

Let me tell you how I got the inspiration for this project. Like I wrote earlier that Freescale gave me the amazing opportunity to attend the Freescale Technology Form 2015. At FTF everyone one was being given the ‘BlinkyPendant’. Check it out:

http://blinkinlabs.com/blinkypendant/

It is a pocket-sized Persistence of Vision wand, perfect for making light effects on the go. It uses Freescale’s MK20 Processor and is an awesome thing to play with.

For our application, we will target the accelerometer, which is integrated on the FRDM-K64F board already!! 🙂 and will try to use it as a switch for the text to be displayed on the neopixel matrix. We will do some programming as well which will be required for this task. The getting started process for FRDM-K64F provided us with the Kinetis Software Development Kit and the Kinetis Design Studio which will turn out to be of immense importance in this project.

I will be covering topics that will help you all understand the basic concepts of low power, clocking, ADC and many other topics with the help of the FRDM-K64 development board.

So, stay tuned for my next blogs where we will be working to finish this cool project. Till then, get ready!! 🙂

#KinetisConnects

10 thoughts on “Let’s play with Freescale FRDM-K64F”

Manya, Your project sounds great! Have you heard about ISF (The Intelligent Sensing Framework) from Freescale? ISF for Kinetis is a set of add-on Processor Expert Components that allows you to quickly configure a sensor (like the FXOS8700 on the FRDM-K64F) and generate code to receive sensor data at the configured rate. I wondered if you might be using that for your project.
The ISF homepage is http://www.freescale.com/isf and there are many training videos available under the Training and Support tab. (http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/training_information.jsp?code=ISF-R2-0-KINETIS-FRDM)

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manya19 on July 14, 2015 at 16:04 said:

Hi Jim!! Thank you so much for your comment. I really liked your suggestion and appreciate the efforts you put in to tell me about it. I would love to use the ISF in my project if I do get an extension for it! 😀

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Hi Manya,
in case you have not already seen it, I have documented my progress using the Adafruit Neopixels in these articles:
– https://mcuoneclipse.com/2014/07/13/first-adafruit-neopixel-blinks-with-the-frdm-board/
– https://mcuoneclipse.com/2014/07/18/adafruit-neopixel-clock-with-60-leds/
– https://mcuoneclipse.com/2014/07/27/led-clock-with-kitchen-hot-pan-protector/
– https://mcuoneclipse.com/2014/11/10/neoshield-ws2812-rgb-led-shield-with-dma-and-nrf24l01/
These posts describe some of the timing aspects of the WS2812, plus the need for fast level shifters. As for the 8×8 WS2812 matrix boards: I’m using several of these already with the FRDM-KL25Z, using that shield presented in the last post. If not already started, I recommend that you start with a good 5V Power supply, a fast 3.3V to 5V Level shifter (see article above) and some breadboarding to interface the FRDM-K64F with the NeoPixels.

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manya19 on July 16, 2015 at 16:30 said:

Hey Erich!!Thanks for your comment! I did get a chance to look at your articles. As all of us know they are great and really very informative.Thanks for your recommendation about the Level shifter. I hope I can share more information about interfacing 8×8 WS2812 matrix boards with FRDM-K64F with our amazing readers!! 🙂

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Karibe on July 23, 2015 at 12:55 said:

Yeah, I was already commenting on her post about this :). Thanks Erich

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I have posted the schematics (Altium) of the NeoShield board (https://mcuoneclipse.com/2014/11/10/neoshield-ws2812-rgb-led-shield-with-dma-and-nrf24l01/) here: https://github.com/ErichStyger/mcuoneclipse/tree/master/Altium/NeoPixel%20Shield
That way you can see how the wiring is with level shifter.

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Pingback: Tutorial: Adafruit WS2812B NeoPixels with the Freescale FRDM-K64F Board – Part 1: Hardware | MCU on Eclipse

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Jim McGlasson on July 11, 2015 at 00:28 said:

Manya, Your project sounds great! Have you heard about ISF (The Intelligent Sensing Framework) from Freescale? ISF for Kinetis is a set of add-on Processor Expert Components that allows you to quickly configure a sensor (like the FXOS8700 on the FRDM-K64F) and generate code to receive sensor data at the configured rate. I wondered if you might be using that for your project.
The ISF homepage is http://www.freescale.com/isf and there are many training videos available under the Training and Support tab. (http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/training_information.jsp?code=ISF-R2-0-KINETIS-FRDM)

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- manya19 on July 14, 2015 at 16:04 said:
  
  Hi Jim!! Thank you so much for your comment. I really liked your suggestion and appreciate the efforts you put in to tell me about it. I would love to use the ISF in my project if I do get an extension for it! 😀
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply ↓
Erich Styger on July 16, 2015 at 08:29 said:

Hi Manya,
in case you have not already seen it, I have documented my progress using the Adafruit Neopixels in these articles:
– https://mcuoneclipse.com/2014/07/13/first-adafruit-neopixel-blinks-with-the-frdm-board/
– https://mcuoneclipse.com/2014/07/18/adafruit-neopixel-clock-with-60-leds/
– https://mcuoneclipse.com/2014/07/27/led-clock-with-kitchen-hot-pan-protector/
– https://mcuoneclipse.com/2014/11/10/neoshield-ws2812-rgb-led-shield-with-dma-and-nrf24l01/
These posts describe some of the timing aspects of the WS2812, plus the need for fast level shifters. As for the 8×8 WS2812 matrix boards: I’m using several of these already with the FRDM-KL25Z, using that shield presented in the last post. If not already started, I recommend that you start with a good 5V Power supply, a fast 3.3V to 5V Level shifter (see article above) and some breadboarding to interface the FRDM-K64F with the NeoPixels.

LikeLiked by 1 person

Reply ↓
- manya19 on July 16, 2015 at 16:30 said:
  
  Hey Erich!!Thanks for your comment! I did get a chance to look at your articles. As all of us know they are great and really very informative.Thanks for your recommendation about the Level shifter. I hope I can share more information about interfacing 8×8 WS2812 matrix boards with FRDM-K64F with our amazing readers!! 🙂
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply ↓
- Karibe on July 23, 2015 at 12:55 said:
  
  Yeah, I was already commenting on her post about this :). Thanks Erich
  
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  Reply ↓
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Erich Styger on July 25, 2015 at 08:55 said:

I have posted the schematics (Altium) of the NeoShield board (https://mcuoneclipse.com/2014/11/10/neoshield-ws2812-rgb-led-shield-with-dma-and-nrf24l01/) here: https://github.com/ErichStyger/mcuoneclipse/tree/master/Altium/NeoPixel%20Shield
That way you can see how the wiring is with level shifter.

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Pingback: Tutorial: Adafruit WS2812B NeoPixels with the Freescale FRDM-K64F Board – Part 1: Hardware | MCU on Eclipse

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10 thoughts on “Let’s play with Freescale FRDM-K64F”

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