Summary of STMICROELECTRONICS EVALUATION BOARDS TO BOOST THE G3-PLC HYBRID CONNECTIVITY INTO SMART DEVICES
STMicroelectronics introduced evaluation boards for its ST8500 programmable power-line communication (PLC) modem chipset, enhancing the development ecosystem for smart-grid and IoT connectivity. The ST8500 SoC integrates an ARM Cortex-M4F core and supports multiple PLC protocols up to 500 kHz. The G3-PLC Hybrid standard enables devices to communicate over both powerline and wireless channels dynamically, optimizing reliability. The hybrid protocol stack incorporates G3-PLC, IEEE 802.15.4, 6LoWPAN, and IPv6, leveraging both powerline and RF mesh networks for robust smart device communication.
Parts used in the ST8500 Programmable Power-Line Communication Modem Chipset Project:
- ST8500 PLC modem system-on-chip
- ARM 32-bit Cortex-M4F core
- Power-line communication protocol stack (G3-PLC)
- IEEE 802.15.4 wireless standard components
- 6LoWPAN protocol stack components
- IPv6 protocol stack components
- STMicroelectronics Evaluation Boards
A couple of weeks back STMicroelectronics announced its new addition to the development ecosystem for its ST8500 programmable power-line communication (PLC) modem chipset – STMicroelectronics Evaluation Boards. For those new to the connectivity of smart-grid and IoT devices, G3-PLC Hybrid is a:
standard that offers extended capabilities for smart grid and IoT applications in one seamlessly managed network over both wired and wireless media
ST8500 is a high-performance, programmable power-line communication (PLC) modem system-on-chip that has the capability to run any PLC protocol in the frequency band up to 500 kHz. This system-on-chip is integrated with the ARM 32-bit Cortex-M4F core clocked up at 200 MHz maximum frequency.
G3-PLC hybrid is different in terms of how each device in the mesh network can use PLC as well as RF for communication. This allows several systems with ST8500 system-on-chip to “select the powerline or wireless channel autonomously and change dynamically to ensure the most reliable connection”.
ST’s hybrid protocol stack is based on G3-PLC, IEEE 802.15.4, 6LowPAN and IPv6 open standards. By embedding support for RF Mesh in the physical (PHY) and data-link layers, the ST8500 combines the strengths of powerline and wireless mesh networks for communication between smart nodes and data collectors.
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