Cypress Semiconductor’s PSoC 3 and PSoC 5 devices have been out for a while now, but with the current push for developing smart energy applications, it’s noteworthy that the company’s new application kits for the PSoC are targeting Power Line Communication (PLC).

The CY8CPLC20-based PLC kits have a Frequency-Shift Key (FSK) PHY modem, network protocol, and application code with programmable analog[] and digital blocks and a microcontroller for the PSoC architecture. Kits also provide functions beyond communication, such as power measurement, system management, and an LCD drive. Cypress claims greater than 97 percent packet success rates without retries and 100 percent success rates with retries built into the solution’s coding.