Control Any Low-Voltage Device Remotely Using OC03 and CW01

The ESP8266 Core and Wi-Fi module (CW01) allows users to send data from XinaBox’s modular xChips to the cloud, and control the device according to the obtained data. The data can be analog or digital.

CW01 communicates with OC03 via the I2C protocol. OC03 has an onboard IO expander (PCA9554A) connected to an optically isolated photorelay (TLP241A). CW01 retrieves data from the cloud and transmits it to OC03

By the end of this guide, you will able to control the photorelay remotely using Ubidots and Xinabox xChips IP01,CW01 and OC03.

Requirements

• 1x CW01 - WiFi core (ESP8266/ESP-12F)
• 1x IP01 - USB Programming Interface (FT232R)
• 1x OC03 – Relay out (PCA9554A)
• 1x XC10 - 10-Pack xBUS Connectors
• Arduino IDE
• Ubidots account

Steps-by-Step

1. Hardware Setup

2. Setting up the Arduino IDE

3. Create Switch Button

4. The Code

5. Create Binary File

6. Summary

Step 1: Hardware Setup

Connect CW01, OC03 and IP01 together using the XC10 xBUS connectors. You may connect it as shown in the diagram below. Please see this guide on how to assemble xChips generally.

Then, connect your device and PC through the IP01’s USB.

Step 2: Setting Up the Arduino IDE

1. Install Arduino IDE 1.8.8

2. Install these libraries to Arduino:

• ESP8266 Arduino
• Ubidots ESP8266
• xCore
• xOC03.

NOTE: If you are not familiar with how to Install libraries, please refer to the following link: Installing Arduino libraries

3. With the ESP8266 platform installed, select the ESP8266 device you are working with. In the case, we are working with a “CW01 ”. To select your board from the Arduino IDE, select Tools > Board “CW01”.

Step 3: Create Switch Button

1. Log in to your Ubidots account:

2. Create a new device. To create a new device, click the "+" icon in the top right corner of the Device's section of your account. Then, assign “OC03” as device name:

Once the device is created it will be appear listed in the device section:

3. Enter to the device created and add a new raw variable by pressing the "+" icon. The variable ought to be called “state”:

Once the variable is created you should have the following result:

IMPORTANT NOTE: In order to be able to establish the communication, the device & variable label assigned in the platform should be the same assigned in the code. To learn more about Devices & Variable Labels, refer to the following article.

4. Go to the dashboard ("Data > Dashboards") section to create a new control widget. To create a new control widget into the Dashboard click on the “+” icon in the top-right corner of the dashboard user interface. Then, select "Switch" as widget type and assign the device and variable previously created.

Once the widget is created you should have the following result:

Step 4: The Code

1. Including libraries:

#include "UbidotsMicroESP8266.h"
#include <xOC03.h>
#include <xCore.h>

2. Enter your Wi-Fi credentials and your Ubidots TOKEN where is indicated :

#include "UbidotsMicroESP8266.h"
#include <xOC03.h>
#include <xCore.h>
#define LED_BUILTIN 13
#define DEVICE "oc03" // Put here your Ubidots device label
#define VARIABLE "state" // Put here your Ubidots variable label
#define TOKEN "" // Put here your Ubidots TOKEN
#define WIFISSID "" // Put here your Wi-Fi SSID
#define PASSWORD "" // Put here your Wi-Fi password
  
xOC03 OC03;
Ubidots client(TOKEN);

NOTE: Before uploading the code into the board make sure to assign the device & variable label respectively assigned.

3. One time, see the comments for self-explanation:

void setup() {
  
  Serial.begin(74880);
#ifdef ESP8266
  Wire.pins(2, 14);
#endif
  pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
  
  client.wifiConnection(WIFISSID, PASSWORD); //Establis Wi-Fi
  
  //connection with access point
  
  
  
  Wire.begin();
  
  OC03.begin();
  
  //client.setDebug(true); // Uncomment this line to set DEBUG on
  
}

Loop the operation, to keep it running and updating continuously:

void loop() {
  
  float value = client.getValueWithDevice(DEVICE, VARIABLE);
  
  
  
   if (value == 1.0) {
  
    OC03.write(HIGH);
  
    digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, 1);
  
  } else {
  
    OC03.write(LOW);
  
    digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, 0);
  
  }  delay(1000);
  
}

The complete Code, read the comments for a detailed explanation:

#include "UbidotsMicroESP8266.h"
  
#include <xOC03.h>
  
#include <xCore.h>
  
#define LED_BUILTIN 13
  
#define DEVICE "oc03" // Put here your Ubidots device label
  
#define VARIABLE "state" // Put here your Ubidots variable label
  
#define TOKEN "" // Put here your Ubidots TOKEN
  
#define WIFISSID "" // Put here your Wi-Fi SSID
  
#define PASSWORD "" // Put here your Wi-Fi password
  
xOC03 OC03;
  
Ubidots client(TOKEN);
  
void setup() {
  
  Serial.begin(74880);
  
#ifdef ESP8266
  
  Wire.pins(2, 14);
  
#endif
  
  pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
  
  client.wifiConnection(WIFISSID, PASSWORD); //Establis Wi-Fi
  
  //connection with access point
  
  Wire.begin();
  
  OC03.begin();
  
  //client.setDebug(true); // Uncomment this line to set DEBUG on
  
}
  
void loop() {
  
  float value = client.getValueWithDevice(DEVICE, VARIABLE);
  
  if (value == 1.0) {
  
    OC03.write(HIGH);
  
    digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, 1);
  
  } else {
  
    OC03.write(LOW);
  
    digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, 0);
  
  }
  
  delay(1000);
  
}

Step 5: Create Binary File

You will use our xFlasher software to flash the code once ready. The xFlasher uploads .bin files to the CW01 and CW02 cores.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please refer to the following guide on how to use xFlasher.

1. To create the .bin file using the Arduino IDE, "Sketch > Export compiled Binary":

At this point, the.bin file is exported to the same folder in which Arduino.ino file is saved.

2. Go to the Ubidots Dashboard to change the state of the switch widget previously created and see the result in the OC03.

Now you are able to control the OC03 remotely using Ubidots:

Step 6: Summary

In this tutorial, we have shown you how to remote control a low voltage photorelay using XinaBox and Ubidots. The tutorial is fairly simple, and takes about 15-20 minutes.

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