Programmable universal IO interface

An integrated circuit configured to provide signal conversion from one or more sensors to a processor, comprising:

• an input-output (IO) port configured to couple to a first sensor and a second sensor, wherein the first sensor is configured to couple to the IO port using a first communication method and the second sensor is configured to couple to the IO port using a second communication method;
• an interface configured to receive data indicative of the first communication method or the second communication method;
• and
• a switch block communicatively coupled to the interface, wherein the switch block comprises a plurality of switches, wherein the interface is configured to toggle a first subset of the plurality of switches in the switch block upon receiving data indicative of the first communication method and configured to toggle a second subset of the plurality of switches upon receiving data indicative of the second communication method, wherein the first subset is configured to couple the first sensor to the processor and the second subset is configured to couple the second sensor to the processor.

A method for communicating between a sensor and a processor, comprising:

• receiving data indicative of a sensor type via an interface;
• in response to data indicative of a first sensor type corresponding to a first sensor, toggling a first subset of a plurality of switches corresponding to the first sensor type, wherein the first subset of the plurality of switches correspond to the first sensor type, and the toggling of the first subset of the plurality of switches is based at least in part on the data indicative of the first sensor type;
• in response to data indicative of a second sensor type corresponding to a second sensor, toggling a second subset of a plurality of switches corresponding to the second sensor type, wherein the second subset of the plurality of switches correspond to the second sensor type, and the toggling of the second subset of the plurality of switches is based at least in part on the data indicative of the second sensor type;
• receiving sensor signals from the first or second sensor via an input-output (IO) port at a first voltage;
• and
• sending processor signals to the processor via a channel at a second voltage.