Quokka IoT FPGA Board is Programmable with C# Language (Crowdfunding)

Quokka FPGA IoT Controller is a board based on Altera Cyclone IV FPGA with a WiPy module for connectivity, and various I/Os that allows you to make robotics projects for example. While you could program the FPGA using VHDL, the developer – Evgeny Muryshkin – also designed Quokka Development Toolkit (QDT), a cloud-based SaaS, allowing to program FPGA with a high-level programming language, currently C#, so that software people can more easily become involved in FPGA development.

Quokka IoT (preliminary) hardware specifications:

FPGA – Intel Altera Cyclone IV, 6K logic elements, EP4CE6E22C8
Clock – 50MHz
Connectivity – WiFi via WiPy module
Expansion
- 40x GPIO (3 banks by 8 pins, with direction and voltage (3.3V or 5V) configuration, 16 raw IO pins 3.3V)
- 2x Dual Channel 10 bit ADC (3.3V)
- 2x Dual Channel 10 bit DAC (3.3V)
- H-Bridge for DC motors with support for external power
Power Supply – 5-24V DC input

The specifications are preliminary, because the FPGA may be replaced by one with more logic cells (e.g. 20K) depending on the popularity of the project. Drivers are available for each hardware component on the board including ADC and DAC drivers, UART, JSON serializer\deserializer and much more.

As mentioned in the introduction, C# programming is possible with QDT, and it’s not limited to Quokka IoT board, so you should be able to use it with other FPGA boards, although a license may be required as we’ll see below.

You can watch a short demo of the board in action while attached to a robotic chassis.

The project has launched on Kickstarter with a $30.000 AUD funding goal (~$23,600 US). Rewards start at 150 AUD ($118 US) for Quokka IoT board only, but if you want to use the board with QDT, you’d need to add 50 AUD extra for a total of 200 AUD (~$158 US). Shipping adds 25 AUD ($19.7 US), and delivery is scheduled for May 2018.

Thanks to TLS for the tip

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.