arduino

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on $15 and Up NavSpark is a tiny GPS / GNSS Arduino Software Compatible Board (Crowdfunding)

$15 and Up NavSpark is a tiny GPS / GNSS Arduino Software Compatible Board (Crowdfunding)

[Update: I’ve been told the project is actually launched by SkyTraq. But later, after Indiegogo perks are shipped, they expect to have our customer NAVIN handle later orders and manufacturing, the non-engineering development side of things. Updated post accordingly] Navin, a Taiwanese start-up specialized in location products, SkyTraq, a fabless semiconductor company, which develops GPS chipset for consumer navigation and tracking applications, has recently launched an Indiegogo campaign for NavSpark, their low cost GPS / GNSS board with a 32-bit LEON3 SPARC V8 MCU that can be programmed with the Arduino IDE. Two other models are available:  NavSpark-BD for GPS/Beidou, and NavSpark-GL for GPS/GLONASS. NavSpark NavSpark specifications: GSP Receiver – SkyTraq Venus 822 LEON3 Sparc-V8 MCU @ 100MHz with IEEE-754 Compliant FPU, 1024KB Flash Memory, 212KB RAM. GPS – quad-GNSS engine capable of handling 34 GPS / GLONASS/ Beidou / Galileo signals in parallel I/Os – 1x full duplex asynchronous […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Iteaduino Lite is an $8 Arduino (Mostly) Compatible Board (Crowdfunding)

Iteaduino Lite is an $8 Arduino (Mostly) Compatible Board (Crowdfunding)

A few months ago, Borderless Electronics sold a $12 Arduino Leonardo clone ($9 + $3 shipping), and a Chinese company called Itead Studio, which also makes Iteauino Plus board (AllWinner A10), has just launched an Indiegogo campaign for an $8 Arduino “nearly-fully-compatible” board, and yes, that includes shipping. The board is similar to Arduino UNO, but with a different MCU in order to reduce costs: MCU – Logic Green LGT8F88A @ 16MHz with 8KB flash (0.7KB used by bootloader), 1KB SRAM, and 504 byte EEPROM. Operating Voltage  – 5V / 3.3V Input Voltage – Recommended: 7-20V, Limits: 7-24V Digital I/O – 14 pins of which 6 provide PWM output. Analog Input – 6 pins DC Current per I/O – Pin80 mA DC Current for 3.3V – power supply 250 mA USB – microUSB for power, programming and debugging Arduino Uno is based on Atmel ATmega328, but this baord uses LFT8F88A, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Crystal Board Combines Rockchip RK3188 ARM SoC with Xilinx FPGA and Arduino Compatible Board (Crowdfunding)

Crystal Board Combines Rockchip RK3188 ARM SoC with Xilinx FPGA and Arduino Compatible Board (Crowdfunding)

Red Crystal, a German startup, has just introduced the Crystal Board, a 3-in-1 development board with Rockchip RK3188 SoC running Linux or Android, an Arduino UNO compatible board, and a Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA. The concept is a similar to the UDOO board, but adds an FPGA. The company has launched a Kickstarter campaign to gather funds to manufacture the Lite and Pro versions of the board for respectively $149 and $179. Crystal Board specifications (Lite and Pro versions): SoC – Rockchip RK3188 ARM Cortex-A9 quad core up to 1.8Ghz + Mali-400 MP4 GPU MCU – Atmel Atmega328 SMD FPGA – Xilinx Spartan6 XC6SLX9 with 9152 logic cells System Memory – 2GB DDR3 @ 1066MHz (1GB DDR3 @ 1066MHz for Lite version) Storage – micro SD card slot, SPI flash Video Output – HDMI 1.4 Connectivity: 10/100M Ethernet port Wi-Fi  802.11b/g/n with antenna. Dual band for Pro version, 2.4GHz band for […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Microchip Unveils chipKIT Wi-Fi Development Board and Motor Control Shield

Microchip Unveils chipKIT Wi-Fi Development Board and Motor Control Shield

Microchip Technology has just announced two new boards by Diligent, part of its Arduino compatible chipKIT ecosystem: chipKIT WF32 board featuring a PIC32 MCU and a Wi-Fi module, and chipKIT Motor Control Shield for servos, steppers, and DC motors. chipKIT WF32 Development Board Board specifications: MCU – Microchip PIC32MX695F512L micro-controller (80 Mhz 32-bit MIPS, 512K Flash, 128K SRAM) External Storage – Micro SD card connector Wi-Fi – IEEE 802.11 b/g via Microchip MRF24WG0MA WiFi module USB – USB 2.0 OTG controller with A and micro-AB connectors for debugging and programing. 43 available I/O pins with 12 analog inputs Misc – 4x user LEDs PC connection uses a USB A > mini B cable (not included) Power – 7V to 15V input voltage (recommended), 3.3V operating voltage, 30V input voltage (maximum), 0V to 3.3V analog input voltage range Microchip has also released an embedded cloud software framework to create Internet of Things […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on LightBlue Cortado is an Arduino Compatible Board Programmed Wirelessly via Bluetooth LE (Crowdfunding)

LightBlue Cortado is an Arduino Compatible Board Programmed Wirelessly via Bluetooth LE (Crowdfunding)

We’ve already seen several Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Arduino compatible boards being crowd-funded such as RFDuino and BLEDuino, but there’s now another board designed by Punch Through Design: LightbBlue Cortado. The board is programmed wirelessly directly via Bluetooth LE, instead of USB as in the two aforementioned boards, which means programming via iPad or Android tablets becomes more convenient. Here are the technical specifications of the board: MCU – Atmel ATmega328P @ 8MHz with 32KB Flash, 1KB EEPROM, 2KB SRAM Bluetooth – LBM313 Module with Texas Instruments CC2540, 256 KB Flash. Bluetooth range: 30.5m. Power consumption in sleep mode: 0.9μA I/O – 4 PWM pins, 2 Analog inputs, 8 GPIO,  I2C and SPI Sensor – 3-Axis Accelerometer Misc – RGB LED, protoboard section, adhesive backing Power – Coin cell battery. Battery life exceeding one year for low power applications There’s no USB, so the only way to program the board is via […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on $39 86Duino ZERO is an x86 Arduino Compatible Board that Supports DOS, Windows, and Linux

$39 86Duino ZERO is an x86 Arduino Compatible Board that Supports DOS, Windows, and Linux

Intel Gallileo Development Board with a Intel Quark processor, and Arduino software and hardware, now gets some competition with DM&P Electronics’ 86Duino ZERO board powered by the company’s Vortex86EX processor and 128MB RAM, that is said to support DOS, Windows, and Linux. 86Duino ZERO Specifications: Processor – DM&P Vortex86EX 32-bit x86 processor @ 300MHz System Memory – 128MB DDR3 Storage – 8MB SPI flash, and microSD card slot Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet (at the back of the board, not RJ45) USB – USB host connector, micro USB port for development Arduino Leonardo compatible headers Misc – Reset button, PCIE bus Power Supply – DC-IN 7 to 12V, or via microUSB port. The board is comprised of a daughter board (DM-222) and a System-on-Module (SoM) either called DM-205 and or Vortex86EX SOM-128-EX which the following specs (some of which are not accessible in 86Duino Zero): Processor – Vortex86EX @ 300MHz System […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on 1Sheeld Arduino Shield Leverages Your Android Smartphone Hardware

1Sheeld Arduino Shield Leverages Your Android Smartphone Hardware

To get started with Arduino, a simple board is enough, with soon, you’ll need to add shields for Wi-Fi, sensors, maybe a small display, etc.. and costs add up. Integreight, an Egyptian startup, had to idea to create a simple shield called 1Sheeld that can leverage your smartphone hardware assets such as Wi-Fi, LEDs, sensors, the display, the speaker, etc.., so you don’t have to spend extra money on shields. Technical Specifications: Runs on an ATmega162 @ 16 MHz Uses a standard HC-06 adapter (Bluetooth 2.0) providing up to 30 feet range (about 9 meters) Uses a modified version of the Firmata protocol Can communicate with Arduino using UART 50mA current draw That’s for the hardware, and there’s also a software platform and Android app to manages the communication between the shield and the smartphone, and select different shields options. You’d have to write your sketch using the company’s library, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Almost Anything Can Be A Touch Input with The Touch Board and Electric Paint

Almost Anything Can Be A Touch Input with The Touch Board and Electric Paint

Bare Conductive, a British startup, has designed an Arduino Leonardo compatible board with 12 capacitive touch sensors called the Touch Board. You can basically use any conductive material as a touch sensor, but the company’s existing “electric paint” really makes the board come to life, and you can just draw circuit anywhere, be it on paper, your wall, cardboard, and create fun and useful applications. Touch Board specifications: MCU – Atmel ATMega32U4 Microprocessor @ 16 MHz with 32 KB of Flash Memory of which 4 KB is used for bootloader. External storage – MicroSD card slot I/Os: 20 digital I/O pins (3 used for Touch IC and 5 for MP3 IC – can be disabled) 7 PWM channels 12 analog input channels 12 Touch electrodes of which 8 can be configured as extra digital inputs or outputs with PWM capability. (via Freescale MPR121) Audio – Playback and MIDI support via […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC