kickstarter

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on The Mojo – $65 FPGA Development Board Powered By Xilinx Spartan 6

The Mojo – $65 FPGA Development Board Powered By Xilinx Spartan 6

Embedded Micro has started a kickstarter campaign to fund an FPGA board called “the Mojo”, “designed to be user friendly and a great introduction into digital design”. The board is powered by a Xilinx Spartan 6 FPGA that comes with over 9,000 logic cells, and will allow you to design digital circuits composed of a bunch of logic and, or, nor, etc… gates connected together to perform a specific task. Here are the features of “The Mojo”: Spartan 6 XC6SLX9 FPGA – 9,152 logic cells for your largest designs 84 general purpose digital IO pins (3.3V logic level) 8 analog inputs 8 user controlled LEDs A USB connection (new revision) to configure the FPGA and send receive data from your design On board voltage regulation (4.5V – 12V input, 3.3V and 1.2V outputs) 8 MHz on-board clock (can be multiplied internally by the FPGA) A reset button to be used in your designs […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Crystalfontz CFA-10036 ARM9 Embedded Module Running Linux 3.7

Crystalfontz CFA-10036 ARM9 Embedded Module Running Linux 3.7

Crystalfontz America, a supplier of LCD and OLED display modules used in embedded systems, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund manufacturing and lower the cost of a system-on-module powered by Freescale i.MX28 featuring a small 128×32 OLED display, and lots of GPIOs. Here are the specs of CFA-10036 SoM: Processor – Freescale i.MX283 @ 454MHz  (Optionally i.MX287) System Memory – 128 MB DDR2 (Optionally 256MB) Storage – microSD socket (Up to 64GB) Interfaces: 2x CAN interfaces 4x synchronous serial ports 10/100-Mbps 802.3 Ethernet MAC USB 2.0 OTG (connected to microUSB AB on CFA-10036. Used for development purpose) USB 2.0 host controller and PHY 5x UART plus one dedicated debug UART 2x I2C (OLED shares one of these) LCD, touch screen, keypad, and rotary encoder support RTC with 32KHz crystal (requires continuous power) 4x 32-bit timers 8x PWM 5x 12-bit 428KS/s ADC channels 1x 12 bit 2MS/s ADC channel 91 GPIO […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on PlayJam GameStick Console-On-a-Stick Powered by AMLogic AML8726-MX

PlayJam GameStick Console-On-a-Stick Powered by AMLogic AML8726-MX

OUYA is not the only Android device specifically targeting games anymore, as PlayJam has launched a kickstarter campaign for the GameStick, a combo Android 4.1 HDMI TV dongle + BlueTooth game controller that you should be able to get by April 2013 with a $79 pledge. The neat thing is that it’s highly portable as the dongle fits inside the controller for transport. However, I don’t find the design of the controller as beautiful as OUYA controller. The specs of the GameStick do not quite have the same oomph as the OUYA either, but it should still play most Android games smoothly: SoC – Amlogic AML8726-MX dual Cortex cortex A9 @ 1.5 GHz + dual core Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB FLASH Video Output – HDMI. Final product will also feature MHL, but current prototypes are powered via USB. Connectivity: WiFi – 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on smARtDUINO Open System Provides a Low Cost Modular Arduino Platform

smARtDUINO Open System Provides a Low Cost Modular Arduino Platform

smARtDUINO is a new platform design by the former ARDUINO’s manufacturer (Update: This claim appears to be incorrect and a lie) composed of several compact modules and is a fully funded project on Kickstarter (Less than 3 days remain to become a sponsor). The platform is not based on a single processor, architecture or language but, makes use of an universal platform that can be used to connect components originally developed from different companies, technologies and form factors. For example, it is possible to integrate modules, accessories or shields from Arduino, Netduino, ChipKit and even interact with smartphone using an ADK module, without having to use a breadboard and/or soldering. Interoperability is made possible thanks to what they call “smARtBUS Open I/O“, which is a standard for connectors designed after looking at existing (Arduino) platforms on the market. The company opted for 2 solutions composed of 2 connectors: smARtBUS BASIC […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on $25 Outbreak Galago – Cortex M3 Open Hardware Development Kit

$25 Outbreak Galago – Cortex M3 Open Hardware Development Kit

Outbreak Galago is a tiny development kit based on a Cortex M3 processor that fits a debugger, and is destined for rapid electronics prototyping. The company promotes it as some sort of Arduino board on steroid (MCU wise) and sells for $25 on kickstarter, and less than $10 in 10k quantities. Here are the board specifications: 72 MHz 32-bit ARM CPU with 32KB of flash ROM and 8KB of RAM (NXP LPC1313 TBC) Integrated hardware debugger One high-speed SPI port, up to 36 Mbps One high-speed I2C port, up to 1.5 Mbps One UART/USART with hardware flow-control capability, up to 256 kbps 10 high-speed PWM pins, 6 driven by 32-bit (high-resolution) timers 6 ADC (analog) input pins with 10-bit resolution at over 400 KSa/sec 25 GPIO (digital) input/output pins The form factor and built-in debugger (via USB) are not really new, as those are already featured in devkit such as TI Piccolo controlSTICK, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on $99 OUYA Android 4.0 Open Source Hackable Video Game Console

$99 OUYA Android 4.0 Open Source Hackable Video Game Console

More and more new games are targeted to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets running Android and iOS, and less games are developed for standard gaming console. To work around this issue, OUYA is working on a gaming console based on Android ICS called .. well… OUYA, and posted the project on Kickstarter to complete development and start manufacturing. Here are OUYA Specifications: Nvidia Tegra3 quad-core cortex A9 processor 1 GB RAM 8 GB of internal flash storage HDMI port (up to 1080p HD) WiFi 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth LE 4.0 USB 2.0 port Wireless controller with standard controls (two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button), a touchpad Android 4.0 Although you may just think it will just run existing Android games, the company expects the device to bring higher end games such as the ones available on console. Each box will be a development kit, and developers […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments on Equiso Smart TV: 69 USD Android mini PC with Wireless Remote

Equiso Smart TV: 69 USD Android mini PC with Wireless Remote

Here’s yet another Android mini PC HDMI Stick. Equiso has started a KickStarter compaign to raise funds to complete development and manufacture the Equiso Smart TV, an Android mini PC based on Telechips TCC8925 Cortex A5 processor. It looks very similar to CX-01 mini PC with Android 4.0 running on a TCC8925 processor, 512 MB RAM and the lack of a microSD card slot. The only hardware differences are that it includes 8GB internal storage (vs 4GB for CX-01), and it features an HDMI 1.4 port (vs 1.3 for others). Here are the specs of the device: Telechips TCC8925 Arm Cortex A5 Processor @ 1GHz + Mali 400 3D Graphics Processor 512 MB DDR3 RAM 802.11 N wireless radio 8 GB Memory Internal (WiFi) 1.4 HDMI Plug n’ Play Interface, 3D, ESD protection, CEC USB 2.0 port microUSB 2.0 port to power the device Dimensions – 80mm x 30mm x […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Pebble: Bluetooth Watch for Your iPhone or Android Smartphone

Pebble: Bluetooth Watch for Your iPhone or Android Smartphone

Pebble, an E-Paper Watch for iPhone and Android smartphones, is a new project on KickStarter with over 11,000 backers and over 1.5 millions US dollars raised for production. The Pebble Watch connects to iPhone and Android smartphones using Bluetooth, and can alert you with a silent vibration to incoming calls, emails and messages. The Pebble watch has the following specifications: ARM Cortex-M3 MCU 144 x 168 pixel display black and white e-paper Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR 4 buttons Vibrating motor 3 axis accelerometer with gesture detection The developers also claim a 7-day use on a single battery charge. Pebble can be customized with Apps with will take advantage of the BT connection with smartphones and allow pretty nice applications such as: Bike Computer – Cyclists to use Pebble to display speed, distance and pace data by accessing the smartphone’s GPS . Running Watch – Joggers and runners can also use the […]

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