Intel Edison

Posted on December 25, 2014 by e8johan

Intel-Edison-2The Intel Edison module makes it easier to build an x86 embedded computer system. The module itself comes with a 500 MHz dual-thread Atom CPU core and a 100 MHz Intel Quark micro controller. The module also includes 4GB eMMC and 1GB of RAM as well as WiFi and DTLE. All on a postage stamp sized module.

The module itself retails for about 50 USD, but you will need a break-out board to get started. If you want to create your own board, the pinout includes 40 GPIOs, UARTs, USBs and more.

From a development perspective, the Edison platform supports development using the Arduino tools or C/C++, but support for Node.JS as well as Python is planned shortly.

If you want to get away for free, the Tizen Experts are running a giveaway in an effort to get Tizen ported to the platform.

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New hosting

Posted on December 15, 2014 by e8johan

We’ve just migrated to a new host (a VPS), so if you run into anything strange – do tell!

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Raspberry Pi Models

Posted on November 20, 2014 by e8johan

Even more Raspberry Pi stuff today. The Raspberry Pi blog just run a great post on the different models and board revisions out there – you can find it here.

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GertBot

Posted on November 20, 2014 by e8johan

Have a Raspberry Pi? Want to build a robot? Need to drive some engines? or thousands of LEDs? Then you will love the gertbot!

The gertbot is a HAT-board for the Raspberry Pi that adds four H-bridges, two open-drain N-MOSFETs that can handle some serious power. It is also possible to cascade up to four boards, giving you 16 H-bridges and 8 MOSFETs.

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Built around a 64MHz Cortex M3 processor, it solves some of the short comings of a Linux based system – e.g. producing stable high-frequency PWMs in software. It also frees up the Raspberry Pi CPU to do other things such as running OpenCV to look around and make decisions.

The download page over at gertbot.com contains not only drivers and documentation but a couple of examples for various common robot configurations.

Via Raspberry Pi Foundation.

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Beautiful Calculators

Posted on November 17, 2014 by e8johan

As some of you already know, calculators was the driver behind the first computers and the first CPUs integrated on a single piece of silicon. Before that age, we had electromechanical calculators. They are as beatiful to look at as they are outdated today.

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Photographer Kevin Twomey has explored these contraptions (and more).

Via boingboing.

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Improved ATX PSU

Posted on November 11, 2014 by e8johan

Francesco Truzzi just announced a really great ATX PSU break-out board. It can act as a USB charger, has a variable voltage output and a set of fixed voltage levels (3.3, 5 and 12v). The design is based around an open hardware design from dangerous prototypes, this is a real improvement.

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Francesco summarizes the board like this:

  • It has a 24-pin ATX connector.
  • Voltage lines are all broken out individually on binding posts.
  • LM317-based voltage regulator. Using a 300 ohm resistor and a 2K ohm potentiometer, voltage range is 1.25-9V.
  • 2 USB ports based on the TPS2513 from Texas Instruments. They can automatically detect what device is connected and adjust resistance on D+ and D- lines as needed. This means full compatibility and maximum charging speed on both Apple and Android devices. One of them is connected to 5v_STDBY, so that it works even when the PSU is off.
  • Pretty much everything can be fused. I left -12V out because it can only carry low amounts of current on most PSUs (mine is 500mA maximum).
  • Breadboard pin headers so that voltage lines can be connected to a breadboard using jumper cables.
  • Voltmeter headers in order to know the LM317 output voltage.
  • There is room for a 9W power resistor is your PSU needs it to stabilize output voltages. You can connect it either to the 5v rail or to the 12v one by jumpering the corresponding pads.
  • Status LEDs on fused lines and USBs so you can check if everything works fine.
  • Screw holes for standoffs.
  • Breaking Bad art because yeah, this is science, bitch.

Via dangerous prototypes.

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New A+ Pi

Posted on November 10, 2014 by e8johan

The Raspberry Pi foundation just announced the new A+ model. It is cheaper, smaller and uses less power, than any other Pi out there.A-_Overhead

With a smaller form factor, fewer ports and an improved audio output. The A+ model looks like a clear update. It also supports the new, wider, extension connector introduced with the B+ model, making it compatible with HAT add-ons. The retail price is set to USD 20 – a whole 20% cheaper than its predecessor.

I’m looking forward for trying my own A+. In the mean time, I’m curious about the actual power requirement figures, the quality of the audio and just how small it actually is.

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Tinyest Duino Yet?

Posted on August 8, 2014 by e8johan

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The nanite is a minimal ATtiny85 based development board intended to be used with a breadboard.

It is intended to be powered via USB, so no power regulation, but comes with a reset switch. The pin out is identical to a DIP ATtiny85, so you can use it as a drop in replacement during development.

Via dangerousprototypes
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lowRISC

Posted on August 6, 2014 by e8johan

The lowRISC project, based on Cambridge, is aiming to create an entirely open source hardware stack. This includes the SoC as well as the development board.

The design is based around RISC-V, a 64-bit RISC instruction set architecture. It supports GCC, LLVM and Linux, pairing the open source hardware with an open source software stack.

The lowRISC project is run as a non-profit organization. The team is built around a team with experiences from Cambridge University, UC Berkley, Raspberry Pi, Dreamwork, Radioscape, Google, OpenRISC and more.

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Raspberry Pi Compute Module

Posted on April 8, 2014 by e8johan

CM_and_pi-small-500x375This is exciting! The Raspberry Pi Foundation just announced that the Raspberry will be available in a new form factor – the SODIMM. The module will contain the BCM2835 SoC, 512MB of RAM and 4GB FLASH (eMMC). It will be available some time in June for about $30 in batches of a hundred units. For individual devices, the price will be slightly higher.

The target audience is producers of custom PCBs – which is great since there are a lot of hardware projects based on the Raspberry Pi – and at 200mA with video decoding and 3D graphics running, I bet there will be more.

In addition to all this, the foundation also announced the Compute Module IO Board. This is an open source breakout board providing access to HDMI, USB as well as large pin headers. It also provides a solution to power the board. The curious reader can have a peek at the schematics of the IO board, as well as the Compute Module.

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For those of you who like to watch moving pictures, please enjoy the small preview below.

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