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Virtualette V1, A Tiny Powerful Microcomputer

Posted on 8 February, 2017 by AlHasan Muhammad Ali

Designed by SRKH Designs , Virtualette V1 is a small dual stack microcomputer that can run Android and Linux operating systems, for network-wide IoT and mobile edge computing solutions and electronics DIY projects.

Virtualette V1 is designed based on the dual-core Cortex-A7 Allwinner A20 SoC, with 1GB DDR3L base memory, 8GB onboard NAND flash, and a 32GB microSD card. It also includes a real time clock, onboard battery and wakeup function, and 80 IO pins.

The microcomputer is consist of dual connected PCBs with 7.6cm x 3.7cm x 1.8cm size including mounting feet. It has an Ethernet jack, a USB port to connect mouse or keyboard, microSD card slot, SATA port, and mini USB ports.

Virtualette V1 is a low energy device with a typical 2.4W of energy draw with three power options; 9-48V PoE (Powered over Ethernet), 5V USB OTG, and a lithium battery.

You can run any of linux-based operating system on the V1, in addition to the optimized linux distribution that will be shipped with it. Users can change the OS by swapping over the micro SD card and they have the option of booting from an external microSD card or from the onboard NAND 8GB flash.

Additional storage can be added by inserting a USB2 drive or external hard drive (SATA compatible). V1 can be optionally booted by USB or a dedicated SPI ROM port.

Examples of V1’s potential capabilities are:

As an individual desktop device or controller for a drone or robot.
As a liquid-cooled computer inside a 40mm PVC pipe.
As M2M nodes in a distributed intelligent security system.
Deployed as a peer-to-peer, machine-to-machine network in applications such as display information systems in airports or train stations.

With the launch of their Kickstarter campaign, SRKH Designs aims to raise funding of US$22.5k, offering backers Virtualette V1 devices from the first production run as their reward.

Post campaign, a roadmap of hardware products for the Virtualette range is planned. This includes future quad-core and octa-core versions, an add-on FPGA-based development board, a desktop platform, popular video adaptor interfaces and an ‘All in One’ peripheral board designed to embed V1 inside a slimline display case.

Open Source DIY Laptop Kit By Olimex

Posted on 7 February, 2017 by AlHasan Muhammad Ali

Olimex Ltd is a Bulgarian leading provider for development tools and programmers for embedded market. The company has 25+ years’ experience in designing, prototyping and manufacturing printed circuit boards, sub-assemblies, and complete electronic products.

The latest amazing product by Olimex is an open source laptop DIY kit called: TERES I.
TERES I is open source hardware and software Do It Yourself laptop running Linux on 64- bit ARM processor. It’s very light less 1 kg and convenient to carry with when travel. The core of this laptop is built around an Allwinner ARM Cortex-A53, 1GB of DDR3L RAM, 4GB of eMMC Flash, WiFi, Bluetooth, a camera, and an 11.6″ 1366×768 display.

Back to history, Teres I was the first king of the Odrysian state of Thrace where Plovdiv – the city where TERES I laptop was designed. The Odrysian state was the first Thracian kingdom that acquired power in the region, by the unification of more than 40 Thracian tribes under a single ruler!

The stylish and elegant shape laptop is open source hardware and software, so people can learn and study how it’s done. The CAD files and source code is on GitHub and everybody can download and modify and use for their own need.

“If you want to implement new features nothing stops you. If you need another processor, more power, more memory, better LCD, you are free to do this and tailor this laptop to your needs! If you do not like the Linux distribution you have access to the sources and can generate any Linux distribution to your taste!”

The laptop is modular which means that there is number of possibilities to expand it for example by adding a FPGA expansion module in order to give the laptop some extra capabilities like Digital Storage Oscilloscope, Logic Analyzer and much more features. This expansion module and others are under construction now and will be launched soon.

You can also order any spare part of the laptop since all it’s components available for purchase, which makes maintenance easier and cheaper.

TERES I DIY kit is available for €225 in two colors white and black, and it contains the following parts:

This laptop could be the next educational gadget for your kids or students. You can use it to explain for them in action how computers work and what do they consist of. It will give them the chance to think deeper in the fields of electronics and programming while assembling the laptop for the first time and if any trouble occurred and they have to help in solving it. This educational benefits of TERES I could not be available unless the laptop is completely open source.

It is true that the specifications of this laptop may not be perfect, but no one can deny that the price tag is cool making this laptop a consumable choice for some usages. This DIY kit is out of stock now as mentioned on the website, but you can register your email on the product page to be notified once it is available.

TERES I is completely designed with KiCAD FOSS, also hardware and software source files are available on Github. Also check this file to know more details about the laptop and the building instructions.

A few months ago, Tsvetan Usunov the brain behind Olimex had conducted a talk at Hackaday Belgrade conference about his upcoming DIY laptop kit. Check it out!

WeMOS D1 ESP8266 vs Arduino Uno, Arduino Due and Teensy 3.2. Which one is the fastest board?

Posted on 6 February, 2017 by mixos

In this video educ8s.tv is going to compare the computational speed of the WeMOS D1 ESP8266 based Arduino compatible board with the computational speed of the most popular Arduino boards and the Teensy 3.2.

A few weeks ago, in a similar video we compared the performance of the Teensy with the most popular Arduino boards. Today, we are going to add another board to the comparison, the WeMOS D1 ESP8266 Arduino compatible board. I have prepared a detailed tutorial on that board so you can check it out before we start.

WeMOS D1 ESP8266 vs Arduino Uno, Arduino Due and Teensy 3.2. Which one is the fastest board? – [Link]

Puck.js – The Ground-Breaking Bluetooth Low Energy Beacon

Posted on 6 February, 201720 July, 2020 by Rik

Puck.js is a Bluetooth Low Energy Beacon which can be programmed and debugged wirelessly with JavaScript. It is both multi-functional and easy to use. This beacon uses a custom circuit board with the latest Nordic chip, Bluetooth LE, Infrared transmitter, NFC, magnetometer, temperature sensor, RGB LEDs, and much more. Unlike other beacons, Puck.js comes with the open source JavaScript interpreter Espruino pre-installed, which makes it incredibly easy to use. Anyone without any prior programming experience can get started in seconds.

Specifications:

Espruino JavaScript interpreter pre-installed
nRF52832 SoC – Cortex M4, 64kB RAM, 512kB Flash
8 × 0.1″ GPIO (capable of PWM, SPI, I2C, UART, Analog Input)
9 × SMD GPIO (capable of PWM, SPI, I2C, UART)
Compatible with Bluetooth 5.0 – giving Quadruple the range, and double the speed of Bluetooth 4.2
Built-in Near Field Communications (NFC)
12 bit ADC, timers, SPI, I2C, and Serial
MAG3110 Magnetometer
IR Transmitter
Red, Green and Blue LEDs
Pin capable of capacitive sensing
Built-in temperature sensor, light sensor, and battery level sensor
ABS plastic rear case and silicone cover with tactile button
CR2032 210mAh battery

Features:

Puck.js has various sensors for different purposes and various kinds of output components. It can measure light, temperature, magnetic fields, and capacitance. This beacon also can control Infrared remote devices, produce any color light using RGB LED, and has a tactile switch that turns the Puck into one big button.

The Magnetometer on Puck.js is a digital compass. You can measure its orientation about the earth’s magnetic field in 3 dimensions. It can also detect a magnet nearby and measures the magnetic field.

Detailed View of Puck.js Bluetooth Beacon

Puck also has the Web Bluetooth feature that enables controlling it from a web page wirelessly. The website simply sends the JavaScript code directly to the Puck, and it’ll be executed. Another excellent feature of Puck.js is internet accessibility. Espruino contains TCP/IP and HTTP client and servers (including WebSockets). With a suitable Bluetooth LE to the Internet Gateway, you’ll be able to put your Puck on the web!

The story doesn’t end here. Compared to other smart beacons, Puck.js has much more features that make it unbeatable. Open Source hardware and software is one of them. Go here to get a complete list of all features.

Conclusion:

Puck is an outstanding product. It has tons of booming features in a small package, yet easy to program. Anyone can get started with this amazing device within seconds. You can get it at £28 from this Kickstarter link. Also watch this video from Kickstarter campaign or the below video by Adafruit.com for a better understanding.

facetVISION: Compound Eyes for Industry and Smartphone

Posted on 6 February, 2017 by Rik

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have developed a process that makes the production of a two-millimeter flat camera possible. Similar to the eyes of insects, its lens is partitioned into 135 tiny facets. The researchers have named their mini-camera concept facetVISION, following nature’s model. This mini-camera has a thickness of only two millimeters at a resolution of 1 megapixel.

facetVISION compound eye: First prototype

All 135 small, uniform lenses are positioned close together, similar to the pieces of a mosaic. Each lens receives only a small section of its surroundings. The newly developed facetVISION technology aggregates the many individual images of the lenses to a whole picture. Finally, this technology should obtain a resolution of 4 megapixels. This is certainly a higher resolution compared to latest cameras in industrial applications like robot technology or automobile production.

The compound eye technology is also suitable for integration into smartphones. The lens of a modern smartphone must be at least 5 millimeters thick in order to capture a sharp image. The manufacturers of ultrathin smartphones are facing this challenge since the camera lens is thicker than the housing of the phone. But, this new technology can reduce the thickness to around 3 millimeters without compromising picture quality. Andreas Brückner, the project manager at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena, says:

It will be possible to place several smaller lenses next to each other in the smartphone camera. The combination of facet effect and proven injection molded lenses will enable resolutions of more than 10 megapixels in a camera requiring just a thickness of around three and a half millimeters.

The researchers also explained how this camera can be used in medical engineering as optical sensors to examine blood. The facetVISION has many other applications like checking image quality in a printing machine, parking camera in cars or in industrial robots to prevent collisions between human and machine.

Mass production of facetVISION is possible

Under the leadership of Andreas Brückner, the researchers have already demonstrated that facetVISION is suitable for mass production. So, keep waiting and maybe you will purchase a new smartphone equipped with a facetVISION compound eye in not so distant future.

EEZ H24005, Two-Channel Programmable Power Supply

Posted on 3 February, 20176 February, 2017 by AlHasan Muhammad Ali

Envox Experimental Zone (EEZ) is an open hardware and open source development website, that creates and shares various open source hardware and software projects using as much as possible open-source tools and technologies.

One of their projects is the programmable bench power supply ‘EEZ H24005’. The goal is to make a reliable, modular, open and programmable power supply, that can be used for various tasks starting with powering breadboard, charge batteries of various types, or to be used as an educational tool and science experiments.

The EEZ H24005 is a DIY power supply unit consists of four PCBs and SMT electronics components except some power resistor, AC/DC adapter, and power regulators. Only two ICs need hot air soldering station to mount, while the remaining parts can be simply mounted with soldering iron.

To build this PSU you will need these tools:

Soldering iron with conical sloped tip
Hot air soldering station
Solder wire 0.25 mm, and 0.7 mm (optionally solder paste, for ICs with exposed power tabs)
Solder wick / desoldering braid
Flux
Magnifying glass with light
Self-locking tweezers
Set of tweezers
Isopropyl alcohol example and paper wipes for cleaning
PCB holder

In addition to modularity, programmability, openness, and DIY, reliability was one of the key features and design guidelines of the designing process. Because as a sourcing device, the PSU has to be designed in the way that no dangerous oscillation in voltage or current is present over the long period of deployment. That includes border case of turning the PSU on and off, applying or disconnecting load, etc.

Here is some of the main features of H24005:

Modular design that allows combining modules with various performance and capability and creation of multiple output solution
Voltage regulation (CV), 10 mV resolution
Current regulation (CC), 10 mA initial resolution
Various current single range operation (0-5 A default, 0-3 A or 0-4 A per channel)
15-bit data acquisition resolution
Real-time clock (RTC) with supercap/battery backup
SD-card as an additional storage
Ethernet support for remote control
Simple DC output protection (reverse voltage, over-voltage)

Since it is an open source project, all files, designs, source codes are available at the Github repository. Also a detailed building guide is available at the official website. But if you want to get H24005 but not interested in making it, you can order yours through OSHPark. There is also a CrowdSupply campagin on going.

CTC By Arduino, Creative Technologies in the Classroom

Posted on 3 February, 2017 by AlHasan Muhammad Ali

Arduino and Genuino Education is a worldwide-leading school initiative bringing technology into the hands of teachers and students to create a more inventive learning experience. It offers multiple platforms, including research-based projects and in-class programs such as Creative Technologies in the Classroom(CTC) and other initiatives like: Mastering Arduino: Foundations, Arduino Education on YouTube, #EduMondays on Arduino Blog, and other on-ground events. These initiatives are not launched yet and are coming soon, and one event, BETT 2017, was held in London earlier on January. CTC is the running initiative right now.

CTC is Arduino’s one-of-a-kind STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) program for upper secondary education. Students are introduced to the foundations of programming, electronics, and mechanics through a series of playful, well-documented projects and easy-to-assemble experiments.

Arduino’s one-of-a-kind STEM program has been implemented in nearly 500 schools throughout the globe, resulting in an overwhelming satisfaction rate among both students and teachers alike. 95% of instructors continue to use the curriculum in their classrooms year after year, while more than 13,000 students have already participated.

CTC 101 — running on Arduino 101 — is divided into 4 modules or blocks covering various topics. The CTC program is a toolbox comprised of more than 20 hands-on and easily assembled electronic projects, an online source for course materials, documentation tools, content specific reference sections, and professional support services.These four distinct stages are:

Teacher training (one week)
Themed modules (five modules, 10 weeks)
Student projects (nine weeks)
Technology fair (one day)

Each program comes with a CTC 101 Toolbox consisting of:

Sets of electronics components and pre-cut mechanical parts
25+ hands-on projects
Live training for teachers
Free online documentation and course materials
Support forums for teachers and students

“CTC is one of our best educational activities and makes us especially proud on account of its potential for teacher training, student motivation, and transformation of the society in which we live.” – Javier Hidalgo, Head of Exhibitions and Programmes, la Caixa Foundation

Participating schools should have student access to computers and the ability to access the internet – A dedicated room that can function as a workshop, or at least a room with tables to work on – Different exercises may involve common school appliances such as pens, scissors, sticky tape, etc. In order to register your school in the CTC program just apply here.

Arduino Education is committed to empowering educators with the necessary hardware and software tools to create a more hands-on, innovative learning experience. More details about these initiatives are available at Arduino Education and this blog.

ATtiny Dev Board / Tinyduino

Posted on 3 February, 20173 February, 2017 by mixos

This is an ATtiny Dev Board. Designed for the ATtiny line of microcontollers from atmel. Its made to be small, simple to build and easy to use.

ATtiny Dev Board / Tinyduino – [Link]

OpenScope, An Open Source Multi-function Board

Posted on 2 February, 2017 by AlHasan Muhammad Ali

In order to make learning and using electronics accessible to all, Digilent Inc., an electrical engineering products company, had created a new powerful and affordable tool for beginners and enthusiasts. ‘OpenScope’ is an instrumentation device that empowers makers, hobbyists, engineers, and new learners to design and debug their most innovative products.

OpenScope is a portable multi-function programmable instrumentation module, that connects with computer through WiFi or USB to allow acquiring, analysing, visualising, and controlling signals from circuits, sensors, and other electronic devices. It can also be programmed to work as a standalone development board, like Arduino and Raspberry Pi, with high-speed precision analog and digital I/O.

WaveForms Live is a free, open-source, JavaScript-based software that runs in a browser. It comes with OpenScope and is used for configuring it to work as an oscilloscope, a function generator, a logic analyzer, a power supply, or a data logger.

OpenScope can be used to make real time monitoring and troubleshooting projects, to build long-term capturing and calculating IoT devices, and also to gain a deeper understanding of electronics through visualizing what’s happening inside of the circuit.

The core of OpenScope is the Microchip PIC32MZ Processor, a 32-bit MCU based on the MIPS processor, clocked at 200MHz with 2 MB flash memory and up to 512KB high-speed SRAM. It is placed on OpenScope’s top face with a WiFi module, MicroUSB port for power and programming, programming headers, 30 pins, two input channels, gain select multiplexers, with led and buttons.

OpenScope Features:

2 12-bit scope channels at 2 MHz bandwidth and 6.25 MS/sec sampling rate.
1 MHz function generator output with 10 MS/sec update rate.
10 programmable digital I/O pins .
Up to 50 mA ±4 volts programmable power supply.
On-Board WiFi
Reprogrammable through Arduino IDE and Microchip MPLabX

$14,000 has been reached since launching the Kickstarter campaign yesterday. You can reserve your own OpenScope for $80 and also an optional 3D printed case is available for $25. According to the project timeline, early shipping will begins in April 2017.

Mini Digital Barometric Altimeter

Posted on 2 February, 20172 February, 2017 by mixos

pinko @ exrockets.com has published a mini barometric altimeter based on PIC18F2553. He writes:

I found on Ebay very nice, small 12v 23A battery holders for PCB mounting style and decided to fit the SMALL DIGITAL BAROMETRIC ALTIMETER just on the back of the holder.

So basically this is the same schematic as the SMALL DIGITAL BAROMETRIC ALTIMETER, however I moved some of the connections to different MCU pins because of PCB space limitations.

Mini Digital Barometric Altimeter – [Link]