The concept of “a connected car” is no longer a figment of the imagination of movie producers but an everyday reality. Different communication protocols along with data from different sensors are being leveraged across the automotive industry to provide advanced features/services like usage-based insurance to users while monitoring different parameters that indicate the health of the car to ensure safety.
There are different approaches/levels to data collection, processing, and automation across the industry. While its factory fitted in-built for some cars, others support add-on systems that are currently regarded as the best route for flexibility. iWave Systems, the company behind the Linux based OBD-II Dongle has been at the forefront of developing telematics solutions for cars for a while, pushing the boundaries of standards across the industry. In line with this, they recently announced a new telematic controller unit.
The new TCU comes equipped with 4G, Wi-Fi and BLE communication features that help build a connected network within the vehicle while collecting exhaustive data from its electronic systems and the CAN network in a manner that enables real-time analytics.
Aimed at applications like fleet management, light-duty vehicle monitoring, user-based insurance, and many more, the new TCU features a 792MHz ARM Cortex A7 processors which provides an opportunity for real-time Edge Analytics based applications.
Some highlight features of the TCU include:
Certified with CE/FCC
Supports latest CAN FD, HS CAN, LS CAN, Ethernet CAN
Linux 4.1.15 based platform for generic applications
Secure FOTA support
J1962 compliant OBD II Protocol (ISO 15765-4 CAN)
High accuracy GNSS receiver with AGPS support
Battery for Anti-theft Alarm
Multi-cloud support
Designed to withstand the rugged nature of the in-car environment, the TCU has tolerance for extreme operating conditions and will perform fine in a temperature environment between -40°C to +85°C (Excluding Battery).
Some more technical specs for the device are provided below:
Arm® Cortex®-A7 based CPU @ 792MHz
DDR3L SDRAM – 256MB
eMMC Flash – 4GB
Connectivity
4G LTE
802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi Module with Antenna with WPA2 feature
Bluetooth 5.0
Positioning
GPS Receiver with Antenna
Sensors
3 Axis Accelerometer
3 Axis Gyroscope
3 Axis Magnetometer*
OBD Features & Protocols
12V Power Input from TCU Port
USB 2.0 device
HS CAN x 1 Port support
LS CAN x 1 Port support*
CAN FD x 1 Port support*
GPIO’s x 4 (2 Digital IN, 2 Digital OUT)
Mic
Status LED (Configurable) x 1
Micro SIM/Nano SIM*/e-SIM*
ISO 15765-4 CAN protocol support in TCU Port
Temperature
-40°C to +85°C (Excluding Battery)
(i) The battery when discharging: -20°C to +60°C
(ii) The battery when charging: 0°C to 45°C
Form factor
106 X 87 X 28.5 mm (approximate)
For software, the device is capable of sending GPS, Accelerometer, and CAN data to the cloud over 4G through MQTT thus, the device is compatible with most device cloud platforms.
No price information is provided on the product page, but iWave typically sells within a B2B arrangement and you may need to reach out to them to get the actual price for the device.
New M5StickC PLUS, one of the core devices in the M5Stack series, is a mini IoT development board powered by ESP32-PICO-D4 with Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi.
The M5StickC Plus development board was designed to take away a lot of stress off the development process. What can it do? The M5StickC Plus development board can help you to easily realize your ideas, enrich your creativity, and shorten the time for your IoT prototyping. It was built based on a growing hardware and software ecosystem with quite a number of compatible modules and units that help to maximize every step of the building process.
The new M5StickC Plus development board is an upgrade to the original M5StickC, with improvements like a bigger screen of about 18.7% increase (1.14″ 135 * 240 LCD display), a built-in passive buzzer, a battery capacity increase of 25mAh (from 95mAh to 120mAh), a more stable hardware design as well as support for HAT and unit family of products.
The M5StickC Plus development board has other rich hardware resources that are also present in the M5StickC like the PMU, IMU, microphone, RTC, LED, infrared, extendable socket, Grove port, wearable and mounted the wall, etc.
Key Features/components of the kit and Specifications include:
ESP32-based (with all of its features)
4 MByte flash memory
520KB RAM
1.14 inch colorful LCD display with 135 * 240 resolution
2.4G 3D antenna
Built-in Passive Buzzer
IR transmitter
6-axis motion processing unit (SH200Q)
SPM1423 Microphone
BM8563 RTC
AXP192 PMU
1x USB Type-C port
1x Grove port (12C, I/O, UART)
2x custom buttons
1x red LED
Wearable and mounted wall
Extendable Socket: G25 Output ExtPin
Built-in LiPo Battery with 120mAh capacity @3.7V
5V Power supply at 500mA
Temperature Range of 0°C – 40°C (32°F – 104°F)
Dimensions: 48.2 mm x 25.5 mm x 13.7 mm
Weight: 15 grams
The M5StickC Plus development board is a cost-efficient and an ultralow-power consumption board. It is applicable in creating light-weight wearable devices, IoT terminal controllers, and stem educational products and DIY projects.
More details on the M5StickC Plus dev board can be found on M5Stack’s product page where the tiny device is currently available for sale at $13.95.
One of the problems developers in the world of IoT devices experience when building battery-powered devices over time is the process of measuring and estimating battery life, which can be very tedious. The process is tedious and cumbersome, with multiple test equipment arrangements to capture current profiles for different firmware states, manual data logging, and spreadsheets for data input and calculations to get to an estimate of battery life for the device under test (DUT). It is also quite hard measuring the amount of energy being consumed by these IoT devices due to the dynamic nature of the current consumption, with conventional measurement methods like multimeter, and oscilloscope having drawbacks. One method developers use is to use multiple instruments and hand calculations to arrive at an estimate of the energy consumption, but this method could be tasking. One device we have seen that solves this problem is the ZS1100A, which functions by plotting the current consumption vs time very accurately and in great detail, which can be used along with the battery model to estimate the overall battery life.
However, Doug Peters has built his own device called the BattLab-One (Battery Laboratory). It is a hardware/software solution that instantly captures insights of your design on battery life. His goal is to deliver a design tool that quickly and effortlessly provides an estimate of battery life and lets him optimize it for his projects, enabling him to spend more time on design and less time on measuring and calculating battery life.
The BattLab-One Hardware
The BattLab-One Hardware functions by replacing the battery of the IoT project with a power supply unit, which enables standard battery voltage output simulation and then uses the built-in current sense technology of the BattLab-One to capture the current consumption profile of your device. By replacing the battery of any battery-powered project with a power supply unit that simulates your battery, the BattLab-One enables you to understand the impact of multiple parameters on your product’s battery life. It helps you to capture both active event and sleep mode current from 10uA to 500mA. It is compatible with MSP430 microcontroller-based device that simulates standard batteries for Li-Ion, LiFePO4, Alkaline, NiMh, NiCd.
The BattLab-One Software
The device enables voltages of 1.2V, 1.5V, 2.4V, 3.0V, 3.2, 3.6V, 3.7V, 4.5V at up to 450 mA, and it is perfect for measuring your ESP8266 devices power demands. It has a 1kHz Sample rate, and 16 bit delta-sigma ADC. The device triggers input to capture firmware states and their impact on overall battery life and also offers what-if optimization analysis to improve the design of your project/product. The device also enables you to save profiles so you can compare your DUT current profiles, and offers interactive/detailed active current plot so you can look for anomalies and identify performance improvements for your product or project. To avoid ground loops, USB power, and data isolated from PSU output.
The device is open-source in hardware and software, and you can find documentation on Bluebird Labs website. You can purchase the BattLab-One on Tindie for $99 with enclosure, and for $79 with no enclosure.
This tutorial is an introduction to the Operational Amplifiers, also known as op-amps. The fundamental goal of op-amps is to amplify a voltage difference and it is the reason why we also describe them as differential amplifiers.
Op-amps have been invented the exact same year as the transistors (1947) and they were originally designed with vacuum tubes in order to perform basic mathematical operations. Mass-production only started in the ’50s when the op-amps were heavy, not reliable, and cost much. Not before the late ’60s were produced large amounts of transistor-based op-amps available for just a few $.
Nowadays, op-amps are one of the most used electronic components, their cost is only of a few cents of $, and thanks to their interesting properties they are used for many applications.
In the first section, we will present in detail the architecture and definitions surrounding op-amps. Moreover, we briefly discuss the internal circuitry of op-amps.
The second section focuses on the concept of the ideal op-amp which is a model describing the functioning of a perfect op-amp.
Real op-amps will be discussed in the third section where we will look into the differences that must be considered.
Presentation
An op-amp is usually represented as a triangle with 5 pins from which 4 are inputs and one is the output.
fig 1: Representation and pin configuration of an op-amp
The output is labeled Vout and it is the pin where the output voltage is collected. V+ and V– are respectively the non-inverting and inverting inputs. VS+ and VS- are respectively the positive power supply and negative power supply rails.
We can note that in most of the op-amps representations, the power supply voltages and pins are not represented in order to simplify the drawing. Most of the time, the power configuration is just assumed or not relevant to perform calculations on a specific op-amp.
The internal circuitry of op-amps generally consists of a succession of bipolar or field-effect transistors and other passive components that are assembled in three distinct stages as shown in Figure 2:
fig 2: Simplified internal circuitry of an op-amp
The goal of the differential stage is to pre-amplify the differential signal V+-V– . The special configuration used to realize this process is called a transistor long-tailed pair circuit or differential pair. Moreover, this configuration provides a high input impedance.
The amplification stage is usually a high gain class A amplifier, the capacitor is used to assures the frequency compensation. Note that many amplification stages can be interconnected in order to provide a higher amplification output.
Finally, the buffer stage provides no amplification (unitary gain) but has a low output impedance and, therefore, provides high output currents. It is also used in order to adapt the impedances and protect against short-circuits.
Open-loop gain
A few major characteristics can be associated with op-amps and we will dictate their electronic behavior here. The first one is the open-loop gain (AOL), it is a factor that represents the amplification applied to the input differential voltage:
eq 1: Definition of the open-loop gain
The term “open-loop” refers to the fact that no feedback is applied from the output to the inverting input of the op-amp. We will come back to that notion later on in the tutorial, however, in order to get an idea now of this concept, we show in Figure 3 the distinction made between open-loop and closed-loop op-amps:
fig 3: Representation of an open-loop and closed-loop configuration
Input and output impedances
The input impedance Zin represents the ratio Vin/Iin with Vin=V+-V– and Iin being the input current. Similarly, we can also define an output impedance Zout which represents the ratio Vout/Iout with Vout=AOL.Vin and Iout being the output current.
Figure 4 below shows a representation of an op-amp that takes into account these impedances:
fig 4: Equivalent representation of an op-amp showing the open-loop gain, input, and output impedances
Bandwidth
Op-amps can be used in DC but also in the AC regime, such as for example for the amplification of audio signals. For this reason, one of the important characteristics of op-amps is their bandwidth (B). This means that the gain (AOL) is dependent on the input frequency.
The bandwidth is measured in Hertz (Hz) and represents the range of frequencies that an op-amp can amplify efficiently. More precisely, the frequencies for which the gain is higher than -3 dB are included in the bandwidth. The limit frequencies for which the gain is exactly equal to -3 dB are called cutoff frequencies and often labeled f-3dB.
Op-amps behave actually as first-order low-pass filters, this means that the gain can be approximated as a constant from the DC regime up until its cutoff frequency. For higher frequencies, a loss of -20 dB/decade is observed as shown in Figure 5:
fig 5: Op-amp frequency diagram
To get more detail about this topic, we recommend reading the tutorial about Bode diagrams.
Offset voltage
The offset voltage Voff can be read at the output terminal when no input is applied to the amplifier. For example, if an op-amp has an offset voltage of 1 V, it means that the output voltage will constantly be shifted of +1 V, even when no input signal is applied.
fig 6: Illustration of the offset voltage
Ideal op-amp model
This model describes an idealized op-amp that is free of any parasitic phenomena. It is of course not possible to build such an op-amp with ideal characteristics but only approach it.
The ideal op-amp model consists of idealizing its main characteristics previously presented in the presentation section:
Infinite open-loop gain (AOL=+∞)
Infinite input impedance (Zin=+∞)
Zero output impedance (Zout=0)
Infinite bandwidth (B=+∞)
Zero offset voltage (Voff=0)
This set of idealized characteristics highlights the fact that an ideal op-amp does not disturb the amplified signal. An ideal op-amp is usually represented with a sign “∞” within the triangle shape.
One very important property is that in an open-loop configuration, the output of an ideal op-amp can only take two values called the saturation voltages (Vsat). If the differential input Vin is positive (reciprocally negative), the output is +Vsat (reciprocally -Vsat).
fig 7: Vout=f(Vin) characteristic of an ideal op-amp in open-loop
The value of |Vsat| is slightly lower than the absolute value of the supply VS.
In the following subsections, we will see two different modes that can be adopted for an ideal op-amp depending on which input the feedback is applied.
Saturated mode
In this mode, feedback is applied to the non-inverting input (+) of the op-amp. This means that any increase in the output voltage will increase the differential input. This kind of configuration is also known as a comparator and represented in Figure 8:
fig 8: Ideal op-amp in saturated mode (positive feedback)
Linear mode
If instead the feedback is applied to the inverting input (-) of the op-amp, the function of the amplifier is completely different.
fig 9: Ideal op-amp in linear mode (negative feedback)
In this configuration, any increase of the output voltage tends to decrease the differential input and therefore, also tends to maintain a differential input close to zero.
The relation between the input and output voltages is given by Equation 2:
eq 2: Transfer function of the op-amp presented in Figure 7
In a closed-loop configuration with negative feedback, the characteristic Vout=f(Vin) is therefore linear according to Equation 2 up until -Vsat and +Vsat where a plateau emerges.
fig 10: Vout=f(Vin) characteristic of an ideal op-amp in closed-loop
Real op-amps
Op-amps that can be found in real electronic circuits have limited and non-ideal characteristics:
Finite open-loop gain typically ranges from 105 to 106
Finite input impedance: 105 up to 1012 Ω
Non-zero output impedance: 50 to 200 Ω
Finite bandwidth
Non-zero offset voltage: 1μV up to 50 mV
The gain of real op-amps depends moreover on the frequency with a variation that can be described as a first order low-pass frequency. Another important information is that the product gain-bandwidth of op-amps is constant, this implies that “slow” op-amps can have higher gains and “fast” op-amps tend to have a lower gain.
The input impedance is not purely resistive as a parallel capacitor of a few pF modelizes the low-pass filter behavior of the op-amp and tends to reduce the impedance when the frequency increases.
Conclusion
We have presented the basics of operational amplifiers in this introductory tutorial. Op-amps are integrated circuits that are powered with two supply inputs and which goal is to amplify the differential input voltage.
We have briefly presented their internal circuitry and shown that at least three stages are necessary to perform amplification.
Many characteristics can define an op-amp, however, five in particular are extremely important and are presented in detail in the first section. Moreover, we explain that two configurations can be adopted leading to different behaviors: the open-loop or closed-loop.
The ideal op-amp model is detailed in a second section where its idealized characteristics and behavior are summarized.
Finally, we highlight the differences between this ideal model and real op-amps that can be found in many modern circuitry. The most important consequences of these differences are the finite gain and bandwidth which limits the amplification and frequency abilities.
Arrow Electronics and Exor Embedded have announced the availability of nanoSOM nS02, a high-performance, energy-efficient system on module (SOM) for IoT edge deployments. nS02 is based on the 800MHz version of STMicroelectronics’ STM32MP1 microprocessor. The module serves as a full production design and Arrow is also offering a supporting development kit.
The nanoSOM nS02 is an innovative, ultra-compact and cost-effective SOM based on the STM32MP1 with dual Arm® Cortex® -A7 cores and a Cortex-M4 core plus a 3D graphics-processing unit (GPU) that supports advanced human-machine interface (HMI) development. The nS02 is well suited for applications requiring IoT connectivity, multimedia capabilities and high security in connectivity, especially as an Industry 4.0 embedded solution.
The nS02 is a rugged solution and is soldered directly onto the main carrier board, without the need for separate connectors that could reduce the reliability of the system.
At only 25.4 x 25.4 x 3.0mm, nanoSOM nS02 provides flexibility for developers of the new generation of smart IoT products, enabling them to design products that are extremely compact and ultra-slim. Target applications include smart IoT controllers and gateways, cloud edge interfaces, and building automation.
The nanoSOM nS02 includes a production-ready Linux RT board support package (BSP) and fully supports the Exor XPlatform, which includes Exor Embedded Open HMI software, Corvina Cloud IIoT platform and IEC61131 CODESYS or Exor xPLC runtime.
An optional OpenHMI software platform supports the design of high quality, user-friendly SVG and HTML5 graphical user interfaces, and assures device connectivity with over 200 communication protocols. MQTT and OPC-UA interfaces are also available together with cloud connectivity for telemetry and remote assistance using OpenVPN software.
The nS02 SOM is available in several configurations, giving users a choice of memory capacity and a security option including 256MB or 512MB DDR RAM with 4GB eMMC flash disk, or 1GB DDR RAM with 8GB eMMC flash disk.
Exor’s product longevity program ensures a stable supply of products. nanoSOM nS02 products are available for a minimum of 10 years from time of product launch.
American Portwell Technology, Inc., (https://www.portwell.com), today announced it has joined Microsoft Azure Certified for Internet of Things (IoT), ensuring customers get IoT solutions up and running quickly with hardware and software that has been pre-tested and verified to work with Microsoft Azure IoT services. Microsoft Azure Certified for IoT allows businesses to reach customers where they are, working with an ecosystem of devices and platforms, allowing for faster time to production.
American Portwell Technology is a leading embedded computer manufacturer providing IoT hardware solutions from IoT edge, gateway, network security appliance to OEM products used in a server room for more than 25 years. Portwell’s LYNX-6K and KUBER-2000 Series are a new generation of palm-sized, ready-to-use industrial IoT gateway solutions certified by Microsoft Azure IoT that provide a scalable infrastructure for data, virtual machines, server and front-end applications, and ensure its solutions are pre-integrated with Azure cloud service to accelerate the implementation in industrial IoT of applications such as edge device for medical equipment management, gateway device in industrial robotics, and train’s wayside control and management.
“The new LYNX-6K and KUBER-2000 Series provide a rich portfolio of ultra-small form factor IoT appliances that offer flexible I/O expansion, ruggedized design, wireless connectivity, fast time-to-market and low power consumption for different applications fulfilled with minimal investment. Microsoft Azure Certified for IoT validates our ability to jumpstart customers’ IoT projects with pre-tested device and operating system combinations,” said Jack Lam, senior product marketing director of American Portwell Technology. “Decreasing the usual customization and work required for compatibility ensures American Portwell helps customers get started quickly on their IoT solution.”
“Microsoft Azure Certified for IoT extends our promise to bring IoT to business scale, starting with interoperable solutions from leading technology companies around the world,” said Jerry Lee, Director of Marketing for Azure Internet of Things, Microsoft Corp. “With trusted offerings and verified partners, Microsoft Azure Certified for IoT accelerates the deployment of IoT even further.”
IoT projects are complex and take a long time to implement. Customers find that choosing and connecting the right set of devices, assets or sensors to the cloud can be time-consuming. To jumpstart their IoT projects with confidence, customers are looking for certified devices and platforms that are tested for readiness, compatibility and usability with the Microsoft Azure IoT Suite. By choosing a partner from the Microsoft Azure Certified for IoT program, customers can save time and effort on project specs and RFP processes by knowing in advance what devices and offerings will work with the Azure IoT Suite.
The circuit presented here is a LED dimmer with a soft-start function. The board can drive a LED up to 12W and the circuit can manage a load up to 1A continuous with 12Vsupply. The circuit is built using SG3525 PWM IC and the IRFR120 MOSFET, SG3525 generates the PWM, and IRFR120 MOSFET drives the 12W max load. BC847 is used to invert the PWM signal from SG3525 and create a soft-start circuit. SG3525 has a soft-start function and the soft-start timing can be slowed down by increasing the capacitor C2 value to 22uF/16V. Trimmer pot PR1 provided to adjust the PWM frequency from 210 Hz to 6.5Khz. Keeping PWM frequency lower is advisable for LED load.
Axiomtek – a world-renowned leader relentlessly devoted in the research, development and manufacture of series of innovative and reliable industrial computer products of high efficiency – is pleased to announce the eBOX626-311-FL, its new slim-type fanless embedded system powered by the Intel® Atom® processor x5-E3940. The fanless embedded box PC was designed to operate reliably in industrial environments – with an IP40-rated enclosure, extended -40°C to +60°C support, and 3 Grms vibration resistance. To ensure system security, it utilizes the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 function. The embedded box computer eBOX626-311-FL is well-suited for industrial controllers, intelligent robotic control, intelligent gateway systems, smart kiosks, visual inspection and data visualization.
“The eBOX626-311-FL is a highly-integrated platform with high performance, abundant I/O connectivity and high reliability. The fanless embedded box PC has a wide voltage input and supports an 11ms interruption to prevent an unexpected power outage. The wide temperature settings and 3Grms vibration resistance along with IP40-rated rugged aluminum extrusion and steel case makes it solid and durable in harsh environments,” said Annie Fu, product manager of Product PM Division at Axiomtek.”
The eBOX626-311-FL has one 204-pin DDR3L-1866 SO-DIMM socket for up to 8GB of memory. The quad-core embedded platform comes with multi-functional I/O interfaces, including two RS-232/422/485 ports, one RS-232 port, four USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, two Gigabit Ethernet ports with Intel® Ethernet Controller I211-AT, one audio port, one VGA port, one lockable HDMI port and four SMA-type antenna connectors. Furthermore, the eBOX626-311-FL supports two full-size PCI Express Mini Card slots for WLAN/WWAN/mSATA modules as well as a SIM card socket. It is equipped with one 2.5” SATA HDD and one mSATA for additional storage to expand functionality. Additionally, it supports an AT/ATX quick switch, allowing users to change power modes with a single click.
The eBOX626-311-FL provides intelligent remote manageability features with support for Axiomtek’s exclusive AMS.AXView software. The Intel® Atom-based system supports Windows® 10 IoT and Linux operating systems. Its flexible mounting options include VESA mount, wall mount and DIN-rail mount. Moreover, the eBOX626-311-FL supports a wide range 9V to 36V DC power input with over-voltage protection (OVP), under-voltage protection (UVP) and short current protection (SCP) to avoid a fatal accident or an event.
Advanced Features:
Intel® Atom® processor x5-E3940 (code name: Apollo Lake)
One 204-pin DDR3L-1866 SO-DIMM for up to 8GB of memory
Supports two GbE LAN, three COM and six USB ports
Supports one 2.5” SATA drive bay and mSATA
Supports Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2
Two PCI Express Mini Card slots and one SIM card slot
Wide operating temperature range from -40 to 60°C
Supports AMS.AXView intelligent remote device monitoring software for IIoT
Axiomtek’s eBOX626-311-FL will be available in September 2020 for purchase. For more product information or pricing, please visit our global website at www.axiomtek.com or contact one of our sales representatives at info@axiomtek.com.tw.
The newly released SEGGER Embedded Studio V5 for Arm processors comes with the company’s Compiler, Linker, Runtime and Floating-Point libraries included. All components are designed from the ground up for use in embedded systems and work seamlessly to help generate extremely small programs.
A program which blinks an LED – a ‘blinky’ – on a typical Cortex-M microcontroller unit can be written in C or C++, with a total size of less than 100bytes. Terminal output (printf) can be done in real time using RTT, SWO or semi-hosting with host-side formatting, keeping even the standard ‘Hello World’ program to no more than a few hundred bytes.
Just like SEGGER’s SystemView and Ozone platforms, Embedded Studio can be used on Windows, Linux and macOS operating systems – in keeping with the company’s cross-platform philosophy.
“This new version of Embedded Studio is truly groundbreaking. I have never seen a toolchain that produces such small programs, especially out-of-the-box, created by the project generator. Our compiler uses Clang with a new code generator developed directly by the SEGGER software engineering team. In balanced optimization mode, it produces code that is as small as it is fast. Our linker, startup code, runtime library and debugger are all tuned to get the most out of a microcontroller,” said Rolf Segger, founder of SEGGER. “Version 5 outperforms even my own expectations.”
Embedded Studio can be downloaded without registration and used free of charge for educational and non-commercial purposes, as well as evaluated (without code size, feature, or time limit) on all platforms.
Hayri Uygur is set to launch his new product: a tiny, breadboard-friendly and open-source Arduino-compatible development board, aptly-named Tiny1284P.
The Tiny1284P development board is built around the high-performance low cost ATmega1284P-AU 8-bit microcontroller that combines 16KB of static RAM, 4KB EEPROM, 128KB in-system self-programmable flash memory with read-while-write capabilities, and a 20 MIPS throughput at up to 20 MHz.
The Tiny1284P development board is smaller but yet more powerful than comparative ATmega328 development boards. The Tiny1284P, according to the Bulgarian electronics specialist, is
“a huge upgrade from other similarly-sized boards that use the ATmega328, with 4 times more flash, 8 times more RAM and 4 times more EEPROM.”
This means the Tiny1284P can easily be used for projects that the ATmega328 is probably too small for, even within the same form factor. The presence of the USB Type-C in the Tiny1284P also implies better connectivity for those working on Atmega328-based boards.
Key features and specifications of the Tiny1284P development board include:
ATmega1284P-AU 8-bit AVR microcontroller running at 16 Mhz in a default 5V mode or 8 Mhz at 3V.
128KB of flash memory
4KB EEPROM
16KB of Static RAM (SRAM)
USB Type-C connector for programming as well as power delivery
USB 2.0 full UART transceiver
JTAG interface (IEEE std 1149.1 compliant)
6-pin ISP header
Breadboard-friendly GPIO covering 2x UART, 3x SPI, 6x PWM and 1x I²C bus capabilities
Reset switch, onboard LED, RX/TX LEDs, and
External 5V power supply input.
Even though the Tiny1284P has a lot in common with other ATmega1284P development boards, the Tiny1284P seems to be a step ahead of the rest because of its ease of use.
“It is based on the popular Arduino UNO platform and will integrate seamlessly into it. It is made with 0805 SMD parts on purpose because they are easily hand soldered without the need for a reflow oven.”
says the developer.
However, like most ATmega boards, the Tiny1284P development board is the software compatible with MightyCore, one of the strongest and the most versatile Arduino Core.
The Tiny1284P dev board is already part of Microchip’s Get Launched design program and has most of its details on Crowd Supply. The board is yet to be launched on the Crowdfunding page but you can sign up to get updates and notifications on the board when the campaign finally goes live.
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