$19 ATtiny25 BFuse hits Tindie

Powered by Atmel’s ATtiny 25 microcontroller (MCU), BFuse is an electronic fuse designed specifically for breadboards.

According to the product’s official Tindie description, the BFuse is fast, adjustable and programmable.

“A lot of mistakes can happen during prototyping: Misplacing components, creating random shorts or simply making things wrong,” BFuse creator Kaktus explained. 

”BFuse can help saving precious components that would otherwise be damaged by such mistakes. It works like a regular fuse, only better.”

So, how exactly does the board work? Well, BFuse continuously compares the load current with the value set by the trimmer. Meaning, If an overcurrent occurs, BFuse disconnects the load by switching off a P-channel MOSFET – notifying the user by lighting a red LED. Meanwhile, a green LED confirms when the load is connected.

“Even though the fuse is designed for operations up to 1A, it can measure current up to 5A, giving you options to allow for some inrush current for capacitive loads. BFuse is powered by the same line it protects, no extra power needed,” Kaktus concluded.

“BFuse not only protects against overcurrent but it has also built-in reverse polarity protection. Moreover, it has a transient-voltage suppressor on both its input and output. BFuse was tested on a 22-Amp Statron stabilized power source for short-circuit and startup into short-circuit – it passed with flying colors.”

Aside from Atmel’s ATtiny 25 microcontroller, key technical specs include:

• Input voltage range: 3.3–12V (absolute maximum rating 3–13V)
• Measured current range: 5A
• Trip current range: 50mA–1A
• Fuse resistance: less than 100 milliohm
• Fuse power consumption: less than 10mA
• Dimensions: 18×36mm
• Weight: 4.5 grams

Note: BFuse is shipped as a kit, so Makers and engineers will have to solder the pin headers: 4 pins for the power line (input/output) and 6 pins for the SPI header (to re-program BFuse).

Interested in learning more? You can check out the official BFuse Tindie page here.

ATtiny84 powers this DUO Decimal SBC

Jack Eisenmann has created a number of Atmel-based homebrew computers that we’ve covered on Bits & Pieces, including the DUO tiny, DUO portable and DUO Mega.

Recently, Eisenmann debuted the DUO Decimal, an ATtiny84 based SBC.

“[This] ATTiny84 based computer [features a] 7 segment number display and 2 buttons. [You can] use the 512 bytes of EEPROM to store program code,” Eisenmann explained in a recent project post.

 “[Plus, you can] use the 512 bytes of SRAM for program data and as a code editing buffer.”

Additional key project components include:

• 

(x1) 7 segment number display: LA-401VD (SC56-11EWA)
• (x2) Button: 101-TS7311T1602-EV
• (x3) 10K ohm resistor: 291-10K-RC
• (x1) 20K ohm resistor: 291-20K-RC
• (x1) 330 ohm resistor (7 isolated): 4114R-1-331LF
• (x1) 14 pin chip socket: 2-641599-4 (1825093-3)
• (x2) 3 pin male header: 69190-403
• (optional) 5 pin female header: 929870-01-05-RA
• (x1) Larger capacitor: UVR1H100MDD1TA
• (x1) Battery holder: BAT-HLD-001
• (x1) Battery: CR2032
• (x1) Switch: MHSS1104
• (x1) Board
• (x1) Fuse for preserving EEPROM between programming cycles

As HackADay’s Adam Fabio points out, Eisenmann designed an entire language for the new board.

“DUO Decimal is programmed in an interpreted language called DUO Decimal Numeric Code (DDNC),” said Fabio.

”There are 47 DDNC commands, covering everything from basic math to list manipulation. Programs can be entered through the buttons, or save your fingertips by downloading them through the AVR ISP interface. The entire C code for the DUO Decimal, including the DDNC interpreter is available on Jack’s website.”

It should also be noted that Eisenmann coded several example DDNC programs, including 6 function calculator with trigonometry, a Mandelbrot set tester and even a version of the classic of the rock-paper-scissors game.

Interested in learning more? You can check out the project’s official page here.

MIDI drum glove keeps the beat with FLORA

Known as “FLORA,” Adafruit’s wearable electronics platform is built around Atmel’s Atmega32u4 MCU. The microcontroller boasts built-in USB support, eliminating the need for pesky special cables and extra parts.

As Adafruit’s Limor Fried notes, FLORA is extremely “beginner-friendly.” Indeed, the device is difficult to accidentally destroy by connecting a battery backwards, thanks to a polarized connector and protection diodes. Meanwhile, an onboard regulator ensures even connecting a 9V battery won’t result in damage or ruined projects.

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, numerous Makers are using FLORA to design a wide range of creations.

Today, we’re going to be taking a closer look at a MIDI drum glove designed by Adafruit’s very own Becky Stern that is powered by the versatile Atmel-based platform. 

Aside from FLORA, key project components include:

• 

4X small piezos
• 
USB mini cable
• 4X 1M ohm resistors
• Ribbon wires
• Glove
• Scrap fabric

Stern kicks off the MIDI drum glove project by ironing out some fabric to match the glove, cutting four small pieces slightly larger than her fingertips and ironing a small hem on one side.

“Put your glove on and establish what spots make contact with the table, then mark those spots with a pencil. Thread your needle and double the thread over, then tie a knot at the end of the tails,” Stern explains in detailed project tutorial.

“Stitch through one of your pieces of fabric and affix it to the glove fingertip over the pencil mark with a whip stitch. Be careful not to stitch the glove finger closed! Check periodically to be sure your stitches only pierce the intended layer. Stitch halfway around the pocket, tucking the seam allowance in as you go.”

Next? Stick the piezo in the pocket, finish stitching it shut, leaving the wire sticking out towards the back of the hand. Tie off and cut the thread.

“Repeat for the other three piezo pockets, and put your glove on to double check they are tapped when you finger drum,” Stern continues.

“We found the best placement was not necessarily on the pad of the finger, for instance the thumb is around to the side and the pinky is across the first knuckle.”

Next, Stern solders the FLORA circuit, tweaks/uploads the sketch and adds MIDI support to Flora.

“Once your glove is functioning properly, it’s time to tack everything down. Put the glove on and position FLORA so that the wires don’t tug when you make a fist. Tape it down so it stays put before stitching,” she concludes.

“Use plain thread to stitch FLORA’s unused pads to the glove. On the side where all the wires come in, stitch around the wires instead of through the pads. Tack the wires in place with strategic stitches along their lengths. Remove the tape and try on your completed drum glove!”

Interested in learning more? You can check out Becky Stern’s full tutorial on Adafruit here.

EASiLOGO controls your Etch-a-Sketch

Graham Toal has debuted a CNC Etch-a-Sketch robotic platform powered by an Atmel-based Arduino board.

Aside from the board, key project hardware components include:

• Two stepper motors
• 
Two bracket sets
• Two couplers and a 2mm Allen Key
• 12V power supply
• One Adafruit Stepper motor shield

On the software side?

“I considered using remote procedure calls, I thought about implementing Hewlett Packard Graphics Language (HPGL) as used in pen plotters, but in the end for fun I decided to use GCODE as my drawing protocol – GCODE is how laser cutters and 3D printers and many other CNC machines are driven, so it seemed like good experience to learn a bit about how it worked,” Toal explained in a recent Instructables post.

“I found an Arduino GCODE interpreter and modified it to suit my project. Mostly the mods were just to remove the Z-axis code that wasn’t needed (you can’t lift or lower the pen in an etch-a-sketch – when you move, it always draws a line) but the main modification was to remove some machine-dependent stepper-motor-driving code and replace it with portable calls to the Adafruit libraries.”

To create a functional LOGO interpreter, Toal turned to Marcio Passos from Brazil who quickly coded an interface (EASiLOGO) based on the “Papert” LOGO interpreter written in Javascript by Thomas Figg along with an Etch-a-Sketch demo from the Mozilla Developer network.

“Marcio and I modified Papert to use the ‘Node.js’ system which gave the code the ability to drive the serial port so that we could send GCODE commands to the Arduino and make the Etch-a-Sketch draw,” he said.

“In a mammoth 30-hr session over the weekend, we got the LOGO interpreter working and sending drawings to the Etch-a-Sketch.”

So, what’s next for Toal? Well, the Maker says he hopes to polish the software so that anyone can use it without needing to build a physical Etch-a-Sketch robot.

“The emulation of the computer-controlled Etch-a-Sketch on our web page is very accurate and we’ll continue to work on it to make it look and perform even better. Programs that run on the web page will run just as nicely on the real hardware,” he added.

“If you can’t build the hardware, you can do the human simulation we described in the introduction, by writing down the instructions on a piece of paper, and giving them to your kids to execute on a real Etch-a-Sketch toy by hand. It’s a great way to learn to program, even without a computer.”

Interested in learning more? You can check out the project’s official Instructables page here.

Smart car tech shifts IoT boundaries

For the automotive industry, the emergence of the rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT) constitutes a disruptive and transformative environment.

Atmel-powered AvantCar

According to ABI Research and practice director Dominique Bonte, this trend is characterized primarily by value chain and business model upheaval, as well as a ‘collaborate or die’ ecosystem friction reality prompting it to redefine and reinvent itself in order to capitalize on the huge opportunities in the new IoT economy.

“The absorption of the automotive industry in the wider IoT is driven by new connected car use cases such as EVs as a mobile grid and vehicles used as delivery locations,” he explained.

“As this IoT revolution unfolds, automotive innovation and value creation will be shifting to the boundaries with other verticals such as home automation, smart grids, smart cities, healthcare and retail.”

Indeed, vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) and Vehicle-to-Retail (V2R) are projected to be the dominant segments with respectively 459 and 406 million vehicles featuring smart car IoT applications by 2030, followed by V2H (Vehicle-to-Home) and V2P (Vehicle-to-Person) with 163 and 239 million vehicles respectively. Meanwhile, Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) services will be offered on 50 million vehicles in 2030.

“However, in order to fully unlock the automotive IoT potential it will be critical to address a wide range of barriers including security, safety, regulation, lack of cross industry standards, widely varying industry dynamics and lifecycles and limited initial addressable market sizes,” Bonte added.

ATmega32U4 illuminates tricked out business card

Mathieu Stephan (aka limpkin) has designed a revamped business card that packs an ATmega32U4 micrcontroller (MCU).

According to Stephan, the new card stackup fits perfectly into a USB connecter, measuring 
2.4mm high (1.6+0.8).

“The old version was actually thinner so I had to apply solder on the USB pads, which was not so pretty in retrospect. You’ll be surprised to know that the new card can still fit in a normal wallet as it is completely flat,” Stephan wrote in a recent blog post.

“However, the hard part was to solder the two PCBs together as a 1.5mm wide exposed copper ‘band’ was put near the cards’ edges to this goal. Using a reflow oven with the card facing up turned the soldermask yellowish so I ended up soldering them by hand with a hot air gun.”

Nevertheless, says Stephan, not much has changed between the two versions in terms of function, except the number of PWM channels. Meaning, the card is still recognized as an external USB drive and can be reprogrammed using an integrated bootloader.

“The only thing worth mentionning here is that given the ATmega32U4 only had 7 PWM channels I had to use a given PWM channel complementary output and two extra I/O pins to enable/disable these given LEDs,” he added. “Two groups of 2 LEDs will therefore always have the same duty cycle.”

Interested in learning more? You can can check out the project’s official page here.

iPod hacking with Android and Arduino

A Maker with the handle “Erroneous Data” has posted a detailed Instructables explaining how to hack an old iPod using an Atmel-based Arduino Uno (ATmega328 MCU) and Android. Oh, and yes. There is no need to break out the soldering gun for this project.

“Just leave [your] old iPod plugged into the stereo and your music will start to play when you walk in the door. The Arduino acts as a liaison between the iPod and your Droid,” Erroneous Data explained.

“Since the iPod device is connected directly to your stereo, it eliminates any error that can occur when streaming the music to a separate device.”

Key features include:

• Auto connect
• Auto play
• Auto pause
• In-call pause
• Alarm

As HackADay’s Brian Benchoff reports, with the right resistance on a specific pin on the 30-pin dock connector, iPods will send the track name and playlists over a serial connection, all while responding to play, pause, skip and volume commands.

“There hasn’t been much work towards implementing the copious amount of documentation of this iPod accessory mode in small microcontroller projects. [However], with a little bit of work, [he] managed to replicate the usual iPod dock commands with an Arduino,” said Benchoff.

“Using an HC-05 Bluetooth module, it’s possible to get this iPod-connected Arduino to relay data to and from an Android device with a small app. The circuit is simple, the app is free, and if you have an iPod with an old battery or cracked screen, it can still work as a music storage device.”

Interested in learning more? You can check out the project’s official Instructables page here.

Atmel celebrates first-ever White House Maker Faire

Atmel Corporation, a global leader in microcontroller (MCU) and touch solutions, calls the first-ever White House Maker Faire a success. With a goal of making technology simple, accessible and easy to use, Atmel is an ardent supporter of the Maker Movement and shares the passion for tomorrow’s innovators, visionaries and manufacturers.

From powering 3D printers to Arduino boards, Atmel’s 8 and 32-bit microcontrollers enable makers to create an extensive range of projects, further strengthening the DIY experience and government funded initiatives such as STEM, (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

“The Maker Movement is the next great revolution of industry and embodies the American Spirit,” said Sander Arts, vice president of marketing at Atmel.

“We congratulate the White House for putting on such a great event and appreciate its recognition and advocacy for the Maker Movement. Whether a hobbyist or an engineer, the power of this community is inspiring and Atmel is honored to be at its heart, providing the technologies that empower makers of all ages to turn imagination into reality.”

As seen at Atmel’s booth during Maker Faire Bay Area 2014, Atmel attended the White House Maker Faire joined by key makers who showcased their technologies including Quin Etnyre, age 13, CEO of QTechknow and Sylvia Todd, age 12, from Super Awesome Sylvia.

Additionally, Arduino, the popular open source platform and community for prototyping, was represented at the White House Maker Faire. Leveraging Atmel’s technology in a series of development boards, communities such as Arduino aim to enable open source collaboration, foster creativity and promote tinkering.

Follow the whereabouts of Atmel, Quin and Sylvia online and join the conversation with @Atmel and @TheAVRMan using the hashtag #NationofMakers.

For questions about the event and Atmel’s participation at White House Maker Faire, please email events@atmel.com.

More Information

Atmel at White House Maker Faire 2014: http://www.atmel.com/atmel-makes/default.aspx
About Maker Faire: http://makerfaire.com/
Embedded Design Blog: www.atmelcorporation.wordpress.com
Atmel Twitter: www.atmel.com/twitter
Atmel AVR Man: https://twitter.com/TheAVRMan
LinkedIn: www.atmel.com/linkedin

Atmel AVR Man is live on Twitter!

We all know that with great Making there is also great obligation, which is why AVR Man has taken to Twitter, courtesy of Atmel!

Indeed, AVR Man will be assuming a more active role by acting as an official Maker liaison to the global DIY community.

Have a question? Simply tweet @TheAVRMan for an answer and follow along as he travels the world looking to bring ease-of-use, low power and high integration to Makers.

Atmel celebrates Makers with President Obama

As Tom Kalil and Jason Miller note on the White House blog, the United States has always been a nation of tinkerers, inventors and entrepreneurs.

“In recent years, a growing number of Americans have gained access to technologies such as 3D printers, laser cutters, easy-to-use design software and desktop machine tools. These tools are enabling more Americans to design and build almost anything,” Kalil and Miller write.

“Across the country, vibrant grassroots communities of innovators, visionaries and manufacturers are organizing Maker Faires, creating local Makerspaces and mentoring the next generation of inventors.”

According to the White House, the rise of the Maker Movement represents a huge opportunity for the United States, with new tools for democratized production boosting innovation and entrepreneurship in manufacturing.

Indeed, Making is capable of inspiring and empowering more young people to excel in design and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), as well as helping them pursue careers in manufacturing.

That’s why President Obama is hosting the first-ever White House Maker Faire today, with Makers, innovators and entrepreneurs of all ages showcasing their cutting-edge tools and projects.
 We at Atmel are proud to be at the very heart of the global Maker Movement, with Quin Etnyre and Super Awesome Sylvia (both sponsored by Atmel) attending the DC Faire.

Indeed, our microcontrollers (MCUs) power a wide range of open source platforms and devices, from 3D printers to wildly popular Arduino boards.

For us, every Maker Faire has always been the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth – a family-friendly venue of invention, creativity, resourcefulness and a celebration of DIY culture. Simply put, it’s a place where people of all ages and backgrounds gather together to show what they are making and share what they are learning, whether in Washington DC, New York, San Mateo or Shanghai.

Working together, we can prove that in America, the future really is what we make of it.

Tom Kalil is Deputy Director for Technology and Innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Jason Miller is Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing Policy at the National Economic Council.