A Maker by the name of Kevin has created an uber-mini handheld game console using Atmel’s ATmega328p microcontroller (MCU).
As HackADay’s Brian Benchoff notes, the Arduboy build utilizes a number of unique design techniques.
“The inspiration for this project began when [Kevin] dropped an SMD resistor into a drill hole on a PCB. This resistor fell right through the hole, giving him the idea creating a PCB with milled cutouts made to fit SMD components,” Benchoff explained.
“With a little experimentation, [Kevin] found he could fit a TQFP32 ATmega328p MCU in the Arduino – in a custom square cutout. [Additional] components – including a CR2016 battery and OLED display- use the same trick. The rest of the design involved taking Adafruit and Sparkfun breakout boards, modifying the individual circuits until something broke.”
Kevin’s unconventional PCB design approach ultimately resulted in a handheld game console that measures only 1.6 millimeters thick – and boasts capacitive touch sensors for controls.
So what’s next for the Arduboy? Well, Kevin says he wants to release the design files and source code under a fully open source license and launch a crowd sourcing campaign.
“I also would like to sell [Arduboy] kits on my site and on Tindie,” Kevin wrote on the project’s page.
“[Plus], I would like to design the board with four layers and place the circuit traces entirely on the board interior. This would allow for test points to be placed in standard ISCP and FTDI configuration, eliminating the need for an otherwise custom bed-of-nails programming interface.”
Interested in learning more about the Arduboy? You can check out the project’s official site here.
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