IR reflow in your home lab

While at the EELive! conference last week I met up with the PCB-POOL folks. I first heard about this PCB fab house from my buddy Wayne Yamaguchi. Despite their being located in Ireland, Wayne said they were getting the prototype boards to him in a week. Best yet, at that time, they did not charge extra for non-rectangular board shapes, and Wayne’s boards were all round, used to convert a Maglite flashlight to an LED flashlight.

What caught my eye at the PCB-POOL booth at EELive! was a card that had a toaster oven picture and the headline: “Create your own solder reflow station.” Now it was Wayne that tipped me off about doing reflow for prototypes in your garage. He too used a toaster oven. He just did a few experiments on when to turn it on, when to put in the PCB and when to turn it off. He said he decent results, but the problem with this is that it is an essentially uncontrolled process.

This card was from the PCB-POOL booth at the EELive! conference in 2014.

Enter PCB-POOL. Sure, they sell the toaster ovens. The real deal is they sell the third version of a controller so you can create a profile on your toaster oven. Please don’t use the toaster in your kitchen; flux is not the best butter for your English muffins. So like the picture explains, buy the reflow controller from PCB-POOL for $315, get a brand new toaster oven for 80 bucks, and if you order 5 PCBs from PCB-POOL, they cost 30 dollars each, and PCB-POOL gives you a free solderpaste stencil with the order.

A solder stencil is a thin steel sheet that is laser-cut to have the pads of your circuit board. You carefully position it on top of your bare PCB and then you can squeegee solder paste over it, like doing ink on a silkscreen. Only instead of ink, you are deposing a thin coating of solder paste on all the places where surface-mount parts will mount.

This is a solder stencil, with laser or photo-etched cutouts for where you will put solder paste on your prototype PCB.

Now that you have the solder on the pads, the surface mount components will just stick to the board and self-align as the solder melts. Sometimes you can even put parts on both sides and use the solder paste to suspend the parts on the bottom. For heavier parts on the bottom you need a dab of hot-wax or silicon to keep the part in place through the reflow process.

The great thing is that your reflow process has a real temperature profile, like it should. I assume the controller has a SCR or maybe it is just a bang-bang controller that cycles power to achieve a given profile and temperature. The more control you have the more repeatable your process. One nice thing about using the stencil at all is that it proves out your CAD padstacks. If you made some part and forgot to put a solder paste element in the pads for that part, you will realize it really quick when you see there is no solder paste on those pads. This lets you fix your CAD file before it goes into production.

The next level would be to send the whole board to an assembly house like Screaming Circuits in Oregon or Advanced Assembly in Colorado (right down the street from Advanced Circuits, but a different company). Indeed, the first outfit I saw giving out free stencils was Sunstone, which is near Screaming Circuits in Oregon. When you send your fabbed boards to these small-lot assembly houses you are doing more than just sparing yourself the headache of soldering up the board yourself. You are proving out the solder-paste file from your CAD program, as well as the “insert” file as OrCAD 9 calls is, what the pick-and-place machine uses to place your components on the board before reflow soldering. Now you might find that the TO-220 parts have an insert location way off to the side and won’t let the machine vacuum pick them up. So when the nice folks at Screaming Circuits explains this to you, you can fix the CAD files before they go into higher volume production. The real job of an engineer is to make a set of comprehensible coherent documentation that lets the manufacturing world make lots of your design. This is every bit as important as getting the chips to work and the firmware to run.

Most all the fab houses can hook you up with short-run assembly. Some can have your prototypes hand-soldered; many need 3-feet of tape and reel parts so it fits in their machine. That is the cool thing about Screaming circuits, they have adapted their machines so you put in 4 or 5 pieces on some DigiKey cut-tape and make just 5 boards with no parts left over. And don’t forget my pals at Sierra Proto Express. It was Ken Bahl who created the whole short-run prototype concept 20 years ago. These days they specialize in high performance boards, down to a few mills or many ounces of copper along with blind and buried vias. Best yet, they have a partner in China, so when you are ready for high-volume, they can guarantee the partner can make any board you had made at Proto Express.

ATmega328P-powered TinkerBots go live on Indiegogo



TinkerBots is an Atmel-powered (ATmega328P) building set that enables Makers and hobbyists of all ages to easily create an endless number of toy robots that can be brought to life without wiring, soldering or programming.

http://vimeo.com/91590326

Indeed, TinkerBots’ specialized “Power Brain” and kinetic modules twist and snap together with other TinkerBots pieces – and even LEGO bricks – adding movement and interest to whatever sort of robot a Maker can imagine and build.

“The inspiration for TinkerBots grew out of my lifelong fascination with LEGO toys. Tasked with building a ‘Dream Machine’ for my master’s thesis in product design, I thought it would be cool to create a construction kit that is as simple to use as LEGOs but has the ability to easily add robotics and make toys that move and do things,” inventor Leonhard Oschutz, creative director and co-founder of Kinematics GmbH, explained.

“It was music to my ears when a child described TinkerBots as being like ‘living LEGOs.’ With our TinkerBots building set, you’re not getting just one robot, you’re getting the ability to build any type of toy robot that you and your children can imagine.”

According to Oschutz, the centerpiece of the TinkerBots building set is a square, red “Power Brain” module (approximately 1.5”x1.5”x1.5”) that contains Atmel’s ATmega328P microcontroller (MCU). This module is tasked with providing wireless power and data transmission to kinetic modules such as motors, twisters, pivots and grabbers. 

Aside from Atmel’s ATmega328P MCU, additional key specs include:

• 

Two-cell lithium polymer battery (7.2V, 800mAh), including an undervoltage overvoltage cutoff, USB charger and balancer
• Onboard USB for programming
• 
Communication via Serial UART Bus-System, each module can communicate with any other module in a bidirectional method
• Bluetooth 4.0 module for app control and firmware update
s
• Speaker for sound feedback
• Status LEDs and control buttons
• 
Arduino libraries and examples for an easy start
• Three-axis accelerometer and gyroscope
• Software update of all modules via Power Brain

“Children can build anything they can imagine, such as a dog that walks, a snake that slithers, a bug that crawls or a tractor that digs,” said Oschutz.

“Small building blocks and other shapes such as rectangles and pyramids without electronics inside them are passive pieces that can be used to customize TinkerBots toy robots.”

Controlling TinkerBots robots is as easy as it is to build them. An integrated record-and-play function on the “Power Brain” module enables Makers to teach their robots what to do and bring them to life. To be sure, users only need to take their creation in their hands, press the record button and move their robot in the way they want it to move. 

When a user puts it down and pushes the play button, the toy robot will repeat over and over exactly what it just learned. The next time, Makers can teach the ‘bot something completely new, or start all over to build an entirely different robot using the same TinkerBots pieces. As expected, TinkerBots robots can also be controlled remotely via a tablet or smartphone with the TinkerBots app.

The basic TinkerBots building set is packed with three active modules: the “Power Brain,” motor and pivot modules. Passive pieces include two cubes and two adapter plates for LEGO bricks, along with a USB charger. More advanced robots are slated to offer additional components such as an infrared distance sensor. 

Last, but certainly not least, TinkerBots’ use of Atmel’s ATmega328P allows more experienced enthusiasts to dabble in Arduino IDE programming for their TinkerBots creations.

Preorders for TinkerBots are currently being accepted on Indiegogo, with shipping scheduled to kick off in the fourth quarter of 2014. General availability is slated for second quarter 2015, with retail pricing beginning at $159.

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

EELive! Conference a big splash in Silicon Valley

I went to the EELive! Conference in San Jose last week and it was a blast. This is the new incarnation of the old Embedded Systems Conference (ESC). Last year it was branded Design West, but I suspect that was too generic, since it is not aimed at mechanical engineers that might read Design News. Another problem with the word “design” is that in the semiconductor industry, only IC engineers are considered “designers.”

I was delighted to hear that UBM, the folks that run the show are considering moving it to Santa Clara convention center next year. I like Santa Clara better since the parking is free, it’s easier to get to, and its right near my house.

So following are some snaps I took on the show floor. Bear in mind that another big part of the EELive! is the conference part, where you can learn about the latest secrets and tips and tricks from technical experts. You have to pay for the conference, but they were nice enough to give a single-class pass to regular shmucks like me that were just attending the free show on the exhibit hall.

As you entered the show floor there was this great theater (or should I say theatre) set up. Here we see show runner Karen Field and EETimes editor Max Maxfield doing a fun give-away. I ran into Max later that evening and he gave me his business card, which lists his title as “Editor of all things fun and interesting.”

There was always a healthy crowd at the theatre, and they were always having a good time. It’s really great to see this combination of social and technology at technical conferences.

If you work with RF, you know that Rohde & Schwarz makes some of the best test equipment on the planet. They are best known for their spectrum analyzers, but now they are making oscilloscopes and hand-held instruments.

Where Rohde & Schwarz really stands out in my mind is network analyzers like this baby. They have some of the lowest-noise units in existence. A network analyzer is like a spectrum analyzer that also measures the phase change of a signal. So rather than just read the spectrum, the unit sends out a signal you connect to your circuit, and then you can get a gain-phase plot, or in this case, you can see a Smith Chart displayed right on the screen. Note the frequency range for this instrument—9 kHz to 6 GHz. That is 9,000 to 6,000,000,000, or nearly 6 decades of range. That is quite an accomplishment. Those N-type connectors on the front belie what a fast beast this is. BNC connectors are not suitable for multi GHz frequencies.

Here is Rhode & Schwarz account manager Steve McMoyler in front of a display of a bunch of cool test equipment he sells. I complained that Rohde & Schwarz stuff is so good we can never find a cheap deal on eBay. He laughed, and pointed out a lot of their new stuff is really cost competitive. I put this to outfits like Rigol selling 400-dollar scopes that, while not the greatest, will actually trigger and show you a waveform. These cheap scopes have put pressure on all the test equipment manufacturers. Then again, the Maker movement has increased the market for these inexpensive products, so the manufacturers can archive high-volume cost efficiencies.

National Instruments had a great booth at EELive! this year. This pic was as the show opened on Thursday, but before long, the booth was swamped with engineers interested in everything from Labview visual programming to the MultiSim Spice simulation program so loved by colleges around the world.

Element14 was at the show, the folks previously know as Newark Electronics. Everything from game controllers to motor control was on display.

One nice feature of EELive! are these little classes put on in glass booths throughout the show floor. You can see this one was packed, standing room only. There is a real hunger to learn the expertise to design and program embedded systems.

The Segger folks were there. Atmel uses Segger debugging technology in a lot of their eval boards. Here we see James Murphy and Shane Titus ready to answer any questions.

Here is the Atmel SAMA5D3 evaluation board with Seggar technology running their emWin graphics library.

The PCB fab companies were there, including the PCB-POOL folks my buddy Wayne Yamaguichi liked so much.

Here we see Tony Shoot from PCB-POOL showing some of their capabilities, as they segue into a full prototype shop.

The LeCroy folks were at the show. I can’t get over how beautiful the display is on these modern scopes. I bought one of their $60k units when I was at National Semiconductor. The engineers used to Tek or Agilent would complain the user interface was weird, but once they bothered to learn it, you could not tear the LeCroy scope out of their hands. I myself have a LeCroy 9360 digital scope at my home lab.

Here is a LeCroy serial data analyzer on the left and a HDO4000 scope on the right. Its got a 4k screen and 12-bit resolution. Those big 12-inch screens sure can spoil you. Note they have a web-cam perched on top of the scope with a real-time video displayed on the top right of the screen. They are piping the scope screen to the TV, talk about reducing eye strain when you debug. Sweet.

The Screaming Circuits folks had a booth. These are the people that will assemble small quantities of your circuit boards. They have special machinery so they don’t need 3 feet of tape and real parts for any build. You can send them your Digi-Key cut-tape parts and they can feed them into their tape and reel machines. That way you can check out your insert file and assembly drawing and have circuit boards made in a real IR reflow oven. Here Scott Pohlmann was ready to answer any questions about protying and their partnering with Sunstone and other fab houses, as well as Digi-Key. They can even have your designed kitted up, get the boards fabbed at Sunstone and delivery you assembled boards.

Atmel had their giant Tech on Tour trailer at right on the show floor. Michelle would buzz you in to checkout all the demos and give access to Atmel applications people that could answer your questions or help with your next project.

One demo that people loved was the MakerBot, which would make items like this while you watched.

Here is a little movie of the Makerbot in action. It is hypnotizing to watch.

Printoo brings everyday objects to life

Printoo is a printed electronics prototyping platform designed to help bring everyday objects to life.

The versatile platform – created by Ynvisible – can be easily embedded in various materials, including paper.

“In a world where computers have become an integral part of our live, Printoo aims to give people the ability to embed everyday object and devices with computational power,” a Ynvisible rep explained on the product’s official site.

“It enables new ways to link the physical and the digital worlds. [Plus], the platform is fully compatible and programmable with the Arduino IDE.”

The core Printoo module is powered by Atmel’s ATmega328 microcontroller (MCU). Additional hardware modules include a display driver, battery connector, batteries (soft and ultra-thin), battery holder, sensor module, solar cell connector, conductive ink adapter, DC motor drivers, electrochromic display, organic photodetector slider, polymer solar cell and LED strip.

The Ynvisible crew has also created a number of Printoo-powered demos such as a Bluetooth fan, 3D printed watercraft, solar powered 3D printed hovercraft, “girlfriend communicator,” electronic voter and the Printoo Man.

Printoo is expected to go live later this month on a crowdfunding website. Interested in learning more? You can check out the product’s official page here.

Winning with Atmel on Kickstarter

Kickstarter first opened its virtual doors on April 28, 2009. Since then, the wildly popular crowdfunding website has tracked over $1 billion in pledges from 5.9 million individuals who actively funded 59,000 creative projects.

Unsurprisingly, quite a number of Atmel-powered Kickstarter projects have been successfully funded over the past year, including:

MicroView



MicroView is a chip-sized platform with a built-in OLED (64×48) display that allows Makers to see what the Atmel-based board is “thinking” without having to link with a PC.

The device, designed by the Geek Ammo crew, is built around Atmel’s versatile ATmega328P microcontroller (MCU).



1Sheeld

Integreight’s 1Sheeld – designed around Atmel’s ATMega162 MCU – is an easily configurable shield for Arduino boards.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/integreight/1sheeld-replace-your-arduino-shields-with-your-sma

Essentially, 1Sheeld connects to a mobile Android app that allows users to take advantage of various smartphone features including the display, gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, GSM, Wi-Fi and GPS.

DIWire



The first desktop CNC wire bender recently hit Kickstarter with an Atmel MCU (ATxmega192/TinyG) under the hood.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1638882643/diwire-the-first-desktop-wire-bender

Designed by Pensa Labs, the DIWire transforms drawn curves into bent wire that can be assembled to make just about anything.

Primo



Primo can best be described as a playful physical programming interface that helps teach children programming logic without the need for literacy.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1039674461/primo-teaching-programming-logic-to-children-age-4

Powered by an Atmel-based Arduino board, the Primo play-set uses shapes, colors and spacial awareness to instruct programming logic through a tactile, warm and magical learning experience

.

Robox



Robox is a 3D printing and micro-manufacturing platform designed byC Enterprise Ltd. (CEL).

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robox/robox-desktop-3d-printer-and-micro-manufacturing-p?ref=live

Driven by an ARM-based Atmel chip, the Robox was designed by its creators to “demystify” the 3D printing process.

The EX¹ 

The Atmel-powered (ATmega2560) EX¹ allows Makers and engineers to quickly print circuit boards on a wide variety of material.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cartesianco/the-ex1-rapid-3d-printing-of-circuit-boards

Simply put, the EX¹ is helping to transform electronics and prototyping in the same way that conventional 3D printing revolutionized traditional manufacturing.

Touch Board: Interactivity Everywhere



The Touch Board is an Atmel-powered platform (ATmega32U4 MCU) that allows Makers to more easily create interactive and responsive projects.

The Touch Board can change the world around you by turning almost any material or surface into a sensor.

Flutter

Flutter is an open source Atmel-powered wireless platform with a 1000m+ (3200 ft) range.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flutterwireless/flutter-20-wireless-arduino-with-half-mile-1km-ran

Protected from digital intruders by Atmel’s ATSHA204 which offers 256-bit AES hardware encryption, Flutter makes it easy for DIY Makers to build projects that communicate across a house, neighborhood and beyond.

Hex ‘Copter

Hex – powered by Atmel’s ATmega32U4 – is a 3D-printed nanocopter that can be controlled using the gravity sensors in a mobile device.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1387330585/hex-a-copter-that-anyone-can-fly

Essentially, Hex imitates the movement of the smartphone or a tablet in the air. In addition, traditional throttle, elevator, aileron, rudder control systems can be used to operate your Hex.

ATtiny85 ISP!



Designed by Ben Escobedo, the open source ATtiny85 ISP! can probably best be described as a breakout prototyping board for Atmel’s ATtiny85/45/25 lineup.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rullywowr/attiny85-isp-shrink-your-arduino-projects-with-eas?ref=live

The project’s goal? Allowing Makers to take advantage of the ATtiny85 chip’s potential, while using the familiar Arduino IDE and harnessing the super awesome support from the Arduino community.

Agent Smartwatch



Atmel’s SAM4S and tinyAVR MCUs are inside the Agent smartwatch which raised well over a million dollars on the crowdfunding website.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/secretlabs/agent-the-worlds-smartest-watch

The next-gen smartwatch offers brand-new technology, world-class developer tools, unparalleled battery life and Qi wireless charging.

Blinky Tape



BlinkyTape – powered by Atmel’s ATmega32U4 – is a portable LED strip with 60 pixels and an integrated USB-programmable light processor.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/740956622/blinkytape-the-led-strip-reinvented

Additional key specs include 32KB Flash memory, 2.5KB RAM, 1KB EEPROM, a micro USB connector for power and data, as well as an on-board micro switch for interactive applications.

Vega Edge



Made of laser-cut leather, the Atmel-powered, Arduino-based Edge is a wearable light that snaps securely onto your clothing with the help of four strong neodymium magnets.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/868814363/vega-edge

You can wear it discreetly by day or brightly at night with your winter coat, cardigan, hood, scarf, handbag, collar, pocket, belt, or wherever you’d like a touch of light.

The Open Enigma Project

Designed by the ST-Geotronics crew, the Open Enigma (M4) Project – powered by an Atmel-based Arduino Mega (ATmega1280) – first surfaced towards the end of 2013.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/438986934/the-open-enigma-project

When it went live on Kickstarter, the Open Engima successfully raised over $62,000, facilitating the implementation of several important stretch goals.

Skirmos: Open Source Laser Tag

Skirmos is an open source, versatile laser tag system that features an ATmega328P microcontroller (MCU), Arduino bootloader, color LCD screen (acts as a realtime HUD) and an infrared LED.

Skirmos currently offers a trio of preset gametypes: basic, free-for-all and team slayer. However, the platform is ultimately expected to boast an almost unlimited number of gametypes.

OSCAR: Open Screen Adapter



OSCAR is a super high resolution 9.7″ screen with an Atmel-powered (ATmega32u4) adapter that allows users to easily link the display to their PC, Mac or Linux machine.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1859884318/oscar-the-open-screen-adapter?ref=live

The board is Arduino compatible ,which makes modifying the behavior easy, as all the software and hardware is open source.

DigiX

DigiX is an Atmel-based development board (AT91SAM3X8E) with WiFi and Mesh networking, Audio, USB OTG, microSD and 99 i/o pins.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/digistump/digix-the-ultimate-arduino-compatible-board-with-w?ref=live

The DigiX was designed to be a dev board ready for any project – with no compromises.

Reactor Core – Arduino/AVR Programmer, DIY Soldering Kit



The Reactor Core is a hardware programming platform for Arduino boards and stand-alone AVR-based microcontrollers (MCUs).

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1257390142/reactor-core-arduino-avr-programmer-diy-soldering?ref=live

Designed by Frank Fox, the Reactor Core is powered by Atmel’s ATmega328P MCU and an FT232R for USB to serial communication.

King’s Assembly Mouse

Solid Art Labs recently debuted the King’s Assembly – a unique device that packs a high-precision laser mouse, full mechanical keyboard and an analog joystick into a single platform.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/70308014/kings-assembly-a-computer-mouse-full-of-awesome

Atmel’s AT90USB128 MCU powers this three-in-one mouse. Key features include 30 keys for each hand, finger key rows angled for fast access and a two-axis analog joystick for each thumb.

Pi-Bot

The Atmel-powered Pi-Bot (ATmega328) is a hands-on robotic learning platform for both students and professional engineers.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1158090852/pi-bot-the-next-great-tool-in-robotics-learning-pl?ref=category#

According to STEM Center USA CEO Melissa Jawaharlal, the team designed the Pi-Bot from the ground up to optimize functionality and ensure affordability.

Game Frame: The Art of Pixels



Game Frame – an Arduino-based grid of 256 ultra-bright LED pixels – was designed by Jeremy Williams to showcase pixel art and old school video games.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jerware/game-frame-the-art-of-pixels

As Williams notes, video game artists used to draw everything with a sheet of graph paper, a few colors and a couple of animation frames.

Robot Army Starter Kit

The Robot Army is a DIY Delta Robot kit powered by Atmel’s versatile ATmega328 microcontroller for the rapidly growing Maker community.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1984252088/robot-army-starter-kit?ref=footer

The kit includes all mechanical pieces in grey and neon yellow plastic (the yellow fluoresces under black light), spacers, brackets, ball bearings and hardware required for assembly. In addition, the kit is packed with electronic components, PCB and wire harnesses.

MicroSlice: Mini Laser Cutter & Engraver



The MicroSlice is a mini laser cutter and engraver.

The open source platform, powered by an Atmel-based Arduino Uno (ATmega328), is currently being promoted as a kit that takes approximately 15 hours to build.

uARM: Miniature Industrial Robot



This four-axis parallel-mechanism desktop robot arm is modeled after the ABB industrial PalletPack robot and is built around Atmel’s ATmega328 MCU which powers a custom board.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ufactory/uarm-put-a-miniature-industrial-robot-arm-on-your?ref=live

The uARM platform is constructed with acrylic or wood parts and fitted with standard RC hobby servos.

Smart Nixie Tube



The Smart Nixie Tube is an open source platform powered by Atmel’s versatile ATmega328p.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/popshields/smart-nixie-tube?ref=live

Designed by Tyler Nehowing, the platform is fully programmable using the unmodified Arduino IDE, as it appears as an Arduino Uno running at 16MHz/5V.

OpenBCI: An Open Source Brain-Computer Interface For Makers

OpenBCI – designed by Joel Murphy & Conor Russomanno – is a low-cost programmable open-source EEG platform that offers Makers easy access to their brainwaves. In addition to an ADS1299 IC, the OpenBCI is equipped with Atmel’s ATmega328 (+ Arduino’s latest bootloader).

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/openbci/openbci-an-open-source-brain-computer-interface-fo?ref=live

The project’s vision? 

”To realize the potential of the open-source movement to accelerate innovation in brain science through collaborative hardware and software development.”

White Bread Shield for Arduino

Mark Davidson recently designed an Atmel-powered (ATmega328) Arduino prototyping shield that can also be used as a stand-alone board for various DIY Maker projects.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1214533021/white-bread-shield-for-arduino?ref=live

Dubbed the “White Bread Shield,” the platform is compatible with Arduino Uno boards.

Hauntbox



The Hauntbox is a prop controller and automation machine that is browser-configured and open source.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1020117671/hauntbox

The ATmega2560-based platform allows Makers to easily automate inputs and outputs without the need for complex programming.

ControlLeo

ControLeo – designed by two retired Silicon Valley engineers – can probably best be described as a quad relay controller enclosed in a professional box.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1471240030/controleo-an-arduino-compatible-controller?ref=live

The platform is driven by Atmel’s ATmega32u4 paired with an Arduino Leonardo boot loader.

FEZ Medusa



FEZ Medusa is an open source hardware (OSHW) processor board powered by Atmel’s ATmega328P.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1359959821/an-arduino-compatible-electronic-building-block-sy?ref=search

Aptly described as “electronic building blocks” by the GHI Electronics crew, the Fez Medusa is designed to keep soldering irons optional with a comprehensive ecosystem of mainboards, sensors and control modules.

Rapid IoT prototyping with SODAQ

The Atmel-based SODAQ (ATmega328P) is a LEGO-like, plug-in, rapid prototyping board.

Simply put, the multi-feature microprocessor board allows both Makers and engineers to easily connect a wide variety of sensors and devices to the Internet.

Oscilloscope Watch

A Maker by the name of Gabriel Anzziani recently designed a rather impressive oscilloscope watch built around Atmel’s versatile ATxmega256A3U MCU.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/920064946/oscilloscope-watch

The device boasts all the trappings of a modern watch (time, calendar and alarm), along with all the features of the popular Xprotolab – oscilloscope, waveform generator, logic analyzer, protocol sniffer and frequency counter.

GPS Cookie

Developed by Richard Haberkern, the open source GPS Cookie is built around Atmel’s popular ATmega328P.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/richardhaberkern/gps-cookie-leaving-crumbs-wherever-it-goes

The Cookie’s compact form factor (available in two form factors, or shapes) makes it easy to carry, experiment with and expand.

Little Robot Friends



Little Robot Friends are both interactive and customizable, each with a unique and evolving personality.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aesthetec/little-robot-friends?ref=home_spotlight

According to Mark Argo of Aesthetec Studio, the Little ‘bot family is built around Atmel’s ATmega328P MCU. Each Little Robot is powered by two rechargeable AAA batteries and depending on the frequency of use, should last for weeks or months on a single charge.

Lumapad



The Lumapad is an open source, high intensity, 8000 lumen LED lighting system built around Atmel’s ATmega328P MCU and an (optional) electric IMP.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/richardhaberkern/open-source-ultra-bright-led-light-pad-with-wifi-a

According to project designer Richard Haberkern, 32 ultra-bright LEDs are positioned in a landscape array to provide bright, even and controllable lighting, drawing only 88 watts. Last, but certainly not least, a built in electronic dimmer makes the light intensity adjustable to fit just about any environment.

Delta Six Game Controller



The Delta Six mirrors the look of a modern military combat rifle, including real time aiming as well as a kickback sensation. The Atmel-powered, Arduino-based Delta Six was developed using IR sensors, accelerometers and gyroscopes to provide unparalleled arcade experience.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/356540105/delta-six-a-new-kind-of-game-controller

The controller is compatible with Xbox 360, Play Station 3, and PC systems – and upgradeable for next-gen systems like Playstation 4.

Neko – A Color Field Oil Painter



Created by Laura Lippincott, Neko was brought to life with an Arduino Mega (Atmel ATmega1280), hobby parts and a 3D printer.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/painterbot/neko-a-color-field-oil-painter?ref=live

The ‘bot is currently being primed with color data in an attempt to make him more creative.

Smart Citizen Kit

Designed by Acrobotic, the Smart Citizen Kit is an open-source environmental monitoring platform powered by Atmel’s ATmega32U4.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/acrobotic/the-smart-citizen-kit-crowdsourced-environmental-m?ref=live

Dubbed the Ambient Board, the Kit hardware comprises two printed-circuit boards – an interchangeable daughterboard or shield, and an Arduino-compatible data-processing board. As the name suggests, it is equipped with sensors to measure air composition (CO and NO2), temperature, light intensity, sound levels and humidity.

Sparki – The Easy Robot for Everyone


Sparki is an easy to use Arduino-based robot (ATmega32u4RC) that offers a fun introduction to programming, electronics and robotics.

Although Sparki is simple enough for beginners, the ‘bot is packed with more than enough features to satisfy more experienced Makers.

Linkbot



Designed by Barobo, the Linkbot  is a modular robot platform powered by Atmel’s ATmega128RFA1 (running at 16MHz) that boasts 100oz-in (7.2 Kg-cm) of torque and a free-run speed of 300 deg/sec.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/barobo/linkbot-create-with-robots

Atmel’s SAM4L at the Colorado School of Mines

Analog aficionado and Linear Systems marketing maven Tim McCune saw some of our cool ARM Cortex M4-based SAM4L-EK demo kits at the last Analog Aficionados party. Turns out his son Clark just entered the Colorado School of Mines and Tim thought his son could learn a lot from the kit. This is the same kit that Atmel is featuring in its 2014 Tech on Tour training, where we drive a giant 18-wheeler truck onto your campus or company and then do training or product demos.

The Atmel Tech on Tour mobile trailer is available to drive to your location and conduct training for employees or students.

So I wangle a couple kits from Atmel events director Donna Castillo and sent them off to Clark. In addition to the ARM Cortex M4-based SAM4-EK, the training bundle had an AT86RF233 Xplained Pro wireless board and an 10-pin XPRO adapter PCB. This allows the SAM4 Xplained pro to take the RF board.

Tim reported the kits were a big hit:

“The kits arrived last Friday, before the three-day weekend, which was a great morale-booster for Clark. He was stuck there with not much to do, most of his friends were at home or skiing. Figuring out how to fire up the kits and start working in C was pretty fun. And when his classmates started drifting back he had the coolest new toys on the hall.”

Clark McCune and pal fires up the Atmel SAM4-EK at the Colorado School of Mines.

 

Here Clark McCune has both SAM4-EK kits at the ready, with the one hooked to the computer also sporting the AT86RF233 wireless board that comes with the Tech on Tour training.

Here are the kits I sent Clark McCune. The Tech on Tour training will get you up to speed on ARM Cortex M4 programming as well as wireless connectivity.

The SAM4L-EK has a board and a ton of cables including the micro-USB ones you will need to power the board.

Both displays have a protective film over them, so be sure to peel them off to get the best appearance.

Right out of the box the board is programmed to read the slider on the bottom right side. The number “104” changes in proportion to your finger posing. Note the smaller power consumption display above the main one. The L in SAM4L stands for low power, so Atmel includes a power monitor right on the board.

We also include the jumpers, just set off to the side, so you don’t have to hunt any down from your old Windows 95 add-in cards.

Here is the SAM4L set up with the AT86RF233 Xplained Pro wireless board and an 10-pin XPRO adapter PCB. I hope Clark had them in the right way because I just copied what he had in his picture.

Here is a close-up of the power monitor display. With the programs running full-bore, you can see the board is using 1.92 mA, but the firmware is nice enough to tell you it is using 159μA/MHz.

Press pushbutton PB0 and the board kicks into standby, where the PCB only draws 66μA. Sorry for the shaky camera, the display is sharp as a tack.

Speaking of shaky camera work, I tried to press the PB0 pushbutton and snap a pic at the same time, so you can see the little display on the SAM4L-EL work like a tiny oscilloscope, showing the power consumption dropping from 2mA to 69μA.

And finally, another shaky camera shot of the SAM4L-EK returning to full power mode.

What is really cool about the little power monitor is that it does show transient events, like when the code services an interrupt and returns to low-power mode. Oh, I forgot to show the back of the PCB, here is a shot:

The back of the SAM4L-EK has more chips, I assume to run the debugger and such. Note the nice clear rubber feet to keep the pins from scratching your desk.

This is such a well-done kit, and if you want to get on the ARM bandwagon, it is a perfect way to learn. Better yet, with the RF board it gets you familiar with the Internet of Things (IoT) applications the whole world is hungering for. So check out the Tech on Tour training and feel free to badger you local Atmel rep or FAE to bring the ToT mobile trailer to your school or company.

From Shanzhai to OSHW: The Maker Movement in China

Although the Maker and open source hardware movements are a global phenomenon, the DIY culture in China can actually be traced back to the ancient concept of Shanzhai. As Gabrielle Levine, the newly appointed president of the Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA) notes, China is going to be a huge driving force in the open source hardware landscape.

“There are many similarities between [the local concept of] Shanzhai and the open source hardware community,” Gabriella Levine told OpenElectronics in February. “Both Shanzhai and open source hardware projects borrow information, tools, source code, CAD files and techniques; both improve upon other’s work to accelerate development.”

SeeedStudio founder Eric Pan expressed similar sentiments during a recent interview with Atmel’s official blog, Bits & Pieces.

“MakerSpaces will likely enable a new wave of tech startups in China as in the US,” he confirmed.

“Clearly, hardware development is becoming a more agile process with the aid of [open source] prototyping tools like RepRap and Arduino boards – both of which are helping to facilitate innovation across the world and particularly in China.”

Similarly, David Li, co-founder of Shanghai’s first Maker Space, told The Economist that the DIY movement has inspired the creation of legitimate and innovative products, with socially progressive Makers teaming up with more traditional manufacturers in China.

We at Atmel are at the strategic heart of the international Maker Movement, with a comprehensive portfolio of versatile microcontrollers (MCUs) that power a wide range of Maker platforms and devices, including 3D printers (MakerBot Replicator 2 and RepRap), the vast majority of Arduino boards, as well as Adafruit’s Gemma, Trinket and Flora platforms.

Indeed, Arduino boards are currently used by millions of Makers, engineers, schools and corporations all over the world. At least 1.2 million Atmel-powered Arduino boards have been sold to date, with the ATmega328-based Uno being a particular Maker and prototyping favorite. Of course, stand-alone AVR microcontrollers like the tinyAVR lineup are also popular amongst the DIY crowd.

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, an increasing number of Makers are kicking off project prototyping with Atmel-based Arduino boards. Concurrently, we are also seeing a jump in professional engineers relying on Atmel-powered Arduino boards to create initial models for their devices, platforms and solutions.

Atmel-powered uArm

According to Gartner, 50% of companies expected to help build the rapidly evolving Internet of Things have yet to coalesce. This is precisely why Atmel views China’s Maker Movement as one of the primary tech incubators for future IoT companies and devices, many of which will undoubtedly use Atmel microcontrollers (MCUs) to power their respective platforms.

Atmel will proudly be attending Maker Faire Shenzhen this year on April 6-7. Our booth – #4 – is located right next to Center Stage. We’ll be showcasing a number of Atmel-powered products including a Zigebee-based lighting demo, robotic model car, various Seeeduino boards, the Rainbow Cube (LED light controlled by Atmel MCUs) and an e-ink badge.

I’ll also be giving a presentation about Atmel microcontrollers, the IoT and Makers at 2PM on April 7th at the Center Stage. Hope to see you there!

Monetizing the Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) – which includes intelligent devices ranging from smartphones to medical robotics – will increase to 26 billion units installed by 2020. The latest Gartner estimate represents an almost 30-fold increase, up from 0.9 billion units in 2009.

According to Gartner research director Laurie Wurster, the hyper-growth of IoT will require critical rethinking of underlying business models, including the manufacturing supply chain and the important role software plays in product development and revenue models.

“IoT transforms all hardware and appliance OEMs into software providers. Licensing and entitlement management technology provides the locking capabilities that enable manufacturers to protect and monetize the embedded software IP running on connected intelligent devices,” she explained.

“Device manufacturers faced with increasing global competitive pressure to reduce manufacturing costs that produce thinner margins can leverage the value created with Internet-connected products to increase revenue. However, to secure additional revenue, manufacturers need to recognize the role embedded software and/or software applications play in the IoT and monetize this value.”

Similar to the traditional software industry, device manufacturers will be required to protect the intellectual property contained in applications. Concurrently, they’ll need to monetize the IP via the adoption of licensing and entitlement management systems that control access to the Internet-connected device.

“Licensing and entitlement management also enables flexible pricing and packaging, enabling the manufacturer to bundle product features, capabilities and capacities, ensure payment, provide upgrade paths, as well as new revenue streams,” said Wurster. 

”By controlling product functionality, features and capacities of Internet-connected devices via flexible licensing, device manufacturers will better be able to compete in current and new markets via increased speed to market with new products, new feature combinations and product enhancements.”

Wurster also warned that the adoption of licensing and entitlement management may be somewhat inhibited by the inexperience of many device manufacturers with software and the financial opportunities oftware-driven devices create. 

Indeed, numerous manufacturers still apply a traditional “box” mentality to their products, failing to take into account additional revenue opportunities that licensing-controlled embedded software and software applications deliver.

“Additional complications can arise as manufacturers navigate the transition to software-driven, Internet-connected solutions,” she added. “For success, strong leadership is needed to ensure that all departments are aligned around the new business strategy; and adopt the processes and business rules necessary to accommodate the business opportunities opened by the connected devices.”

ARM @ Atmel’s EELive! ToT booth

ARM’s Andy Frame stopped by Atmel’s EELive! 2014 ToT booth to chat with our very own Andreas Eieland (@AndreasMCUguy), who looks after Atmel’s SAM D Cortex-M0+ based family of devices.

As you can see, Frame snapped a great picture of Andreas standing next to Atmel’s tricked-out Tech on Tour Truck which travels around the US showcasing a wide range of Atmel-powered products, including those based on ARM’s Cortex-M and Cortex-A5.

ARM’s Ronan Synnott was also at Atmel’s EELive! booth giving a presentation about ARM’s DS-5 support for Atmel SAMA5D3 devices. Ronan described how, with DS-5 Professional Edition, ARM provides a leading-edge software development tool chain for bare-metal, RTOS and Linux based projects. 

For the SAMA5D3 devices, ARM offers full debug support out of the box when used in conjunction with DSTREAM or ULINKproD JTAG debug units, the Streamline System Performance Analysis tool and the highly optimizing ARM C compiler.

We hope to hear more from Ronan over the next few weeks, so be sure to check Bits & Pieces for additional embedded news and reports.

Meanwhile, Atmel’s Tech on Tour trailer will be headed to Austin, Texas on April 8th. We’ll be talking about low-power system design using Atmel’s ARM-based SAM4L MCU, touch and wireless solutions, as well as offering an introduction to Atmel’s versatile SAM D20 microcontroller.

Interested in learning more? You can register here and check out future ToT stops here.

Adafruit builds a Yún-powered security camera

Adafruit’s Marc-Olivier Schwartz has designed a DIY wireless security camera built around an Atmel-based Arduino Yún (ATmega32u4), USB webcam, microSD card and a PIR motion detector.

“The first application [of the Yún-powered security camera] will be a modern version of standard tasks that you want for a security camera: taking pictures when some motion is detected. The project will store pictures taken by the USB camera on an SD card inserted into the Yún, but that’s not all,” Schwartz explained.

“Because we are in the age of the Internet of Things (IoT), we also want these pictures to be automatically uploaded on a secure location. And that’s exactly what we are going to do by uploading the pictures to Dropbox at the same time.”

As expected, the Yún-powered security camera is also capable of streaming video directly to YouTube.

Schwartz recommends kicking off the project by inserting the SD card into the Yún, connecting the camera to the USB port and linking the motion sensor (VCC pin to the Yun 5V pin, GND to GND, SIG pin to the Yun pin number 8).

After connecting to a PC via the microUSB port, Makers should configure their Temboo and Dropbox accounts. Subsequently, additional software needs to be install on the Atmel-based Yún, including UVC drivers, python-openssl package, fswebcam utility and the mjpg streaming library.

In terms of streaming videos to YouTube, Schwartz first creates a local stream which is then transmitted to a PC via Wirecast and finally, to a YouTube live event.

“Of course, there are several ways to build other cool applications using this project. You can drop the motion detection part and build a camera that take snapshots at regular intervals and upload these on Dropbox,” Schwartz added.

“You can [also] easily create time-lapse videos with this kind of project: just collect the pictures from your Dropbox account, paste them into a time-lapse software. You can also extend this project by adding more Yún + camera modules, to have a complete video monitoring system in your home.”

Interested in learning more? Schwartz’s detailed tutorial is available on Adafruit’s learning system here.

Readers may also want to check out other Yún-based Maker projects including an electricity monitor, mesh extender platform, Foursquare soap bubble machine, a Gmail (alert) lamp, water heater regulator and the high-five camera.