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Bodhi Linux for Raspberry Pi

March 31, 2013, 4:16 pm
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Today I saw a Google+ post on Bodhi Linux.  Bodhi Linux is a linux distribution leveraging the fast, customizable, and elegant Enlightenment Desktop. Based on Ubuntu, it is available for the Raspberry Pi (hard floating point).

The minimum requirements to run Bodhi Linux are only: 300+ MHz CPU, 128 MB RAM, and 2.5 GB hard drive space.

Minimalism is one of Bodhi Linux's two core ideals. The combination of Enlightenment and the core utilities included in a default Bodhi Linux install lead to exceptional speed and low system requirements, while providing a usable  and customizable desktop experience.  User choice is another important feature embodied in Bodhi Linux. By only including a small set of default utilities, the user is free to make Bodhi Linux their operating system. Users can install applications from our extremely easy to use AppCenter, apt-get, or Synaptic to suit their individual needs.

Bodhi is based on the very efficient NeXTStep design, invented by Scott Forestall, the former Apple chief software architect.  It still runs very fast even on oldest computers, e.g. a 68030 with only 32 MByte RAM. And it natively supports OpenGL hardware.  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeXTStep for more.


Small drawback: It's written in Objective-C. Objective-C is pure C, plus Smalltalk pipes for interprocess communication, for sharing data. Smalltalk is a communication oriented language, where 'state' is kept in small 'objects'. What these 'living objects' can understand or send, is coded in 'classes' and 'methods'. The language itself consists of just 5 elements - extremely easy to learn. Porting apps from MacOS X or iOS is simple. Included in EFL (Enlightenment Foundation Library) is the complete SDK with GUI builder.

If you're a person who wants to decide themselves how to run your Pi, this distro may be the one for you.
Download link: http://www.bodhilinux.com/downloads_mobile.php (scroll down to Raspberry Pi version)
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Due Alternative - SainSmart Land Tiger

April 1, 2013, 6:25 pm
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Looking through the SainSmart site, I noticed a Cortex-M3 board with many features built in.  And it's priced at $60.99


The Land Tiger development board on-board USB emulator, supports USB 2.0 Device, dual CAN interfaces, RS-485 interface functions. It has many of the features that the Arduino Due chose to leave off their board (like Ethernet).  The touchscreen interface is a nice touch.  And it would appear that it uses the Due version of the Arduino Due for programming.

Features:

  • Cortex-M3 512KB on-chip Flash, to support ISP and IAP
  • 64KB SRAM
  • processing rates 100MHz, and includes a support eight areas of memory protection unit (MPU)
  • Built-nested vector interrupt controller
  • AHB multi-layer matrix with 8-channel DMA controller, general-purpose (GPDMA)
  • support the SSP, UART, AD / DA, timer, GPIO, etc., can be used for memory to memory transfers
  • standard JTAG test / debug interface and debug serial line and serial line tracking port option
  • simulation trace module supports real-time tracking
  • 4 low-power modes: sleep, deep sleep, power-down, deep power-down
  • single 3.3V power supply (2.4V - 3.6V)
  • Operating temperature: -40 °C - 85 °C
  • non-maskable interrupt (NMI) input
  • On-chip integrated power-on reset circuit
  • Built-in systems beat the timer (SysTick), to facilitate the operating system migration.


Onboard Resources:

  • 2-Way RS232 serial interface (using the straight-through serial cable, serial port support them all the way ISP download)
  • 2 CAN bus communication ports (CAN Transceiver: SN65VHD230)
  •  RS-485 communications interface (485 Transceivers: SP3485)
  •  RJ45-10/100M Ethernet network interface (Ethernet PHY: DP83848)
  •  DA output interface (USB sound card can do experiments on-board speaker and speaker output driver)
  •  AD input interface (adjustable potentiometer input)
  •  color LCD display interface (which can take 2.8-inch or 3.2-inch color TFT 320X240)
  •  USB2.0 Interface, USB host and USB Device Interface.
  •  SD / MMC card (SPI) interface (available with FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 file system)
  •  IIC Interface (24LC02)
  •  SPI serial FLASH interfaces (AT45DB161D)
  •  2 user keys, 2 function keys and the INT0 Reset button, 8 LED lights
  •  1 Five keys to enter the joystick (Joystick)
  •  serial ISP download function (no need to set jumpers), the standard JTAG download, simulation debugging interface.
  •  integrated USB emulator: simulation and debug capabilities to support online and support KEIL, IAR and other mainstream development environment.
  •  optional external 5V power supply or USB input to provide 5V power supply.
  •  leads all the IO, user-friendly external circuit to the secondary development of other applications.

I really like it when a board/system designer includes enough of the touches to encourage developers rather than throwing them to the wolves.  This one is rather cool.


Now if SainSmart wants a bigger review, send one over ;-)


While I did post an April Fools post on Google+, this is not an April Fools post.
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Assembled Gertboard Now Available From Sparkfun

April 7, 2013, 3:53 pm
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The Gertboard was the first add-on board announced for the Raspberry Pi.  It was delayed a number of times but finally was released as a kit for a limited time from Europe.  Now the second wave has arrived in the US via a complete board from Sparkfun Electronics.
Gertboard October 2012 ("Version 2")
The design is rather bold - rather than having a few functions, the board has many features including a AVR (Arduino type) helper controller.  It has GPIO buffers and motors.  Finally it has an 8 bit dual channel digital to analog converter and a dual channel analog to digital converter.

The October 2012 branded version design differs from the March 2012 DIY board.  The ribbon cable to connect to the Raspberry Pi is now a direct connect stackable header.  The fuse for the motor driver is enclosed and a different motor driver chip used,  More surface mount parts are used including the voltage regulator and LEDs.
Gertboard March 2012 ("Version 1")
This board is a fantastic way to experiment with the Raspberry Pi - out of the box, the Pi is rather limited on connection capabilities.  The Gertboard opens up the capabilities to perform nearly any function one might want to do: control, robotics, sensing.

It still does not allow connection of Arduino compatible shields as it uses a proprietary dual row header.  This can be adapted though not directly.  The Breadboard Shield Adapter brings an Arduino shield pins to one side where one would have to manually connect the various pins.  Not perfect but doable.  Maybe the next revision of the Gertboard will allow for a better connection.
Breadboard Shield Adapter
These boards should see adoption in schools and other learning situations and hobbyists who want to tinker around.  Hopefully mopre projects will be published using the board.  The link to get one from Sparkfun is https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11773
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Use (Some) Arduino Shields on Your Raspberry Pi

April 7, 2013, 4:20 pm
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The "Raspberry Pi to Arduino shields connection bridge" is a Raspberry Pi add-on allowing you to use some of the shields, boards and modules designed for Arduino on a Raspberry Pi. It includes also the possibility of connecting digital and analog sensors, using the same pinout of Arduino but with the power and capabilities of a Raspberry Pi.
The "Raspberry Pi to Arduino shields connection bridge" board on top of a Raspberry Pi computer
To allow for software programming, cooking-hacks.com has written the arduPi C/C++ library allowing a Raspberry Pi to use the same code used in Arduino. To do so, they implemented conversion functions to control the hardware in the same way as in Arduino the same I/O interfaces: i2C, SPI, UART, analog, digital, on a Raspberry Pi. What may be done with the shield along with the arduPi library:
 

I have used the word some when the site uses any.  Buried down on the page is this warning:
WARNING: GPIO voltage levels are 3.3 V and are not 5 V tolerant. There is no over-voltage protection on the board. Digital inputs use a 3V3 logic level and are not tolerant of 5V levels, such as you might find on a 5V powered Arduino.
Extreme caution when working with GPIO, you may damage your Raspberry Pi, your equipment and potentially yourself and others.

As most shields have 5 volt signals, this could be a large limitation.  The number of 3.3 volt shields is expected to grow, albeit slowly, with hardware using sensing to be compatible with hardware like the new Arduino Due.

I like the Bee socket.  Many types of hardware have been made in this form factor - usually at 3.3 volts like the XBee.

At 40 euros, it is rather overpriced for the US market.
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Tandy UK Introducing Raspberry Pi Gertboard Compatible

April 14, 2013, 5:53 pm
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Tandy, the UK electronics company, is introducing an electronics kit compatible with the Raspberry Pi Getboard experimenters board.

The Gertboard is no longer available in kit form but has come out as an assembled board available from a number of vendors including Sparkfun.

I am glad to see the Gertboard receive a resurgence after the initial kit issue and subsequent withdraw from the market.  I would love to see some experiments or projects using these boards.
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Arduino Radio Communications: Current Trends

April 15, 2013, 4:49 pm
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Efforts to allow Arduinos and other microcontrollers to communicate via radio frequency (RF) continue to grow.  This article summarizes some trends in the field.
New Platforms

New devices built on Atmel chips which include RF capability within the microcontroller are growing.  The recently successful Pinoccio on Kickstarter is the leader.  Others are coming out including miniSWARM on indiegogo.  These are compact and have power management built in so they make great nodes in a wireless network.  These all seem to be able to talk using the 802.15.4 protocol. An issue is the radio protocol stacks may not have been written to support interoperable communications (for example to a 802.15.4 XBee Series 1 radio) so you really have to review your needs - until these radios talk in an interoperable protocol, mixing and matching may not be possible.

XBee

XBee continues to be a very popular choice with strong support via books like Making Things Talk.  The platform is well supported with boards and shields.  But innovation using XBee is not growing - device cost, 3.3 volt power, and lack of design wins contribute to a bit of stagnation.  I like XBees alot and I recommend them for designs.  I'd like to see others design current circuits and I'd like to see Digi lower prices to remain competitive.

Wifi

Wifi continues to be a popular method of communications.  The Pinoccio includes a Wifi add-on to connect a local network to a larger Internet network.  Other notes:

  • The Official Arduino Wifi Shield (802.11b/g) continues to sell at about $85 (Maker Shed)
  • DFRobot has a new shield with 802.11 b/g/n also at $85
  • Many b/g units in shield, board, and "Bee" form factors
  • Prices do not seem to be going down over the last few months.
GSM
  • The Official Arduino GSM Shield was released into a market with other such cards on the market.  There has not been much of an uptake in resellers.  The website states Arduino distributors will have it after March 25th but a survey of Sparkfun (which carries other products), Maker Shed, Adafruit, Radioshack all do not have it.
  • Yourduino has a shield ($75) and a board ($69)
  • SeeedStudio board (Radioshack $90)
  • Generic - eBay $45
RF24

Small boards based on the nRF24L01+ continue to rise in popularity due to low cost and better software.  A new library came out recently from Greg Copeland.  Cost for unamplified/chip antenna units are under $3 and modules with an amp and 2dB antenna are around $17-$20 (eBay, Sparkfun and yourduino.com). 

Other
  • Bluetooth grows in popularity.  The new Bluetooth 4.0 low energy is a promising development.  The Maker Shed has a nice Arduino Shield at $35
  • 315 or 433 MHz transmitters/receivers are also low cost - these are carried by yourduino.com (433), Adafruit (315) and others including eBay.
It's never been a better time to cut the cord on your project and use radio communications.  Do research the capabilities of various radios to ensure they'll do what you want.
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Adafruit 6 Second Video Contest

April 19, 2013, 5:45 pm
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Adafruit has announced their 6 second electronics film festival contest! Share your cool project in 6 seconds of video and win up to $600 at the Adafruit store, with six runners up winning $60 store credit each.In a 6 second video, we want you to share the best project you’ve made.  Be sure not to use any copyrighted music, video, etc.  This should be all your project, all by you. The Adafruit team will be looking on Twitter, G+/youtube and beyond for Vines, 6 second videos and more tagged with #adafruit6secs. The deadline is 6pm ET, 5/6/13. The Adafruit team of judges will pick their favorites and announce the winner on May, 12th at 6pm ET.

Details:

STEP ONE: MAKE A 6 SECOND VIDEO, PLEASE USE VINE!
The easiest way to make a 6 second video for The Adafruit 6 second electronics film festival is to use Vine. If you don’t have an iOS device, no big deal – most everything can take 6 second videos and upload. With Vine and looping a 6 second video you can make cool videos that repeat what you’ve made that’s blinking, moving or making noise – get creative, and enter as often as you’d like. Make sure you do not use any copyrighted music, video, etc. This should be your cool project you are sharing, in 6 seconds.

STEP TWO: TAG THE VIDEO with #adafruit6secs
The most important thing is to tag the video with #adafruit6secs . We’ll be mostly using Twitter to find most of these, you can also send a link to your video via the contact form (do not email us video files!).

STEP THREE: POST TO TWITTER, G+, YOUTUBE, ETC.
Post your tagged 6 second video from Vine or on Youtube, Google+, Flickr, Twitter (Vine can post to Twitter) just make sure it’s easily searchable on those services by tagging it with #adafruit6secs .

STEP FOUR: THERE IS NO STEP 4!
That’s it!

PRIZES: $600 GRAND PRIZE, SIX $60 PRIZES (ADAFRUIT STORE)
The team of Adafruit judges will pick our favorites. Grand prize is a $600 gift certificate in the Adafruit store and six runners-up will receive $60 in store credit each. THE DEADLINE IS 6:00 PM ON MONDAY 5/6/13!

Make sure to tag & upload by 6pm ET, Monday, May 6th, 2013, that’s the deadline.

WINNERS ANNOUNCED LIVE ON ASK AN ENGINEER: 5/12/13!
We will play the videos on ASK AN ENGINEER Saturday night 10pm ET on May 12th, 2013. The judges from Adafruit John De Cristofaro, Becky Stern, Matt Griffin, Molly Rae Thorkelson & Ladyada. Adafruit staff & partners may make entries but cannot win.

I have an idea for a project - we'll see what I can do this weekend getting other things done also (hope you never have to encounter writing 30 EERs). Stay tuned.
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New Arduino Interface Circuit Diagrams

April 22, 2013, 6:37 pm
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Alberto Piganti (Pighixxx on the Arduino.cc forums) has created additional circuit diagrams for his Arduino Basic Connections (ABC).


He's up to 34 pages of useful circuits, in color, using commonly available parts.  These mesh perfectly with the Maker movement - you don't always have to be an engineer to make circuitry for cool projects.  To be honest, most engineers keep a notebook of basic, helpful circuits.  Alberto is just kind enough to share his in such beautiful drawings.  For clarity, select the PDF versions.  Or go to his Flickr site for pictures.

He is most receptive to comments and revision suggestions on his blog.

While you are there, also pick up his wonderful Arduino pinout diagrams. (Use the menu to find all of the others).
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Raspberry Pi Model B now at Microcenter

April 24, 2013, 9:28 am
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Microcenter stores have started to carry the Raspberry Pi Model B for $39.95.  It's new so it isn't in their circular.
Pi's (center) along with other items like Sparkfun and Parallax items
If you'd like to order online, here is the link, same price.

As you can see from the picture, they had not even put them on the shelf, they were in the ubiqitous "new stock pile cart".  As the store was undergoing renovation (taller shelves, more room for more stuff), I will not complain too much as I hope they expand the electronics parts area.
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Leap Motion Shipments Delayed Again

April 25, 2013, 3:45 pm
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Today Leap Motion sent letters to folks who preordered their new motion controller for PCs stating shipments would again be delayed.  Disappointing.
Note they will be in a Google+ Hangout at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Friday April 26th.

Here is the e-mail set to preorder customers:

I wanted to reach out to update you on the status of our ship date. After a lot of consideration, we’ve decided to push back the date and will now be shipping units to pre-order customers on July 22nd.
This is not a decision we take lightly. There are hundreds of thousands of people in over 150 countries who have pre-ordered Leap Motion controllers, some as long as a year ago. These people are part of our community and there is nothing more important to us than getting them devices as quickly as possible.
 
We’ve made a lot of progress. When we first started taking orders back in May we were twelve (very tired) people in a basement. Now we are eighty (although still tired and possibly still in a basement). We’ve manufactured over six hundred thousand devices and delivered twelve thousand to amazing developers who are building applications that let people do things that just wouldn’t have been possible before.

These developers have given us great feedback that we’ve used to make huge improvements to the stability and polish of the product. We’re really proud of Leap Motion as both a company and a product.
 
The reality is we very likely could have hit the original ship date. But it wouldn’t have left time for comprehensive testing. This will come in the form of a beta test that will start in June. We will give the 12k developers who currently have Leap Motion controllers access to the feature complete product including OS interaction (today developers only have access to the SDK). We will also invite some people who are not developers to join the beta test.
 
Ultimately, the only way we felt 100% confident we could deliver a truly magical product that would do justice to this new form of interaction, was to push the date so we would have more time for a larger, more diverse beta test.
 
I really appreciate your patience. I know it’s been a long wait. Everyone at Leap Motion is working tirelessly to make sure that the wait is worth it. Thanks so much for your help and support.
 
David and I will be participating in an open video Q&A using Google Hangout tomorrow at 11:30am Pacific time. To join our hangout, please visit our Google+ page. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact our support team at support@leapmotion.com or my personal email (buckwald@leapmotion.com). As always, we will not charge pre-order customer’s credit cards until the devices have actually shipped.
 
Thanks again.
 
Michael Buckwald

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Wifi Hotspot Embedded in Forbes Magazine

April 26, 2013, 8:56 am
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The current issue of Forbes Magazine has an ad on the inside cover with electronics embedded!  Not just your blinky LED, it's a wifi hotspot with 15 days of cellular service and a LiPo Battery.

The hotspot serves up to 5 devices.  The service is part of the rollout of Microsoft Office 365.

This would me a great gadget to hack - it's cheap, portable (maybe wearable).  Your thoughts?

Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/23/magazine-slips-in-a-free-t-mobile-wifi-hotspot/
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CoAction Hero: Tiny 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 Microcontroller on Kickstarter

April 27, 2013, 6:46 am
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The CoAction Hero is a new tiny microcontroller launching on Kickstarter.

It comes with with a 120 Mhz processor, 1 megabyte filesystem, lots of I/O pins and built-in OS.  When I say tiny, this is small.  It has a companion display and bluetooth module.
I start to look at how easy it is to program this and I think of the hours I spent getting the Arduino Due trying to work.


This is better compared not to an Arduino (Orange County Chopper vs. Italian Scooter) but other small Cortex based micros like the Teensy which is just slightly cheaper but runs only 40% the clock speed of the Hero.  Both have extensive software support which put the Arduino IDE to shame.

This looks like a great project - the right combination of polished hardware and mature Open-Source software.  Definitely one that I'd like to take for a spin.
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Newark / Element 14 Starts Registrations for Raspberry Pi Camera Module

April 27, 2013, 8:56 am
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Newark/Elemnt 14 sent emails to customers today to have them register their interest in the upcoming Raspberry Pi camera module.

From the email:
Are you ready for the all-new
Raspberry Pi Camera Module?
Coming Soon! The Raspberry Pi Camera Module is a custom designed add-on for Raspberry Pi.
It attaches to Raspberry Pi by way of one of the small sockets on the board upper surface.
This product uses the dedicated CSi interface, designed especially for connecting to cameras. The board itself is tiny, at around 25mm x 20mm x 9mm.
Bullet-19x19  5 megapixel native resolution sensor-capable of 2592 x 1944 pixel static images
Bullet-19x19  Supports 1080p30, 720p60 and 640x480p60/90 video
Bullet-19x19  Camera is supported in the latest version of Raspbian, Raspberry Pi's preferred operating system

Yo register your interest, go to http://downloads.element14.com/raspberry-pi-camera/

Video Preview:

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Carnac-Style Robot for the Adafruit 6 Seconds Competition

April 27, 2013, 12:02 pm
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As posted the other day, I had an idea for the Adafruit 6 seconds competition.


Fortunately it used parts I already had:

The hookup was a bit of a challenge as the breakout only supports a 4 pin SPI interface at 3.3 volts  with the Adafruit library.  The included CD4050 chip translates the signal levels to 5 volt for the Uno.  The EMIC 2 communicates over a TTL serial used with the Arduino softserial library to keep the standard serial port free for debugging over USB.  The audio signal is amplified via a vintage Radio Shack hobby speaker.  The mouth moves via a servo.  I burned out my original trying to make the movements match the speech so I went to Microcenter to get a replacement microservo with metal gears for ruggedness.

Then it was time to come up with a good Carnac-type joke ("Carnac" says answer, card contains question to make the punch line).  So the one I picked was:

Answer: "Groundhog"

Question: "What's in Sausage?"   (oh, groan!)

Many of the classics were pretty dated.  This is not a direct joke Carson used, I modified it to make it more 6 second friendly and avoid copyright, if any.

I'm thankful the servo was the only real issue.  Rather fun project.  I'll post the code on github when I get it cleaned up.


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Microcenter Deal for 4/29: Digispark $5.99

April 28, 2013, 11:50 am
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Microcenter continues to feature a loss leader in do-it-yourself electronics.  Starting Monday 4/29 for the next two weeks they feature the Digispark tiny Arduino-type controller for $5.99.

This board was originally offered on Kickstarter at $10-$12.  Their pitch:
We set out to build a little brother to the wonderful Arduino line of development boards - we were tired of leaving our valuable Arduino's behind in projects, or worse, ripping apart old projects to build new ones! We also felt the Arduino was too big and powerful for many projects where we only needed a few pins, or an SPI or I2C bus. And so the Digispark was born! To us, the best things about the Arduino is the community, the easy of use, and the IDE - by making the Digispark an Arduino compatible development board all of those remain common. Plug it in, power your project with USB or external sources, program it with the Arduino IDE, and easily use existing Arduino code! But with its small size and low cost you can feel free to leave it in your project, give one to a friend, and use them everywhere!
The current direct price from Digistump is $8.95.

The Digispark has been offered by Microcenter at the $10 level but now, as a loss leader, they are advertising it for the next two weeks at $5.99.  They also have a good selection of companion and expansion boards.  Please check the website for availability both online and in stores.

If you would like some ideas on how to use Digispark and interfacing to other circuits, see the extensive wiki at http://digistump.com/wiki/.

If you need some microcontroller power in a small, affordable package, this may be the ticket for you.

PS Their price for the Arduino Uno has risen in the past month from $15 to $20 now to $25.
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Arduino Esplora Widely Available

May 2, 2013, 9:42 am
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Adafruit Show & Tell Demo on May 4th

May 5, 2013, 6:12 am
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I was able to join the Adafruit Show & Tell on Google+ last night.  I demonstrated my Carnac-like prognosticator and a bit on Esplora.



The Adafruit article is at http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2013/05/04/show-and-tell-542013/

For appearing, you get to receive this cool sticker

For more information:


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Arduino Competition Causing Pricing Pressure

May 7, 2013, 9:48 am
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The assault by the microcontroller industry on the $30 Arduino Uno and its siblings is in full effect.

Once something becomes popular, people want them but prefer them cheaper, better, or faster.

The Arduino team has been working on this with mixed results.  The bigger and faster Due is still in a sort of beta with very poor software support compared to the mainstream Uno. The lack of add-on boards supporting the software and lower operating voltage has severely limited widespread adoption.  Better - in the form of Leonardo - has been very quiet except for the adoption of the chip and bootloader into many competing products (some rather good).  The Esplora is now carried in stores beyond the Radio Shack launch partner but the Esplora forum on the Arduino site is crickets, no activity.  All of this, with prices showing very little flexibility in the last year.  Those companies that priced the Uno at $35 have tended to lower the it to a fixed $29.95 price point.  Only Microcenter has shown flexibility, pricing the Uno down to $15 before relenting and having it bounce back to $25.  Finally Sainsmart has lowered their Arduino Mega R3 board down to $16.99.

Competition

1. Kickstarter - it seems everyone can and has come up with Arduino clones in every shape and size.  The trend though is than they are nearly always less expensive, the tiny ones very much so.  Keep an eye on the Spark Core that is red hot.

2. Clones using better chips - the Teensy and recently a line of Freescale processors have offered more capability at cheaper price points.

3. The big boys - yes the Raspberry Pi is not an Arduino competitor but adjunct, yes?  Yes and No.  Some of the Arduino's educational sales may be on hold while they learn about the Pi.  Boards like the Coocox Embedded Pi allow a Raspberry Pi to act as an arduino with shield support at an Uno price.  Finally the wildly popular UDOO combines Arduino Due and 4 times the Raspberry Pi power into one board.  The market also is receiving price pressure from Android and even small PC board makers with prices from $50 to $100.

Will innovation keep the official Arduino platform at current prices or will we see pressure to move manufacturing to Wales, UK (unlikely).

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New Official Arduino Robot Coming Out

May 10, 2013, 10:18 am
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A new robot system is being introduced by the Arduino team.

Earlier thought to be the Logo robot (due to a video post title), it is now just the Arduino Robot.

Specifications

The robot has two motorized wheels and gearboxes.  It has two decks (lower for motors and sensors, upper for sensors and display).  It appears to share the upcoming 1.8 inch TFT LCD display module destined for use on the Esplora.  There is a buzzer, rotary encoder, 8 Tinkerkit inputs (upper deck), and USB port on the top deck, possibly more below.  This would imply a fair number of microprocessor pins, perhaps the Mega or even Due processor onboard (the Mega would be a better guess)?


New: There are several videos of this robot, all at http://vimeo.com/user433152
  1. Line following May 11th p.m. http://vimeo.com/65925980
  2. The test with Logo-type programming released May 11th http://vimeo.com/65901813
  3. Discobot test (2 weeks earlier) http://vimeo.com/64912650
  4. Hello user (2 weeks earlier) http://vimeo.com/64761574
  5. Line Following (2 weeks earlier) http://vimeo.com/64728217 (which if it is following a line at the same speed as the video, it would be impressive.  Is the line follower sensor stock or a Tinkerkit sensor?)
  6. Music for the robot (1 month earlier) http://vimeo.com/62336645
The bots apparently are being developed in Malmo, Sweden.   Known collaborators:
Collaboration on this project, including prototype work and code, has been done by Complubot in Spain.  Their page is at http://complubot.educa.madrid.org/pre/pre.php

Side View showing motors and gear boxes.

Prototype Work: The Lottie Lemon

It would appear that some details on this platform have been available since Maker Faire 2011 (when the Due and Leonardo were discussed).  There is a picture here but it would appear that things have evolved since.

The Arduino Robot looks like prototypes nicknamed the Lottie Lemon also in cooperation with Complubot.  There are pictures here, and a video here.  The Lemon appears to use two Arduino Nano units whereas the new Arduino Robot has on-board processor(s).  More information on the Lottie Lemon is on the Arduino Wiki here and a comprehensive video from Complubot on the Lottie Lemon (Spanish with English subtitles) is here.

The final prototypes, based more on the Arduino Robot board set, appear to have been tested at Robocup 2012.  Pictures and information are here.
The Lottie Lemon boards - note the display is a Nokia type and the processor looks like an Arduino Nano in a socket.


More details as I get them.
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More on the Arduino Robot

May 14, 2013, 3:16 pm
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Arduino co-founder Massimo Banzi discusses the new Arduino Robot in his debut weekly column for Make.

Banzi states:
After two years of hard work, experimentation, testing, and ups and downs, I’m happy to announce that our robot is ready. The Arduino Robot will be alive with us for the first time during Maker Faire Bay Area where I will show you its features and you’ll be able to experience what its capabilities are. But for us it’s not only a matter of launching a new product. It’s more important to share with you a story of how a passion for tinkering is helping us explore new, unexpected roads. That’s why I asked David Cuartielles, co-founder of Arduino and the member of our team who has spent more time and sweat on it, to reveal how it all happened ... In the last three years David moved from knowing nothing about robots to becoming an amateur roboticist with a strong interest in educational robotics. The Arduino Robot is the result of the collective effort from an international team looking at learning science fun. Arduino is now on wheels. 
You can read about the history of David's robotic journey in the article.

And for more pictures and videos, see my previous post on the Arduino Robot.
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