I didn't know we had a single board computer aimed at hobbyists being developed locally. In this article/video the developer, Brandon Stafford, is being interviewed at Artisan's Asylum.
The interesting twist on this one is that it uses an ARM core (AT91SAM9G20), and runs Linux, but has Arduino shield compatible connectors, so you can use Arduino peripherals. The other innovation it offers is that you can program it (in Python) by interacting with a web-based code editor running on the device. See http://rascalmicro.com/ for details. Both hardware and software are licensed under Creative Commons and other open source licenses. That aside, at $180 (hoped to be $100 - $150 in volume) it generally doesn't beat other ARM options, unless you happen to need 2 USB jacks or some other specific hardware bit it happens to have. If he does manage to get the price down to $100 or less, it'll be a good option for some projects. Too late to get Brandon for next week's BLU meeting? (The boards themselves are currently on backorder.) Rascal Micro hands-on (video) http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/13/rascal-micro-hands-on-video/ Not far from the bustling labs of Northeastern University is the even more bustling hacker space known as Artisan's Asylum. Ummm...they're no where near each other. I think the NU mention was only to plug other Engadget articles talking about hardware hacking projects happening there. (When did NU get into this stuff? Sadly, not much of what the linked articles cover was happening there when I attended.) ...the Rascal Micro. This tiny board is home to an ARM-based SOC and has its hungry, open-sourced eyes on competitors like Arduino and Beagle. Brandon Stafford, the creator, boiled down its primary selling points to this: "it's maybe 25 times faster, has 1,000 times more storage." Where as the Arduino excels at making things blink, move or Tweet, the Rascal Micro has enough power to function as a full-fledged web server. The original version of the board sold for about $180, but Stafford has managed to get the price down and future shipments should settle in between $100 and $150. [...] What makes the Rascal special is its integrated Linux kernel ROM, microSD slot, Ethernet port and duo of USB jacks. ...there's a pile of female headers on the board, that are capable of accepting any Arduino shield. Stafford himself has used his creation to power his home sprinkler system and even had a simple, but impressive, demo waiting for us when we swung by his booth. Booth? They never mention what show this was. Are they referring to an AA rental space? Also written up here: http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/ARM-board-for-Arduino-shields-1618480.html -Tom _______________________________________________ Hardwarehacking mailing list [email protected] http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/hardwarehacking
