Actions
Forum Thread Details
  • Replies 3 replies
  • Subscribers 391 subscribers
  • Views 205 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Related

Project: breadboard w/o wires

ysteiner@utas.edu.au

Hello, I am new to Element14.

 

My team is building a platform for the breadboard for software developers. It allows you to configure prototypes without wires or other components.

How?

  1. Connect the controller board to your breadboard and PC.
  2. Connect channels to IO pins in the user interface.

The user interface will interact with the hardware and implement your configuration on a breadboard via a programmable switch matrix, thereby replacing wires.Then, if you want the user interface to interact with the ADC onboard the controller board:

  1. Connect the GPIO channel to the ADC channel on the same IO pin.
  2. Set the ADC channel on.

Then you can analyse the signal, as shown here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtL6YwalWnk

There is also an interface on the controller board for custom shields, which can replace other components, such as higher precision ADC, a DAC, a MIDI controller, an SoC, wifi adapter or an FPGA. This feature is still in development.

Tell what you think about this tool kit.

You can follow this project at https://hackaday.io/project/18755-the-metaboard to get updated as we prepare for a crowdfunded manufacturing run.

  • Hi Yasmine,

     

    I find hackaday.io impossible to follow. Is there a circuit diagram, or is this a commercial venture with closed hardware?

  • I actually like the idea. Not that long ago, I was preparing a lesson on a train, and when I got to the station, I had to put everything back in my laptop bag, go to the school, and then suffer the giggles from students as I got everything out of the bag, and figure out where the wire that fell out was supposed to go.

     

    Secondly, this could be very interesting when trying out several setups. Should I use the first I2C port, or maybe the second? Should I use active-high or active-low outputs for the LEDs? If the configuration is put on a computer, and then 'flashed', it could have some interesting use cases. However, apart from some automated tests, I don't see my students paying anything more than a 5€ breadboard, even if that means messy wires.

  • Hi ,

     

    Looks interesting, but I agree with -  the links tell me very little.

     

    Is there any more information available?