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Going FORTH - Some 'Bare-Metal' Bashing

14/03/2013
My posts last year on the old Jupiter Ace computer and the more recent FIGnition kit provoked some interesting reactions to their use of the Forth programming language. Some loved it, others hated it. I dug out a version I wrote many years ago for the 8085 microprocessor and overcome with nostalgia decided to port it to a more modern platform. This post covers the initial stage of this less-than-logical process involving processor selection and first attempts at programming. For that authentic 'vintage' feel note the Toshiba Tecra laptop running the terminal emulator under Windows 3.11.
Use your Cortex in the ARM jungle

15/12/2011
- ARM
- Batteries
- Communication
- Cortex-A
- Cortex-M
- Cortex-R
- Development Kits - Electronics
- DSP
- Enclosures
- FLASH
- Freescale
- Manufacture
- Mbed
- Memory
- Microcontrollers
- Microprocessors
- MIPS
- PIC
- PIC32
- Power
- Reliability Testing
- Research Phase
- Robots
- Test
There was a time when deciding which microprocessor to use for a new project was pretty easy: there weren’t that many to choose from. Who remembers the Intel 8080, Motorola 6800 or the CBM 6502? The
Embedded development with EDP

01/02/2011
The RS Embedded Development Platform offers an alternative path to the engineering prototype stage of a project allowing quick and easy changes of processor at the time of initial design or for upgrad
A Closer Look at Parallella

07/01/2013
As Parallella prototypes start to ship this post takes a look in more detail at what this potentially game changing single board computer provides and a few potential applications.
Make your own walking, talking, living….robot

29/02/2012
- Accelerometers
- ARM
- Beagle
- Coldfire
- Communication
- Cortex-M
- Development Kits - Electronics
- DSP
- dsPIC
- Freescale
- Interconnect
- Manufacture
- Mbed
- Memory
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- PIC32
- Power
- Programming
- Raspberry Pi
- Research Phase
- Robots
- Sensors
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
As I wrote this blog Raspberry Pi exploded on the scene taking everyone by surprise with the sheer volume of people wanting to buy it. Many readers will have to wait a while to get their hands on one so why not use the time to investigate rather more interesting projects than just writing games? How about giving a humanoid walking robot some Artificial Intelligence…
FORTHdsPIC gets its compiler & more ‘Bare-Metal’

03/05/2013
In a previous post I introduced my latest project which started out as an exercise in familiarisation of PIC24/dsPIC assembly language programming but morphed into the development of a FORTH interpreter/compiler. Version 0.1 saw a working interpreter with a limited number of FORTH ‘words’. The compiler and a fairly standard word set are now operational with Version 0.2.
A Playful Internet of Things Futures

09/11/2012
A report from the IoT futures unconference hosted by BBC R&D on 7th November 2012.
The Arduino Effect

09/11/2011
- Arduino
- ARM
- AVR
- Beagle
- Chipkit
- Cortex-A
- Cortex-M
- Development Kits - Electronics
- DSP
- FRAM
- Freescale
- Manufacture
- Mbed
- Microcontrollers
- MSP430
- PIC
- PIC32
- Power
- Programming
- Research Phase
- Robots
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
I’ve noticed an interesting trend recently. Forgive my lack of awareness if this has all been said before, but here it is: microcontroller chip manufacturers are making/supporting some very cheap development kits nowadays.
Old and New at Sci-Fi London 2012

10/05/2012
- Analogue
- Arduino
- ARM
- ARM11
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Display & Lighting
- FLASH
- H8
- Human Machine Interface
- Interconnect
- Manufacture
- Memory
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Programming
- Raspberry Pi
- Research Phase
- Robots
- Sensors
- SERIAL
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
A major highlight of a week of activity at the Sci-Fi London festival was the Horizon Spectrum event at the BFI Southbank celebrating 30 years of the Sinclair Spectrum 'home' computer. I attended the
Microchip Motor Control Starter Kit Review - DM330015

16/01/2012
At ebm-papst are well known as a fan manufacture so I was keen to see the latest development kit from Microchip, the Motor Control Starter kit. So I was interested to see how easy it is to setup and u
Mobile Robots - the (New) Learning Tool

28/11/2010
There seems to a rash of small mobile robots on the market at the moment. There have always been kits from small specialist suppliers, but now the big boys have got involved, It's been recognised for
A Parallella Update

23/04/2013
As the first Parallella beta boards arrive this post takes a look at recent project developments.
NetWorker - an advanced web server with a microcrontroller

13/04/2011
- Analogue
- Capacitors
- Circuit Design
- Communication
- Display & Lighting
- DSP
- dsPIC
- EEPROM
- Ethernet
- FLASH
- Functional Test
- GAL
- Human Machine Interface
- Interconnect
- Manufacture
- Mbed
- Memory
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- PIC24
- PIC32
- Power
- Programming
- Research Phase
- Resistors
- RS232
- RX
- SERIAL
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Solder
- Test
- Trial & Evaluation
An Internet connection would be a valuable addition to many projects, but often designers are put off by the complexities involved. The ‘NetWorker’, which consists of a small printed circuit board
PiGo Sneak Preview

22/03/2013
A first look at the upcoming modular expansion system for Raspberry Pi.
Interview with creator of the Twitter-controlled dog feeder, @FeedToby

12/03/2012
- Arduino
- Buzzers & Sounders
- Circuit Design
- Display & Lighting
- DSP
- Human Machine Interface
- LASER
- LCD
- Manufacture
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Test
Last month Nat Morris built a Twitter-controlled feeder for his dog, Toby. In the first five days of this being online it was being used by a group consisting of friends and family. But after national
Turning an £8 child's toy into a spectrum analyser

13/07/2012
- Batteries
- Display & Lighting
- DSP
- FLASH
- GSM
- Human Machine Interface
- LCD
- Microcontrollers
- MSP430
- PIC
- Power
- Research Phase
- Solder
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
- Wired
- Wireless
This posts looks at how a child's toy can be reprogrammed to provide a simple spectrum analyser that may be useful when working with licence-free wireless technologies.Like so many great open source h
Fun, Forth and FIGnition

23/05/2012
- ARM
- Assembly
- Development Kits - Electronics
- FLASH
- Interconnect
- Memory
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Programming
- Raspberry Pi
- Robots
- RX
- SERIAL
- Solder
- Test
This post is not about Raspberry Pi. Sorry about that; I thought I'd take a break from all that heady stuff about HD graphics and ARM processors to look at a similar sized and priced beginners' computer board, but located towards the Arduino end of the processor power spectrum. It comes as a kit of parts and you have to solder it together yourself.
A Vintage Year

20/12/2012
This year 2012 has seen a massive reduction in the cost of microelectronics development tools and maybe the start of a new industrial revolution. Bit of a shame if it really is the end of the world tomorrow.
HD Audio from ground up (Part 1)

18/05/2011
- Analogue
- ARM
- Capacitors
- Circuit Design
- Communication
- Cortex-M
- DSP
- FLASH
- Functional Test
- Human Machine Interface
- Interconnect
- LCD
- Mbed
- Memory
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Programming
- Research Phase
- Resistors
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
- Trial & Evaluation
There are different ways for a system to interact with the real world. Starting with the use of a simple LED that describes the state of a process and going all the way down to complicated graphic LCD
So when will we get the Star Trek Tricorder then?

19/01/2012
- ARM
- ARM11
- Communication
- Cortex-M
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Enclosures
- Ethernet
- Human Machine Interface
- Interconnect
- Mbed
- PIC
- Power
- Programming
- Raspberry Pi
- Research Phase
- Robots
- Sensors
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Switches
- Test
A competition has been announced with a $10m prize for the first working medical tricorder. If you claim to be an engineer and don't know what I'm talking about, then may I suggest locking yourself in
Progress on the RS robot 1

26/05/2010
- ARM
- DSP
- dsPIC
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Robots
- Sensors
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
RS Robot eats builder at Embedded Live!

24/10/2010
- DSP
- dsPIC
- Mbed
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Robots
- SERIAL
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
FTDI Morph-IC-II FPGA Development Module - Review

09/08/2011
Among the low cost FPGA development tools sits one name that we are all familiar with. FTDI who are well known for their range of interface chips, from USB to just about anything they are true a leade
PCB tool lowers the barrier to innovation

09/02/2011
- Arduino
- Human Machine Interface
- Manufacture
- Microcontrollers
- PCB
- PIC
- Resistors
- Robots
- Test
A movement is gathering steam in electronics engineering. Similar to the opensource soft ware movement that has opened up access to a wide range of IT applications, open-source hardware is helping t
Breaking Down the Barriers

25/11/2010
Taking, adapting and creating new electronics hardware designs just got a whole lot easier. I look at how the free pcb design tool from RS Components, DesignSpark PCB, is helping to lower barriers to
TI LaunchPad

28/10/2010
Welcome to the new blog theme on the TI Launchpad.I just received mine today and am looking forward to getting it fired up. I would like to invite all who get their hands on one of these boards to sha
NEW Microstick II Review - Microchip

05/12/2011
For some time now we have had the Microchip Microstick that I reviewed back in December 2010. Its a great little product and one I have used in anger over and over again when trying out new ideas. The
Connecting the Analogue World to RS EDP - Part 2

03/06/2011
- Analogue
- ARM
- DSP
- Human Machine Interface
- Interconnect
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Test
National Electronics Week 2011

19/04/2011
- ARM
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Display & Lighting
- Human Machine Interface
- Interconnect
- Manufacture
- Mbed
- PIC
- Power
- Robots
- Solder
- Switches
- Test
- WiFi
So last week if you have been following me on Twitter you will have seen I attended the National Electronics Week (aka NEW). So what did I see and who did I meet? Was it worth the 3 hour drive and
mbed NXP LPC11U24 Review

06/02/2012
- Arduino
- ARM
- Cortex-M
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Display & Lighting
- Ethernet
- FLASH
- Mbed
- Memory
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Robots
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
There can’t be many people who don't know about the ARM mbed. This has been right up there with the Arduino as the standard for development boards for some time now. However over the last year we ha
Gas Guzzlers and Green Chips

03/07/2012
- Analogue
- ARM
- Batteries
- Communication
- Cortex-M
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Display & Lighting
- Enclosures
- Mbed
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- RENESAS
- Research Phase
- RL78
- Robots
- Sensors
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
- Wireless
The socially responsible among us wishing to save the planet from a carbon dioxide doom should quickly move on to the next blog post now, as I have a confession to make: I own and occasionally get to
Renesas Electronics participate in WSC 2013

28/10/2012
The next World Solar Challenge car race takes place in October 2013. The race involves purpose-built vehicles being driven from the north to the south coast of Australia powered by energy which must come from the sun or be recovered from the kinetic energy of the vehicle itself. Here is the first post in a series charting the development of one entrant sponsored by Renesas Electronics.
An RTOS for EDP

06/05/2011
- ARM
- Cortex-M
- DSP
- dsPIC
- Human Machine Interface
- Mbed
- PIC
- Research Phase
- Robots
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
Probably going to regret this, but I've embarked on a new project to set up a Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) on the RS Embedded Development Platform (EDP). This is a logical step for me, given my i
The Changing Role of the Development kit

04/05/2012
Roughly ten years ago, the embedded world was a simpler place (or at least it seemed to be), and the development kit off ered an excellent starting point for an embedded design project. Like the prove
Caution, real engineering....

11/06/2010
- ARM
- Circuit Simulation
- Display & Lighting
- DSP
- dsPIC
- Enclosures
- Interconnect
- Mbed
- Microcontrollers
- Oscilloscopes
- PIC
- Programming
- Robots
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
Power over ethernet: simplifying the equation

21/04/2011
- Display & Lighting
- DSP
- Ethernet
- Human Machine Interface
- LCD
- Manufacture
- Mbed
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Powerline
- Switches
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
Power over Ethernet started out as a proprietary technology developed by network equipment vendors such as Cisco, to deliver power to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phones without using separate
RS-EDP Rover using mbed [Conclusion]

26/08/2010
- Accelerometers
- Analogue
- Display & Lighting
- DSP
- Human Machine Interface
- Mbed
- PIC
- Programming
- Robots
- Sensors
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
- Wired
After a hectic last week or two of tuning and calibration, the mbed rover is finally ready. As a test of its odometry, inertial sensors and filter I decided to drive the rover around in a 1 metre squa
Coconut Pi: An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Development Project

30/10/2012
- ARM
- ARM11
- Assembly
- LED
- Mbed
- Mechanical Design
- Programming
- Raspberry Pi
- Robots
- Test
We are a team of Undergraduate Engineers embarking on an exciting journey into the embedded realm of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Development. Follow us on our facebook fanpage at https://www.facebook.com/coconutpi or stay up to date as we post our fortnightly blog updates to Designspark! Our team is also open to suggestions and opinions from the Designspark Engineering community. You can either comment on our blog posts or just scroll through our daily pictures and updates on our facebook page and leave a helpful comment or suggestion for us to consider in our development process!
Arduino or Raspberry Pi?

19/10/2012
A comparison of the respective benefits of the low cost embedded development platforms that may help with making a decision as to which to use when.
Microchip - Microstick 16-bit MCU dsPIC33F, PIC24H Review

13/12/2010
With the likes of the Arduino and the mbed filling the hobbyist workbenches, Education and even into the work place what have Microchip got to offer as a competing product? Well in the summer of this
Leaflabs Maple Dev Kit Review

31/10/2011
Sometimes you can get excited about a Dev Kit before you even switch it on, but can the Leaflabs Maple Board live up to my exportation's or will this just be another STM32 fail? So this last few weeks
Using the eZ430 Chronos with a Raspberry Pi

01/06/2012
- Accelerometers
- Communication
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Microcontrollers
- MSP430
- PIC
- Power
- Pressure Sensors
- Raspberry Pi
- Sensors
- SERIAL
- Test
- Wireless
- x86
The eZ430 Chronos development kit from Texas Instruments represents great value for money and provides a wristwatch with a wireless-enabled microcontroller, accelerometers and temperature...
TI helps launch robotic toys for the holidays. Presenting: "Mechatars"

28/10/2011
These awesome robots contain two TI systems-on-chips (SoCs): the CC2511F32 radio transceiver, 8051 MCU, 32-kilobyte (kB) Flash memory and full-speed USB interface in the body of the toy; and the CC2
HKUST ROV Team shone in Asia Regional IET/MATE Underwater Robot Challenge 2013

26/04/2013
The ROV Team, a sub-team of HKUST Robotics Team, shone in the Asia Regional IET/MATE Underwater Robot Challenge 2013 held on 13-14 April 2013. 9 university and 24 high school teams from 8 countries around Asia competed in two categories, Ranger Class and Explorer Class, respectively. The HKUST ROV Team won the Champion Award in the Explorer Class, and they will represent Hong Kong to join the International MATE ROV Competition 2013 Explorer Class in USA in June 2013.
bladeRF: a low cost wideband SDR transceiver

13/02/2013
With a 300MHz to 3.8GHZ range, 40MHz bandwidth, USB 3.0 interface and priced at only $400, it's hardly surprising bladeRF reached its $100,000 Kickstarter goal in under 8 days.
Looking Forward To The Past - DS turns 2

05/07/2012
If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then
Curiosity’s Brain

16/08/2012
In the early hours (UK time) of Monday August 6th, an astounding feat of engineering came to a heart-stopping climax. After travelling millions of miles through space the Mars Science Laboratory, AKA Curiosity rover entered the Martian atmosphere and began its descent.
Learn electronics with an Arduino and Raspberry Pi on an old Philips TV

22/06/2012
- Arduino
- Circuit Design
- FLASH
- GPS
- LCD
- Microcontrollers
- Programming
- Raspberry Pi
- Research Phase
- Robots
- Solder
- Test
- WiFi
- Wireless
If you are not familiar with Arduino, it is an OpenSource hardware platform for electronics projects, tinkering, robotics, home automation etc etc etc. The blue board above is the heart of it.
Coconut Pi: Individual components Development for an AUV

15/11/2012
- ARM
- AVR
- Microprocessors
- Robots
- Sensors
We are a team of Undergraduate Engineers embarking on an exciting journey into the embedded realm of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Development. Follow us on our facebook fanpage at https://www.facebook.com/coconutpi or stay up to date as we post our fortnightly blog updates to Designspark!
Some thoughts on rescue robot design

26/08/2011
After my last post on the Fukushima power plant and the use of robots to reconnoitre the damaged reactor buildings, I thought about what might make an 'ideal' robot for the task. The second video in t