…focused on developing environmental sensing projects and research. From soldering stations to 3D printers to laser cutters, our lab provides the tools necessary for students, professors, and researchers alike to develop tools used locally and worldwide by the ecological science and engineering community.
Need help designing, soldering, or printing? Ask us for help! Aside from managing the machines, our employees are also here to help design and create projects that are beyond the scope of the developer.
As our projects continue to evolve alongside with the advances of technology it is important to keep the OPEnS lab up to date with the latest and greatest prototyping technologies at our disposal. There is no example greater than that of the microprocessor. This post will explore two of the most advanced, widely available microprocessors on the market today.
Background and Objective
Since 2010 the Arduino Uno has been the standard in prototyping electronics due to its wide variety of functions, ease of programming, and cost. However, much like any other piece of technology it is becoming outdated by faster, smaller and cheaper microprocessors such as the pro-trinket model released in 2014. (A previous article I wrote linked here highlights the key advantages of the Trinket over the Uno.) Fast forward to early 2016 to the release of adafruits most current line of development microcontrollers, called “Feathers” with a host of companion shields referred to as “Featherwings“, where these processor boards now come integrated with certain features such as WiFi connectivity, Bluetooth, LoRa radio and Shields that allow for RTC data logging, Ethernet connectivity and various display interfaces. The Objective of this article is to discuss the two major types of processors used within the Feather line of microprocessors.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
