Hardware Projects

Flashing Arduino's Bootloader without ISP header using Pogo Pins

Hi everyone, I started another hardware where I’m using a BLE112 module, but this time an Arduino core as well. So why should I solder the ISP for flashing the bootloader to the ATmega328 once? I added an FTDI header to the development board as well, so I will be able to program my Arduino clone board using USB. So I came up with the idea to build something using the Pogo-Pins provided by Adafruit (http://www.

BLEbee github repository is now available

Hello everyone, I created a repository at: https://github.com/michaelkroll/BLEbee where I already added WIP version of the BLEbee firmware and eagle designed files to. The firmware was developed using Bluegiga’s Bluetooth Smart SDK v1.0.3 and the eagle design files are created using Eagle 5.11.0. Please let me know any feature requests or general questions concerning the BLEbee in it’s dedicated forum at: http://forum.mkroll.mobi/viewforum.php?f=11 Thanks, Michael.

BLE-Shield github repository is now available

The BLE-Shield files are now available at github.com. I created a repository at: https://github.com/michaelkroll/BLE-Shield where I already added the latest BLE-Shield v1.0.0 firmware and eagle designed files to. The firmware was developed using Bluegiga’s Bluetooth Smart SDK v1.0.3 and the eagle design files are created using Eagle 5.11.0. All further updates to the BLE-Shield firmware and design files will be available through this repository. The iOS application which is part of the BLE-Shield Kickstarter Project reward will be available in this repository as well.

BLE Shield v1.0.0 PCB design finished

Hi, since I started the Kickstarter project, is now already funded and there are still 13 days to go, I started to work on the final PCB design and the final firmware as well. The v1.0.0 is already available in a Kickstarter Project update, but not yet on my blog. So I will change this now and add this to the blog as well. I’ll post the schematic and the updated boardfiles as soon as I soldered an additional engineering sample of this board to prove that there are now last minute bugs added while changing the board slightly.

BLE112-A Breakout Board v0.5.0

Hello BLE112 hardware developers, to make hardware development a little easier, I simply created a BLE112-A Breakout board for you that can be used on a breadboard. I added three 100nF block capacitors and the programming header for the CC-Debugger to the breakout board. I’m open for suggestions, since the board is in version 0.5.0. The eagle design files and the PDFs of the schematic and board files can be found in the “BLE Other Files” box on the blog’s main page.

The BLE-Shield is finally on Kickstarter !

Hello guys, finally I managed to get the BLE-Shield, teamed up with Jonathan Prevo and Don Mallicot again. See the following link to get to the Kickstarter Project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rowdyrobot/arduino-ble-shield-connecting-the-ios-and-the-ardu I decided to startover on Kickstarter, since the initial poll I made to get an estimate how many people are interested in a shield, showed me that I could never afford it to pay for this amount upfront. The final design of the Shield v1.

BLE Shield Beta Test in Zurich (All Shields out!)

Update 2012-07-16: There are no more shields available! Hello Arduino users in Zurich, as I already mentioned during my IoT Talk las week, I want to start a BLE Shield Beta Test in Zurich. Why only Zurich? Well the Beta test will focus in hard- and firmware tests. If the firmware needs to be adjusted I can do this and reflash the Shields of the testers while meeting them for a beer somewhere in town.

BLE Shield for Arduino Presentation

The BLE Shield for Arduino presentation slides of the yesterdays speech I held at the IoT/ZH Meetup are online now. You can download the slides as single PDF file using this link: http://www.mkroll.mobi/BLE-Shield-4-Arduino-Presentation/BLE-Shield-4-Arduino.pdf As I mentioned during the talk, I’m looking for beta testers in Zurich which will be given a BLE Shield just for the cost of the parts in order to create a solid firmware. Why only Zurich? Well since it is easier to reflash the shield with a new firmware if we encounter issues during the beta test phase.

Kickstarter Project: tōd - Connect Real World Actions to Mobile Devices and the Web

The Kickstarter project “tōd:Connect Real World Actions to Mobile Devices and the Web” is now online, and I recommend all readers of my blog to visit the Kickstarter.com pages since I’m involved in this project as well. For people who were interested in the location micro cells I created as my first BLE hardware can get some tōd’s since they can offer similar functionality without need to change the firmware. The location microcells were just a feasibility study on how to create a small hardware to communicate with an iPhone4S and are now discontinued after tōd has been announced.