MAR/APR 2018

A MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INC. PUBLICATION

7 No Reliability
Compromises
13
Finishing
Touch
19 Connecting with
a Simple Tap
 MAR/APR 2018
A MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INC. PUBLICATION

COVER STORY DESIGN CORNER

contents
4 Solving Your Memory Challenges 13 Finishing Touch
How Can You Select the Right Type of Memory and
Vendor for Your Design? 15 One Size Doesn’t Fit All

17 An Ingenious ClickBOT in
NEW PRODUCT Just Minutes
7 No Reliability Compromises 19 Connecting with a Simple Tap
ATmegaS64M1 Microcontroller Decreases Time to Market
and Cost for the NewSpace Market 22 Made to Measure

FEATURED PRODUCT
MAKER SPACE
9 Standing Out in the Crowd
An Operational Amplifier for Single-Supply, Low-Noise, 25 Meet the Makers of 2017
Battery-Powered Applications

NEW TOOL
10 In a Heartbeat
New Medical Reference Design Eases Development of
Portable or Wearable Electrocardiogram Devices

NEW SOFTWARE
12 Serving Up Power Savings
PAC1934 Linux® Driver Provides Support for
Web Servers, Navigation, Networking and
Infotainment Applications

The Microchip name and logo, the Microchip logo, AnyRate, AVR, AVR logo, AVR Freaks, BeaconThings, BitCloud, CryptoMemory, CryptoRF, dsPIC, FlashFlex, flexPWR, Heldo, JukeBlox, KEELOQ, KEELOQ logo, Kleer,
LANCheck, LINK MD, maXStylus, maXTouch, MediaLB, megaAVR, MOST, MOST logo, MPLAB, OptoLyzer, PIC, picoPower, PICSTART, PIC32 logo, Prochip Designer, QTouch, RightTouch, SAM-BA, SpyNIC, SST, SST Logo,
SuperFlash, tinyAVR, UNI/O, and XMEGA are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries. ClockWorks, The Embedded Control Solutions Company, EtherSynch, Hyper
Speed Control, HyperLight Load, IntelliMOS, mTouch, Precision Edge, and Quiet-Wire are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A.
Adjacent Key Suppression, AKS, Analog-for-the-Digital Age, Any Capacitor, AnyIn, AnyOut, BodyCom, chipKIT, chipKIT logo, CodeGuard, CryptoAuthentication, CryptoCompanion, CryptoController, dsPICDEM, dsPICDEM.
net, Dynamic Average Matching, DAM, ECAN, EtherGREEN, In-Circuit Serial Programming, ICSP, Inter-Chip Connectivity, JitterBlocker, KleerNet, KleerNet logo, Mindi, MiWi, motorBench, MPASM, MPF, MPLAB Certified logo,
MPLIB, MPLINK, MultiTRAK, NetDetach, Omniscient Code Generation, PICDEM, PICDEM.net, PICkit, PICtail, PureSilicon, QMatrix, RightTouch logo, REAL ICE, Ripple Blocker, SAM-ICE, Serial Quad I/O, SMART-I.S., SQI,
SuperSwitcher, SuperSwitcher II, Total Endurance, TSHARC, USBCheck, VariSense, ViewSpan, WiperLock, Wireless DNA, and ZENA are trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries.
SQTP is a service mark of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. Silicon Storage Technology is a registered trademark of Microchip Technology Inc. in other countries. GestIC and ULPP are registered trademarks of
Microchip Technology Germany II GmbH & Co. & KG, a subsidiary of Microchip Technology Inc., in other countries. The LoRa name and associated logo are registered trademarks of Semtech Corporation or its subsidiaries.
USB Type-C™ is a trademark of USB Implementers Forum. Arm and Cortex are registered trademarks of Arm Ltd. in the EU and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are property of their respective
companies. © 2018, Microchip Technology Incorporated, All Rights Reserved.

2
 EDITOR’S NOTE

Employees Are Our Greatest

MAR/APR 2018
Strength

E
A MICROCHIP T ECHNOLOGY INC. P UBLICATION

very issue of MicroSolutions gives you a window into the latest products and
technologies at Microchip and, we hope, provides you with some inspiration
and the information you need to develop some amazing applications. But did
you know that, behind the scenes, there is a continually growing and evolving global
team that is committed to supporting thousands of diverse customer applications using
our solutions?

We believe that our customers benefit greatly from Microchip’s unique company
culture, which is defined by our Guiding Values. One of these values is that “Customers
are Our Focus.” Other values emphasize quality, continuous improvement, cycle time

7 13 19
optimization, professional ethics and communication. As a result, employees around No Reliability Finishing Connecting with
Compromises Touch a Simple Tap

the world are focused on serving our customers while working in unison to achieve
the company’s goals of quality, profits and technological advancements. That is why
“Employees Are Our Greatest Strength” is another one of our Guiding Values. Don’t Miss the Next Issue of
MicroSolutions
Microchip’s emphasis on employee development and empowerment, as well as its Published six times a year,
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3
 COVER STORY

SOLVING YOUR
MEMORY CHALLENGES
How Can You Select the Right Type of
Memory and Vendor for Your Design?

Microchip’s Memory Portfolio Offers

Reliable Products, Reliable Support
and a Reliable Supply Throughout Your
Product’s Lifecycle

A
t the heart of many of the electronic
products and systems that we use every
day is some sort of memory product. Virtu-
ally every consumer, communication, computing,
automotive and medical device requires some
type of memory to store software code and para-
metric or other data. Picking the best memory
option for your design can be a mind-boggling and
time-consuming process. And, there are plenty of
manufacturers of memory devices out there vying
for your business by promising you low prices. But
many a design engineer has learned the hard way
that saving a few cents per device isn’t worth the
risk of designing in an unreliable memory device
that may fail sometime during a product’s life-
time. Or, they design in a product only to have it
appear later in an End-of-Life notification from
their vendor.

(continued on page 5)

4
So, how do you get started with solving your memory challenges?
First of all, maybe you need some guidance on selecting the COVER STORY
right type of memory for your design. Here is a quick overview
of the types of memory products that Microchip offers in our
extensive portfolio. You can use the links that are embedded in Serial EERAM
each description to click through to our website, where you will EERAM is a nonvolatile SRAM with a shadow EEPROM
find more details about specific devices and helpful resources backup, all in a single, low-cost, low-power chip. The EERAM
to assist you in zeroing in on a memory device that will best uses a small external capacitor to provide the necessary energy
meet your requirements. to automatically store the contents of the SRAM onto the
EEPROM when system power is lost. Unlike NVSRAM, EERAM
Serial EEPROM does not require an external battery. Combining the reliability of
Serial EEPROMs are low-power, nonvolatile memory devices an EEPROM with the performance of an SRAM, EERAM also
with wide operating ranges, small sizes and byte alterability, offers unlimited read and write cycles to the memory. It is well
making them ideal for data and program storage. There are ver- suited for applications that need to constantly update data and
sions for use with the I2C, UNI/O®, Microwire, SPI and Single-Wire that need to reliably preserve data on power down or during an
buses. The Serial EEPROM family includes some specialty inadvertent loss of power.
products or features: EUI-48™/EUI-64™ MAC address chips,
software write protection, Serial SRAM and Serial NVSRAM
I2C and SPI EEPROMs with If you need an easy and inexpensive way to add more RAM to
options ranging from −55°C your application, then our 8-pin, SPI-compatible Serial SRAM
to 150°C, and EEPROMs and Serial NVSRAM devices are good options. Our Serial
that are pre-programmed SRAM products are standalone volatile memory devices that
with serial numbers and use less power and fewer I/O connections than parallel SRAM.
unique IDs. They allow you to use a smaller microcontroller (MCU) in your
design rather than moving to a larger MCU just to get more
Our serial EEPROMs can be written more than one million on-board RAM. Our serial NVSRAMs have unlimited endurance
times and retain data for over 200 years. They are available and zero nonvolatile write times via an external battery. These
in a wide variety of tiny, innovative packages to help save devices support unlimited instantaneous writes to the memory
board space, minimize size and reduce costs in designs array and are ideal for applications like meters, data loggers,
like sensors, hearing aids, medical disposables and other data recorders and black boxes that need to write very often
space-constrained applications. to memory.

With their innovative low-power designs and our extensive

testing, our serial EEPROMs offer industry-leading endurance
NOR Serial and Parallel Flash
Our SuperFlash® technology is an innovative, highly reliable and
and best-in-class quality. This new video gives you an overview
versatile type of NOR Flash memory. This technology’s split-
of our EEPROM Triple Test, a process we have developed to
gate cell architecture uses a robust thick-oxide process that
ensure that we deliver products with the lowest failure rate in
requires fewer mask steps, resulting in a lower-cost nonvolatile
the market.
memory solution with extremely fast erase time, excellent data
retention and higher reliability. We offer both serial and parallel
Flash memory products. You can choose from our 25 Series of
Serial SPI Flash devices or 26 Series of Serial Quad I/O™ (SQI™)
Flash devices. If you need a parallel Flash device, we offer our
39 Series of Multi-Purpose Flash (MPF) and Multi-Purpose
Flash Plus (MPF+) products and our 38 Series of Advanced
Multi-Purpose Flash Plus (Advanced MPF+) products.

Parallel EEPROM
Parallel EEPROMs enable stored data to be updated
byte-by-byte or by full sector for design flexibility and offer
Watch this video describing Microchip’s Triple Test process.
faster read times than serial interface protocols. Our portfolio

(continued on page 6)

5
of parallel EEPROMs includes a selection of densities (from
64 Kbits to 1 Mbit), operating voltages and package types. Our COVER STORY
Battery-Voltage (2.7V), low-voltage (3V) and 5V devices are used
extensively across a broad spectrum of products, including
telecommunications, avionics and military applications. We also offer some web seminars about memory topics that
you may find educational, or to get high-level, industry-insider
One-Time Programmable EPROMs information on some memory technology topics, you can watch
One-Time Programmable (OTP) EPROMs are widely used for our “What Is…?” series of videos on YouTube.
embedded code storage in applications like cordless phones,
video game players, printers, graphics cards, instrumentation,
automotive, medical devices, telecommunications, networking,
industrial control equipment and hard disk drives. We have one
of the broadest portfolios of parallel OTP EPROMs, with 5V,
3V and Battery-Voltage (2.7V) options, densities ranging from
256 Kbits to 8 Mbits, speeds as fast as 45 ns and a variety of
packages including PDIP and PLCC.

CryptoMemory® ICs
If security is your concern, our CryptoMemory family of ICs
offers cost-efficient, high-security EEPROMs and host-side
security for applications requiring comprehensive data pro-
tection, including mutual authentication between devices and
Partnering with Microchip
host. CryptoMemory ICs include a 64-bit embedded hardware We know that you have many options when it comes to selecting
encryption engine, four sets of non-readable 64-bit authen- a vendor for memory devices. Our goal is to partner with you to
tication keys and four sets of non-readable 64-bit session reduce your design risk, save you money and help you bring
encryption keys. This provides you with a truly secure means of your product quickly and successfully to market. We are here
preventing product counterfeiting and piracy. Devices are avail- to help throughout the lifecycle of your product by offering you
able in a range of memory densities and are easy to implement reliable products, reliable support and a reliable supply. You can
in a variety of applications. leverage our many years of experience and leadership in pro-
viding memory products and our commitment to exceptional
quality to be confident that you will get the right solution for your
Design Resources latest design. And, when other suppliers are issuing End-of-Life
When you visit our Memory Design Center, you will find notices for their memory products, Microchip’s client-driven
comprehensive information about all of our memory products, obsolescence policy ensures that, until you decide you no
including links to specific devices and their datasheets. In many longer need a product, we will continue to supply it.
cases, the application notes and technical briefs that we offer
If you are overwhelmed with all the options for memory solutions,
will point you directly to the part you should use.
contact your local Microchip Sales Office and discuss your
Our MemoryLink Product Selection Tool is an excellent requirements with one of the members of our knowledgeable
discovery tool that provides a comprehensive overview of all sales staff or Field Applications Engineers (FAEs). They will be
of our memory products and supporting development boards. happy to help guide you through the process of selecting a
This interactive PDF can be downloaded and then opened in a product that will turn your toughest memory challenge into a
PDF viewer so that you can use the embedded links to quickly successful design.
navigate to product-specific information.

You can also learn about some helpful development tools, Want More Information?
like our free Total Endurance™ Software Model for use with
Visit the website at:
our serial EEPROMs. As the only tool of its kind, this software
provide a user-friendly interface that enables you to enter your
www.microchip.com/memory
application’s operating conditions into an advanced mathemat-
ical model, which will then predict the endurance and reliability
of your selected serial EEPROM within that environment.

6
No Reliability
New Products

Compromises
ATmegaS64M1 Microcontroller Decreases Time
to Market and Cost for the NewSpace Market

Allows Designers to Begin Application

Development with a Commercial Device Before
Moving to a Radiation-Tolerant Version

T
o survive multi-year missions in a harsh environment, • Fully immune from Single-Event Latchup (SEL) up to
space applications require the highest level of reli- 62 MeV.cm²/mg
ability. Historically, this meant that developers of • No Single-Event Functional Interrupts (SEFI) that secure
radiation-hardened systems faced long lead times and high memory integrity
costs. Today’s NewSpace and other critical aerospace appli- • Accumulated Total Ionizing Dose (TID) between
cations require solutions that enable faster development and 20 to 50 Krad(Si)
reduced costs. To meet these needs, Microchip now offers a • Single Event Upset (SEU) characterization for all
new microcontroller (MCU) that combines specified radia- functional blocks
tion performance with low-cost development associated with
Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) devices. This new device joins the ATmegaS128, a radiation-tolerant
MCU that has already been designed into several critical space
The ATmegaS64M1 is the second 8-bit megaAVR® MCU missions including a Mars exploration plus a megaconstellation
from Microchip that uses a development approach called of several hundred Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.
COTS-to-radiation-tolerant. This approach takes a proven

The COTS-to-radiation-
automotive-qualified device—the ATmega64M1 in this case—
and creates pinout-compatible versions in both high-reliability

tolerant approach results

plastic and space-grade ceramic packages. These devices
are designed to meet radiation tolerances with the following

in a no-compromise,
targeted performances:

space-grade component.
The ATmega64M1 COTS device, along with its full development
toolchain that includes development kits and a code configu-
rator, can be used to begin development of hardware, firmware
and software. When the final system is ready for the prototype
phase or production, the COTS device can be replaced with
a pinout compatible, radiation-tolerant version in a 32-lead
ceramic package (QFP32) with the same functionality as the
The ATmegaS64M1 enables faster development and reduced
costs for the NewSpace market. (continued on page 8)

7
original device. This leads to significant cost savings while also
reducing development time and risk. New Products
This COTS-to-radiation-tolerant approach results in a
no-compromise, space-grade component and not merely The ATmegaS64M1 family of devices is available in four
an up-screened or enhanced device that is targeted to the derivatives:
aerospace industry. The ATmegaS64M1 meets the high oper-
ating temperature range of −55° C to +125° C. It is the first • ATmegaS64M1-KH-E in ceramic prototype QFP32 package
COTS-to-radiation-tolerant MCU to combine a Controller Area • ATmegaS64M1-KH-MQ, ceramic space-grade QFP32
Network (CAN) bus, Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) and package, QMLQ qualified
motor control capabilities. These features make it ideal for a • ATmegaS64M1-KH-SV, ceramic space-grade QFP32
variety of subsystems like remote terminal controllers and data package, QMLV qualified
handling functions for satellites, constellations, launchers or • ATmegaS64M1-MD-HP in plastic QFP32 package, AQEC
critical avionic applications. high-reliability qualified for volume programs

Development Support For additional information, pricing or to purchase products,

contact any Microchip sales representative or authorized
To ease the design process and accelerate time to market, local distributor.
the STK600 Starter Kit (ATSTK600) is a complete develop-
ment board for the ATmegaS64M1. It offers advanced features
Want More Information?
for prototyping and testing new designs and is supported by
Atmel Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Visit the website at:
developing, debugging and software libraries. www.microchip.com/ATmegaS64M1

We’re Committed to
High Reliability and
Long-Term Supply
Microchip Aerospace and Defense

8
Standing Out
FEATURED PRODUCT

in the Crowd
An Operational Amplifier for Single-Supply,
Low-Noise, Battery-Powered Applications

MCP6286 Offers Combination of Features to Meet

Many of Today’s Applications

S
ystem designers have many choices when it comes to These features make the MCP6286 well suited for single-supply,
selecting operational amplifiers (op amps). Manufacturers low-noise, battery-powered applications, such as noise-
offer a huge variety of op amps specializing in high speed, canceling headphones or a microphone pre-amp on portable
low power, high precision, low input leakage, low noise or high devices. In either application, noise is a critical specification. An
output drive, just to name a few possible options. However, easy way to get a lower-noise design is for the amplifier to simply
most applications that are being designed today require some consume more current in the input stage. But wait. Portable
combination of these features, and that’s how the MCP6286 audio devices or noise-canceling headphones are battery
stands out in the crowd. powered, which means that the system designer for these types
of products has a really tight power budget. This makes a
The MCP6286 single op amp offers low noise (5.4 nV/√Hz) and
low-power amplifier a must, which is where the MCP6286 comes
low power (540 µA typical) with a gain bandwidth product of
into play.
3.5 MHz, all in a 5-pin SOT-23 package. Are there lower-noise
amplifiers on the market? Yep. Are there lower-power amplifiers When you select the
on the market? You bet. But for applications that require a low- MCP6286 for your
noise amplifier and need to be power conscious, the MCP6286 design, we offer a blank
offers a best-in-class solution. PCB that makes evaluat-
ing the MCP6286 a snap.
The Voltage Supervisor
SOT23-5/6 Evaluation
Board (VSUPEV2) offers
test point connections
for each pin, along with pads for supporting passive compo-
nents such as power supply filtering, output filtering and bypass
capacitors. This solution will speed up your development time
so that you can get your product to market more quickly.

The MCP6826 can be purchased from microchipDIRECT or

from Microchip’s worldwide distribution network. For more
information on the MCP6286 operational amplifier, visit the
MCP6286 product page.
Figure 1: MCP6286 Input Noise Voltage Density vs. Frequency

9
In a Heartbeat
NEW TOOL

New Medical Customer Engagement Demo

Design Eases Development of Portable or
Wearable Electrocardiogram Devices

Combines Some Powerful Technology for

Designing Remote Patient Monitoring and
Diagnostic Systems

E
lectrocardiography (ECG) provides doctors and other The ECG data is detected and processed by a NeuroSky®
healthcare providers with helpful insight into how well a CardioChip™ ECG Biosensor. The demo measures heart rate
human heart is performing. The ability to measure cardiac and computes heart rate variability, heart age and stress using
health and performance is becoming an essential requirement the ECG data. Patient movement is also tracked via an on-board
for many medical device designs as well as a key feature in a accelerometer. The demo can be used with standard ECG leads
variety of fitness applications. With the rapid expansion of the as well as with the sensor pads that are supplied. The Connect-
Internet of Things (IoT), the medical community is also looking ed Wearable ECG Demo can also be used as a development
for remote patient monitoring solutions, including wearable platform for devices that offer more advanced ECG measure-
ECG devices, to help reduce healthcare delivery costs while ments. NeuroSky can assist with developing advanced
making healthcare more accessible to patients who might not ECG algorithms.
be able to travel to their doctor’s office, a clinic or a hospital.

If you are considering developing a portable or wearable ECG

design that connects to the IoT, our new Connected Wearable
ECG Demo combines some powerful technology to speed
the development of remote patient monitoring and diagnos-
tic systems as well as advanced fitness tracking devices*.
The demo is powered by a high-performance, 32-bit Arm®
Cortex®-M0+ based SAM L22 microcontroller (MCU) with ultra-
low-power technology. To implement a solution for the IoT, an
ATBTLC1000 Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) 4.1 module allows
the demo to wirelessly communicate with devices like tablets,
smartphones or PCs. Since securing patient data and prevent-
ing attacks by hackers is essential, the design also includes
the ATECC508A crypto element that employs ultra-secure
hardware-based key storage and cryptographic countermea-
sures that are more secure than software-based key storage.

Powered by a single AAA battery, this demonstration platform

uses the ECG method of measuring heart rate, which can give
a better picture of overall cardiac health than other methods.

(continued on page 11)

10
Due to its high level of integration, this reference design offers a
low overall BOM cost. To help you get started with your wearable NEW TOOL
ECG design, we offer a user guide, schematics and ‘C’ source
code that can be downloaded for free from the Connected
*Microchip medical reference designs and demos are intended for evaluation
Wearable ECG Demo page on our website. If you would like
and development purposes only. Use of Microchip devices in life support
to see a working demonstration of this reference design or have and/or safety applications is entirely at the buyer’s risk, and the buyer
any questions about it, please contact your local Microchip agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Microchip from any and all
Sales Representative. damages, claims, suits, or expenses resulting from such use.

How Can You

Improve Security in
Your IoT Devices?
Click on the play symbol to listen
to a Google-hosted webinar where
Nicolas Schieli from Microchip and
Antony Passemard from Google
Cloud IoT Core discuss how to
use the ATECC608A to implement
a hardware root of trust to isolate
private keys and protect against side
channel attacks.

Complete Medical Embedded

IoT/Cloud Solutions
Wireless solutions, eXtreme Low Power MCUs,
firmware/software stacks and partnerships
with cloud providers

11
Serving Up
NEW SOFTWARE

Power Savings
PAC1934 Linux® Driver Provides Support for
Web Servers, Navigation, Networking and
Infotainment Applications

Actively Measure Power in Emerging Linux-Based

Designs to Save Overall System Power

W
hen people hear “server,” they tend to think of hardware Many of our data traffic customers are looking for a solution
from companies like HP, Dell and Microsoft, but they to actively measure DC power to reduce power consumption
do not always associate it with the Linux® operating in their systems. Using a PAC1934 to actively measure power
system (OS). But did you know that UNIX® and UNIX-like oper- enables a low power load to be treated differently from a high
ating systems power 67% of all web servers, and at least half of one, resulting in overall power savings in networking traffic.
these devices run on Linux?
But helping to efficiently manage information traffic is not all
Starting as early as 2002, companies started to look to Linux for that the PAC1934 can do. It also has an important role in auto-
system solutions. Some of the appeal was motivated by the motive navigation and infotainment applications. Hidden in
open-source nature of these solutions. These continually most modern car dashboards is a Linux operating system that
emerging server applications are running from multiple voltages consists of an ASIC, SoC or microprocessor-based system.
and need power management. So, what makes our PAC1934 Many of these systems, in fact, already interact with touch-
four-channel DC power/energy monitor IC uniquely suited for screens that use our maXTouch® touchscreen controllers.
these systems? Doing a cursory search, you’ll discover that Since these systems need power measurement, either for USB
there are very few multi-rail monitors for power ICs. The Type-C™ connector charging or for system management, the
PAC1934, with its wide dynamic measurement range, is a PAC1934 and its Linux driver are a perfect fit. This is especially
perfect fit for a multi-voltage rail system. As a result, the true for hybrid and electric vehicles, where power monitoring
PAC1934 Linux driver may be serving up your Internet soon. is essential.

To transition from Internet traffic to data traffic, there are So, whether you are working on a Linux-based server
server applications that support networking and telecommu- application, an automotive navigation or infotainment solution
nication systems. Communications systems developers, like or some other system that needs accurate DC power monitoring,
other embedded designers, desire both check out the PAC1934 and its new Linux driver.
network throughput and deterministic
response to activities. Embedded
Linux provides both these benefits.
Want More Information?
Therefore, whether the goal is Visit the website at:
to manage web traffic or data www.microchip.com/PAC1934
traffic, the PAC1934 power
monitor with a Linux driver
is a natural fit for network-
ing and telecom systems.

12
 DESIGN CORNER

Finishing Touch

Development Tools for Microchip Touch Solutions Ease Design and Speed Your
Time to Market

I
n the “Accelerate Your Touch Design” article that appeared These development kits are available for our families of turnkey
in the January/February 2018 edition of MicroSolutions, touch solutions:
we discussed how Microchip’s code configurators for PIC®,
AVR® and SAM microcontrollers (MCUs) speed up the design of
touch applications. To keep you on the fast track to launching a
successful—and profitable—touch design, Microchip offers an
MTCH10x Evaluation CAP1188 Evaluation
extensive selection of touch development kits, design guides, Board (DM160229) Kit (DM160222)
example projects and more. We are continuously adding new
touch development kits to provide you with easy access to our
latest touch technology.

Turnkey Touch Products CAP1298 Evaluation

Our wide selection of turnkey touch products delivers an Kit (DM160223)
out-of-the-box touch experience without any need for com-
plicated programming. A turnkey touch solution is usually the
fastest way to add touch to your user interface, streamlining MCUs with Touch
and speeding the path to generating revenue with your product. Microchip has the largest portfolio of “MCUs with Touch” in the
Select solutions from these families of products: industry. These are MCUs that feature the following dedicat-
ed Core Independent Peripherals to offload touch functionality
MTCH10x CAP1xx AT42QTxxx from the core:
• 1 to 8 sensing • 3 to 14 sensing • 1 to 64 sensing
channels channels channels • Hardware Capacitive Voltage Divider (HCVD) for PIC MCUs
• Digital output • I2C interface • UART/SPI/I2C • ADC2 with computations and HCVD for PIC MCUs
• Water-tolerant • Water-tolerant interface
• Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC) for AVR/SAM devices
touch touch • EN/IEC 60730
• Simple tuning • LED driver— certification on
These hardware touch peripherals enable us to offer
process high-resolution AT42QT1481 and
industry-leading touch technology in self- and mutual-
• Direct button PWM others
replacement capacitance measurements that can be combined in the same
(continued on page 14)
13
design and can even use the same touch sensor. Because of
their autonomous operation, CIPs minimize the use of CPU DESIGN CORNER
resources and power consumption in your design while also
delivering automatic sensor tuning and calibration, 15V+
conducted noise immunity and high water tolerance even in Tools that will enable you to engage with another dimension—2D
harsh environments. touch surface sensing for touchpads and touchscreens—will
be available in the second quarter of 2018 to help you create
To experience the best in touch, we recommend you use these innovative touch-based applications based on our PIC, AVR
development kits for our “MCUs with Touch”. For designs that and SAM MCUs. Our 2D touch surface library includes support
are based on PIC MCUs, the Curiosity boards provide a cost- for water-tolerant touch tracking and gestures including swipes,
efficient, fully integrated development platform that is designed rotations and the versatile pinch/zoom.
to take full advantage of the MPLAB® X Integrated Development
Environment (IDE). This series of boards also includes an inte- MikroElektronika click boards™
grated programmer/debugger and requires no additional Most of our MCU-based evaluation kits feature a mikroBUS™
hardware to get started with developing your touch design. socket to support a vast number of MikroElektronika click
boards. These small boards are the easiest way to add sensors,
human interface (touch) control, or wireless communications
interfaces to your design. You’ll find a number of click boards
featuring touch capacity on MikroElektronika’s website, but
Curiosity Development
Board (DM164137) here are a couple of examples:

The touch capabilities of AVR and SAM devices with a PTC are
best explored using the Xplained Mini and Xplained Pro series
of evaluation boards. Capacitive touch buttons are incorporat-
ed into the boards, and the extension header of the Xplained
TouchKey 2 click TouchPad click Cap Touch click
Pro boards provides connectivity to a number of dedicated
(MIKROE-2474) (MIKROE-1995) (MIKROE-2888)
Xplained Pro touch extension boards. Here are several exam-
ples, but you will find a complete list in the “Tools” area on the
Design Documentation
1D Touch web page:
To quickly get you up to speed with your touch design, we
provide an extensive selection of documentation, step-by-step
design guides, application notes, reference designs and more.
You’ll find a number of helpful resources on our Developer Help
website and in the Documentation sections that you find in our
ATtiny817 Xplained ATtiny817 Xplained Touch Design Center.
Mini Evaluation Kit Pro Evaluation Kit
(ATTINY817-XMINI) (ATTINY817-XPRO) We hope you enjoy your experience working with our touch
solutions. And, if you run across a design challenge, you can
get assistance from our touch experts via our online Technical
Support platform. We can help you get your innovative touch
interface out of the design phase and into the hands of your
QT7 Xplained Pro Extension
Kit (ATQT7-XPRO) customers quickly.

In addition to the MCU-based kits, we offer dedicated touch

Want More Information?
development kits that focus on key features of our touch
solutions, such as water tolerance or low-power operation. Visit the website at:
www.microchip.com/touch

ATtiny817 Water Low-Cost mTouch®

Tolerance Demo Kit Evaluation Kit (DM160227)
(ATTINY817-QTMOISTD)
14
 DESIGN CORNER

One Size
Doesn’t Fit All

Customize Your Cloud-Connected Embedded Systems with Microchip Solutions and

Expanded Offering from Amazon Web Services

C
loud-connected systems are becoming increasingly For systems requiring data collection and analysis at a local level,
important across a wide range of industries. From agricul- you can use one of our SAMA5D2 series of microprocessors
ture to smart cities and consumer to industrial, real-time (MPUs) with integrated AWS Greengrass software. This solution
accessibility to systems and data is a game-changing element will enable systems to securely run local compute, messaging,
for these industries, accelerating both the pace and efficiency data caching and sync capabilities for connected devices. It
of business. provides improved event response, conserves bandwidth and
enables more cost-effective cloud computing. The SAMA5D2
To enable the creation of smart and connected designs that
devices, also available in System-in-Package (SiP) variants,
require enhanced security, Microchip has expanded its collab-
offer full Amazon Greengrass compatibility in a low-power,
oration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to support cloud-
small-form-factor MPU targeted at industrial and long-life
connected embedded systems from the node to the cloud. With
gateway and concentrator applications. The integrated security
solutions that now are compatible with Amazon FreeRTOS,
features and extended temperature range allow these MPUs to
AWS Greengrass and AWS Internet of Things (IoT), we
be deployed in physically insecure and harsh environments.
provide all the components, tools, software and support you
need to rapidly develop secure cloud-connected systems. Security and ease of use are vital to any cloud-connected
design. Our ATECC608A CryptoAuthentication™ device
Amazon FreeRTOS is an Operating System (OS) that makes
enables enhanced system security as well as easy-to-use reg-
compact, low-powered edge devices easy to program, deploy,
istration. This secure element provides a unique, trusted and
secure and maintain. Our PIC32MZ EF series of microcon-
protected identity to each device that can be securely authenti-
trollers (MCUs) now includes support for Amazon FreeRTOS.
cated to protect a brand’s intellectual property and revenue. In
These high-performance MCUs incorporate industry-leading
addition to enhancing system security, the ATECC608A allows
connectivity options, ample Flash memory, rich peripherals
AWS customers to instantly connect to the cloud through the
and a robust toolchain that empower embedded designers to
device’s Just-in-Time-Registration (JITR) powered by AWS IoT.
rapidly build complex applications. Amazon FreeRTOS includes
software libraries that make it easy to securely deploy over-the- A breakout session held at AWS re:Invent 2017 entitled “IoT
air updates. They also enable you to connect devices locally to Security from Manufacturing to Maintenance” discussed how to
AWS Greengrass or directly to the cloud, providing a variety of mitigate threats and implement end-to-end security right from
data processing location options. the start of a design. A portion of this session discussed the

(continued on page 16)

15
capabilities of the ATECC608A secure element. Click on the
image below to watch the presentation on YouTube. DESIGN CORNER

sockets so you can easily add more functionality to your design,

such as Wi-Fi® connectivity, using the WINC1510-based WiFi 7
click from MikroElektronika.

The SAMA5D2 Xplained Ultra (SAMA5D2C-XULT), a fast

prototyping and evaluation platform for the SAMA5D2 series
of MPUs, can be used with AWS Greengrass designs. The
CryptoAuth Xplained Pro (ATCRYPTOAUTH-XPRO-B) evalu-
ation and development kit is an add-on board for rapid proto-
typing of secure solutions on AWS IoT and is compatible with
any of Microchip’s Xplained or Xplained Pro evaluation boards.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to developing cloud-
As a Microchip Security Design Partner, AWS is also able to
connected systems. Our support for multiple AWS services with
support your development with their tools and technical exper-
a variety of our products gives you the flexibility to choose the
tise to help you create amazing applications. Visit our AWS
parts and platforms that best meet your system needs. You can
Internet of Things design center to find out how you can get
take advantage of our extensive toolchain for rapid and reliable
started developing reliable and secure cloud-connected
development of your connected design.
embedded systems.

Development Tools Want More Information?

Jumpstart your development of Amazon FreeRTOS-based
designs with the Amazon FreeRTOS Curiosity PIC32MZ EF Visit the website at:
Bundle (DM320104-BNDL). This fully integrated 32-bit devel- www.microchip.com/aws-iot
opment platform also includes two mikroBUS™ expansion

16
 DESIGN CORNER

An Ingenious
ClickBOT in
Just Minutes

Custom Remote-Controlled Robot Design Showcases Rapid Development Using

Microchip Code Configurators for PIC® and AVR® Microcontrollers

S
ir Arthur C. Clarke once said, “Any sufficiently advanced number of click boards, so it is easy to add functionality, like
technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Attendees at Bluetooth communications, to a project.
the 2017 India MASTERs that was held in Bangalore in
The control system for the ClickBOT is based on an XMEGA
early December were able to see a demonstration of some
A1U Xplained Pro Evaluation Kit with an ATxmega128A1U
Microchip “magic.” This was in the form of a custom,
MCU. It also incorporates a BLE2 click and a Thumbstick click,
remote-controlled robot, known as ClickBOT. While remote-
featuring our MCP3204 12-bit A/D converter. These two click
control toys have been around for a number of years. ClickBOT
boards are connected to the Xplained Pro board using two
was designed to demonstrate how easy it is to develop a
mikroBUS Xplained Pro extension boards. The web-based
modern application in a matter of just minutes using PIC and
Atmel START is used to configure this system’s driver and mid-
AVR microcontrollers (MCUs), a selection of MikroElektronika
dleware. Just like MCC, Atmel START now offers quick-start
click boards™ and our free code configuration tools.
libraries for click boards to help implement the application layer.
ClickBOT’s design incorporates two different components. The
motion-based portion of the application is implemented using
an MPLAB® Xpress Evaluation Board with a PIC16F18855
MCU onboard. A BLE2 click, featuring our RN4020 Bluetooth®
4.1 module, plugs into the Curiosity board’s mikroBUS™ socket
to act as a receiver. This portion of the ClickBOT’s design is pro-
grammed using MPLAB Code
Configurator (MCC). MCC’s
intuitive graphical user inter-
face makes it easy to generate
application code that is used
to configure the clock, pins,
interrupts and peripherals.
MCC also includes quick-start
software libraries for a growing

(continued on page 18)

17
 As the attendees at
India MASTERs dis- DESIGN CORNER
covered, MCC and
Atmel START make it
easy to get the basic remote-controlled robot or other design. If you are feeling
functions of the inspired to create your own amazing applications using our
ClickBOT—including MCU development boards along with the wide range of
the click boards—up MikroElektronika click boards, our code configurators will help
and running in less bring your ideas to life. In addition to the quick-start libraries,
than five minutes. The ClickBOT can also be easily turned into the user guides include information on the key features of the
a more advanced robot using other click boards to add sensors supported click boards and even include links to make it easy
and other functionality to the basic design. The possibilities are to purchase the boards online. Visit the Click into MCC and
only limited by your imagination. the Click START pages on our website, where you will find the
steps that you need to follow to quickly get started developing
While ClickBOT is not available to purchase, there’s no reason your project.
why you can’t use its basic concepts to develop your own

18
Connecting with a Simple Tap DESIGN CORNER

Flexible and Interactive e-Ink Badges Make Networking at Events Easier

and More Engaging
Contributed by Blendology

T
he human engineering spirit is on a quest to digitize and neck and can be tapped together to connect and exchange
automate as many operations as possible, from convert- delegates’ contact information in split second. It took us five
ing the audio on magnetic tape to high-quality digital years to perfect the patented oneTap technology that delivers
audio capable of being streamed over the Internet, to using instant communications. In 2016, we implemented Phase 2 by
mobile technology and data services to develop creative new creating a paperless oneTap badge based on a 32-bit Arm®
businesses like Uber. We can expect to see even more of this Cortex®-M0+ based SAM D09 microcontroller (MCU) that also
creative drive in years to come as artificial intelligence and features a glass-free e-ink display provided by Plastic Logic and
robotics become mainstream. Everything will need some sort of two 2.4 GHz radio chips. Looking to the future, Phase 3 will
hardware, embedded software, wired/wireless communications, focus on miniaturization and creating a cost-effective wearable
apps and servers. for consumers.

Driven by this same spirit of innovation, Blendology decided to

digitize the humble business card. This was a tall order consid-
ering that these cards have been around since the seventeenth
century, and during the intervening years, nothing really com-
parable has come along to replace the simple exchange and
etiquette of business cards. Our vision is to create a wearable
device that stores a person’s contact details and to enable the
exchange of this information with others by tapping two of these
devices together. While this is an exciting prospect, the tech-
nology required and the cost of producing this type of device
Blendology’s oneTap badges make it easy for people to connect.
are pushing the optimal wearable solution off to sometime in
the future.
Changing the Way People Interact
In 2011, Blendology started out in the events market by providing While to some extent the Blendology oneTap badge is offered
both a badging solution and a business card exchange tool as a technical solution, it primarily is intended to influence
all in one device. Blendology’s badges are worn around the human behavior and provide a convenient means of interaction
(continued on page 20)
19
at events. The badges serve as an excellent ice-breaker, helping
people overcome their natural hesitation to start conversations DESIGN CORNER
by offering a fun and easy way to connect. Requiring just a tap
of badges, they enable more face-to-face networking, in some
cases resulting in a 30% increase in interactions. Delegates can in delegates and to streamline the badge distribution process.
concentrate on making the best use of their time in meeting new A host uses the app to look up a delegate’s name and locate
people and growing their professional or personal networks. that individual’s badge in its numbered tray and slot. The host
These in-person social interactions can result in significantly then shows the delegate how to use the badge and demon-
better first impressions than electronic introductions offer. strates how the lights and haptic feedback confirm that the
badge is connected and working. New badges or changes can
Meanwhile, a special dashboard provides the event organizer be easily be done using the badge, registration wand and app.
with a high-level view on these interactions and the option of The new information is entered in the iPad, and the badge is
including room counting and anonymous footfall analysis to tapped with the registration wand to transfer the delegate’s
help them evaluate attendee behavior once their event is over. information over to the badge and register the badge to the
delegate. Once it is turned on, the badge will work for up to five
days with no additional user setup needed.

Attendee interactions are displayed on special dashboard.

The oneTap badge offers other benefits. It is extremely robust

and features a glass-free e-ink display. In addition to enabling Scrollable agenda and promotions are uploaded to the badges.
very fast and flexible creation of badges, it requires no paper
to create the delegate badges and even event agendas, so it is During the event, the hubs are used to seamlessly upload the
environmentally friendly. The badge can also be reused at other connections made by delegates in real time. When two badges
events and can last a number of years. are tapped together, a tag is wirelessly exchanged between the
badges. An in-range hub connects to the badge, reads the tags
Badge Programming and Operation and sends them to the server to be decoded. This allows dele-
Prior to an event, the attendee list is uploaded to Blendology’s gates to view their new contact information and timeline of
server and accounts are created for each delegate. The oneTap activity almost immediately on Blendology’s online portal,
badges are loaded into numbered slots in trays that hold up to which they can even access after the event is over and they
40 badges. Blendology has created a custom hub that com- have returned their badges. This video provides an overview of
municates with the server via Wi-Fi® and with the badges via the oneTap badges in action:
Bluetooth® LE (BLE). One hub can be used to wirelessly batch
program up to 40 badges at a time, merging the delegate infor-
mation with the template for the badge’s first page. Multiple
hubs can be used to quickly program hundreds of badges.
Other information, like daily agendas and a map of the venue,
can also be uploaded to the badges during this process. Exist-
ing badges can be easily edited and new registrations can be
quickly added on an individual basis onsite at the event.

At the event, the trays are set up and numbered, and hubs are
strategically distributed around the venue. An iPad® running a
Blendology app and a registration wand are used to help check

(continued on page 21)

20
Hardware Configuration
The Blendology badge contains four major subsystems as DESIGN CORNER
shown in Figure 1:
1. Microchip SAM D09: The supervisory system is based on
Blendology selected a SAM D09 MCU for this project because
a low-power ATSAMD09D14 MCU. This system uses the
it was the most compact and cost-effective solution, delivering
Hall effect sensor to turn on and off the badge, manages
the necessary features, as shown in Table 1, in a single package
time, controls and measures the power to other parts of the
that would increase the design’s reliability.
system and provides state memory storage. This extremely
low-power subsystem is always on.
Features Required SAM D09 Features
2. Bluetooth LE: The Bluetooth LE system allows communication
Real-Time Clock/Calendar 32-bit Real-Time Counter (RTC) with
between the badge and the Blendology hub and app. It also (RTCC) clock/calendar function
communicates with the Plastic Logic electronic screen. Other
Timer to drive the bleeper Two 16-bit Timer/Counters (TC)
tasks include controlling the LEDs, motors and bleeper, setting
Low power in sleep Idle and standby sleep modes;
the time and storing state and connections.
SleepWalking peripherals
3. P
 lastic Logic Driver: This circuitry provides the high and
Input and output expansion 12 GPIO pins
precise voltage levels to raise and lower the bubbles of ink in for bleeper and Hall sensor;
the Plastic Logic e-ink display. (The tail of the display, which power controller for other
also has some components, is shown on the left side of parts of the system
Figure 1.) Measuring battery voltage 12-bit, 350 ksps Analog-to-Digital
4. o
 neTap 2.4 GHz Radio: This is the oneTap engine that has Converter (ADC)

Blendology’s patented oneTap implementation. It uses the Critical state memory Flash 8 KB in-system self-programmable
2.4 GHz radio and embedded software protocol to enable Flash; 4 KB SRAM

the oneTap connection. It also controls the LEDs and Communications with rest of Serial Communication Interfaces
system for software upgrade (SERCOM)
signals the activation of motor/haptic feedback.
and messages
Bluetooth® LE
Software flexibility Arm® Cortex®-M0+ based CPU
running at up to 48 MHz
Cost effective 30% of discrete component cost

Table 1: Blendology Design Requirements and SAM D09 MCU

Microchip
SAM D09
Features that Meet These Requirements

Plastic Logic Display We believe we have the most efficient Bluetooth LE master hub.
It also uses a Microchip processor. That may be the subject
of a future article. In the meantime, our goal is to continue to
improve and refine our state-of-the-art event badging system
to encourage more opportunities for professional and personal
networking. Visit www.blendology.com to learn more about
oneTap 2.4 GHz Radio Plastic Logic Driver our services and solutions.

Figure 1: Blendology oneTap Badge Subsystems

21
 DESIGN CORNER
Made to Measure

A Quartz Crystal Microbalance Based on a dsPIC® Digital Signal Controller

Contributed by Elbatech Srl, Fabcrea Srl and the National Research Council, Italy

I
n the world of nanoscience, understanding the processes at a solution. In this case, the coupling of the crystal dynamics
the root of macroscopic effects is the main challenge. Many with the surrounding liquid can cause a measurable shift
advances in this field have been made possible because associated with the physical properties—primarily the vis-
of scientific instrumentation. Devices that are able to provide cosity—of the solution. Because it is capable of measuring
valuable insight into the nanoworld are divided into two primary small changes in mass or viscosity, a QCM is a very useful
classes: high-resolution microscopes to observe molecules and versatile instrument. When used to detect variations in
and their interactions, and sensing devices to quantitatively viscosity, the quartz crystal is included in a flow-through
detect the presence of compounds or reaction products. The measuring chamber.
Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) belongs to the latter group.
It is capable of detecting very small changes in mass occur-
ring on the surface of a quartz crystal during chemical and
biophysical experiments.

An Overview of the Quartz Crystal

Microbalance (QCM)
When a force from an external signal is applied to a simple
harmonic oscillator, like an ideal spring, it tends to oscillate at
its resonance frequency. This depends on the oscillator’s stiff-
ness (the elastic constant of the spring) and its mass. A change
in the oscillator’s mass results in a shift towards lower values Figure 1: Decrease in Oscillation Frequency As Antibodies
of the resonance frequency that can be detected and used to “Capture” Antigens
measure the added mass.
A typical use for a QCM is in the field of protein-protein or
In a QCM, the spring is a quartz crystal oscillating at a natural ligand-receptor interactions. For example, a layer of antibodies
frequency in the MHz range. It can be used to measure tiny can be biochemically fixed onto the crystal surface. When the
mass variations per unit area1. Any mass adhering to the corresponding antigen flows onto the sensor, bindings occur
QCM’s surface will modify the resonance frequency. A similar between these molecules and the antigens get “captured” by
effect is also experienced when the crystal is vibrated inside the antibodies, thus forming a heavier layer and yielding to
(continued on page 23)
22
a corresponding oscillation frequency decrease as shown in
Figure 1. The final reading is then directly and quantitatively DESIGN CORNER
correlated to the amount of antigens present in the “unknown”
solution under test.
high—for example, when using highly viscous solutions or when
A QCM Implementation Based on very heavy masses are deposited onto the sensing surface—
EpsilonPi Technology and where closed-loop, finely controlled circuitry is needed to
QCMagic is a QCM based on ElbaTech’s EpsilonPi, which sustain the oscillation.
combines the popular Raspberry Pi® platform and a board
Featuring the built-in dsPIC DSC-based Analog-to-Digital
based on a dsPIC Digital Signal Controller (DSC) to provide
Converter (ADC) module, the QCMagic HAT also includes a
real-time response capability. A dsPIC33EP512MC806 was
generic voltage input connector that is internally preamplified
selected because of its powerful and rich set of features,
and conditioned and intended for use with external oscillators
speed and number of built-in hardware modules. Comply-
with Quality factor (Q factor) outputs. These show a voltage
ing with the RaspberryPi.org Foundation’s mechanical and
output proportional to the Q factor of the crystal, or to its inverse,
electrical standards to qualify as an official “HAT,” the dsPIC
the dissipation factor. This information is sometimes useful, in
DSC-based board can be directly plugged on top of the
addition to the frequency data, to more accurately describe the
Raspberry Pi.
running experiment.
The EpsilonPi can also be equipped with task-specific
companion cards (e.g. fast and high-resolution Analog-to-Digital
and Digital-to-Analog Converters) for signal acquisition and
processing. The EpsilonPi is organized as a “Logical State
Machine” with an open command-based interface. Therefore,
it is possible to program any desired sequence of actions and
to implement virtually any device functionality. Ethernet con-
nectivity can also be enabled using ZeroMQ (ZMQ), a very
efficient, versatile and easy-to-deploy communication layer.
The dsPIC DSC’s large on-chip memory allows a sufficiently
long circular buffer to be programmed to hold data samples Figure 2: Simple Block Diagram of QCMagic HAT
during temporary off periods on the Ethernet side. The dsPIC
DSC communicates with the Raspberry Pi through UART for As shown in Figure 2, the QCMagic HAT combines two dsPIC
commands and through SPI2 for high-throughput data trans- DSC-powered modules to form a precision frequency meter.
fer. Data is processed by the Raspberry Pi and published over The signal under measurement is output by a mixer, an elec-
Ethernet, exploiting a PUB-SUB software architecture inherited tronic circuit that multiplies the input with a known- and
from Internet of Things (IoT) frameworks. fixed-frequency local time base, lowering the carrier frequency
information to smaller values.
The implementation firmware for the EpsilonPi is written in
C using MPLAB® X Integrated Development Environment
and MPLAB XC16 Compiler. The client software is written in
Python 3 and runs on a target computer.

Introducing the QCMagic HAT

The QCMagic HAT includes a built-in oscillator circuit that
drives the sensing quartz crystal, typically in the 1–10 MHz
range. This circuit can sustain oscillations even in moderate-
ly damped situations, where the load at the quartz surface is
considerably high, as is the case with liquid environments that
are frequently encountered in the fields of biophysics and bio-
chemistry. The HAT also has a general-purpose input buffer
to allow the connection of an external quartz oscillator circuit.
Figure 3: QCMagic HAT
This can be useful in situations where the damping is extremely

(continued on page 24)

23
The dsPIC DSC—labeled “U1” in the photo of the QCMagic
HAT (Figure 3)—counts a fixed number of the input signal’s DESIGN CORNER
pulses via the output compare module. This module outputs
a square wave with a varying period if the input frequency also
varies. This square wave is fed into an input capture module This precision measurement solution is the latest offering from
with the system clock used as a time base (60 or 70 MHz for ElbaTech, a private company that designs and develops solu-
the dsPIC33EP512MC806). The input capture module counts tions for environmental monitoring. Visit www.elbatech.it to
the number of system clock periods present inside a period of learn more about their products and services.
the input square wave to obtain a value directly related to the
frequency of the incoming signal. The dsPIC DSC’s firmware References:
1. Sauerbrey, Günter (April 1959), “Verwendung von Schwingquarzen
then performs all the backwards calculations to recover that
zur Wägung dünner Schichten und zur Mikrowägung”, Zeitschrift für
quantity, which is then transferred to the Raspberry Pi via SPI2, Physik, 155 (2): 206–222
and from there over Ethernet via the ZMQ protocol to a host
computer that is running a data acquisition program.

24
 MAKER SPACE

Meet the Makers

of 2017

A New Wave of Brilliant, Successfully Crowdfunded Designs that Incorporate

Microchip’s Products

L
ast year, crowdfunding sites were once again great places and more. It’s even possible to attach sensors to the AlgoBot
to find the next wave of innovative, entrepreneurial and Brain and have the robot respond with different code when
aspirational inventors as they shared their ideas with the certain sensors are triggered. This makes the programming
world and watched support flow in from eager backers and challenge slightly more complex and the learning experience
like-minded Makers. The projects that we came across during more interactive.
2017 ranged from ideas that pushed existing designs to the
The pledge kits included at least one Algobot robot kit, so
limits, to those that offered new and creative learning tools,
backers can build a variety of cute little inventions displayed on
while some projects were made for pure, simple enjoyment.
the Algobrix website. Since the Algobrix building blocks are also
Due to the popularity of the open-source Arduino® platform
compatible with LEGO® bricks, children can build their own
among the Maker and inventor communities, many of these
designs and robots and program them with the same intuitive
designs featured microcontrollers (MCUs) from our ATmega
blocks. Parents don’t even need to know how to code to help
product line, although we also saw projects using some of our
their kids use Algobrix. The kits come with activity cards and
PIC® MCUs and other products. Since several of these cam-
boards to guide parents and children through the process, and
paigns exceeded their funding goals in such a spectacular way,
online tutorials are also available to make it easy to start building
we thought you would enjoy hearing about them.
and coding projects.
Algobrix – Helping Kids to Learn to Code
with Building Blocks
Getting children involved with programming or robotics can be
a difficult endeavor. They often see it as boring or confining,
as Algobrix CEO, Danny Eizicovits, points out. But Algobrix
takes conventional building bricks and turns them into pro-
grammable robots called Algobots, all while teaching children
the basics of coding and robotics. They do this through the use
of an Arduino-compatible Algobot Brain that helps control the
Algobot. Children can also use function and parameter blocks
to physically build their code and program the robot. The func-
tions range from sound, to controlling LEDs, to movement
(continued on page 26)

25
This project incorporates multiple Microchip products—chosen as
the best alternative by the Algobrix engineering team (Ofer Zvik, MAKER SPACE
Ido Volansky and Tal Ofer)—including an 8-bit PIC16 MCU in each
of the function blocks. A PIC32 MCU was specifically chosen for
the play function block to start the code and communicate with STEAM coordinators located in Los Angeles and San Francisco,
the robot. The robot uses an 8-bit ATmega328PB MCU. Designed as well as in Sydney, Australia.
by education technology entrepreneur Amir Asor, and Danny
GameShell’s Kickstarter campaign was fully funded in just
Eizicovits, who has a Ph.D. in robotics, the project gained a lot of
13 hours, reaching over 2,600 people worldwide and ultimately
positive attention during its campaign. Reaching its funding goal
raising $290,000. Clockwork also created a GameShell cam-
in under 24 hours and raising a final total of $1.15 million, this
paign on Indiegogo where it additionally raised almost $311,000.
project has attracted nearly 3,700 backers who are now eager to
Their ultimate goal is to sell the GameShell in the retail market
get their Algobrix in the mail and start programming robots with
and create STEAM products that are not only appealing to
their kids in a whole new way.
younger users, but also to moms and dads.

GameShell by Clockwork Tech, Inc. – The Nova by Creoqode –

Retro Gaming and STEAM Portable Console DIY Artificial Intelligence Robot
The GameShell is an open-source retro gaming console that
As one of many robotic, artificial intelligence (AI) campaigns that
can be used for STEAM applications as well as Maker projects.
emerged in the last year, Creoqode’s Nova features a sophisti-
Utilizing a GNU/Linux® operating system, the GameShell allows
cated and aesthetically striking design to deliver a DIY hardware
users to play games on a module-based handheld console. It
and software platform that helps teach robotics and program-
also supports programming in C, Python, Lua, LISP and more to
mable AI. Nova can recognize and track faces, identify colors,
allow users to modify, write or design their own games. Even
measure distances and move in five different axes, or it can
more exciting, this project is both open source and serves as an
simply be controlled with the joysticks that come in the kit. A
all-in-one development kit that includes five different modules
variety of sensors and other devices can be connected to cus-
to inspire creativity in the Maker community.
tomize Nova and to add new functionalities, such as voice rec-
ognition, target shooting or even mobility. This all-inclusive kit
provides an introduction to coding and electronics as well as
more complicated concepts like computer vision, image
processing, kinematics and control theory.

The design combines a clockwork PI development board

with an Arduino-compatible, programmable keypad module
that uses an ATmega168P. The other three modules include a
screen, a battery and a speaker. These modules can be used
for developing a variety of design applications. This adaptability
makes the potential of creating projects based on GameShell
seemingly endless. And, in case you are wondering just how
Creoqode’s goal was to bridge the gap between hardware and
people are creatively using this handy console, Clockwork has
software education. They believe this starts with understanding
created a forum where users can share their ideas and build
the hardware fundamentals of each device, which can be best
the community.
learned by actually building a project. Because of this, Nova can
A startup company comprised of passionate and experienced be built right out of the box without the need for any additional
engineers and designers that are geeks and gamers at heart, tools. It can then be further adapted or customized as the user
Clockwork’s R&D center is based in Hangzhou, China, with pro- wishes. It was designed to be an easy way for beginners to learn
duction taking place in Shenzhen. They also have sales, PR and
(continued on page 27)

26
basic hardware and software skills, while still providing pros with
advanced and creative options to exercise their knowledge. MAKER SPACE
At the heart of Nova’s hardware design is the Creoqode Mini
Mega Development Board, which is powered by an ATmega2650 Exen Mini runs at 48 MHz and offers 256 KB ROM and 32 KB
MCU. Because Nova is Arduino-compatible, both new learners RAM to manage a wide range of applications. It also includes a
and experienced programmers can develop code to start con- regulated 3.3V output pin, two power input pins and a 5V input
trolling Nova in just a couple of hours. To further enhance the option via an on-board microUSB connector. The Exen Mini
programming experience, Creoqode offers tutorials and other comes preloaded with the Arduino Zero bootloader, so users
materials through their Qode Share online community. can get started with their programming right away.

After their Kickstarter campaign ended in November of 2017,

Creoqode had successfully doubled their goal and raised
almost $60,000 from 273 backers to bring Nova to life. Creo-
qode will be taking Nova to several different shows early this
year and, although the campaign has ended, Nova can still be
purchased from the Creqode website for delivery in May 2018.

Exen Mini by Nerdonic – A Small but Powerful

32-bit Development Board
Elegant, fast and powerful, the Exen Mini is one of the smallest
Arduino- and breadboard-compatible development boards fea-
turing a 32-bit MCU. This board by Nerdonic weighs less than a
gram and measures just under 15 × 15 mm. That’s about a third Nerdonic’s goal is to produce and deliver quality products to
of the size of the comparable Arduino Nano and under half the the world while pushing the boundaries. This tiny microcontrol-
size of the Arduino Pro Mini. ler board has made such a big impact that people took notice.
The campaign on Indiegogo was successfully funded at almost
Although small, the Exen Mini still manages to provide many
1375% of the original goal in under 22 hours, ultimately raising
different design options. It features a programmable LED and
just over $20,000. The orders are already starting to ship, and
eight multifunction I/O pins that offer serial and I2C options,
Nerdonic is looking forward to seeing the amazing projects that
along with PWM, digital, analog and other capabilities. Powered
backers will create with the Exen Mini.
by a tiny Arm® Cortex®-M0+ based 32-bit SAM D21 MCU, the

27
Coloring Page
 Zero-to-GUI in
Mere Minutes
Industry’s First MCU With Integrated
2D GPU and DDR2 Memory

The PIC32MZ DA family of graphic MCUs brings MPU-like graphics quality

into the familiar MCU realm. The MPLAB® Harmony Graphics Composer Suite
provides an easy-to-use Graphical User Interface (GUI) and programming tools
set for Microchip’s PIC32 DA family and MPLAB Harmony software. These tools
provide a visual graphics design environment, custom display driver creation,
graphics libraries and an asset converter that can optimize your custom graphics
for format, size and content. You can go from zero-to-GUI in minutes!

Key Features
• Three-layer graphics controller • Free advanced GUI creation tools Promo code for:
DM320005-5, AC320005-4,
• High-performance 2D Graphics including the MPLAB Harmony
AC320005, DM320010,
Processing Unit (GPU) Graphics Composer, Display DM320010-C, DM320008,
• 32 MB integrated SDRAM or 128 MB Manager and Asset Manager DM320008-C
externally addressable SDRAM • Greater HMI capability with audio
and touch features
Learn how to save money while upgrading your graphics:
www.microchip.com/ZerotoGUI
The Microchip name and logo and MPLAB are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their registered owners. © 2018
Microchip Technology Inc. All rights reserved. 1/18
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