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Brazilian Devs Launch Tiny $1 STEM-Oriented Microcontroller Board On Indiegogo (hackerboards.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the pocket-change dept.

DeviceGuru writes: A team of Brazilian developers has just launched an open-source microcontroller board called the "One Dollar Board," that's so simple and inexpensive that it can be distributed as standard teaching materials to kids in schools all over the world. The tiny board appears to contain a single 8-pin microcontroller chip, along with a handful of passive components, making it considerably more simple and affordable than the similar STEM-oriented and open-sourced BBC Micro:bit board. More details about the One Dollar Board are on its Indiegogo campaign page, where you can get one for a contribution of $1 (duh!), plus unspecified shipping and import duties.

83 comments

  1. "STEM-oriented" hardware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Well, is there any (computer) hardware which is *not* "STEM-oriented". WTF is that even supposed to mean? Is that a passive aggressive euphemism of "it's for nerds, duh"?

    1. Re:"STEM-oriented" hardware by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      My guess is that the idea is "making kids interested in STEM fields".

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:"STEM-oriented" hardware by iTrawl · · Score: 1

      As opposed to "word processing, and spreadsheet"-oriented I suppose.

      --
      "Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
    3. Re: "STEM-oriented" hardware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      You are really turning me on. Can we have buttsex, like, now?

    4. Re:"STEM-oriented" hardware by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      STEM = Sales Terminology for Electronics Marketers.

    5. Re: "STEM-oriented" hardware by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

      (insert Butters' "What, What - In the Butt" song here)

    6. Re:"STEM-oriented" hardware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      STEM is a term used by democrats to make engineering sound more gay. They want everyone to be gay, it will make you less resistant to being rounded up by Hillary's gestapo and vigorously probed until you become obedient.

    7. Re: "STEM-oriented" hardware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      I want to stick my pee pee in your poo poo hole!

    8. Re: "STEM-oriented" hardware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why was this downvoted? Slashdot is about putting your slash into another mans dot.

    9. Re:"STEM-oriented" hardware by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      " WTF is that even supposed to mean?"

      Obviously, a generally applicable single-board computer that is cheap enough to be used as a teaching aid for science-tech elementary students. Not for people like you.

    10. Re:"STEM-oriented" hardware by vel-ex-tech · · Score: 0

      Do you think about penises often? Do you find yourself constantly needing to resist an urge to be with another man? Do you desire to be obedient to a strong, dominating man? Have you perhaps externalized this inner conflict on to a political space?

      It's ok. I was raised as a boy, and I remember how conflicted I used to be before I realized I wanted to be with a man. There are plenty of us libertarians out there who are perfectly fine with whatever you want to do in your bedroom with another man. We even think you have the right to get gay married if you so desire; we merely think it's not the government's place to define marriage. Being gay doesn't make you less of a man. I think that men who are honest about being gay are very brave people.

      Homophobia is a Jewish invention that's designed to cause this unnecessary conflict within yourself. Being gay is perfectly natural, yet the Jews have twisted it as yet another thing we should allow to divide us. The warlike Jews want to frame it as some kind of evidence of a foreign invasion. Nothing could be further from the truth.

      Let yourself be open to your natural feelings and seek to live in harmony with them. Nobody can make you straight any more than anybody is responsible for your homosexual feelings. 90% of people are straight because they are, and you will not put them at risk in any way by embracing your nature. You feel an eternal conflict within yourself, trying to forge your will into an unstoppable force against the immovable object of how Mother Nature made you. Let go.

      You'll find there are many reasons we shouldn't elect Clinton. I'm just concerned about you. I really think that once you embrace this part of yourself you've been fighting for so long, you'll be free to see things more clearly. You'll see that Clinton is even more frightening than you had imagined, and you'll find many reasons to convince others against voting for her. Let me know if I can help in some way!

    11. Re: "STEM-oriented" hardware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You had me till you blamed homophobia on the jews.

    12. Re:"STEM-oriented" hardware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://hackerboards.com/tiny-1-dollar-stem-oriented-hacker-board-hits-indiegogo/

      On this page it shows six guys that are somehow involved with this project.
      One looks like an instructor (third from right) the rest look like students.
      Why does it take five engineering students to design an 8-pin 8-bit PCB ?
      The specs show: Memory — RAM unspecified; 8KB flash, expandable to 256KB
      But the part number shown is: 24C256 RAM
      The 24C256 is an EEPROM and its only 32K bytes ( 256Kbits)
      Strange, Very Strange

    13. Re: "STEM-oriented" hardware by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Sorry, I don't fuck at the first date. At least you should invite me to dinner first.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    14. Re: "STEM-oriented" hardware by vel-ex-tech · · Score: 1

      I was completely serious. Consider that the Christian religion and the Muslim religion are forks of Judaism. What have they given us?

      - Ritual infant male genital mutilation
      - Hatred of homosexuals, especially two-spirited assigned males
      - Conflict between two "separate" faiths (christian vs. muslim both rooted in judaism)

      This is unlike any other tradition on the face of the earth. Generally, humans tend to be accepting of two-spirited individuals.

      I'm not advocating the murder of innocent individuals who practice the Jewish faith. I would be appalled at such a notion. I only want awareness. Once the threat is known, it can easily be contained, no gas chambers needed. In fact, I enjoy the practical humor that the Jews are known for.

    15. Re: "STEM-oriented" hardware by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Well, technically, homophobia is one of the inventions of the Abrahamic superstition...pardon, I mean "religion". ;-p

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  2. WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Hardware doesn't have source code. It can have specifications, which may be open. But there's no such thing as open source hardware.

    1. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      So call it open spec hardware. Can we get back on topic now?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re: WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      It is on-topic, you shitbag. Go eat a dick.

    3. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not until they write an open apology and beg for my forgiveness.

    4. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Open source hardware means you get the actual implementation, not just the specs: machine readable design files, which you can feed into your production lines.

    5. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      No it doesn't. It means that between the engineer and customer, marketing got involved.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    6. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only your open forgiveness is good enough.

    7. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    8. Re: WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here is your answer: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_hardware

    9. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by gnupun · · Score: 2

      Hardware doesn't have source code.

      Wrong, analog hardware may not have source code, but digital hardware like microcontrollers and CPUs are written in hardware programming languages like Verilog (syntax similar to C) and VHDL (syntax similar to Ada).

    10. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      If it's written in a programming language it's not HARDware, you fudgepacking snotgobbler.

    11. Re: WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You clearly have no idea how digital logic circuitry is made. Yes, a compiler takes your description of the logic in source code and programs the programmable digital logic. Or in the case of something like a CPU, it will actually create the layout of the gates to be lithographed.

      I don't think anyone has implemented it any other way since the 1980s at the latest.

    12. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      Well, this particular hardware doesn't come with source code.

    13. Re: WTF is open source hardware? by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      Yes, a synthesiser takes your description of the logic in source code and synthesises the digital logic. FTFY.

    14. Re: WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't know what you're talking about, that's OK though... you're a digital guy and can only count to one.

    15. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Source" is not an exclusive word for source code.

    16. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oops, clicked wrong reply. The reply was supposed to be a reply to the original message.

    17. Re: WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Digital isn't logical.
      The future is analog!

    18. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by gnupun · · Score: 1

      Technically, these languages are called hardware description languages (HDLs), mister turd brain. But they have a similar model to compiled software programming languages where you write the source code and feed it to a compiler which then figures out what digital logic elements are needed and how to connect them. So, very similar to compiling your C program (verilog code) into machine code *.exe (net list: consisting of primitive digital logic like AND, OR, XOR gates and flip-flops and how they're connected).

    19. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's how I build my power supplies, with flip flops and logic gates!

    20. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by alvieboy · · Score: 1

      Although you have a point on RTL, much more is needed to deliver a RTL design to chip level. And most of those designs are also fab-dependant - a 24nm bulk to be manufactured at let's say TSMC is different from a 24nm bulk at Samsung.

      There is not much difference between analog and digital here. Unless your plan is to use an FPGA for the digital part - but even there, your luck may vary depending on the FPGA manufacturer and tools.

      Alvie

    21. Re:WTF is open source hardware? by lhowaf · · Score: 1

      I guess the answer is "no."

  3. STEM oriented by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How is it STEM oriented? I mean, I get the T for tech, but that applies equally to any computer. What about this is in any way specialized toward Science, Engineering, and Math?

  4. Sub-Dollar Boards Already Available by lobiusmoop · · Score: 3, Informative

    Read about this on CNX. A commenter pointed out that there are already lots of Arduino compatible boards available on Ebay.

    --
    "I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
    1. Re:Sub-Dollar Boards Already Available by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Very nice, but I didn't see any that fit into the USB port nicely without the extra cable needed.

      See Digispark (also on eBay through various Chinese vendors), it's also an ATtiny85 and is selling for around $1.41 shipped!

  5. Why not just buy arduino clones?? by Racemaniac · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The pro mini's are about 1.25$ atm, arduini nanos with usb port are 1.75$, and the cheapest stm32 boards (which also have arduino ported to them) are about 2$ (and far more powerful than an arduino nano).

    What the hell is this project possibly thinking of being able to add to that (except for high shipping costs, since i doubt that unlike the chinese prices i quoted above, i doubt theirs will include shipping).

    1. Re:Why not just buy arduino clones?? by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      None of those are Brazilian.

    2. Re:Why not just buy arduino clones?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ok, but do you really need that many?

    3. Re:Why not just buy arduino clones?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How many times on here have I seen comments about how NASA is impotent because it has to use Russian rockets?

    4. Re:Why not just buy arduino clones?? by rmdingler · · Score: 1

      None of those are Brazilian.

      That's right.

      Brazil is en fuego (em chamas) lately; with the sporting event of the quadrennial, the impeachment of the year, and the wax of the decade.

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    5. Re:Why not just buy arduino clones?? by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

      NASA rockets, Russian rockets... all made in Taiwan.

    6. Re: Why not just buy arduino clones?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since they mention IoT, a standalone $3 esp8266 nodemcu board with USB and Wi-Fi would be better. And it comes with Lua making programming easy.

    7. Re:Why not just buy arduino clones?? by flyingfsck · · Score: 1

      I don't know what a Brazilian wax has to do with STEM, unless you want the teacher...

      --
      Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
    8. Re:Why not just buy arduino clones?? by hughbar · · Score: 2

      Yes, as a Brit I have a big problem with the Micro:bit too. These things run out of road very quickly and are a path to fragmentation and divided attention. I just finished a year of volunteering in a primary school in London, 60 minutes each week of which 10 getting clunky laptops to boot etc. etc. It would be much more sensible to concentrate on Arduino + clones and Raspberry Pi + clones, especially as the community is good for both. Bottom line, I'm somewhat 'against' hardware that is STEM-only, much better to use real-life hardware with STEM lessons and projects.

      --
      On y va, qui mal y pense!
    9. Re:Why not just buy arduino clones?? by Slugster · · Score: 1

      Yea,,,, I hate to rag on people trying to be nice, but this thing doesn't seem to have any advantage over a lot of already-available options.

      If we can dream, here is what I would propose:
      1. A roughly-credit-card sized board powered by 3v, so they can just hook up a couple 1.5v cells (maybe attach the board to a plastic battery holder--they don't cost much).
      2. some capacitive button sensors right on the PCB, so some human-interface input is already present (at least 8 - 10 buttons),
      3. an SMD LED next to every button to show when the button is pressed (this could be code-operated, these LEDs don't need to be hard-wired. coding it could be the second assignment, after "hello world")
      4. A visual-output display, right on the board. This could be a 2x16 character LCD, or just a matrix of enough SMD LEDs to show some printed characters--maybe 8 x 32 LEDs or whatever....

      5. and this is the big one: do something to break the requirement of a PC for programming the thing...
      My own suggestion here would be to have two photocells mounted on the face of the board, one is the CLK and one is for DATA input. And then you could write a program/phone app to write your code on, hold the board up to the screen with the photocells over two squares on the screen, and the app blinks the squares white and black to transmit the code to the board optically. This method would work on a PC or a cell phone, as long as you could run the app.

      Having a USB connection on there is nice but a lot of people in the world can't afford a PC. A lot of schools in the world can't afford a PC. Most places you can get phones now tho, and there is Android phones that only cost $25. You are way more likely to see a cell phone in the 3rd world that you are to see PCs.

      Also--having a few I/O pins on there is nice, but a lot of schools won't be able to use them much due to the cost of obtaining all the pieces. (mail service in many 3rd-world countries is pretty much a combination of 50% crapshoot and 50% extortion. The product needs to come complete if at all possible; you should not assume that they can mail-order anything).

      Ultimately it would be best if you didn't need any external hardware (other than power) to program the thing at all. That is a pretty big jump tho, requiring a better display and probably at least 2 processors on there instead of one (assuming you stick to using tiny85-type chips... some little processors can modify their own runtime code--{Propellers can, IIRC. can ARMs do this trick? } ).

      Maybe someday: it would have on-board solar cells for power, to finally remove even the battery requirement. I have little doubt this can be done now, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it.

    10. Re:Why not just buy arduino clones?? by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      Bottom line, I'm somewhat 'against' hardware that is STEM-only, much better to use real-life hardware with STEM lessons and projects.

      Almost all hardware is STEM hardware. The consumer-facing stuff is a tiny fraction of it.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    11. Re:Why not just buy arduino clones?? by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      Having a USB connection on there is nice but a lot of people in the world can't afford a PC. A lot of schools in the world can't afford a PC. Most places you can get phones now tho, and there is Android phones that only cost $25. You are way more likely to see a cell phone in the 3rd world that you are to see PCs.

      You could easily use a Raspberry Pi as the "PC" to program these things. It's even pretty overpowered for that task. The CLK/DATA idea is interesting, but would be horrendously slow.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    12. Re:Why not just buy arduino clones?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > None of those are Brazilian.

      Does it come with Zika virus?

    13. Re: Why not just buy arduino clones?? by afidel · · Score: 1

      Yeah but an RPI+display is WAY more than a cheap phone. It would be better to find the cheapest phone that supports USB OTG and use that as the programmer.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    14. Re:Why not just buy arduino clones?? by hughbar · · Score: 1

      Yes, agree. My point was phrased badly, I'm against community-less hardware that is built 'specifically for education'. Given (your point) that there's so much 'good' hardware, it's pointless. Another point against Micro:bit here, both Google and Microsoft are pushing programming environments for it. I wonder why they would do that?

      --
      On y va, qui mal y pense!
    15. Re: Why not just buy arduino clones?? by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      Yeah but an RPI+display is WAY more than a cheap phone. It would be better to find the cheapest phone that supports USB OTG and use that as the programmer.

      True. I don't know what the cheapest USB OTG phone is, but it's likely cheaper than RPi plus case, screen, PSU, screen, cable and mouse. Nonetheless, it'd be cheaper buying an RPi plus bits than a x86 PC by a fair margin, I expect. And a somewhat nicer experience than using a really cheap phone. Those things tend to be really horrible.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
  6. Moderator Censored the Parent Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    The parent was censored by a butthurt moderator.

  7. Why the code? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Watched the video and step three is entering the code provided on the board into something(?) I assume the IDE? Or maybe to register it on their website? It wasn't terribly clear, about a lot of things.

    Also while I wish them all the best, as many others have observed there are already a lot of cheap/simple alternatives available.

    1. Re:Why the code? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And to answer my own question as I just got around to parsing through the actual campaign, the code is apparently to grant access to content(?) and acts as a tracking system to show where the boards are being used globally. The first part is kinda nebulous but a visual representation of where they are being deployed is kinda cool :)

  8. buy one get one free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    now with a free zika virus sample in orders of one or more!

    1. Re:buy one get one free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      now with a free zika virus sample in orders of one or more!

      They ported a meat virus to metal? No wonder they needed a brazillian devs.
      I'm not too worried about the virus though, as it's harmless except for 3d printers.

  9. That's a lot of developers by JeffOwl · · Score: 1

    /I'm sorry

    1. Re:That's a lot of developers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How many is a brazillion?

    2. Re:That's a lot of developers by Anomalyst · · Score: 1

      BRAZINGA!

      --
      There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
  10. Cool - a new Business Card :) by MindPrison · · Score: 1

    I'd have a bunch of those and use them as give-away business cards / presentation USB / Car windows ICE scraper.

    --
    What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
  11. $6 gets u a. nodemcu esp8266 board with wifi, usb, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and more. $2 gets you the cut down version. what is the point of this new board again other than a cash grab?

  12. Too minimal to be useful by m.alessandrini · · Score: 1

    These boards are so minimal, you could as well buy a microcontroller with a not too miniaturized package and solder some wires on it.

  13. Arduino? by goombah99 · · Score: 1

    Since I can buy an arduino or ESP8266 for essentially the same price what is this getting me besides some new unsupported hardware?

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:Arduino? by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 1

      You can buy an Arduino for $1?

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    2. Re: Arduino? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Chinese clone Arduino Nanos sell with free shipping from China for less than $2 right on eBay.

    3. Re: Arduino? by afidel · · Score: 2

      Not really, but there are a ton of Uno clones in the $3-4 range with free shipping which is effectively the same price range.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    4. Re:Arduino? by goombah99 · · Score: 1

      $1.75 with free shipping and pin headers is effectively less than $1.

      http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Pr...?

      --
      Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    5. Re:Arduino? by Xenna · · Score: 1

      You can buy this ESP8266 instead for $2, it has wifi and more memory:

      http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-E...

  14. Not as cool as an ESP8266 board by RobinH · · Score: 1

    You can now get some models of the ESP8266 board for under $2, and it's both Arduino compatible and it has Wi-Fi. It's rather incredible, actually.

    --
    "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
    1. Re:Not as cool as an ESP8266 board by MindPrison · · Score: 1

      Pardon me my paranoia...

      I use those ESP8266 (12E) myself, but I've really come to question the low price level of these. They are crazy awesome for what you get, 4Mbit flash ram, WiFi Chip (with encryption to sport!) and a 32 bit microcontroller you can code with whatever you toss at it...

      But if we stop and think about it - the WiFi chip itself could harbour some malicious code to "phone home" some information about our networks...now ...imagine these deployed in every experimenters bedroom anywhere...all over the world, just saying...

      --
      What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
    2. Re:Not as cool as an ESP8266 board by RobinH · · Score: 1

      Well, if I was going to go down that road (and I'm not, as yet) then I'd assume they're not trying to infiltrate "every experimenters bedroom." It's much more likely they want to use these as backdoors into corporate networks.

      --
      "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
  15. Ipad by raymorris · · Score: 2

    > Well, is there any (computer) hardware which is *not* "STEM-oriented".

    The best-known computer hardware in the world isn't science, engineering, or math oriented, it's consumption and marketing oriented. I suppose it's "technology" in a sense.

  16. Digispark? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's like the $1.41 (eBay price) Digispark, but they've added "STEM" on it, so teachers will want it. :-)

  17. esp8266 yes, lua NO! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    esp8266, hell yes! Lua? GAG!

    Use Arduino esp8266 for the most fun with IoT.

    No need to learn a new thing like Lua.

  18. One Dollar Coin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... You can buy an Arduino for $1?

    Certainly ! With the One Dollar Coin --- details at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  19. It's about time! by Mr.CRC · · Score: 1

    It used to be, only Liberal Arts majors, artists, poets, sculptors, athletes, trades people, businessmen, and musicians could get their hands on, or knew anything about microcontrollers.

  20. Already exists by gweihir · · Score: 1

    First, the $1 is misdirection: You still need a real computer to do anything with this. Second, ATTINY85-based boards with similar connectivity are about $1.50 for a single on Ebay including shipping from China. Search for "Digispark" (which was a Kickstarter project that produced CC-BY-SA 3.0 open software and hardware and got $300'000 for the $5000 asked). And the Digispark works with the Arduino IDE. I have a few.

    Bottom line: These people are years late to the game and there is absolutely nothing revolutionary or new in what they are trying to do. In fact, they could be trying to repackage the Digispark.

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.