Kinoma Create, increasing our development speed.

Tussock Innovation has joined the indiegogo bandwagon in supporting "Kinoma Create". Kinoma Create is a java script powered development platform allowing developers to plugin modules they have designed. The Kinoma has a full Linux operating system much like the Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone or Gumstix that we currently have and use during our development processes. The Kinoma Create adds a broad spectrum of extra features while keeping everything tidy and hidden from the user. It enables Tussock Innovation to quickly tailor solutions for clients to take home, test and show funders with reduced risk of damaging hardware. Kinoma Create has so far raised $19k and are heading toward their next stretch goal of $25k. As with any development it will be great to see the finished product so please join us in support for the Kinoma Create team.

Some tech specs for the true geeks among us;

• QVGA capacitive touch screen
• 800 MHz ARM SoC (Marvell Aspen System-on-a-Chip)
• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth wireless connectivity
• USB 2.0, including USB OTG (On-The-Go)
• microSD slot
• Speaker and microphone
• Wired (USB) and wireless (with optional battery) power options
• No breadboard required for many breakout-board-based sensors
• Custom, lightweight Linux distribution to support the Kinoma platform
• Digital input/output (20-36 GPIO, configurable), analog input (0-16, configurable), I2C (1 physical bus and two soft buses), UART (1 physical bus and 2 soft buses), PWM (3)

Q. What can Tussock Innovation do with the Kinoma Create?

A. We can develop the following technology at an enhanced rate thanks to the Kinoma Create. Automation controllers and networks, sensor networks, video systems, weather stations, data terminals and much more.    

A new platform for miniature IMU designs

Competition is really heating up for product designers. The new iNEMO system on board by ST is helping developers like Tussock Innovation provide clients with state of the art position sensing solutions with reduced development risks.

What does this mean for our clients?
Considering our past experience with ST and particularly the STM32F series we are able to design products to fit within the smallest enclosures ideal for personal IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) devices. This also allows designers like ourselves to add features like battery, Bluetooth, GPS, 3/4G and storage card technologies to create a plethora of new IMU opportunities. All this with reduced development cost, risk and time.
The iNEMO-M1 comes in a 13 x 13 mm package now that is small.

Learn more about the design process at Tussock Innovation.

INEMO-M1 is the first 9-axis motion sensing system-on-board (SoB) in the iNEMO module family. It integrates multiple MEMS sensors from ST and a powerful computational core: a 6-axis digital e-compass, a 3-axis digital gyroscope and an ARM®Cortex™-M3 32-bit MCU. This 9-DoF inertial system represents a fully integrated solution that can be used in a broad variety of applications such as robotics, personal navigation, gaming and wearable sensors for healthcare, sports and fitness. More 

Eagle CAD tutorials by Jeremy Blum

Jeremy Blum in association with Element14 has created a number of Eagle CAD tutorials. Although we don't use Eagle CAD software that much we have in the past and it is a great gateway into electronics development. I have linked these tutorials and hope that everyone can learn from them.

Eagle CAD Tutorial 1 Schematics by Jeremy Blum

Eagle CAD Tutorial 2 PCB layout by Jeremy Blum 

Eagle CAD Tutorial 3 CAM capture by Jeremy Blum

Small scale solar

Lately a friend approached me with a problem. He lives on a farm and due to the geographical nature of the landscape he is unable to supply internet to some of the other houses situated on the farm. There is no line of sight. Well there is but only if he uses a repeater. Intro Problem number two there is no power for the repeater on top of the hill.

We brainstormed, and so the design wish list now includes:

• Wifi repeater (To service the other houses)
• Hut (To support the repeater of course)
• Lighting (For ambiance in the hut encase he wants to sleep over)
• Stereo (More ambiance in the hut)
• RF radio repeater (To service dead spots in the farms handheld radio network)
• Something to power the system

The process so far.

• Hut moved into place (Tick)
• Wifi repeater quote (Tick)
• Solar options (Tick) here

More to come soon...