Open-source hardware project shrinks Arduino, adds wireless, creates awesome.
The RFduino "maker" allows hardware hackers to build devices with Arduino code and Bluetooth wireless communications.
Soon, you could make everything in your life smartphone-app-controllable—or at least the things that have wires. A California-based inventor has taken to Kickstarter to fund the launch of the latest evolution in "maker" technology—an Arduino-compatible microcontroller that's small, fast, and cheap, with built-in wireless communications. The RFduino has already exceeded its Kickstarter goal nearly 30 times over, with 10 days to go before its deadline.
Based on a Nordic Semiconductor 32-bit ARM system-on-chip that has built-in support for Bluetooth 4.0, the RFduino runs the same code as Arduino UNO and DUE boards, and it works with any type of sensor, servo, or other device that can communicate with an Arduino microcontroller. Bluetooth 4.0's Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) feature allows the microcontroller to run on power sources as small as a button-cell battery for some applications—and the team has developed a "shield" for the CR2032 battery, as well as single- and dual-AAA battery configurations. It can also run off a USB power source or can be wired directly to a 3-volt DC power source.
As a result, the RFduino could be used for a whole host of devices that interact with mobile devices, including remote controls, proximity-switch devices such as alarms, and home automation applications that control LED lighting. It could also allow devices programmed with Arduino "sketches" to interact with each other over Bluetooth 4.0—potentially allowing for the development of swarms of smart devices that can talk both to smartphones and notebook computers and their environments.
The Kickstarter video for RFduino.
A number of open-source iOS applications have already been developed for the iPhone to interact with the RFduino, according to Armen Kazanchian, the man behind the company RF Digital, which developed the controller and a collection of accessory electronics to support it. In an e-mail exchange with Ars, Kazanchian said that all of the development so far on the Open RF project had been done by a team of four people, with Kazanchian as the project lead. The applications developed thus far will be open-sourced, as will the hardware (the electronics designs for the RFduino itself, and for the various electronics "shield" add-ons developed to support it). The team is currently looking for a channel to publish both through.
Kazanchian, an electrical engineer with experience in the cellular, consumer electronics, aerospace, and industrial systems industries, founded RF Digital as a wireless electronic component design firm in 1999. He said that in addition to the Kickstarter backers who have donated money to the project and the support from the Arduino "maker" community, there's already commercial interest in using the component. "We have quite a bit of interest from OEMs with mass-production volume uses and requirements for the RFduino and derivative implementations," he said.
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