testing iframe

Tinker Board: A Single Board Computer by ASUS

We all know single chip computer named Raspberry pi, which is very popular in last few years. There is no doubt about their capability and performance. There are different versions of raspberry pi. Also, there are many boards available in market, like BeagalBone, orange pi etc. All have their own features. But no one can beat much raspberry pi, some board's cost is higher than rpi and some have relatively not good performance than rpi etc. Now, Asus has created new single board computer name 'Tinker Board'.

Tinker board is powered by Quad-core 1.8GHz ARM Cortex-A17 CPU with 2GB dual channel LPDDR3 RAM, while raspberry pi's latest version 'raspberry pi 3 model b' is powered by 1.2 GHz 64bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU with 1 GB RAM.

Tinker Board and Raspberry pi 3

Look at both boards, Tinker board is just looks like raspberry pi 3. But tinker board gives more RAM and a faster CPU as compared to the Raspberry Pi 3. Tinker Board has Rockchip RK3288 ARM Cortex-A17 quad-core CPU with ARM Mali-T764 graphics and 2GB RAM. According to ASUS, Tinker Board comes with Debian Linux support and supports Kodi media center.

For supplying power to tinker board, there’s a micro USB port. Main useful connectivity options of tinker board is 802.11b/g/n WiFi,1x 10/100/1000 Ethernet jack, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI output, 4xUSB 2.0 ports and a 40-pin header (GPIO). Other connectivity ports and options are Micro SD port with UHS-1 support, CSI port for camera connection, HDMI port with 4K resolution support, 3.5 audio jack, DSI port with HD resolution support.

Raspberry pi 3 VS Tinker Board

Also, Asus has released its own OS, which is based upon Debian distro as the RPi OS. they also claims to be working on support for Kodi, Open-SUSE and Ubuntu.

Explore more about Raspberry pi...

Do you know about micro-controller ?

Arduino Board Family

Major Applications of an micro controller:

• complex medical devices
• robots
• motor vehicles
• office machines
• mobile radio transceivers
• home appliances

Basically micro-controller is a compact microcomputer. A typical micro-controller includes a processor, memory, and Input/Output peripherals. It mean a computer in single chip, which can be measured in mm or cm. probably you think that "how its possible! my computer's CPU is bigger than 1 feet!". See figure:

Micro-controller ATmega328P-PU

Micro-controllers facilitate the operation of the electro-mechanical systems found in everyday convenience items like lawn watering systems, ovens, toasters, refrigerators, clock radios, printers, fax machines, photocopiers and scanners. This micro-controllers are simplest.

High degree of complexity micro-controllers perform critical functions in spacecraft, aircraft, life-support systems, ocean-going vessels, robots, artificial limbs, etc. Also, in future micro-controllers perform crucial role in Medical technology. For example, a micro-controller might regulate the operation of an artificial kidney, artificial heart or many other artificial body organ operation.

There are many families of micro-controllers, here we'll see one open source micro-controller named Arduino.

Arduino:

A micro-controller named Arduino is an open-source development board. You can use it to read data received or measured by sensors and control actuators. So, if something is controlled by electricity, than the arduino can interface with it in some manner and control or automate that. Even if something is not controlled by electricity, you can also still control with help of motors or another actuator whatever you want.

Programming in Arduino:

There are two platforms are available to program arduino board. One is Arduino web editor and another is download software and program in board. Both allows you to upload programs to every arduino board which can then interact with sensors and actuators in the real world with real time. Arduino uses Embedded C language to program board. Don't worry, if you don't know about coding.  It does not require expert level. If you can understand basic C language you can use arduino's examples to code your board. You can also get basic knowledge of C language at selfcoding1854.

Family of Arduino:

There are many different types of Arduino boards. Choose your board as per your application. most common or popular arduino boards are listed below.

Uno:

The most common board of Arduino is the Arduino Uno. Uno board is the first USB Arduino boards, and the reference model for the Arduino platform. This board is what all people are talking about when they refer to an arduino.

Arduino Uno and Genuino Uno

Uno is a micro-controller board based on the ATmega328P. It mean refer datasheet of ATmega328P to understand arduino uno board. Uno contains everything needed to support the micro-controller chip; simply connect board to your computer via USB-A to USB-B cable, upload program and you are ready to get started. Once you upload your program in board you can power it with a battery or AC-to-DC adapter. Uno has 14 digital I/O pins (Input/Output pins), a USB connection, 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz quartz crystal, a reset button, a power jack and an ICSP header. Read more...

Mega 2560:

It is second most common version of the Arduino family. Mega is the Uno's older brother. Memory of mega is 256 KB which is 8 times more than the Uno. It also had 54 input and output pins, 14 of which can do PWM and 16 of which are analog pins. It may make your project more powerful, but it will also make your project larger. However, all of the added functionality comes at the cost of a slightly larger circuit board. Read more...

Arduino Mega and Genuino Mega

Mega ADK:

It is specialized version of the mega that has been specifically designed for interfacing with Android smartphones. Read more...

LilyPad:

LilyPad was specially designed for e-textile and wearable applications. It requires FTDI-USB TTL serial programming cable. It can be sewn to fabric and connected to other sewable components using conductive thread. Read more...

credits of picture and reference: www.arduino.cc