Intel's Arduino 101: 11 Reasons You Need It
Intel has announced the new Arduino 101, an Arduino platform based on the Intel Curie module. While it's aimed primarily at the education and maker communities, there are plenty of commercial applications, including the opportunity to experiment with Internet of Things (IoT) projects, including wearables, diminutive gadgets, and sensors
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In recent years Intel has chosen the Rome Maker Faire as the place to introduce new products for the education, prototyping, and maker markets. This year marks the third in a row with a new product: The Genuino 101 (Arduino 101 in the US), an Arduino board built around a relatively new Intel processor.
While it's aimed primarily at the education and maker communities, there are plenty of commercial applications, such as experimenting with Internet of Things (IoT) projects, including wearables, diminutive gadgets, and sensors
At CES 2015, Intel introduced the Curie module, a low-power processor based on the Intel Quark SE system-on-a-chip that includes motion sensor, Bluetooth, and battery-charging features. Intel has now placed the Curie module on an Arduino, so providing a low-cost, simple-programming platform with genuine "Intel Inside" hardware.
[How will Arduino influence IoT? Read 6 Internet Of Things Building Blocks.]
Arduino 101 isn't the first time Intel has built a system for the Arduino ecosystem. The Intel Edison is a prototyping board designed to work with Arduino shields or other boards compatible with the Arduino dimensions and pin-outs. In addition, the Intel Galileo Gen 2 development board is software compatible with the Arduino IDE and is completely hardware-compatible with Arduino boards.
This new board rounds out a collection of development, education, and experimentation platforms that bring Intel into the Arduino universe. Arduino 101 will be on sale in the US in first quarter 2016 with a suggested retail price of $30.
Let's take a look at the new Arduino 101, its Intel siblings, and the way the three fit into a unified picture.
Then, in the comments section below, let's talk about how you would use each of the three boards. I've got my ideas (and boards on the way) and I'd love to hear what you are planning to do -- or have done -- with the Edison, Galileo, and Arduino 101.
The Arduino 101 has been developed in a partnership between Intel and the founders of Arduino. The board becomes part of the Arduino platform -- an open source family of products with unifying hardware designs, common components to add features and functionality, and an easy-to-learn software development environment.
Because of the Intel module on which it is based, Arduino 101 adds features such as native Bluetooth communications and motion sensors not available on previous versions of Arduino.
Intel's Curie module was introduced at CES 2015 as a product designed to be at the heart of wearable pieces of the Internet of Things.
Based on the Intel Quark SE SoC (system-on-a-chip), Curie is a low-power 32-bit processor with an integrated DSP sensor hub, a 6-axis combination sensor with an accelerometer and a gyroscope, and Bluetooth Low Energy built in. Curie also contains battery-charging circuitry, making it a capable basis for systems that need to be small and very low maintenance.
Arduino 101 will be part of the Creative Technologies in the Classroom (CTC) course designed by Arduino and in use at more than 300 schools. This program is intended for kindergarten through post-secondary schools, and will be updated to include the new features of Arduino 101.
Arduino 101 will also be a featured tool in a new reality television program, "America's Greatest Makers," scheduled to air on Turner Broadcasting in 2016.
Sometimes you need to start with an Arduino, but extend the system to include more powerful processors and links to more advanced systems. Those situations are the ones for which the Intel Galileo was designed.
Galileo is built around the Intel Quark SoC X1000 processor, a 32-bit module that includes a Pentium-brand SoC. It ties that processing power to a board that is both hardware and software pin-compatible with Arduino Uno shields.
Galileo has been embraced by the maker community because of its combination of Arduino compatibility and processing power. Galileo's array of communications ports and its ability to exchange data easily with Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux computers have made it the choice for many experimenters. They use it to create remote display and sensor platforms for information sources from email to weather, to Twitter.
The Arduino compatibility of Galileo means that it's used in education as well, often as a "step-up" platform from an Arduino Uno or Due.
The original Galileo has been supplanted by the Galileo Gen 2 board. The most obvious physical change is that the original RS-232 serial port has been replaced by a 6-pin USB TTL UART header. Beyond that, according to Intel, the additions include, "12-bit pulse-width modulation (PWM), console UART1 redirection to Arduino headers, 12V Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) capability, and a power regulation system that accepts power supplies from 7V to 15V."
Galileo Gen 2 boards are available from a variety of suppliers beginning around $59 per board.
Where Arduino 101 and Galileo are both aimed squarely at the education and maker markets, Edison is intended for more power-intensive commercial applications. The professional capabilities start with the Edison Compute Module, which has a dual-core, dual-threaded Intel Atom CPU running at 500 MHz and a 32-bit Intel Quark microcontroller running at 100 MHz. The module also includes integrated Bluetooh 4.0 and WiFi, as well as 40 multiplexed GPIO interfaces for connecting to a variety of expansion boards.
For designers and engineers who don't want to depend on the world-of-Arduino shield, there's the Intel Edison Breakout Board Kit. This board, slightly larger than the Compute module, brings the native I/O pins of the Edison to the surface in a way that makes them physically easier to connect with. In addition to a variety of analog and digital pins, there are USB ports, a battery charger, and the DC power supply jack.
A breakout board might be an educational tool, but only for a student who is already comfortable with the modular capabilities of the Arduino. The capabilities of Edison target advanced designs and the rapid prototyping of both hardware and software. Edison kits are available starting around $90.
Intel has always supported commercial hardware and system designers. Now the company has fully embraced the Maker community and is bringing products to market that are designed to flow straight into consumer hands, rather than being filtered through commercial development labs.
It will be interesting to see how the Arduino community responds to Intel's latest product, and whether the increased capabilities of the Arduino 101 lead to shifts in the projects for which the Arduino is considered appropriate.
Are you an Arduino developer? Do you consider yourself a maker? Let us know in the comments section below -- and tell us whether you're going to be placing an early order for the Arduino 101.
Intel has always supported commercial hardware and system designers. Now the company has fully embraced the Maker community and is bringing products to market that are designed to flow straight into consumer hands, rather than being filtered through commercial development labs.
It will be interesting to see how the Arduino community responds to Intel's latest product, and whether the increased capabilities of the Arduino 101 lead to shifts in the projects for which the Arduino is considered appropriate.
Are you an Arduino developer? Do you consider yourself a maker? Let us know in the comments section below -- and tell us whether you're going to be placing an early order for the Arduino 101.
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