Dev Boards and Modules for the Holidays
I tend to be biased toward kits, boards, and modules I can play with; hence this collection. I hope you can find something worth adding to your favorites list for the holidays.
I've had my hands on some of the items below, while others are kits and boards that we've covered on Electronic Design.
Playing with a BeagleBoard
The BeaglePlay and BeagleConnect Freedom from BeagleBoard.org are a good combination for those who would like to play with wireless connectivty. You can read the full article here or watch the video (below).
Popular Single-Board Computers
If you need a starting point for a holiday project, then one of these boards might suit your needs. They're relatively inexpensive, usually match de facto prototyping standards like Raspberry Pi for interfaces, and work with a lot of free, open-source development tools.
Latest Development Boards Push the Boundaries with AI
If you're looking to tackle artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), then one of these boards might be the answer. They provide a good starting point for learning about AI/ML on the edge.
Cameras for Those Video Projects
Here is a collection of digital cameras that might work for your video or imaging project.
Many Magnetic Arms Simplify Hands-Free PCB Probing
This is one I can personally endorse after using it for a while when looking at various dev kits. There's a short article with the video (below) and you can also check out the video I shot at the trade show, when I first saw SensePeek's PCBite. Of course, you need to supply your own oscilloscope or other diagnostic tools, but it helps keep the probes in place so you don't need to grow that third hand.
That's it for now. If you don't see anything that tickles your fancy, we have more options to expand your holiday wish list below. You can also add your suggestions. Here's hoping you get what you wish for this holiday season.
More Holiday Gift Ideas
About the Author
William G. Wong
Senior Content Director - Electronic Design and Microwaves & RF
I am Editor of Electronic Design focusing on embedded, software, and systems. As Senior Content Director, I also manage Microwaves & RF and I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, programmers, developers and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.
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I earned a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Masters in Computer Science from Rutgers University. I still do a bit of programming using everything from C and C++ to Rust and Ada/SPARK. I do a bit of PHP programming for Drupal websites. I have posted a few Drupal modules.
I still get a hand on software and electronic hardware. Some of this can be found on our Kit Close-Up video series. You can also see me on many of our TechXchange Talk videos. I am interested in a range of projects from robotics to artificial intelligence.