C.H.I.P. Pro – Blog. by Next Thing https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com News & Notes. Process & Projects. No BS. Srsly. Thu, 09 Nov 2017 03:16:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.5 Community Made: Groboy is a DIY Gaming Handheld Powered by C.H.I.P. Pro https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/community-made-groboy-is-a-diy-gaming-handheld-powered-by-c-h-i-p-pro/ Tue, 24 Oct 2017 21:51:16 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=1616

Groboy, created by Groguard, is a C.H.I.P. Pro-powered handheld system designed to run retro console emulators and games on the go.

It’s also a testament to the open source community, readily available data sheets and manufacturing houses, and the tenacity to teach yourself engineering. Groguard, like many of us, is self-taught and pursuing his passion for making through custom projects.

The Early Days of Groboy

C.H.I.P. Pro Dev Kit running GadgetOS with SPI TFT display

The Groboy project goes back several months to early summer when Groguard first received his Dev Kit. As he tells it:
I’ve always wanted to build my own handheld. I had seen people using Raspberry Pi’s to do it, but I wanted something a little more custom. I wanted to make my own PCB and make it thinner and more pocketable. I didn’t want mine to just be another iteration on something that had been done. I wanted it to be my design from the ground up.”

The first big success came early in the process, “I got the SPI stuff going and had DOOM running on the devkit pretty quick.” At the time, there were very few project that used SPI displays with C.H.I.P. Pro and seeing a working example shared on the forum was exciting.

But the early successes slowed and the custom Groboy hardware took a bit longer to get right.


Groboy Hardware Iteration

After 4 revisions of the board, Groguard had the design where he wanted it. The custom OSH Park PCB at the heart of Groboy routes signal lines from the 2.8″ TFT display, headphones jack, internal 2500mAh LiPo battery (he estimates 3-5 hours of battery life, though he’s not rigorously tested it), and the PCA9555 I2C GPIO expander, which manages inputs from the 11 onboard buttons, to the respective input and output pins on C.H.I.P. Pro.

Hand assembly of the PCB takes about 10-15 minutes and Groguard figures he can build about 20 per day. The custom 3D printed enclosures, however, take about half a day to print. Once the final revision of the board and enclosure are complete, he plans to release the design files as open source hardware.

Rear and front of two Groboys


Groboy Software: Yes, it Runs DOOM

Groboy runs GadgetOS, a Buildroot Linux system with support for running Docker containers. In GadgetOS, multiple containers can be run simultaneously. This allows for containers to isolate each of the subsystems of the software. In the case of Groboy, RetroArch, the SSH server for transferring software and game files, the GPIO_keys for interacting with the PCA9555 IC, and the module-loader for loading the TFT display driver, are each in seperate containers. This make it easy to test, deploy, and share portions of the software stack during prototyping.

The console currently supports RetroArch RGUI with Gameboy, Gameboy Color, and Doom. Additional game files and software can be transferred from a laptop to the Groboy using SFTP, but WiFi setup is still done using the command-line. Grogouard is quick to point out there’s some polishing left to do with the software, and he’s looking to add new contributors to the project. To help attract developers, he’s planning to sell Groboy developer kits, so everyone can work with the same hardware.

When I asked Groguard about his background and how he learned the various software and hardware skills necessary to pull of Groboy, he seemed a bit surprised by the question. “Well, with the internet, you can figure out how to do anything really. 🙂


Do you have a custom C.H.I.P. Pro project to share? Have a question or two for Groguard about his work? We want to hear about it. Share your questions, your latest prototype, or your final project revision with the rest of the community on Twitter or in the forum. We can’t wait to see what you’re up to.

]]>
GR8 News: C.H.I.P. Pro Powers the Outernet Lantern & VNYL TRNTBL https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/gr8-news-c-h-i-p-pro-powers-the-outernet-lantern-vynl-trntbl/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/gr8-news-c-h-i-p-pro-powers-the-outernet-lantern-vynl-trntbl/#respond Wed, 11 Jan 2017 14:00:44 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=1375

Great news! C.H.I.P. Pro Dev Kits are shipping, and two new third-party products are powered by C.H.I.P. Pro.

The Outernet Lantern, a satellite data receiver bringing the best of the internet to the world’s most remote communities, and the VNYL TRNTBL, a SONOS and Spotify connected record player, both use C.H.I.P. Pro for brains. They are the first examples of products that grew out of the C.H.I.P.ster community, a group of 60,000 makers, designers, and developers building the next generation of smart products.

This is just the beginning of products powered by C.H.I.P. Pro! We can’t wait to see what incredible products you come up with next.

Beam the Internet From Space!!!

The Outernet Lantern is a satellite data receiver that downloads free digital media anywhere on Earth. Lantern stores the downloaded data–material like Khan Academy, Wikipedia, and local news–and creates a local WiFi hotspot so that nearby devices can peruse its digital library.

Ultimately, Outernet’s goal is to make information and educational content accessible to people regardless of their location or how much money they can spend on network infrastructure.

“Because we’re looking to bring the benefits of the information age to the most remote and disconnected parts of the world, price and accessibility are the driving factors for all of our design decisions,” says Syed Karim, CEO of Outernet. “C.H.I.P. Pro allows us to offer the Lantern at a cost that makes it more accessible for the communities that would benefit the most.”

Outernet currently has receivers installed in over 50 countries worldwide, including Kenya, Columbia, India, and the Philippines. We’re overjoyed that C.H.I.P. Pro is helping make access to information less expensive and more widely available.


Stream All Your Vinyl

It looks like a traditional record player, but hidden within TRNTBL is a C.H.I.P Pro that wirelessly streams any vinyl you spin to compatible WiFi speakers like SONOS.

TRNTBL connects with your Spotify account to scrobble the artist, song, and album information to create a playlist of your listening session. Share your custom playlists with friends or DJ a live set from TRNTBL and broadcast it to the entire internet. You’ll never be at a loss for what to play next, TRNTBL suggests new albums and artists based on your listening history. Together TRNTBL and C.H.I.P. Pro bring vinyl into the streaming age.

“We are thrilled to be working with Next Thing Co. in bringing TRNTBL to market faster and more confidently,” says Nick Alt, Founder & CEO of VNYL, the maker of TRNTBL. “C.H.I.P. Pro allows us to imagine and create an incredible set of features on our new record player hardware. Making the leap from idea to product is thrilling, but as with any hardware project, it’s complicated and can feel incredibly daunting. Next Thing Co. has made mass production dramatically easier across the board.”

As lovers of music and retro tech, we’re excited to power TRNTBL and that Rolling Stone included it in their 35 Perfect Presents for Music Fans. We completely agree!


chipLogo64x64

Lantern and TRNTBL are just the beginning of projects becoming C.H.I.P. Pro-powered products. Join the discussion in the forum to see what others are building with C.H.I.P. Pro.

Have a project you’re working on that could use C.H.I.P. Pro? Send us an email at sales@nextthing.co and let us help you scale your project into a product.

]]>
https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/gr8-news-c-h-i-p-pro-powers-the-outernet-lantern-vynl-trntbl/feed/ 0