The board, based on the Atmel SAMA5D3 ARM® Cortex®-A5 MPU, comes with a complete set of ready-to-use connectivity and storage peripherals, along with Arduino-compatible expansion headers for easy customization. A Linux distribution and software package also enables rapid software development. The board is ideal for Android without a header.
“Our partnership with Newark element14 in developing and manufacturing this kit and the first set of expansion cards allows engineers from all communities to build applications that require rapid prototyping and evaluation of their MPU designs,” said Jacko Wilbrink, Director of Microprocessor Marketing at Atmel Corporation. “Offering features such as mid-range graphical user interfaces, capacitive touch capability, wired and wireless communication, a free Linux distribution, and the Qt developer kit, we are very proud of this new addition to the Xplained family.”
"MPUs based on the ARM Cortex-A5 processor offer balance across a wide range of devices and extremely low power consumption to meet all your industrial design needs," said David Shen, Chief Technology Officer at Premier Farnell. "This new Atmel Xplained kit, along with our readily available expansion boards, will add even more capabilities to the SAMA5D3 platform and will be very useful for engineering professionals, as well as developers, hobbyists, educators, and students, both within and beyond its primary use."
The SAMA5D3 series is ideal for portable computing and mobile applications, where low power and small size are critical.
Features of the SAMA5D3 Xplained:
• Atmel's Xplained hardware platform for evaluation and rapid prototyping.
• Fully documented and easily accessible Cortex-A5-based MPU solution.
• Rich set of peripherals, especially in connectivity.
• USB powered (no power adapter needed).
• Flexibility - Arduino-compatible connectors allow users to leverage the extensive Arduino ecosystem.
• Open-source hardware - all design files are available and easily reused in customer projects.
• Software package with drivers and examples for developers.
• Free Qt developer kit and Linux distribution.
The SAMA5D3 Xplained is priced at $79 and will be available in mid-March 2014 at Farnell element14.
