MICROCONTROLLER

GUIDE
TOUCH BOARD

ARDUINO LEONARDO

A Processing Polymath

LILYPAD ARDUINO

Wearables best friend

Come closer this board

has Telesensory powers!

Arduinos hardware and support have

provided the platform for countless
creations, and the Leonardo is no
exception. Arduino has a brilliant online
forum to get you started, and a huge
variety of shields which can help you add
almost limitless functionality.

INTEL EDISON

The multi-tasking visionary

Make Keys get it?

The maestro

Open the box and make keys as the

name says! This fun little board is very easy
to use and is an expert at making computer
keyboards out of anything you can find in
your fruit (or vegetable) bowl the edible
keys inventor! Crocodile-clip compatible
pads keep soldering to a minimum and fun
to a maximum for quick projects.

Meet Ototo, a circuit board synthesizer

that can be used to build your own
instruments! It has twelve keys which
represent musical notes, four sensor
inputs and an onboard speaker to make
lots of noise. Make the world around
you into a keyboard!

Super Power
is a Superpower

We cant say it any better than the BBC:

The Raspberry Pi is a 30 credit card
sized computer. Different than a micro
controller because it runs an operating
system, the Raspberry Pi is at the heart
of projects and products worldwide.
Youll need your Linux or Scratch skills
to get the best out of it, but there is
a massive community to help you out.

Unlike the Makey Makey, Ototo

doesnt need to be plugged into your
computer, but he still loves bananas.

Never before has such a small package

been able to do such big things. It is not
as easy to get started as an Arduino,
but if youre familiar with Linux this
board is for you.
If youre looking for a wireless computer
thats the size of a stamp, and more
powerful than your old laptop, this is it.

Want an example of world changing

technology? Its right here.

UDOO QUAD

BEAGLEBONE BLACK

Its Arduino compatible which makes

it quick to deploy, and Adafruits
Learning System is a fantastic resource
for every maker.

RASPBERRY Pi B+

DENTAKU OTOTO

The online community has created plenty

of webpages that turn your board into
anything from a musical keyboard to
a game controller.

This tiny wonder can fit almost anywhere

inside a hacked toy or an old piece
of tech. Onboard USB and more pins
than you would expect in a tiny package
make it super versatile.

This Lilypad is machine washable and its

sewable pads lend themselves well to your
next Halloween costume!

The Touch Board is based around an

Arduino Leonardo so its easy to use and
works with a lot of shields. Its thin and
flat so its perfect for placing on walls,
inside of books or in your coat pocket.

MAKEY MAKEY

Good things come

in small packages

The Lilypad is a great springboard for

getting started with wearable technology.
Its stylish appearance conceals an Arduino
compatible platform where sewing skills
are just as important as programming.

Connect any object, material or surface to

the digital world with the Touch Boards
sophisticated capacitive sensing. Use
the on board capabilities to play an MP3,
synthesise a MIDI note, or do anything
else that you might do with an Arduino.

The Leonardo has a somewhat hidden

power too Its HID capable. This
means that your computer can recognise
it as a keyboard mouse or trackpad.

ADAFRUIT TRINKET

FREESCALE FRDM KL46Z

SPARK CORE

Fast and flexible

One smart cookie

Your internet of things thing

Stunning Sensors

Faster than the Raspberry Pi and

with more pins, the Beaglebone Black
is a great answer to those times when
you need all the might of Linux with
loads of spare pins to control everything.
Great for complex projects that require
tons of sensors, serious processing
power and connectivity.

This is the Einstein of the boards, super

intelligent, loaded with memory, and able
to reach a high complexity of output.
The most powerful Linux-based board
on our list, it also has the same shield
layout as the Arduino Mega, so you can
choose from a world of add-ons (3.3V).

Fed up with all these internet-connected

toasters and cloud temperature sensors?
If you want to customise your own,
whether to know when the washing
machine is free, or have an alarm
go off when your bus is close by,
use the Spark Core!

Onboard WiFi and Ethernet make

connecting to the rest of the planet easy.
The support and active community are
fantastic as well.

With WiFi connectivity at its heart and

browser-based programming, you wont
have to install anything to start making.

Arduino compatible, but with built-in

magnetometer, gyroscopes and some
nice interface features. Unlike most
sophisticated electronics, this board
is just asking to get thrown around.
Programming this board has a steeper
learning curve than Arduino, but is much
more powerful once you get going.

The Beaglebone has a rabid (ha ha)

community of users to help get your
project off the ground.

DETAILS / TECH SPECS

ONBOARD PROCESSOR

ARDUINO
LEONARDO

TOUCH
BOARD

ATmega32U4 at
16 MHz

LILYPAD
ARDUINO

ATmega32U4 at
16 MHz

ADAFRUIT
TRINKET

Atmega328 at
8 MHz

MAKEY
MAKEY

Attiny85
at 8 MHz

DENTAKU
OTOTO

ATmega32U4 at
16 MHz

RASPBERRY PI
(MODEL B+)

ATmega32U4 at
16 MHz

BCM2835 at
700 MHz

CO-PROCESSOR
RAM

2.5 KB

Number of touch sensors

2.5 KB

2 KB

512 B

2.5 KB

2.5 KB

512 MB

Its also compatible with MBED, so you

can program in your web browser
without installing anything.

INTEL EDISON
(ARDUINO B/O KIT)

BEAGLEBONE
BLACK

UDOO QUAD

SPARK
CORE

Dual Core Intel

Atom at 500 MHz

ARM Cortex-A8
AM335x at 1 GHz

ARM Cortex-A9
Quad core at 1GHz

Intel Quark
microcontroller at
100 MHz

2x 32-bit RISC
processor
at 200 MHz

Atmel SAM3X8E 
at 84 MHz

1 GB

512 MB

1 GB

FREESCALE
FREEDOM

STM32F103
at 72 MHz

MKL46Z256VLLZ4
at 48 MHz

20 KB

32 KB

12

12

15

CE, FCC

CE, FCC

CE

CE, FCC

CE, FCC

CE, FCC

CE, FCC

Capacitive sensing (one-handed triggering)

Proximity sensing (trigger without touch)
Onboard MP3 / WAV / OGG / FLAC / MIDI playback
Onboard polyphonic MIDI synthesis
Micro SD card slot
On / Off switch
Lithium Polymer (LiPo) cell charging via USB
Can run from a Lithium Polymer (LiPo) cell
Can act as a USB serial device
Can act as a USB keyboard or mouse
Can act as a USB MIDI interface
Arduino shield compatible
Onboard headphone / line output
Onboard video out
Can be programmed using the Arduino IDE
Number of USB host sockets
Onboard LAN
Onboard WIFI
Onboard SATA
Works out of the box
Approvals
Country of manufacture

ITALY

bareconductive.com / make
Microcontroller Guide 2015.01 / v1

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This MICROCONTROLLER GUIDE represents

independent research by Bare Conductive and
information found in the data sheets of the above
products. We treat it as a valuable resource but also

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ITALY

CE
CHINA

CHINA

envision it to grow and develop with your input.

Please email us at info@bareconductive.com
with any comments or suggestions you have,
we will be sure to get back to you!