Latest Embedded Technical Articles

Learn how to communicate with a custom BLE peripheral using an Android device.

Learn how to communicate with a custom BLE peripheral using an Android device.

LCDs are great for showing info from your microcontroller. A serial adapter is inexpensive, uses only one I/O, and is…

LCDs are great for showing info from your microcontroller. A serial adapter is inexpensive, uses only one I/O, and is easy to connect and to use.

Part 3 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series.

Part 3 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series.

Part 4 introduces the readadc, select, case, and endselect PICAXE BASIC commands. It is the fourth article in a…

Part 4 introduces the readadc, select, case, and endselect PICAXE BASIC commands. It is the fourth article in a multi-part series on writing PICAXE code.

MQ Telemetry Transport (MQTT) is a popular low-overhead messaging protocol used by many IoT devices to communicate. This…

MQ Telemetry Transport (MQTT) is a popular low-overhead messaging protocol used by many IoT devices to communicate. This tutorial will show the user how to to set up a basic MQTT network using Python on his or her computer and an ESP8266 running the NodeMCU firmware.

How to set up the build environment for the nRF51 system-on-chip using makefiles and ARM-GCC.

How to set up the build environment for the nRF51 system-on-chip using makefiles and ARM-GCC.

Part 2 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series.

Part 2 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series.

Part 3 introduces the if...then, endif, gosub, and return PICAXE BASIC commands. It is the third article in a multi-part…

Part 3 introduces the if...then, endif, gosub, and return PICAXE BASIC commands. It is the third article in a multi-part series on writing PICAXE code.

This is the second article in a multi-part series on writing PICAXE BASIC code. It introduces the for...next command, the…

This is the second article in a multi-part series on writing PICAXE BASIC code. It introduces the for...next command, the wait command, general purpose variables, the symbol command, and the #no_data directive.

Part 1 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series, which will design a sound synthesizer that can…

Part 1 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series, which will design a sound synthesizer that can play standard musical notes. We will accomplish this using a low-cost, small-form-factor EFM8 microcontroller in conjunction with a few external components and a speaker.

In this article I will discuss what switch bounce is and some ways to deal with it. First I will take you through the…

In this article I will discuss what switch bounce is and some ways to deal with it. First I will take you through the theory, and later I will show you some ways to handle it in both hardware and in software.

Part 5 in the “How to Make an Ambient Light Monitor” series.

Part 5 in the “How to Make an Ambient Light Monitor” series.

Learn how to set up the Wunderbar platform to begin building your own IoT apps. This will demonstrate the "Can't Touch…

Learn how to set up the Wunderbar platform to begin building your own IoT apps. This will demonstrate the "Can't Touch This" and "Tell Me When" demo applications to measure WunderBar sensors and perform actions based on them. Some of the major bugs are discussed.

Getting started with PSoC®, the Programmable-System-on-Chip by Cypress Semiconductor for developing and testing embedded systems.

Getting started with PSoC®, the Programmable-System-on-Chip by Cypress Semiconductor for developing and testing embedded systems.

A guideline for proper considerations when making electrical platforms that can be easily, cheaply, and quickly…

A guideline for proper considerations when making electrical platforms that can be easily, cheaply, and quickly manufactured. The purpose and methods of proper board design, validation, testing, and technical support is discussed, from small to large scale production.

This is the first in a multi-part series on writing PICAXE BASIC code. This article covers how to read PICAXE pin-out…

This is the first in a multi-part series on writing PICAXE BASIC code. This article covers how to read PICAXE pin-out diagrams, a circuit for coding practice, and the general program format.

Create a smart home by displaying the current salt level of your water softener with the CC3200 and a proximity sensor.

Create a smart home by displaying the current salt level of your water softener with the CC3200 and a proximity sensor.

This article is part 2 of a two-part series that introduces the tools and techniques for programming PICAXE…

This article is part 2 of a two-part series that introduces the tools and techniques for programming PICAXE microcontrollers. Part 1 focused on construction of a test circuit and the AXEpad IDE; part 2 covers the PICAXE Editor 6 IDE.

Beaglebone Black is the most recent incarnation of the Beaglebone open source hardware platform. For less than $50, the…

Beaglebone Black is the most recent incarnation of the Beaglebone open source hardware platform. For less than $50, the board includes Ethernet, graphics processing, 4Gb of nonvolatile storage, and ports supporting USB, HDMI, and Beaglebone's custom I/O add-ons, called "capes". Here's how to run some simple commands to toggle digital I/O on the board!