Overview
The DFRobot Expansion shield introduced to the market the famous color code for sensors and actuators input and output. The 3 pin format for Signal, Voltage and Ground is extremely useful, specially if used altogether with our increasingly large range of modules, sensors and devices that just fit. Alternatively, the board includes power input for salvaged power supplies or laboratory power supplies. Very common Xbee socket for multipurpose wireless connectivity such as RF, wireless, bluetooth.
The new version includes a voltage hardware setting through a jumper to allow compatibility with a bigger range of components at 3.3v. It also includes a Servo external power, with a protective diode. This way you can enable a large range of servos from your Arduino.
Latest version features a convenient switch that lets you program your ATmega328 boards like UNO, while you have another Serial device connected like a Xbee. Switch it, program it and get it back up and running with another switch. You don't need to disassemble your hardware or wiring. A LED on top board and a reset button is in order to make it just a natural extension to Arduino boards. The LED is connected to pin 13.
Features:
- Compatible with the Arduino Due
- 3.3V/5V operating voltage select
- Switch for wireless communication & programme
- More Easily recognitive interfaces
- Colorful header for illustrating digital or analog pins
- Immersion gold surface
Tech specs
- Input Voltage
- 7-12V, PWR_IN
- 4.8-6V, SERVO_PWR, depending on your servo
- Compatible module voltage: 5V/3.3V
- Support interface: I2C, SPI, Xbee (Xbee pro), Bluetooth, APC220
Get Inspired
Print a claw on your 3D printer and use a myoelectric sensor to control it.
"But can it run Doom?" is more than just a joke in the tech world. It is also a decent litmus test for the computing power of hardware. That test isn't very relevant for modern computers, but it is still worth asking when discussing microcontrollers. Microcontrollers vary in dramatically in processing power and memory, with models to suit every application. But if you have an Arduino Nano ESP32 board, you can run Doom as Naveen Kumar has proven. The Nano ESP32 is a small IoT development board for the ESP32-S3 microcontroller, featuring Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® connectivity. It also has a relatively high clock speed and quite a lot of memory: 240MHz and 512kB SRAM, respectively. That still isn't enough to meet the requirements of the original Doom release, which needed a lot more RAM. But Kumar demonstrates the use of an MCU-friendly port that runs well on this more limited hardware. Want to give it a try yourself? You'll need the Nano ESP32, an Adafruit 2.8" TFT LCD shield, an M5Stack joystick, a Seeed Studio Grove dual button module, a breadboard, and some jumper wires to create a simple handheld console. You'll have to compile and flash the Retro-Go firmware, which was designed specifically for running games like Doom on ESP32-based devices. You can then load the specialized WAD (Where's All the Data) files. Kumar reports an average frame rate at a 320×240 resolution, which is very playable.
