The Dangerous Prototypes web platform is a tiny server designed for networked hacks where a full PC is inconvenient. There’s lots of interesting projects that bridge the internet to microcontrollers, but most of them have a PC in the middle to handle network stuff. This business card-sized internet appliance can connect to web services, control physical objects from a browser interface, or email sensor status reports; no PC intermediary required!
Features:
- 80MHz/40MIPS dsPIC33FJ128GP204
- 10Mbps ethernet MAC/PHY (ENC28J60)
- microSD card holder
- 1Mbit EEPROM
- USB->serial converter (FTDI232R)
- Open source bootloader for USB firmware uploads
PCB color is RED. Web platform are currently being manufactured and shipped since January, 2010. This picture shows a hand soldered prototype, the manufactured version will differ slightly.
This open source hardware and software is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. If you can’t accept this risk, please do not buy this hardware.
Introduction:
So you’ve bought a web platform and the mail man has just delivered it. What now?
Assuming you have bought your web platform from one of the Dangerous Prototypes official distributors, it will already have the ds30 bootloader installed in its dsPIC33 microcontroller. This means that you do not need a hardware programmer. Instead, you can upload your application programs direct to the web platform using the ds30 Loader application and a normal USB cable connected between your web platform and your computer.
Web platform hardware design:
The Dangerous Prototypes web platform is a tiny server designed for networked hacks where a full PC is inconvenient. There’s lots of interesting projects that bridge the internet to microcontrollers, but most of them have a PC in the middle to handle network stuff. This business card size internet appliance can connect to web services, control physical objects from a browser interface, or email sensor status reports; no PC intermediary required!
This isn’t our first small server. Ian designed a popular web server on a business card featured at Hack a Day. The new web platform is also in the profile of a business card, but everything else is kicked up a notch. The microcontroller is a fast dsPIC33 (80MHz/40MIPS) with twice as much program space, DMA (transfers between peripheral and memory without CPU intervention), hardware maths functions for digital signal processing. On the downside, the dsPIC only sinks/sources 4mA on its I/O pins, compared with 20mA for most (some) other PICS. There’s also a simple USB connection for firmware updates and communication with a PC.
Available now for $40, including worldwide shipping
Documents and Software: Click to download