mbed

NFC is one of the hottest technology topics around around at the moment, throw in Android and now you should definitely be interested! We've seen banks stumble over each other to be the first to offer NFC-enabled services, and now smart posters are becoming more prevalent in bus shelters begging to deliver you more content by fist pumping your smartphone at it. You've seen the technology in action, now it's time to get prototyping for yourself.

Donatien Garnier of NFC Technology company, AppNearMe, has developed a µNFC Stack for mbed targeting the NXP PN532 NFC Controller. The stack allows you to build your own NFC-enabled hardware and interface the AppNearMe framework for Android devices, allowing you to focus on building your feature-rich app that compliments your device.

You can find out more on the NFC Cookbook page and the µNFC Stack library page, including a tutorial to get started using the Adafruit PN532 Breakout Board and a teardown of the NFCLamp to give you some ideas about the platform in action.

Ashley Evans of the Electronic Technology networks has contacted us to tell us about SMART Grants, and how they might be applicable for UK-based mbed developers. SMART Grants are an EU-funded initiative aimed at supporting SMEs take innovative new designs from the drawing board to commercial success.

Electronics Technology Network are interested in hearing from mbed users who are prototyping proof concepts to be part of a case study to understand how SMART grants can assist in successful delivery of a marketable product.

The grants fall into three main categories; Market Research, Proof of Concept and Prototype development. The ETN are keen for applicants to start with the initial Market Research phase. This has been shown to really help SMEs clarify the vision of how commercial success will be achieved, and applications who complete this stage have a much better chance of securing a grant in subsequent phases.

Having completed a Market Research phase, an mbed user developing a product is most likely to fall into the Proof of Concept category. This allows a development cycle of up to 18 months, and has a maximum grant of £100k, which can make up 60% of total project costs.

For more information on the SMART Grant scheme see the SMART website

Additionally, the ETN are working with third parties to help advise SMEs about R&D tax credits. Recent changes to the tax laws makes it easier to secure tax benefits on innovative R&D expenditure.

For more information, see the R&D Tax Credits page

If you want to get in touch with Ashley to find out more about eligibility, and assistance in the application process please contact support@mbed.org

I'm happy to announce that we are now accepting beta testers for our new collaboration infrastructure!

This is a major update for mbed, introducing fully integrated support for code collaboration within the mbed Compiler and Website.

Overview

The collaboration infrastructure is based on the distributed version control model (DVCS), and allows creation, sharing and collaboration on code repositories hosted on mbed. This enables lots of useful workflows, like allowing you to work with a group of developers on a shared codebase, or to publish and share a library, and pull fixes and improvements other developers might suggest.

Some feature highlights include:

• Creating new public repositories directly from the mbed Compiler
• Shared repositories allowing other users to commit to your public repository
• Forking of repositories that are trackable and mergable with the original repository
• Full support for pulling, pushing, forking and merging within the Compiler IDE
• Activity streams to follow repositories you are interested in
• Integrated repository wikis to document your project

If you'd like to read more about the collaboration system, we have started to publish details at:

• http://mbed.org/handbook/Collaboration

We'll be sharing more details as we progress through the beta.

Applying for the Beta

We've successfully completed all our internal rounds of testing, so are now expanding the beta trials wider. We'll be limiting numbers initially so you'll need to contact us to enable your account to access the beta.

To apply for the beta, you will need to email us at support@mbed.org stating your interest in collaborative version control - perhaps you're part of a group which want to collaborate on a program, or publishing a library that you want to accept fixes back it to? We're looking for a range of users to get feedback from groups who are using the system in different ways. After you email us, we'll send you instructions on how to proceed.

Thanks for your interest!

Some of the features in action

Jim Carver (Avnet Electronics) and Paul Boogaards (NXP Semiconductors), two specialists in microcontrollers and embedded development, are going to present a free live webinar about rapid prototyping including a walk-through of adding USB connectivity to designs using the LPC11U24.

The Agenda

• Introduction to the mbed online tools
• Application example
  • Porting code from an 8051 design to mbed while adding USB connectivity
• Migrating from mbed to LPCXpresso
• Using NXP ROM drivers to enable USB connectivity

Local US times

It will be a good overview of development with mbed, LPCXpresso and the NXP USB ROM drivers. Attendees will also receive an exclusive offer to purchase discounted baseboards from the Avnet Store.

You can find out more and register for the webinar here.

And the winner is...

Dude Where's my Car?

After a hard night of hacking a big congratulations to the 'Dude Where's My Car' prototype.

Ali Bros & Dylan Jones developed a journey tracking 'blackbox' that can be fitted in a car, which uses the Vodafone K3770 USB 3G modem to upload live tracking data to a host, which connects with Facebook.

The hardware features a GPS module and OBD (On-board diagnostics) interface for collecting critical parameters from an engine management system, and capable of uploading data over 3G during a typical road trip.

The host site allows a user to connect to facebook and provide updates to your profile, and share info about your trip with your friend http://dudewheresmycar.me/

So after a lot of hard work, dedication and sleep deprivation to have a functional prototype is amazing stuff. Ali and Dylan won both the The Vodafone Embedded Hardware Hack Challenge and the Facebook Open Graph Challenge http://overtheair.org/blog/programme/hackday/

Well done guys!