MBED ARM

[Jim Sedgwick]

Hey folks,

Has anyone had any experience with MBED ARM microcontrollers?

Here is their link: http://mbed.org/

 

Mbed appears to be a website that allows you to write and compile C/C++ code online and dump it straight onto a target board without installing anything on your PC. Looks intriguing.

Sparkfun is selling the mbed NXP LPC1768 development board for $60: 

http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9564

Digikey appears to have a similar board for $30. It may have fewer features:

http://search.digikey.com/us/en/products/EA-XPR-003/EA-XPR-003-ND/2410099

I am interested in getting my feet wet in ARM processors and C++ and this looks like a pretty inexpensive way to go about it. I purchased a BeagleBoard a while back but feel a little overwhelmed by the complicated software that you have to set up before you can do a simple “Hello World”. Beagle development seems to require installing a Linux virtual machine on your PC.

I would like to avoid dealing with Linux for the time being, hence my interest in easy ARMs. If anyone has had good experiences with eval boards for other ARM type processors, I would appreciate your suggestions.

Thanks - Jimbo

[Gui Cavalcanti]

Jim,

The first Robotics Intensive used the MBED LPC1768 built into a 3pi line following robot, called the m3pi. The ease of use of the board allowed my students to all contribute to control system design efforts even if they had no robotics background, and allowed the advanced students to really take off and experiment. Everyone could participate regardless of what type of laptop they were using, and because the code is automatically saved in an online repository, everyone could access their code from anywhere.

There are certainly going to be those who worry about the toolchain being proprietary and dependent on the company continuing to exist (and, by extension, continuing to host the compiler environment), but if you're looking for a solid and easy to use introductory platform, the MBED is great.

- - -
Gui Cavalcanti, President
Artisan's Asylum, Inc.
http://www.artisansasylum.com
Cell: (857) 389-7669

----- Reply message -----
From: "Jim Sedgwick" <jimsed...@gmail.com>
To: <Dorkbo...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Dorkbot Boston] MBED ARM
Date: Wed, May 9, 2012 2:35 pm


*Hey folks,*

*Has anyone had any experience with MBED ARM microcontrollers?*

*Here is their link:* http://mbed.org/



*Mbed* appears to be a website that allows you to write and compile C/C++
code *online* and dump it straight onto a target board without installing

anything on your PC. Looks intriguing.

Sparkfun is selling the *mbed NXP LPC1768* development board for $60:

http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9564


Digikey appears to have a similar board for $30. It may have fewer features:

http://search.digikey.com/us/en/products/EA-XPR-003/EA-XPR-003-ND/2410099

I am interested in getting my feet wet in *ARM* processors and *C++* and

this looks like a pretty inexpensive way to go about it. I purchased a
BeagleBoard a while back but feel a little overwhelmed by the complicated
software that you have to set up before you can do a simple “Hello World”.
Beagle development seems to require installing a Linux virtual machine on
your PC.


I would like to avoid dealing with Linux for the time being, hence my
interest in easy ARMs. If anyone has had good experiences with eval boards
for other ARM type processors, I would appreciate your suggestions.


Thanks - Jimbo

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[Michael Dewberry]

Hey Jim, if you're interested in taking another swing at the
Beagleboard you may want to check out the OS updates that they've made
for the newer/smaller Beaglebone. Like the Mbed, it now includes a
web IDE (hosted on the hardware) and doesn't require any fiddling with
a Linux host. It's oriented around Javascript/Node.js but I've
successfully used it to write Python and C++ programs as well.

I believe you can use the Beaglebone images on the Beagleboard without
alteration, but I'm not 100% sure; I have several SD cards with the
stock OS you are welcome to borrow if you want to try it.

Dewb

PS. I was not previously familiar with the Mbed, it does look slick!