Electronic Products & Technology

Newark element14 launch crowdfunded ‘CodeBug’ nano-board

Stephen Law   

Electronics Engineering

Crowdfunded nano-board teaches beginners the fundamentals of programming and electronics.

Electronics distributor Newark element14 has launched CodeBug, a $20 crowdfunded nano-board designed to teach beginners the fundamentals of programming and electronics in a friendly way. First announced on Kickstarter in March of this year, following three years of development, CodeBug has subsequently raised more than $25,000 in independent funding.

CodeBug defines a new class of microprocessor board that anyone can get results within minutes using just a web browser. The device is programmed in a standard web browser through the innovative companion website www.codebug.org.uk with the drag and drop ‘Blockly’ blocks, eliminating the need for any complicated setup or drivers/software to be installed.

The website also provides interactive tutorials and resources to help users learn and improve their programming. For those more experienced users, the device also supports Python, as well as several more advanced programming languages.

Designed with beginner audiences in mind, Codebug is easy to use and tremendously versatile as a wearable, sewable, I/O-rich, compact microprocessor board. It features a Microchip 8-bit processor, a 25 LED display, micro-USB connector, six crocodile clip rings for easy connection to inputs and outputs and expansion ports for I2C, SPI and UART. It is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux, as well as other educational coding devices such as the Raspberry Pi.

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“Through its simplistic yet inspired design, CodeBug is opening up electronics to a whole new generation of beginners and young engineers,” said David Shen, Group Chief Technology Officer at Premier Farnell. “Having watched this product grow from a seedling idea on a Kickstarter page through to a final solution for customers, we at Newark element14 are very proud to have been selected as the exclusive distributor of this brand in collaboration with our partner Dr. Andrew Robinson.”

“CodeBug is about bringing technological creativity to everyone, even absolute beginners,” said Dr. Andrew Robinson, inventor of the Codebug. “We couldn’t pick a better partner than Newark element14 for furthering computing and electronics education by getting CodeBugs out worldwide.”

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