Development and prototype boards are computer boards that are used to develop or test electronic modules. These are used to evaluate programs for embedded devices such as controllers, point-of-sale (PoS) terminals, kiosks and information appliances.
Development boards combine
Development and prototype boards are computer boards that are used to develop or test electronic modules. These are used to evaluate programs for embedded devices such as controllers, point-of-sale (PoS) terminals, kiosks and information appliances.
Development boards combine a processor, chipset, memory and onboard peripherals with debugging features. Specifications for development boards include bus type, processor type, form factor, number of ports, port type, memory and operating system.
Factors to keep in mind
There are a number of conventional benchmarking factors that we all use in sorting through alternatives. These include capabilities of the target controller (speed, power consumption and on-chip peripherals), available features (memory being the major consideration along with supported communication protocols), onboard peripherals and technical support (compiler tool chain and sample applications) from the vendor.
There are a number of other considerations that should drive us while looking at development boards. Described below are a few of these:
Open design: Take any popular development board that has been registering an active user community, timely enhancements and hundreds of developers working towards porting new applications to the board. Openness in a design has got more to do with the mental satisfaction of the buyer.
One such path-breaking philosophy surrounds Arduino’s business model, which goes like this: “It does not matter anymore whether your product is open source, someone in another country is going to open it up and reverse-engineer it anyway.”
So how does one sustain in this volatility? “Basically, what we have is the brand,” says Tom Igoe, an associate professor at Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University, USA.
Looks: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs once said, “I do not need engineers. I need artists.” What is a product that is low on looks, usability and visual appeal? Sophisticat