News – BrainBoardz

Welcome to BrainBoardz. It’s been a lot of fun getting here. We have worked tirelessly to design and build the most affordable and advanced video/audio centric microcontroller based boards possible.

Why We Developed BZBoards?
BrainBoardz has developed an ultra-low cost ESP32S3 based VGA board and, inspired by the Adafruit Fruit Jam, we have recently introduced the amazing RP2350B equipped RP2DV “Jammy” DVI based board. The “Jammy” works with virtually all TVs and computer monitors using a regular HDMI cable. It also provides amazingly crisp digital audio via a Texas Instruments I2S DAC, as well as loads of GPIOs and 3 USB ports for endless experimentation. We’ve also been working hard on a expanding lineup of BZModules (BZMods) and BZCards. Brainboardz is, in essence, building a low cost plug-and-play system for video/audio focused electronics that normal people can afford and use! We are calling this approach Plug and Code.

Recent Challenges with SBCs
We have been using all sorts of development boards for a very long time, and one of the most persistent issues we have encountered is the rapidly rising cost of Single Board Computers (SBCs) in recent years. This is particularly an issue with the massive price increases for memory as a result of the growth of AI. While SBCs are great for many projects, they have become ever more complex and prohibitively expensive. Using SBCs also often requires setting up complex tool chains. In contrast, At BrainBoardz we wanted access to boards that were immediately useable (with a simple text editor if so desired) and at the same time approachable and robust.

Video and Audio Playback
We also wanted our boards to support video and audio playback. This was quite a challenge a few years ago! But, video and sound is becoming more and more essential for so many projects. Nothing quite compares to seeing a physical computing project rendering visuals on a large TV screen! Fortunately, due the hard work by a number of key developers, including Francesco Ceccarella (AnnexRDS), a team at Adafruit, Bitluni and others, the very inexpensive ESP-S3 and RP2350B microcontrollers now have the necessary video and audio libraries to provide extremely impressive display and sound output capabilities.

Retro and Modern Display Standards
If you want to experience retro VGA retro experience then please try the ESP32S3 based S3V (particularly with the amazing AnnexRDS Basic, or even Bitluni’s Arduino based VGA library). For a minimal cost you can always add a VGA to HDMI converter if needed.

If you want to display your work on more modern TVs and monitors (using the HDMI inputs) then our RP2DV (RP2350B) “Jammy” can be programmed, without needing a compilation process, in CircuitPython or MicroPython. If you want to dive in deep with C++ coding, both boards support a wide range of Arduino libraries. The sky is really the limit.

Simplifying Modules and Connectivity
We explored a variety of approaches in our quest to find the optimal method of attaching modules to our boards. Our solution, based on an industry standard 12 pin DuPont 2.54mm connectors, was determined to be ideally suited to the task. The connectors are essentially enclosed and are extremely robust (so no bent pins!). They support regular DuPont wire, and can even be uses with ribbon cables. They are ideal for connecting both our BZModules and standard modules available from Amazon and AliExpress. We liked this approach so much that we are building an entire ecosystem of BZBoards and BZCards to support it. Many more cutting-edge modules and a wide range of other accessories are in development.

Approachable Programming Languages
The BrainBoardz RP2350B “Jammy” board supports CircuitPython, MicroPython and Arduino. The ESP32S3 based S3V board supports AnnexRDS, Arduino and the ESP-IDF. BZModules are fully interchangeable between both boards.

Built to Last
The entire BrainBoardz product range is designed for rugged conditions in the lab, classroom and pretty much anywhere else (we’re not sure about Space yet). It’s a an open source prototyping revolution!

BrainBoardz are designed and assembled in Toronto, Canada.

by Jeremy Littler (CEO)