Xadow: Versatile prototyping to light up your personal life
What is it?
Xadow is an Arduino compatible board based on the Atmega32U4 chip. It consumes minimal power and runs off of a USB connection or lithium battery. Like other prototyping boards, you can extend its functionality with rich,supplemental modules, including a real-time clock (RTC), a barometer, a 3-Axis Accelerometer, a breakout board, an LED panel and controller, a vibration motor, and more.
The board is surprising small. It is no larger than a quarter, and its compact size makes it extremely suitable for space-sensitive and portable projects such as wearable devices and/or art projects. In addition, it can be connected in a series, so you can join multiple boards or modules together and take advantage of the added computing power or features.
Figure 1 – Size of Xadow Main Board
Figure 2 – Xadow Modules
Easy connections
Xadow uses standard flat flexible cable (FFC) connections which are supple and bendable. FFC connections are perfect for small spaces, such as the inside of your laptop, or wearable applications that rely on resilience and movement.
Figure 3 – FFC Connectors
What Can You Do With It?
Have you ever thought about buying a Pebble or an iWatch? Why not make your own and customize it?Simply connect the Xadow main board, an OLED module, and an RTCmodule and start programming. If you also want to communicate with your smart phone, you’ll need the Bluetooth module, which is based on Bluetooth 4.0, so power consumption is kept to a minimum.
Do you remember the Seeeduino FILMdevelopment platform? We’ve included the slim, small design features and daisy chain configuration potential in Xadow, as well.
Figure 4 – Xadow Wearable Creation
As you can see in this awesome application above, we’ve joined together three Xadow modules, including main board, RTC and LED module together with three LEDs over a soft wrist band with a protective PLA outer layer created on a 3D printer. Since the OLED modules have their own mini LED panels, you can program Xadow to display customized picture or text. Take it further and make a futuristic belt.
Are you an outdoor sports enthusiast? Transform your Xadow into an environmental measurement device. Add the Barometer module to detect barometric pressure and temperature. With these two measurements you can then calculate the density altitude. When you hike to a certain height, you can brag about it to your friends by tweeting your results using the Bluetooth 4.0 module which pairs with your cellphone.
Make Cool Things
I hope that our demos have sparked some great designs of your own.If you have a creative concept for Xadow, email us with a description. We’ll send samples to the applicant with the coolest idea.
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