BeagleBoard Hobbyists Unleash 20 New "cape" Plug-in Boards, Fueling Linux Development on BeagleBone, a Credit-Card-Sized Computer Platform

"Throwing a bone" to designers, makers and hobbyists looking to easily and affordably develop creative, Linux-based electronics, BeagleBoard.org today announced the availability of more than 20 new plug-in boards for the widely-adopted BeagleBone Linux computer platform. Creatively calling the plug-in boards "capes" in reference to the cape worn by a beloved cartoon beagle super hero, the active open source BeagleBoard.org community designed the plug-in boards to foster an even wider range of innovations such as robot motor drivers and sensors that measure location and pressure. Adding cape plug-in boards to the popular and expandable BeagleBone computer that is used as a development kit allows hobbyists and developers to quickly and easily augment BeagleBone's capabilities with LCD screens, motor control and battery power as well as the ability to create their own circuits.

Today, thousands of designers, makers, hobbyists and engineers have adopted BeagleBone for its one-of-a-kind functionality as a credit-card-sized Linux computer that connects with the Internet and runs software such as Android 4.0 and Ubuntu. With plenty of I/O and processing power for real-time analysis provided by the Sitara™ AM335x ARM® Cortex™-A8 processor from Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI), the cape plug-in boards help developers differentiate products and accelerate time to market.

With a feature-rich processor, the BeagleBone computer platform allows developers to fully utilize the technology within a full-featured, open hardware Linux development kit. BeagleBone users also benefit from the thriving BeagleBoard.org community of more than 5,000 active members who interact and collaborate through an online support system.

Inspired to expand development options for their BeagleBone mini computer platforms, participants in the BeagleBoard.org community created cape plug-in boards to enhance the sensors, actuators and interfaces available on the BeagleBone platform. The cape plug-in boards can be plugged into BeagleBone's two 46-pin dual-row expansion headers, providing similar headers so that up to four cape plug-in boards can be stacked at a time.

"BeagleBone has inspired numerous developers to create a wide variety of innovations from self-teaching electronic education kits to underwater robots," said Clint Cooley, president, CircuitCo. "These cape plug-in boards open up endless possibilities for simplified designs and new innovations. I'm excited to see what developers from the BeagleBoard community will create next with their BeagleBones."

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