New Beagle Board expansion boards released

The Beagle Board, an OMAP3 development board by Texas Instruments geared towards enthusiasts, now has 20 new extension boards. The boards which are called capes, likely a play on words referring to the expansion boards of Arduino called shields, add DVI connectivity, LCD displays, CAN support, Cameras, weather sensors etc. 

The goal is to let hobbyists and professionals quickly develop their ideas into working devices. According to the press release, the expansion boards are popular and more are on the way. “I expect there to be more than a hundred by next year.” said Jason Kridner, community advocate for beagleboard.org who also happens to be working for Texas Instruments.

More: BeagleBone Capes, Press release, BeagleBoard.org

Analog Devices make things turn off when you stop moving

Need to make your device drain zero power when it is not used, but still keep it responsive to any movement, tapping or vibration? Analog Devices illustrates how their new ADXL362 3-axis accelerometer can be used as a power switch. While the main system remains switched off, only the accelerometer keeps draining the battery. With 300nA current consumption the ADXL362 is able to sample all three axis @ 6Hz and in case of movement occurring raise a GPIO. 

Micro Joystick

Interlink Electronics released a tiny, high-precision micro joystick. It delivers simultaneous 360-degree control of direction and speed at the touch of a fingertip. The kit includes the joystick component and a micro controller with proprietary measurement firmware. If you are limited on space then this is ideal for notebook computers, remote controls and games for example.  With its support for serial and PS/2 hardware interfaces it should be simple to use.  It claims to perform smooth cursor movements thanks to the dynamic response of the Force Sensing Resistor technology.  The evaluation kit cost around 175 GBP.  

Features and Benefits

• Intuitive control
• Durable
• Smooth cursor movement
• Versatile
• Low power usage
• Compact design

more: datasheet

Maxim pushes out more integrated light sensors

If you need a small sensor to get not just the ambient light, but the hue and infrared values, you might want to have a look at the MAX44006 and MAX44008 from Maxim. The chips both pack RGB, ambient light, IR and temperature sensors into a 2x2mm footprint. They're also touting very low power consumption numbers (15µA active) and are apparently very sensitive with 0.001Lux steps. However, his level of integration doesn't come cheap: the budgetary prices at 1000pcs start from 4.69USD and the small size means the only interface is I2C. Hobbyists will be happy to know that Maxim is quite liberal with their free samples, and such are available of these sensors as well.

More: MAX444006/MAX44008, datasheet, pricing