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helix-4: The FPGA Module For Everyone!

Clever Development Boards, an FPGA Module and great support to make Programmable Logic an easier, more accessible technology for everyone.

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helix-4: The FPGA Module For Everyone!

helix-4: The FPGA Module For Everyone!

helix-4: The FPGA Module For Everyone!

helix-4: The FPGA Module For Everyone!

helix-4: The FPGA Module For Everyone!

Clever Development Boards, an FPGA Module and great support to make Programmable Logic an easier, more accessible technology for everyone.

Clever Development Boards, an FPGA Module and great support to make Programmable Logic an easier, more accessible technology for everyone.

Clever Development Boards, an FPGA Module and great support to make Programmable Logic an easier, more accessible technology for everyone.

Clever Development Boards, an FPGA Module and great support to make Programmable Logic an easier, more accessible technology for everyone.

Brent Singer
Brent Singer
Brent Singer
Brent Singer
1 Campaign |
Gold Coast, Australia
$2,272 USD 20 backers
9% of $23,500 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

 

The campaign is over... Did you miss out on a helix_4 module?

Don't worry - the shop is open at fpgamodule.com...

Breadstick

Short Summary

We are all about making FPGA an easy, accessible technology for everyone. If you are ready to train on Programmable Logic tools and learn their design methods we promise there is no easier platform than helix_4.

It's got three shield sockets and an FPGA

After years of industry experience, Thin Layer is making Development Boards which we think are more flexible and capable than anything else in the market. They make use of the Arduino UNO Shield system, and the hundreds of existing shields that are available from established vendors like Sparkfun, Adafruit, and Seeed.
Our basic module with no DRAM fitted
Both our Development systems are based around our helix_4 FPGA module system, which lets you take steps beyond prototyping to quickly build products.

A messy custom board example

When your dev board prototype is done or you can't progress further on a breadboard, quickly put together a cheap two layer PCB to hosts a helix_4 module - the same module that is on your dev board. Add the application circuits from prototyping your and you now have a custom, field ready product, at a low engineering and Bill of Material cost.

No design risk, no project blow outs. 

We hope our products will have broad appeal; from Professional Engineers who want to trim risk and time from a project, to students who want an easy way to learn, and anyone who wants to develop a peripheral they've found on an Arduino UNO Shield.

 

Making it Easy

Software Examples, Templates and Driver Code

We're busily writing software templates, drivers and examples that make your projects easy and low risk. Our tutorials help you learn advanced tools like the Altera Quartus II IDE, and the Nios-2 Soft MIPS Processor.

We're working to automate new project creation, through standard and convenient 'Hello World' Tutorials for our Dev Boards and Modules. And there's an easy template  way to add Nios2 to our systems.

We've got examples, drivers and tutorials for a grab-bag of embedded peripherals - look here. You can see a lot of them in use on our YouTube channel videos.

website grab of our examples

Today we have example projects, tutorials and code for these Shields:

And we're working on a LOT more. 

 

About the helix_4 FPGA Module

It's simple but elegant, boasting an Altera Cyclone IV E FPGA with SRAM (really helps the Nios-2 Processor along), and a modestly large DDR2 DRAM chip for the jobs that really take a lot of memory. You just supply it 5V, and it'll handle all it's own voltage generation, and it has it's own 50MHz oscillator, flash and a cryptography chip - which can be a unique serial number, store keys, generate random numbers, or run hash algorithms to protect your system from counterfeiting.

It's about bringing the Cyclone IV FPGA to you as easy as we could make it. All you need to supply is 5V power, and a 10pin header for programming.

 

This is 'Breadstick'. FPGA Dev Board For a Breadboard.

Breadstick is a new product, in development now, based on feedback gained through this campaign. It's got the smaller helix_4 Module, one Shield Socket, and pin headers for Breadboarding.

breadstick dev board


Breadstick has four 13w pin HDRs; of which 33 pins are FPGA 3.3V IO, and 10 pins are PSOC 5V IO that support ADC and DAC functionality. Other headers on the board supply 5V and 3.3V out to the breadboard. Breadstick has USB 2.0 connectivity, and power is supplied through the USB header.

And it will have an onboard USB Programming Tool.

And after customer feedback, Breadstick (and the next generation of Goldilocks) will have a built in USB Programmer; we're going to use Cypress' PSOC5LP for that.

 

The PSOC will add USB 2.0 connectivity, and will come configured as an ADC/DAC slave to complement the FPGA's digital grunt. We're going to make the PSOC source code files available, so you can really customise your USB link. 

 

And 'Goldilocks': The Dev Board That is Just Right...

There are over 300 shields you can plug into this dev board - many are listed here http://shieldlist.org. They are now your FPGA peripherals. 

 

Drive many shields from an FPGA

Need a WiFi dev board? Plug this shield in. Audio ADC Dev Board? We've even got a tutorial. It's personality and capability are determined by what you plug in.

And now with an onboard USB Programming Tool

And after customer feedback, the next generation of Goldilocks will have the same built in USB Programmer as the Breadstick.

 

Making it Cheap For Everyone

What we want are your pre-orders.

The designs are ready, and we want to assemble a large volume of helix_4 Modules and Development Boards. This will get the cost right down.

Electronics manufacturing is a numbers game, and to achieve ecconomy we have to make a big run. Getting the price down is the core goal of this campaign. With your commitment we'll bargain down Vendors, Distributors and Manufacturers to get there.

We're offering rewards at commitment levels that match our volume pricing goals:

  • $37 for the most basic module
  • $55 for the most featured
  • $80 for the 'Breadstick' Development Board
  • $175 for the 'Goldilocks' Development Board.

A few discounted bundles are available too. Please note that contribution levels include international shipping, but not local duties or taxes. 

Also, for a $5 contribution we'll make you an editor account for our website (which is actually a wiki: http://www.thin-layer-embedded.com,) where you can put anything you like (within guildelines :-) and you'll be listed in perpetuity there as a supporter. 

 

Some Important Questions

What if you don't reach your funding goal?

You will still get your product, we want you to take our word for it.

A lot of people have contacted us to say they worried that we are running a 'flexible funding' project. Flexi-funding was clearly a mistake, but it's too late for us to change to 'fixed funding'. If you just don't trust Flexi, you can make a pre-order here for modules, and here for Dev Boards.

Thin Layer is an PL company incorporated in Australia, and you are be protected by statutory consumer protections.

What if I buy your product and decide I don't like it?

If you are unhappy with the product, you can return it. No questions asked approval, but we ask you fill out a feedback questionaire and tell us what we can fix. There are a few rules, but they are fair and listed here.

Do you warrant your products?

We warrant our products against faults from workmanship and design for 12 months. The link above contains warranty conditions too. 

 

Final Appeal

To be clear: we aren't a non-profit group, we're a for-profit company. But if you buy products from Thin Layer Embedded you will help enrich a community of inventors, professionals, makers, and enthusiasts who want a diverse and innovative set of tools to deliver their products. We want to be at the heart of awesome and profound product development world wide.

And Thin Layer Embedded is a community minded organisation that will spur innovation and invention by simplifying the hardware development cycle. We are going to enable great projects that will have great impact.

It's OK to like a company. Please help spread the word:

  • Link us on your sites, blogs, facebook, twitter, etc. Grab the Indiegogo link at the top of this page. 
  • Become a contributor to our wiki - write to us for account setup. 
  • Can you work with us? If you have a project that is a good fit, we can work together to host it, and port it to the helix_4 platform.

Talk to us:  support@thin-layer-embedded.com

 

 

Appendices

We put this information here, knowing not everyone would need to read it.

But what is an FPGA?

FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is an etch-a-sketch of silicon that lets you draw anything you like - over and over again. It grants you concurrency: you can run things in parallel. You can put six processors in parallel; there's nothing to stop you! You can put your interrupt controller outside your processor and hand code it for latency. Make PWM generators with 20 bit precision, then drop 50 of them onto our FPGA module. Process 32bit video.. process stereo... process stereo video! Your imagination is now the limit... and quantum physics too... that's still a limit... bummer. But hurray for FPGA!

A dev kit with LOTS of shields

And What Can I Do With An FPGA?
 
Programmable logic excels at tasks where you need high performance, or real time performance. Examples of loss of Real Time performance could be delays to operation while servicing interrupts like audio glitches, or video flickering. Also, if you have a special IO requirement - like precise PWM outputs on every pin, differential LVDS drive, or meeting multiple IO voltages, FPGA is a technology of choice. Our modules are excellent choices for:
  • Flexible General Embedded Computing, stretching beyond Arduino...
  • Long Product Availability
  • Robotics & Motor Control
  • Digital Signal Processing
  • Video Processing
  • Audio Processing
  • Real Time Signal Filtering
  • Software Defined Radio Processing
  • Protecting IP
  • Cryptography
  • and IO Intensive Projects Like Robotics with many Motors and Sensors

Thin Layer Embedded

We are here to remove the barriers that prevent people using Programmable Logic. We want low cost FPGA for all - not just large organisations that have sway with the chip Vendors. We see this technology taking over and we're working hard to make it available to anyone.

 

A servo motor setup on our dev board

Thanks for taking the time read and to reach this part of the page!

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Choose your Perk

Supporter Contribution

$5 USD
We'll make you an account for our wiki @ http://www.thin-layer-embedded.com, with editor privileges. You can host anything you like there so long as it's relevant and not (too) rude.
Estimated Shipping
August 2013
5 out of 1000 of claimed

Our Lowest Power Moudle

$41 USD
One unit of our low power module: - EP4CE10 Cyclone IV FPGA, w/ Low Power 1.0V Core - Fast 10ns SRAM 4MBits (16 x 256k) - 50MHz Oscillator More suitable for portable wizardry...
Estimated Shipping
September 2013
0 out of 540 of claimed

Our Most Featured Module

$59 USD
The one with teeth: - EP4CE22 Cyclone IV FPGA, w/ 1.2V Core - Fast 10ns SRAM (4MBits) - DDR2 DRAM (512MBits @ 167MHz) - 50MHz Oscillator Will gobble any DSP or Embedded challange you throw at it...
Estimated Shipping
September 2013
4 out of 540 of claimed

'Breadstick' Development Board

$92 USD
Our Dev Board for Breadboards. Has an EP4CE10 helix_4 Module with SRAM, but no DDR2 DRAM. Has one Arduino UNO Shield, and 43 IO for breadboarding.
Estimated Shipping
September 2013
0 out of 1000 of claimed

'Breadstick' Development Board

$92 USD
Our Dev Board for Breadboards. Has an EP4CE10 helix_4 Module with SRAM, but no DDR2 DRAM. Has one Arduino UNO Shield, and 43 IO for breadboarding.
Estimated Shipping
September 2013
0 out of 1000 of claimed

'Breadstick' Development Board

$92 USD
Our Dev Board for Breadboards. Has an EP4CE10 helix_4 Module with SRAM, but no DDR2 DRAM. Has one Arduino UNO Shield, and 43 IO for breadboarding.
Estimated Shipping
September 2013
0 out of 1000 of claimed

Five Low Power Modules

$170 USD
Five of our low power modules: - EP4CE10 Cyclone IV FPGA, w/ Low Power 1.0V Core - Fast 10ns SRAM 4MBits (16 x 256k) - 50MHz Oscillatoror At 20% discount.
Estimated Shipping
September 2013
0 out of 1000 of claimed

Multi-Shield Development Board

$190 USD
The Arduino Hardware community meets FPGA. With three Arduino UNO Shields, and our bigger module, you're going to supercharge your favourite Arduino peripherals.
Estimated Shipping
September 2013
5 out of 1000 of claimed

Five Fully Featured Modules

$250 USD
Five of our fully featured Modules: - EP4CE22 Cyclone IV FPGA, w/ 1.2V Core - Fast 10ns SRAM 4MBits (16 x 256k) - DDR2 DRAM 512MBits (16 x 32k) @ 167MHz - 50MHz Oscillator At 20% discount.
Estimated Shipping
September 2013
2 out of 1000 of claimed

One with the Lot

$315 USD
Our Development Board + Two Fully Featured Modules + Two Low Power Modules At 20% discount.
Estimated Shipping
September 2013
1 out of 1000 of claimed

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