Farnell, the Development Distributor, has added the Portenta H7, the latest offering from Arduino, to its extensive range of single board computers. The device targets growing demand from enterprise, small medium business (SMB) and professional makers for low-code modular hardware systems to support IoT development. The Arduino Portenta family provides low-power boards designed specifically for industrial applications, artificial intelligence (AI) edge processing and robotics, whilst introducing a new standard for open high-density interconnect to support advanced peripherals.

The first member of the family, the Arduino Portenta H7 module, includes everything needed to get started with IoT hardware development including crypto-authentication chip and communications modules for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy and LTE, as well as Narrowband IoT. Its low-code application development platform with modular hardware, allows companies or makers to build, measure and iterate without lengthy integration projects and users also benefit from the value and usability of the new Arduino IoT application development platform (Arduino IoT cloud, Pro IDE with cloud integration, IoT UI editor) to help simplify the creation and deployment of custom connected products to the market.

Its combination of performance and flexibility makes the board suitable for applications where performance is key, such as High-end industrial machinery, Laboratory equipment, Computer vision, PLCs, Industry-ready user interfaces, Robotics, Mission-critical devices, Dedicated stationary computer and High-speed booting computation.

Portenta H7 features a dual-core ARM Cortex-M7 and Cortex-M4 running at 480 MHz and 240 MHz, respectively, capable of running high level code such as protocol stacks, machine learning or even interpreted languages such as MicroPython or JavaScript along with low-level real time tasks. It follows the Arduino MKR form factor, meaning that any existing MKR industrial shield can be used; can run Arduino code, Python and Javascript, and operates at an industrial temperature-range (-40 to 85°C).

Features include:

• Processor: STM32H747XI dual Cortex®-M7+M4 32bit low power Arm® MCU.

• Connectivity:
  • The onboard wireless module enables simultaneous WiFi and Bluetooth® connectivity. The WiFi interface can be operated as an Access Point, a Station or as a dual mode simultaneous AP/STA and can handle up to 65 Mbps transfer rate. Bluetooth® interface supports Bluetooth Classic and BLE.
  • 10/100 Ethernet phy.
  • High Speed USB phy.
• Memory: includes options up to 64 MByte of SDRAM, and 128 MByte of QSPI Flash.

• Video: Display port over USB-C port.
• Encryption: NXP SE050C2 Crypto.
• GPIO: The Portenta family creates a new standard for pinouts adding two 80 pin high density connectors at the bottom of the board to ensure scalability for a wide range of applications.
• SD card support: Interface for SD Card connector (through expansion port only).
• Operating temperature: -40 °C to +85 °C (excl. Wireless module) / -10 °C to +55 °C (incl. Wireless module).

Cliff Ortmeyer, Global Head of Technical Marketing for Farnell said: “Farnell stocks a broad range of modular solutions that enable customers to reduce time to market and maximise the potential of their IoT developments. The Arduino Portenta H7 combines outstanding performance and flexibility and can be used like any other embedded microcontroller board, or as the main processor of an embedded system. It’s also capable of running processes created with TensorFlow™ Lite, so you could have one of the cores computing a computer vision algorithm, whilst the other delivers low level operations such as controlling a motor, or acting as a user interface. This is a great addition to our range and gives small and medium businesses and professional makers the tools to develop IoT solutions without having to invest in specialized engineering resources.”

Farnell carries a wide range of Arduino products in the MKR and Nano family which, along with the Portenta H7, are available to order from Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.

Newark, the Development Distributor, is now stocking Kitronik products; an exciting range of accessories for micro:bit, Arduino and Raspberry Pi, perfect for educators, students, makers and hobbyists.

Kitronik products encourage imagination and creativity when used in conjunction with the latest generation of open-source programmable computer boards. The kits and accessories enable interaction between programming and hardware, making them ideal for developing computational thinking skills in younger students. This new partnership with Kitronik enhances Newark’s range of products for education and builds upon its position as the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of the BBC micro:bit, the largest manufacturer and distributor of Raspberry Pi boards and major stockist of Arduino boards.

Kitronik products can be used to support STEM education in classrooms and after school clubs and seek to engage and inspire students of all abilities to further their knowledge of electronics, coding and design. Newark stocks everything required to get started in physical computing for both education establishments and independent coding clubs.

Kitronik products and accessories for the micro:bit in stock at Newark include:

• The Inventors Kit  provides an introduction to programming and hardware interaction and contains everything required to carry out ten experiments with the micro:bit, using LEDs, motors, light sensors and capacitors. The kit includes an easy to follow tutorial book and no programming experience or soldering is required. Circuits can be completed in minutes.

• The MOVE mini buggy kit provides a fun introduction to robotics making a two-wheeled robot that is suitable for autonomous operation. It is perfect for remote control projects via Bluetooth applications or control using a second micro:bit. Five RGB individually addressable Zip™ LEDs are included which can be used as indicators, and a pen can be attached to the robot to draw shapes. Kitronik’s custom code blocks for the Servo:Lite motors are available to make the task of coding as quick and painless as possible.

• The Kitronik: GAME ZIP 64 is the ultimate retro gaming accessory for the BBC micro:bit. It has been designed to be an all in one hand-held gaming platform, which includes a built-in, 64 (8x8) individually addressable full colour Zip™ LED screen. It features on-board sound, four directional buttons, two fire buttons, haptic feedback, and breakout points so that shoulder buttons or I2C devices can be added. All of these features are fully programmable and breakout points are available to allow for the use of larger LED screens.

Courtney Kennedy, Technology Solutions Marketing Manager at Newark says “The addition of Kitronik further broadens our existing wide range of open-source educational and STEM products. The Kitronik range provides educators with new and creative ways to inspire students to get involved in physical computing, providing easy access to devices that enable them to promote the development of key skills such as computational thinking.”

Newark’s support for the development of the next generation of electronics engineers includes free resources, including lesson plans, project ideas and more, available on the Newark website. Newark has a broad range of products within its product range that promote learning about physical computing, an important way for children to develop computational thinking and team working skills.

The Kitronik products and accessories for micro:bit, Arduino and Raspberry Pi are available from Newark.

Premier Farnell, the Development Distributor, has extended its embedded product offering to include four powerful and compact Arduino MKR Shields, designed to extend the capability and application of Arduino boards.

Premier Farnell’s extended Arduino product line provides maker engineers and prototype developers with a new suite of accessories that can be seamlessly integrated into an array of IoT applications, streamlining the journey from prototype to production.

Featuring embedded connectivity and extremely low power consumption, the open source Arduino accessories are suitable for a range of battery powered IoT edge applications. All three MKR Shields combine a standardised, modular form factor with the power of a 32-bit Arm microcontroller and the choice of integrated Wi-Fi, GSM, NB-IoT, SigFox or LoRa connectivity.

The new products now available from the website include:

• The Arduino MKR Motor Carrier: The perfect companion for Arduino MKR boards as it allows users to rapidly prototype and build projects. With the MKR Motor Carrier users can connect several motors and sensors to their mechatronic project and control servo, DC, and stepper motors. The Carrier can also be used to connect other actuators and sensors via a series of 3-pin male headers.
• The Arduino MKR ENV Shield: With its compact 61mm x 25mm design, 32g weight and an input voltage of 3.3V, the ENV Shield allows an MKR board to easily gather and store environmental data collected by a range of sensors. Sensors monitor atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity, light intensity (LUX) and ultraviolet intensity (UVA and UVB). The shield is equipped with a microSD card reader and features a ready-to-use library, programmed to read values from different sensors to ensure smooth integration and data collection.
• The Arduino MKR RGB Shield: Users can now write messages and add graphics to show values from an MKR board using the RGB Shield. The RGB Shield is controlled from the Arduino IoT cloud and features 84 dense and bright-mounted LEDs offering full RGB colour. With its simplistic design, the RGB Shield can be easily plugged onto an MKR board with no need for soldering or special adaptors. This powerful 61.5mm shield x 27mm shield has an input voltage of 5V, a maximum current of 2.5V and weighs 32g.
• The Arduino MKR Therm Shield: With an input voltage of 3.3V and the ability to work in temperatures ranging from 200^oC to 700^oC, the Therm Shield allows an MKR board to deliver highly accurate and an extended range of temperature measurements from a Type K thermocouple and a DS18Bxx digital one wire sensor. Two connectors on the shield enable the Type K thermocouple to be used with or without a plug attached to the metal wires while the unit takes advantage of the MAX31855 thermocouple digital interface. The MKR Therm Shield has the same footprint as the ENV Shield.

“The addition of Arduino’s new MKR Shields to our portfolio helps extend the capabilities of the MKR boards for our customers.” says Hari Kalyanaraman, Global Head of Single Board Computers for Premier Farnell. “With a versatile mix of wireless connectivity and sensor options, the MKR series provides flexibility for engineers and makers looking to develop and deploy IoT applications easily using the Arduino ecosystem.”

The four new Arduino MKR Shields are now available from Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.